Texas Sentinel. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 30, Ed. 1, Saturday, July 11, 1840 Page: 2 of 4
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:aiwuiin.v'. j ne temporary places ai wmuu
i5ie cnblnistopped for a few days during "the time our
country was occupied by a hostile army could not be
looked npqp a3'(tho seat oi government. It is true the
first sessfqri of congress under the constitution was
held at Columbia. But it was not the seat of govern-
ment. The president of the government ad interim
jwouUhnot pretend to locate it he knew it was a ques-
tion whLh properly belonged to the representatives of
the people. But congress had to he called together at
some point and there was not at that time a place bet-
ter calculated for their accomodation than Columbia.
Thai place was accordingly selected but neither the
president nor cabinet looked upon it as a permanent
"location.
t Wiis removed from Columbia to Houston and re-
mained there until it was brought to this place. He
would not go into an examination of the means used
to carry it to that place iior the causes which operated
in bringing it away. These questions were not before
the house; 'but one thing he would say he did not
look upon its removal as any breach of the public faith
it was. admitted by all that it had been taken to Hous-
ton in violation of the will of a large majority of the
country. The principal actors in taking it to that place
were the proprietors of the soil ;- they hud realized an
imtne se profit bv the operation. But here the ques-
tion was different": it had been located upon land ot the
government the sales oCiots and all the profits aris-
m ; from the transactionVenl in to the public treasury.
T:ie act which placed it here was a public pledge to
me purchasers of property and to remove it now would
be a violation of their vested rights it would be a stain
up.n our national escutcheon "and we should be dis-
graced iu the eyes of the whole civilized world.
But say the gentlemen the principal reason for ur-
ging this bill was to settle the question ! What said
Mr J. settle a question by agitating it? This was
strange docrrme-to him. This question would not be
permanently settled for a hundred year the question
was not seitied in the United States : it was occasional-
ly agitated even there. But when good roads were
opened to this place when such improvements were
made as to render it easily accessible from every portion
of the inpublic and the people generally become ac-
quainted ryith its advantages then the question would
measurably be settled but it would never be settled by
continually exciting and removing the seat of govern-
ment at almost every session. But refer it to the peo-
ple they are mighty say the gentlemen who advocate
fhis measure and so say'l. But a vote of theirs would
be just as liable to opposition as a vote by their repre
sentatives in congress. Could he be convinced that
this bill would settle the question he would give it his
hearty support but it would take stronger argument
than any he had yet heard to convince him of the fact.
But it had been urged that a majority in this house
-represnteda minority of .the people of theHRepublic.
IPriis migiftJxte-case "bufft would be well for those
'-who urge that as an objection to enquire into the cause
wjiich had produced it. The time had been when the
west was more populous than the east: but during the
stormy days of the revolution the west had to bear the
burthen of the war. On them the storm of war first
broke their country was overrun by a simi-barberous
race who carried on an exterminating war in the land.
The citizens were not able to meet them and for a long
time they received but little assistance from the army.
- 'I hey were consequently forced to leave their homes
ana seeK reiugein oiner portions oi me repuu:iu. dih
- the enemy passed not over their country unmolested
as the bones of many a brave spirit who fell in his
country's cause will attest. By their sufferings and
their chivalry the east was protected from danger; and
is this a cause why eastern members should tell us up
on this floor that a western majority represent a nnnor-
. ity of the people? Or is it a cause why the seat of gov-
ernment should be removed from this place ? Forbid
itjjstiee forbid it heaven! Sir said Mr J. extend
that protection to the west which she has long been
entit' 'd to and eastern member? will soon ceae to
. boast of a majority of the population.
But t'.e gentleman from Harnsburgh did not fear
the se..t of government would go to she Trinity he
had too much confidence in the liberality of the eastern
people. He would tell the gentleman that he trusts to
a broken read when private speculation should inter-
val between public rights and private gain we had
no viarantee that the interssls of the naiion would be
regu.trded. The eastern people had the strength to car-
ry it even to Nacogdoches or San Augustine and we
had no guarantee that they would not exercise it. To
the citizens of Houston it would be ruin and they
would have the consoling reflection of knowing they
had been ruined by their own folly.
In reply to the 'gentleman from San Augustine he
would make some further remarks ; upon a subject too
which that gentleman professes to look upon as of much
importance. Retrenchment appears to be the order of
the day the army question has not been settled .and
we wewdeliUerating about the propriety of disbanding
our iai ait little army and again leaving our frontier
in a defenceless situation; and that too just as (lie offi-
cers appointed for that purpose are about carrying into
operation n'law'of last congress for the establishment
of a military road aud a chain of posts across our nor-
thern and western frontier. The gentleman from San
Augustine he believed advocated the measure : and
why? because lbs government was not able to meet
the expense of keeping them up; at the same time'iie
Tcallsupon congress to remove theseatof government a
.measure which is dot called for by the people and
r rnk.-f. 'A
ulnr.h vRuld benefit no tart of the republic and thus
incur oi expense greater than would be required for
the protection of our suffering tontier for eighteen
'months J wueu gentlemen aiu called upon for an ap-
propriation tor Hie ptoteetiou oftthu frontier to guard
our helpless women anu cnndien from the tomahawk
of the savage tue cry ol letieuehnieut and economy is
.raised 'ana ilie lues ai.d piopuiy oi our countrymen
jejpatdi&eu'lor tue wain oi a Miuiii sum's being-appro-pnalcU
lOr tneir piolixuon 1 But Mo same guilleuien
wno aie-sucli tkieinioiis advocate for "ryi.njimciu
und eaoihy" now cati upon us lo adopt a measure
unnecessary to the piuspuity ot the country which
will involve our hn-.uces m almost inextricable rum
and xvtiicji can have no beneficial eltect luilhej Ulan to
g'ratuy tlie avarice ami cupidity of some who would
grow rieij.upou tneruiuoi their country.
But the gentleman f torn San Augustine said theie
hud been fraud in the jemoval ol the beat ot govern-
ment lrom Houston. That was a grave charge aud
the gentleman might have good reason lor malting it.
Bui it there was iraud in the removal he .emu red to
say that the hist congress was the most conupt budy
winch had ever asternmed on the lace ol the eailh: lor
on the "hind vote wuen the question was asked '-shall
the bnl pass" but tlitee voted in the nagative ; and as
honest men were entitled to rewaid lor honest measure-
as in this instance there were so lew he would
name them: they were Uakor. Johnson and Lawrence.
The gentleman lrom Harnsburgh had said there
was corruption in the choice ot the commissioners and
had quoted from the constitution to show that "mem-
beis ot congress were in-eligible to any office winch
should have been created or the emoluments of which
should have been changed during the time for which
they weie elected.1' He agreed with the gentleman
perfectly in the premaces. but not in the application of
hi quotation. A commissioner lo locate the seat of
government was not an oilicer such as the constitu-
tion contemplated. They performed their specific du-
ty and their services expired. An office is a station
which is permanent such as the heads of departments
judges justices of the peace or clerks of courts. But a
mere commissioner wnose station is discontinued as
soon as a specific duty is performed is not an officer
under the constitution as well might we say that a
commissioner to designate a county boundary or mark
out a road was an ouice which could not be held by a
member of congress. He thought it highly improper
lor members to rise on this floor and accuse gentlemen
who were absent of fraud. He had been in the habit
of investigating things legally and he would like tosee
the proof before he condemned honorable men for fraud
Gentlemen might raise the cry of speculation and
talk of the location of a hundred leagues of land near
this place and might succeed in creating an excite-
ment for a&iorttimc?but thepeopje would soon begin
to ask Fol?pdence and it it could not be made it
would sdonrecbil back upon the heads of those who
made the charge.
It had been gravely urged by the gentleman from
San Augustine "that we were here on the very verge
of civi.izatiou or to use his own words a littlr beyond
it." He had toid us that this country would never ad-
mttof a dense population. The gentleman might not
be quite as well acquainted with this section of the
country as some others were. He was sure he was
not or he would not have ventured such an assertion
upon this floor. He had been informed by the best au-
thority that the country in every direction around Aus-
tin was equal to any in the Republic. It is true there
is a vary considerable range of mountains ol perhaps
fifteen miles in extent upon our north west. But the
land on the hills was rich and the valleys among them
could not be surpassed in beauty and fertility by any
lauds upon earth. On the west there is an uninterrup-
ted body ol good laud for more than a hundred miles :
look at the Piordeua.is and the Llano the laud on
these stieams is not surpassed in li-rtilUy by any in the
couutrv. Above and below we have the line lands of
the Colorado; and east to the Brazos we have the far
lamed l.nuN ol the -an Gabriel the Brushy aud Little
itiver. For beauty health good water and leitiii.y of
soil the lands on tho.-e stream cannot be surpassed.
Th 'gentleman was cither uttering a grave jest or he
attempted to speak upon a subject which he Knew no-
thing about.
As a further p'oof that we were beyond the verge of
civilization the gentleman from San Augustine had
said that Here he "had never heard the sweet voice ol
woman nor the. prattling of children."' From the gen-
tleman's acknowledged gallantry he was astonished to
hear him ma-ke such an admission. If he would take
thn trouble to visit the city school he could least his
eves upon a very respectable troop of children ; and
though ladies were 'not quite as plenty as in some of
ihcoTd cities of the Atlantic Stales he could assure the
gentleman that there were some choice spirits here
who would do honor to the best society of our father-
land. But. sir if you will keep the seat of government
at clns place the gentleman need not 'ong complain of
a sparse population: nnd he may soon be cheered by
the "voice of woman and the prattling of children"
-from the Brazos lo the Sau Antonio river and north to
the Cross Timbers.
(To be continued.)
GENTLE HOUSES & MULES WAN-
TED highest prices given for American &
Spanish horses and Mules.
Apply to EVERETTE & Co
Auctioneer and General Agents Galvcs'ou.
30 41
it. .
s
TEXAS SE'NTINEU
GEO. W. BONNKLL Editor.
AUSTIN SATURDAY JULY 111840.
The Indians "who lately came into Bastrop and stole
horses were pursued byjQol VALLAcUj.and a party
of volunteers from that place nhd overtaken ; one In-
dian waskilled the other succeeded m making his
escape. "
All Ue mischeif which is done in this part of the
country is supposed to be by parties of from three to
five in number;
A large number of the government horses were stolen
from the neighbourhood about Burleson a few nights
baek Capt. Lewis and a company of .Regulars has
gone in pnrsujt.
f " r
THE CROPS. Since the settlement of Texas there
has not probably been a greater prospect of abundant
( rups. Corn can now be engaged in this neighborhood
at from twenty to twenty two cents'per bushel.
We again resume the publication of the debate oi
the bill for the temporary location ol the seat of govern-
ment and shall not again lay it aside until 1 it is com-
pleted. This paper contains the first part of Mr
Jack's speech. We shall publish the remainder of it
in our next. To this speech we would call particular
attention it is one of ablest speech.es which was deliv-
ered during the last session of Congress.
The 64th aniversary of the American Independence
was celebrated in a very appropriate and spirited man-
ner by the Travis Guards.
A very eloquent oration was delivered by Mr. Thcs-
Gales Forster. which wearesory wecannotlay before
our readers. The declaration of Independence was
read by lit. M. P. Woodhouse after which the com-
pany repaired to Mr. Bullock's Hotel where a sump-
tuous entertainment was prepared for them.
Considerable excitement appears to exist in many
parts of the Republic on account of the laws and jour-
nals of the last session of congress not having been
published by the time prescribed by congress. It is ve-
ry natural thai such a feeling should exist but the
cause which produced it has been beyond the
control ot the public printer. Paper could not be pur-
chased either iu Texas or New Orleans. An instance
has not probably been known before in twenty years
that a sufficient supply could not have been purchased
in New Orleans and no one could have anticipated
such ascarivat this time. We had. to sendto Boston
and even URfc wait its manufacture. The paper has
now arrived'and the work has commenced and it will
be ready for delivery as quick as it can be done.
Mr. Bee has just arrived in this place from the
Eastern boundary. He informs us that the Commis-
sioners of therespective governments had proceeded up
flip rirp.r ns far as the 3:2nd. deprntt of north latitude.
but were compelled to postpone the running of the line
over land as the appropriation had been expended.
He informs us that the .-tartmg point was .".bout-five
miles east of the place heretofore looked upon as the
place of beginning. This will give Texas a strip of ianl
five miles wide across her whole eastern boundary more
than she has heretofore claimed.
We learn by a gentleman who has just arrived front
the Brazos that the report which first came to this place
of Indian massacres in Stroud's settlement was. us usi'-
alvery much exaggerated. But one man a Mr Tid-
well was killed and his wife aud two children taken
pri:-oners.
Gn. Fcnx Huston" with one hundred and seventy
men are in pursuit of them and hopes are entertained
that the woman and children will be recovered and
the Indians chastised.
The following chaste specimen of cliegant literature
we take from the Matagorda Gazette. Being always
wi img to encjumge genious we have transle r-r-'d
it to our columns.
The editor of the Austin City Sentinel has again
stepped beyond the hue of editorial and gentlemanly
decorum to throw out inuendoes against Mr. Holmes
the late representative from this county which disgrace
his journal his political friends aud his country; for
reflecting and honest men must regard a newspaper
thus employed in the desecratian of pure moral wortr
as a caterer for low and grovelling prejudices; the party
who aid and countenance it as being forced to depend
on weapons which men do not resort to nntill deprived
of all rational and fair means of combating their oppo-
nents: anil they must mourn the rapid strides towards
political corruption which a relish unfair and unjust
accusations most surely indicates.
In behalf of the political party with whom we have
heretofore acted we take occasion to disclaim the neces-
sity of using such gross and dishonerahf e means to
sustain our cause. Though it is known that the .Hon.
Mr. Holmes and ourself are politically at variencethat
we differ essentially in our appreciation of public men
and measures of state yet in common with our country-
men we have felt value and effect of his exertions as
a member of congress in many instances in which ho
hno imivWfl thn influence of his mind hisenergv end
his honesty upon oy destiny as a nation. We- cannot t
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Bonnell, George W. Texas Sentinel. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 30, Ed. 1, Saturday, July 11, 1840, newspaper, July 11, 1840; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth80046/m1/2/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.