33
WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1854
that the commander said he would bring his guns to bear upon her, so insubordinate was the spirit which then existed in the country. The President suspended the Secretary of the Navy so soon as it was ascertained that he had gone to sea. On his return he reported for duty, but the President informed him that his services were not required. He reported it to the Senate of the Republic of Texas, and the Senate, by a majority, sustained the President; and Mr. Fisher was removed. There is one matter settled: 1 But, Mr. President, as it is my design to go pretty fully into a subject that has been before the Senate repeatedly, and to settle matters beyond all doubt in relation to the character and preten- sions of an individual to certain benefits and favors from the Senate, I shall take the liberty of relying exclusively, for the establishment of such facts as have been alleged, upon recorded testimony which is irrefutable; and so far as the character of the individual may be concerned, I shall rely upon documentary evi- dence, not so much for the purpose of vindicating the ex-President of Texas, as for the purpose of establishing the truth, that history hereafter may bear the record of the facts as they existed, and do still exist. So far as I am individually concerned, if it were a matter exclusively personal, I could pass it over with indif- ference, and with my personal existence it would terminate. But when an individual has been placed in high and responsible situa- tions, when his official conduct has been impugned, and when he has been assailed in books and volumes which are to be found in the Congress library of the Republic, it is necessary that he should place on record a refutation of the charges, that his pos- terity hereafter, when he has passed from the scene of action, may not be questioned as to the existence of certain facts, and be told, when an answer is given not indicating intelligence on the subject, that no refutation is found to them. I do not wish posterity to be told that the charges are gravely made by men of high official rank, and it is in vain to say that the ex-President of Texas could have refuted the charges if he has not done it; for if he could, he would have done it, because the position in which these accusations are found, in relation to the archives of the country, give them a gravity and importance that would seem to demand some refutation. Sir, I intend that posterity shall not be asked, "Why did your ancestor not meet and refute, or brand these charges?" and if they can give no information upon the subject, to have it said, "Ah, if he could have done it, it would have been done," and thus to have the slanderous statements taken
Powered by FlippingBook