ladies of Fredericksburg, Virginia," whom he declined
to name because, as he said, in the present disposition of the
country, "he did not know what might happen to them if he did name
them." Indeed, he added, he was not sure that the petition was
genuine; he had said, when he began to present his petitions, that
some among them were so peculiar that he was in doubt as to their
genuineness, and this fell within the description. Apparently he had
concluded and was about to take his seat, when he quickly caught up
another sheet, and said that he held in his hand a paper concerning
which he should wish to have the decision of the Speaker before
presenting it. It purported to be a petition from twenty-two slaves,
and he would like to know whether it came within the rule of the House
concerning petitions relating to slavery. The Speaker, in manifest
confusion, said that he could not answer the question until he knew
the contents of the document. Mr. Adams, remarking that "it was one of
those petitions which had occurred to his mind as not being what (p. 270)
it purported to be," proposed to send it up to the Chair for
inspection. Objection was made to this, and the Speaker said that the
circumstances were so extraordinary that he would take the sense of
the House. That body, at first inattentive, now became interested, and
no sooner did a knowledge of what was going on spread among those
present than great excitement prevailed. Members were hastily brought
in from the lobbies; many tried to speak, and from parts of the hall
cries of "Expel him! Expel him!" were heard. For a brief interval no
one of the enraged Southerners was equal to the unforeseen emergency.
Mr. Haynes moved the rejection of the petition. Mr. Lewis deprecated
this motion, being of opinion that the House must inflict punishment
on the gentleman from Massachusetts. Mr. Haynes thereupon withdrew a
motion which was so obviously inadequate to the vindictive gravity of
the occasion. Mr. Grantland stood ready to second a motion to punish
Mr. Adams, and Mr. Lewis said that if punishment should not be meted
out it would "be better for the representatives from the slave-holding
States to go home at once." Mr. Alford said that so soon as the
petition should be presented he would move that it should "be taken
from the House and burned." At last Mr. Thompson got a resolution (p. 271)
into shape as follows:--

"That the Hon. John Quincy Adams, by the attempt just