The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 14, July 1910 - April, 1911 Page: 60
348 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Texas IHistorical Association Quarterly.
Signed R. R. Royal Chairman and unanimously adopted by the
Council, and the address1 signed by John McMullin as president
pro tern of the Council and ten others as members, two, of whom
were from the same jurisdiction contrary to the organic law, and
one who had received a commission by which he was rendered in-
eligible as a member of the Council by the ordinance in such cases
made and provided, leaving but eight members eligible to the
council, when at the same time it required thirteen to form a
quorum to do business.
Having had the honor, through the voluntary suffrages of the
Texian people, by their representatives in Convention assembled,
to fill the office of Governor of Texas, during the provisional or-
ganization; it is clearly evident, as my name is incorporated in
the above resolutions, that the censure they inflict, was intended
and directly aimed at myself. Without notice, unheard and un-
tried, I thus find myself charged on the records of the Genl Coun-
cil, and in a form hitherto unknown in the History of Republican
Governments with the high crime of violating the laws and con-
stitution of the country.
It can seldom be necessary for any Department of the Govt.
when assailed in conversation, or debate, or by the strictures of the
press, or of popular assemblies, to step out of its ordinary path,
for the purpose of vindicating its conduct, or of pointing out any
irregularity or injustice in the manner of the attack. But when
the Chief Magistrate is, by one of the co-ordinate branches of
the Government, in its official capacity, in a public manner
and by its recorded sentence, but without precedent, competent
authority, or just cause, declared guilty of a breach of the laws
and constitution, it is due to his station, to public opinion, and to
a proper self respect, that the officer thus denounced should
promptly expose the wrong which has been done.
In the present case moreover, there is even a stronger necessity
for a fair and proper vindication. Even admitting the right of
the Council to impeach, try, and depose the Governor. Their act
in the present case would have been illegal and arbitrary for want
of a constitutional quorum. But it is evident and clear that no
such right exists, or is guaranteed, by the organic law The oath
1JVowrnal of the Proceedings of the General Council, etc., 297-302.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 14, July 1910 - April, 1911, periodical, 1911; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101054/m1/68/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.