John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

25. V:45. Snow all the morning. Mr Holmes, chairman of the Committee of foreign Relations, called at my house; and upon examination of the Treaty with Spain took minutes of the Bill to be offered to Congress, for carrying it into execution, provisionally tell the end of the next Session of Congress, the act to take effect from the time of the exchange of the ratifications of the Treaty— We recurred to the Precedents of the first act by which Mr Jefferson was authorised to take possession of Louisiana, and of that by which an appropriation was made, and authority given to Mr Jefferson to appoint Commissioners during the recess, under the Convention of 48the 11th. of August 1802 with Spain— Holmes minuted as objects to be embraced by the Bill, the power to take possession of the Territories; of providing for sending the Spanish troops to the Havanna, and of appointing Commissioners during the recess of the Senate; to be nominated at their next meeting— At the President’s, I gave him the Letters which Trimble had put into my hands recommending Robertson, as Governor of the Arkansaw territory; and repeated to him the uneasiness expressed by Trimble, as being felt in the western Country, and particularly in Kentucky, at the supposed neglect of them in making appointments to office; and his observations upon the good effect in supporting and encouraging the friends of the President and his Administration, which would follow the appointment of Robertson— The President intimated a doubt whether Robertson could be appointed consistently with the Constitution which prescribes, Article 1. Section 6. Paragraph 2. that No Senator, or representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time”— This will certainly preclude the appointment of Robertson, if the nomination is to be made before the close of the present Session of Congress— At the Office Mr Onis came with Mr Stoughton, and we executed the four remaining copies of the Treaty, after carefully reading and collating them with our copy already executed— Onis took two of the copies now signed and sealed, and two of them remain at the Office. We had a company of Gentlemen to dine with us— Messrs. Artiguenave, Bailey, Fuller, Hale, Harris, Ingersoll, Law, Little, Parrott, Rogers, Silsbee, Upham, Benjn. Vaughan, Petty Vaughan, and Worcester— Messrs. Butler, Claggett, Joel Crawford, Ingalls, Sampson and Shaw were invited, but sent excuses, or did not come. Mary Buchanan was unwell, and did not dine with us. The company broke up, between nine and ten.— The Treaty was sent this day by Message, to Congress.