th. Congressional District of
Massachusetts—to which after a long struggle, andr
Nathan Appleton, who was the member of the House from
Boston, in the last Congress, but is now here as a member of a
deputation from certain memorialists in that City upon the Bank and
Deposit questions, was in the House— It was the regular day for the
reception of Memorials and Petitions, and H. L. Pinckney, who had the floor since last Monday for
an unfinished nullification Speech upon the Resolutions of the Virginia
Legislature, presented by Gordon, after some discussion consented to yield the
floor, for the order of the day. The States were called, beginning with
Maine; whence several Memorials were presented— One by the Speaker, from
8 persons of Portland, complaining of having been misrepresented by
F. O. J. Smith—who replied by
a Speech in justification of himself— When Massachusetts was called, I
presented the Resolutions of the Legislature, upon the Currency, and the
removal of the Public Deposits from the Bank of the United States, with
a very few remarks; touching somewhat personally upon the President—and I moved that they
should be read, printed, and laid on the table to be referred to a
select Committee with Instructions to report a plan for continuing to
the People the advantages resulting from a National Bank— Polk started up, and fell into an
idolizing and mawkish glorification of Doctor Andrew Jackson, with some
coarse and equally dull invective against me— I rose and said I should
not reply to his Speech; and gave notice once for all, that whenever any
admirer of the President of the United States, should think fit to pay
his court to him in the House, either by a flaming Panegyric upon him,
or by a rancorous invective upon me, he should never elicit one word of
reply from me
thriftmay follow fawning.”
Polk, shrunk back abashed into his shell, and said not a word— The lines
from Hamlet struck the House like a spark of electricity; and D. J. Pearce said to me laughing that
if Polk had not enough of that, he was too unreasonable— Benjamin Gorham presented the
Memorial from Boston, with some remarks— Motion to print the names of
the subscribers to the memorial contested and debated— Jones of Georgia moved that the part
of the motion to print, including the names should be laid on the Table,
and called for the yeas and nays— Rejected—79 to 106. Then the printing
was carried again by yeas and nays 108 to 78. Levi Lincoln presented the Worcester
County Memorial and Resolutions, with a handsome introduction— Horace Everett presented the
proceedings of a Convention in the County of Windsor, Vermont, against
the removal of the deposit, and in favour of their restoration— Millard Fillmore, a Memorial from
Buffalo, New-York, whereupon Abijah
Mann observed that there was a Branch of the Bank of the
United States at Buffalo— Various other Petitions and Memorials were
presented, till Vinton of Ohio moved to adjourn; which was carried— In
the Evening I went with my family to the Theatre, to see and hear
Mr
and Mrs Wood— The performances
were the Lottery Ticket, and Cinderella the farce was performed first.—
The Opera was Italian Music with English words— Mr and Mrs Wood have good voices,
but are rather indifferent performers— Mrs
Wood especially fat, fair, and forty, is far too heavy a personage for
the part of Cinderella— My Son John
has been highly delighted with her singing of certain popular and
sentimental Songs—particularly one of which the Irish words Savourneen
deelish form a part— He repeats these words so often, and with so much
feeling, that I surmise, there is something in the song that that
affects him, more than the music of Mrs
Wood’s voice.