Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1868-02-21
The PRESIDENT.
LETTER OF SECRETARY SEWARD.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

! goui iSbtCl Was al NlDiLIGt
| While the members were assembling, and
before the President had entered the coun-
Gil chamber, General Grant, on coming iD,
said to me that he was in attendance not
as q member of the Cabinet, but upon in
vitation, and [ replied by the inquiry
whether there WAS q change in the War
Department. After the President had
taken his seat business went on in the us,,-
al way of hearing matters submitted by the
several Secretaries. When the time came
for the Secretary Of War, General Grant
said that he was now there, not as Socreta-
ry of War, but upon the Presidents invi-
tation; that he had retired from the War
Department. slight difference then APP
peared about the supposed invitation,
General Grant saying that the officer who
had borne his letter to the President that
morning, announcing his retirement from
the War Department, had told him that
the President desired to see him at the
Cabinet, to which the President answered.
that when General Grants communication
was delivered to him, the President simply
replied that he supposed General Grant
would be very soon at the Cabinet meet
ing. l regarded the conversation thus be-
gun as an Incidental one. It went on quite
informally, and consisted of o statement
on your part Of your views in regard to the
understanding of tie tenure upon which
General Grant had assented to hold the
! War Department dd interim, and of his re-
plies by way of answer and explanation.--
1t WIS respectful and courteous on both
sides. Being in this conversational form,
its details could only have been preserved
! by verbatim report. So far as [ know, no
such report was made at the time [ can
only give the general effect of the CONVEX
satlOD. Certainly you stated that although
you had reported the reasons for Mr.. Stan
toms suspension to the Senate, you never
theless held that he would not be entitled
to resume the office Of Secretary Of War,
even if the Senate should disapproye of his
suspension, and that you had proposed TO
have the question tested by judicial pro-
cess, to be applied to the person who
should be the incumbent Of the Depart
ment, under Your designation of Secretary
of War I'D interim, III the place of Mr.. Stan
| ton. You contended that this was well
understood between yourself and General
! Grant; that when he entered the War De
partment as Secretary at interim, he ex-
pressed his concurrence in the belief that
| the question Of Mr. Stanton's restoration
would be Il question for the courts; that in
| a subsequent conversation with General
Grant you had atlyerted to the understand
ing thus had, and that Gen. Grant express
/ ed his concurrence in it, that at some con-
versatiOn which lad been previously held
General Grant said he still adhered to the
same construction OF the law, but said if
he should change his opinion he would
give you seaSOnable notice of it, so that
you should, in any case, be placed in the
same position III regard to the War De-
partment that you were while Gen. Grant
held it Gd int.riDe. ] did not understand
Gen. Grant as denying, nor as explicitly
admitting these statements III the form
and full extent to which you made them.
His admission of them was rather indirect
and circumstantial, though l did not
understand it to be an evasive one. He
said that reasoning from what occurred in
the case of the police in Maryland, which
he regard as parallel one, he was of opin-
ion, and so assured you, that it would be
his right and duty, under your instructions,
to hold the War Office after the Senate
should disapprove OF Mr.. Stanton's suspen-
sion, until the question should lie decided
upon by the courts that he remained IN
til very recently of that opinion, and that
on the Saturday before the Cabinet meet
ing a conversation was held between your
self and him, in which the subject was gen
orally discussed. General Grants state
ment was, in that conversation he had sta
Gttl 20 you tIS "IlCu
arise involving fine and imprisonmentunder
tho civil-tcn1rc bill, and that he did not
care to subject himself to those penalties ;;
that You replied to this remark that you
regarded the ciyil-terure bill AS unc0nstitu-
tiona!, and did not think its penalties were
to be feared, or that. YOU would voluntarily
assume them and you insisted that Gen
eral Grant should either retain the office
until relieved by yourself, according to-
what you claimed was the original under
standing between yourself and him, or, by
reasonable notice of change of purpose on
his part, put you in the same situation in
which you would be if he adhered. You
claimed that General Grant finally said in
that Saturdays conversation that you I'M
derstood his views, and his proceedings
thereafter would be consistent with what
had been so understood. General Grant
did not controvert, nor can say that he
admitted this last statement Certainly
General Grant did not any time in the
Cabinet meeting insist that he had, In the
Saturdays conversation, either distinctly
or finally advised you Of his determination
to retire from the charge of the War De-
partment otherwise than under your own
subsequent direction. He acquiesced in
your statement that the Saturdays CONVEX
sation ended with an expectation that there
would be subsequent conference on the
subject, which he, as well as yourself sup
posed could reasonably take place on Mon
day You then alluded to the fact that Gen.
Grant did not call upon you on Monday, as
you had expected from that conversation.
General Grant admitted that it was his ex-
pectation or purpose to call upon you on
Monday. General Grant assigned reasons
for the omission. He said he was in con-
ference with General Sherman that there
were many little matters to be attended to
he had conversed upon the matter of the
incumbency Of the War Department with
General Sherman and he expected that
General Sherman would call upon you on
Monday. My own mind suggested far
Their explanatory but do not remember
whether it was mentioned or not, namely:
that it was not supposed by General Grant
on Monday that the Senate would decide
the question SO promptly as to anticipate
farther explanation between yourself and
him, if delayed beyond that day General
Grant made another explanation, that he
was engaged on Sunday with General Sher-
man, and / think also on Monday, in re-
gard to the War Department matter, with