33
PAPERS OF MIRABEAU BuoNAPARTE LAMAR
such. _:_ On the Comodore's return to this country he immediately re ported himself to the Govt. and all of his proceedings, and concluded his report by declaring that he was ready and anxious to appear be fore that Tribunal, which the President had called all nations to aid in bringing him before. Instead of however of [sic] arresting & bring ing him to trial, the President contented himself with writing to him a most audacious and calumniating letter/ accusing him of embezling public money, treason, piracy and murder - these things he charged in writing, yet ordered no court, gave the Comodore no hearing, but dismissed him from the Navy, arbitrarily and in the face of law di rectly against such a course. The Comodore, thus outraged he ap pealed to Congress for redress - Congress ordered a Court Martial - the court was convened on the 20 may 1844, composed of members all chosen by the President himself, except the presiding officer of the Court who was designated by law - This Court after a sitting of three months, investigating every charge of the President with great scrutiny, acquitted the Comodore fully of all charges derogatory to his honor. - 'The proceedings of the Court were sealed up and directed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives - They were then placed by order of the President in the custody of the Secretary of War & Marine, who kept them until the meeting of Congress, when they were delivered to the Speaker (then Genl. Lewis) in the office of the Executive, instead of their being transmitted, as they should have been, to Congress. The Speaker,. immediately opened them, and handed them to the President; who endorsed and signed the following statemt, on the finding of the court: "The President disapproves the proceed ings of the Court in toto, as he was assured by undoubted evidence of the guilt of the accused in the case of E. W. Moore late commander of the Navy." Signed Sam Houston dated Deer. 7th. 1844; few days before he went out of office. 6 When Houston• had made this memorandum or endorsemt on the documt, he then sent the whole papers back to the War Dept.; and thus, through the conspiracy of him and the Speaker of the House the papers were withheld secretly from Congress - The papers were di rected to the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and it was his duty to have opened and read them in the presence of that Body; but instead of doing this, he opened the documt in the Executive office, permitted the President to write thereon & then send them to the War & Navy Dept. without letting the House know that such papers had been recd. by him. The knowledge of this fact, however, came to the House, who, without hesitation, passed a Resolution calling upon the Executive for said papers. They were, however, not sent. The Secretary who had them in custody, absented himself, and a clerk of the Department, responded to the Resolution of the House, in such a manner that the Committee of the House who were sitting on Commo dore's memorial, reported a Resolution, requiring the dismissal of the "The letter was written by G. W. Hill, Secretary of War and Marine, by order of the President according to the report of the joint committee to in vestigate the affair as it is given in House Journals, Republic of Texas, 7-9 Congress, p. 348. •These papers could not be .found among the Army and Navy Papers of the Republic in the Texas Archives.
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