The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1877-08-28
,.srs reland's Defense - Report Of
nm Interview.

49,. zach Tor hAO acres, 20 Colonel a,
4, uobby. of Galveston, about seven
I" nh. after Comptroller Daden had
g.J IN rhe general land office the on,
W. i,s.r. certificate, showing thar John
II G hop, contractor had fully CONS
Had with the law and had cleaned out
lOO miles of tie Bernard river,
"nIl n n 1000 miles of the Clney said
aork having been performed in accord.
.nee with "an act 10 improve the nayi'
"non of OYSTER Creek, Bernard aud
E,ney approved March 70, 1875 for
,onceded compliance with which act
commissioners were duly appointed by
Ma governor to superlntend contract
or and control the cleaning out Of said
Belore the fling Of the engineers
.orti6cate. December 10, 1916, Coke,
,5en governor, entered protest against
,be issuance of any more certificates,
allocinr fraud, and the issuance Of Ger.
ti6cates was stayed out Of respect for
the governors request
Judge Ireland states that 1t has been
tbe custom for the governor Though
the duties of the commissioner of the
land office are untrammeled, and are
nnrely defined by law 10 exercise u
General supervision Of the business of
tbe land Office; and when IL has been
discovered 10y the executive that the
interests of the state were about TO be
icopardiaed by any transaction that
Soaicial has felt il part of his duty to
nrotest against such transaction But
4 has been equally as well observed n
custom, the Judge says, for the force of
any such protest TO end with the eXpi-
ration of sixty days. this time being
given Tor the adoption Of any means
10 substantate the protestants alleges
tons. o .
After the filing Of the certificate of
the engineer, showing the number of
miles cleaned out of the Bernard and
Coney rivers, seven months and more
elapsed, when Colonel A, NJ, Hobby,
agent for Gibson, the contractor, called
on Judge Ireland, at Seguin, regarding
his interests. Mr. Hobby had for many
wears been an intimate friend OF Judge
ireland's-that friendship dating as far
back as the secession convention of
Texas and being kept unbroken down
TO the day of Hobby's fall. When Mr.,
Hobby called he announced himself to
be in trouble, having borrowed money
ON the land certificates, expecting their
issuance daily. He stated that he had
been driven to the wall Of necessity,
and must have funds The sympathy
of Judge Ireland was aroused Hobby
wanted him to at once call upon Mr.,
Groos, the commissioner, who was then
at New Braunfels, and urge him to is
sue the certificates After Hobby had
departed, Judge Ireland rode over to
New Braunfels, saw Mr.. Gross, and eX>
pressed his opinion that the certificates
should be issued. He knew of no
fraud, nor did he dream of fraudulent
motives on the part Of Hobby. lie
knew protest against the issuance oil
the certificates was on file at Austin,
but as seven months had elapsed since
its fling, and its allegations remained
unsubstantiated, he deemed it of no
moment He thought it an outrage for
even the governors intervention to
eopardize the financial circumstances
of man like Mr.. Hobby, one OF the
most trusted men of Texas in cons
mercal and general business af'
fairs. fTe did not tell Mr.. Groos
that he must issue the certificates but
simply expressed his opinion, as ColoN
mel Hobbys friend. favorable to his
friends interests. He had no personal
interests whatever in the matter Mr.
Groos did not say whether he would or
would not issue the certificates, but
mutely listened to Judge Ireland. The
Judge left him unsatisfed as to what
would be done, and the first news OF
the certificates having been issued was
a telegram from Judge Ware or the
Herald, offering the columns of that
Journal in his defense, he being charged
with completely in "land grab"
When it became known to Judge
Ireland that he was charged with dis
honorable connection with this business,
great fraud upon the state, he felt 1T
his duty to repel the assault upon his
good name. He considered himself to
have been attacked through the mach>
nations of political opponents to blast
his prospects for the governorship lie
considered Mr. Hubbard and his imme
date circle of friends to be instigatorss
of this assault Coke and Hubbard had
always combatted him, though not
openly. At the gubernatorial conven.N
ton where Coke was first nominated,
several nominations were made; among
the names presented was his own. AZ
ter one ballot, when Coke's greater
strength was developed, Judge Ireland
had his name withdrawn in his favor.
The coming governor was so pleased
with this act, that he took advantage
of the earliest opportunity to express
his thanks for it. Coke and ireland
were thereafter, for as long as Coke's
riendlinessremained unimpaired, warm
friends. .,
But time sped on. The constitutional
convention which framed the notorious
ly foolish new constitution of Texas was
called and acted. Under its provisions
new election for governor becamenec>
essary. A convention to nominate a
candidate for governor was called Janus
airy 5, 1876, and thither the delegates
appointed repaired to dscarge their du'
ty. While the convention was in pro-
gress, Governor Coke, guest at the
Grand Southern hotel, asked that
Judge Ireland be invited up to his room,
as he was dispirited and wanted to see
the Judge. The governors request was
met, when he stated to Ireland that a
resolution was about to be submitted to
the convention binding its nominees to
accept no other office than such as they
might be chosen for. This resolution,
Coke said, would be slam at Hubbard,
and he asked Judge Ireland to use his
influence to defeat it, which was done,
(oL a tvoa concentrated and reelected.