The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1868-02-07
The Gfunf-.JOhnson CORES
,D0IiolcRce.

Grant and President Johnson relating te
the suspension ofSecretary Stanton aho
his subsequent reinstatement in the wal
office. has found its way INTO PRINT
The correspondence is accompanied by
letter from Secretary Stanton IN WHICH
he saws he has had no correspondence
official or otherwise, with freslueh'
Johnson since August II. since ms
reinstatement the Secretary says no hils
had no communication with Mr.. John'
son has received no orders nom hlIn
and has issued none in his name. III APP
pears that the President gave verbal or
ders TO General Grant to the elect
that he was not to recognize MIR. Stan
ton as Secretary of War unless instruct
ed to do so by the President. General
Grant SAYS he wrote to the President ask
ing him TO reduce this order to writing.
To this letter he received another verbal
reply and again renewed his request to
have the order in writing. Gen. Grant
in his letter notices the misrepresenta-
ton and calumny regarding the manner
i'm which he turned over the war office
to Mr.. stanton, which appeared at the
time in the newspapers. These he flat
Nv refutes. Hethen details all that took
place between himselfan the President
previous to and after the reinstatement
of Mr.. Stanton.
Gen. Grant fatty denies that he
agreed to assist the President in his war
against the civil tenure act and the Con-
gress which passed it. We quote from
one of Gen. Grants letters to the Presi-
dent:
You know that we parted on Satur-
dav. the 18th ultimo, without any prom
Use on my part, either expressed or i'm
piled. to the effect that | would hold on
to the office of Secretary of War ad in
term against the action of the Senate,
or, declining to do so myself, would sur
render il to you before such action was
had. or that | would see you
again at any fixed time on the subject.
The performance of the promises alleged
to have been made by me, would have
involved resistance of the law, and an
inconsistency with the whole history Of
my connection with the suspension of
Mr.. Stanton.
From our conversation, and my writ
ten protest of August !, 1867, against the
removal of Mr.. Stanton, you must have
known that my greatest objection to his
removal was the fear that some one
would be appointed in his stead who
would, by opposition TO the laws relating
TO the restoration of the Southern States
to their proper relation to the Govern
ment, embarrass the army in the per-
Torrance of the duties especially impos-
ed upon it by the laws, and that it was
to prevent such an appointment OF Sec
rotary Of War ad interim, and not for the
purpose of enabling you TO get rid of Mr..
Stanton by nv Withholding it from him,
in opposition to the law, or not doing SO
myself surrender to one who, as the
statement and assumptions in your COM
munication plainly indicate, was sought,
and il was to avoid this danger, as well
as to relieve you from personal embar-
rassment i'm which Mr. Stanton's rein
statement would place you, that urged
the appointment of Governor Cox, be-
lieving that il would be agreeable TO you
and also to Mr.. StantOn-satisfied it was
the good of the country and not the Of
fee the latter desired.
On the 18th ultimo, in the presence of
Gen. sherman, / stated to you that
thought MIR. Stanton would resign, but
did not say | would advise him to do so.
On the 18th / did agree with Gen. Sher-
man to go and advise him to that course,
and on the 18th I had an interview alone
with Mr. Stanton, which led me TO the
conclusion that any advise to him of this
kind would be useless, and 50 | informed
General Sherman. Before | consented
TO advise Mr.. Stanton TO resign, under
stood from him, in conversation on the
subject, Immediately after his reinstate-
ment, that it was his opinion the act of
Congress, entitled IAN act temporarily
TO supply vacancies in the Executive
Department in certain cases, approved
Feb. 20, 1863, was repealed by subse-
quent legislation, which materially in
huenced my action. Previous 10 this
time | had no doubt that the law of 1863
was still in force, and notwithstanding
my action, a fuller examination of the
law leaves question in my mind wheth-
er il is or is not repealed.
This being the case, / could not now
advise his resignation lest the same dam
ger | apprehended from his first remov-
al might follow. The course YOU have
understood | agreed to pursue was in vio-
lation of law, and that without orders
from you, while the course I did pursue.
and which | never doubted YOU fully
understood, was in accordance with law
and not in disObedience to any orders of
my superior; and now Mr.. President.
when my honor as IA soldier and integri-
ty as man have been so violently as
sailed, pardon me for saying that can
but regard this whole matter, from be-
ginning TO end, as an attempt to involve
me in the resistance of law for which
you hesitated TO assume the responsible
lily, in order thus TO destroy my charac-
ter before the country. l am in a mea-
sure confirmed in this conclusion by
your recent orders directing me to DISC
hey orders from the Secretary of War.
my superior and your subordinate, with
out having countermanded the authori-
ty, am TO disobey. With the assurance,
Mr.. President, that nothing less than a
vlndicatiou OF my personal honor and
character could have induced this cor
on my part.