nsibility on the President. The charge was openly made, and again
and again reiterated all through the land, that the President was warned
in time, but refused to interfere.

By telegrams from the lieutenant-governor and attorney-general of
Louisiana, dated the 27th and 28th of August, I was advised that a body
of delegates claiming to be a constitutional convention were about to
assemble in New Orleans; that the matter was before the grand jury, but
that it would be impossible to execute civil process without a riot; and
this question was asked:

Is the military to interfere to prevent process of court?

This question was asked at a time when the civil courts were in the full
exercise of their authority, and the answer sent by telegraph on the
same 28th of August was this:

The military will be expected to sustain, and not to interfere with,
the proceedings of the courts.

On the same 28th of August the following telegram was sent to Mr.
Stanton by Major-General Baird, then (owing to the absence of General
Sheridan) in command of the military at New Orleans:

Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
_Secretary of War_:

A convention has been called, with the sanction of Governor Wells, to
meet here on Monday. The lieutenant-governor and city authorities think
it unlawful, and propose to break it up by arresting the delegates.
I have given no orders on the subject, but have warned the parties that
I could not countenance or permit such action without instructions to
that effect from the President. Please instruct me at once by telegraph.

The 28th of August was on Saturday. The next morning, the 29th, this
dispatch was received by Mr. Stanton at his residence in this city. He
took no action upon it, and neither sent instructions to General Baird
himself nor presented it to me for such instructions. On the next day
(Monday) the riot occurred. I never saw this dispatch from General Baird
until some ten days or two weeks after the riot, when, upon my call for
all the dispatches, with a view to their publication, Mr. Stanton sent
it to me.

These facts all appear in the testimony of Mr. Stanton before the
Judiciary Committee in the impeachment investigation.

On the 30th, the day of the riot, and after it was suppressed, General
Baird wrote to Mr. Stanton a long letter, from which I make the
following extract:

SIR: I have the honor to inform you that a very serious riot has
occurred here to-