John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

17. V:15. The morning was absorbed in completing the Journal of yesterday— I have a French Kilogramme, an Amsterdam commercial pound, A Swedish Victual pound, and three Russian Pounds, one of Iron and two of brass— I took them all with me this morning to the Branch Bank to make the experiment of weighing them with their weights and Scales; but I have little confidence in the result— They have a pair of Standard Scales made by Dearborn, which belonged to the Branch of the Old Bank of the United States, but which having been long disused are not regulated, and have grown rusty— They are indeed so much out of order that Mr206Smith the Cashier asked me to come again in a few days, and repeat the experiment, promising in the mean time to have the Scales properly regulated. I shall therefore postpone marking the result. At the Office I had visits from Mr Torres and from Poletica, the Russian Minister— I told Torres that I had laid his papers before the President who had directed me to receive from him any communications that he might be disposed to make— He repeated that it was his full determination, and the intention of his Government that he should do nothing which might give dissatisfaction to the Government of the United States. He then said that he was charged to open and extend friendly relations between the two Countries to the utmost of his power— That he had orders to procure provisions for the English troops of General Devereux’s legion who had arrived in Venezuela, and whom they could not maintain with the same kind of provisions which they supplied their own countrymen with— That by the occupation of New-Grenada, he hoped they would now have a good supply of funds, but that previous to that event they were in want of immediate pecuniary means. That through the medium of Mr John Sergeant, he had made a proposal to the Bank of the United States to obtain from them, an immediate sum of 500 000 dollars to be repaid within eighteen Months in gold, and silver Bullion— It had at first been objected that the Bank were restricted from making loans to a foreign Government; but he had stated it was not precisely a loan that he wanted— The bank were purchasing bullion— He offered to contract to furnish them with a given quantity of it, to be supplied at a certain time and asked payment for it in advance upon such terms as they might agree to— The subject was now before the Bank for Consideration, and they might wish to know in what light it would be considered by the Government. I promised to mention it to the President; and said I was confident there would be no objection on his part to the Government of Venezuela’s obtaining in this Country any supplies of provisions for which they might have occasion— That the Directors of the Bank must determine what contracts they may legally make according to their Act of incorporation, and what they may deem expedient for their interests; and that if they should find the contract proposed by him within their powers and expedient, it would in no manner be disapproved or discountenanced by this Government— He then shewed me his Letter to Sergeant and said there were some other objects of less importance upon which he should hereafter speak to me; and intimated a wish to pay his respects to the President; as well as to write me a Note expressive of the objects with which he is charged— He asked for the return of his Papers; but they were locked up in the desk of Mr Purviance who was not at the Office— He said he would call for them again— Poletica brought with him a despatch enclosed to Pozzo di Borgo which he asked me to forward for him— He repeated what he has said to me many times before that he could send nothing by the way of England, because the British Government opened all the Letters written by Russian Ministers that ever came in their power. He spoke of South-American Affairs and said it appeared they were in a state of complete anarchy at Angostura. I told him quite the contrary— That the appointment of Arismendi as Vice-President was expected to give new energy to the management of their Affairs— That the successes of Bolivar in New-Grenada had been splendid, and unless Morillo should very soon receive reinforcements I thought he would be compelled to abandon the Country— He said he thought there was great exaggeration in the accounts of Bolivar’s success— He had but three thousand men—what was it possible to do with 3000 men? I said there was no doubt great exaggeration— But Bolivar had certainly taken Santa Fé de Bogota, and New-Grenada was revolutionized— That this had been accomplished by so small a force, indicated that the Mass of the People favoured the Revolution, and that was the Spirit which Spain never would subdue— He said that he was perfectly convinced that Spain never would recover the dominion of 207those Provinces, but he was equally confident that in seven years from this time they would have no regular government. That I observed was entirely a distinct question— I took this opportunity to tell him that about a year ago, a proposition was made by this Government to that of Great-Britain for an acknowledgment in concert of the Government of Buenos Ayres; which was not accepted— I stated to him the principles upon which it had been made, and I wished him to inform his Government that the only reason why it was not at the same time made to the Emperor was the reason we had to suppose that the proposition itself would not only have been unacceptable to him, but that it would not have been agreeable to him that it should be made— For the same reason it was not made to France, and as the President’s Message to Congress at their approaching Session will communicate and make public the fact of the proposal made to England, I said I wished him to assure his Government that it was made to Great-Britain alone, not with the purpose of a partial concert with her; but of a general concert of all the great European Powers with us— If he had been here at the time when we made the proposal to Great-Britain, I should have communicated it to him, and would have conversed as freely with him concerning it as I had with the French Minister— But Mr Daschkoff was not here; and the situation in which he stood with this Government was such, that if he had been I could not have communicated with him freely— He said there was a delicacy in his touching upon this with his Government, as Daschkoff was now gone home, and his personal prospects might be effected by any thing thus said of him. I replied that it would be quite unnecessary; if he would distinctly state the only reason why our proposition to recognize Buenos-Ayres was not made to the Emperor at the same time that it was made to England. He promised to do it, and told me he would shew me the Memoir upon South-America, drawn up before the Congress at Aix la Chapelle met.— We had a long discussion upon the propriety and expediency of the recognition, in which I urged all the topics in its favour, and he all the topics against it, though he strenuously denied that Russia had any leaning in the case either against the South-Americans or in favour of Spain. I hinted to him that after a reasonable time if the great Powers of Europe, should continue to decline the acknowledgment in concert with us; we should perhaps adopt the measure ourselves. He appeared disposed to argue against this, but I told him we must be the judge of our own policy; upon which he said he was speaking only as an individual, and not as Russian Minister— He also asked me for the papers he had lent me last winter about the holy alliance, which I promised to have looked up and return to him. This evening Mr S. W. Dexter of Athens in the State of New-York, son of the late Samuel Dexter of Boston came, and asked me to recommend to him a lawyer here. He has to employ one to support a claim which he has in his wife’s right to 8000 acres of Land in the State of Mississippi, under a British grant— He is himself on his way to Natchez upon the same business. I named to him Mr Wirt, Walter Jones, F. S. Key and some others— Poletica paid us an evening visit, but I was engaged in my chamber and not called down.