PAPERS OF MIRABEAU BUONAPARTE L.UL\.R . 'l'exas herself. One would suppose, that after the object desired, had been fully attained, it was high time to abandon the disgraceful farce- if farce it was- and no longer sully the American character by such detestable hypocricy and fraud. Not so however. The negociation with Mexico, aided and abetted by the British Minister, was still kept up, and the American Minister either repulsed or deferred. Then let the unhappy prevaricator devise some more plausible apology for his conduct. 'l'he absurdity of the one he offers, but confirms his guilt. I do not pretend to any knowledge of General Houston's designs in this affair beyond what is deducible from the facts. Probably no one understands then except himself and Capt. Elliott; and I shall await this gentleman's future disclosures. But I do not contend that the whole conduct of Gen. Houston furnild1es the most irrefragible testi- mony, that after the reception of Santa Anna's proposition for a re- union of the two countries, he ceased to be the friend of Annexation, whatever he may have been before. This fact is proven by the reluctance with which he he [sic] entertained the question when it was introduced by the American Minister, Mr. Murphy. It is proven by the course which his cabinet pursued; the most prominent of them being open and violent against the measure; and none daring to defend it. It is proven by the conduct of his partisan Newspapers. They were all op- posed to it; and the organ of the government, edited by his own pri- vate and confidential Secretary, the most hostile of any. It is proven by the character of his appointment; not one being called into office except those who were known to be its enemy. It is proven by the fact that his retainers; party dependants; office holders and the as- pirants for executive favor, ·were all in the daily habit of denouncing the measure; and denouncing it too, with his approbation and encour- agement. It is proven also by his solemn assurances to Capt. Elliott that he was a foe to the measure; and by desiring him to notify his government to that effect. In fidelity to these assurances, he uniformly abstained from all action on the subject, until the meeting of con- gress in 1843; when he was coerced into action. No steps having been taken by him towards a treaty, nor any illusion being made to thE: subject in his annual Message, it was moved in that body that the question should be taken out of his hands, and agents be despatched to the United States, to form a Treaty of Annexation independently of him. The congress felt, as well as the whole people, that the Ex- ecutive had no right to defeat the will of the nation in a measure so vitally important; and defeat it too, without even the official courtesy of an explanation. A covert silence is the screen of guilt; truth and honor wear no mask. General Houston hail everything to apprehend from this body. On a former occasion whilst he was in the Presiden- tial Chair, the Congress had to save the country from the consequences of his guilty neg-Ject of duty by taking the military defence of the Re- public out of his hands, and and confiding the sword and the purse to another; and he had now, every reason to believe that his present delinquency, if further indulg-ed in, would be punished in a similar manner. From the process of impeachment, he had nothing-to fear. In a Senate of only fourteen memberfl, five devoted partisans were suffi- cient to prevent his conviction. But he was fully satisfied that Con- gress could and would carry out this measure without his co-operation, 117
Powered by FlippingBook