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July 27, 1869.

E. W. Andrews, Esq.

Harpers Ferry, West Va.

Sir:

Your letter of the 19th inst. addressed to this office, was duly received, and its contents excited some surprise. As you had withdrawn from any charge of the case of Brown vs. Young, and Mr. Blackburn had been engaged in your stead, I do not understand why you should have deemed it your duty to continue to act in completing the preparation of the case, for trial—or for what reason, as you say at the close of your letter, you "regard your relations to the case unchanged."

Mr. Blackburn informed me that he has not received from you any such communication of the letter addressed to you by Mr. Field, the Assistant Attorney General, as you state you have made to him; and his failure to reply to you is therefore probably to be attributed to the miscarriage of your letter. But to avoid further misunderstanding, I wish to say that, since the letter addressed to you from this office, dated June 28, 1869, we have not considered you any longer charged with the case, and do not desire that you should give any further attention to it.

Very respectfully,

E. R. Hoar,

Attorney General.