me on that occasion by General
Smith, nor any answer authorized by me. And this fact General Smith
affirms at this moment.

For some matters connected with this, see my notes of February the 12th
and 14th, 1801, made at the moment. But the following transactions
took place about the same time, that is to say, while the Presidential
election was in suspense in Congress, which, though I did not enter at
the time, they made such an impression on my mind, that they are now
as fresh, as to their principal circumstances, as if they had happened
yesterday. Coming out of the Senate chamber one day, I found Gouverneur
Morris on the steps. He stopped me, and began a conversation on the
strange and portentous state of things then existing, and went on to
observe, that the reasons why the minority of States was so opposed to
my being elected, were, that they apprehended that, 1. I would turn all
federalists out of office; 2. put down the navy; 3. wipe off the public
debt. That I need only to declare, or authorize my friends to declare,
that I would not take these steps, and instantly the event of the
election would be fixed. I told him, that I should leave the world
to judge of the course I meant to pursue, by that which I had pursued
hitherto, believing it to be my duty to be passive and silent during the
present scene; that I should certainly make no terms; should never go
into the office of President by capitulation, nor with my hands tied by
any conditions which should hinder me from pursuing the measures which
I should deem for the public good. It was understood that Gouverneur
Morris had entirely the direction of the vote of Lewis Morris of
Vermont, who, by coming over to Matthew Lyon, would have added another
vote, and decided the election. About the same time, I called on Mr.
Adams. We conversed on the state of things. I observed to him, that
a very dangerous experiment was then in contemplation, to defeat the
Presidential election by an act of Congress declaring the right of
the Senate to name a President of the Senate, to devolve on him the
government during any interregnum: that such a measure would probably
produce resistance by force, and incalculable consequences, which it
would be in his power to prevent by negativing such an act. He seemed to
think such an act justifiable, and observed, it was in my power to fix
the election by a word in an instant, by declaring I would not turn out
the federal officers, nor put dow