Life and select literary remains of Sam Houston of Texas/Chapter 14
CHAPTER XIV.
On the 13th of December, 1841, Gen. Sam Houston was inaugurated, for the second time, as President of the Republic of Texas.[1] The Government was now in a greatly worse state than when he took its reins five years before. The body politic had fallen into premature and inflammatory decay, not a disease merely, but a relapse. He had formed a Government out of chaos; it was his work now to save it from ruin. Millions in debt, the treasury was empty, and without credit on which to borrow another dollar. The money had been wasted while the debt still hung over the Republic; the promissory notes and liabilities of the Government had depreciated ten to one, payment postponed, but not repudiated.
In such a sad state of finances Gen. Houston proposed a new currency, called the exchequer system, the entire issues of which were not to exceed $200,000. For the redemption of this currency, he asked Congress to guarantee the customs of the country, and certain tracts of land amounting to about three millions of acres. An act had passed, through his agency while in Congress, declaring these lands not subject to location. Members of Congress were unwilling, however, to pledge lands, as such a course would interfere with private interests, but they were quite willing to hypothecate the customs. Opposition, rank and fierce, combined against the President, composed of many of the same elements which had attempted to rule him before, and had only brought the country near to ruin. The opposition aimed to control the appointments under the new administration. All such efforts to constrain his policy were, as they had been before, ineffectual and fruitless. From among the most enlightened and firm statesmen of Texas, he chose for his Cabinet officers, men in whom, not only he, but the country, reposed unlimited confidence. Hon. Anson Jones (the last President of the Republic) became Secretary of State; Col. G. W. Hockley (a warm patriot and a devoted friend of Houston in all his struggles). Secretary of War and Marine; Hon. William H. Daingerfield, Secretary of the Treasury; and Hon. G. W. Terrell, Attorney-General. Multitudes of broken-down speculators and politicians from the United States, hopeless of winning distinction in the new field which they had chosen, continually flocked to Texas and joined the ranks of those who had declared openly that they would ruin Houston's administration, even if revolution ensued, and zealously devoted themselves to the ruin of the young Republic. Having marked out his policy, calmly and steadily he moved on to its execution. The annexation of Texas to the United States was the first measure which engaged his attention; to aid in its accomplishment, he dispatched a minister to Washington to open negotiations. If annexation failed, his next object was to secure from Mexico the recognition of the independence of Texas. If he failed in both objects, he was resolved, in order to secure the peace, extend the commerce, and advance the prosperity of Texas, to open negotiations with France or England, and form a treaty or enter into an alliance. His next movement was to recall from Yucatan the little navy which President Lamar had dispatched thither to help on a revolt. A wide coast and a broad sea, and a country absolutely stripped of all defences, were open to the depredations of the enemy. Mexico had every provocation in the Santa Fe expedition, and the league with Yucatan, to renew hostilities. The amity which had subsisted between Texas and the Indian tribes, had been broken by the outrages committed. When, therefore, an irruption from the frontier, or an invasion from Mexico, might at any time be reasonably expected, in this exposed condition of the country, Houston recommended Congress to raise a company of sixty men to protect the archives, as there was then no military force in the field. Congress refused to adopt the recommendation and grant the needed subsidies, and adjourned the 5th of February. The seat of Government having been removed from its temporary location at Houston to its permanent site at Austin, the President started for Houston to bring his family to Austin, and in the early part of March, while at Galveston, he heard of the invasion of Texas by the Mexican commander Vasquez. The deepest alarm spread throughout the country on receipt of this intelligence. Families, all along the western border, were seen flying from their habitations toward the interior. The wildest apprehensions stirred the public mind. The enemy had provocation in the follies and disasters of Santa Fé and Yucatan. Another Alamo or Goliad slaughter might terrify the whole people, with a coast without protection and no army prepared to oppose an invader. In this state of panic, all the intrigues and conspiracies against Houston suddenly ceased. Everywhere, committees of vigilance and safety were organized; the various means resorted to in revolutionary times were called into requisition. They were now most active in stimulating their neighbors to prepare for approaching disasters, who recently had been foremost in threatening to overthrow Houston's administration in the storm of a revolution. The orders of the President at this time showed that he did not believe that the enemy would long remain in the country. In fact, the Mexicans, after committing outrages upon the citizens of San Antonio, had already made a precipitate retreat across the Rio Grande.
Great sympathy was displayed at this time by the newspapers of the Western and Southern States of the Union, for the cause of Texas. The reported invasion by Vasquez and the miscarriage of the Sante Fé expedition, had produced a sensation. Relying on this, Houston made an appeal to the American people. Agents were sent to the United States to receive contributions and procure volunteers. A proclamation was issued, in which it was distinctly required that all troops which came should be perfectly armed and provisioned for a campaign of six months. Texas had no means of arming troops; notwithstanding, several hundred volunteers came to Texas without arms and without provisions, in direct violation of the proclamation. At a public meeting in Georgia, some generous individuals raised something over $500. Besides this sum, all the arms, ammunition, provisions, equipments, and money raised throughout the United States and reported to the Government of Texas, did not amount to $500. Contributions were merely nominal. An extra session of Congress was called to meet in June, to consider the state of the country, and devise means for national defence. So general prevailed the impression that, if anything should be done, it should be done quickly, that Congress debated and legislated without much formality or delay. Congress passed a bill investing Houston with dictatorial powers, and appropriating ten millions of acres of the public domain to carry on a campaign. Without a dollar in the treasury to compensate agents for disposing of the land, this bill came no nearer making a provision for war than a "resolution to appropriate ten millions of acres of blue sky, and conferring dictatorial powers on the north wind."
The will of the Congress was certainly good enough, and members undoubtedly thought that they had acquitted themselves like men. Will without means is worthless. While the bill was under discussion, it was apprehended that Houston would veto it, as he was the last man to make use of dictatorial powers in resisting the encroachments of a dictator. The excitement became intense as the time for constitutionally keeping the bill in his possession had nearly expired. Angry and desperate men filled the capital, whose noisy clamor excited the country. The executive was assailed with various accusations, and threats of violence were made in every quarter, and he was even told that if he vetoed the bill, his life would pay the forfeit. Apprehending his assassination, his friends gathered about him, and begged him not to hazard a veto, in the belief that it would result in his own and his country's ruin. Few of his friends, for two weeks, dared openly to approach the President's house, but secretly went there under the shadow of night. In the meantime, assassins lurked around his dwelling. It is said that even his Cabinet officers talked of resigning. While a storm raged which could be resisted by few men, the President was cheerful and calm. No guard was stationed around his house; no spies were on the alert. What was said in Congress or done on the streets was not inquired after. The blinds and windows of his house were wide open as usual. Often was he seen walking across his parlor, cheerfully conversing with his family. His young wife, one of the most accomplished and gifted of women, whom he had married in 1840, and of whom more full mention will be made hereafter, confidently reposed upon his character, and sustained him trustingly and calmly, by her placid and intellectual conversations. The cheerful voice of his wife, mingling with the tones of the harp and the piano, was heard issuing from the open windows of the President's dwelling, long after the lights had been extinguished through the town, and sullen, desperate, armed men were gathered in secret meetings to plot and counterplot.
The crisis was terrible; Sam Houston was equal to it. No act of his eventful life gave such indubitable evidence that nature had lavished upon him all those gifts which make up the really great man, as this one. In his own chosen time he sent his veto to Congress.
In that veto he demonstrated to members of Congress how utterly and totally they had failed to accomplish the object for which he had called them together. Without making provision for carrying on a war, they had declared against a powerful and organized foe. The means to buy a pound of powder were not at the command of the President. He assured them, that if they would provide the means for a campaign, if necessary he would head it himself. No army could be prepared to take the field without money, and all attempts at hostilities without money—the true sinew of war—would only serve to bring universal contempt down upon the Republic of Texas. To confer unlimited powers upon the chief magistrate of the country was too dangerous to be established as a precedent. While they were warring against dictatorial powers in a neighboring State, he would never accept the prerogatives of a dictator. Universal calm succeeded the publication of the veto, and he now became the idol of the people who so recently had been covered with maledictions. Confidence was restored. Houston successfully crushed one open rebellion by going to the scene and calling out the militia. Desperadoes, finding that a man who could not be trifled with, was at the head of affairs, soon disbanded. With a new set of men in office, justice efficiently administered, and economy observed, the supremacy of law was again restored. And although an enormous debt had been imposed upon the country, which would take a long time to discharge, yet men began to feel again proud of their Government, as public credit was in process of restoration. Another important matter evinced the wisdom and magnanimity of the President. His first message after his inauguration had hardly been delivered, before the news arrived of the capture of the Santa Fé expedition. The fatal results of the policy of his predecessor were his first greeting in office. Immediately he began to plan for the redemption of the unfortunate men, who had been deluded away into the wilderness. The lives of Texan soldiers were as dear to him as if they had been his own children. To effect the liberation of the Santa Fe prisoners, he left no resource untried. He appealed to all friendly powers to mediate for their release. After the news of their capture had arrived, the Congress of Texas adjourned, without passing an act or resolution whereby the President might be aided in restoring them to their liberty. Having gone to Santa Fé in violation of the law of nations, and with no constitutional authority from their Government, they had been given up as doomed men. Thus they were thrown on Houston's hands. The terms of their capitulation was his only reliance. Even if they had been outlaws before, he insisted that their capitulation had brought them within the pale of civilized warfare.[2] After a series of negotiations, whose history reveals stirring scenes and vigorous efforts, these brave but misguided men were liberated. The Mier expedition also possessed a history connected with those times, the authentic account of which has never been published. This is not the place for such a history in detail.
Up to this time, Mexico continued to threaten a grand campaign against Texas, but had not dared to meet the revolted province since their overwhelming defeat at San Jacinto. Predatory bands of Mexicans had made repeated invasions with two apparent objects—to harass the country which they could not subdue, and to pay, with the spoils of robbery, the arrearages due from the treasury of Mexico to their soldiers. The tyranny of dictators had lost forever to Mexico the dominion of Texas. Mexicans themselves were the worst foes to the tyrant whose supremacy at his capital could only be maintained by the presence of troops. Should he leave his capital his dominion ceased, and another dictator would be proclaimed. This contemptible system of pillage and robbery of a Republic which had successfully won and maintained its independence had lasted long enough. But the Great Powers of the world had been slow in acknowledging this independence. President Houston' caused his Secretary of State to make an honorable appeal to these Great Powers to secure the acknowledgment of the independence of the Republic of Texas. The document, which is herein inserted, shows clearly the condition of Texas, and corrected many false impressions which had been made in other countries in reference to the struggles of the Republic. It gained the sympathy and respect of Sir Robert Peel and M. Guizot, who exhibited ever afterward a lively interest in the fortunes of Texas:
"I am instructed by his Excellency, the President, to submit for your consideration and action a subject of general concern to civilized nations, but of peculiar interest to Texas, viz: The character of the war at present waged by Mexico against this country. The President is led to believe, from the nature of the facts involved, that this step will be deemed not only admissible but entirely proper. The civilized and Christian world are interested in the unimpaired preservation of those principles and rules of international intercourse, both in peace and war, which have received the impress of wisdom and humanity, and been strengthened, through a long course of time, by the practice and approval of the most powerful and enlightened of modern States, To these rules, in their application to the pending difficulties between this Republic and Mexico, your attention is respectfully invited.
"Whenever a people, separate and sovereign in their political character, are admitted into the great community of nations, they incur responsibilities and contract obligations which are reciprocal in their character, and naturally binding upon all the members of this community, the extent and force of which depend upon that code of ethics which prescribes the reciprocal duties and obligations of each sovereign member. Hence arises the right to control the mode of warfare pursued by one nation toward another, and the corresponding duty of providing against the perpetration of acts at variance with the laws of humanity, and the settled usages of civilized nations.
"In view of the character of hostilities, at present waged by Mexico against Texas, and of those principles which have been, in the opinion of this government, so frequently and so flagrantly violated by our enemy, the hope is confidently indulged by the President that the direct interference of nations mutually friendly will be extended to arrest a species of warfare unbecoming the age in which we live, and disgraceful to any people professing to be civilized.
"The course of conduct uniformly observed by the government and people of Texas towards our enemy, stands in palpable contrast with their manifold enormities and wanton aggression, and will, it is confidently expected, furnish abundant ground for the exercise of the right of interference now invoked.
"It has now been nearly seven years since the Declaration and the establishment of the Independence of this Republic. During the whole of this time, Mexico, although uniformly asserting the ability and determination to re-subjugate the country, has never made a formidable effort to do so. Her principal war has consisted of silly taunts and idle threats, of braggadocio bulletins and gasconading proclamations. All her boasted threats of invasion have resulted in nothing more than fitting out and sending into the most exposed portions of our territory petty marauding parties, for the purpose of pillaging and harassing the weak and isolated settlements on our western border.
"Since March last, no less than three incursions of that character have been made, none of which have continued longer than eight days. The first party was composed of artillery, infantry, rancheros, and Indian warriors, in all about 700. Their attack was made upon the defenceless town of San Antonio. The second, consisting of about 800, attacked a party of about 200 emigrants at Lipantillan. They were repulsed with loss, and retreated out of the country. The last, under Gen. Wall, of about 1,300, attacked and took San Antonio the second time, by surprise, during the session of the District Court. His force was composed of regulars, rancheros, and Indians. The Indians employed by the Mexicans are fragments of bands originally from the United States, but now located within the limits of Texas. This government has always refused to employ the services of Indians, when tendered, against Mexico, and has sought every possible means to mitigate, rather than increase, the calamities of war. Persisting in this effort, the President has had recourse to the present measure, with a hope to subserve the cause of humanity. Should this effort fail, the government must resort to retaliatory measures, growing out of our peculiar situation, which are to be deprecated by every Christian and generous feeling. The rulers of nations are responsible for their preservation, and, as a last resort, must adopt a just retaliation. What is most to be deplored in a war of this character, is that the unoffending and defenceless become victims of the most relentless cruelty. War, in its most generous and noble aspect, is accompanied by great calamities. Nations are not benefited by it, and it must be productive of great individual sufferings. But when individuals and nations are exasperated by repeated wrongs. even cruelty itself may be rendered tolerable, if it be used as retaliation for injuries long endured. The massacres and cruelties which have been inflicted upon Texas, since the commencement of her revolution, have been responded to by a generous forbearance, but that can not be expected longer to exist.
"The object of Mexico, in her course, can not be misunderstood. By incursions of the character complained of, the spirits of our husbandmen and farmers are depressed—the cry of invasion is kept up, and the excitement incidental to war prevents emigration, and embarrasses our resources, by deterring men of enterprise and capital from making importations of goods into our country. This, for a time, may avail her something, but the aggregate of human suffering will be a poor recompense for the advantages she may gain. The origin, genius, and character of the people of Texas, are guarantees for her ultimate success. Nations that contribute to her advancement will command her gratitude. Never, since 1836, has Mexico attempted anything like a general invasion of the country, or conducted the war upon any plan calculated to test the superiority of the two nations on the tield of battle, and bring the war to a close by the arbitration of arms. Her hostile demonstrations, thus far, have consisted, exclusively, in the clandestine approach of small bands of rancheros from the valley of the Rio Grande, for plunder and theft, but sometimes associated with fragments of the Mexican army, composed for the most part of convict soldiery, fit for nothing either honorable in enterprise or magnanimous in conduct. The people of Texas, being, for the most part, agriculturists, engaged in the tillage of the soil, the consequences of this predatory system of warfare have been to them extremely vexatious and harassing, without in any degree hastening the adjustment of the difficulties existing between the parties. Entirely different is the general character of the Mexican population. They are literally a nation of herdsmen, subsisting, in a great measure, on the proceeds of their flocks and herds. They can move about from place to place, and make their homes wherever inclination or convenience may prompt, without detriment.
"Hitherto, the conduct and disposition of the Government and people of Mexico have been diametrically opposed to those manifested by the people of Texas. While the one has been depredating upon the property and dwellings of our exposed and defenceless frontier, murdering the inhabitants in cold blood or forcing them away into a loathsome, and too often fatal, captivity, inciting the murderous tribes of hostile Indians, who reside along our northern border, to plunder our exposed settlements, stimulating to the most cruel and barbarous massacres, and inhuman butcheries, even of our defenceless women and children, and to commit every excess of savage warfare— the other, animated by the hope of a further resort to arms and their attendant calamities, for injuries received, returned forbearance.
"The President has sought to abstain from the effusion of blood, and in that aim has uniformly restrained the impetuosity and calmed the excitement of his countrymen, so often aroused by a course of conduct which violates every right both private and national, and a cruelty and depravity which would disgrace the darkest ages of feudal barbarism. The popular impulse might have been turned upon the enemy on their own soil. The result might have proved that a free people, burning with vengeance long restrained, could levy a heavy retaliation.
"Such being the character of hostile operations against Texas, on the part of our enemy, which being plainly violative of every principle of civilized or honorable warfare, and, at the same time, so little calculated to achieve the professed object of the war—the re-conquest of Texas, the President confidently hopes the Government of will feel not only justified, but even called upon, to interpose its high authority and arrest their course of proceedings, and require of Mexico either the recognition of the Independence of Texas, or to make war upon her according to the rules established and universally recognized by civilized nations. If Mexico believes herself able to re-subjugate this country, her right to make the effort to do so is not denied, for, on the contrary, if she choose to invade our territory with that purpose, the President, in the name of the people of all Texas, will bid her welcome. It is not against a war with Mexico that Texas would protest. This she deprecates not. She is willing at any time to stake her existence as a nation upon the issue of a war conducted on Christian principles. It is alone against the unholy, inhuman, and fruitless character it has assumed, and still maintains, which violates every rule of honorable warfare, every precept of religion, and sets at defiance even the common sentiments of humanity, against which she protests, and invokes the interposition of those powerful nations which have recognized her independence.
"The Government of this Republic has already given an earnest of its disposition to consult the wishes of other nations, when those wishes do not conflict with the general interests and convenience of the country. Fully appreciating the friendly sentiments of those Powers which have acknowledged the Independence of Texas, and relying much upon their ability and influence in securing an early and permanent adjustment of our difficulties with Mexico, the President, in compliance with the desire of those nations, expressed through their representatives to this Government, revoked the late proclamation of blockade against Mexico, and thus removed every cause of embarrassment to those nations in their intercourse with our enemy. Having thus yielded the opportunity of retaliating upon our enemy the many injuries we have received at her hands, the President feels less reluctance in making this representation, and invoking the interposition of those nations to put an end to a mode of warfare at once disgraceful to the age, so evil in its consequences to civil society, so revolting to every precept of the Christian religion, and shocking to every sentiment of humanity.
"G. W. Terrell,"Attorney-General and Acting Secretary of State."
- ↑ At the election held in September, 1841, 11,531 votes were polled; Sam Houston received 7,915 votes, David G. Burnet 3,616 votes, for President. Edward Burleson received 6,141 votes, and Memucan Hunt 4,336 votes, for Vice-President. The following were the leading officers during this Administration: Anson Jones, Secretary of State; George W. Hockley and George W. Hill, Secretaries of War and Navy; William H. Daingerfield and James B. Miller.Secretaries of the Treasury; George W. Terrell and Ebenezer Allen, Attorney-Generals; Asa Brigham, Treasurer; Francis R. Lubbock and James B. Shaw, Comptrollers; Charles Mason, Auditor; John P. Borden and Thomas William Ward, Commissioners of the General Land Office; James Reiley, Isaac Van Zandt, and J. Pinckney Henderson, Ministers to the United States; Ashbel Smith, Minister to France; William Henry Daingerfield, Minister to the Netherlands, Belgium, and the Hanse Towns; Charles H. Raymond, Secretary of Legation to the United States.
- ↑ The correspondence of the Secretary of State of the United States, Daniel Webster, aided materially in the liberation of the Santa F6 prisoners.—Vide letter to Hon. Waddy Thompson, July 8, 1842.