Proceedings of the Senate and Documents Relative to Texas, from which the Injunction of Secrecy Has Been Removed Page: 110 of 119
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[ 341] 110
nexation-an amalgamation of flags; and the undersigned assures the lonorable
the Secretary of State that this is the solitary advantage which he
seeks to gain in this negotiation but which, he begs leave to say, he hopes
to accomplish upon the high principle of a strict adherence to the just rights
and dignity of the sovereignty of the Texan nation.
The undersigned will not conceal from the honorable the Secretary of
State his apprehensions that any delay in the conclusion of the treaty of
annexation may be fatal to its ultimate accomplishment. Diplomatic relations
with foreign Powers are now in the progress of being established,
and the result of these interchanges will be commercial treaties, involving
difficulties which may be insurmountable in any subsequent arrangement
of the question; and, therefore, the undersigned is' especially instructed to
urge, with as little delay as possible, the immediate discussion and negotiation
of a treaty of annexation. Texas is not disposed to yield to any foreign
nation the privileges of her coast, involving the command of the Gulf
of Mexico; nor can she concede thtem to the United States, unless in a
treaty of Union. As an independent Power, her interests would conflict
with those of the United States; and, without annexation, her struggle
in the formation of commercial treaties would most naturally be directed to
the establishment of the principle of a preference of her cotton and other
products in foreign markets over those of the United States; and such relations,
when once established, would, it will be at once perceived, very
much embarrass, if not render totally impracticable, a treaty of annexation.
It is a matter not to be disguised, that Texas must chiefly people her extensive
domain from the United States. With a soil better adapted to the
cultivation of cotton and sugar than that of this country, and with all the
benefits of commercial treaties concentrated upon the advancement of these
two interests, she would present herself as a powerful rival to the agriculture
of this Union. With the same political institutions, a cheaper soil,
and superior advantages to the cotton and sugar planter, she would drain
this country of much of its most valuable labor and population, but whether
to such an extent as seriously to affect the interest of the United States,
the undersigned will not presume to suggest. Texas, too, as an independent
nation, must, in the regulation of her land system, present, in the cheapness
of her prices, the highest inducements to emigration, and will, no
doubt, soon claim the attention of that transatlantic enterprise and capital
which now flow into the United States.
The undersigned begs leave most respectfully to suggest to the honorable
the Secretary of State, that in the event of Texas remaining in the attitude
of an independent Power, there will arise, from the very strict resemblance
of the people and the institutions of the two countries, many
questions of conflicting interest, the adjustment of which will be most difficult
and painful. It would be impossible for the people of Texas to regard
those of the United States in the character of foreigners, and separated
from one another by only an imaginary line. It may fairly be predicted
that the local authorities of the two Powers would come into frequent and
violent collision. The administration of the law would be interrupted, or
its penalties evaded; and, in the general entanglement of jurisdictions
upon the frontier, it is feared that public justice would not be well sustained.
It would be impracticable for either Power to enforce ils revenue system;
and should the tariffs of the two countries differ essentially, as must be
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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/m1/110/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .