The Writings of Sam Houston, Volume V

WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1850

113

counteracting an influence which would be discreditable to the character of the State which in part I have the honor to represent, by sending in the letter for publication. 8 Sam Houston 1 The No1·thc1-n Standa1·d, March 16, 1850. The Standanl, stated that this letter had been copied from The Union, January 13, 1859. :?For Memucan Hunt see Volume I, 525. 3 Hunt's letter to which Houston refers was a circular addressed to cred- itors who held claims against the Republic of Texas. He proposed that they should finance him in an effort to induce the legislature to assume the payment of the debt without scaling. He suggested contributions pro- portional to the amount of each claim, and believed that the legislature could and would-if properly pressed-make provision for full payment from the public fund. Hunt's letter is dated at Austin, September 27, 1849. He refers to a previous letter dated November 30, 1848.

RESOLUTION OF JANUARY 14, 1850, CONCERNING NEGRO SLAVERY 1

1 Congressional Globe, XXI, Part I, 1st Sess., 31st Cong., 1849-1850, 150.

RESOLUTION OF JANUARY 30, 1850, CONCERNING THE PUBLIC DOMAIN 1

Mr. Houston. Mr. President, I have a resolution which I wish to present. I desire that it may be read and referred to the Committee on Public Lands.. The Secretary read it as follows : Resolved, That the Committee on Public Lands be instructed to inquire into the expediency of granting to each family, (not landholders of property worth the sum of $1,500,) citizens of the United Stat~s. or emigrants who are now here or may arrive previous to the 4th of March next, 160 acres of land; and when said families shall have resided upon said land so granted three years continuously, and shall have erected buildings and clear[ed] ten acres of ground thereon, a patent shall be issued by the Government of the United States free from all costs to the grantee. Mr. Houston. I would remark, sir, that that resolution was prepared as an amendment to a resolution presented by the Senator from New York, [Mr. Seward]. Expecting that it would have been called up previous to this time, I withheld it until now, intending to make it a subject of amendment to the resolution of the honorable Senator from New York. That resolution not having been called up, I think proper to present

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