The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1868-02-21
PRICE FIVE CENTS.

l ''o' 'O'ioN iph' bN'hS N"iiiN' OtNs
In other words, you said to the Presi-
dent, that is the proper course, and you
said to yourself: ! have accepted this
office, and now hold it to defeat that
course. The excuse you make in Il SUBJ
sequent paragraph of that letter of the
2Sth ultimo that afterwards you changed
your views as to what would be the
proper course, has nothing to do with the
point now under consideration. The
point is, that before you changed your
views you had secretly determined to do
the very thing which at last you did:
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. I will duly notice one more
statement in your letter of the I'd inst,
that the performance of the promises
which, it is alleged, were made byyou,
would have involved you in the resis
tance of law. know of no statute that
would have been violated had you, In
carrying out yourpromisesi in good faith,
rendered your resignation when you
concluded not to be made II party in
any legal proceedings.
You add: " am in measure con-
firmed in this conclusion by your recent =.
orders, directing me to disobey orders
from the Secretary of War, my superior
and your subordinate, without having
countermanded his authority to issue the
orders am to disobey."
On the oath ultimo you addressed q
note to the President, requesting in wri-
ting,a order given to you verbally five
days before, to disregard orders from
Mr.. Stanton, as Secretary of War, until
you knew from the President himself
that they were his orders. On the 9th.
in compliance with your request, did
give you instructions in writing not to
obeyany order from the War Department
assumed to be issued by the direction Of
the President, unless such order was
known by the General commanding the
armies of the United States, to have
been authorized by the Executive.
| There are others which he issues sim
| ply as the agent Of the President. For
such orders the President is responsible,
and he should theref re know and un-
derstand what they are, before giving
such directions.
Mr.. Stanton states in his letter Of the
4th instant, which accom- panies the pub
lished correspondence, that he had had
no correspondence with the President
since the lith of August last, and he
further says that since he resumed the
duties of the Office he had continued to
discharge them without any personal or
written communication with the Presi-
denl and he adds, "No orders have
been issued from this Department in the
name Of the President with my knowl-
edge, and l have received no orders
from him." 1t thus seems that Mr..
stanton now discharges the duties Of
the War Department without any ref.
erence to the Presidents, and without
using his name.
My order to you had only reference
to orders assumed to be issued by the
direction of the President. 1t would
appear from Mr.Stanton's letter that you
have received no such orders from him.
However, in your note to the President
of the 18th ult., in which you acknowl-
edge the receipt Of the written order Of
the Goth, you say that you have been
informed by Mr.. Stanton that he has
not received any orders limiting his au.
thority to issue order to the army, ac.
cording to the practice of the Depart
ment, and state that, "while this au-
thority to the War Department is not
countermanded, it will be satisfactory
evidence to me that any orders issued
from the War Department by direction
of the President are authorized by the
Executive.
The President issues an order to you
to obey no order from the War Depart
ment, purporting to be made by the di-
rection of the President, until you have
referred to him for his approval. You
reply that you have received the Presi-
dents order, and will not obey it, but
will obey an order purporting to be Civ
on by his direction, if it comes from the
War Department. You will not obey the
direct order ofthe President but you will
obey his indirect order. If, as you say,
there has been q practice in the War
Department TO issue orders in the name
of the President, without his direction,
does not the precise order you have re-
quested and received, change the prac-
tice as to the General of the Armye
Could not the President countermand
any such order issued to you from the
War Department? If you should re
ceive an order from that Department,
issued in the name of the President, to
do Especial act, and an order directly
from the President himself not TO 10
this act, IL there doubt which you are
to obey? You answer the question
when you say to the President In your
letter on the Sd inst, THE Secretary OF
war is my superior Gnd your subordi-
nate"
Without further co.nment upon the
insubordinate attitude which you have
assumed, / am at a loss to know how
you can relieve yourselffrom obedience
to the orders of the President, who is
made by the Constitution,t the Comman.
der.in-Chief of the Army and Navy,
| and Is, therefore, the official superior M
well of the General of the army as the
Secretary of War.
,, Respectfully yours,
ANDREW JOHNSON.
. General L. $. Grant, commanding tn,
, armies of the United States, Wash
q ingtOn, ID. c.
EFFICACY oE OSIoNs,--A writet
I says; We are troubled often with Sc
l we're coughs, the results ofcolds of lon,
r standing, which may turn TO consump