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WRITINGS OF 5AM HOUSTON, 1858
explained, or it was stopped at the Treasury; but those good old days have gone by. Honesty is in slack demand now, and there is not much encouragement given to it, whilst we extend lenity and discretion beyond all reason and all bounds. We must begin to be more stringent and more exacting in our legal enactments here, or we shall find that the settlement of officers' accounts will become a mere form, a sham, and the only difficulty will be to keep the Treasury sufficiently full to gratify the cormorants, the vampires, who choose to suck the blood of the nation through the Treasury, or on the pretense of official duties discharged in unextraordinary manner, or extraordinary services rendered. If a stop be not put to this, the nation will be drained of its treasure to ·pamper individuals who may become favorites and have an advocacy, either here or with the heads of Departments, to force through their claims without a pretense of justice. Sir, I am not prepared to vote for this. I shall vote against it, and vote against anything that extends to an officer an extraordinary discretion; for the more you give the more you will have to grant.
1 Congressional Globe, 1857-1858, Part 3, pp. 2644-2645, 2671-2672.
ON THE DEATH OF JAMES PINCKNEY HENDERSON, JUNE 5, 1858 1 Mr. President, a few short months ago, it was my painful and melancholy duty to announce the decease of my late lamented colleague, General Rusk. That announcement had been postponed in consequence of the absence of his successor, who I desired should be present on the occasion; but he was not present. The duty again recurs, truly melancholy in its character, to announce the decease of my more recent colleague, General J. Pinckney Henderson, the successor of General Rusk. These events are very well calculated to impress the mind with the instability of all human affairs, and to admonish us that "in the midst of life we are in death." The proud hopes and anticipations of both have been cut down, and I am lli!ft the solitary representative of my State in this body. A recurrence to the scenes which have passed in relation to both these gentlemen awakens emotions difficult to repress, and inexpressible in their character. General Henderson was born in Lincoln County, North Caro- lina, in 1808, on the 31st of March. He received a liberal educa- tion, and chose the profession of the law as a pursuit, in which he soon acquired a prominent position. His health becoming impaired, he was induced to make a visit to the Island of Cuba,
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