Page:Life and Select Literary Remains of Sam Houston of Texas (1884).djvu/588

 As to this ruling of the court, the committee of the Thirty-fourth Congress say unanimously: "The court permitted Robert H. Hord, counsel for defendants, and witness covertly interested, to testify at the hearing of said case, and sustained his refusal to answer the following proper and legal question, intended to show that he had a collusive interest adverse to Jacob Mussina." And a moiety of the committee of the present Congress sustain this view by the following declaration of judgment: "The refusal of the judge to compel the witness (Hord) to answer the questions propounded to him by Mussina's counsel, and then permitting the witness to testify to a fact material to the issue, and in opposition to Mussina's interest, was, we think, in violation of law.

"The action of the judge, in the instance spoken of, seems to be subversive of ail recognized principle, and to admit of no excuse." The testimony of Hord, which the court admitted, was of great importance. It went to the main question of the genuineness of the title of complainants. His testimony was important, as against Mussina, and others of the defendants: and it further appears that with Mussina he had held the most confidential relations, having been his agent and attorney.

It appears further, from the testimony before the committee, that long before Mr. Hord was thus examined as a witness, he had made a collusive agreement with the man Treanor, who was acting as the agent of the complainant, Cavazos, and who now called him as a witness. It is shown in the testimony that Hord held an instrument of writing, purporting to be a sale, or contract of sale, to himself and partner, of the town tract of Brownsville, which was tlie principal subject-matter of the suit, which was signed by John Treanor, as agent for Cavazos and wife; and the suit was continued, and Hord offered as a witness, simply to carry out this fraudulent arrangement.

This revelation is not only important, as going to show the collusive interest of the witness Hord, but it throws further light upon the wretched system of fraud to which Treanor, this useful agent and witness of Judge Watrous, was a party.

It would seem to be an excess of oppression, thus through collusive management to use a party as a witness against his client and friend, and to deny him the privilege of examining such witness as to that collusion. But the record is falsified still further to take advantage of this testimony; and Mussina is to be bound hand and foot, so as to preclude all possibility of his contesting his rights upon a fair and honest record. Not satisfied with foisting upon the case the testimony of Hord, as a witness of the complainant, the "statement of proceedings," which is signed by Love, the clerk of the court, makes it appear that this testimony of Hord had been offered by Mussina, and other of the defendants. Love, in his testimony before the committee, in answer to the question, "By whom was the original statement of proceedings made?" says: "I do not know certainly; but I believe the original was presented to the clerk of the court by Mr. Hale, for him to verify by the indorsements on the papers filed."