Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1865-09-30
ADDRESS OF THE GOVERNOR.


We have received n copy Of an address
of Gov. Hamilton, dated the llth inst, and
regret that its great length precludcs our
publishing it entire, We give below such
extracts from II rs VIC can find room for, and
VIC deem of the most Importance to our
readers. We cannot but admire the candor
and frankncss that pcrvadeS thcwhole doc
ument.
The Governor commences by saying
o
1t was my purpose, very shortly after my
arrival in this city, TO address you dclibe-
rately and in n spirit of franincss, in ref
ercnce to our public affairs, that you might
be Informed Of my views concerning both
the present and the future; but prostrat-
Ing illness, and the pressure of public bus
mess which could not be delayed without
Injustice to those who have come from al,
most every part Of the State to meet me,
have postponed this address until the pres
ent time.
l have returned to Texas after an absence
of three years, with conflicting feelings,
which shall not attempt to disguise nor
gard for the people of Texas, Of gratitude
for honors and confidence formerly bestow-
ed, of solicitudc for their welfare, of strong
condemnation of the course which major
ity of them have pursued for the last five
years, and Of deep-seated anxiety concern
ing their future political action. have not
returned amongst you with any feeling OF
malice in my heart towards any man.
Claiming for myself no higher standard of
rectitude than am willing to allow to 9TH
er men, and feeling that am as liable to
err Us any of you, yet have proud con-
sciousncss that have not meritcd the OBJ
loquy which has been industriously and
unscrupulously heaped upon my name, by
the press and the politicians Of Texas, du-
ring the last four years.
Fellow-citizens perceive that this ad-
dress is likely to attain too great length.
| shall therefore be rs brief as possible in
what remains to be said. You will bear in
mind that before l reached the State and
assumed the discharge ofmy duties as Pro-
visional Governor the civil government of
the State had become wholly disorgnnizcd.
The functipnnries who had becn eloquent in
their declarations Of devotion to hcpeoplc,
did not have the manlincss or grace tostapd
at their posts and give their influence to
the preservation Of order. Your late civil
and military leaders abandoned you when
they could no longer safely plunder you
and Cypress you. They fod from the coun-
try, and left you without any means of pro-
tcction, to meet the consequences which
they had not the courage to share. l was
unavoidahly delayed in reaching the State,
and you were, for some weeks, without gov
ernment of any kind. The good behaviour
of the great body of the people under these
novel and trying circumstances, is sutflc-
lent proof that the violence and disorder
which disturbed the country during the con-
tinuace of the war was owing to the per-
nicious influence of your loading men, and
the constituted authorities Of the country.
When reached the capitol it had the ap-
pcarance Of city that had been sacked by
public enemy. The capitol was unroofed
and open to the sky; its walls defaced, the
public records and libraries greatly DAM
aged, the paintings and decorations of the
halls stained and injured by exposure to
the weather, the public furniture broken
and almost wholly unfit for use. In the
Treasury building, the safes where the pub
lie money had been kept bore the marks of
open violence. But will not dwell on
these things. One of my first acts was to
appoint n commission of three trustworthy
and capable gentlemen, one of whom is ex-
Governor Il. NJ. Pease, to examine into the
condition of the Treasury and of the office
of the Comptroller of Public Accounts, and
also to examine the books and accounts of
the late Military Board, The results of
their investigations will, in due time be
made known to you. then proceeded to
the organization of tho Provisional civil
government in the State, by the appoint
ment of county officers, District Judges,
and District Attorneys for the several Ju-
dicial Districts of the State. ] have ap-
pointed Judges for ali the judicial districts
of the State except the Ell Paso District,
and the District embracing the lower coun-
ties on the Rio Grandc. The counties of
the State, with few exceptions, have also
been organized, and the remainder will be
organized in very few days. In the ap-
pointments to Office, have invariably Sc
lected men who maintained thoir loyalty to
the government of the United States where
have been able to find such who were
qualified for the respective positions. And
| have not (unless ignorantly) appointed
any man TO office who has no. given assu-
rance of his honest determination 10 be n
loyal citizen in future, and sustain, to the
hest of his ability, the Constitution and the
laws of the United States. In a few in
stances, in which | had granted commits
sions upon improper information, to persons
who afterwards gave evidence of lingering
hostility TO the government Of the United
States, 1 have revoked the commissions; aal
shall continue to do so, ia all cases in
which become satisfied that have been
imposed on, and have appointed either dis
loyal or immoral men to office. AS | am
not personally acquainted with large pro-
portion of the men whom | appoint to Of
fee, you will see at once that | am obliged
10 rely upon the representations of others
and that some mistakes will be unayoida-
ble Let me ask you not TO suffer these mis-
takes to impair your confidence in my dis
position to do the best that can be done un'
der the circumstances of the case. | have
long since learned that a man in my posi-
tion cannot please every ono, and while
am anxious TO give satisfaction in all that
do, | shall give but little heed TO the muir.
murs of disappointed or oficiOus men.
shall endeavor to do my duty, according to
the best lights befors me, and meet the con-
sequences with what equanimity can COM
mand.
The President of the United States hav-