295
WRITINGS. OF SAM HOUSTON, 1856
charges which I mentioned were stated from official records; they were not fabricated by myself. For the courteous, polite, and elegant language of the Senator, I am indebted to him. It is not characteristic of every gentleman in the Senate, but to him it may be appropriate; and I shall not attempt to deny him the credit due to him for it. He uses the terms "unfounded," "calumny," "poison," and "antidote," and other such terms, as if Captain Du Pont had been assailed by any unfounded charge or accusation. Because facts have been arrayed which, in his estimation-though perhaps not in the estimation of others-are calculated to produce ridicule, he thinks I have been guilty of a very grand offense. Sir, I am astonished at the gentleman; I am afraid that he has lost his temper, and substituted passion for reflection and calmness. I should be glad to see a restoration of the amiability which has characterized the gentleman in his habitual intercourse heretofore; and I am unwilling that he should make me the subject of his particular vindictiveness if he gets into a little pet at any time. [Bayard interposed to say that he was merely indignant.] Mr. Houston. Well, if the gentleman indulges his indigna- tion unnecessarily, I am very sorry for him. It was not my intention by any .means to excite it. I shall not now occupy the time of the Senate by a reply to him; but when his remarks shall have been published, I will pin down every word and sen- tence which I have used with reference to Mr. Du Pont. He shall not escape the justice of charges that are fairly evoked by the public documents. I have made no charges against him; but am I precluded, as an honorable man, from arraying the facts as they have been presented to us in official documents? Is it proper to intimate that I have used a letter, surreptitiously ob- tained, by a betrayal of private confidence? Sir, I deny the im-• plication. It was not a private letter, nor was it marked private. It was a letter of public import, and of great consequence and importance to the individual to whom it was addressed, for he was one who was stricken down after the greetings of "dear and affectionate friend," and such endearing terms, when there was an attempt to evoke from him some accordant expression of ad- miration and laudation for the achievements of Mr. Du Pont. Because I have chosen to read reports that are official in their character, is that a reason why I am to be impugned or denounced on this occasion?
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