Proceedings of the Senate and Documents Relative to Texas, from which the Injunction of Secrecy Has Been Removed Page: 104 of 119
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,-Wiqvt~!he1 e t.cepi i0 n:.: ft hep *:fjt,t..:Ip ew,-e. ycunder the RFed t onrstiti tio i
lt:-t V,jtotria, Mexico has e iifit.e4ld eriesi-frev olumians, attended:.w;it
thfa j^ost disastrous .ivCil , w4rm. itirbti,? who was chosen and proclaited,
'4by'ft: Jictiou s-soldi.ery,: ws: dethwboed and( putt to death, .after a short; reign,
ttijrbulent to be regarded oevenu:during that ebrief period, as a Govern.t,nt,
The rights of proper ty ,e; re not respected, and foreign merchants
as weUllas native were exposed to his rapacity. Witness .the seizure of
naoipy at Perote.
After the dowfall of itUriid%t and the adoption of ;the Constitution of
1824, which is a tran.seipt of t!at of the .United States, affairs: were for
some ,Ume ,condueted peaceably}it nd were on ly interrupted by the episode
of the.- reyolt of General Braavo, the Vice President. Yet, during that
ipeAid:, the l.aws of nations wer ,repeatedly violated, and: the property of
.foreigjr i:erchants preyed-upox ton!by the corrupt and venal agents of the
G0overqrpent. (See the history of the claims of American. citizens.)
The-terorination of Victoria's presidency was disgraced -by: the quarrelJ
beteween the rival candidates for the succession, which .,after a bloody- contest,terininated
by - elevating: to. the presidency the unsuccessful. candidate,
General Guerrero, and the banishment of Pedrazo,: his.competitor, A short
yearl,. marked with disorder and misrule, terminated the career of this revolutionary
hero. The struggle cost him his power :-and his life, and the
whole country was convulsed,by this civil strife. The Vice President,
Bustamente, succeeded Guerrero; but the war continued in different parts
of Mexico, rendering life and property insecure. After a short period of'
convsusions, Bustarnente was banished, and Santa Anna succeeded to
power. : He was eleVated byt:-the joint efforts.of the aristocracy and the
priesthood, who made use of the successfuil soldier of fortune to overthrow
the free institutions of the country. His reign of misrule and career of
blood will be presently noticed. He is now at Magno de Clavo, the tiger
in his lair, ready to go forth seeking whom he may devour. It is trueB3ustamente
is again in power, but it is notorious that the people have beenjuggled
out of their liberties, and are dissatisfied. The Government which
was their choice has been overthrown, and centralism: forced. upon them by.
the :s?vord-this change sanctioned by mock acts of a spurious legislatu,S
aPid the: States reduced to submission by force.
Witbh this brief view of the factious struggles of Mexico, the undersigned
approaches the exposition of the history: of Texas, which he conceives to
bew a'-important preliminary to the due consideration of the subject of an.aexation.
Until
the settlement of Austin's first colony, in 182:1 Texas, for the most
part, was an unexplored wilderness. The Spaniards had endeavored, in
vain, to rescue it from the wild tribes of the forest. So early as the year
198j, the old Spanish town of Bexar was founded ; in 1716; La Bahia,
afterwards Goliad; Nacogdoches in 1732; Victoria at a later period.- Butthese
old.Spanish settlements continued to be surrounded by prowling parties
of savage Indians, and, up to the year 1821, Texan civilization wasonly:to
be found within the narrow precincts.of their respective jurisdictions.
Oa the 17th of January. 1821 Moses Austin obtained permission from
the Supreme Government of the eastern internal provinces of New Spain,
at Monterey, to settle a colony of.emigrants in Texas, and in the month of
December following, his son, Stephen F. Austin, who had undertaken the
enterprise in obedience to the testamentary request of his father, appeared;
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United States. Congress. Senate. Proceedings of the Senate and Documents Relative to Texas, from which the Injunction of Secrecy Has Been Removed, book, 1844; [Washington]. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2363/m1/104/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .