After dinner, the renvoi of Genet was proposed by himself.  I opposed it on these topics.  France, the only nation on earth sincerely our friend.  The measure so harsh a one, that no precedent is produced where it has not been followed by war.  Our messenger has now been gone eighty-four days; consequently, we may hourly expect the return, and to be relieved by their revocation of him.  Were it now resolved on, it would be eight or ten days before the matter on which the order should be founded, could be selected, arranged, discussed, and forwarded.  This would bring us within four or five days of the meeting of Congress.  Would it not be better to wait and see how the pulse of that body, new as it is, would beat.  They are with us now, probably, but such a step as this may carry many over to Genet’s side.  Genet will not obey the order, &c. &c.  The President asked me what I would do if Genet sent the accusation to us to be communicated to Congress, as he threatened in the letter to Moultrie.  I said I would not send it to Congress; but either put it in the newspapers, or send it back to him to be published if he pleased.  Other questions and answers were put and returned in a quicker altercation than I ever before saw the President use.  Hamilton was for the renvoi; spoke much of the dignity of the nation; that they were now to form their character; that our conduct now would tempt or deter other foreign ministers from treating us in the same manner; touched on the President’s personal feelings; did not believe France would make it a cause of war; if she did, we ought to do what was right, and meet the consequences, &c.  Knox on the same side, and said he thought it very possible Mr. Genet would either declare us a department of France, or levy troops here and endeavor to reduce us to obedience.  Randolph of my opinion, and argued chiefly on the resurrection of popularity to Genet, which might be produced by this measure.  That at present he was dead in the public opinion, if we would but leave him so.  The President lamented there was not unanimity among us; that as it was, we had left him exactly where we found him; and so it ended.

November the 21st.  We met at the President’s.  The manner of explaining to Congress the intentions of the proclamation, was the matter of debate.  Randolph produced his way of stating it.  This expressed its views to have been, 1. to keep our citizens quiet; 2. to intimate to foreign nations that it was the President’s opinion, that the interests and dispositions of this country were for peace.  Hamilton produced his statement, in which he declared his intention to be, to say nothing which could be laid hold of for any purpose; to leave the proclamation to explain itself.  He entered pretty fully into all the argumentation of Pacificus; he justified the right of the President to declare his opinion for a future neutrality, and that there existed no circumstances to oblige the United States to enter into the war on