WmnNGS OF SAM HousTo~, 1859
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legal opinions in ca.ises and questions to be litigated hereafter, in which the interests of individuals and of the State are immensely involved, whereby it is believed he has disqualified the court in which he presides from trying such questions and causes, thereby rendering it necessary to transfer an indefinite and unknown num- ber of suits hereafter to be commenced to courts out of the State for trial; and whereas it is also believed that the said John C. Watrous has, while in office, aided and assisted certain individuals, if not directly interested himself, in an attempt to fasten upon this State one of the most stupendous frauds ever practiced upon any country or any people, the effect of which would be to rob Texas of millions of acres of her public domain, her only hope or resource for the payment of her public debt; and whereas his conduct in court and elsewhere, in derogation of his duty as a judge, has been marked by such prejudice and injustice towards the rights of The State, and divers of its citizens, as to show that he does not deserve the high station he occupies: There- fore, Be it resolved by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That the said John C. Watrous be, and he is hereby requested, in behalf of the people of the State, to resign his office of judge of said United States court for the district of T'exas. Sec. 2. Be it further resolved, That the Governor forward the said John C. Watrous, under the seal of the State, a copy of the foregoing preamble and reso- lution; also, a copy to each of our Senators and Rep- resentatives in the Congress of the United States. Approved, March 20, 1848." An absurd and abortive attempt has been made by Judge ··Watrous, and some of his especial advocates, to explain the feeling that prompted the passage of these resolutions, in the fact that he had given an unpopular decision on the statute of limitations. 5 Indeed, Judge Watrous in his printed answer to the charges assigned against him, adopts this preposterous assertion as his principal defense, and appears to suggest that, instead of himself being the criminal, the people of Texas are so dishonest and depraved, that the standards of morality he has adopted in his court, are too high for them to appreciate and conform to. The falsehood of this, is only exceeded by the obliquity of the shameless man who utters it. In making such a statement in his anwer, he knew that he was stating what was untrue in fact, and false in spirit. And further, I shall
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