John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

26. VI:30. My wife was so much recovered this morning that she left her chamber, and received several visitors. She dined with us below, but the effort was too great and immediately after dinner she was obliged to go to bed again, and was quite unwell— At the Presidents this Morning, he had sent to the Department the Convention with Great-Britain concluded by Messrs. Gallatin and Rush on the 20th. of October last, to the ratification of which the Senate have given their advice and consent— At the Office, I found Mr Bagot, who had already been informed of this, called to enquire when I should probably be ready to exchange the Ratifications. I supposed in the course of the week— He said he should send a messenger next week, and should be glad to forward 22the ratified Treaty by him. Mr Bagot had received from England the form of a Certificate of the exchange of Ratifications, a copy of which he left with me— I desired Mr Brent to see Mr Bagot and to propose the alteration of “sealed with our Seals”—instead of “our Arms” for as there is no heraldry in the United States, Seals at Arms are an absurdity, used by a public Officer of this Country— I have used a Seal at Arms, in Europe, as my father had done before me. But so far as there is any significancy in such Seals they are utterly inconsistent with our republican institutions— Arms are emblematical hereditary titles of honour, conferred by monarchs as badges of nobility, or of gentility, and are incompatible with that equality which is the fundamental principle of our Government. I have therefore determined never more to use my Seal at arms, (which are not the Adams, but the Boylston Arms) to any public instrument— I have substituted in their stead the Seal of my own device. The Constellation of Eagle and Lyra, with the Motteo from Manilius (described Diary Vol. 5. p. 69) I first used it for the exchange of Ratifications of the Convention of 1802 with Mr Onis— Captain Stith who was one of our fellow lodgers at Philadelphia last October came to the Office, and is a Candidate for the appointment of Consul at Tunis, or at Tripoli. The Message with my Letter of 28 Novr last to G. W. Erving, and the accompanying Documents are at length printed, and a copy of them was brought to me— This Evening I went with Mary Buchanan and Mrs W. S. Smith to a tea party at Mr Cutts’s. Met E. Coles there, and his brother. He told me he had been the whole Summer in the State of Illinois, and that Birkbeck’s settlement there comes on very slowly. Mr De Neuville told me he had received fresh instructions about the settlement of our affairs with Spain, and should call upon me at the Office.