The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-02-07
WRITTEN INsrRUoT1oNs.

did not resist the reinstatement.
made no such promise.
u. 8. GRANT, General.
WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS.
The next paper is a note dated Jan.
uary "a, also from General Grant to
the President asking to have sin
writing the order which the President
gave him verbally on Sunday, the 10Th
OF January, to disregard the, orders OF
Hon. e. M. Stanton as Secretary of War
until he (Gen. Grant) knew from the
President himself that they were his
ORDERS" This note was returned with
the following endorsement, signed by
the President, and dated January %:
"As requested in this communica-
ton, General Grant is instructed, In
writing, not to obey any order from the
war Department., assumed to be issued
by the direction of the President, unless
such order is known by the General
commanding the armies of the United
states to have been authorized by the
Executive. "ANDREw JoHNsoN."
The next day, January 80, General
Grant, in a letter to the President, ao.
knowledged the return of the above
note, with the endorsement thereon, in
which he says:
am informed by the Secretary ei
War that he has not received from the
Executive any order or instructions
/
issue orders to the army, as has hereto.
fore been his practice under the law
and the custom of the Department..
While this authority to the War De-
partment is not countermanded, it will
be satisfactory evidence to me that any
orders issued from the War Depart
ment by direction OF the President are
authorized by the Executive.
~. 8. GRANT, General"
LETTER FROM PRESIDENT JOHNSON.
A lengthy letter from the President
to General Grant, dated Executive
Mansion, January 3lst., 1858, is the
next document given, as follows:
General: have received your COM
munication of the 28th inst, renewing
your request of the oath, thatI should
repeat i'll written form my verbal in
structions of the 10Th inst, viz: That
you obey no order from the Hon. Ed
win NJ. Stanton as Secretary of War,
unless you have Information that it was
issued by the Presidents direction.
In submitting this request, with
which complied on the 29th instant, }
you take occasion to allude to recent
publications In reference to the circum-
stances connected with the vacation by
yourself of the Office of Secretary of
War, Gd interim, and with the view of
correcting statements which you term
gross misrepresentation" give at
length your own recollection of the
facts under which, without the sanction
of the President, from whom you had
received and accepted the appointment,
you yielded the Department of War to
the present incumbent.
AS stated in your communication,
some time after you had assumed the
| duties of Secretary of War, Gd interim
we interchanged views respecting the
course that should be pursued in the
event of non n-concurrence by the Senate
in the suspension. from Office OF Mr..
Stanton. I sought that interview, call
ing myself at the War Department.
Ny sole object In then bringing the
tain definitely what would be your own
action should such an attempt be made
for his restoration to the War Depart
ment.
That object was accomplished, for the
interview terminated with the distinct
understanding that If. upon reflection,
you should prefer not to be-
come a party to the controversy
or should conclude that it 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 to decision by the
Senate, in order that If desired to do
so might designate some one to succeed
you. 1t must have been apparent to
you that had not this understanding
been reached, it was my purpose to re-
lieve you from the 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 of them having, on my
part, the same object, and leading
to the same conclusion as the first.
1t Is not necessary, however, to refer to
any Of them except that of Saturday,
the 11th inst, mentioned in your COM
munication. AS 1t was then known
the Senate had proceeded to consider
the case Of Mr.. Stanton. 1 was anxious
to learn your determination. After q
protracted interview, during which the
provisions of the tenure.of-ohce bill
were fully discussed, you said that,
as had been agreed upon in our first
the Office to my possession in time to
enable me to appoint successor
before final action by the Senate upon
Mr.. Stanton's suspension, or would re-
main at its head, awaiting a decision
of the question by judicial proceedings.
It was then Understood that there
would be further conference on Mon
day, by which time I supposed you
would be prepared to inform me. of
your final decision. You failed, how
ever. to fulfill your engagement, and
on Tuesday notified me in writing of
Lle receipt OIL your OHClal nOClQcatlOn
of the action of the Senate In the case
of Mr.. Stanton, and at the same time
Informed me that, according to the act
regulating the tenure of certain civil
officers, your functions as Secretary of
War, Gd interim, ceased from the mo-
ment of the receipt of the notice. You
thus in disregard of the understanding
between us, vacated the Office without
having given me notice of your inten-
ton to do so. It is but just, however,
to say that in your communication you
claim that you did inform me OF your
purpose, and "thus fulfilled the prom
lse made in our last preceding CONVEX
sation on this subject" The fact that
such a promise existed, Is evidence of
an rangement OF the kind I have
men toned.
You had found in our first conference
"that the President was desirous of
keeping Mr.. Stanton out OF Office,
whether sustained in the suspension or
not" You knew what reasons had
induced the President to ask from you
promise. You also knew that in case
your views of duty did not accord with
his own convictions, it was his purpose
to fill your place by another
appointment. Even ignoring the
existence of positive under
standing between us, these con-
illusions we're painfully deducible from
our various conversations. 1t is cer-
tain, however. even under these circum-
stances you did not offer 10 return the
place to my possession, but, according
to your own statements, placed your
1 r1al6