696 



UNITED STATES. 



this act, lie shall be deemed guilty of a high misde- 

 meanor, and forfeit to the United States the penalty 

 of three thousand dollars, and shall, upon convic- 

 tion, be removed from office, and forever thereafter in- 

 capable of holding any office under the United States : 

 Provided, That if any other person than a public 

 prosecutor shall give information of any such offence, 

 upon which a prosecution and conviction shall be 

 had, one-half of said penalty of three thousand dol- 

 lars, when recovered, shall be for the use of the per- 

 son giving such information. 



In view of these provisions, and the fact that Mr. 

 Stewart has been unanimously confirmed by the 

 Senate, I would ask that he be exempted, by joint 

 resolution of the two Houses of Congress, from the 

 operations of the same. U. S. GRANT. 



After the message had been read in the 

 Senate, Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, at once rose 

 and presented a bill, in effect repealing the 

 section quoted. Mr. Simmer, of Massachusetts, 

 objected to its present consideration, remark- 

 ing that it was a matter which demanded the 

 most profound consideration. It was then laid 

 over. As no further action was taken, on the 

 request of the President, Mr. Stewart on the 

 9th addressed the following note to the Presi- 

 dent : 



WASHINGTON, March 9, 1869. 

 To the President. 



SIR: Appreciating the high honor conferred by 

 your nomination, and the unanimous confirmation, by 

 the Senate, of myself to the office of Secretary of the 

 Treasury, 1 regret that circumstances beyond our 

 control compel me to decline. Could the difficulties 

 presented by the provisions of the act of 1789, which, 

 in organizing the Department of the Treasury, pro- 

 hibit the Secretary from being " directly or indirectly 

 concerned or interested in carrying on the business 

 of trade or commerce," be overcome by any reason- 

 able sacrifice personal to myself, I would willingly 

 make it. I would promptly transfer, to the hands of 

 gentlemen in whom the public have felt confidence, 

 every interest in the gains and profits that could pos- 

 sibly accrue to myself in the business of my house 

 during my official term, to be applied to such public 

 charities as their judgment should dictate and have 

 proposed and sought, by the execution of appropriate 

 instruments, to accomplish that end ; but serious dif- 

 ferences of opinion have been expressed as to whether 

 that course would satisfy the requirements of the law. 



Although I will not hesitate to make this appro- 

 priation, provided it would enable me to accept the 

 office, and thus unite my efforts with your own, and 

 those of other members of your Cabinet, in restoring 

 economy, honesty, and strict frugality in the admin- 

 istration of the Government, and lift, as rapidly as 

 practicable, for the people, the great burdens of taxa- 

 tion, debt, and extravagance, resting upon them ; yet, 

 the business relations of my firm, in its connections 

 with others largely interested in their continuance, 

 are such that they cannot be severed summarily ; nor 

 can my interest in it be wholly and absolutely dis- 

 posed of without producing fresh embarrassment and 

 loss to those with whom I have been so long con- 

 nected. 



I cannot consent to enter upon the administration 

 of laws by any act or course that may be construed 

 into a disregard or violation of law ; and while, there- 

 fore, I regret that the plan proposed is deemed inad- 

 equate to relieve me from legal, and, as it seems to 

 me, technical disabilities, I yield to the better judg- 

 ment of others, rather than seem to be willing to ac- 

 cept the position in disrespect of law. 



In finally renewing the declination which was ten- 

 dered at the outset of these objections, I repeat to 

 youj Mr. President, my thanks for the honor done 

 me in offering this high position, and assure you that 



you will have my earnest efforts to sustain your Ad- 

 ministration in carrying out the wise and salutary 

 measures indicated by you on entering upon your 

 office. Sincerely 3 r our friend, 



ALEXANDER T. STEWART. 



The declination of the office tendered in this 

 letter was accepted by the President. Subse- 

 quently the President sent to the Senate a re- 

 quest to withdraw his message of the 6th. (See 

 CO^GEESS, U. S.) The vacancy thus occasioned 

 was filled by the nomination of George S. 

 Boutwell, of Massachusetts. At the same 

 time Mr. Washburne retired from the office of 

 Secretary of State, having been appointed 

 Minister Plenipotentiary to France. The va- 

 cancy thus made was filled by the appointment 

 of Hamilton Fish, of New York. About the 

 same time General Schofield retired from the 

 office of Secretary of War, and was succeeded 

 by John A. Rawlins, of Illinois. Mr. Eawlins 

 died on September 6, and was succeeded as 

 Secretary of War by William W. Belknap, of 

 Iowa. Mr. Borie retired from the office of 

 Secretary of the Navy, and was succeeded by 

 George M. Robeson, of New Jersey. 



The subject of reconstructing the Southern 

 States, in such a manner that the political con- 

 trol of them should be only in the hands of 

 persons designated as loyal by the authorities 

 at Washington, was the most prominent at the 

 time of the inauguration. Virginia, Mississippi, 

 and Texas, were still held under the command 

 of the military officer of the district, supported 

 by his troops. The President, as early as 

 April 7th, sent a message to Congress, then in 

 session (see page 1 98), urging that body to re- 

 store to their proper relations with the Federal 

 Government the States still excluded, and sug- 

 gesting that a law should be passed authorizing 

 a vote of the people on the new constitutions 

 which had been drafted. In compliance with 

 this suggestion, Congress passed an act, which 

 \vas approved on April 10th, providing that the 

 President might, at such time as he deemed 

 best for the public interest, submit the consti- 

 tution of either Virginia, Mississippi, or Texas, 

 to the registered voters of such States for their 

 ratification or rejection. He was further au- 

 thorized to submit, at the same time, to a sep- 

 arate vote of the people, such provisions of the 

 constitutions as he might deem best. It was 

 further specified that, before these States were 

 admitted to representation in Congress, their 

 several Legislatures, when legally organized, 

 should ratify the fifteenth article, which had 

 been proposed as an amendment to the Federal 

 Constitution. A still further stipulation was 

 made, that the proceedings in either of the 

 three States should not be deemed final, or 

 operate as a complete restoration thereof, until 

 their action respectively should be approved 

 by Congress. The President accordingly issued 

 his proclamations designating the day for a 

 vote on the constitution and for State officers 

 in each of the three States respectively. The 

 elections were held, the constitutions ratified, 



