Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1868-02-21


ton between the President and Gen. Grant
was under consideration.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ALEXANDER ". RANDALL,
Postmaster General
70 tie President.
| LETTER OF SECRETARY BROWNING.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
WASHINGTON, d. c., Feb. 8, 1868.
SIR: [ am III receipt OF yours OF yester
day, calling my attention to q cOrrespon-
dence between yourself aud General Grant,
published III the Chronicle newspaper, and
especially to that part Of said cOrrespon-
dence s. which refers to the conversation
between the President and General Grant
at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the
14th of January" and requesting me " to
state what was said in that conversation. .
In reply, [ submit the following state.
nent At the Cabinet meeting on Ines-
day, the 18th OF January, 1868, General
Grant appeared and took his accustomed
seat at the Board When lie had been
reached in the order of business, the Presi-
dent asked him, as usual, if he had any
thing to present.
In reply, the Genclal after referring to
a note which he had that morning ad-
dressed to the President, enclosing a copy
Of the resolution Of the Senate refusing to
concur in the reasons for the suspension OF
Mr.. Stanton, proceeded to say that he re-
| garded hiS duties as Secretary OF War al
| interim terminated by that resolution, and
that he could not lawfully exercise such
duties for Il moment after the adoption uf
the resolution by the Senate; that the reso-
luton reached him last night and that this
morning lie had gone to the War Depart
ment, entered the Secretary's room, bolted
one door on the inside, locked the other Oh
the outside, delivered the key to the Adiu-
tant General, and proceeded to the Head
! quarters Of the Army, and addressed the
note above mentioned to the President,
informing hi,a that he General Grant,
was no longer = cretary of War al intcrine.
The President expressed great surprise
at the course which General Grant had
thought proper to pursue, and, addressing
| himself to the General, proceeded to say,
IN substance, that lie had anticipated such
action Oh the part OF the Senate, and being
very DESTROYS to have the c0ns!ltutiOnaiity
OF the tenure Of-oflice bill tested, and his
right to suspend or remove member of
| the Cabinet decided by the judicial ttibu-
nails of the country, he had some time ago
and shortly after General Grants appoint-
ment as Secretary of War at Interim, asked
| the General what his action would be in
| the event that the Senate should refuse TO
concur i'll the suspension OF Mr. Stanton,
and that the General had then agreed
either to remain at the head OF the War
| Department till 4 decision could be OBJ
tanned from the court, or resign the office
into the hands OF the President before the
ease was acted upon by the Senate, so as
to place the President III The same situation
he occupied at the time Of his (Grant's) APP
pOIntment.
The President further said that the CON
yeraation was renewed Oh the preceding
Saturday, at which time he asked the
General what he intended to DO if the
Senate should undertake to reinstate Mr.
Stanton in reply 10 which the General re-
| ferred to their former conversation upon
the same subject, and said, You understand
my position, and my conduct will DC con-
| fOrmablo to that understanding shat he
! (the General) then expressed II repngnance
to being made party to q judicial proceed
| ing, saying, that he would expose himself
| to tine and imprisonment by doing SO, as
his continuing to discharged the duties Of
| Secretary OF War al interim, after the
Senate should have refused to concur in
the suspension Of M. Stanton, would be
violation of the tenure Of office bill !; that
in reply to this he (the President) Informed
| General Grant he had not suspended Mr..
| Stanton under the tenure-of-otice bill, but
| by virtue of the powers conferred Oh him
| by the Constitution ; and that as to the fine
and imprisonment, he the President)
would pay whatever fine was imposed, and
submit to whatever imprisonment might
be adjudged against MIN, (the General }
| that they continued the conversation for
some time, discussing the law at length ;
and that they finally separated, without
| hou roochrJ Jo4i, nj
with the understanding that the General
would see the President again on Monday.
In reply, General Grant admitted that
| the conversations had occurred, and said
| that at the first conversation he had given
| it as his opinion to the President, that in
| the event of Inconvenience by the Senate
| in the action Of the President in respect to
the Secretary Of War, the question would
have to be decided by the court that Mr..
Stanton would have to appeal to the court
to reinstate him in office; that the ins
would remain in till they could be dis
placed and the Outs put III by legal pro-
caedings ; and that he then thought SO, and
had agreed that il he should change his
mind, he would notify the President i'll
time to enable him to make another APP
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 .he newspapers, and that this
had induced him to examine it more care
fully, and that he had come to the conclu-
sion that if the Senate should refuse to
concur in the suspension, Mr.. Stanton
would thereby be reinstated, and that he
| Grant could not continue thereafter to
act as Secretary of War al interim without
subjecting himself to fine and imprison-
ment, and that he came over on Saturday to
I F. j.. IL
views, and did SO inform him; that the Presi-
dent replied that he had not suspended
Mr.. Stanton under the tenure-o office