John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

24. VII: Mr Gouverneur, the President’s Nephew, Son in Law, and private Secretary, called at my House this morning; I called at the President’s with a Note received of yesterday’s date, from the French Minister Hyde de Neuville— I sent him two or three days since the copy of a Full-power, made out by the President’s direction, authorizing me to treat with him upon commercial arrangements— The Note of Yesterday was introductory to the Negotiation— Its principle object was to ask an answer to a long Letter, which de Neuville had written to me the 16th. of June 1818. upon a claim raised by the French Government, upon the 8th. Article of the Louisiana cession Treaty— I had already answered one long note of his upon the subject, and had left his reply unanswered, only to avoid altercation, upon a claim which had no substance, and upon which my answer to his first Letter, was of itself a sufficient answer to his reply— But when after the Act of 532Congress of 15 May last, and the retaliatory ordinances of the king of France, of 26. July, the French Government had been dragged into this negotiation, finding themselves unanswerably pressed by Notes of great ability from Gallatin, they started from the course by setting up again, this Louisiana claim and declaring it indispensably connected with the arrangement of the question upon discriminating duties— And as Gallatin was not instructed upon the Louisiana claim, they made this a pretext for transferring the negotiation here, and sending de Neuville back here, to finish it; with an ulterior destination to Brazil, held out to our Cotton-planters in Terrorem. His Letter now calls for an answer to his old one of June 1818—and hints, at two other Affairs, meaning the cases of the Apollon and Eugene, as also requiring adjustment before we can come to the settlement of commercial interests— The President thought the first thing to be done was to answer the old Louisiana claim-Letter, and to offer to dismiss the suit against the Apollon, and restore the vessel to the captain— I told the President that I had found in my Letter-books, the Letters from which Mr. Harris had read passages to him; and particularly that of which he had yesterday mentioned to me the substance. I explained to him the motives for writing it, which were altogether of a public nature—to prepare him, and through him as far as I was able the people in power in Russia, for the unfavourable result of that campaign, which there was every reason to expect—to impress them with the idea that notwithstanding all our distresses and disasters at that time we should ultimately triumph over them all— And to stimulate the Russian Government itself to take an active interest in our favour, by shewing that our cause was in a great measure their own. The expression of “a feeble and penurious Government” I said, he had I presumed understood as referring, not to the Executive administration; but particularly to the inefficient measures of Congress at that time— The President said, that in substance it was no more than he had himself said in his Official Reports— I observed that in my present situation, the British and Russian Governments might be displeased if they should see my animadversions upon their policy as then pursued; but they would doubtless recollect, and lay to their own hearts, the feelings under which it was written, and not expect the courtesy of Peace, under the instigations of War— In every other respect, I said I could have no objection to any publicity that Mr Harris could give to that or any other Letter from me— The Baron de Neuville came to the Office and had a conference with me— I told him, I should very shortly send him the answer to his Louisiana claim Letter of 1818. which had hitherto remained unanswered only because it had been thought worse than useless to prolong an unprofitable controversy— As to the case of the Apollon I told him that the vessel being under seizure for a violation of the Revenue Laws, the decision of the Court would determine whether the seizure had been legal or not—if legal the Laws must of course have their execution. If not legal, the Captain, and all persons interested in the property had their remedy in the same Court against the persons who had made the seizure— He said that the injury had not been to the Captain and owners of the Apollon alone. The commerce of France had been in consequence of that seizure, for many Months deprived of the resort to the Florida side of St. Mary’s river, and of trading from thence with the United States— The fact was that the merchants in France had consulted the king’s Council, and enquired whether they could send their ships in this manner to St. Mary’s river; and he himself had advised the answer given by the Council that they might. I told him this was a thing upon which we could of course not negotiate, and he again said he was willing to leave it to be explained in France by Mr Gallatin— This last disclosure, explains the extraordinary and hitherto unaccountable irritation, which he and Roth before him manifested at this seizure of the Apollon— The French Government itself, and by his advice had become a party to this projected system for evading our tonnage duties. The seizure of the Apollon, disconcerted them all; and made the Government itself in some sort responsible to their merchants for the advice given them— The Baron does not seem to be aware how this operates as a justification to us for counteracting this royal scheme of contraband. It is apparent that de Neuville intends to make this affair a very prominent point in the failure of his negotiation. 533Mr Forsyth who has returned from Spain called this morning at the Office— He has had a long passage, having left Madrid about the 24th. of November. His purpose now is, to visit Georgia, for two or three Months, and then go back to Spain with his family. His leave of absence was for six Months, but three of them having already elapsed he wished the term to be prolonged, to which I told him there would be no objection though it was desirable he should go back without any unnecessary delay. Mr Archer of Maryland likewise called at the Office— Spent the Evening at Madame de Neuville’s. Among the company was R. W. Meade with whom I had some conversation concerning his claim— Sergeant this day presented to the House of Representatives a Memorial, demanding payment of the whole Amount of his claim upon Spain, as liquidated nearly two years after the Treaty was signed, and he has written to ask for a copy of my Report to the President upon his Memorial to him. I told him that a copy should readily be furnished him, but that there were several statements in his Memorial and in his Letter to the President incorrect in point of fact. Among the rest was one that I had told him his claim was included in the renunciations of the Treaty. He insisted that I had. I recapitulated the substance of the conversation I had with him on the 11th. of last Month, all which he admitted, excepting that he maintained I had told him positively that his claim was included in the Treaty, when I had only said to him that I supposed it to be so; stating expressly at the same time that the Treaty must speak for itself; and that the Commissioners must decide upon it— I also now told him that in expressing the opinion that his claim was included in the Treaty, I neither did nor could mean that it was provided for in a different manner from all others— I spoke of his claim as it existed when the Treaty was signed, subject to examination and liquidation by the Commissioners like all others— Nor had I ever considered the Treaty as stipulating for the payment of the whole of his claim— He said that he could not consent to have his claim subjected to the examination of the Commissioners— I also remarked upon his statement that he had been informed that General Vivés had been ordered on exchanging the ratifications of the Treaty, to declare that the Spanish Government had expressly understood that this claim was provided for, specially by the Treaty— General Vivés had never said a word to me on the subject. He said No—that Vives was a timid man; and when he Meade had called upon him to make this declaration had declined doing it, because he had not been expressly instructed to do so. Upon the whole, these proceedings give me a very indifferent opinion of Meade’s character, and his misconception, or misrepresentation of what I said to him; on the 11th. of January shews how dangerous it is to have any conversation at-all with such a man, without a witness to it.