of the law of January 18, 1841, directing the Texas navy "to be laid up in ordinary," and declared:

That the enterprise has been undertaken contrary to law; that it is in violation of the agreement entered into with Great Britain; that it is calculated to involve us in difficulties and perplexities with neutral powers, and promises to subject us to greater responsibilities and losses than we are able to sustain; that the manner in which the undertaking has been commenced and carried out, is calculated to add nothing to national honor; that it promises no efficient results; and in a word that it is contrary to good policy.[20]

Then, too, there was the danger of becoming involved with neutral powers for the illegal acts that might be committed by the vessels of Yucatán. In the arrangements made with Yucatán, the committee saw other objections,

. . . such as the injury . . . to national credit; the undignified attitude in which we are placed in subsidizing for hire one of the arms of national power, and becoming as it were the mercenary alley of Yucatán; the great danger of the entire loss of the vessels, they having been represented by the commandant as unsuited to the purposes of war; the utter insufficiency of the enterprize of effecting any object of importance commensurate with the risk which is run, and the probabilities of incurring further expense and greater than we can bear.[21]

The committee concluded by recommending the immediate recall of the navy.

During the ensuing days, the resolution to recall the navy, with its preamble censuring the President,[22]  was discussed. Lamar, however, had his defenders on the committee. A minority report,[23]  signed by