Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-02-12

ment in his Office and in answer to the
resolution the Secretary sent the House last
week a copy of the correspondence. This
correspondence is much too long for our col
umns, but we give below enough to enable
our readers to understand the points in dis
pute.
Gen. Grants first letter to the President,
JAM 25th, commences as follows
SlR:-On the oath instant | requested you
to give me in writing the instructions which
you had previously given me verbally, not to
obey any order from the Hon. f, NJ. Stanton,
Secretary of War, unless knew that it came
from Yourself To this written request |
received message that has left doubt in my
mind Of your intentions. 70 prevent any
POSSIBLE misunderstanding, therefore, | renew
the request that you will give me written
instructions, and until they received will
suspend action on Your verbal ones. | am
compelled to ask these instructions in writing
in consequence of the many gross mlsrepre-
sensations affecting my personal honor, clrcu-
lated through the press for the last fortnight.
purporting to come from the President OF
conversations which occurred either with the
President previously in his Office, or in Cab
met meeting. What is written admits of no
2
reservations referred to, it will be well to
state the facts in the cases.
Gen. Grant then proceeds t. state that,
some time after he took the Office of Secretary
Of War, the President asked him what he
(Grant) should do in case the Senate should
attempt to put Stanton back into the Office.
Grant replied that his impression then was
I 10 r,
tne courts. GRANT says
= Finding that the President was DESTROYS
Of keeping Mr.. Stanton out Of Office, whether
sustained in the suspension not, [ stated
that had not looked particularly into the
Tcnure-of- Office bill, but that what hal
stated was Il general principle, and if should
change my mind in this particular ease, l
would inform him of the fact. Subsequently.
on reading the Ienure-of-O Office bill closely, |
found that | could not, without violation OF
the law, refuse to yacatc the Office of Scene
tary of War the moment Mr.. Stanton was
reinstated by the Senate, even though the
President ordered me to retain it, which hl
never did Taking this view of the subject
and learning on Saturday, the l lth instant,
that the Senate had taken up the subject o.
Stanton's suspension, after some conversation
with Lieutenant-GeneralS Sherman, and som.
the law left me no discretion u my action
should Mr.. Stanton be rcnstatcd, and that
intended to inform the President. | went to
the President for the sole purpose of mixing
this decision known, and did SO make il
known In doing thus, | fulfilled the prom
Use made in our last preceding conversation
on the subject.
After an hour spent by Mr. .Johns,n il
endeavoring to satisfy Grant that it wa hi
duty to hold the Office against Stanton. Gmn
insisting that he had no such right, the inter
view ended, NJ appointment being made fo'
any subsequent meeting. Before Grant say
the President again, Stanton was in the Wa
Department. Mr.. johnson afterward sum
moned Grant to attend a Cabinet meeting, o
which Grant says
: :. Vt this meeting, after opening it as tloug
| were mcmbe- of his Cabinet, when remind
ed of the notification already given him, tina
was no Longer. Secretary OF War al Ueerhn
the President gave version Of the conscrsa
ton alluded to already. On this staemcn
it was asserted that in both converse ions
had agreed to hold ON to the Office of Seer,
. tarv OF War until displaced by the courts {
= resign 50 as 10 place the President where
! would have been had never accepted Il
Office After hearing the President through
| stated our conversation, substantially.
5 given in his letter. | will add, that my oo1
g vcrsation before the Cabinet embraced 9th
matters not pertinent here, and are therefor
tofr Out. / in no wise admitted the correc
Il ness Of the President statement OF our con
t ycrsation, though 10 soften the evideI
r contradiction my statement gaNo | said, a
luding to our first conversation on the su
icct, the President might have understood II
the way he said, namely, that l had promise
to resign if did not resist the Reinstatement
[ made no such promise.
@ This letter led Mr. johnson to cndoise, .
e Grant letter Of Jan. oath, the following
!" =. A. requested in this communication
) General Grant is instructed in writingnot
. obey any order from the War Depa'tmer
i assumed to be issued by the directionof Il
>. President unless such order is known5y Il
General commanding the armies of the [ nj
Z ed States to have been authorized " I'll
/ Executive. - ANDREW JoHNsc<.
c = january Doth, 1865
: This is the next letter
/ GENERAL GRANT TO TIE PRESIDENT.
q HEADQUARrERs ARMY OF THE L. ).
$ WAsmNCToN, d. C., Jan. so, 1856. {
HIS ErceHency, Andrclo Johnson, President
the Gnifed States
SIR II have the honor t. acknowledge Il
+ return of my note Of the oath instant wit
: your endorsement thereon That | an n,
/ to obey any order from the War Departnen
,, assumed to be issued by the direction # tt
President, unless such order is known " II
! to have been authorized by the Executive,
e and i'm reply thereto | have to say thatI n
l. informed by the Secretary of War that e b,
/ not received from the Executive any ore,r ,
instructions limiting or impairing his auho
/ ity to issue orders to the army, rs has ler
toiore been his practice under the Law ar
G. customs of the department. While hs AT
if thority in the War Department is not ouI
. fernandez, it will be satisfactory evidcn.e
= me that any orders issued from the Wa d
IL partmcnt, by direction Of the President al
10 authorized by the Executive have IL
c honor to be, very respectfully, your obcdeI
servant {. s. GRANT. Genera.
President johnson made lengthy rcii
D., der to this letter, in which he gives his CIV
r understanding of the conversations betyec
= himself and Gen. Grant in respect to Sa
q toms Reinstatement In this letter. .ft
Of some statements not conflicting with tho
&c made by the General, Mr.. johnson saws
" this his last interview with Grant prevbt
e to Stanton return to the Office
/ After protracted interview. during yy6c
the provisions of the Tenure Of Office hi
! were fully discussed, you said that as itha
: been agreed upon in our first conference. yo
- would either return the Office to nv nofe
sion in time to enable me TO appoint su,
cessor before final action by the Senate DO
= Mr.. Stanton's suspension, or would renal
% at its head awaiting Il decision of the tae.
- ton by judicial PROCEEDINGS II WAS se