His measure of Grant was also correct. The storm of indignant protest against Johnson which shook the North to its center finally opened Grant's eyes. He turned back in disgust before completing the "swing around the circle," and, slightly more than a year after making his perfunctory statement of conditions in the South in opposition to the fortified reports of Carl Schurz and the military officers of that section, ordered General' Howard of the Freedmen's Bureau to give him a list of the murders and outrages of freedmen, Northern, or other Union men and refugees in the Southern States for the last six months or a year, as he "wished to make a report showing that the courts in those States afforded no security to life or property of the classes referred to, and wished to recommend that martial law be declared over such districts as do not afford the proper protection."

That Stanton was sincere in his expressed desire, whenever the country should be at peace, to retire to private life (at least to get out of the cabinet, in which he was without support) is confirmed by a note, written a few days after the date of the Ashley letter, to Peter H. Watson, his long-trusted friend, which was delivered at Ashtabula, Ohio, by a special messenger in the person of Major Albert E. H. Johnson:

My Dear Friend:

Washington City, October 19, 1866.

I have thought it would do you good to see either Albert [E. H. Johnson] or myself, and as I cannot leave here I have sent him to you to make a visit. It grieves me very much to hear of your continued ill health, and the more especially as I know you will not take the rest needed for your recovery.

The last Congress directed me to appoint some one to prepare the official reports, etc., for a history of the war.* There are many applications,

*In August, 1865, Stanton created a bureau for collecting, indexing, and preserving Confederate archives and appointed the learned Francis Lieber to have charge of the work, paying him from the provost-marshal fund. In December following Congress resolved that no one in the Federal service could receive compensation except from money previously appropriated and called upon Stanton for information. He replied: "The reason for the appointment was the necessity of having the archives collated by a publicist of known character and reputation, in order that they might be available to the Government without delay. It was the expectation that if this appointment should be considered unauthorized by any existing law, its obvious necessity would be sanctioned by Congress." Thereupon Congress enacted the law mentioned in the letter of October 19, under which Watson was appointed, but did not serve, and thus was the foundation for publishing the Records of the Rebellion laid.

but none that suits me. If your health is sufficient, you would, with my aid, do the work better than any one else; and as I do not mean to be here much longer, I could help you. What do you think of it? Or rather, I do not want you to think at all; but it occurred to me that if we were to work together a while on something that required little labor and occasioned no anxiety, it might be useful to both, having an adequate clerical force to take off the drudgery. But I do not know enough of your condition to judge whether it would hurt or do you good. Mrs. Watson is the better judgesuppose you talk with her about the matter.

I hope she and the children are well. Mrs Stanton and our children are now at Pittsburg. Her health is in a very precarious condition—so much so as to excite great anxiety lest she should go into rapid consumption. Public affairs are very gloomy; more so, and with more reason than ever before-not excepting the dark hours of 1860-1.

I beg you to give my kindest regards to Mrs. Watson.
With unabated affection, I am, as ever,

Yours truly,

The Honorable P. H. Watson.

Edwin M. Stanton.

CHAPTER LVI.

VICTORIOUS OVER JOHNSON AND HIS ADVISERS.

The fruits of Andrew Johnson's "swing around the circle" were decidedly contrary to his expectations. The November (1866) congressional elections went overwhelmingly against him, so that the Congress-elect had a safe majority to reinforce Stanton with necessary legislation, the President's veto notwithstanding. No veto was withheld, however.

Bills admitting Colorado and Nebraska; granting universal suffrage in the District of Columbia; preventing the President from removing certain officers (especially Stanton) and appointing successors without the "advice and consent of the Senate"-called the tenure-of-office law-and a measure dividing the rebellious States into military districts and providing for their government, were enacted, vetoed, and promptly passed over the vetoes in February and March, 1867.

More than a year prior Stanton saw the mad-bull spirit developing in President Johnson and informed senators and representatives that probably he would soon be forced to leave the War Department. This statement led to the enactment of the tenure-ofoffice law. "He did not suggest it or know of it previous to its appearance in Congress," says Major A. E. H. Johnson. "It was brought forward for him alone. No other officer of the Government was thought of or cared for. Congress felt compelled in sheer self-defense to throw its power around him, and did so. In cabinet Mr. Stanton opposed the bill and all the members disclaimed protection under it, Mr. Welles going so far as to state that the member for whom it was framed was not worthy to be the adviser of the President."

History, however, shows that he was worthy to save the nation. from another war.

The President knew the object of the law but dared not dismiss Stanton even while it was pending. He expected to force him out without resorting to formal terms of dismissal,

Under the reconstruction act, which subdivided the South into military districts, General J. M. Schofield was placed in command of the First District-Virginia; General D. E. Sickles of the Second -North and South Carolina; General John Pope of the Third— Georgia, Florida, and Alabama; General E. O. C. Ord of the Fourth -Arkansas and Mississippi; General P. H. Sheridan of the FifthLouisiana and Texas.

Their duties were to protect persons and property and punish criminals regardless of color or previous condition. The law declared, however, that as soon as proper constitutions and State governments had been formed, forever abolishing slavery and granting equal rights of suffrage, military control of such States should cease and they should be returned to the Union. The tact and courage of these military governors were severely tested. The conditions under which they wrought were so variant and perplexing that several of them asked for instructions from Washington as to how to enforce certain clauses of the reconstruction acts.

The task of formulating such instructions gave Stanton an op-. portunity to place Johnson and his cabinet on record. It is not known that he ever made formal notes of cabinet proceedings in more than three instances; viz., when discussing the evacuation of Fort Sumter in Buchanan's cabinet; when vehemently urging the emancipation of slaves in Lincoln's cabinet; and when debating the question of whether the military governors of the lately seceded States were to obey the laws of Congress or obey the whims of the President.

Cabinet had met pursuant to agreement to approve and issue the instructions asked for by the military governors. Instead of proceeding to do so, Johnson presented what Stanton called an extraordinary "string of questions" prepared for him by AttorneyGeneral Stanbery, on which categorical answers were demanded. Stanton suggested that copies of the questions be furnished to each secretary and time given for consideration and answer. This was denied and what followed is thus described in writing by Stanton himself in a memorandum marked "B" and dated "Noon, June 19, 1867":

In Cabinet: The special interrogatories hereinafter mentioned being presented by the President to the cabinet for their consideration, the Secretary of War read to the President and the cabinet the following statement of his views:

In respect to the interpretation of what are called the reconstruction acts of Congress, I am of opinion:

1. That by the act to provide for more efficient government of the rebel States and its supplement, Congress designed to establish a military government in the ten rebel States paramount to all other government whatsoever, and made those States "subject" to military authority.

2. That to the commanding general assigned in each district is given command over all persons, private or official, in his respective district; that command to be sustained by military force adequate to enable the commander to perform his duties under the act.

3. That the duties of the military commanders are: To protect all persons in their rights of person and property; to suppress all insurrection, disorder, or violence; to punish all disturbers of the public peace and criminals, and to this end (viz., a punishment) they may allow local tribunals to try offenders, and may organize military commissions. It is also their duty under the supplemental act to cause a registration to be made and election to be held as prescribed by Congress.

4. That, as the power thus invested in the military commanders embraces the exercise of absolute military "command" in their respective districts, it therefore comprehends the removal from office of any person who may hinder, obstruct, or oppose the execution of the specific acts of Congress, or occasion disorder in the command, and also the appointment of any officer whose functions are necessary to afford protection to persons and property, or to suppress insurrection, disorder, and violence within the command. And hence the military commanders may, by virtue of the acts of Congress, remove from office any provisional governor, judge, or public officer or agent, and substitute others whenever, in the exercise of reasonable discretion, he deems such acts needful for carrying into effect the provisions of the act of Congress.

5. That the powers before mentioned are invested by the acts of Congress immediately and directly in the commanding generals assigned to the several districts, and cannot be exercised by the President in person any more than he can take upon himself in his own person any other duty of military service vested in a specific officer by law; as for example the duties of the quartermaster-general, commissary-general, surgeon-general, chief of engineers, or chief of ordnance.

6. As commander-in-chief, and under his authority to see the laws faithfully executed, the President may remove the commander of a district for any wilful neglect or wanton abuse of authority; but such removal should be for good cause.

7. That the power of removal being vested in the general commanding the district, the President cannot order the reinstatement of any officer removed by the commanding general, unless it appear that such removal was wanton abuse of authority by the commanding general.

The special interrogatories presented by the President were then read by the Attorney-General and answered as follows:

Q. 1. Is the power vested in the President to see that the reconstruction acts are faithfully executed?