The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 51, July 1947 - April, 1948 Page: 32

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

to make it. The matter is very serious, and I shall explain it in a
few words.
Some five years ago the governor of this Nuevo Reyno de Leon
was discovered in the crime of taking fourteen thousand pesos forci-
bly or fraudulently from the Administrator of Taxes on Tobacco in
this province by counterfeited orders and pretexts, which were given
in the charge. At that time because of the death of the governor of
Texas, Colonel Antonio Cordero, governor of Coahuila, went to
Texas to govern that province. By the use of tricks and machinations,
rumours were spread of war with the Americans who never consid-
ered it and made no hostile movement even when we provoked them
prematurely. The artifice had the happiest results. Yturrigaray be-
came alarmed; the militia of Nuevo Leon, New Santander, and
Coahuila was called up. Don Felix Calleja, the Inspector at San
Luis Potosi, was charged with directing and appointing officers of
these troops. And at that time all Nuevo Leon thought that the
Americans would occupy all this territory and would threaten even.
this capital.
The aforesaid Calleja, the intimate friend and old companion
of Governor Herrera, found the occasion the most opportune for
saving his friend from the imprisonment and loss of employment
which the law provides for the excesses committed by Herrera. At
his suggestion, he was named to command the aforesaid militia at
Bexar. The viceroy was well inclined in Herrera's favor, since in
order that the matter of the discovery [of the misappropriation of
the funds] would not worry Herrera, the viceroy ordered that it be
deferred. And a few months after Herrera had arrived in Bexar, the
Treasury Official Borbon asked that he [Herrera] be compelled to
replace the stolen money and that as for the criminal charge, it be
suspended hereafter, because of the distinguished services that he
[Herrera] in company with Cordero was performing against the
Americans.
These [services], Your Excellency, are well manifest and public
but all are damaging to the King and the kingdom. From the mo-
ment that. he [Herrera] arrived there, his only interest was the
contraband trade. The uniforms for the troops were bought from
the Americans, and even the hats, at a conspicuous profit for him,
since he has distributed all among the troops at whatever price he
has wished. And not content with this, he has flooded these provinces
with contraband goods, now by means of the French emissaries, his
favorite friends, now by means of his acquaintances, who have gone
to the most miserable ranches to expend the contraband goods in
such abundance that last year the merchants who attended the fair
at Saltillo, where those troops are provisioned, noted it and com-
plained, bitterly, because where in previous years the provisions for