USA > Texas > A new history of Texas; being a narration of the adventures of the author in Texas, and a description of the soil, climate, productions, minerals, tons [!], bays, harbours, rivers, institutions, and manners and customs of the inhabitants of that country; together with the principal incidents of fifteen years revolution in Mexico; and embracing a condensed statement of interesting events in Texas, from the first European settlement in 1692, down to the present time: and a history of the Mexican war > Part 21
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I will not stop to enquire if the ground upon which this grand consultation held its session was holy, as my henor- able friend termed it ; had I been present at the time, I might have enquired why these gentlemen were not in their seats at Montclovia, the capital of the state of Coa- huila and Texas ; and how the honorable gentleman could reconcile it to his feelings to declare that all true repub- licans would sympatize with Texas when she was tramp- ling under foot every article in the creed that is held sa- cred by that most democratic party. What says the celebrated Virginia resolutions in the days of the elder Adams, or who ever heard before a republican party who
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refused to acknowledge the claims of an overwhelming majority, fairly expressed through the ballot box. Who ever heard of a republican people, that under such circum- stances, not only made war against the government of their common country, but actually severed the connection of the inhabitants of a separate state for no other reason than an acknowledgement that this same immuculate re- publican party had attempted to make a fraudulent sale of 411 leagues of land which belonged to the general government and the whole population of Mexico.
Texas was as much a part of Coahuila and Texas as the whole State of Virginia is every part of Virginia, and the state of Coahuila and Texas stood in precisely the relation to the general government of Mexico as does the state of Virginia to the government of the United States. This being a clear and undisputable fact, Texas could possess no legal right to maintain her present position ; her movements were all revolutionary, and it only re- mains to be seen if oppression had forced her to avail herself of a national right and seek relief by the sword.
If the declaration of the consultation of delegates is to be received as an exposition of the encroachments on the rights and liberties of the good people of Texas. I am un- able to perceive any definite change except that of the modification of the constitution of 1824, and it has alrea- dy been shown that this modification was effected by the operation of universal suffrage ; a doctrine whether sound or unsound is professed to be held most saered by all republican people ; and least of all should the Texans have complained of a violated constitution when the first infraction of this venerated document was made at their own especial and repeated request and conceded to them by the generous courtesy of an overwhelming major- ity of the nation.
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If the declarations of the President of the Consultation of delegates were true, there was immediate necessity for the organization of a new government to prevent Texas from falling into anarchy, and that the statement of this gentleman on this particular contingency, was true, there is no doubt, for at least two thirds of the people of the State were now alarmed at the rapid strides of the revo- lutionary party, who delayed not to clothe themselves with authority, and with the public funds in their pockets, were determined to force obedience at the dagger's point.
In place then of deliberating with the newly elected members of the state legislature of Coahuila and Texas, and in place of convening and framing a state Constitu- tion for Texas in accordance with the expressed wish of the government of Mexico, no sooner is this privilege conceded than abandoned, and in the absence of every former bone of contention, the republican constitution which established the Catholic religion embraces the sum total of their desires.
If military chieftains were actually trampling on the rights and liberties of Texas, why did not these sage statesmen define the wrongs she was receiving at the hands of the government ; why did they not show that the citizens were deprived of some rights previously en- joyed, or were bearing some burthern newly laid upon them. In the absence of either of these I should think it difficult for any rational mind to arrive at the conclu- sion which the foregoing declaration expresses ; and least of all, the Hon. Branch T. Archer, who boasts of his Virgmia republicanism and professes to have been ed- ucated in the true Jeffersonian school of politics.
That the honorable gentleman displayed considerable tack and skill in his eloquent allusions to his mother coun- try and his varnished appeal to our feelings is readily gran-
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ted ; but I cannot grant to him both the possession of sound republican principles, and with them sincerity of purpose ; and the Texan emigrants should bear in mind that under the former order of things they were not even subjected to a tea tax, while, under the reigning republi- can dynasty at present, every thing that can be weighed or measured is subjected to the operations of an oppres- sive tariff.
If further proof is wanting to show that Texas was in a minority, I would call the attention of the reader to the bait which was cast on the waters by this republican consultation of delegates, who, to use their own language, " they being stimulated by the generosity common to a few people, offered their support and assistance to such mem- bers of the Mexican confederacy as would join them in arms ;" and not receiving any response from any single Mexican state, the Governor and Council recommended the calling of a convention for the purpose of an immediate Declaration of Independence. It will be seen from the report of the General Council that as early as the 11th day of October, a contractor for the army had been ap- pointed ; that the public funds had, by this self-constituted body, been expended ; that they had taken the responsibili- ty of contracting a loan of one hundred thousand dollars, and vesting the proceeds in 12 and 18 pounders, ball, powder, beeves, blankets, &c., and that an express mail had been established to Natchitoches in the United States, to bear to our borders an address from these our expatri :- ted but oppressed countrymen, and brothers ; and final- ly, a suppression of the land offices to prevent the settlers from perfecting their titles until the revolutionists could se- lect the most valuable lands themselves, and then grant or confiscate the claims of others in such manner as to 37
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bring a forfeiture on all all those who did not participate in the war.
Mr. Mckinney negotiated an additional loan of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in New Orleans ; and in his correspondence with the government of Texas so- licited and obtained the privilege for American citizens, to cruise for Mexican vessels, a power granted by the General Council of Texas, which was clearly beyond their reach, and one when exercised by the applicants, that according to the universal law of nations subjected all thus engaged to the charge and doom of pirates; an assertion however disagreeable to make, it would be an insult to the understanding of the reader to support by further proofs, as the report of the council is before him a body unknown and unrecognized by any foreign power.
In pursuance of the policy indicated from abroad and the recommendation of the governor and Council of Texas. delegates from the different municipalities of Texas were elected on the 18th day of February 1836, and convened at Washington on the 1st day of March. When in ses- sion it was found that considerable diversity of opinion yet existed respecting the wisdom or expediency of es- tablishing a separate government ; several members urg- ing that a large and respectable party was altogether op- posed to a separation from Mexico, and no doubt was en- tertained by them but an amicable adjustment could yet be made. They asserted that Texas could gain nothing by severing the connection ; for if successful in the en terprize, a large expenditure of money would be requisite and the people afterwards burdened not only with the ex pense of foreign intercourse but also with a national debt without obtaining any equivalent.
A majority, however, argued differently ; they stated
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that Texas was already committed before the world, and that she could not, without everlasting disgrace, retrace her steps ; that she had entered into various and delicate engagements ; a compliance with which would be impossi- ble unless entire independence of Mexico was declared and maintained ; that the public creditors were already alarmed, and that nothing but an immediate Declaration of Inde- pendence could restore confidence ; but that in such event any necessary amount of funds and volunteers in their service would be forthcoming.
The Declaration of Independence finally passed unani- mously, the peace members sacrificing their own pacific opinions, and as Austin said of these three alternations presented, they fought the Mexicans rather than their own neighbors, and rather than to abandon home and country and be received abroad as traitors to a righteous cause. The convention adjourned after passing a Constitution and a code of military laws and electing the following officers on whom devolved the arduous and responsible duty of giving an impetus to the the Government.
DAVID G. BURNET, President.
LORENZA DE VALLA, Vice President.
COL. CARSON, Secry of State.
BAILY HADIMAN, Secry of Treasury.
THOS. J. BURK, Sec'ry of War. DAVID THOMAS, Att'y General. JNO. RICE JONES, Post Master General.
Now the note of preparation was every where heard ; the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of Texas were soon promulgated throughout the United States, where the press groaned under the intolerable persecutions that pursued our American brethren in Mex- ico. The chivalry of the country was aroused, and dar-
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ing spirits in thousands repaired to the wilds of Texas to assist as they then thought in bursting the bonds of poli- tical and religious slavery, which the duplicity of the Mex- ican government had fastened around our countrymen. The generous sympathy of our people for Texas, although wrongly directed, is an honor to human nature, manifest- ing as it did, a disinterestedness and magnanimity worthy of the most righteous cause ; a cause then almost univer- sally believed to be of that character, and one that enlist- 'ed under its banners men of all political parties both among our private citizens and in the legislative halls of " the country. The Hon. Thos. H. Benton, whose brother was then in Texas speculating in Lands, proclaimed in the Senate of the United States that the time had passed when the American government or its citizens should remain neutrals, but that the only proper impulse now to be felt was a heart to sympathize with Texas and a hand to strike in her defence ; and such was the influence of circumstances at the time that our feelings were all carri- ed away by storm, and the unfortunate fate of the Ameri- cans at the Alamo and the unheard of cruelty of Santa Anna at Goliad soon after completely extinguished every just view of the subject, and curses loud and deep resound- ed from our hill tops and re-echoed along our valleys throughout the vast extent of the country, from Maine to Louisiana.
Every sea-port in the United States contributed men and money ; the noble steamers on the western waters were seen wending their way with succors for Texas ; the temples dedicated to the worship of God were thronged to listen to recitals from the pulpit of the reli. gious persecutions in Texas : and thousands of dollars and articles of clothing were contributed, and many a banner bearing the lone star of Texas was manufactured and
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embellished by the fair hands of our countrywomen, who ever alive to the voice of distress. were among the fore- most to stimulate and encourage their friends and relatives to seek distinction on the fair plains of Texas, and if need be to whiten with their bones the ground which they sup- posed had already absorbed the blood which would con- secrate their names to fame in all time to come.
Would that their hopes had been realized and that many of those whose bosoms beat high with hopes of an honorable fame and Texan freedom had not been doomed to chagrin and disappointment, and received nothing in return but bitter repentance for all their sacrifices and toils.
From the Lexington (Ky.) Gazette.
TO THE PUBLIC.
The undersigned, deem it an act of justice, not to themselves alone, but to the community of which they are members, more especially to those whose generous sympathies were so deeply enlisted in the cause of Texas to make known the causes which have induced them to abandon an enterprize, in which they embarked with so many fond and flattering hopes. They would have been glad to have been spared this painful task. They take no pleasure in the performance of an act, which may tend to check the universal current of kindness and sympathy which has been manifested by the people of Kentucky, towards the people of Texas, from the begin- ing of their revolution down to the present time. They have too distinct a recollection of their own feelings when they quit their homes, to aid the cause, as they then thought, of civil and religious freedom, not to know that their return and this brief expose of the motives which in- duced it, will cause a pang of mortification in many bo-
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soms which now throb with exultation, in the hope of Texan freedom. Nothing but a sense of duty-of the obligation which rests upon them to justify themselves, to the world, could now impel them to expose the unhappy civil and political condition of Texas ; to declare, as they now do, their solemn convictions of her total unworthi- ness of aid or sympathy. We might perhaps be content with this declaration of our opinions, but we will proceed briefly to fortify those opinions by a detail of facts.
We will not dwell upon the false assurances made to us by men professing to be the accredited agents of Tex- as in this country. At a time when the cause of Texas was dark and gloomy, when Santa Anna seemed destined to carry desolation over the whole country, those men were prodigal of promises, and professing to be authoriz- ed to speak in the name of the Texan Government made assurances of ultimate remuneration which they knew at the time were false, and which time proved to be so. But of this hereafter. The public were inform- ed at the time, of our extraordinary delay at New-Orleans. It was generally attributed to the neglect of the Texan agent at that place. There was a deeper cause .- The battle of San Jacinto had been fought and won; the President and Cabinet believing that the war was at an end, thought there would be no use for more volunteers, and if we could be delayed beyond the 1st of July, we should lose the benefit of the provis- ions of the Decree in Council; that being the time for the operation of the act to expire. The President and Coun- cil actually issued a proclamation prohibiting the coming in of additional volunteers. In the meantime, however, a rumor was circulated that the Mexicans were about to make another effort to regain the country, and were com- ing into Texas with 15,000 men, and we were then per-
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mitted to embark,-Captain Postlethwaite proceeding in advance with one hundred troops on the 2d day of July: Colonel Wilson remained with the residue, expecting to follow in a few days, but was in the manner before rela- ted, detained ten days. Col. W. got off on the 19th of July and arrived at Galveston after a passage of seven days. Captain P. had made his passage in four days. Captain P. being thus several days in advance of Colonel W., and having nothing to occupy him, concluded to visit Velasco, the seat of government, for the purpose of mak ing a personal examination of the country and to ascer- tain if possible, its civil condition. On his arrival at Ve- lasco, he was introduced to president Burnet by a friend and presented a letter of introduction-which was opened, glanced at and thrown by without comment, Captain P. not being asked to sit, or treated with common civility. Captain P. left President Burnet and returned to his ho- tel, where he had several distinct propositions made to hin by officers in the Texan service, to join them with the men under his command, avowing their object to be to scour the country and take every thing valuable which they could find, until they had paid themselves, and then return to the United States, as they did not expect the Texan Government to pay them a cent for the ser- vices they had rendered or the expense they had incur- red !! Captain P. was then informed that the representa- tions made by Texan agents in Kentucky of the right of volunteers to lands were false-that all right to head- right claims expired with the Declaration of Independ- ance, and that no bounty lands would be given to any volunteers who arrived after the 1st day of July. Captain P. then returned to Galveston, at which place Colonel W. had arrived in his absence, and communicated to him all the material facts which he had become possessed of
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at Velasco. Captain P. at that time announced his reso- lution to return home, informing the Colonel that he had become sufficiently disgusted with the state of things at the Seat of Government. Colonel W. prevailed upon Cap- tain P. to remain at Galveston until he could himself make a trip to Velasco and see if something might not have occurred to change the aspect of affairs. The Colo- nel proceeded to Velasco, presented his letter of introduc- tion to the President and was treated if possible, with still more incivility than Captain P. had been. Colonel W. returned to Galveston and announced all the facts to his men-and told them that he was willing to abide their decision, to wit: either to join the main army or re- turn with them to the United States.
This was the reception we met with. Those who re- collected the diffiulties we encountered in raising the corps, the high hopes with which we were inspired by the plaus- ible and pathetic appeals made to us by Texan agents in . this country-the deep enthusiasm which was evinced by the whole community when we bade adieu to our native country and homes, may form some adequate conception of our personal chagrin and mortification, when we plainly discovered that our presence was regarded by the authori- ties of the country as an intrusion, when we seemed to be looked upon as men who had come to claim that which had been won by the valour of others. Let any honorable man put the question to himself, and say, what could have been' his feeling and what course of conduct his own sense of propriety would have dictated ? This however was personal to ourselves. We have said that Texas was unworthy of public aid or sympathy.
We now state that our personal observation and un- doubted information enabled us fully to perceive, 1st, That the present population of Texas seemed wholly in.
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capable of a just idea of civil and political liberty and that so far as the extension of liberal principles is con- cerned, it is of but little moment whether Mexico or Tex- as succeeds in the struggle.
2. That the mass of the people from the highest func- tionary of their pretended Government to the humblest citizen (with but few exceptions) are animated alone by a desire of plunder, and appear totally indifferent whom they plunder, friends or foes.
3d. That even now there is really no organized Govern- ment in the country-no laws administered-no Judiciary -a perpetual struggle going on between the Civil and Mil- itary Departments-and neither having the confidence of the people or being worthy of it. We will here state one or two facts which may tend to show the estimation in which they are respectively held by each other, and their capacity to enforce their orders. The Secretary of War came down with a Quartermaster and steamboat to carry his loading consisting of provisions, clothing, &c. to the
main army. Capt. Switzer, volunteer emigrant from Ohio, who had lately arrived, wanted some clothing for his men and determined that unless he was first supplied with such articles as he desired, the expedition should not proceed. He took possession of the fort under the command of Colo- nel Morgan, loaded the cannon, and prepared to fire on them if they attempted to move without his permission. He then sent a file of men on board and took the vessels into his own possession and sent the honorable Secretary with his Quarter master and steamboat back to Velasco ! Again the President and Cabinet appointed General Lamar to the chief command of the Army-the Army promptly refused to receive him, and the power and authority of the Cabinet were contemptuously disregarded. The Army
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then, doubtlessly, after due deliberation, resolved that the Cabinet was either corrupt or. imbecile, (probably both) and it being necessary, in their opinion to get rid of them determined to do so by a summary process. 'They there- fore sent on an officer with instructions, forthwith to arrest them and bring them on to Head Quarters to be tried, ac- corling to military usuage. This order however, was not executed, simply because the officer charged with its execution had not the physical force requisite.
These facts and others sufficiently demonstrate this : that the Cabinet was deficient in all the requisites of a good government, and that no one in his senses, would trust himself, his reputation or his fortunes to their charge or control. Charged with treason, bribery and usurpation ; weak in their councils, and still weaker in power to en- force their orders ; we perceived at once that we must look for safety and proper inducements elsewhere. We then turned our eyes to the army, and a scene still more dis- heartening presented itself-undisciplined, and without an effort to become. so-not a roll called nor a drill -no regular encampment-no authority nor obedi- ence-with plundering parties for self emolument, robbing private individuals of their property. We could see nothing to induce us to embark our fortunes and destinies with them. With these views and facts we could but sicken and wonder at the vile deceptions which had been practised upon us ; yet we are told that this people had risen up in their might to vindicate the cause of civil and religious Liberty. It is a mockery of the very name of Liberty. They are stimulated by that motive, which such men can only appreciate, the hope of plunder. They are careless of the form of Government under which they live, if that government will tolerate licentiousness and disorder. Such is a brief but we sincerely believe, a faith-
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ful picture of a country to which we were invited with so much assiduity and such the manner in which we were received and treated.
We might multiply facts, in support of each proposition here laid down, to show the miserable condition of things in Texas and the utter impossibility that a man of honor should embark in such a cause with such men. Should it be rendered necessary, we may yet do so; but for the present we will pause' with this remark, that if there be any, now, in Kentucky, whose hearts are an- imated with the desire of an honorable fame, or to secure a competent settlement for themselves or families, they must look to some other theatre than the Plains of Texas. We could say to them, listen not to the deceitful and hypocritical allurements of LAND SPECULATORS, who wish you to fight for their benefit and who are as liberal of their promises as they are faithless in performance. We are aware of the responsibility which we incur by this course. We are aware that we subject ourselves to the misrepresentations of hired agents and unprincipled land mongers. But we are willing to meet it all, rely- ing upon the integrity of our motives and the correctness of our course. We left our native land, our peaceful fire- sides with a solemn resolution to devote our undivided energies to stop the course of Mexican desolation and build up a free and flourishing Commonwealth. The very fact of our going, sufficiently indicates the depth and sincerity of our devotion to the cause. Our retura and the circumstances which caused it, equally proclaim our infatuation. That others may not be alike deluded, is an additional motive with us to make this publication
EDWARD J. WILSON. G. L. POSTLETHWAITE.
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Should Texas again, and she most likely will, need our assistance, it remains to be seen what portion of our peo- ple can thus a second time be made the victims of a gen- erous credulty-to forget their duties to themselves, fam- , ilies and country, as well as a proper regard for the rights of foreign nations with whom the United States are at peace, and whose government is bound by every princi- ple of honor and duty to restrain its citizens from commit- ting acts incompatible with treaty stipulations and that code of law, which by common consent, regulates the con- duct of nations as well as individuals; and it should be hoped that future administrations will entertain a most sa- cred regard for their solemn obligations while our citizens will learn wisdom from former misfortunes, and that the Texan expedition will forever stand prominent as beacons . of light and warning and as monuments of many gallant and high minded men, who returned to their native shores no more, but whose bones yet whiten the Texan prairies, unhonored and unmourned by the people in whose service their lives were made a willing sacrifice.
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