John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

31. VII. The stream of visitors is yet without intermission, not withstanding the adjournment of Congress— It is indeed for a week or ten days after the close of the Session, more copious than at any other time, excepting the first fortnight of the Session— I had this day Jonathan Jennings member from Indiana—D. B. English—A. Cuthbert of Georgia; a Mrs Royall, Baron Stackelberg, Messrs. White, King, and Tazewell, Florida Treaty Commissioners. Mr Addington, D. P. Cook, and E. Wyer—and after dinner, at home, Lieutt. Sherburne of the Navy. Mr Jennings came to take leave, and left a written application, for copies of his Letters and a statement of circumstances respecting the appointment of Charles Dewey as District attorney in Indiana— English for the final settlement of his account—also to take leave, and to urge again his application for further employment. Cuthbert upon a claim of a person named Maric—of Savannah, whose vessel was last Summer seized and confiscated in Hayti, for entering a Port of the Island contrary to a Proclamation of the Government— Maric petitioned Congress without effect, and Cuthbert now applies in his behalf to the Executive— He told me the papers relating to the case would be sent me from the Clerk’s Office of the House of Representatives; and wished me to specify what further documents would be wanted— Mrs Royall came as a Lady to ask relief, and complained of having been harshly treated elsewhere— Baron Stackelberg in great embarrassment about his bills of Exchange, upon his Government; which his correspondents at Baltimore have sold, and now refuse to pay over to him, the money they have received for them, until they shall receive advice from Sweden that they have been accepted— The Florida Treaty Commissioners came to say that they were preparing for the final close of their Commission. I returned to them the draft of a Report, which Messrs. White and Tazewell had some days since delivered to me, and told them that the President had read it, as I had also done, and nothing had occurred to either of us, as proper to be altered in or omitted from it— They observed upon the shortness of the time yet left them, and said that although they had given repeated notices, that they should receive no new Memorials after certain specified periods, they had not adhered to these rules, but expected they should have claims and arguments pouring in upon them to the very last hour of their Sittings. Mr Addington came to enquire if I was ready to despatch the ratified Convention— I had inclined to have sent it by a special Messenger, and last week had asked Addington if he could have a passage in the Packet, to which he had immediately assented— But the moment a suspicion of a special messenger got wind, I was beset with conflicting applications for it; so that I could not have gratified one applicant, without mortifying others, and the fund is so scanty from which the expence of a special messenger must have been paid, that I concluded to save it, and to send the Convention, by Mr Addington’s Messenger— I read to him the whole of my Instruction to R. Rush to go with the ratified Convention, with which he appeared to be entirely satisfied—and I had the Convention, with the Instruction, packed in a small trunk, addressed to Mr Rush, sealed up, and delivered with the key of the trunk, to Mr Addington, this Evening— D. P. Cook came and told me that he expected the arrival of Mr Edwards this evening. Cook said he thought Edwards ought to resign his appointment as Minister to Mexico, and devote himself to the complete developement of this affair— And as he could probably expect no justice from this Committee, he would determine whether on that avowed ground, to decline pursuing the subject before them and make a direct appeal to Congress or to the Nation, or after protesting against those 346members of the Committee who had prejudged the case, and taken side against him, to proceed in the investigation— I agreed with him that the best course for Mr Edwards to take, was to resign his Office; but I thought he should not decline the investigation, so far as it personally concerned himself. I remarked that in the present state of Mr Crawford’s health, it would be I thought at once wise and generous in Mr Edwards, if he would offer to take the report of the Committee so far as it went to acquit or excuse Mr Crawford, as final and conclusive, and to disclaim the intention of pressing farther any investigation of his official conduct— Wyer called at the Office, and spoke of the state of Mr Crawford’s health, which is a problem— Mr Ironside brought me an Act of Congress which in the hurry of the last day of the Session, and among the forty or fifty Acts then brought to him, for his examination and signature, by some accident missed of being signed by him. The question is whether it can be signed by him now— It is an act concerning wreckers on the Coast of Florida— I desired Mr Brent to ascertain whether it had been announced to the House in which the Bill originated that it had been signed— Lieutenant Sherburne came to urge again with great earnestness that Mr Hassler might again be employed for the surveys provided by a recent act of Congress to be made— While he was with me the Stage from Frederick passed by my house, and Mr Edwards was in it— I called afterwards at the President’s, having heard in the course of the day that he was going to-morrow to Loudoun— But he had concluded to postpone for some days his departure.