216
WRITINGS OF 5AiI HOUSTON, 1859
had been placed in certain hands, and that in a few years it was exhausted, and politics had taken a different turn within that time. There was no charge, that I know of, exhibited against me, but that of voting with gentlemen of the North who were obnoxious to the reprobation of the South. That is the whole of it. I had no intention of reflecting either on the Executive of the State, or the general politics of the State, for they did not enter into the election. Nor did I intend to reflect, in the slightest degree, on my honorable colleague, for he is very acceptable to me. [Mr. Ward speaks.] Mr. Houston. I have no hypothetical cases, no suppositious cases, to put to the Senator at all. I have only this to remark, that I hope that my honorable colleague does not suppose I would submit to any infraction of our rights. Our rights are rights common to the whole Union. I would not see wrong inflicted on the North, or on the South, but I am for the Union, without any "if" in the case; and my motto is, "it shall be preserved." 1 Congri;ssional Globe, 1858-1859, Part 1, pp. 332-334, 352-355. This speech was in reply to one made by Alfred Iverson, of Georgia, on the Senate Bill No. 65-to authorize the President of the United States to contract for transportation of troops, seamen, munitions of war, army and navy supplies, and any other Government service, by railroad from the Missouri River to San Francisco in California. The pending question was an amendment by Senator Dolittle that the bill should be committed to a committee of nine members together with instructions to prepare and report a bill p1·oviding for the construction of a northern and central, as well as a southern route to the Pacific. 2 Alfred Iverson (December 3, 1798-March 5, 1873) was a Senator from Georgia from March 4, 1855, to January 28, 1861, at which time he with- drew from the Senate and returned to private practice of law at Macon, Georgia. For biographical sketch see Biog1·aphical Directory of the A11te1-ican Cong1·ess (1928). · 8 The speech mentioned here has not been found. •Matthias Ward (October 13, 1805-October 5, 1861), was born in Elbert County, Georgia, but was reared and educated in Huntsville, Alabama. After finishing his academic education he studied law. He came to Texas in 1836, and settled in Bowie, Montague County. He removed to Clarksville, Red River County, in 1845. Although he was a licensed lawyer, he was a trader by occupation. While living at Bowie, and at Clarksville, he served for a number of ye~rs in the Texas Congress. In 1851, he moved to Jeffer- son, Marion County; he served that district in the State Legislature. In 1852 he was a delegate to the Democratic convention at Baltimore, and in 1856, was a delegate to the Cincinnati Convention, and in the same year was sent to the Democratic State Convention held at Austin. He was appointed as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of J. Pinckney Henderson. He served from September
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