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the independence they have achieved; and that, so conscious are
they of their strength, that they even threaten Mexico itself with
invasion, if she presume much longer to refuse the acknowledgment
of their independence! This bravado is quite in the Anglo-SaxonAmerican
style, but it can impose on no man acquainted with the
inherent weakness of Texas, its scanty resources, and the discordant
elements of which its population is composed. One vigorous
and well-directed effort on the part of Mexico would crush the
Republic of Texas, and reduce it to obedience.
It is difficult to ascertain the exact number of the population of
Texas at the present time. In 1832-3 the population of Coahuila
and Texas was said to be 84,672, but as it was known that a considerable
number of Colonists were not included in the Census, it
was supposed by those competent to form a judgment, to be about
97,000 in all, of whom 18,000 or 20,000 were foreigners, Texas
is now separated from Coahuila, and the greater portion of its inhabitants
are emigrants from the United States with their slaves.
Leaving the slave population entirely out of the question, the
number of whites, recognized as citizens entitled to all the privileges
and immunities of freemen, cannot greatly exceed, if indeed
it reach, 5000. The number of citizens entitled to vote for representatives
in the Congress of 1836, was scarcely 3500. A considerable
part of these were men of desperate fortunes, or persons who
had been allured into Texas by the expectation of plunder. Unassisted
by the supplies of men, and money, and the munitions of
war, from Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and other of
the southern States, Texas could never have been formidable; and I
again repeat, in case of any properly organized attempt on the part
of Mexico to recover the revolted province, the Texian republic,
would cease to be, unaided by the citizens of the United States.
At the present moment, she has enough to do with the deeply
injured Indian population within her borders, and is likely to
have as much difficulty in expelling the tribes of which it
is composed, from the land of their fathers, as the citizens
of the United States have had, and still have, to subjugate
the Seminoles in Florida. Last year, her legislature voted
