USA > Texas > History of Texas : from 1685 to 1892, volume 1 > Part 35
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line or external boundaries were demarked within which the Indian tribes alluded to should be located ; but at the same time, paying due regard to the legitimate locations of our own citizens within the same limits. If those Indians have introduced themselves in good faith under the colonization laws of the government, they should be entitled to the bene- fits of those laws and comply with their conditions. I deem it a duty which we owe to them to pay all due respect to their rights, and claim their co-operation in the support of them, and at the same time not infringe the rights of our own countrymen, so far as they have been justly founded. These agents, going under proper instructions, would be enabled to do right, but not permitted to do wrong, as their negotiations would be subject to investigation and ratification by the gov- ernment, before they would become a law. I am, gentlemen, " Your obedient servant,
" HENRY SMITH, Governor."
CHAPTER XL.
SURRENDER OF BEXAR.
Further discord between the Governor and Council - Capture of San Antonio de Bexar and action thereon by the Council.
Mr. Barrett then offered the following resolution, which was adopted:
" Resolved, That the General Council feel that no better or more suitable report can be made to the people of Texas and to the world, of the brilliant storming and taking of Bexar than that contained in the report of the brave officers who have communicated their achievements to the Provisional Government, and that the same be given to the printer for publication, and five hundred copies, in handbill form, be printed as soon as possible."
The report has already been given.
Notwithstanding the resolution just quoted, the keen eye of the Governor seems to have discovered a tendency towards anarchy, as will be seen by the following of the same date:
" GENTLEMEN: " I herewith transmit to your honorable body twoappointments which purport to have been made by the commander-in-chief of the volunteer army at Bexar (F. W. Johnson). I lay them before you by special request, well knowing that you understand your duties in that particular, and as such will appreciate those appointments in a proper manner. The campaign against Bexar seems to have terminated by capitulation. It is now time for the government to bring everything under its own proper control, and pursue the organic system in place of confusion or desultory warfare. This alone can cure evils which necessitous precipitancy has
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thrown in upon us. That this newly framed organization, springing from the midst of anarchy and confusion, could be sustained without encountering difficulties, could not be ex- pected. Restless, disorganizing spirits are, and ever have been, busy, both in the camp and at home, with their vile intrigues and machinations, to sap the very foundation of all our hopes. Your honorable body can not be so blind as not to discover their base purposes. I now warn you to place on them the mark of Cain, as an assurance that their merited fate awaits them. I have previously admonished you that no common duties devolved on you; that a bold, determined stand on your part was necessary to the preservation of the country. The foundation already laid must be sustained, and the fabric reared upon it. It is for you, then, who have been intrusted with the charge, to aid by your indefatigable perse- verance, to complete the building. There is virtue in the people, and they will sustain you. I am, gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
" HENRY SMITH, Governor." " December 18, 1835."
The Governor was sustained in his opposition to this irreg- ular mode of appointments, by a report from the committee on military affairs.
On the 25th of December the council finally adopted the following resolutions, responsive to the Governor's message of the 17th :
" Resolved, by the general council, That this council does not recognize, or acknowledge, any power in the executive branch of said government, to object to, or veto appointments to office made by this council. That the appointing power is exclusively with the council, and the commissioning is the duty of the Governor, consequent upon his office ; and even, if otherwise, the veto as returned upon the list of officers appointed by this council dated on the 11th inst., was not
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returned within the three days prescribed by the ordinance and decree declaring the mode of passing, signing and publishing the ordinances, decrees and resolutions of the Provisional Government of Texas. The list of officers appointed was sent to the executive officer the 12th of December and re- turned December the 17th.
" 2nd. Resolved, That by the 11th article of the organic law, this council can only consider charges and specifications preferred against a member of this council, for malfeasance or misconduct in office.
" 3rd. Resolved, That the charges of this character pre- ferred by the governor in his message of the 17th inst., against Messrs. Gritten and Barrett, the general council repel, as being untrue, and the other charges are not a subject-matter proper to be investigated by this council, according to the aforesaid article of the organic law.
" 4th. Resolved, That the Governor be, and he is hereby requested, to issue commissions forthwith, to the persons named in the certified list of the persons elected under date of the 11th instant.
" 5th. Resolved, That the Governor be furnished with a copy of the foregoing resolutions.
" On motion of Mr. Menefee the seals of secrecy were re- moved from all proceedings in secret session up to this date.
" Resolved, That the message of the Governor of the 17th inst., be filed among the papers of the council, and not en- tered on the journals."
THE BREACH WIDENING.
On December 25th the committee on military affairs sub- mitted the following extraordinary report and resolutions, so abounding in Quixotic ideas and schemes to demoralize and confuse the military operations of the country, as to stamp them with the condemnation of every one at all versed in the imperious necessity of discipline and a directing head in the
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prosecution of war. A man of the clear perceptions and fixed- ness of purpose of Governor Smith could only regard such action by the council, if allowed to prevail, as leading to disaster, if not to ruin.
" The committee on military affairs, to whom was referred Major F. W. Johnson's letter of December 18, 1835, from headquarters at San Antonio de Bexar, have had the same under consideration, and from the information contained therein, together with the movements of General Cos, after his departure from San Antonio de Bexar, learned from a private source, renders it necessary to concentrate on the frontier, at the most important points, all the troops that can be raised and that as speedily as possible.
" We are also informed by the communication received from Bexar that advices have been received at that place, stating that Gen. Ramirez Sesma had arrived at Laredo with five hundred cavalry and one thousand infantry, for the pur- pose of re-inforcing Gen. Cos, and that an army was raising at San Luis Potosi, to be commanded by Santa Anna.
" Your committee would therefore recommend that an express be sent to the commander-in-chief of the regular army of Texas, forwarding to him a copy of the letter received from Bexar of the 18th inst. ; and the private intelligence of the movements of Gen. Cos; and further, that Col. J. W. Fannin be ordered to proceed forthwith to the west and take command of the regular and auxiliary troops, and that Col. Travis be ordered to repair with all possible dispatch to the frontier, or seat of war, with all the troops he can bring into the field at this time, under his command; and that the troops at Washington, and such as may be on the Guadalupe, will be ordered to repair immediately to Goliad, Copano or Bexar for the purpose of co-operating with and acting in con- cert in the general defensive or offensive operations which may be ordered or deemed necessary.
" Your committee would further earnestly recommend,
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that the commander-in-chief be ordered to concentrate all the troops under his command, or that can be brought into the field, at Goliad or Copano, with all possible dispatch, taking care at the same time to procure, by his contractors, the necessary supplies of provisions for the sustenance of his troops, and that his orders be executed with all promptness and dispatch; and further, that the commander-in-chief be required to arrange and give orders to his recruiting officers and make such dispositions of his recruiting officers as may be deemed best by him. Therefore your committee recommend the adoption of the following resolutions :
" Inasmuch as the number of troops fit for duty now in the field is very much augmented, there being four hundred troops now at Bexar, seventy at Washington, eighty at Goliad, two hundred at Velasco and several companies on their march to the different military posts and places of rendezvous, making in the aggregate seven hundred and fifty men now in service and ready for active operations, and at least one hundred more, not enumerated in the above aggregate, who will join the army in a few days, active operations should be imme- diately commenced ; for the expenses of the above number of men, now in service, together with the officers and contingent expenses, are too great for Texas in the present state of her finances. Besides, to keep the troops idle who have entered the service, will do us great injury at this time. It will induce those who are willing and able to aid us, to believe that we have no use for any more troops; it will give our enemies time to fortify Matamoros and Laredo, so they can demonstrate on us in the spring or whenever they think proper, knowing their fortifications would enable them to retreat safely, even if they were defeated, and should it become necessary to take either of the aforesaid places, for the security of our frontier it would be far more difficult than it would be at this time, and no man can doubt the importance and necessity of strik- ing a decisive blow at once. By taking Matamoros, we have
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the possession of the key; yes, the commercial depot of the whole country north and northwest for several hundred miles. We can then fortify the place ; demonstrate, when the occa- sion presents itself, or it becomes necessary, upon the towns north and west. We can also land provisions and all the munitions of war and troops, if necessary, at that point (Matamoros), at any time with perfect safety, and without incurring half the risk and expense we must at present. And we can also command the Gulf of Mexico from that point to the city of New Orleans, and land our troops and supplies wherever we please.
" Therefore be it resolved, by the General Council of the Provisional Government of Texas, that his Excellency, Henry Smith, Governor, be, and he is hereby earnestly requested to concentrate all his troops by his proper officers, at Copano and San Patricio, for the purpose of carrying into effect the objects expressed and contained in the foregoing report.
" Be it further resolved, That no officer of the regular army of Texas shall receive pay until he is in actual service, under orders of the commander-in-chief."
On the same day the chairman of the same committee presented the following report, which was read and adopted :
' Your committee, to whom was referred the petition of certain officers asking permission to proceed to Copano, have had the same under consideration, and would respectfully recommend to the honorable, the General Council, that his Excellency, the Governor, be requested to give said petitioners permission or orders to proceed to Copano to fortify and defend said place, until they receive further orders, and that his Excellency, Henry Smith, Governor, be requested to notify the commander-in-chief of the regular army of Texas of the same.
" Your committee deems it important to order Capt. Allen to that point, and also to accept the service of such volunteers as tender their services to aid Capt. Allen and his company,
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and for many important reasons. In the first place, provisions, ammunition and supplies will be ordered to Copano by our agents in New Orleans, and they will be liable to be taken by our enemies, unless a sufficient force is sustained there to guard them. Besides, we are threatened with a large army under the command of Santa Anna, and by building fortifi- cations at different points on the frontier of our State we shall be able to contend against a much superior force to what we otherwise should. It will also throw an additional number of troops on the frontier to co-operate and act in concert with the regular and auxiliary troops, should a large force be sent to invade us immediately, which we have every reason to believe will be the case, and that before we can even raise and organize a regiment of the regular army. Your committee would therefore respectfully recommend to the council the adoption of the following resolution:
" Resolved, That Capt. Allen and J. Chenoweth's petition, together with this report, be copied by the secretary and handed to his Excellency, Henry Smith, Governor of the Provisional Government of Texas."
On the 26th of December Governor Smith sent in, with sug- gestions of remedial action, a communication from John Forbes, of Nacogdoches, stating that there had been a com- bination of " six or eight speculators, sustained by individuals from the States, who employ them, to engross the lands that are properly the public domain ; and that the intentions of the government and its acts (closing all land offices from the 13th of November until there should be a settled government) relating to public land, and even its judicial acts, have been delayed greatly to the injury of the public."
Against such villainies the indignant voice of Governor Smith was raised and the council appealed to for measures of relief and protection. He said:
" Your honorable body will plainly see from the foregoing, the situation of the land office in the east, and that the acts
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of the convention have not been carried into effect ; nor does it appear that it can be, short of a military force ; and whether such a course would be calculated to produce salutary effect, is for your honorable body to determine. That some kind of effort should be made by us to sustain and protect the public interest, must be obvious to all. While we are contending with a powerful foe, even for our very existence, that we should find men among us capable of committing piracies both on sea and land is, I must admit, rather discouraging; but permit me to say to you that every opposition has a pow- erful tendency to stimulate me to greater exertion, and I hope it will have the same effect on your honorable body. Opposi- tion, strong, vigilant and persevering, was by me anticipated. So I am not taken by surprise, or deceived, in the men who stir it up. They never consider the public good, but seek their own private interests ; hence they are ever vigilant and on the wing.
" It is made our duty to guard and protect that which they wish to destroy. They dread organization as a great evil, because honest investigation follows as a matter of course, which they dread.
" I would recommend to the consideration of your honor- able body the propriety of some efficient course to be adopted, to carry into effect the decrees of the late convention, and also the decrees of the Provisional Government, predicated on their authority. Let us faithfully and honestly discharge our duty and the country will sustain us.
" HENRY SMITH."
It is pleasing to say that all such frauds and villainies finally came to naught by rejecting every pretended claim and title after the 13th of November, 1835, and before the organization under the republic.
The commissioners to the United States, through the per- sistent efforts of Governor Smith, were finally equipped with
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commissions, instructions, etc., and repaired to Velasco, to sail for New Orleans ; but they were detained, for want of a vessel first and heavy weather afterwards till the 27th of December, when they ( Austin, Archer and Wm. H. Wharton), together with Col. John A. Wharton, adjutant-general, under authority from Gen. Houston to secure and hasten forward munitions of war, sailed on the schooner William Robbins for New Orleans.
In the meantime two or three hundred volunteers from the United States had arrived at Velasco and were encamped in that vicinity - gallant young men, largely from the best fam- ilies in Georgia and other southern States, destined, many of them, to perish in the battle and massacre at Goliad.
CHAPTER XLI.
Austin's Communication - The Commissioners, Austin, Archer and Wharton, sail for the United States.
It is impossible to do justice to Gen. Austin, at this critical period of factions and diverse opinions, except by quoting his own utterances. In his communication to the council of November 30th, he had said :
" The decree of the 3d of October, therefore, if carried into effect [it had been in effect ever since the expulsion of Farias from, and the introduction of Barragan into, the Vice-Presi- dency], evidently leaves no remedy for Texas but resistance, secession from Mexico, and a direct resort to natural rights."
This was followed two days later (December 2d) by a second communication to the council in which he said :
" At the time of the former elections (October 5th), the people did not and could not fully understand their situation ; for it was not known then to a certainty what changes would take place in Mexico [many of the wisest and truest men in Texas thought the change was accomplished months before and were in favor of independence when those elections were held], what kind of government would be established, or what course would be pursued towards Texas. It was only known that the Central party was in power - that all its measures tended to the destruction of the Federal system, and that preparations were making to invade Texas. But at the present time the people know that the government is changed; that Centralism is established by the decree of October last, and that they (the people of Texas) are threatened with annihilation. In short, the whole picture is now clearly before their view, and they see the dangers that are hanging over them. Can these
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dangers be averted by a provisional organization which is based upon a declaration (that of November 7th) that is equivocal and liable to different constructions? Does not the situation of the country require a more fixed and stable state of things? In short, is it not necessary that Texas should now say in plain and positive and unequivocal language what is the position she occupies and will occupy ; and can such a declaration be made without a new and direct resort to the people, by calling, as speedily as possible, a convention with plenary powers, based upon the principle of equal represen- tation ? "
These were words of wisdom, the natural outgrowth of Aus- tin's former conservative expressions. He had thus arrived at the position occupied at the time of the October elections by Governor Smith, Dr. Archer, Dr. Asa Hoxey, the brothers Wharton, Robert M. Williamson, Dr. Charles B. Stewart, Edwin Waller, James Collinsworth, James W. Robinson and many other prominent men. He was now understood to be in favor of independence, and a feeling of renewed brotherhood spread over the land. Had he remained on that rock, written no more, and gone to the United States to labor, as he and his colleagues did, for the welfare of the country, there can scarcely be a doubt that he would have been the first president of the republic of Texas. But he did not remain on that rock. By what process of ratiocination he was con- trolled can only be surmised on the ground of ill-health, bodily pain, mental anxiety and consequent paroxysms of mor- bid sensitiveness. Apparently in the latter condition, he addressed another communication to certain members of the council and two others at San Felipe, as follows :
" QUINTANA, December 22, 1835.
" DEAR SIRS: We expect to get off to-morrow in the Wm. Robbins ; Archer, the two Whartons and myself and several other passengers.
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" There has been a great deal of low intrigue in the political maneuvering of a party who I am at last forced to believe have their own personal ambition and aggrandizement in view, more than the good of the country. These men have operated on Archer until they have made him almost a political fanatic, preaching a crusade in favor of liberty against the city of Mexico, the only place short of which the army of Texas ought to stop, etc.
" The Mexicans say that it is rather curious that the people of Texas should fight against military rulers, and at the same time try to build up an army that may, in its turn, rule Texas as it pleases. I think it probable there will be some thousands volunteers from the United States in a few months. They nearly all wish to join the regular army on the basis of volun- teers. What shall we do with so many? How support them ? I fear that the true secret of the efforts to declare independ- ence is, that there must then be a considerable standing army, which, in the hands of a few, would dispose of the old settlers and their interests as they thought proper.
" The true policy for Texas is to call a convention, amend the declaration of the 7th of November last, by declaring Texas a State of the Mexican Confederacy under the basis laid down in the fifth and other articles of said declaration of the 7th of November, form a constitution and organize a per- manent government. Every possible aid should be given to the Federal party in the interior; but it should be done as auxiliary aid, in conformity with the second article of the declaration. By doing this the war will be kept out of Texas. This country will remain at peace. It will fill up rapidly with families, and there will be no great need of a standing army. I believe that the combinations in the State of Tam- aulipas are very extensive to form a new republic by a line from Tampico, west to the Pacific, and it is probable that the capitulation at Bexar was made to promote that object. In short, it is much easier to keep the war out of Texas, than to
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bring it back again to our own doors. All that is necessary is for us not to do anything that will compel the Federal party to turn against us, and if they call on us for aid let it be given as auxiliary aid, and on no other footing.
" This takes away the character of a national war, which the government in Mexico is trying to give it, and it will also give to Texas just claims on the Federal party, for remuner- ation out of the proceeds of the custom houses of Matamoros and Tampico, for our expenses in furnishing the auxiliary aid. But if Texas sends an invading force of foreign troops against Matamoros, it will change the whole matter. Gen. Mexia ought to have commanded the expedition to Matamoros and only waited to be asked by the Provisional Government to do so.
" I repeat: It is much easier to keep the war out of Texas and beyond the Rio Grande, than to bring it here to our own doors. The farmers and substantial men of Texas can yet save themselves, but to do so they must act in union and as one man.
" This I fear, is impossible. In the upper settlement Dr. Hoxey is loud for independence. Of course he is in favor of a large standing army to sustain it, and will no doubt be ready to give up half, or all, of his property to support thousands of volunteers, etc., who will flood the country from abroad.
" It is all very well and right to show to the world that Texas has just and equitable grounds to declare independence ; but it is putting the old settlers in great danger to make any such declaration, for it will turn all the parties in Mexico against us. It will bring back the war to our doors, which is now far from us, and it will compel the men of property in Texas to give up half or all to support a standing army of sufficient magnitude to contend with all Mexico united.
" Yours respectfully,
" S. F. AUSTIN."
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This communication was read in the council December 31, 1835, and is indorsed " Referred to committee on State and Judiciary, E. M. Pease, Secretary." The original, so in- dorsed, is in my possession.
A still greater evidence of Gen. Austin's morbidly sensi- tive condition and temporary unfitness to guide or to under- stand the actual state of public sentiment, is found in a letter written three days later to Mr. Royall, as follows:
" QUINTANA, December 25, 1835.
" DEAR SIR: The affairs of Texas are more entangled than I suspected they were. While the real friends of the country have been laboring in good faith for the general good of all, a few men, an unprincipled party, have clanned together to get possession of the public affairs to promote their own aims of ambition and personal aggrandizement. There has been much low intrigue, and amongst others I have been deceived and treated with bad faith. My whole thoughts and soul were devoted to the common cause of Texas, and I could not suffer even my suspicions to descend so low as to suppose that there were individuals who could be influenced by any other motives than purely patriotic ones. I ought to have known better, but I was unwilling to believe that so much bad faith and political dishonesty and low intrigues existed as I am now compelled to believe has been and no doubt will continue to be practiced by Wharton and a few others.
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