WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1847
534
to General ,von, directing that any individual whatever, who should be found beyond a league's distance from the left bank of the Rio Bravo, should be punished as a traitor. He referred, also, to the occupancy of Point Isabel, and other circumstances, to establish the same point. He then proceeded. Now, if the President, with a knowledge of all these facts, had not taken the steps which he did, he would have been justly charge- able with disregarding the rights of Texas. Texas, at that time, had the right to claim all the privileges, rights, and immunities . of any other member of this Confederacy. She was at that time virtually a member of this·Union. Certain forms had been pre- scribed for her to observe before she could be admitted, and Texas had conducted herself in conformity thereto, and had therefore, the right to claim the consideration of this Government; and less than was extended to her would have been injustice. If the Presi- dent had refused, Texas would have had the right to have rescinded all action on the joint resolution, and considered it a fraud upon her, and a transaction that had not been meditated in good faith. But it had been alleged that our general was informed, previous to his advance from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande, that if he would not cross the Colorado there would be no act of war. He had then passed over three-fourths of the Texan territory, and to have acted on such an intimation would have left him in a posi- tion not defensible, and where he could be surrounded and cut off-for that Mexico meditated war there could be no doubt. Did not Paredes write to Arista expressing a hope that he was pre- pared to place himself at the head of his army; and directing him not to wait for the advance of the American army, but to go and find it, and annihilate it wherever found? The Executive, then, had not transcended either his power or his duty in station- ing the army at Corpus Christi, or marching it to the Rio Grande. It could not be believed that the President did it to involve the two countries in war; but even if war was the inevitable result of the advance of the army, he held that the President was bound to do it. If we were to wait for any friendly indication from Mexico towards Texas, he was apprehensive we should wait a long time. The President did not by any means advance farther than his obligation to Texas required, or the joint resolution implied, which had been entered into by the preceeding Adminis- tration. It was not necessary to give the information to the Senate that the Administration of Mr. Tyler took the initiatory step to carry out the joint resolution the evening before his term
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