WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1858
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George Washington Baines was a pioneer preacher of Texas. He served as pasto1· of the Baptist church at Huntsville for a number of years. His wife and Mrs. Houston were close friends. His son, George Washington Baines, Jr., was also a Baptist preacher, and was head of the Bible Chair at the Baptist Institute at San Marcos, Texas, for fifteen years. He died at San Marcos on March 21, 1923.
FEBRUARY-APRIL, 1858
A RESOLUTION RELATIVE TO PAY FOR THE OFFICERS OF THE TEXAS NAVY, FEBRUARY 2, 1858 1 Mr. Houston su,bmitted the following resolution which was considered by unanimous consent and agreed to. Resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy be requested to fur- nish, for the information of the Senate, a full statement exhibit- ing such action as had been had in his Department in relation to an appropriation of five years' pay to the officers of the Navy of the late Republic of Texas, embracing 1. Names 2 of all persons who have been paid under the act referred to; the amount to each and the nature of evidence on which payment was made. _ 2. A copy of his decision in the case of Captain John G. Tod, of the said navy, together with a copy of all the papers upon which said decision was founded. 1 Congressional Globe, 1857-1858, Part 1, p. 541. 2 Among the Houston Papers belonging to Mrs. Margaret John, there is a letter from Charles B. Snow to General Sam Houston, of April 2, 1858. In 1858 Snow was an officer in the United States Coast Survey, but in 1842, he was a lieutenant in the Texas navy. During research relative to this reso- lution that Houston had offered, Houston evidently wrote to Snow and asked for the names of all the officers of the Texas navy who were commissioned in 1842. Snow 1·eplied giving a list of twenty-two names, the rank of each man, and what had become of him. This same list may be found-with a slight variation in the spelling of four of the names-in E. W. Winkler (ed.), Secret Jo'lf,rnals of the Senate of the Republic of Texa,s, 1886-1845, p. 226. Of course, Mr. Winkler's list does not tell what had become of the various men. Snow's list shows that of the twenty-two officers of the Texas navy in 1842, only seven-of the men were living in 1858. Photostat copies of Snow's list may be seen at both the Texas State Library, and at The Uni- versity of Texas Library. A RESOLUTION PROPOSING A PROTECTORATE OVER MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA, FEBRUARY 16, 1858 1 Whereas, the events connected with the numerous efforts of the people of Mexico and Central America of this continent to establish and maintain order and good government, since their
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