The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-11-26

The following is a Ver6dtIn report OF
General Grants testimony before the
Judiciary Committee, on which there
has been so much speculation In the
newspapers, and which has been
looked for with so much interest.
General Grant was examined July
18th, 1867 and testified us follows:
have seen the President very fre-
quently in reference to the condition OF
affairs in the rebel States; when ! was
ask ed TO be at a Cabinet meeting IL was
because some question was up In W hich,
as General of the Army, l was inter
esIed; / am not aware of interviews
with the President on amnesty; 1 had
| occasionally recommended u person
| for amnesty, and thought myself at
that time that there should be no reason
why, because person had risen to the
rank of General, he should be ex-
cluded from amnesty any more than
one who had failed to reach that rank;
spoke on that point. / did not say so
the only two points that remem Der to
have spoken OF at the time; 1 alter
wards, however, told him that thought
he was much nearer right on the $40, 600
clause than was; 1 was present when
The proclamation was read in the Cabi-
net, but my views were not asked; 1
never gave any opinion to the PEssi-
to issues proclamation OF general am
nesty.
Questionable you ever give your
opinion to the President that his prOcla-
nation interfered with the stipulations
| between yourself and General Lee?
Answer-No, sir; l frequently had TO
intercede for General Lee and other
paroled officers, on the ground that
their paroie, so long as they obeyed the
laws of the United States, protected
them from arrest and trial. The Presi-
dent at that time occupied exactly the
same grounds, viz: that they should be
tried and punished. He wanted to
they should be punished. L told him
not SO long as they obeyed the laws and
complied with the stipulation. That
was the ground took.
Questionable you not also insist
that that applied as well to the common
soldier? Answer-Of course 1t applied
| to every one who took the parole. But
that matter was not conversed about,
except in case of some oI the leaders. L
claimed that in the surrender of their
armies and arms, they had done what
they could not have been compelled to
do, as a portion of them could have
escaped, but they surrendered In con-
sideration of the fact that they were to
be exempt from trial as long as they
confOrmed to the obligations they had
taken, and they were entitled TO that.
Questiou-YOu looked on that in the
nature of parole, and held that they
could only be tried when they violated
that parole? Answer-Yes, that was
the view took of the question.
Question-That is your view still?
Answer-Yes, sir; unquestionably.
Questionable you understand that
| TO apply to General Lee9 Answer-Cer-
tainly.
Question-That was your understand
| ing of the arrangement Which you
made with General Lee7 Answer
That was my understanding of an ar
rangement which L gave Voluntarily.
General Lees army was the first to sur
render; and believe that with such
terms all the rebel armies would sur.
render, and that we would thus avoid
bushwhacking and a cOnttnuanceof OF the
war in a way that we could make very
little progress with, having no organ
| lied armies to meet.
Question-You considered that the
like terms were given by General Sher;
man to the armies which surrendered
to him? Auswer-Hes, sir; and to all
| the armies surrendered after that
Question-Aut you held'that SO long
as they kept their parole of honor and
obeyed the laws they were not subject
to be tried by Court2 Answer-That
was nv opinion. / will state here that
am not quite certain whether am
being tried or who Is being tried by the
questions asked.
Mr. Eldritlge-I am not trying any
body. I am inquiring about the Presi-
dents proclamation, and AS to the
views he entertained. Did you give
these views to the Presldent2
Gen, Grant-Ihave stated these views
to the President frequently, and, as l
have said, he disagreed with me in these
views, He Insisted on 1t that tho lead
ers must be punished, and wanted TO
know when the time would come that
these persons would be tried.
Questionable you consider that ap-
piled to JEFF. DavisH AnsWer-NO sir;
he did not take any parole.
Answer-No, sir; it applied to no per
son who WIS captured-only TO those
who were paroled.
Ouestion-Dld the President insist
that General Lee should be tried lot
treasonP Answer-He oontended Tor IT,
Question-And you claimed 10 nun
that the parole which General Lee nhu
given would be violated in such trlaI
AnsWer-I did. I insisted on II that
General Lee would not have SURRENDER
ed his army and given up all their atIns iIs
II he supposed that after SURRENDER ns
was going to be tried for treason anu
hanged. 1 thought we got very goou
in getting all their arms, ana gettlnB
themselves under control, bound oy
their oaths to obey the laws. Ihat was
the consideration which Insisted upon
we had received. ,
0uestiou-Did the President argue
tha: question with you? Answer
There WAS not much argument ABOUT
II. II was merely assertion.
ouestion-AGter you had expressed
voIIr opinion about 1t, did he coincloe
with you2 Answer-NoI sir, NOT tnsni
he afterwards got to agree wltn ne III pn
mat subject. never claimed that the
paroIe gave these prisoners any poiill.
cal rights whatever. tnought tlut
was a matter entirely with. Oongtess'
over which / had no control; that sim
ply as general-in-chief, coe commanuthhs .hS
he army, 1 had right to supulate tns
snrrander ON terms which proteoted
their lives. That is all claimed. Inc
naTole gave them protection and eX
emptioii from punishment Tor al oI
fences not in violation OF the Eules VI
civilized warfare, SO long as tnelr pa
role was kept. ,,,5.. shat
time Won had these conversations eau eau
1nn slate any particular time or up 10
Snv narticuiar time when they were
finishedP Auswer-The conversations
were frequent aIter the INCARCERATION nv VI
Nr. Johnson. cannot give tne tItue. ii
He seemed to be anxious.to get az n's tne
leaders 10 punish them. He wouIo sty
that the leaders OF the rebellion ~ ~
ha nunished, and that treason must De
made oifous. He cared nothing loE
the men in the ranks-the coln l. t,.o..
1au-he would let them go, for they
uISS - -. a. t,x, a a Ian CieFB and their