Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1867-09-20
The Infamous Removal Of
Sheridan.


The New York Kadepeadelt makes the
following appropriate and vigorous
comments on JohnsOn's infamous vio-
Iatiqn Of the reconstruction law in the
removal of Sheridan. The same re-
marks equally apply to the removal Of
Sickles;
General Grant justly insisted that if
Sheridan were removed, Sheridan's or
ders should nevertheless remain in force.
Ths3exact language of General Grant
Onthis point, lin the order to General
/ Ihomas,) is as follows F.: stTO continue
70 execute al orders he might fiud in
force IN the Fifth Military District at
the time of his assuming command OF
il, unless authorized by the General OF
the Army to annul, alter, or modify
them" General Grant had plain and
unmistakable legal right to issue such
an 1niunctloh, or any other which be
saw fts His legal right to do this was
expressly vested in him by act Of Con
gress, March, 1867, In these words
''tEC. 2 Ind be It further enacted That the
commander OF any district named in said
act shall have power, subject to the dfsappro-
xRl OF the General Of the ARMY 0ftbe TTTifed
states, and to have effect until uisaDDrOved
whenever In the opinion OF such command.
er the proper administration of said act
sna require 1t, to suspend or remove from
o1hce, or from the performance of ofhcIal
or protesting TO hold or exercise auv civil
under any power, election appointment, or
3u6hOr1by- derived 1EOm, or granted bV- or
claimed under r, any so-called state, or. the
other division thereof and upOn such sus-
pension or removal, such commander, sub
ject to the dfs02ITOUat ~ The General oforesdid
shall have power to provide from time to
time for the performance Of the said duties
OF such ofncer or person so suspended or re-
moved, by the detail of some competent
officer or soldier of the aTmv or bv the an
pOintment OF some other person to perform
the same, and to I'LL vacancies Occasioned
by death, resignation, or otherwise
''SEC. 3. Ind Be It further enacted, That the
General of the armies Of the United States
shall be invested with all the powers of sus-
pension, removal, appointments, and detail
granted IN the preceding section to district
Now what is the meaning of these
two sections of the Reconstruction Acts
The plain English of them is that the
district commanders should be subject
to Gen. Grant, since he was a man
whom Congress could trust and not
SUBJECT Ec the President, since he was
man whom Congress could not trust.
The act expressly took away from the
President certain powers which, if no
such act had passed. would have been
his but which, as soon as the act was
passed, became Gen. Grants, And this
was the Presidents own view of Cen
eral Grants powers under this act, as
expressly set forth in his veto Of the
act Thus the President savs.in his We
to message dated July 1a, 1867 stThie
/ act vests in the military commanders
subject only to the approval ofthe Cen
eral of the armies of the United States
an unlimited power to remove any civ
| II or military officer in each of these
| ten states. He says, moreover, in the
same message "Ihe military COM
mander is, as to the power of appoint
ment, made to take the place of the
president, and the General ofthe Army
the place of the Senate" Further he
says, Military officers, looking TO the
authority given by these laws, rather
than to the letter of the Constitution
viii recognize no authority but the
commander Of the district, and the
| General of the Army. THE POWER or
THE PRESIDENT IS EFFECTUALLY TAX
EN- AWAY" Exactly so : And when
| this act of Congress, thus vetoed, was
passed despite the veto, It was so pass
ed for the very reason which the Presi-
| dent signed-namely that military
| officers in the ten states should "recog-
nize no authority but the General Of
the Army" and that ''the power of the
President should be '!effectually TAX
en- away"
Such was the Presidents own inter
probation Of the act when be vetoed it !:
but, now that he wishes to use the law
for his own tyrannOus purposes, he has
I
Interpretation by which military Off
GERS sh all not recognize the authority
/ of the General of the Army" and bV
which the Npower of the President
shall not be ''effectually taken away
an Interpretation, which he has even
! persuaded Gen. Grant to accept. But
Gen. Grant might have said to the Presi-
dent, ''Sir if the text Of the law is not, OF
itself, sufficiently plain as to what are
/ my powers, have, in addition, youI
own official Interpretation of the law
/ dated July IS, to warrant me in my re.
/ sistance to your schemes" Perhaps he
/ did say this in that conversation il
(which las The Tribune's correspondent
informs us) che told Mr.. Johnson very
/ plainly that correct Interpretation o
Ethe Reconstruction Act gave the Presi.
dent no authority to overrule the Gen,
keral's instructions to Thomas in respec
/ to carrying out the orders of Sheridan
| Or perhaps he said something like it in
that letter TO the President (since with
drawn and canceled) in which we ar,
told that che made a direct issue with
the Executive in regard to the assign
ment of Gen. HancOck''-the same let
ter in which las we are also told) be
states "that the Reconstruction AC,
vests in him the power to see that the
district commanders under him faith
fully execute she law, and subjects tc
his approval or disapproval all orders
that they may issue"-the same letter
in which (as we are still further told
right to annul paragraph 5, which di-
reCted Thomas TO keep in force the or
ders of Sheridan"