Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-02-12
JOHNSON---GRANT.


4
| tle resolution adopted yesterday;
EXECUTIVE MANSION. Feb. 10. 1853.
GENERAL: The extraordinary charac
ter of your letter Of the Sd instant would
, seem to preclude any reply on my part
but the manner in which publicity hal
been given to the correspondence o.
which that letter forms part, and the
grave questions which are involved, re-
quire that, in justice to myself, ! should
take this method Of giving as a proper
sequel to the communications which have
passed between us, the sentiments Of five
members Of the Cabinet who were pres
ent on the occasion of our conversation
on the 18th ultimo, as well as copies oil
the letters which they have addressed ia
me upon the subject, are accordingly
herewith inclosed. You speak of my let
ter of the LIST, as "reiterative of the
many and gross misrepresentation con-
tanned in certain newspaper articles,
and re-assert the correctness Of the state
ments contained in your communication
of the 2sth ultimo, adding-and l here
give your own words" anything in your
reply to it, to the contrary notwithstand'
ing" When controversy upon matters
of fact reaches the point to which this
has been brought, further assertion or
denial betyeen the immediate parties
should cease, especially when, upon
either side, it loses that character of re-
spectful discussion which is required by
the relations in which the parties stand
toward each other, and degenerates in
tone and temper. In such case, ii
there is nothing to rely upon but oppos-
ing statements, conclusions must be
drawn from those statements alone; and
from whatever intrinsic probabilities they
afford, in favor or against either OF the
parties, they should not shrink from the
controversy. But, fortunately, it is not
left to this test alone. There we're five
Cabinet officers presen. at our conversa-
ton, the details of which were in my let
ter of the 18th. and of which you allow
yourself to say contains many gross
misrepresentation" These gentlemen
heard that conversation and read my
statement They speak for themselves,
and | leave the proof without word of
comment. / deem it proper, before con-
GLIDING this communication, to notice
some of the statements contained in your
letter. You say 81 the performance OF
promises, alleged to have been made by
me to the President, would have involved
a resistance to the law, end inconsist-
ency with the whole history of my con-
necton with the suspension of Mr.. Stan
ton" You then state that you had
fears that the President would, on the
removal of Mr.. Stanton, appoint some
one in his place who would embarrass the
army in carrying out the reconstruction
acts, and to prevent such an appointment
that ! accepted the Office of Sec
rotary of War adj interim, and not
for the purpose of enabling you
to get rid of Mr.. Stanton, by with
drawing it from him in opposition to the
law, or not doing so myself, to one who
would" As the statements and assump-
tons in your communication plainly
indicate that you sought it first of all,
as you here admit, that from the very
beginning of what you term 1.-THE history
of my connection with Mr.. Stanton's
suspension" you intended to circumvent
the President; and it was to carry out
that intent that you accepted the ap-
pointment; and this was in your views
at the time of your acceptance of it; and
it was not then obedience to the order of
your superior, as has heretofore been
supposed, that you assumed the duties
of the Office. You knew it was the pur-
pose of the President to prevent Mr..
Stanton assuming the Office of Secre-
tary of War, and you intended to defeat
that purpose; and You accepted the
Office not in the interest Of the
President, but in that of Mr.. Stan.
ton. If this purpose, so entertained by
you, had been confined to yourself,
and if when in accepting the Office you
had done so with mental reservation to
Illustrate the President, it would have
been deception in ethics-in which such
a course is allowable-but you cannot
stand even upon that questionable
ground. The history of your connection,
as written by yourself, places you in a
difficult predicament, and shows that you
not only concealed your design from the
President, but induced him to suppose
that you would carry out his purpose-to
keep Mr.. Stanton out Of the office by re-
tanning it yourself, after the attempted
restoration by the Senate, so as TO require
Mr.. Stanton to establish his right by a
judicial decision. / now give that part
Of his story as written by yourself, inyour
letter of the 2sth ultimo; Sometime
after assumed the duties Of Secretary OF
War ad interim, the President asked my
views as to the course Mr. Stanton would
have to pursue, in case the Senate should
not concur in his suspension, to obtain
the Office. My reply in substance was
that Mr.. Stanton would have 10 appeal to