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WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1858
It is explanatory of the law, and the whole intention of the law that has heretofore existed, and to enable the Secretary of the Navy to give such a construction as will meet the object of that law. It is not an original matter, as I understand it; but one in furtherance of justice to whoever may be intended. It embraces the case of no one individual; but is general in its import; and explanatory of a portion of the law. [Various members interpose questions.] Mr. Houston. I will explain, in a word, Mr. President. The reason for it is simply this. The provision for it was drawn up in great haste by my recent colleague, General Rusk, at the close of the session on the 3d of March, and he had to draw it in great haste, and omitted to include the widows and legal representatives of officers who were in the service at the time of annexation. The intention was to extend it to the midshipmen, supposing that the Secretary of the Navy would put a construction on the law that they were commissioned officers. He declined to do so. They are notoriously so, and I refer to the chairman of the Naval Committee. 1 Congressional Globe, 1857-1858, Part. 3, p. 2753. The amendment was accepted. CONCERNING CHRISTIAN INDIAN AFFAIRS, JUNE 2, 1858 1 My attention, as a member of the Committee on Indian Affairs, has been called to this subject, and I believe that I understand it pretty thoroughly, and have examined it with some degree of care. When it was first presented to me by some Indians and by a missionary, I then imbibed a very strong prejudice against the claim. But I thought that it was well enough to make myself acquainted with both sides, and I had an opportunity of doing so. I thought, in the first instance, that perhaps the.Moravians, a very respectable community to whom the missionary belonged, had possessed an advantage with these few families of Christian Indians, and had erected buildings for which they wished to be remunerated. The sale was made to Mr. Isaacs by the Indians, for it was considered that they had the right of making sales. The lands had been patented to them in their individual and not in their tribal characters, as I understood, with a right of making a disposition of them; else patents would not have been given them. There are only a few families of these Christian Indians. The Indians themselves represented to me that at the same time that the missionary was present with them, the white people had
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