Brownlow's Knoxville Whig. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1866-1869, 1868-02-12

sued from the War Department by direction Of tb
President are authorized By the Executive
"I have the honor 70 BE- etc.
~. S. GRANT, General"
EXECUTIVE MASsIoE, January 81.
GENERAL: l received your communication 0
the 26th inst, renewing your request Of the 2zth
that should repeat in written form, my verba
instructions OF the 10th inst, viz You obey no or
der from Hon. Z. NJ. Stanton as Secretary Of War
unless you have information that il was issued b,
the Presidents direction TO Mr. Stanton and at tht
same time informed that, according TO the act reg
uRtng the tenure Of certain civil offices your fIlnc
tions of Secretary of War Gd interim ceased frou
the moment Of the receipt Of the notice. You thus
! IN disregard OF the understanding between US va
Gated the office without having given notice Of youi
/ intention TO do IL is but Just 10 saw however
! that in your communication you claim you did in.
/ form me Of your purposes and thus fulfilled the
promise made in our last preceding conversation on
/ the subject. The fact that such q promise existed
/ is evidence Of an arrangement Of the kind l have
/ mentioned. You had found in our hrst conference
that the President was desirOus Of keeping Mr.
Stanton out Of Office whether sustained in the sus-
pension or not. You knew what reasons had in
dnced the President 10 ask from you a promise
You also knew that in Cdse your views of duty did
not accord with his convictions il was his pur-
! pose TO I'll your place by another appointment.
/ Even ignoring the existence Of a positive under
i
ducable from our various conversations Il is GER
tain, however, that under these circumstances
you did not offer 10 return the place TO my posses
sion, but according to your own statement, placed
yourself in position where could / have sntioi-
pated your action, would have been compelled to
ask OF you, as / was compelled 10 ask of your pre-
decessor in the War Department letter of resig-
nation TO resort 10 the more disagreeable expedi
ent OF suspending you by the appointment of asuc-
ccssor
"As stated in your letter, the nomination Of Gov
Cox Of Ohio, for Secretary of War, was suggested
to me. This appointment as Mr.. stanton's suees-
cor urged in your name and il was said that his
selections would save further embarrassment. did
not think that in the selection Of Cabinet officer,
l should be trammeled by such considerations. l
prepared 60 take the responsibility Of deciding
the question il accordance with my ideas Of cons-
tutionRl duties, and having determined upon .
course which deemed right and proper, was aflx-
iOus 20 learn the steps yoa would take should pos
session Of the War Department be demanded oy
g. In submitting this request, with which l conf
piled the 29th inst, you take occasion TO Rllude
10 recent publication ia reference TO the circun-
stance connected with q vacation, by yourself of
the office of Secretary of War O8 interim, and with
view Of correcting the statements which you term
TO be a gross misrepresentation, and give at length
your recollection Of .he facts und0r which, without
the sanction Of the President, from whom you had
received and accepted tho appointment you yielded
the department OF wal 10 bAU pIesbHb luCuuD6uJ.
As stated in y0ur communication some time after
YOU had assumed duties as Secretary of War Gd
INTERIM, we interChanged views respecting the
course that should bo pursued in event Of the non
concurrence by the Senate in tho suspension Of Mr..
Stanton. l sought that interview, calling myself
at the War Department. My sole object in then
bringing the subject TO your attention was to asceT
tain what would be your own sctiOn should such an
attempt be made for his restoration 20 the War De-
partus mt. That object was accomplished, for the
interview terminated with the distinct understand
ing that IT. under the reflection, you should prefer
TO become party 20 the controversy, or should
conclude that il would be your duty TO surrender
the department to Mr.. Stanton upon action in his
favor by the Senate you were to return the Office
TO me prior 10 advice by the Senate in order that,
if desire TO do so, / might designate some one TO
succeed you. IL must have been apparent 20 you
that had not an understanding been reached it was
my purpose to relieve you Of further discharge Of
the duties Of Secretary of War Gd interim, and TO
appoint some other person in that capacity. Other
conversations upon the subject ensued all having,
on my part the same object and leading to the same
conclusions, as to the first. II is not necessary,
however, to refer 10 any of them except the state
ment mentioned in your communication As it
was then known that the Senate had proceeded in
the case Of Mr.. Stanton, ] was anxious TO learn
your determination after the appointed interview,
during which the provisions Of the tenure Of Office
bill were fully discussed You said that after it had
been agreed upon in our first conference you would
either return the Office 10 my possession in time TO
enable me 70 appoint successor before the first sc-
tion by the Senate upon Mr.. Stantons suspension,
OF would remain st It's head awaiting decision by
judicial proceedings 1t was then understood there
would be no further conference till Monday, by
which time / supposed you would be prepared 10
inform me Of your final decision: You failed, how
ever, TO ful6l the engagement, and on Tuesday no.
titled me IN writing OF the receipt of YOUR official
notification Of the action Of the Senate in reference
TO Mr. stanton. With the understanding between
us do rot believe that the embarrassment would
have attained is present proportions or that the
probabIlues OF ne repetition would have been so
great l know that, with a view TO an carly ter
minston Of State affairs so detrimental TO the pub
lie Interests, you voluntarily offered both on Mon
day, the 18th instant, and on the succeeding Sun
day, 20 call upon Mr. Stanton, and urge upon him
that the good Of The country required his resigns
tion. confess that / considered your proposal
sert Of reparaton for the failure, your part to
act in accordance with an understanding more than
once repeated and which it was considered received
your fall assent, and under which you could have
returned 70 me the oiice which had conferred up
on YOU thus saving yourself from embarrassments,
leaving the responsibility where il belonged, with
the President, who is accountable for the faithful
execution Of the law. I have not yet been inform
ed by you whether, as twice proposed BY yourself
you had called upon Mr.. Stanton and made an Of
fort 70 induce him TO voluntarily resign from the
War Department
"You conclude your communication with 3 refer
ence to our conversation at the meeting Of the Cab
met held on the 9Th instant. IN your account Of
what there occurred, you say that after the Presis
dent had given his version of our previous conver-
sation, YOU stated .hem substantially as given IN
vour letter and ths. you in no wise admitted the
correctness Of his statement; though to soften the
evident contradiction Of my ststement said, slla-
ding 20 our hrzt communication on the subject the
President might have understood me IN the way
ssid. viz: Thst had promised 10 resign II did
mot resist reinstatement l made no such promise.
,.Iv recollection Of what trsnspired IS dlsmetrl-
caly the reverse Of your declaration In the pres
ence of the Cabinet, asked you, hrst IT. IN con-
versation which took place shortly alter your ap,
pointment IS Secretary OF War al U'fertbb you did
not agree to remain at the head Of the Waf Depart
mont and abide any judicial proceedings that might
follow the non-concurrence Of the Senate IN Mr.
Stanton's suspension; or, should you not wish 70
become involved in such controversy, put me n
the ana positon in reference 20 the Office previous
70 your appointment BIZ returning it to me in time
90 a. cipste such action by the Senate. This yon
admitted
second. I then asked you If at the time ol the
! conference on the preceding Saturday, bad not,
t. avoid misunderstanding, requested you 70 stste
what yoa intended 10 do and further, II, IN reply
10 that II !uiry, you had not referred TO my former
] conversation by saying that from them l under
stood your position, and that your scton would be
/ consistent with tho understanding which had been
reached To these questions you also replied in The
| Affirmative.
/ aThirs - a., .,.,oI.,ss,n ,rr