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 down the navy, nor spunge the national
debt. Finding his mind made up as to the usurpation of the government by
the President of the Senate, I urged it no further, observed, the
world must judge as to myself of the future by the past, and turned the
conversation to something else. About the same time, Dwight Foster of
Massachusetts called on me in my room one night, and went into a very
long conversation on the state of affairs, the drift of which was to let
me understand, that the fears above mentioned were the only obstacle to
my election, to all of which I avoided giving any answer the one way
or the other.
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