John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

4. IV:15. A Man by the name of M’Dowell came this morning to solicit influence to obtain the Office of assistant door-keeper to the House of Representatives in Congress— This poor man was the third; and had the best claim of the three; for he had lost an arm in the late War— I called on Mr Josiah Meigs, Superintendent of the Land Office, and told him what I knew of G. S. Bourne’s pretensions to an appointment, in that Office— He said the vacancy, was of an able Draftsman; and such a one they wanted. Mr Canning whom I had appointed to meet at one O’Clock, came and was with me nearly three hours, conversing on a great variety of Subjects in a manner entirely desultory.— His first object was to explain to me how two American Vessels seized on the borders of the Province of New-Brunswick for smuggling, and which he, upon an application from this Government, for indulgence had recommended to the Governors of New-Brunswick, and Nova-Scotia for it, had been condemned and sold— I also read to him the papers transmitted to this Government, concerning the Caroline, a vessel tried likewise, at St. Andrews in New Brunswick, and those relating to the Fame, a vessel on trial in our own Courts— All these cases turn upon the question of the bordering line between Moose-Island, and Campo Bello. The question of transcending the proper territorial jurisdiction, to execute revenue Laws was also involved in them— Upon the identity or similitude of rolled and hammered iron, there was also much said— He insists they are the same—and I know not how to prove the contrary. I promised him to look into the subject and answer his Notes; and said if upon examination, it should be found practicable, the President would recommend it by a message, to Congress— Of the Newfoundland Pirates; Mr Canning seemed not entirely satisfied with the order to restore the vessel and Cargo 168subject to the claim of Salvage for the Officers of the Customs— He said he had understood Salvage was granted only in cases of wrecks, or of recaptures at Sea. I told him the claim and its amount would both be subject to the decision of the Court— They were private and individual rights which the Government could not of right release— On the case of Carleton Island; he asked a number of questions in relation to the possession and the time when it had been taken by us. I told him the Circumstances as they were known to us— He seemed anxious to find some apology for the seizure from Kingston— I told him our complaint was of the disturbance by force of the actual state of things, while the negotiation was pending; and that the Governor of New-York had positively proposed a battle; if there should come another excursion from Kingston. But that the President had cooled his martial ardour for the present— He said it was no doubt a process against smugglers. I said if they meant to recover possession under the Treaty, they should have demanded it, as we had done in the case of the Post at the mouth of Columbia river— He said that in that case Mr Bagot had complained that we despatched the ship, without giving notice— And yet, I said we had made the formal demand of restoration more than two years before— We have therefore a much stronger cause of complaint than could be alledged by Mr Bagot— He spoke about the Slave-trade, and asked me, if I had seen a Letter from Sir George Collier recently published in the Newspapers— I had; but made no remark upon it. He asked if we had any cruizer upon the African Coast now— I said the same Lieutt. Stockton, who had captured the four French Schooners. He asked if we could not so accommodate our naval arrangements as to increase our force there— I said I could not exactly say—but our force was sufficient to banish our flag from the whole Coast— There had not been found for these two years a single Slave-trader wearing the American flag— I asked him if he recollected the hint I had given him last Spring to propose to his Government, to advise their ally the king of Denmark, to look a little to what was going on at his Island of St. Thomas— He said certainly and he had availed himself of it. I said I had seen in our newspapers, within these two days, a notice from Copenhagen, that the late Governor of St. Thomas, Bentzon, had been convicted of Slave-trade participation and sentenced to pay a heavy fine. Canning said it might very probably be the result of our former conversation— I told him we had almost got into a quarrel with France about these captures of Lieutenant Stockton— The French authorities in the West Indies, and the French Minister here were all on fire about the outrage upon the French flag, and they had sent me volumes of testimony given by the Slave-traders themselves, to prove Lieutenant Stockton was a Pirate— Not only so but the French Minister, with a lofty tone maintained that these vessels were engaged in lawful trade—greatly injured persons— Three of the four vessels were recaptured upon their prize crews— Two of them went back, not to Guadeloupe, but to French Guyana, and there trumped up this story of interruption of their lawful trade, by the Pirate Stockton. The third is brought into Boston, and the French Minister peremptorily demands that she should be delivered up to the French Consul, or to her owners—and in one of his Notes to me, says “le sort du quatriéme n’est pas encore connu”— I had told the Baron de Neuville, that I could inform him what that Sort was— She returned to the coast of Africa; took in her pre-engaged Cargo of 150 Slaves, and carried them and landed them in the face of day at Guadeloupe, with Lieutenant Inman and the prize crew from whom the vessel had been recaptured all the time on board— Canning said he hoped these facts would be made known to the world. I assured him that indeed they should— He said that De Neuville himself professed to be 169very earnest for the suppression of the Slave-trade, but he was against allowing the right of search— Yet he admitted that it was the most effectual means that could be adopted for the suppression, and he, Canning, thought we should ultimately be convinced of the necessity of coming into it— I said that was impossible— There were objections of the most serious nature against the thing itself, in any shape; but unless Britain would bind herself by an Article as strong and explicit as language can make it, never again in time of War, to take a man, from an American vessel, we never for a moment could listen to a proposal for allowing a right of search in time of peace— He asked me in a half-bantering tone whether I had not intended last winter to make some such proposal to him— I told him no. We had exhausted Negotiation in endeavouring to make an arrangement with Great-Britain, on the subject of impressment— We had failed, and were not desirous of obtaining the object by indirect means— The proposal must come from them, if they were prepared for it— We merely refused to admit a right of search in time of peace. On this principle too we should give up the French vessel at Boston, at the demand of the French Minister, at least the Executive had so advised the Circuit Court— There has been a trial before that Court—but the main question was whether there was, any of our Citizens interested in the Slave-vessel; of that there was no evidence except the very slight presumption arising from the fact that she had been built in the United States— He asked me, if at the time of our former discussions I had not seen the decision of Sir William Scott in the case of the Lewis. I told him no— I had not seen it until the case of this French vessel had arisen— He was surprized at this, and said he regretted not having communicated it to me— I asked him what was the passage of Blackstone to which he had referred on the application to deliver up the Newfoundland Pirates— He said it would be found in the Index, tunder the title of Habeas Corpus. We examined both Tuckers and Christian’s Blackstone, but did not find it. He said he would send me a minute of it— We discussed the whole subject over again, and he dwelt much upon the actual delivery of the men charged with murder and forgery, by the Governor of Canada, to the Governors of New-York and Vermont— I told him that might give a claim to reciprocity from the Governors of those two States— It was at their demand, and not that of the United States, that the men were delivered up— A Similar demand might be made of those two Governors— Perhaps they might possess the authority—as bordering States they were more interested than others in the exercise of it. It was the power to deliver up, which was considered as wanting to the President— We had also much talk upon European affairs—Russia, Turkey and Greece. I told him I still thought as I had heretofore that England would not permit Russia to go to War— It was apparent that she was effectually interposing to prevent it; but how they would let off the Emperor Alexander without humiliating him seemed likely to make a difficulty; and after Strogonoff’s open breaking up at Constantinople, the Emperor could hardly recede without humiliation— Canning said he had been long at Constantinople himself, and knew how the Russian diplomatic men treated habitually the Turkish Government, which was by no means courteously— They were much accustomed to threaten them; and hard words did not carry the consequence there which they did elsewhere. He asked what part France appeared to take in this turmoil. I said it was apparent that France did not lead; and as she had heretofore been very much accustomed to lead, she might probably now not be disposed to follow the lead of others. All the Turkish Notes were said to be written by Lord Strangford— Austria was said also to take part with the Turks— But of the French Mission at Constantinople, not a word was said— At the close of this Conversation Canning told me that he had left despatches at home unopened, which came by the Packet— It appeared to 170me that he came for the purpose of gathering materials for a despatch— He kept up his habitual reserve and caution in withholding all opinions of his own; and pursued as usual with great earnestness the discovery of my opinions— I took to the President’s a remonstrance against the appointment of Ashur Ware, as District judge of the United States, in the State of Maine, which I had received together with a Letter from Mr Joshua Wingate— The President told me that the House of Representatives had chosen Mr Philip P. Barbour of Virginia their Speaker— He was a new candidate, started this morning, and came in at the 12th. ballot by a vote of 88 upon 173— I asked the President what papers should be sent to Congress; and he concluded to send with the Message only those relating to the taking possession of Florida— This Evening, Mr Peter Little, a member from Maryland, and Dr Watkins called here— Mrs Adams was ill in bed the whole day.