awaiting a
decision of the question by judicial proceedings. It was then understood
that there would be a further conference on Monday, by which time I
supposed you would be prepared to inform me of your final decision. You
failed, however, to fulfill the engagement, and on Tuesday notified me
in writing of the receipt by you of official notification of the action
of the Senate in the case of Mr. Stanton, and at the same time informed
me that according to the act regulating the tenure of certain civil
offices your functions as Secretary of War _ad interim_ ceased from
the moment of the receipt of the notice. You thus, in disregard of the
understanding between us, vacated the office without having given me
notice of your intention to do so. It is but just, however, to say that
in your communication you claim that you did inform me of your purpose,
and thus "fulfilled the promise made in our last preceding conversation
on this subject." The fact that such a promise existed is evidence of
an arrangement of the kind I have mentioned. You had found in our first
conference "that the President was desirous of keeping Mr. Stanton out
of office whether sustained in the suspension or not." You knew what
reasons had induced the President to ask from you a promise; you
also knew that in case your views of duty did not accord with his
own convictions it was his purpose to fill your place by another
appointment. Even ignoring the existence of a positive understanding
between us, these conclusions were plainly deducible from our various
conversations. It is certain, however, that even under these
circumstances you did not offer to return the place to my possession,
but, according to your own statement, placed yourself in a position
where, could I have anticipated your action, I would have been compelled
to ask of you, as I was compelled to ask of your predecessor in the War
Department, a letter of resignation, or else to resort to the more
disagreeable expedient of suspending you by a successor.

As stated in your letter, the nomination of Governor Cox, of Ohio, for
the office of Secretary of War was suggested to me. His appointment as
Mr. Stanton's successor was urged in your name, and it was said that
his selection would save further embarrassment. I did not think that
in the selection of a Cabinet officer I should be trammeled by such
considerations. I was prepared to take the responsibility of deciding
the question in accordance