WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1836
449
As yet our course is onward. We are only in the outset of the campaign of liberty. Futurity has locked up the destiny which awaits our people. 'Who can contemplate with apathy a situation so imposing in the physical and moral world? None! no not one. The relations among ourselves are peculiarly delicate and important; for no matter what zeal or fidelity I may possess in the discharge of my official duties, if I do not obtain co-operation and an honest sup- port from the co-ordinate departments of the government, wreck and ruin must be the inevitable consequences of my administra- tion. If, then, in the discharge of my duty, my competency should fail in the attainment ·of the great objects in view, it would be- come your sacred duty to correct my errors and sustain me by .your superior wisdom. This much I anticipate-this much I de- mand. I am perfectly aware of the difficulties that surround· me, and the convulsive throes through which our country must pass. I have never been emulous of the civic wreath-when merited it crowns a happy destiny. A country situated like ours is en- vironed with difficulties, its administration is frought with per- plexities. Had it been my destiny, I would infinitely have pre- ferred the toils, privations, and perils, of a soldier, to the duties of my present station. Nothing but zeal, stimulated by the holy spirit of patriotism, and guided by philosophy and wisdom, can give that impetus to our energies necessary to surmount the diffi- .culties with which our political path is obstructed. By the aid of your intelligence, I trust all impediments in our advancement will be removed; that all wounds in the body politic will be healed, and the Constitution of the Republic will derive strength and vigor equal to all opposing energies. I shall con- fidently anticipate the establishment of Constitutional liberty. In the attainment of this object, we must regard our relative situa- tion to other countries. A subject of no small importance is the situation of an exten- sive frontier, bordered by Indians, and open to their depredations. Treaties of peace and amity, and the maintenance of good faith with the Indians, present themselves to my mind as the most rational grounds on which to obtain their friendship. Let us abstain on our part from aggressions, establish commerce with the different tribes, supply their useful and necessary wants, maintain even-handed justice with them, and natural reason will teach them the utility of our friendship.
i I I l
Powered by FlippingBook