John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

16. V:30. Capitol.

Mr Lowrie brought me this morning the two Resolutions of the Senate adopted in Executive Session— The first declares that the question of the expediency of the Panama Mission, ought to be debated in Senate with open doors, unless the publication of the documents to which it would be necessary to refer in debate would prejudice existing Negotiations— The Second is a respectful request to the President of the United States, to inform the President whether such objection exists to the publication of all or of any part of those documents, and if so to specify to what part it applies?— These Resolutions are the fruit of the ingenuity of Martin van Buren, and bear the impress of his character— The Resolution to debate an Executive 95nomination with open doors is without example; and the 36th. Rule of the Senate is explicit and unqualified, that all documents communicated in confidence by the President to the Senate shall be kept secret by the members— The request to me to specify the particular documents the publication of which would affect existing negotiations was delicate and ensnaring. The limitation was not of papers the publication of which might be injurious; but merely of such as would affect existing negotiations; and this being necessarily a matter of opinion if I should specify passages in the documents as of such a character, any Senator might make it a question for discussion in the Senate, and they might finally publish the whole under the colour of entertaining an opinion different from mine upon the probable effect of the publication— Besides, should the precedent once be established of opening the doors of the Senate, in the midst of a debate upon Executive business, there could be no prospect of ever keeping them shut again. I answered the Resolutions of the Senate, by a Message stating that all the communications I had made to the Senate on this Subject had been confidential, and that believing it important for the Public Interest that the Confidence between the Executive and the Senate should continue unimpaired, I should leave to themselves the determination of a question, upon the motives for which, not being informed of them, I was not competent to decide. W. H. Harrison called to speak about the case of Bissell, and is extremely anxious that he should be restored to the army with the rank that he had— This was an old controversy between Mr Monroe and the Senate, in consequence of which the Office of Colonel of the second Regiment of Artillery has remained four years vacant— The Office of Adjutant General had remained in the same condition— At the extra Session of the Senate last March I nominated Coll. Jones to be the Adjutant General, and the Senate advised and consented to the Appointment— On the nomination of Bissell now, they have taken a different course, by passing a Resolution, that in the opinion of the Senate Bissell is entitled to rank as Coll. in the army from 1812. and as Brigadier General by Brevet from 1814 and that the President may arrange him accordingly— Which Resolution assumes that the President is to act according to the Senate’s opinion of the Law, and that the Senate are to inform him how he may perform his duty— Harrison spoke also of their Resolutions of yesterday and apologized for having voted for them— Mr Seymour came to speak of the appointment of a Collector in Vermont— The Delegation have not yet determined whether to recommend the reappointment of Fisk or not— He spoke also of the Resolutions adopted yesterday by the Senate, which he disapproves.