The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1868-02-07
INTERESTING DEYRLOPMENTS!
The Grant and johnson Cores
pondence.
4 FULL STATEMENT OF TIIE
M1 TTERSBY GEN. GR4NT. .
The Presidents Answer to Gen. Grant.
ANAsu1NGreS. Feb. i. 1SeS.

|
WASHINGTON, Feb. i. 1ScS.
The following is Gen. Grants letter
to President johnson in relation 10 the
Secretary of War matter:
HEAD QUARTERS ARMY OF THE L. 81
1 WASIfINGTON. ID. {. Jan. 18th
Llis E.eceUeacy 4Adfetc johnson, P''esf-
dent Of the United States:
SIR On the oath inst. l requested
you TO give me in writing the instruc-
lions which YOU had previously given
me verbally, not to obey any order from
the Hon. Z. II. Stanton, Secretary of
War, unless l knew it came from your
self. TO this written request, ] received |
message that has left doubt in my
mind of your intention. 10 prevent
any possible misunderstanding, there
me written instructions, and until they
are received will suspend action OH your
verbal ones.
am compelled to ask these instrIc-
tioas III writing, in consequence of the
many gross misrepresentation affecting
INV personal honor, circulated through
the press for the last fortnight, purport-
ing to come. from tho President, o. con-
versations which occurred either with
the President privately in his Office, or
iii Il Cabinet meeting. What is written
admits of no misunderstanding
IN view of the misrepresentation re-
ferred 20, it will be well to state the
facts IN the case. Some time after / as
sumed the duties of Secretary of War al
interim, the President asked my views
as TO the course Mr.. Stanton would have
j TO pursue, i'll case the Senate should not
concur in his suspension, to obtain pos
substance, that Mr.. Stanton would have
n fn l.n tn
illustrating my position by citing the.
grounds l had taken in the case OF the
Baltimore police commissioners. IN
that case did not doubt the technical
| right of Gov. Swami to remove the old
commissioners and appoint their sue
cessors, as the old commissioners refused
to give up. However, ] contcndcd that
no resource was left but toappeal to the
courts. Finding that tie President was
DESTROYS of keeping Mr.. Stanton out of
ofIiceswhether sustained in the suspen-
| sion or not, / stated 1 had not looked
| particularly into the tCnure-of-Ofiiceb bill,
| but that what had. stated was general
| principle, and if / should change my
mind in this particular case | would in
! form him of the fact. subsequently, on
reading the tenure-of-o office bill closely,
l found l could not, without q violation
oflaw, refuse to vacate the Office of Sec
was reinstated by the Senate, even
| though the President ordered me to re-
tain it--Which he never did. Taking
this view of the subject, and learning on
Saturday, the 18th inst, that the Senate
had taken up the subject of Mr.. Stantons
suspension. after some conversation with
Lieut.. Gen. Sherman and some members
of my staff, in which / stated that the
law left me no discretion as TO my action
ft. In cfnf nI1H
that intended to inform the President,
Invent TO the President for the sole pur-
| pose of making this knoWn-and did
make it so known. In this fulfilled the
promise made in our last proceeding
conversation on the subject The Pres
ident, however, instead of accepting my
views on the tenure-Of-office bill, con-
| tended that he had suspended Mr.. Stan
| ton under authority given him by the
+ Constitution, and that the same author
ity did not preclude him from reporting,
as All act OF courtesy, his reasons fer the
|. suspension to the Senate that, having
been appointed under authority given
! by the Constitution, and not under an
act of Congress, could not be govern
! ed by the act. / stated that the law was
binding on me, whether constitutional or
not, until set aside by the proper tribu-
nal. An hour was consumed, each re-
iterating his views of the subject, until
it was getting late, when the President
said he would see me again. l did not
agree to call again on Monday, nor at
any other definite time, nor was l sent
for by the President Until the following
Tuesday. From the 18th inst. to the
Cabinet meeting on the 18th instant,
doubt never entered my mind about
the President fully understanding my
position, namely, that if the Senate re-
fused to concur in the suspension of Mr..
Stanton, my power as Secretary of War
dd interim would cease, and Mr.. STAN
tons would, under the law. be indisput-
able /; and / acted accordingly.
With Mr.. Stanton / had no commu-
InicatiOn, direct or indirect, on the sub
ject of his reinstatement, during his sus-
pension. ] knew it had been recon-
nended TO the President to send the
name ofGOv. Cox, of Ohio. for Secretary
of War, and thus save all embarrassment;
n proposition that / sincerely hoped he |
would entertain tayorably, Gen. Sher-
man seeing the President, at my partic-
ular request, to urge this.
On the 18th, Mr. Stanton re-entcred
the Office of Secretary of War GEN |
Comstock, who had conveyed my official
letter announcing that in consequence
of Mr.. Stanton's reinstatement by the |
Senate had ceased to be Secretary of |
ident open and read the communication, |
brought back to me from the President |
a message that he would like to see me |
that day at a Cabinet meeting, after had |
made known the fact that was no long
or Secretary of War dd interim. At |
fllis Ineatineg, alton nIaoIains 1T as though /
i were a member of his Cabinet, when |
reminded of the notification that / had |
already given him that / was no longer
Secretary of War ad interim, the Presi-
dent gave version of the conversation
alluded to already III this statement. 1t /
was asserted that in both conversations /
had agreed to hold on to the Office of /
Secretary of War until displaced by the |
courts, or resign, SO as to place the Pres
ident where he would have been had I
never accepted the Office. After hearing
the President through, I stated our con-
versation substantially as given in this
letter. / Will add that my conversation
before the Cabinet embraced other mat
tiers not pertinent here, and is therefore
lief out. in no wise admitted the cor
rectness of the Presidents statement of
our conversation, though to soften the
Presidents contradiction of my state
Inent said, alIuding to our first CONVEX
sation on the subject, that the President
might have understood me the way he
said, namely, that had promised to re-
sign if did not resist the reinstatement.
n l.. 4, ,x<,8<-