Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-02-05
WASHINGTON.

GENERAL: have received your com
! munication Of the 10th inst, renewing
! your request Of the oath, that ] shoul'
repeat in written form, my verbal in
i structions OF the 18th inst, viz; tina
: you obey no order from Hon. +. NJ. Stan
ton, as Secretary Of War, unless you hav'
information that il was issued by thu
Presidents direction. In submitting
the request, with which l complied OF
the 18th inst, you took occasion to al
lude to the recent publication in refer
ence TO the circumstances connected
with the vacation by yourself of the
office OF Secretary of War, dd interim
with the view of correcting the state
ments which you term gross misrepre'
sensations, and give at length your
recollection Of the facts under which,
without the sanction of the Presi'
dent, from whom you had re-
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 ad interim, we interchanged
views respecting the course that should
be pursued in the event Of nom
concurrence by the Senate in the
suspension of Mr.. Stanton. l sought
that interview, calling myself at the War
Department. My sole object in then
bringing the subject to your attention
was to agree what would be your action
should such an attempt be made for his
restoration to the War Department.
That object was accomplished, for the
interview terminated with the distinct
understanding that If under reflection
you should prefer to become party to
the controversy, or should conclude it
would be your duty to surrender the
Department to MIR. Stanton, upon action
in his favor by the Senate, you were to
return the Office to me prior to
advice 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 an under
standing been reached, it was my pur-
pose to relieve you of further discharge
of the duties of Secretary of War ad in
terim, and appoint some other in
that capacity. Other conversations
upon the same subject ensued, all
having Oh my part some object, and
leading to the same conclusion as at
first. 1t is not necessary, however, to
refer to any of them except the state
ment mentioned in your commu nication.
AS it was then known that the Senate
had proceeded in the matter, Mr.. Stan
ton was curious to learn your determine
ton. After protracted interview, du.
ring which the provisions of the ten
ure of office bill were freely and
fully discussed, you said that as it had
been agreed upon at our first conference,
you would either return the Office to my
possession in time to enable me to APP
point a successor before final action
by the Senate upon Mr.. E. M.
Stanton's supervision, or would remain
at its head awaiting a decision by |
judicial proceedings. 1t was then un-
derstood there would be further confer
ence on Monday, by which time | sup
posed you would be prepared to inform
me of your final decision. You failed,
however, to fulfil the engagement, and on
Tuesday you notified me in writing of
the receipt Of your official notification |
of the action of the Senate in reference
to Mr.. Stanton, and at the same
time informed me, that according to the
act regulating the tenure of certain civil
Offices, your functions as Secretary OF |
War, ad interim, ceased from the mo-
ment of the receipt of the notice. You |
then, in disregard of the understanding |
between us, vacated the Office without |
having given me notice of your intention |
so to do. 1t is but just to say, however,
that in your communication you claim
that you did inform me of your purpose,
and thus fulfilled the promise made in
the last preceding conversation on the
subject. The fact that such promise
existed is evidence of an arrangement
of the kind. ] have mentioned that you
had from me in the first conference
that the President was DESTROYS OF keep
ing Mr.. Stanton out of the office,
whether sustained in the suspension or
not. You knew what reasons had
induced the President to ask from you a
promise; you also knew that in cassyour
views of duty did not accord with
his own convictions, it was his
purpose to ill your place by another
appointment, even ignoring the
existence of a positive understanding
between us. The conclusions we're
plainly deducible from our various con-
versations. II is certain, however, that
even under these circumstances you did
not offer to return the place to my pos
session, but according 10 your own state
ment placed yourself in a position where,
could have anticipated your action, |
would not have been compelled TO ask Of
your predecessor in the War Department