undertake to supply Fort Sumter without giving notice to Governor Pickens." The words "I am satisfied" were for me to use as expressive of confidence in the remainder of the declaration. The proposition, as originally prepared, was, "The President may desire to supply Sumter, but will not do so," &c., and your verbal explanation was that you did not believe any such attempt would be made and that there as no design to re-enforce Sumter. there was a departure here from the pledges of the previous month, but with the verbal explanation I did not consider it a matter then to complain of; I simply stated to you that I had that assurance previously. On the 7th of April I addressed you a letter on the subject of the alrm that the preparations by the Government had created, and asked you if the assurances I had given were well or ill founded. In repsect to Sumter your reply was, "Faith as to Sumter fully kept; wait and see." In the morning's paper I read, "An authroized messenger from President Lincoln informed Governor Pickens and General Beauregard that provisions will be sent to Fort Sumter peaceably, or otherwise by force." This was the 8th of Arpil, at Charleston, the day following yoru last assurance, and is the evidence of the full faith I was invited to wait for and see. In the same paper I read that intercepted dispatchs dislcose the fact that Mr. Fox, who has been allowed to visit Majro Anderson on the pledge that his purpose was pacific, employed his opportunity to devise a plan for supplying the fort by force, and that this plan had beena dopted by the Washington Government, and was in process of execution. My recollections of the date of Mr. Fox's visit carries it to a day in March. I learn he is a near connection of a member of the Cabinet. My connection with the commissioners and yourself was superinduced by a conversation with Justice Nelson. He informed me of your strong disposition in favor of peace, and that you were oppressed with a demand of the commissioners of the Confederate States for a reply tot heir first letter, and that you desired to avoid, if possible, at that time. I told him I might perhaps be of some service in arranging the daifficulty. I came to your office entirely at his request and without the knowledge of the commissioners. Your depression was obvious to both Judge Nelson and myself. I was gratified at the character of the counsels you were desirous of pursuing, and much our observation that a civil war might be prevented by the success of my mediation. Your ead a letter of Mr. Weed to show how irksome and responsible the withdrawal of troops from Fort Sumter was. A portion of my communication to Judge Crawford on the 15th of March was founded upon these remarks, and the pledge to evacuate Sumter is less forcible than the words you employed. those words were, "Before this letter reaches you (a proposed letter by me to President Davis) Sumter will have been evacuated." The commissioners who received those ecommunications conclude they have been abused and overreached. The Montgomery Government hold the same opinion. The commissioners have supposed that my communications were with you, and upon the hypothesis prepared to arraign you before the country in connection with the President. I placed a peremptory prohibition upon this as being contrary to the terms of my communicatiosn with them. I pledged myself to them to communicate information upon what I considered as the best authroity, and they were to confide in the ability of myself, aided by Judge Nelson, to determine upon the credibility of my informant. I think any candid man who will read over what I have written, and considere for a moment what is going on at Sumter, will agree that the equivocating conduct of the Administration, as measured and interpreted in connection with these promises, is the proximate cause of the great calamity. I have a profound conviction that the telegrams of the 8th of April of General Beauregard, and of the 10th of April of General Wlaker, the Secretary of War, can be referred to nothing else than their belief that there has been systematic duplicity practiced upon them throughout. It is under an oppressive sense of the weight of this responsibility that I submit to you these things for your explanation.

Very respectfully,

JOHN A. CAMPBELL,

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

L. P. WALKER,

Secretary of War:

An authorized messenger from President Lincoln just r Pickens and myself that provisions will be sent to Fort sumter peaceably, or otherwise by force.

Geneal P. G. T. BEAUREGARD:

If you have no doubt of the authroized character of the agent who communicated to you the intention of the Washington Government to supply Fort Sumter by force, you will at once demand its evacuation, and if this is refused, proceed in such manner as you may determine to reduce it.