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WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1837
MESSAGE TO CONGRESS-CALLED SESSION 1
Executive Department, Republic of Texas.
To the Senate and House of Representatives: Gentlemen: Circumstances involving important interests to the country, have induced the call of a special session of congress; which subjects, will require immediate attention, and profound deliberation. The frequent call of extraordinary sessions is to be deprecated; and would have been avoided, on the present occasion, especially as the annual session of Congress will occur so soon; but, the necessity of your meeting could not be so well anticipated, by any future action of your honorable body, as it can at the present moment. At the last session of congress, provision was made, for the appointment of a commissioner, to run the line between the government of the United States and Texas. This measure was based, so as to correspond with measures which have been adopted, on the part of the government of the United States, 'for ascertaining the true boundaries of the two countries. Though no official intelligence was derived from the government of the United States, it nevertheless, was deemed satisfactory, as to its correctness; and, has been subsequently verified, as will be shown to your honorable body, by documents which will be referred for your consideration. The land law which was passed by the last congress of the Republic of Texas, and which was designed to take effect on the first day of October next, could not go into operation, without conflicting with subjects too important to be disregarded, in as much as some of the land districts would necessarily fall within that section of country, over which the United States have for some years exercised civil jurisdiction; but, over which, there is no doubt, that the government of Texas, so soon as the limits of each country are defined, will me manifestly entitled, to the civil, as well as the political jurisdiction thereof. It is to be deplored, that so soon as measures had been adopted by the government of the United States, on this subject, that the government of Texas was not apprised of the fact, or its agents near that government, until the 17th of June last, when a com- munication was made to our agent, by the honorable Secretary of State, for the first time, of the desires of that government. Although auth01·ity was given to the Executive of Texas, to appoint a commissioner, for the purpose of 1·unning the line, in
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