The Express.
London, England, 1868-02-24 00:00:00

PRESIDENT JOHNSON AND GENERAL

GRANT.

The New York papers of the 12th publish the
correspondence between President Johnson and
General Grant relative to the recognition of Mr.
Stanton as Secretary of War, and already referred
to in the telegrams. The following letter from the
general is the last of the series:

Headquarters Army of the United Slates,
Washingtar, D.C., Feb.ll, 1868.

ANDREW JOHNSON, PRIDUDENT OP THE

Sir,-1 have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of
your communication of the 10th instant., accompanied by
the statements of Ave cabinet ministers of their recollec-
tion of what occurred in cabinet meeting on the 14th of
January. Without admitting anything contained in
these statements where they differ from anything hereto-
fore stated by me, I propose to notice only that portion
of your communication wherein I am charged with in.
subordination. I think it will be plain to the reader of
my letter of the 30th of January that I did not
propose to disobey any legal order of the presi-
dent distinctly given, but only gave an interpretation
of what would be regarded as satisfactory evidence
of the President's sanction to orders communicated
by the Secretary of War. I will any here that your letter
of the 10th instant contain the first intimation I have bad
that you did not accept that interpretation. Now for
reasons for giving that interpretation: It was clear
to me before my letter of January 30 was written
that I, the person having more public business
to transact with the Secretary of War than any
other of the President's subordinates, was the only
one who had been instructed to disregard the authority
of Mr. Stanton, where his authority was derived as agent
of the President. On the 27th of January I received a
letter from the Secretary of War [copy herewith] di-
recting me to furnish an escort to the public treasure
from the Rio Grande to New Orleans, &c., at
the request of the Secretary of the Treasury to
him. I also send two other inclosnres, showing the
recognition of Mr. Stanton as Secretary of War by both
the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postmaster-
General, in all of which cases the Secretary of War
had to call upon me to make the orders requested, or give
the information desired, and where his authority to do
so is derived, in my view, as agent of the President.
With an order so clearly ambiguous as that of the
President's here referred to, it was my duty to inform the
President of my interpretation of it and to abide by that
interpretation until I received other orders. Disclaiming
any intention now, or heretofore, of disobeying any legal
order of the President, distinctly communicated, I remain,
very respectfully, your obedient servant,
11. B. GRANT, General.

That the President regards General Grant with
angry feelings, will be seen by the following extract

from Mr. Jeohnson's letter of the 12th :
You here admit that horn the beginning of what you
term the whole history of your connection with Mr. Stan.
ton's 'suspension, you intended to circumvent the Presidenk
It wee to carry out that intent that you accepted the ap-
pointment ; this was in your mind at the time of your ac-
ceptance. It was not then, in obedience to the order of
your superior, as had heretofore been supposed, that you
assumed the duties of the office. You knew it was
the President's purpose to prevent Mr. Stanton
from resuming the office of Secretary of War, and
you intended to defeat that purpose. You accepted
the office, not in the interest of the President, but of
Mr. Stanton. If this purpose, so entertained by you, had
been confined to yourself ; if, when accepting the office,
you had done so with a mental reservation to frustrate the
President, it would have been • tacit deception. In
the ethics of some persons such • crime is allow-
able, but you cannot stand even upon that ques-
tionable ground. The history of your connec-
tion with this transaction, as written by yourself,
places you in • different predicament, and shows that you
not only concealed your design from the President, but
induced him to suppose that you would carry out his pur-
pose to keep Mr. Stanton out of office by retaining it
yourself after an attempted restoration by the Senate, so
sate require Mr. Stanton to establish his right by judicial
decision.