The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1868-02-20

course Mr.. Stanton would have to pur-
sue IN case Che Senate should not cofcur
in bis suspension, to obtain possession
of tho office, Ny reply was in subtanco
that Mr.. Stanton would have to appeal
10 the Courts to reinstato him, illdstra.
ting my position by citing the ground
L had taken in tho case Of the Balti-
more Police Commissioners
Now, ut that time, rs you admitln
your letter Of the 3d INST, YOU held the
office for the very object of defeating
nn appeal to the courts In that let
tor you say that, in accepting tho of.
fee, one motive was to prevent the
President from appointing somo other
person who would retain possession.
and thus mako iudicnI proceedings
necessary. You knew tho President
was unwilling TO trust tho Office with
any one who could not, by holding IT,.
compel Mr Stanton to resort 10 tho
Court; you perfectly undors TODD that
in the interview some time after you
accepted the office, the President, not
content with your silence, desired an
expression of your views, and you
answered HIM that Mr.. Stanton would
havo to appeal 20 tho oouits. If the
President had reposed confidence be-
lore he know your views, and that
confidence had been violated, 1t might
have been said he made q mistake; but
n violation Of confidence reposed, af.
ter that conversation, was no mistake
of his or yours.
1t is the fact only that needs to DO
stated that, at tho date Of this CONVEX
sation, you did not intend to hold the
Office with tho purpose of forcing Mr..
Stanton into court, but did hold it then,
and had accepted it, to prevent that
course from being carried out In 9th,
er words, you said to the President.
THAT j. the proper ooursc;" and YOU
said TO yourself, ~ have accepted tins
office, and now hold it to defeat that
course"
The excuse you make IN q subse.
quent paragraph of that letter, of the
thultimO, that afterward changed
your views as to what would be
proper course, has nothing to do with
the point now under consideration.
The point is that before yoa had
changed your views, you had secretly
determined to DO the very thing
you at last did, TO Surrender the Office
to Mr.. Stanton. You may have
changed your views as to the law but
you certainly did not change your
views rs TO the course you had marked
out for yourself from the beginning.
l will only notice one moro state. |
ment in your letter OF the 3d instant. |
that the making Of the promises
which it Is alleged wero mado by YOU,
which involved you in the resistance
of law, know Of no statute that would !
have been violated had You carried
out your promises in good faith and
rendered your resignation whom You
concluded not to bo made party in |
any legal proceedings. You add ~ |
nm confirmed in this conclusion by |
your recent order directing mo to dis
obey orders from the Secretary of War,
my superior and your subordinate,
having connter,nundod his
authority to issue orders am to dis.
obey." .... 2. G.r.. |
On tho oath ult., you addressed o
note to the President, requesting, in
writing, an order given TO Gu verbal
y five days boiore, to disregard orders
from Mr. Stanton, as Secretary Of War,
until you knew, from the President |
himself what wero his orders.
On the 10Th, in compliance with your
request, did give you instructions
IN writing not to obey any order
from the War Department, to be is.
sued By the direction of tho President
unless such order ia known by the
General commanding tho armies fthe |
United States, TO have been author
lied Oy the Executive.
There are somo orders which q Sec |
retary of War may issue without the
authority Of the President; there are
othcrs which he issues simply us the
agent Of the President, and which pur.
port to be by direction of the Presi-
dent. For such orders the President
IS responsible, and ho should therefore
know a:d understand what they are
before giving such direction. Mr.. |
Stanton, in his letter Of tho 4th inst,
which accompanies the published cor,
with the President since
the 18th Of August last, further says
that since he resumed the dutios OF
.ho Office he has continued to discharge
Lhom without any personal or written
with tho President,
and he adds: "No orders have been Is
sued from this Department in the
name of the President with my knowl-
edge, and have received no orders
rom him."
1t thus seems Mr. Stanton now dis
charges the duties Of the Wan Depart
nent without any reference to tho
President, and without using his Iamo.
Ny order TO you had only reference to
orders assumed to be ISSUED by the
President. 1t would appear from Mr..
Stanton's letter that you have received
40 such order from him.
In your note to the President, OF the