WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1850
175
have become annexed to the Government of the United States? No, sir, no one can believe it even for a moment. Mexico would willingly have consented to recognize her as a separate Power, provided Texas would have consented to such a curtailment of her boundary. And is it to be expected that Texas will submit to such a violation of her rights as is here indicated? I ask the Senate, as Americans and as honorable men, if this were a question be- tween the Government of the United States and Mexico as to boundary, is it believed that the United States would surrender one foot of this territory? Mr. Clay. Will my friend pardon me, as the hour for the special order has arrived, for asking him to do us the favor to continue his eloquent speech on Monday, if it will be agreeable to him? Mr. Houston : Anything that will advance the public business I will yield to with pleasure; it will be no deprivation to me at all. Mr. Hale, [in his seat.] But it will be a great deprivation to the Senate. Wednesday, July 3, 1850 Mr. Houston. Mr. President, I regret to trespass on the at- tention of the Senate today, and I likewise regret that for several days I have been prevented by the business of the body from concluding the expression of my views on this subject, as it would have been much more agreeable to me to have done so the day ensuing the one on which I last occupied the floor; but to come at once to the subject, I will remark that developments very recently have been made which seem to give additional im- portance to the events now transpiring in the section of the country [to] which these resolutions refer. Before I yielded the floor, I had submitted the proposition to the Senate, not only as a body, but as gentlemen individually, whether, if the question as to the Texas boundary was now to be settled with a foreign power, a doubt could be entertained for a moment that the United States would insist upon the boundary as now asserted by Texas? The memorial presented this morning by the honorable gentleman from Delaware, it would seem, has settled the claim of the Texas boundary, and decided in favor of the recent proceedings relative to the state of government in New Mexico. These memoralists are doubtless about as competent to decide upon the rights of Texas, as many others who have adventured opinions upon a subject of ·which they can know nothing. They
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