“Now, by St. George, the work goes bravely on!” Another
letter on my desk from the President to the Secretary. Well, being in an
official envelope, it was my duty to open it, note its contents, and send it to
the Secretary. The Secretary has been responding to the short espistle he
received yesterday. It appears he could not clearly understand its purport. But
the President has used such plain language in this, that it must be impossible
to misunderstand him. He says that the transferring of generals commanding
important military districts, without conference with him and his concurrence;
and of high disbursing officers; and, above all, the making of appointments
without his knowledge and consent, are prerogatives that do not pertain to the
Secretary of War in the first instance; and can only be exercised by him under
the direction of the Chief Executive. In regard to appointments, especially,
the President has no constitutional authority nor any disposition to transfer
the power. He discussed their relative duties, — for the benefit of all future
Secretaries, I suppose.
But it looks like a rupture. It seems, then, after acting
some eight months merely in the humble capacity of clerk, Mr. Randolph has all
at once essayed to act the President.
The Secretary of War did not go to the President's closet
today. This is the third day he has absented himself. Such incidents as these
preceded the resignation of Mr. Walker. It is a critical time, and the
Secretary of War ought to confer freely with the President.
SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's
Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 189-90
No comments:
Post a Comment