cal a point
forced on him; but in conclusion, said, since he was brought into that
situation, he did not see but that he must receive Mr. Genet. Randolph
told the President, he was clear he should be received, and the
President said, he had never had any doubt on the subject in his mind.
Afterwards on the same day, he spoke to me again on it, and said, Mr.
Genet should unquestionably be received; but he thought not with too
much warmth or Cordiality, so only as to be satisfactory to him. I
wondered at first at this restriction: but when Randolph afterwards
communicated to me his conversation of the 24th, I became satisfied it
was a small sacrifice to the opinion of Hamilton.

March the 31st. Mr. Beckley tells me, that the merchants' bonds for
duties on six months' credit became due the 1st instant, to a very great
amount; that Hamilton went to the bank on that day, and directed the
bank to discount for those merchants all their bonds at thirty days,
and that he would have the collectors credited for the money at the
treasury. Hence, the treasury lumping its receipts by the month in its
printed accounts, these sums will be considered by the public as only
received on the last day; consequently, the bank makes the month's
interest out of it. Beckley had this from a merchant, who had a bond
discounted, and who supposes a million of dollars were discounted at the
bank here. Mr. Brown got the same information from another merchant,
who supposed only six hundred thousand dollars discounted here. But they
suppose the same orders went to all the branch banks to a great amount.

Eodem die. Mr. Brown tells me he has it from a merchant here, that
during the last winter, the directors of the bank ordered the freest
discounts. Every man could obtain it. Money being so flush, the six per
cents run up to twenty-one and twenty-two shillings. Then the directors
sold out their private stocks. When the discounted notes were becoming
due, they stopped discounts, and not a dollar was to be had. This
reduced six per cents to eighteen shillings and three pence; then the
same directors bought in again.

April the 7th, 1793. Mr. Lear called on me, and introduced of himself a
conversation on the affairs of the United States. He laughed at the
cry of prosperity, and the deriving it from the establishment of the
treasury: he said, that, so far from giving in to this opinion, and that
we were paying off our national debt, he was clear the deb