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WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1853
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of what they now possess. I know it was supposed that I had money in Texas, which was as great a mistake as any man ever made. [Laughter.] But I was written to, to obtain money for the purpose of purchasing these scaled liabilities at fifty per cent. discount. I was written to by gentlemen, and told that they could be bought up at that rate, and that it was a fine speculation. I will say that I replied, that I did not speculate. I said that I would have nothing to do with it. Gentlemen had written to me from Philadelphia, and from other cities in the Union, saying what description of bonds they would advise me to make an investment in, if I wanted to speculate. These are some little items that are rather interesting to show why these gentlemen who received the bonds of Texas when they were depreciated, are not the sufferers. It is true, as my friend from Maryland has stated, that Texas, or rather the Executive of Texas, did say up to the year 1843, that she would pay rightly and justly every cent that she owed rightly and justly. She did not say that she would pay the rascally claims which are made against her. It was only that the just and righteous claims would be paid. She is able to take care of her own business. The Legislature can take care of her business. Give her the money and she has (he means to pay her liabilities, and she will justly cancel every cent that she owes. In relation to the extract from the message of the Pres- ident of Texas, to which the Senator has alluded, I must regret that the whole of the message is not there. Those were the sentiments which I entertained at the time; and in continuation of that extract I went on to show how and why it was that Texas ought to pay her debts; and it will be found that the suggestions there made were those on which the scaling took place subsequently, in 1848. But we have only a portion of the message brought before us; and the true meaning of it cannot very well be construed independent of and separate from the rest of the message. But. I will state another fact to the Senate; that after that message was delivered, in December, 1841, 3 I believe it was, a law was passed declaring that every public officer should receive his salary at par value:' But on account of the new currency, the value of the bills was depreciated to twenty-five -cents on the dollar. They received their salaries at what the bills passed currently. They were charged with the amount of one hundred cents on the dollar, ·when they only received twenty-five cents, and not one of them has ever brought
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