The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-02-12

tenurc-of- office bill !; that in reply to this
he. (the President) informed General Grant
he had not suspended Mr.. Stanton under
the tenure-ofoffice bill, but by yir-
tue Of the powers conferred on him
by the Constitution and that as to
the fine and Imprisonment he 1.-THE
President) would pay whatever fine
was imposed, and submit to whatever
imprisonment might be adjudged against
him (the GeneraD that they continued
the conversation for some time, discussing
the law at length, and that they finally
separated without having reached def
mite conclusion, and with the understand
ing that the General would see the Presi-
dent again on Monday. In reply, General
Grant admitted that the conversations had
occurred, and said that at the first CONVEX
sation be had given it as his opinion
to the President that in the event of non-
concurrence by the Senate in the SC
ton of the President in respect to the
Secretary of War the question would have
to be decided by the courts; that Mr..
Stanton would have to appeal to the court
to reTnstate him in Office; that the Gins :"
would remain in till they could be dis
placed and the "outs put in by legal
proceedings and that he then thought SO,
and had agreed that if he should change
bis mind he would notify the President in
time to enable him to make another ap-
pointment, but that at the time of the first
conversation he had not looked very closely
into the law that it had recently been
discussed by the newspapers, and that this
had induced him to examine it more
carefully, and that he had come to the
conclusion that if the Senate should re-
fuse to concur in the suspension Mr.. Stan
ton would thereby be reInstated; that he
(Grant) could continue thereafter to act
as Secretary Of War Gd interim without
subjecting himself to fine and imprison-
ment, and that he came over on Saturday
to inform the President of this change in
his views, and did so inform him; that the
President replied that he had not sus-
pended Mr.. Stanton under the tenure-of-
Office bill, but under the Constitution, and
had appointed him (Grant) by virtue of the
authority derived from the Constitution,
&c.; that they continued to discuss the mat
ter some time, and finally he left without
any conclusion having been reached, ex-
pecting to see the President again on Mon
day. he then proceeded to explain why
he had not called on the President on
Monday, saying that he had had q long
interview with General Sherman; that
various little matters had occupied his
time till it was late, and that he did not
think the Senate would act so soon, and
asked, "Did not General Sherman call on
you on Monday" I do not know what
passed between the President and Gene
raj Grant on Saturday, except as I
learned it from the conversation be-
tween them at the Cabinet meeting
on Tuesday and the foregoing is substan-
TALLY what then occurred. The precise
words used on the occasion are not, of
course, given exactly in the order in which
they were spoken; but the ideas expressed,
and the facts stated, are faithfully pre-
served and presented.
I have the honor to be, sir, with great
respect, your obedient servant,
[Signed] 0. FL. BROWNING.