WRITINGS OF 5AM HOUSTON, 1859
290
had made a collusive agreement with the man Treanor, who was acting as the agent of the complainant, Cavazos, and who now called him as a witness. It is shown in the testimony that Hord held an instrument of writing, purporting to be a sale, or con- tract of sale, to himself and partner, of the town tract of Browns- ville, which was the principal subject matter of the suit, which was signed by John Treanor, as agent for Cavazos and wife; and the suit was continued, and Hord offered as a witness, simply to carry out this fraudulent arrangement. This revelation is not only important, as going to show the collusive interests of the witness Hord, but it throws further light upon the wretched system of fraud to which Treanor, this useful agent and witness of Judge Watrous, was a party. It would seem to be an excess of oppression thus through col- lusive management to use a party as a witness against his client and friend, and to deny him the privilege of examining such witness as to that collusion. But the record is falsified still further to take advantage of this testimony; and Mussina is to be bound hand and foot so as to preclude all possibility of his contesting his rights upon a fair and honest record. Not satisfied with foisting upon the case the testimony of Hord as a witness of the complainant, the "statement of proceedings" which is signed by Love, the clerk of the court, makes it to appear that this testi- mony of Hord had been offered by Mussina and other of the defendants. Love, in his testimony before the committee, in answer to the "question by ~horn was the original statement of proceedings made?" says: "I do not know certainly; but I believe the original was pre- sented to the clerk of the court by Mr. Hall, for him to verify by the indorsements on the papers filed." Thus is falsehood added to falsehood; thus is the truth of the record prostituted to collusive designs; and at last, by its falsification, is Mussina left without anything on which to hang even a hope for the recovery of his rights. Indeed, every circumstance about the record was calculated to inspire suspicion of its integrity. The translations of some of the most important documents in the case had been made, by Hale; and although he was not sworn, he was allowed to withdraw the original documents from the file; the translations which he substituted were admitted by the court; and thus again was the record of the case governed by this colluding and unscrupulous attorney, who holds an absolute conveyance for the larger portion of the property.
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