The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1868-02-14
THE TRANSCRIPT.
Friday, February IL, 1865.
Tlo Grant Johnson Correspond-
, eftcc.

allow yourself TO say contains many ana
,-ro.s misrepresentation. These gentle
mon heard that conversation and read
nv statement. They speak for them
selves. and / leave the proof without a
word of comment" The Presidents
statement, ii should here be stated, is
endorsed by each memberof the Cabinet
except Mr.. Stanton. Concerning what
Gen. Grant said about his accept
ance of the Office ofSecretary of War, he
says:
You admit that the very beginning of
what YOU term the "whole history of
YOUR connection with Mr.. Stanton ssus-
pension, yOu intended to circumvent the
President. 1t was TO carry ont that i'll
tent that you accepted the appointment.
This was in your mind at the time Of
your acceptance. 1t was not then ia
obedience TO the order OF your superior
"a heretofore supposed that you assumed
the duties of the office. You knew it
was the Presidents purpose to prevent
Mr.. Stanton from remaining in the
office OF Secretary Of War, and YOU in
tended to defeat that purpose. You ac-
cepted the Office, not in the interest of
the President, but Of Mr.. Stanton.
If this purpose 50 entertained by you
had been confined TO y0urself-if when
accepting the Office you had done 50 with
q mental reservatiOn-to Illustrate the
President. il would have been local de-
ception. In the esteem Of some persons
such course is allowable, but you can
not stand even upon that questionable
ground.
The history of your connection 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 in
duced him to suppose that you would
carry out his purpose to keep Mr.. STAN
ton out of office by retaining it yourself
after an attempted restoration by the
Senate so as to require Mr.. Stanton to
establish his rights by judicial decis-
sion. l now give that part of this his
tory as written by yourself in your letter
OF the 2Sth ult.
Sometime after | assumed the duties
of Secretary of War ad interim, the Presi-
dent asked me my views as to the course
Mr.. Stanton would have to pursue in
case the Senate should not concur in his
suspension, TO obtain possession of this
office My reply was in substance that
Mr.. Stanton would have to appeal to the
courts to reinstate him, illustrating my
position by citing the ground | had TAX
en- in the case of the Baltimore Police
Commissioners.
Now at that time, as you admit in
your letter Of the Sd, you held the Of
flee for the very object of defeating an
appeal to the Courts. In that letter
you say that in excepting the office one
motive was to prevent the President from
appointing,some other person who would
retain possession and thus make judicial
proceedings necessary. You knew the
President was unwilling to trust the
Office with any one who would not by
holding II compel Mr.. Stanton to resort
10 the courts. You perfectly understood
that IN the interim some time after YOU
accepted the office the President, not
content with your place, desired an eX-
preston of your views and YOU answer
ed him that Mr.. Stanton would have to
appeal to the Courts. If the President
had reposed confidence before he knew
your views, and that confidence had
been violated, ii might have been said
he made mistake; but a violation of
confidence repOsed after that conversa-
ton was no mistake of his nor of yours.
1t Is the fact only that needs be stated
mat AT the date Of the conversation you
did not intend 10 hold the office with
purpose of forcing Mr.. Stanton into
Court, but did hold il then and accept
ed il TO prevent that course from being
carried out. In other words. YOU said
80 the President that is the proper course,
and you said to yourself" l have accept
ed this office and now hold il TO defeat
that course" The excuse YOU make in
subsequent paragraph of that letter of
the 18th ult., that afterwards you chang
ed your views as to what would be pro-
per course, has nothing TO do with the
point under consideration. The point
is, that before you changed your views
you had secretly determined to do the
very thing which at last YOU did-sur-
render the office to Mr. Stanton. You
may have changed your views as to the
law, but you certainly did not change
your views as to the course YOU had
marked out for yourself from the begin
ming.
The President says he did give Cen
Grant instructions, in writing, not to
obey any order from the War Depart
ment assumed to be issued by the diTec-
tom of the President unless such order
is known by the General commanding
the armies of the United States to have
been authorized by the Executive. We
quote further from the letter:
The President issues an order to you
to obey no order from the War Depart
ment purporting To be made by the
direction of the President until you
have referred it to him for his approval
You reply that you have received the
III J., oh
but Will obey an order purpOrting TO be
given by his direction. If it comes
from the War Department" you will
obey no direct order ofthe President but
viii obey his indirect order If, as you
say, there has been a practice in the
war Department to issue orders in the
name of the President without his direc-
uon does not the precise order you have
requested and have received change the
practice as to the General of the army?
Could not the President countelmand
Any such order issued to you from the
war Department? If you should re-
eeiYe an order from that department is
sued IN the name of the President to add
a special act, and an order directly from
me PRESIDENT himself not to do the act,
) mere doubt which you are to obey?
ST. johnson concludes his letter by
saying:
Without further comment upon the
Insubordinate attitude which YOU have
assumed am at a loss TO know how YOU
can relieve yourself from the orders of
the President who Is made by the Con-
sttutlon the COMMUNICATIVE of
the Army and Navy, and is therefore
The official superior as well of the Gene
sal of the Army as Of the Secretary of
War.
iien. Grant replies to the Presidents
letter in very dignified manner. He
admits nothing contained in the state
ments Of the President, but disclaims
any intention, now or heretofore. of dis
obeying any legal order ofthe President,
directly communicated.
Aeie Hampshire Election.