St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-10-15

ed him to revoke his order. He asked
johnson to relieve him, as no one else
could. That is the inner history and
spirit of his celebrated order No. 40.
This order resulted in the loss of many
lives. l know of cases and can give
them. His statement that the civil au-
thorities are supreme, is truth admit
ted by all in times of established peace,
but can demonstrate that he did not
subject the military power to the civil,
but that he used his military power to
overthrow the civil"
GEN. GRANT CoRRECTs CERTAIN STATE
MENTs.
The Chicago Inter-Ocean publishes
the following interview with the gen.
eral, in which he makes some cor
rections of the statements in the Ga
zette report:
l said substantially up to "a that l
didn't suppose Hancock had thought of
the Presidency, but at the democratic
convention of that year he got vote,
not one vote, as DR.. Fowler has it,
which makes me imply that he got the
support of but one delegate, and from
that time he had Presidential bee in
his bonnet. When 1 met him after
ward his smile was so broad that you
could almost see it when his back was
turned.
DIR. Fowler does not get hold of the
points about order No. 40 correctly. By
various reconstruction acts in Congress
for consistency's sake, suppose, strip
ped me of all authority over district
commanders in their civil duties, ex-
cept the matter of appointment and re-
mOval of civil officers in the reconstruct
ed states. AS l was senior, my author
ity was superior to the others.
DR.. Fowler quotes me as saying that
the Louisiana legislature passed law
authorizing the issue of 81 100000 of
levee bonds. This l may have said,
but if did it was mistake, the amount
being 81, 900, 900. In regard to the state
ment also that the Louisiana commits
sioners agreed to pay Reverdy johnson
and other lawyers $250,000, 1 stated
what l understood, and not as fact
with my own personal knowledge.
The next paragraph of DR.. FOwler's
report, said the general, is wide of the
mark. am made to say: "He John
son) called Hancock to Washington to
instruct him in defeating the laws of
Congress- 1 of course do not know
why johnson called Hancock, 1 could
only surmise. know Hancock came.
A mistake also occurs in the following
paragraph, wherein say: she Han
cock) went south and removed the gov
ernment commissioners that Governor
Sheridan had appointed. L instantly
telegrapbed not to appoint to Office any
man who had been removed, and he
gave his reasons by mail for removing
the men," When Hancock went south
1 published an order prohibiting him
from appointing anybody to office who
had been removed by his predecessor.
This, l suppose, he did not like, but
my object was to prevent the possibili-
ty of men being put in the place who
had arranged for the negotiation of
those bonds, even for one hour. l had
intended to tell Hancock all about it,
as l had johnson, but seeing during my
interview with him that he was not
disposed to listen to my advice, l did
not tell him. After he had been down
south some time, he made a pretty
clean sweep of officers who had been
appointed by Gen. Sheridan. 1 then
telegraphed to him to suspend his or
mail. (There was an order existing, if
l remember Alright, prohibiting the use
of the telegraph when the mail could be
employed.) He replied in very long
dispatch, costing if l remember correct
ly about $3.50. informed him that
was not satisfied, that if he had any
| further reasons to communicate, to do
so by mail. He again replied by tele-
graph, but gave nothing new, saying
simply that his usefulness would be de-
stroyed if he were not left free to act,
and that unless he was left free to act
he should ask to be relieved. / ordered
him to revoke his orders making the
removals, and to make no more. He
then asked to be relieved, and 1 reliev-
ed him. l always regarded his declar-
alton in order No. 40, that the military
should be subordinate to the civil pow
er, as something that everybody ac-
cepted and nobody disputed. As Off
GERS, we were bound to obey our supe-
riors. Congress was our superior and
had made the laws, and these laws
made the military subordinate. We
were really under them, but his order
made the laws subordinate to his own
opinion.