149
WRITINGS OF Snr HOUSTON, 1858
The Presiding Officer. The question of order presented is, whether this amendment is in accordance with the recommenda- tion of any committee. Mr. Houston. I am going to answer that question. When I received the joint resolutions of the Legislature of Texas at an early day of this session, I immediately referred them to the Military Committee, where they remained until the other day, and when I went there, it was with difficulty that they could be found. In saying this I intend to cast no reflection on the chair- man of the committee, for he was grievously afflicted for months. At length, the resolutions were found, but no report had been made on them. A communication had been made to the War Department for information on the subject, and the War Depart- ment wrote a letter of the most extraordinary character and did not recommend the recognition of the claim. I will state the history of it. In 1855 the frontier of Texas was not defended, many aggres- sions were committed upon her inhabitants by killing them, as well as depriving them of their property, and stealing their horses. Though at that time, there were some three thousand regular United States troops there, they were utterly useless, and afforded no defense to the frontier. The people settled on the frontiers were flocking into the interior. They found· them-· selves in a defenseless situation, subject to the mercy of the savages, and the troops utterly inefficient to pursue them, being infantry, or if they were cavalry, they knew nothing about such service, and consequently, were equally faulty. The State called out four companies of rangers, and settled with them in April 1855. They were paid, I think, under the direction of a pay- master of the United States, Texas furnishing the money. Some seventy-five thousand four hundred dollars were paid for the four companies, and $12,000 remained unpaid but liquidated, the amount being ascertained. The Legislature of the State at its last session, instructed the Senators and requested the ·Repre- sentatives of Texas to obtain the payment of the amount from the United States. Here is a letter from the Secretary of War, which I will read to show the inconsistency of it, and the frivolous objection that is made to the recognition of this claim: "They (the four companies) had been regularly mustered into the service of the United States, in the latter part of 1854. Whether they or the other companies mentioned were subse- quently in the service of the State of Texas, this Department does
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