286
WRITINGS OF' SAM HOUSTON, 1861
removal of the United States troops, as soon after the· State had voted in favor of disunion, as would be practicable, and laid before them the above correspondence. His confidence was be- trayed, and the Committee of Safety apprised of his intentions, actuated by a desire to supplant his authority, proceeded secretly to obtain possession of the Government property. General Twiggs entered into communication and made arrangements with the Committee of Safety without the knowledge of the Ex- ecutive, the results of which are already known. As a conse- quence, the great bulk of the property has fallen into irresponsible hands, a favorite of the Convention having been appointed to take charge of it, who gives bond in the sum of $20,000 for the safe delivery of property valued at over a million. This officer has thus been enabled to enter the capital with his coach and four, the property of the government, which may be taken as a fair example of the liberal views of himself and his coadjutors, so far as the property of the people is concerned. The course of this committee, and that of Gen. Twiggs, furnish a new chapter in American history. It is the first time in the annals of our country, that a General of the United States army has conspired with a revolutionary committee to overthrow and supplant the Executive authority, which it was his duty to sustain and defend. The action of the delegates sent by the Convention to Mont- gomery furnishes another strange page in the history of this strange revolution. Without waiting to hear the result of the vote of the people, they annexed them to the Provisional Government of the Confederate States. Three days after Texas was annexed, the Convention passed an ordinance ratifying the Constitution and instructing them to apply for the admission of Texas. In the meantime, and since that period, the Senators from Texas have maintained their position in the U. S. Senate, under the Administration of Mr. Lincoln. It will thus be seen that our Senators in Congress ignored what they knew to be the will of the people. The delegates to Montgomery, not only ignored the peo- ple, but the Convention, by taking matters into their own hands and annexing Texas to the Confederate States, and the Conven- tion repudiated both Senators and delegates, by ratifying the Constitution of the Confederate States, and instructing the dele- gates to apply for the admission of Texas, while Texas w~s yet represented in the U. S. Senate and three days after the dele- gates had annexed Texas to the Confederate States.
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