Other conversations upon this subject ensued, all of them having on my
part the same object and leading to the same conclusion as the first.
It is not necessary, however, to refer to any of them excepting that of
Saturday, the 11th instant, mentioned in your communication. As it was
then known that the Senate had proceeded to consider the case of Mr.
Stanton, I was anxious to learn your determination. After a protracted
interview, during which the provisions of the tenure-of-office bill were
freely discussed, you said that, as had been agreed upon in our first
conference, you would either return the office to my possession in time
to enable me to appoint a successor before final action by the Senate
upon Mr. Stanton's suspension, or would remain as its head, 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.
Pages:
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761