The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897 Volume 1 Page: 854
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34
Proceedings of the Convention at Washington.
Executive DEPARTMENT of Texas, )
Washington, March 4, 1836. 5
To the Honl. the President,
and Members of the Convention:
Gentlemen,—Having been called upon by the constituted autho-
rities of the country, to exercise the power, and discharge the du-
ties of Governor, according to the second article of the organic
law, which I have complied with much against my own inclination,
but in obedience to what I conceived to be my paramount duty
as Lieutenant Governor, the governor being suspended by the
competent authority. The right and authority under which I
exercised this power, and performed these duties, having been
called in question, and made the foundation of, and the excuse
for disobedience of orders in some instances, and doubt and in-
decision in many, very many, highly respectable citizens, to the
manifest injury of our beloved country; and not wishing to claim
powers not clearly delegated, and unquestionably given by the
laws of the land, and sustained by the people of free and independent
Texas, I have presented the subject before you, for your considera-
tion and decision, and will bow with pleasure to whatever conclu-
sion you may arrive. I know the tenacity with which the human
heart usually clings to power, and the exercise of a little brief
authority; but for myself I do unhesitatingly say that it was with
great reluctance that I entered upon the discharge of the guberna-
torial duties, and I assure you that I will retire from this situation
to the tented field, where I hope to render some service, however
humble, as a private soldier, and I trust I will meet every free-
man who can be spared from other public service. In this her
hour of peril and danger, Texas shall not find me wanting in de-
votion to her interest and honor, and this pledge I am now ready
to redeem with my life.
Although I entertain no doubt of my right and duty to act as
the Executive of the Country and, in the words of a distinguished
statesman of the Land of Washington, “I challenge the test of
talents and of time” in regard to the purity of my intentions in
the administration of the government. The course I have pursued
is marked, clear and onward. In the last Convention to the
best of my abilities, independence, and nothing but independence,
had my unqualified support; and every days experience since that
time, satisfies me that a declaration of that .kind ought to have
been made, and any other declaration now, would utterly blast and
destroy with a fated mildew, the fond hopes of the friends of the
country, here and elsewhere. Yet for Texas I am, and ever have
been, ready to make any sacrifice in my power to offer, but that of
honor and my oath of office.
Permit me therefore to request your honorable body, so to or-
ganise, constitute and remodel the provisional Government, as to
( 854)
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Gammel, Hans Peter Mareus Neilsen. The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897 Volume 1, book, 1898; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth5872/m1/862/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .