Benns: British West India Carrying-Trade 143 
That the Senate was prevented from bringing this disaster 
upon the United States was due, the New York American be- 
lieved, to the real Americanism of the House. 
The bill then perished, because the House would not consent to make it 
the interest of England to keep her ports closed to us for one year cer- 
tain, with the assurance of being better off at its termination than when 
the controversy began — because they would not consent to see the flag 
of their country struck, and supplanted in our own ports, by a foreign 
flag — because they would not humble themselves at the feet of Mr. Can- 
ning, and beg as a boon for that to which they have a right."^”” 
A foreign paper viewing the situation in the United States 
believed that Congress, by adjourning without adopting any 
measure to meet the commercial difficulty, had left the Admin- 
istration to unwind the “Gordian knot of difficulty which was 
woven by their hands”. The means to this end were already 
in the hands of the Executive, according the the National 
Journal. Congress having seen fit to pass no new law, it re- 
mained for the President to carry into execution such laws as 
did exist, in other words to issue the proclamation provided for 
in the act of Congress of March 1, This act, passed to 
meet the requirements of the British act of 1822, provided that 
in case Great Britain should ever withdraw from American 
vessels the privileges extended to them by the British act, the 
President should issue his proclamation stating the fact, 
whereupon the American navigation acts of 1820 and 1818 
should once more be in force. 
This was precisely what the President was contemplating. 
Sometime before final action had been taken in the Senate, 
Adams had come to the conclusion that it was “extremely 
doubtful” whether any act of Congress would be passed on 
the subject, and had resigned himself to taking upon his own 
shoulders the “responsible burden” in case Congress meant to 
shift it upon the Executive.^^^ Immediately following the ad- 
journment of Congress at least three Cabinet meetings were 
held to discuss various phases of the situation which called 
for clarification.^®^ Points concerning which doubt was ex- 
pressed were: (1) whether the trade had been prohibited by 
New York American (for the country), March 20, 1827, 
101 Acadian quoted in the St. Christopher Gazette; and Charihhean Courier, July 
6, 1827. 
National Journal, March 17, 1827. 
103 Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, VII, 231. 
101 /bid., VII, 236, 237, 238. 
