The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-03-03

.-H--s
Texas. l did not trick YOU then.
| have occupied a position upon your
highest bench, engaged for O brief
time in the administration of your
laws and passing in conjunction with
my brethren on the same bench upon
thousands of cases involving the So
cial order aud wellbeing of the copl-
monwealth, and / have never been
charged with trickery while there.
Indeed, | felt it incumbent upon me
for the proper vindication OF the laws,
to antagonize the entire public senti-
ment of the state in the case of poor
creature on trial for his life, and when
the issue was presented to me whether
this man, poor as he was and despised
as he was, was entitled to fair trial
| under the constitution and laws of the
state of Texas, l did hot hesitate to so
announce, knowing that with the an
nouncement | was walking to my ju
dicial execution. Certainly there was
no trickery in this. / had the honor
to occupy position as one of the COM
missioners 10 codify your laws under
which you are now living, and my
brethren upon that commission who
still survive can speak if they are so
disposed as to the service / rendered
and the integrity with which 1 dis
charged that high function. l was
your attorney general for term, dur
ing which the most important litiga-
tion in which the state was ever in
volved came up for adjudication. 1t
. fell to my lot to
/, STAND BETWEEN THE PEOPLE
OF Texas and exaction of many mil
lions of dollars wrongfully and fraud
ulently obtained from legislature
which nominally represented them,
but which in fact did not; and / saved
the state the money. And it also fell
to my lot to stand and defend an at
tempt based upon law to seize upon
, millions of acres of the public
sch DOL lands of the state of Texas I'M
: der a statute passed by the same
legislature; and that duty was dis
charged and the land saved. 1 never
made any boast of these efforts, even
to my most intimate friends, and I
: only cite them now to demonstrate to
I you that in those emergencies | did
not trick you. And so in 1874, when
the people of Texas by an overwhelm-
3 ing majority had cast out the admin
istration of Edmund j. Davis, which
has gone down to history in infamy,
! and the Legislature had assembled
with view of beginning the dis
g charge of their duties, and the dis
i tinguished gentleman selected as her
u governor had come to the capitol to
= enter upon the administration of his
: office, they were confronted by an
O armed band of ianizaries swarming in
s the corridors Of your capitol. 1t be-
g came necessary that demand should
o be made upon the usurpar surrounded
e in his den by these armed bands, and
D I, myself, had the honor to bear tC
q him
r THROUGH BAYONETS
q demand that he surrender his office
e TO the man whom the people had SO
b lected to fill it. There were many
S other patriotic citizens of Texas there
IS at the time, men who knew thei
u rights, and knowing, dared maintain
L them, who had come armed with i'm
IT Elements of warfare to defend tn
h rights of the people of Texas, to estah
fish and maintain their own govern
r ment which was their inalienabl
1t birthright; and among those L fn'
y none who charge me with trickery to
n day. l have heard plead in the pub
lc lie prints and excuses that this mai
and that man were not old enough t.
be in the war between the Confederac.
and the United States, and therefor
q were excusable for not being soldiers
l. But these men for whom this speci
= Gus pretext was put up, were
g. DIN ENOYrGU THEN
u to fight for Texas, and l saw none c
+ them there. Her liberties were thel
: involved more gravely than a
" any other time in he
" history and the help Of he
=, citizens was more needed. | REGAL
: these instances, not for the purpose @
" eulogizing myself, but simply TO dem
:, onstrate to you that even in this try
- ing emergency there was no stain o
II trickery upon my garments.
:, ~ But / am charged with being
T RAILROAD ATTORNEY.
le have been, and for this, l have N
Ie apology to offer. | am q practlcinI
fe lawyer, earning q living for mysel
Of and family by my daily labor in m!
@. profession. if murderer, wreakini
le with the blood of his victim, desire
1t to employ me and see fit to accep
y the employment, it is my bushes
d and no one else's. But in accepting
d the employment, do not sympathiz
20 with murder, nor do l becom
t, identified with the murderer. And sc
ct if railroad desires to employ me, ant
of we agree upon fee, l propose, s.
II long as [ practice law, if l Sc
ct fit, to accept the fee; and when | &C
h &C pit the fee, my client gets the bes
e. services / can command, the best ei
n forts, the most faithful devotion, tn
a most untiring energy that lies with
as me. SO long as j continue in tn
rs practice of my profession and ! al
ID not in the public service it can do 3
e. if the employment is satisfactory t
n me. But if am in the public servic
N shall serve the public with exactl
Re tho same devotion and the same faith
of fulres and the same energy which
Is devote to the interests of my clients
as My professional employment is on
or thin, and my political action is er
i'd tirely different thing. 1 have neeye
l.,