- O’Sullivan— Barbe
- Lowe
- Fitch Stephen
- Patterson. William
- Lorman
- Clark
- Bainbridge. William
- Morris. Charles
- Foote
Mrs
O’Sullivan came to tell me the tale of her distresses; and
the pressure of her pecuniary wants— A loan of a few hundred dollars
would relieve her from much embarrassment, and she would doubtless be
able in six or nine months to repay it— Her rich wardrobe had been
seized and sold for almost nothing in Kentucky; and since she saw me
last, her lodgings at Baltimore had been broken into, by a sheriff and
her furniture sacrificed to pay trifling debts. She shewed me a Letter
from Mr
Coale of Baltimore mentioning these facts to her; and
advising her if she could pay her debts to return to that place— I asked
her where her husband was— She said at
New-Orleans— Ut cum ratione insanias—reasoning madness, seems to be the
misfortune of this woman— Her case deserves compassion, but it scarcely
is possible to render service to her— Mr Lowe had sent me a number of
Letters recommending him for the appointment of Clerk in the
Post-Office— He came now to solicit my influence with the Postmaster General in obtaining it, in
the event of the passage of a Bill now before Congress, authorising the
appointment of several additional Clerks in that Department. He said the
Postmaster General had told him the President had earnestly recommended
some person to him, and that the President’s recommendation must be
decisive— I told him he must have mistaken the Postmaster General, for I
did not recollect that I had ever recommended any person to him for a
Clerk’s appointment. He said it was while Mr Monroe was President—
I declined interfering and he took back his papers. Stephen Fitch a man having the
appearance and manners of a quaker, came and told me that he had come
hither with Red Jacket, and two
others of the New-York Seneca and Oneida Indians: to complain of wrongs,
in regard to the purchase of their Lands— That he himself had been
extremely anxious to see me; and although he had been advised not to
come, and told that I should probably not receive him, he had yet
determined to make the experiment, and Red Jacket was equally desirous
to see his father the President. I told him that I had been glad to see
him, and would with equal pleasure— But that any complaint or
representation that they had to make with regard to the Lands must be to
the Department of War— I had this day sent to the Senate Message N. 23.
with all the papers addressed directly to me, relating to these
complaints of the New-York Indians— I sent them in answer to a
Resolution of the Senate, requesting all the papers, relating to the
Treaty made by Governor Cass and
T. L. M’Kenney, of the
Butte des Morts, last Summer, with the Winnebago and Menominie Indians,
which is now before the Senate— The direct access to the President, in
all their transactions with this Government, and especially in the
representation of all their grievances, they take greatly to heart: and
with much more reason than the white hunters—that is office hunters—
This access I have never denied to any one of colour; and in my opinion
of the duties of a Chief-Magistrate of the United States it ought never
to be denied— The place-hunters were not pleasant visitors or
correspondents and they consume an enormous disproportion of time— To
this personal importunity the President ought not to be subjected; but
it is perhaps not possible to relieve him from it, without seducing the
man from the intercourse of the people more than comports with the
nature of our Institutions. Mr William Patterson and
Mr
Lorman of Baltimore, came as a deputation from their great
Railroad Company—with a Letter from the President, Thomas, requesting that the Engineers
in the service of the United States who have already been employed as
assistants in their preliminary surveys, might be directed to continue
with them— I told them I was entirely disposed to comply with their
request, but referred them to the Secretary
of War— Mr Clark, a member of the House from Kentucky
called and spoke of the approaching Elections in Kentucky— That of
Governor and for the Legislature of the State, will be in August, and
its issue will be decisive of the result of the subsequent choice of
Electors of President and Vice-President which will take place in
November— He said there was a Pamphlet written by Samuel D. Ingham, against me, printed
here at the commencement of this Session of Congress, and of which many
thousand copies 460had been sent by members of
Congress franked into Kentucky and all the Western Country. He thought
it related to my old accounts— And he asked me, if I could not find time
to write an answer to it, which might be circulated in like manner— I
told him that the pamphlet was not upon my accounts, but another Slander, representing me as a monarchist— That it
was a publication by a Jackson-electioneering Committee at Philadelphia—
That it had been answered by Jonathan
Roberts to all substantial purposes as well as I could
answer it myself: and that in the Speeches of E. Everett, C. Dorsey, and J. C. Wright, all the calumnies which
Ingham and his associates are pouring forth against me have been
answered, and refuted— Commodores
Bainbridge and Morris came in, and Mr Clark
left me— They are going with Commodore
Chauncey to Norfolk to fix upon the location there of the
Dry Dock. Mr
Foote is a young man from Virginia, who was introduced to
me at a late Drawing Room; and who after writing me two Letters
yesterday came this day in person, merely to borrow a small sum of
money. We had company to dine— William Addams, Heman Allen, John Baldwin, John S Barbour, Isaac D. Barnard, James Bayard, George O. Belden,
Samuel Bell, Horace Binney,
Ezekiel F. Chambers, John C.
Clark, Henry
Daniel, John
Davenport, Jonas Earll junr, Dr.
Everett, John Floyd
of Georgia, Edmund P. Gaines,
Levin Gale, Mr Gilmer,
Horatio Greenough,
John Hallock
junr. Mr
Harding, Jonathan
Harvey, Charles E.
Haynes, Isaac Hull,
Charles J.
Ingersoll, Joseph R. Ingersoll,
Jeromus
Johnson, Mr
Lorman, Louis
M’Lane, Mr Ray, MrMagruder, Henry C.
Martindale, Captain
Nicholson, William Patterson, Mr Prout, John B. Ray, James Robertson junr. Samuel L. Southard, Coll.
Southard, John W.
Taylor, Daniel
Turner, Thomas H.
Williams, N. F.
Williams, John Woods—
Those underscored were invited but did not come. There were no Ladies at
the Table, though Mrs Martindale had been
invited— With Johnson Hellen and
John, we sat down 34. I did not
write, in the Evening—