John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

19. VII:15. Cabinet meeting at the President’s to consider the amended project of a Treaty with Spain and the modifications still desired by Mr de Onis— A proposal had some time ago been started by Mr Crawford that instead of the Banks of the Red River, a chain of mountains running as he says parallel with the river about twenty or thirty miles South of it, should be assumed as the boundary from the North west corner of Louisiana, to the point where the line is to strike across the red river, North to the Arkansaw river. Crawford’s reason for this proposal was, that mountains are better boundaries than rivers— But as there is no certainty that there is any chain of mountains running South of and parallel with the red river, great part of the contemplated line, as the chain marked on Mellish’s Map, to which the Treaty is to refer, extends only a small part of the way, as no one knows how the range of mountains there really runs, or at what distance from the river, and as the whole idea was an afterthought produced after the proposal made in writing by me to take the rivers for the limits, Onis had invariably resisted the alteration, and objected even against any discussion of it— Some day this week, George Graham came to the President and told him that there were as many as two hundred American families settled on the South side of the red river, and that there would be great dissatisfaction with the Treaty in the Southern and Western Country, if we should not obtain both sides of that river— Crawford and Calhoun, entered warmly into this suggestion, and I was directed to make another trial whether Onis would not take the Mountains instead of the river for a boundary. I made the attempt without effect, but not without use; for it appeased Onis’s last throes against taking the Banks of the Rivers instead of their middle, for boundaries. At the Meeting this morning, I remarked that Onis still insisted upon having the middle of the rivers, but I did not notice his assertion that the President at the Drawing Room had promised him 41we would agree to it. I proposed that we should adhere to the principle of owning the rivers and all the islands in them ourselves, and of course to having the banks and not the middle of the rivers for boundaries. The President thought it was not a point upon which we should endanger the conclusion of the Treaty. Mr Thompson, Secretary of the Navy asked if Onis would agree to take the banks of the rivers, rather than break off. I said he would—he must—he had substantially agreed to it already— Then, said Thompson, insist upon it by all means— The President acquiesced, as did Calhoun and Wirt— Crawford was not present, being confined to his house and bed, by illness. On the proposed clause for permitting the navigation of the rivers, to the Sea to the inhabitants of both Nations, Mr Calhoun immediately objected— He said it would give the Spaniards even of Europe the right of Navigating up and down the Mississippi; at least as high as the mouth of the red river— It was of course agreed that this should not be admitted, and I amended the draught so that the common freedom of Navigation, should be co-extensive only with the boundary itself on the rivers. The article relating to the grants of Land in Florida, as drawn up after my conference with Onis yesterday, was considered, discussed and approved. The time allowed to grantees in possession to complete, their settlements according to the tenour of their grants, is to commence from the signature of the Treaty— And to make the grants valid, it will be required not only that the grantees should be in possession, but that they should have begun making the settlements required by the grants— Mr Calhoun said this article was now put upon a more satisfactory footing than it had been at any time before— All the other Articles as proposed to be amended were approved, but it was determined not to omit the limitation to five Millions of dollars, of the sum to be paid by the United States, for the claims upon Spain. The Meeting was over between two and three O’Clock; I immediately went over to my Office and sent for Mr De Neuville the French Minister, who shortly afterwards came. I told him that having referred to the President all the alterations suggested to the project of the Treaty which had been before considered; he had again this morning taken the opinion of the members of the Administration— That it had been agreed to adopt all the alterations desired by Mr Onis excepting two, one of which was that the middle of the rivers should form the boundary, and their Navigation to the Sea, be common, to the inhabitants of both Nations; and the other that the limitation of the sum to be paid by the United States for claims upon Spain, to five Millions of Dollars, should be struck out. To these two proposals it had been determined that we could not accede. It was now necessary for Mr Onis to come to his determination— The conclusion could no longer be postponed. I should send the draught as now adjusted, immediately to him; and we must sign the Treaty next Monday; or the President must send a message to Congress on Tuesday, informing them of the unfinished state of the Negotiation; that they may take such measures as they deem advisable before the close of the Session of Congress. De Neuville said he was afraid Onis would consider the encouragement he had received, to expect that we should yield these points, as a pledge, which gave him a right to insist upon them— He, de Neuville had made great use of the right of Navigation to the Sea, to prevail upon Onis to give up on other points— Onis would be more tenacious of it because it was a stipulation which he could make much of in reconciling his Government to the Treaty— I had said I should not refuse to remove the limitation of five Millions if the President would consent to it, and Onis assured him that the President had promised him at the Drawing-Room, that we would take the middle of the rivers for the boundaries, instead of the banks— I replied that I had given no encouragement to Mr Onis, which he could justly consider as a pledge, that any of his proposed alterations would be accepted— I had taken them all merely and avowedly for reference to the President. I had said that for myself I should not inflexibly object to allowing the right of Navigation, of the inhabitants on the rivers to the sea, or to omitting the limitation of five Millions, yet I could in no wise answer for the decision of the President on those points— But I had invariably insisted on having the banks of the rivers for the boundaries; and should certainly consent to no others. As to what the President may have said to Mr Onis at the Drawing room, I was confident Onis had not correctly understood his meaning. He had I presumed used some general expression, that we should not break off upon small points of difference, but certainly without intending that Onis should understand it as a promise upon any particular point in discussion. 42But, what right had Mr Onis, to speak upon this matter to the President at the Drawing Room, at-all— He was treating with me— I had sent him a copy of my full-powers, and received the copy of his. The Secretary of State was the officer with whom this negotiation was to be conducted, and all immediate applications to the President by Mr Onis concerning it were improper— I had taken and should take no notice of it in this instance; but the President himself would be much and justly displeased, if he had reason to think, that a complimentary expression of politeness used by him, in answer to a remark made to him by a foreign Minister at the Drawing Room, was to be construed into an abandonment of an important principle in a pending Negotiation— De Neuville said that was perfectly just— I added further that Mr Onis could have no right to consider me pledged for the acceptance of any thing in his last proposals, since he himself after agreeing to accept the draught as amended after the last discussion between him De Neuville and me, had come to me the next morning, and proposed several very important changes to it—and particularly that with respect to the grants of lands—by which we were to allow the grantees advantages which they would not be entitled to if the Cession should not be made— He said that was true; but they were such as ought to be secured to the grantees. They were to operate only upon bona fide holders, in possession, and who after having begun to make their settlements had been prevented by circumstances beyond their controul from completing them— This was mere justice, and was what the Spanish Government in making the cession was really bound in duty to secure to them— I admitted that it was just; and said that was the motive upon which we had assented to it— Still it was a departure from that to which Onis had before assented; and thus took from him all pretence that we were pledged to any other of the proposed alterations. He then left me saying he would see Mr Onis immediately, and endeavour to prevail upon him to accept the Treaty, as we now proposed it.— In the Evening there was a Ball at Gales’s, which I attended with Mrs Adams and Mary Buchanan. De Neuville was there; and told me that Onis would call upon me to-morrow Morning. He had concluded to sign the Treaty— There remained only two or three words in our draft which he wished to have altered or explained— The rumours of the Treaty’s being on the eve of conclusion, and the curiosity to know something of it, were so general among the company at the Ball, that it was with difficulty that I could parry the various questions put to me about it— Members of Congress have many of them a pretension that they are entitled to know every thing that is doing by the Executive, and others holding to the doctrine that Republics have no secrets, think themselves equally authorized to question the Secretary of State, how his Treaty with Don Onis comes on— Some had already been informed that we were to sign on Monday; while others anticipating the fact had heard that we had signed already— We came home from Gales’s, about midnight, in a Snow-Storm.