Page:Life and Select Literary Remains of Sam Houston of Texas (1884).djvu/636

 provide against the latitudinous construction, by which thousands of dollars may be swept away from the Treasury upon a plea of custom, and explicitly declare that the work shall not be "leaded," but shall be "solid"; and that no unnecessary blanks be allowed. The various reports of public officers printed for the use of the Legislature should be declared not to be part of the journal, and that they shall not be printed as appendices to them. The present law is defective in these respects, and I commend to the Legislature the propriety of amending it so as to meet not only these, but all other objections.

Upon the action of the Legislature depends to a considerable extent the construction to be given to the present contract lor the public printer. It is for the Legislature to say, after the matter has been fully investigated, whether the charges made by the public printer for the past four years were correct, and in accordance with law. If they are not, and money has been illegally drawn from the Treasury, it is not only in accordance with justice but precedent, that restitution be made.

In providing a means to disseminate the laws it seems to the Executive that a regard should be had to the means most likely to bring them within the reach of the great mass of the people. I do not believe that the present mode of distributing them is calculated to accomplish this end. But few individuals get possession of them, and frequently long after thay have gone into effect. The people have a right to know the law, and the Legislature should seek that channel of communication which is most accessible. I believe that if a portion of the money now expended in printing was devoted to the publication of the laws in one newspaper in each county in the State, or at least one in each judicial district, the benefit to the community would be far greater than that received by printing them in pamphlet form alone. A much smaller number in pamphlet form would then suffice, and the expense to the State would be but little, it any, greater. The cost of publishing the general laws in the manner mentioned would be but slight, and if at the same time, by the distribution of the public funds, the entire press of the State is benefited to any extent, it is an object for favorable consideration. Nothing has more contributed to the prosperity of Texas than the energy and perseverance of the press. It is a powerful auxiliary to freedom everywhere, and when actuated by that feeling of responsibility which points toward impressing the public mind, by means of correct information, with a true sense of right, and a proper moral tone, rising above the bickerings of party or personal abuse, it may be relied on as one of the bulwarks of liberty, to be sustained and defended by every free people.

I would suggest to the Legislature the propriety of adopting such measures as will urge upon Congress the justice of paying to Texas the balance now in the Treasury of the United States on account of our public debt. In the present condition of our Treasury this amount becomes important. Texas is entitled to it, and should receive it without delay.

The time has again arrived when an examination of the affairs of the State penitentiary is called for. An investigation of its financial and sanitary condition is necessary, that the Legislature may be able to judge as to the legislation necessary to sustain it properly.

The law passed by the last Legislature, which grants a preemption privilege for every three negroes an individual may own, is, in my opinion, based upon