USA > Louisiana > History of Louisiana, the Spanish domination > Part 3
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It is impossible not to smile at the following passage : " Having been informed by the curate of Natchitoches that, during divine worship, the church is filled with dogs, I request the commandant to prevent the repetition of this breach of decency."
He also gave a set of instructions to the commandants of the Coast-that is, all the petty governors at the different posts on the banks of the Mississippi .* In the 16th Article, he said : " The greatest vigilance shall be exercised to oppose the sojourning of men of bad morals in those posts, in order to prevent that any damage or scandal result thereby to the inhabitants ; and should there be such men as above described, when the com- mandants shall fail to change their vicious behavior by admonitions and corrections, then it shall become the duty of said commandants to arrest them, and to send them to the Governor General, with an account of the causes of complaint laid against them."
The 19th Article said : "The aforesaid commandants shall take special care, that the inhabitants carry on no trade with the English vessels which navigate the Mis- sissippi, nor with any of the settlements situated on the territory of his Britannic Majesty, and that the king's subjects do not go out of the limits of this province,
* Tenientes particulares de la Costa.
-
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O'REILLY'S INSTRUCTIONS TO COMMANDANTS.
without a written permission from the Governor General. Those acting in violation of the provisions of this article shall be arrested by said commandants and sent to this town (New Orleans), in order that their case be sub- mitted to the further consideration of the government, but the first proceeding shall be to sequestrate their property."
He caused to be framed for the commandant at Arkansas a series of instructions, which it is impossible to read without entertaining a high opinion of his administrative talents, justice and humanity. These instructions descend into the smallest details, and demon- strate that he was well aware, as all truly great minds are, of the importance of apparently unimportant minutiæ.
In the 3d Article, he expressed himself as follows : " It shall be the care of the commandant that every thing offered for sale at that Post (Arkansas), and which may be wanted for the sustenance and support of the soldiers, be sold cheap. There is nothing more indispensably necessary, in order that the soldiers be conscious that nothing is made out of them, and that their chief treats them with the strictest equity. When this is not the case, there never fail to be murmurs of discontent and a deficiency of subordination."
All the regulations which he established, to distribute the customary presents among the Indians, to secure an honest trade between them and the Europeans, and to guard them against deception and oppression, are equally creditable to his head and to his heart.
The 9th Article said : "The commandant shall prevent, as much as may be in his power, that any dam- age be done to the English who navigate the Mississippi, and shall take care that there be no crossing over of the river, to inflict any injury on the subjects of his Britannic
23
O'REILLY'S INSTRUCTIONS TO COMMANDANTS.
Majesty ; and he shall have recourse to every means, to induce the Spanish Indians to live in peace with the English, and also with the other savage tribes."
Instructions were sent in common to the commandants at the posts of St. Louis and St. Geneviève, as well as to others established on the Missouri and in the Illinois district. The population of St. Louis consisted then of 17 males and 16 females (free), of 12 males and 6 females (slaves) ; that of St. Geneviève happened to be exactly the same.
The instructions began with this preamble, full of dignity and commendable sentiments: "The great distance between this capital and the Illinois requires proportionate discretion and prudence in the comman- dant of that remote district. There are three important objects recommended to his special vigilance and atten- tion. Those are: that the domination and government of his Majesty be loved and respected; that justice be administered with promptitude and impartiality and in conformity to law ; and that commerce be protected and extended as much as possible. In order to secure ends of such moment, it is necessary that the officer in com- mand should make known, in the most manifest manner, the king's desire to promote and protect the felicity of his subjects, and should also promulgate the express orders which he, the officer in command, has received to discriminate between the good and the wicked, to favor the former in every thing licit, and to prosecute all those who, through bad faith, deceive and ruin their creditors, and who, by their flagitious deportment, disturb public tranquillity."
Articles 3 and 4 show O'Reilly to be a man of high honor and of strict fidelity, in observing the faith of treaties, and in respecting acquired rights.
Article 3 said : "Should any subject of his Catholic
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O'REILLY'S INSTRUCTIONS TO COMMANDANTS.
Majesty commit any excess or trespass in the territory of the English, or offer any insult to those of that nation who navigate the Mississippi, the commandant shall do prompt justice, and shall give full and immediate repa- ration, on the just complaints of the English officer, but without failing to observe the formalities prescribed by law."
Article 4 : "The officer in command shall, as much as in his power may be, prevent the Indians who dwell on the king's territory, from inflicting any vexation or extortion on the English who navigate the Mississippi, and from crossing that river to give any offence to the subjects of his Britannic Majesty, and, in every respect, he shall predispose the Indians to be peaceful and humane towards the English and the other nations of savages, and, to that effect, he shall tell them that the principles of our religion and the fidelity of our friend- ship never permit us to tolerate, that any injury be done to such as are our friends and allies like the English."
It is to be remarked, that O'Reilly proscribed that system of monopolies which the French had adopted in their commercial intercourse with the Indians. Ar- ticle 7 of the document to which I have referred shows it, and is also a striking proof of the solicitude of the Spanish governor to secure the welfare of the abori- gines. "No trader," it said, "shall be permitted to introduce himself in the villages of the Indians who dwell on the territory of his Majesty, unless the com- mandant is satisfied with his morals and the correctness of his deportment ; but said commandant shall not be at liberty to refuse a permit or license to any one who may be known to be an honest man, and, under no pretext, shall he tolerate, authorize, or grant any exclu- sive privilege or monopoly. He shall uniformly recom- mend to all the traders, to make known to the Indians
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O'REILLY'S INSTRUCTIONS TO COMMANDANTS.
the gentleness and equity of our government, and the felicity which it thereby imparts to the subjects of his Majesty."
In Article 9, he went on saying: "The comman- dant shall acquaint the Indians with the greatness, the magnanimity and the generosity of the king, and shall inform them that they may expect, every year, to receive the usual presents ; that his Majesty desires their happiness, and that they must never yield obedience, nor give credence, to any other word than that of the Great Chief, governor general of the province, commu- nicated to them through the officer who shall have been put in command of the post ; and he, the said comman- dant, shall exhort them (with promises of fair rewards), to arrest* and deliver up whatever trader or fugitive who, in furtherance of wicked ends and intentions, may endeavor to inspire them with feelings of distrust towards their true father, and towards that nation which deserves, among all others, the renown of being a magnanimous, pious and justice loving nation, and, in support of the truth of this declaration, he shall commu- nicate to them the order of the king which prohibits that, in his dominions, there be made Indian slaves, even out of the captives of hostile tribes."
Art. 10. "The commandant shall take care, that all the Indians who may come to St. Louis and St. Geneviève be well treated, and be paid an equitable price for the hides they may bring to market, and for whatever other things they may have for sale, and that, in the barters or pur- chases they may make, they be served with good faith.
* Arrestar y traer preso á cualquier tratante ó prófugo que por sus malos fines esparciese entre ellos desconfianzas de su verdadero padre, ni de la nacion que merece, entre todas las del mundo, el renombre de magnanima, piadosa y justiciera, y, en prueba de elló, manifestará la orden del Rey, para que ni aun de las naciones enemigas se sufra en sus estados esclavo Indio.
26
O'REILLY'S INSTRUCTIONS TO COMMANDANTS.
In this way, they will derive more benefit from their trade with us ; they will provide themselves with what their wants require, without its being at the expense of the king ; and the English will not reap all the profits of a commerce which ought to be in our hands. The advan- tages of treating the Indians with equity and benevolence have been made apparent in this town, where, since my arrival, on the occasion of the distribution of the annual presents to them, the chiefs of every nation came to com- pliment me ; and now a number of Indians are daily seen here, with their canoes loaded with provisions, hides, and other things, which they offer at public sale for their just value ; and then, they themselves buy in the shops what they want, and return home perfectly contented."
These articles of O'Reilly's instructions show that the Spaniards were not disposed to pursue in Louisiana, towards the Indians, the cruel policy which was attributed to them in their other American domains. The rest of O'Reilly's instructions, on all the subjects which they embrace, are marked with foresight, prudence, liberality, and firmness. They conclude with saying : "The com- mandants shall have for invariable rules : to keep up the strictest order and economy in all that appertains to the royal treasury, to cultivate the best harmony with the English, to maintain tranquillity and contentment among the inhabitants, to provide for the increase of commerce and its being carried on in good faith, and to take care that the Indians be well treated."
Immediately after his arrival in Louisiana, O'Reilly had taken an enlightened view of the wants of the colony, as appears by a communication of the 17th of October, 1769, which he addressed to the Spanish government, and in which he represents the necessity of favoring commerce, because, without it, the colony could not subsist : "This province," he said, "wants flour, wine, oil, iron instru-
27
O'REILLY'S ENLIGHTENED VIEWS.
ments, arms, ammunition, and every sort of manufactured goods for clothing and other domestic purposes. These can only be obtained through the exportation of its pro- ductions, which consist of timber, indigo, cotton, furs, and a small quantity of corn and rice. In Spain there would be no market for the timber of the colonists, which is one of the most important sources of their revenues. Of all our colonies, the Havana is the only place where this kind of produce could be disposed of. According to my con- ceptions, the importation of it into that city would be advantageous both to the king and to the island of Cuba. To the king, because he would preserve for the use of his royal navy the cedars which are now employed to make sugar boxes, and because, with the Cuba timber, he could have the lining of his ships and many other works done at a much cheaper rate; to the island, because its inhabitants could cause their sugar boxes and the other works required by them, to be made in Havana at less cost with the Louisiana planks.
" By granting to this province, as formerly to Florida, the benefit of a free trade with Spain and with Havana, its inhabitants would find in that very city of Havana a market for all their produce, and would provide them- selves there with all the articles of which they stand in need. The establishing of sugar mills would be increased, by thus affording to the planters of Cuba an outlet for all the rum manufactured by them, and which is lost for want of consumers. The consumption of this article would be considerable here, and every barrel of it would put two dollars into the king's treasury, through the export duty paid in Havana. But, for the better regula- tion of this trade, and to make it reciprocally advanta- geous, it seems to me proper and necessary, that the timber, furs, indigo, cotton, corn and rice of this province should pay no entry duty in Havana, and that no other
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ON THE COMMERCIAL WANTS OF THE COLONY.
new excise or export tax be imposed on any of the arti- cles which may be exported from Havana to New Orleans.
"It would also be proper, that the vessels belonging to this colony be received in Havana and the ports of Spain on the same condition and footing with Spanish vessels, but with the understanding that no vessels, except they be Spanish, or belong to the colony, shall be ad- mitted in this port, or employed in transporting goods, and that this be recommended to the special care of my successors.
"From Catalonia there would come ships with red wine; here they would take a cargo of timber and other articles for Havana, and they would load with sugar.
"I found the English in complete possession of the commerce of the colony. They had in this town their merchants and traders with open stores and shops, and I can safely assert that they pocketed nine tenths of the money spent here. The commerce of France used to receive the productions of the colony in payment of the articles imported into it from the mother country ; but the English, selling their goods much cheaper, had the gathering of all the money. I drove off all the English traders and the other individuals of that nation whom I found in this town, and I shall admit here none of their vessels."
In a despatch of the 1st of March, 1770, O'Reilly took credit to himself for having reduced the annual expenses of the colony, from $250,000 to $130,000, by the eco- nomical retrenchments which he had introduced into the administration of the province, and applied to the salaries of its officers ; and he informed the government, that the religious wants of the colony would require the permanent employment of eighteen priests. In the same despatch, he said: "I visited and examined in person the most
,
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O'REILLY'S LIBERAL POLICY.
populous parts of this province, by proceeding from this capital to Pointe Coupée, which is one hundred and fifty miles up the river, and I took care, as I progressed along, to convene the inhabitants in every district, at the most convenient place for them, where I listened to their grievances and provided a remedy thereto, by referring them to the arbitration of their best informed neighbors, without having recourse to the judicial tribunals, and, in this way, I gave those people a very favorable opinion of the government of his majesty, and I succeeded in ob- taining that the arbitrators named by the respective parties be acceptable to them, on account of their being chosen among the men enjoying the best reputation ; and by these means, I have procured that the new govern- ment be grateful to the inhabitants.
"I thought it my duty to acquiesce in the prayer of the inhabitants in almost every district, that a surveyor be appointed to measure the lands and determine their limits, but I reduced the salary of that officer to half of what it was formerly, and I decreed that, for the future, it be paid out of the sale of the crops of the inhabitants, at the price fixed for their commodities at New Orleans.
"So far, the concessions of land in this province had been intrusted by his most Christian Majesty to the Go- vernor and to the ordaining commissary, and the concur- rence of both was necessary thereto; but I have thought it advisable, that, for the future, the Governor be the only one authorized by the King to make such concessions ; and, for the apportionment of the lands belonging to the royal domain, I have appointed a council of twenty-four persons, known for their practical sense and information, and for their sound judgment."
O'Reilly, with striking liberality, and, no doubt, also from motives of sound policy, appointed almost none but Frenchmen to the command of the several posts, even the
30
RAISING OF THE LOUISIANA REGIMENT.
most distant, and, therefore, all the instructions which he gave them were originally drawn in French. They were afterwards translated into Spanish, and sent to the court of Madrid for its approbation.
In conformity with the orders of the king, a regiment was raised in the colony under the name of "Regiment of Louisiana," and Don J. Estecheria was appointed its Colonel. But this officer having not as yet arrived, Un- zaga, who was to succeed O'Reilly as governor of the province, undertook to organize the regiment, and assumed its command provisionally. O'Reilly sent commissions to all those whom Ulloa had, in his despatches, represented as well affected towards Spain, and those commissions were eagerly accepted. There was no want of a keen desire to gird on the sword of command, under a govern- ment which granted so many privileges to the wearers of epaulets. The pay of the Spanish troops being greater than that formerly allowed to the French, a certain number of disbanded French soldiers, who had remained in the colony, were tempted to enlist, and the "regiment of Louisiana" was soon complete. It is an admitted fact, that the Creoles of those days were remarkable for their great size, for the stateliness of their bearing, for those peculiarly striking lineaments which constitute the nobility of the face, and for the elegant
symmetry of their forms. O'Reilly is said to have been so much struck with this characteristic distinction in the Creole officers of the regiment of Louisiana, that he regretted his inability to take with him some of them to Spain and to Charles III., as a fair specimen of the new subjects acquired by his Catholic Majesty.
The arrival of the Spaniards in New Orleans had pro- duced a considerable increase of population, and the provisions which they expected having been unaccount- ably delayed, the colony was threatened with famine
31
INAUGURATION OF THE CABILDO.
The price of flour ran up to twenty dollars a barrel ; fortunately, there arrived from Baltimore a brig, with a cargo of flour belonging to one Oliver Pollock, who tendered it to O'Reilly on the terms which that officer might himself determine. O'Reilly refused to avail himself of this liberal offer, insisted on Pollock's specify- ing his price, and finally agreed to take the whole load of flour at fifteen dollars the barrel. The Spanish governor was so well pleased with Pollock's behavior on this occasion, that he told him he would report it to
the king, and assured him that he, Pollock, during his lifetime, should enjoy, for all the merchandise which his brig could carry, a free trade with Louisiana. A very valuable privilege, forsooth, if it had been long enjoyed ! But it is not in evidence that such was the case.
The new Cabildo was solemnly inaugurated, and began its sessions on the first day of December, 1769. It was composed of François Marie Reggio, Pierre François Olivier de Vezin, Charles Jean Baptiste Fleuriau, An- toine Bienvenu, Joseph Ducros, and Denis Braud. Jean Baptiste Garic, who had been clerk of the Superior Council, had bought the same office in the Cabildo. Reggio was alferez real, De Vezin principal provincial alcalde, Fleuriau alguazil mayor, or high sheriff, Ducros depositary general, and Bienvenu receiver of fines.
On the 1st of January, 1770, the Cabildo elected as ordinary alcaldes St. Denis and De La Chaise. One was a descendant of the celebrated St. Denis, whose name is so chivalrously connected with the history of Louisiana, and the other was the grandson of the royal commissary De La Chaise, who had come to the colony in 1723, and was a brother-in-law to Villeré, whose tragical death had so recently taken place. These facts seem to prove, that the horror produced by the execution of Lafrenière and his companions was not so great as reported by tradition,
32
CONCESSIONS OF VACANT LANDS.
and that the Spaniards did not think themselves so hated as they have been represented to be, since they intrusted so many important offices and the command of the most distant posts to almost none but Frenchmen. It cannot certainly be denied, that, on their part, it denoted at least confidence and liberality.
Don Luis de Unzaga had been designated to succeed O'Reilly, who had been sent to Louisiana only for tem- porary purposes. As a preliminary step and a prelude to a transfer of his powers to that officer, O'Reilly, immediately after the organization of the Cabildo, ceded to him the presidency of that body, in which he ceased to appear. About the middle of December, 1769, he had gone up the Mississippi, to visit the establishments at the German Coast, the Acadian Coast, Iberville, and Pointe Coupée. In all the parishes through which he passed, he convened the inhabitants, as he mentions it in one of his despatches, which I have already cited, and invited them to make known their wishes and wants, promising to satisfy them to the utmost of his powers.
On his return to New Orleans, O'Reilly published a set of regulations concerning the concessions of vacant lands :
" Divers complaints and petitions," said he, " which have been addressed to us by the inhabitants of Ope- loussas, Attakapas, Natchitoches and other places of this province, joined to the knowledge we have acquired of the local concerns, culture, and means of the inha- bitants, by the visit which we have lately paid to the German Coast, to Iberville and Pointe Coupée, with the examination we have made of the reports of the inhabit- ants assembled by our order in each district, having convinced us that the tranquillity of the said inhabitants and the progress of cultivation required a new regula- tion, which should fix the extent of the grants of land
33
REGULATIONS FOR GRANTS OF LAND.
to be hereafter made, as well as determine the enclosures to be put up, the lands to be cleared, the roads and bridges to be kept in repair by the inhabitants, and specify what is the sort of damage done by cattle for which the proprietors shall be responsible-for these causes, and having nothing in view but the public good and the happiness of every inhabitant-after having advised with persons well informed in these matters, we have regulated all these objects in the following articles."*
After having ordered, that, for the future, grants of land should not exceed a certain extent, and having entered into many minute regulations, he says :
Art. 12-" All grants shall be made in the name of the king, by the Governor General of the province, who will, at the same time, appoint a surveyor to fix the bounds thereof, both in front and in depth, in presence of the ordinary judge of the district and of two adjoining settlers, who shall be present at the survey. The above mentioned four persons shall sign the proces-verbal which shall be made thereof, and the surveyor shall make three copies of the same; one of which shall be deposited in the office of the Escribano of the govern- ment and Cabildo, another shall be delivered to the Governor General, and the third to the proprietor, to be annexed to the titles of his grant.
"In pursuance of the powers which the king, our Lord, (whom God preserve !) has been pleased to con- fide to us by his patent issued at Aranjuez, on the 16th of April, 1769, to establish in the military and in the police departments, in the administration of justice and in the colonial finances, such regulations as should be most conducive to his service and to the happiness of his
* American State Papers, vol. i., p. 376. Miscellaneous.
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34
NEW ORLEANS-ITS ANNUAL REVENUE.
subjects in Louisiana, under the reserve of his Majesty's approbation, we order and command the governor, judges, cabildo, and all the inhabitants of this province, to conform punctually to all that is required by these regulations.
"Given at New Orleans, the 18th of February, 1770."
It will be observed that O'Reilly, who had come to Louisiana as the delegate of royalty itself, and who was invested, as such, with unbounded powers of legislation, prescribed the manner in which all future concessions of land should be made by the governors of Louisiana, and determined with precision the extent of those con- cessions, which were not to exceed certain limits. Hence it follows, that it is questionable whether some of those immense grants of land which were made at a later period by the governors of Louisiana had the requisite validity, except it be shown that the limitations assigned by O'Reilly to his successors, in the name of the king, had been subsequently repealed or modified.
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