On the 13th of January, 1868, the Senate, having considered the reasons assigned by the President for the suspension of Stanton from office, non-concurred in the same and sent notice to this effect to the President and to Grant. The latter considered his functions as Secretary _ad interim_ terminated from the moment of receipt of the notice and so notified the President, at the same time locking the door of his room and handing the key to the person in charge of the Adjutant-General's office in the same building. Under the terms of the Tenure-of-Office Law, Stanton returned and resumed his former place. On the 27th of January, a motion was made by Mr. Spalding in the House of Representatives that the Committee on Reconstruction be authorized to inquire what combinations had been made to obstruct the due execution of law and to report what action, if any, was necessary in consequence thereof. This resolution was adopted by a vote of 99 to 31. A few days later, on the motion of Thaddeus Stevens the evidence taken by the Committee on the Judiciary on the impeachment question was referred to the Committee on Reconstruction. Certain correspondence that had passed between General Grant and President Johnson relating to the retirement of the former from the War Office was also sent to the same committee. The correspondence between General Grant and the President here referred to gives a fresh illustration of Andrew Johnson's want of tact in dealing with men and events. He first made an accusation that Grant had failed to keep a promise that he had previously given that "if you [Grant] should conclude that it would be your duty to surrender the department to Mr. Stanton, upon action in his favor by the Senate, you were to return the office to me, _prior to a decision by the Senate_, in order that if I desired to do so I might designate somebody to succeed you." This letter was dated January 31, 1868. Grant replied (February 3) denying that he had made any such promise, and saying that the President in making this accusation had sought to involve him in a resistance to law and thus to destroy his character before the country. Several other letters followed, including one from each member of the Cabinet, who was present when the matter was talked of between the two principals, all confirming the President's statements. The letters of Browning and Seward, however, tended to show that the President's desire was to make up a case for the Supreme Court, to decide whether he had a right under the Constitution to remove a Cabinet officer or not, and that he supposed that Grant had promised to coöperate with him to promote that end; but that whatever Grant might have promised, the sudden action of the Senate led him to believe that he could not delay his retirement without subjecting himself to the chance of fine and imprisonment under the Tenure-of-Office Law.[103]