John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

272 Washington Tuesday 9. March 1841.

9. V. Tuesday.

Freeman Russel Bulfinch Revd Downing Charles Mrs Downing. Lancaster Whittlesey Elisha Fosdick

Mr Freeman called early this morning to take leave and say that he had seen Mr Webster, who assured him that if the appointment of Collector at New-Bedford depended upon his Department, he would be very favourably disposed towards him. With this cheering encouragement Mr Freeman goes home, to expectation and disappointment— The Revd. Mr Bulfinch now Pastor of the Unitarian church came to represent his claim to some office in one of the Departments; because having been appointed during my administration, to a clerkship of 800 dollars, he had under the Jackson rule been unjustly dismissed for pretended inefficiency in the performance of his duties— He requested a Letter of recommendation from me, which I declined to give because I give none. Elizabeth and Mr Smith rode with me to the Capitol— I waited upon tenterhooks, half an hour for the meeting of the Court— A young man named Charles Hopkins from Vermont came and requested me to present him for admission as an Attorney and Counsellor of the Court, which I did— He told me he had already been admitted to the Circuit Court— He was accordingly admitted and sworn.— Judge Story delivered the opinion and decree of the court in the case of the United States Appellants vs the Schooner Amistad. It affirms the decision of the District and Circuit Courts excepting with regard to the Negroes— It reverses the decision below placing them at the disposal of the President of the United States to be sent to Africa; declares them to be free and directs the Circuit Court to order them to be discharged from the custody of the Marshal— Judge Baldwin expressed some dissent from the opinion which I did not hear nor did I learn what it was— I went to the chamber of the Committee of Manufactures and wrote to Mr Roger S. Baldwin at New-Haven, and to Mr Lewis Tappan of New-York to inform them of the decision of the Court, and gave the Letters to Mr M’Cormick the Postmaster of the House— The Court had adjourned— I went into the Senate chamber, and heard a fiery debate on the proposed resolution to dismiss Blair and Rives as the Printers of the Senate— Henry Clay closed a short, and intemperate speech by declaring some personalities uttered against him by William R. King of Alabama false—untrue—and cowardly. The Senate shortly after adjourned; but in the meantime Dr Linn of Missouri had delivered a note from Mr King to Mr Clay, and there was a rumour that King and Clay were both arrested by warrants from a magistrate. I went to the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court and wrote a motion for a mandate to the marshal of the District of Connecticut to discharge forthwith the Amistad captives from custody.— I called on Mr Crittenden the New Attorney General to ask his consent to this motion— He said he saw no objection to it— I had Evening visits from Mr and Mrs Downing of Florida, and from Elisha Whittlesey with Mr Fosdick— I saw Mr Gales at the National Intelligencer Office.