317
WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1856
"The letter of Lieutenant Du Pont is not such a one as I had expected from an officer who had heretofore sustained so high a character in the navy." That is the same construction which the Secretary put upon it; the same which Captain Smith put upon it, and the same construction which Commodore Hull put upon it. I give the same construction to the letter. And yet, Mr. Pendergrast told Lieu- tenant Du Pont that Captain Smith had said so and so, and that he did not put the same construction on it. But I will read further from the same dispatch: "The letter of Lieutenant Du Pont is not such a one as I had expected from an officer who had heretofore sustained so high a character in the navy. It is not couched in language becoming an inferior addressing his commanding officer; and his refusal to accept the concession of which his brother officers availed them- selves savors more of pettishness than dignity, or of manliness." That is the opinion of the Secretary of the Navy, and it is what the Secretary pledges to Commodore Hull before he sent the revocation of the reprimand. Read it, and you will see where the defect is in the organization, and perpetuation, and improve- ment of our navy. You will see, when you come to contrast the reprimand, which was evoked by the conduct of the individuals, and the Secretary's retraction, that duty had been one time per- formed, but it was retracted under an influence-whether politi- cal, personal, or official, I care not. Such things are deleterious to the navy, to its discipline, and to the interests of the country at large. As I will show, from the remonstrance of Commodore Hull, the venerable Senator was mistaken when he said that that retraction concluded the subject forever. In the same letter of December 16, 1839, the Secretary says to Commodore Hull: "For yourself, Commodore, I have only to say, you are com- mander-in-chief of the Mediterranean squadron. The laws and regulations of the service give you ample power to protect your- self from disrespect, and to enforce subordination. Exert that power to the utmost; and so long as you do not go beyond your lawful authority you may rely on my co-operation and support." This is what Mr. Paulding says. I think there was good sense in all that, and it is just what he ought to have said; but I wish now to refer to another letter. Commodore Hull, in writing to Mr. Paulding, on March 21, 1840, after the receipt of the retrax·it of the reprimand, says : "Subordinate officers, nowadays, set aside the decisions of their captains, and appear prepared and determined to resist the acts
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