John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

25. VI:30. Robert S. Garnett, a member of the House of Representatives from Virginia called this morning to take leave, and left the City this day— G. B. English came to my house and afterwards to the Office, with his account, on the allowance made him by the President— At the rate of 2000 dollars a year to the close of the present month— The warrant was made out, but I told him he must wait till the day, for payment. I called at the President’s and reported to him the result of my Conference yesterday with Mr Rebello; and he determined to receive him as Chargé d’Affaires from the Emperor of Brazil at One O’Clock tomorrow— The President upon being informed that A. Hamilton had consented to his resignation’s taking effect from this time, renewed the nomination to the Senate of W. G. D. Worthington— At the Office, a succession of visitors, absorbed all my time— W. Plumer and G. Tomlinson, John Reed and John Locke, all members of the House, came to take leave— G. M’Duffie with B. S. Watts appointed as Secretary of Legation to the Mission to Colombia— Edward Ingersoll of Philadelphia, and John Warner, Consul at the Havana, but now here on his annual Summer visit, to escape from the yellow fever— Plumer spoke to me of the Report of the Committee of Investigation in the case of Mr Edwards and Mr Crawford, which was this day made to the House— It admits all the facts charged by Edwards but acquits Mr Crawford of all evil intention—explicitly states that the charge of having mismanaged the finances is not supported by the Evidence, and exhibits from beginning to end, a prevailing bias in his favour— It abstains however from expressing an opinion against Mr Edwards, which is more 337than I expected. Plumer says it has been remarked that for several days past, Webster has been in continual close private conferences with Forsyth, Cuthbert and Cobb, Crawford’s most intimate friends and supporters; and he said to Plumer yesterday with some temper, that he considered Edwards as having made a base attack upon Crawford— Plumer added further, that Burton of North-Carolina, had spoken to him and expressed great solicitude, that my friends should not in this Affair take part against Crawford— Burton observed that Mr Crawford’s friends were beginning to consider the state of his health as desperate, and that it would be necessary for them to fix upon another Candidate— The were very averse to Genl. Jackson, but most emphatically so to Mr Calhoun; and Burton was very anxious that I should keep upon good terms with them— Tomlinson left with me a Letter from Samuel Whiting to him, applying for a copy-right for a School-book, and complaining that Mr Cardell, Secretary to the American Academy of language and Belles-Lettres, had refused to pay him a premium of 200 dollars for the best Schoolbook that should be sent in within a given time; as had been promised by the Academy— His book having been the only one sent in he thinks himself entitled to the premium— Mr Addington came to enquire what time I should probably be ready to despatch the ratified Convention— I said that it would be impossible for me to prepare the despatches which must go with it to Mr Rush until after the close of the Session of Congress— The proceedings in the Senate would in the meantime be published, with the last Message of the President, copies of which I wished to communicate to Mr Rush, to shew the earnestness and sincerity of the Executive in pressing the ratification— Addington said he should give the fullest explanations of the causes from which the opposition here in the Senate had arisen, and state explicitly that unless the present Convention should be ratified, there was no prospect that anything could be done. He fully believed that the last Message of the Senate was the only thing that had saved the Convention, and before it was sent in he had nearly abandoned all hope of the ratification. John Edwards the itinerant preacher came again about the pardon of Perez. I told him I should write to Mr Tillotson the District Attorney, and he must wait patiently for the answer— He was much afraid of what Tillotson would write, for he said he had taken extraordinary pains to procure the conviction of Peréz— Evening walk, and wrote afterwards a little.