Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-02-12
LATEST I'ELEGRAMS.
MIDNIGHT DISPATCHES
WASHINGTON DISPATCHEs.
The Presidents Letter 10 gen. Grant
and other Documents.


this afternoon sent the following letters TO
the House Of Representatives, in accord
anee with a resolution adopted yesterday
EXECUTIVE MANSION, Feb. l0.-GEH-
FRAI.. The extraordinary character oeyour
letter Of the 81 inst would seem to pre-
clude any reply 90 my part; bot the man.
uer in which publicity has been given TO
the correspondence OF which that letter
forms a arl-making il a question OF JUS
tice 10 nnvself-l take this mode of giving
the proper sequel To the communications
which have passzd between Us, by produc-
ing the statements i've members Of the
Cabinet who were y. rsent on the occasion
Of our conversation on The l4ih nit. Copies
Of the letters which they have addressed to
me upon the subject are accordingly here
with inclosed. You speak Of my letter Of
the Let nh as reiteraliye OF many and gross
Interpretations contained in certain
newspaper articles, and ie-assert the cor
reclness of the statements made in your
communication of the 2Sth nit, adding
land here giveyour own words, any thing
in your reply TO it to the contrary
otwithstanding) -" When controversies
upon any matters Of fact reach
the point to which this has been
brought, further association or denial be-
tween the immediate parties should cease,
especially when upon either side it looses
| character in a respectful discussion, which
is required ly the standing of the parties 10
| each other, and degenerates in tone and
| temper" In such a case, If there is nothing
| 70 RELY upon but opposing statements, con-
| illusions must be drawn from those stale
| menis alone, and from whatever intrinsic
probabilities they afford in favor or against
either. The parties should not shrink from
this controversy bat fortunately il is not
| left TO us alone. There we're five Cabinet
| officers present at the conversation, details
| of which were given in my letter Of the
| 28th nlt You allow yourself 10 say that
it contained many and gross misrepresenta-
tons. These gentlemen heard that con
yersafion aud read my statement They
| speak for themselves, and leave the proof
| without a word Of comment. / deem it
| proper before concluding this communica-
| ton TO notice some statements contained
/ in your letter.
You say the performance of the prom
| sesaledged 10 have been made by you TO the
/ President would have involved resistance
10 the law and Inconsistencies with the
| whole history of my condition with the
suspension Of Mr.. Stanton. You then
| state that you had fears the President would,
in the removal Of Mr.. Stanton, appoint
some one in his place who wOuld embarrass
the army in carrying out the reconstruction
acts. and what did was % prevent such
appointment. accepted the office of
BeCreiary of War al interim, not for the
purpose of enabling you TO get rid of Mr..
| Stanton by my Withholding it from him, in
opposition to law, or, not doing so myself,
surrendering il 10 one who would, as state
ments and assumptions in your communi-
cation would plainly indicate, sought,
FIRST, all you here admit from the very be-
ginning of what you term the whole his
tory of your connection with Mr.. Stanton's
Suspension. You intended TO circumvent
the President. Ii was TO carry ont that in
tent that you accepted the appointment,
and this was in your mind at the time
of your acceptance. 1t was not,
then an obedience TO orders from your su-
perior, az has heretofore been supposed,
and that when YOU assumed the duties of
the Office Won knew it was the Presidents
purpose to prevent Mr.. Stanton from as
snming the duties of the Office "a Secre-
aTy Of War, and you intended TO defeat
the purpose when you accepted the Office,
not in the interest of the President, but of
Mr.. Stanton and if this purpose, so enter
tanned by you, had been confined to your
self, ii when accepting the Office, you had
done 30 with the mental reservation 10
Illustrate the President, It would have been
deception in some persons. Either course
would have been allowable, but you can
not stand, even upon that questionable
ground Iourconnection with this transac-
ton, as written by yourself, places you in
sufficient predicament 10 show that
You not only concealed your designs from
the President, but induced him to snip
pose that you would carry ont his pur-
pose and keep Mr.. Stanton out of Office by
retaining il yourself. | now give that
part of this story as il was written by
yourself in your letter Of the 28th ult.,
which was some time after | assumed
the duties of Secretary of War ad interim,
the President asked my views as 10 the
course Mr. Stanton wonld have pursued in
case the Senate should not concur in has
suspension. Ny reply was in substance that
Mr. Stanton would have to appeal TO the
courts TO reinstate him, illustrating my POI
sition by citing the ground had taken in
the case ia the Baltimore Commissioners
policy. Now, at that time, az You admit
in your letter Of the Sd, you held the Office
for the very object Of defeating the appeal
to the conrts; you say in accepting the Of
fee one motive was to prevent the Presi
dent from appointing some other person
who would retain the possession, and thus
make judicial proceedings necessary. Gou
knew that the President was unwilling 10 |
trust the Office with any one who could not |
byholding it compel Mr. Stanton TO resort TO |
the courts You perfectly understood in this |
interview. some time AFTER you accepted the |
office that the President, not content with |
your silence. desired an expression of your |
views, and YOU answered him. Mr.. Stan
ton would have appealed to the courts. If |
the President had reposed confidence be |
fore he knew your views and that conf |
dence had been violated, il might have |
been said that he made a mistake, but in |
violation of the confidence reposed after |
that conversation, there was no mistake of |
his nor Of yours. This fact only needs to !
be stated. At the date Of this conversation
Won did not intend TO hold office with !
purpose of forcing Mr.. Stanton into court, !
but Won did hold il then. and had accepted |
~ To- llFfNtilt aiidt libii bCAiib
out. In other words, yon said TO the Presi- |
dent, that is proper course, and You said |
10 yourself, | have accepted this Office |
and now hold il 10 defeat that course. |
Gou changed Jour views as to what would |
he a proper course. That had nothing |
TO do with the point now under con-
sideration. The point is before You
You changed the views you had secretly |
determined to do by the surrender of the |
Office to Mr.. Stanton. Gour may have |
changed your views as to the law, bat you |
did change your views as 10 the course you
marked out for Yourself from the begin |
ming will only notice Que more state
menL In your letter Of the Sd inst, the
performance Of the promise which, 1t rs al
legged, was made by you, that would have
involved You in resistance 90 the law. /
know of no statute that would have been
violated had YOU carried out your promi
ses in good faith, and rendered your resig
nation then You concluded not 10 be made
a party in any OF the legal proceedings. |
You add that / sm, in a measure, confirmed
in the conclusion that by your recent or
asrs 10 disobey orders from the Secretary
of War-mF superior and your saborji-