778 



MEMOIRS OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



that a motion might be made to have Fleischmann's memo- 

 rial at the last session of Congress reprinted; which was 



agreed to. 



February 27, 1840. 



In the House, Crabb, of Alabama, had the floor on the 

 New Jersey election debate. I asked him to allow me to 

 present a report and documents from the Smithsonian Be- 

 quest Committee. He said that with the general consent 

 of the House, if no objection were made, he would readily 

 yield me the floor for that purpose. Turney of Tennessee, 

 objected, and I could not report my bill. 



March 5, 1840. 



I presented from the Committee of the Smithsonian Be- 

 quest bill, an amended bill, with the report which I had 

 prepared, and sundry documents, including the messages of 

 December, 1835, and of 6th and 7th December, 1838, and 

 my report of January, 1836; also an estimate of the expense 

 of erecting and establishing an astronomical observatory. 

 I stated also that a member of the committee, Dixon H. 

 Lewis, would prepare a minority report, which the com- 

 mittee proposed should also be printed, together with the 

 memorial of Charles Lewis Fleischmann, presented at the 

 last session of Congress and then printed. James Monroe 

 proposed that five thousand extra copies of my report should 

 be printed ; but the Speaker said it was not now in order, 

 and No was heard from several voices. I am convinced 

 that nothing good can be done upon this subject by this 

 Congress. 



April 8, 1840. 



At the National Intelligencer office, and, neither of the 

 editors being there, I left a copy of my report on the Smith- 

 sonian Bequest bill to be published in the paper. 



April 14, 1840. 



Morning visit from Mr. Stone the engraver, and Mr. Jager, 

 a German, native of Vienna, now professor of botany and 

 zoology at the college of Princeton. We had an easy con- 

 versation of upwards of an hour, in which the Professor 

 expressed the opinion that too much time was devoted at 

 our colleges and universities to the study of Greek and 

 Latin. He spoke rather slightingly of Prince Galitzin, and 

 of the late Emperor Alexander^ as infected with bigotry 

 from excessive reverence for the Bible, which he said was 

 the disposition of all the Galitzins he had ever known. I 



