WRITINGS OF 5AM HOUSTON, 1859
377
He (Houston) did not blame him, since it was his vocation! Yet, Major Marshall was a perfect gentleman!! Judge Watrous came in for his share of the General's de- nunciations. General Houston had no disposition to censure the State gov- ernment under Governor Runnels. He did not know that Mr. Runnels was greatly culpable as to the frontier. He spoke of General Rusk. He said that they were generally together upon great political questions. True, Rusk did not vote with him on the Kansas Bill, for reasons satisfactory to himself. He denounced the Galveston News. It had always been his enemy. If for fifteen years back one could show him a single item that paper had said in his favor, he would form a more favorable opinion of it. It was an enemy of the country in the days of the Republic, by publishing articles discouraging to the Texans and comforting to the enemy. He could forgive the editor of the News as far as he was personally concerned, "but an enemy to 1ny count?-y I never can forgive." He next spoke of his services as a Senator. They were in- structed to sell the whole of the public domain of Texas to the United States for ten millions of dollars in order to pay the public debt; and if they could not sell it for ten millions, to take five millions; General Rusk and himself succeeded in selling fifteen million acres of the public domain to the United States for ten millions of dollars, reserving one hundred and eight and one-half million acres to the State. In addition to this there were an approximate two and one-half millions of dollars granted as an indemnity by the United States, which with the ten millions, paid the public debt, placed the five millions in our coffers, leaving a residue of three hundred thousand dollars still coming to the State. The territory thus sold to the United States was first claimed by himself in a letter to General Rusk after the battle of San J acinto--no claim to it having been set up by Texans before. He promised that he would see to the interests of the frontier. He denounced the abuses, intrigues, and corruptions of con- ventions. He was glad to see the late evidences of regeneration of the nation into the independent spirit shown by the people. It was by the proud emotions of the heart of freedom, rebelling against dictation and demagoguism. Van Buren was the first to
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