Full exposure of the conduct of Dr. Charles T. Jackson : leading to his discharge from the government service, and justice to Messrs. Foster and Whitney, U. S. geologists.

Date:
[1850]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Full exposure of the conduct of Dr. Charles T. Jackson : leading to his discharge from the government service, and justice to Messrs. Foster and Whitney, U. S. geologists. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Jackson-that it was certain he mast go out; that an investigation was impending, and that all the assistants would be summoned to Washing- ton to swear to various particulars, which they were prepared to do • that the opposition to him was serious and general in Michigan and' Ohio, <fcc. He further states thai the vigor of the «ssault, the threaten- ed investigation, and the determined opposition alleged to exist at Wash- ington, so weighed with his, Dr. Jackson's friends, that they advised him to resign, and save himself from the threatened disgrace; that Dr. Jackson, contrary to his first impulse, yielded to the advice of his friends] and that a friend of Dr. Jackson agreed to act with the* friend of Messrs. Foster and Whitney, as a friendly committee; on which. Dr. Gouid, the family physician of Dr. Jackson, also volunteered to act. That on the 12th of April, the letter of resignation, and a draft of articles of agree- ment between Dr. Jackson and Messrs. Foster and Whitney, were brought to Dr. Jackson by the committee, and reluctantly signed by him, but by the unanimous advicoof persons, all assumed to be, and some of them e-teemed by him, his best friends. In that document it is further alleged, that 'the action of Dr. Jackson can only be explained by con- sidering that he. was already in a state of much exhaustion and depres- sion from a long and vexatious controversy on the subject of his disco- very of certain properties of ether, and from his natural aversion to undertake n^w quarrels, in which he had the misfortune to see his own pupil and professed friends dealing the blow.' It is also alleged, that the action of Dr. Jackson's friends 'must be explained by the circum- stance that Mr. Foster expressed himself repeatedlv and continually as in great haste to go to Washington ; this signing of Dr. Jackson, if done at all, must be done without delay, or the charges would be instantly forwarded, he. assuring the parties' that Dr. Jackson would certainly be broken ; that be had received exact information that the charges were already filed against him at Washington, intimating that he (Foster) bad telegraphed a request to the Department that any doings there ad- verse to Dr. Jackson, might be suspended, in view of what was expect- ed to take place here, to make them unnecessary.' That ' under these painful circumstances, Dr. Jackson obeyed the judgment of friends against his own impulse, and signed the letter to the Department which they put into his hands, resigning his post, and recommending that his late assistants be appointed his sucessors. On consideration his original judgment returned; he regretted extremely the steps he had taken; the ad vice of his friends, though by some of them well meant, appeared, weak and injudicious, and he uses his first recovery of strength and health, to ask leave respectfully of the Department to withdraw his letter.' This document, though signed by Dr. Jackson, does not appear to have been written hy him, as he is, throughout, spoken of in the third person. It moreover conveys an erroneous impression as to the time in which the circumstances narrated transpired; for although the dates are given, the idea is strongly impressed that the whole matter was got up and pressed through in a hurry, not giving time for the cool judgment and consideration of Dr. Jackson and his friends, to operate upon the facts in the case. But when these facts are compared with the dates, it will be perceived: That the friend of Messrs. Foster and Whitney, called on Dr. Jack-
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