Draft
of
Letter
to
Missionary
Society
1812

Organization Information

Respected Friends,

Your Letter dated 27th Feb. 1812 with
the statement of William Jenkins

respecting a circum-
stance that occured in 1809, between him & a person sta-
tioned at Oneida under our appointment, was laid
before us at our last Meet. We acknowledge the kind
& respectful manner in which you communicate
your sentiments on the subject, & with you we
cannot but sincerely regret, that any thing should
have taken place calculated to produce a misun-
derstanding or have a tendency to weaken the
influence of those who are engaged, either by
your society or our own, in promoting the general
welfare of the poor natives. But when we
consider the peculiarly responsible situation that
agents are placed in, by residing amongst a peo-
ple not fully acquainted with the
habits, customs & language of White people, it
is reasonable to expect difficulties; & indeed it is
rather matter of surprise and cause of thankful-
ness, that they have not more frequently occured

With respect to the circumstances stated by Wm.
Jenkins

, we may remark, that we had no
information of them untill we received your
letter. Had these charges been brought forward at
an earlier period, it would doubtless have been much
easier to ascertain how far they are correct, for when