The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 45, July 1941 - April, 1942 Page: 146
409 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
decidedly unpopular--the Texans had had enough of it, and
so the bill came to an inglorious end as a result of inaction.
Undoubtedly, Texas was saved from the ignominious fate
of being overrun by French colonists when the Franco-Texienne
Bill was defeated. An ambitious France had aimed at gaining
a foothold in America through Texas, and probably at the
expense of Texas liberty. Yet, so cleverly was the bill written,
and so dire was the need of Texas for aid, that many honor-
able and intelligent citizens believed its passage was for the
good of the country.26 In reality, it provided for a huge land-
grabbing project, cleverly engineered so that its immediate
profits might be distributed among Saligny and his friends,
while the future profits would be reaped by the French gov-
ernment, at the expense of the freedom of Texas.
At least one man, however, found the defeat of the bill
almost more than he could bear. Saligny, who had been so
sure that his political machinations would end in success,
could not brook failure. Actually most of the Frenchman's
difficulties with Texas could be traced to his disgruntled fury
over the failure of the Franco-Texienne Bill. His personal
quarrels caused so much diplomatic difficulty that when the
details came to light in France, General James Hamilton found
it impossible to float his long sought $5,000,000 loan."2
Thus the ambitions of a conniving French diplomat indirectly
had an important influence upon the financial affairs of Texas.
Thwarted in his land-grabbing scheme, Saligny used his dispute
over a board bill and pigs as a pretext for displaying his anger
against the Texans. He used his position as a foreign diplomat
to take advantage of the Texans, making trouble, meddling
in domestic affairs, avenging himself for the defeat of his
pet project.
That he managed to cause, at least partially, the failure of
the Texas loan in France cannot be doubted; that he caused
the government of Texas much annoyance and trouble is cer-
tainly true; yet it can all be traced to his unreasonable disap-
pointment at the failure of the Franco-Texienne Bill. Saligny's
stormy career in Texas makes a unique chapter in the diplo-
matic history of the Republic.
San Antonio, Texas.
26John Brown, History of Texas, II, 188.
27Correspondence With Saligny (MS), 95.146
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 45, July 1941 - April, 1942, periodical, 1942; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146053/m1/160/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.