- Whitney.
- Weed
- Reeves Robert
- Southard Samuel L.
- Thomas James
Mr Whitney and
Mr Weed are
two gentlemen from the interior of the State of New-York, visitors from
curiosity. Mr
Robert Reeves is a day watchman at the Treasury
Department: a native of Ireland, who boasts that he never went to school
a day in his life; and who brought for my perusal a well written
manuscript of about 100 pages, containing a plan for a bank, a
protecting Tariff, and a National currency and system of exchanges,
original, altogether his own, and far superior to any thing ever
proposed by any-one else— In this opinion he is perfectly sincere, and
although conscious of the lowliness of his condition, and of the
conclusion that other men may draw from this circumstance against his
plan, it is to him only a source of higher self admiration, in the
comparison between the greatness of his achievements and the smallness
of his means— He had communicated his manuscript to the late President Van Buren who had read it,
and conversed with him concerning it; but he was so taken with the sub
treasury that he could approve of nothing else— I paid a visit this
morning to Mr
Tyler who styles himself President of the United States
and not Vice-President acting as President which would be the correct
style— But it is a construction of the Constitution, in direct violation
both of the grammar, and context of the Constitution, which confers upon
the Vice-President on the decease of the President, not the Office, but
the powers and the duties of the said office— There is a dogmatical
article in the National Intelligencer, asserting this false
construction, which is not worth contesting, but which to a strict
constructionist would warrant more than a doubt whether the Vice
President has the right to occupy the President’s house or to claim his
Salary without an act of Congress.— He moved into the house, two days
ago, and received me in the old South-east Cabinet chamber.— He received
me very kindly, and apologized for not having visited me without waiting
for this call— To this I had no claim or pretension My visit was very
short, as there were several persons in attendance and among them
Mr
Southard now President of the Senate— I then called at the
Navy Department, where I found Mr Badger the Secretary,
returned from North Carolina, and renewed the recommendation of Mr
Kavasales for a chaplaincy in the Mediterranean squadron.
Then on Stephen Pleasonton,
5th. Auditor, with a Letter from
Philander Shaw, against the
removal of Isaac Dunham as
Light-house keeper at Nausett Point Eastham, which Mr Pleasonton enclosed with a strong
recommendation of Dunham, which I took to the Secretary of the Treasury, who said it
might perhaps save him— I left with him also a Letter from James Smith junr applying for the Office of Surveyor at Portsmouth
New Hampshire, and one from John
Otis in favour of Henry
Crocker at Barnstable— Long Evening visit from Coll. James
Thomas.