The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-10-07


lar glowing stanzas which will go down
to pOSterity
Davidson. that boy in blue
The hest of all the Radical crew.
He was not quite as complimentary to
the rest of the republican state gov
If you can so overcome ms
extreme modesty as to induce him TO
give you the original manuscript OF those tine
lines you will find them as have repeated.
After James Davidson, as Judge Terrell says,
ran away, our poet laureate as great poets fire.
Quently do, remOdeled his pOetry-rebuilt his
fire--and made it burn as follows:
Davidson, that boy in blue
The iDOrst of all the Radical crew."
Now, suppose the poet also wishes to plead
the statute of limitation to these praises OF his
eX-friend. | am perfectly willing that ne
should. | had hoped that this canvass would
be conducted on the live and living ques-
tons of to-day, and not upon what occur
red ten years ago, and | would ask you
what have the relics of the past to do with
the question whether Ireland or Jones should
be governor of this state; what has the running
away of Davidson to do with questions effect
ing education, the protection OF the schOOl
lands and other questions OF state policy. es,
these gentlemen may have the benefit of the
statute of limitations; and | shall not touch
upon that feature of the subject again.
At the same time, would it not be Just as
well to let poor James Davidson plead the cX-
cuse, in confession and avoidance OF the Charge
against him that if he did steal, us Judge Terrell
says at any rate Terrell had lately become his
associate, and had gotten OFT that doggerell in
his praise. lAppIause.l
HE DOES NOT PLEAD THE STATUTE or LIMITA-
TON, But DEFENDS HIS ADMINIsTRA-
TON.
These gentlemen make Il point to refer to the
acts of the repubhceh administration, and |
never dodge those issues. They attack Cover
nor Jones not for anything he has done, but
because propose to vote for him, and had re-
commended independents and republicans to
do so. As far rs | am concerned do not plead
the statute of limitation for anyt thing have
done since was boy, and for that reason |
propose to refer to some points made by Judge
Ireland and taken as a cue by ali who follow
him. I hold myself responsible for everything
that I have ever done, and you should hold
me responsible; but you should, in order to
be fair, fully understand what was done,
and the motives underlying the act. When
the whole matter is presented to you if you de-
eide against me, W well and good, but there 10
one thing you never can decide against me that
is that whatever d!d, even though it might
not have been wise, was not done with the piIr
pose of injurinR the people of the state of
Texas or any one OF them. lAppluse
JUDGE IRELAND ANSWERED ON STATE FINANCES.
| will now ask your attention while answer
those points and charges made by Judge Ire
land. He says that in 1870 when entered Of
flee the amount of taxes was twelve and half
cents on the hundred dollars: that | had $5ND,-
90 i'm the state treasury; thai | squandered all
that money, tlluI ! increased taxes during my
administration so that they were one and q
half per cent. per annllm: that | and my fol-
lowers stole that money and the proceeds of
these taxes (hc uses about those worlds and
million dollars due i'm Wall street, New York,
on,bonds we had sold. Now propose give
You correct
FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE STATE.
At that tiuIe, and subsequently under Cover
nOrs Hubbard and Coke down to about the
time that Governor Roberts went into Office.
will 20 over the items hastily so as not to
taken from the official records and reports Of
the several cOmptrOllers and governors from
1869 down to August 3lst, 1878.
WHEN WENT INTO OFFICE
on the Eth of January, 1870, rs provincial gov
ernorU was puIisiOnal governor upwards Of
three mOnthS)-thcre WAS no means of as
certaining the amount of cash on hand. The
only time when an account of cash on hand
was taken was at the change OF the fiscal year
on the LIST Of September. On September lst pre-
yious QS69) the amount on hand was S716. u
specie and $40, S}O.5l currency, and the total
received that year to August3lst 1870 was $4!,.
2O7. ID currency and $2l5. specie making total
on hand and received that year of 1865 029.S9.
When | went into Office some four and aha t
months of the fiscal year had expired and eX
penses had been drawn by the military govern
ment by drafts on the treasury. 1t is clearly
then impossible that there could have been
$aO.OO0 on hand at the time that took pos
session on the Eth OfJanuary, 1870.
TOTAL AMOUNT RECEIVED DURING REPUBLICAN
ADMINISTRATIONS.
l will now give you a resume without going
through each item of the whole amount down
to 1873. The total amount received by the
state during the four years of republican rule
to January 18th, 1874, was S3,440 1904; the sum
total
UNDER COKE AND HUBBARD'S
administrations to August 3lst, 1878. four
that they received nearly twice as much revc-
uuc to carry on the state government us | did.
DIFFICULTIES UNDER WHICH HE LABORED.
And now let me recall your attention to the
difficulties with which my adminst ration
necessarily eXperimental-was beset. The war
was over that is to say we no longer met
over ia 1870? Not at all. AS you remember,
the state was absolutely disOrganized.
THERE WAS 80 GOVERNMENT HERE.
The young men who had returned from the
front after three or four years service were for
this time untitled for civil life, and the state
government had to be rcOrganzed from the
effect in 1870 which changed the whole system
of our government, especially in the
MATTER OF COLLECTING REVENUE.
Instead of the assessor and collector as we
have now and had before the war, provision
WIS made for collection by the shcritfs and as
sessmoGts by justices of the peace. But
before money could be collected, it was
necessary that the legislature should reOrgan-
izc the system of taxation Of the state. The re-
organization of the state, was work that con-
simed months, involving an extraordinary OK
pense. the more so us the Legislators pay was
eight dollars day. The currency was then,
too, greatly below par, while all expenses eX-
cept officers salaries were IN coin,
FRONTIER PROTECTION.
The frontier was infested by Indians
who had driven in the settlements for the first
time in Out history. A frontier force of twelve
companies was therefore organized and pro-
vision made for their NMnOrt biz the icViSIaturp