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WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1837
I must, therefore, Gentlemen, return you the Bill with my dis- approval. Sam Houston. . 1 Austin City Gazette, March 3, 1841. 2 See Gammel, Laws of Texas, I, 62-76. The law was passed by a consti- tutional major:ty in the House, and by a unanimous vote in the Senate. See The Journal of the House of Re1n·escntat·i·ves of the Republic of Texas, 2d Cong., 2d Sess., 266. THE VETO OF A JOINT RESOLUTION TO PLACE CAPTAIN SYLVESTER AND HIS COMPANY ON A FOOTING WITH OTHER VOLUNTEERS 1 Executive Department, Republic of Texas City of Houston, Dec. 15, 1837 To the Honorable Senate of Texas, Gentlemen : I am constrained to withhold my signature from a Joint Resolution originating with your Hon. body, "T"o place Capt. Sylvester, his officers and company on a footing with other volunteers." It must be well known to the Honorable Senate that orders of the strictest nature were issued from the War Department, requiring all volunteers who were invited to Texas to be at the Army and to report for duty by the 1st of March, and in the event of their arriving after that date, their services would not be accepted, nor their presence needed. I regret to state that Capt. Sylvester arrived after that date and his com- pany was totally destitute of all the requisitions set forth in the orders issued to the commissary general at New Orleans as will be seen by the accompanying documents. The enormous demands upon the Treasury, and the limited means of liquidation which we possess, render it seriously in- cumbent upon the Executive and the Co-ordinate branches of the Government to watch with vigilance and care, lest any detriment may arise to the country, or injury to our constituents. In as much, then, Gentlemen, as I conceive the claims of Mr. Sylve~ter, the results of his own misconduct, he is not by any means entitled to them at the hands of the Republic. I must signify with all deference to your Hon. body, my disapproval of the Bill. The Commissary General assures the Executive that he ad\'ised this company upon their arrival in New Orleans, that he had
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