THE AUSTIN PAPERS 993 1st. She possesses sufficient qunliflcations, and the people o! Texas have manifested their desire to be n stnte. 2nd. The natural right that she has always hnd of organlz(ng herself as a state, and of occupying her runk as such, at the side o! her sisters the other states, on account of having been a distinct province nt the time or the Independence. 3rd. The guarantee of the lnw of 1\fny 7, 1824. 4th. The right thnt is gunranteed to her by the system adopted by the :Me:dcnn Repuulic, of promoting her welfnre, and of securing her Interior pros- perity nnd trnnquility by au ·nclequnte organization of her local go-rernment. 5th. Tbe duty, nnu the interest of Texas, of cementing and assuring her per• manent union with the Mexlcun federntlon. 6th. The right that all people have of saving themseh'es from anarchy and from utter ruin. lilxvla11ation of these bases 1st. The declaration of the people of Texas that they ha,,e the elements suffi- cient to form n state, nncl the fact that they are ready to be charged with the expenses and responsibilities of the interior administration ls proof that lbey are in a conclition to figure as n state, because it is very evident that they \\"OUld not have sollcited such n thing if they were not satisfied of theh- capacity physical and moral, to sustain the administration and to fulfill all the dulicl! of a state. . For a better explanation of this poiut I refer to the statistical report which is hereto attached. 2nd. The provisional union of Texas with Conhuila by the law of. May 7, 1824, was without the formal or cordial consent of the people of Texas, or ot her deputy in the general constituent congress; nnd that union could not destroy the natural and primitive right of Texas to organize us u state when in the opinion of her inhabitants their necessities might require it The natural rights of Texas in this particulnr nre recognized in the said law by the fact that the union with Conl.mila is _,_11, .-~;tio11al nnd provisional, and not positive and permanent. Texas does not recognize, nor can recognize, that she has to ask the appro- bation of three-fourths of the states of the federation, in orcler to be admitted as a distinct member of the l\Icxicau family. This right always hos belonged to her and does belong to bcr and if the exercise of the right has bel'n post· poned until now it has been by voluntary consent of her inhabitants, nud not because they have believed, or believe, that their union with Coalmila has weakened it in the least particle. It is a natural right, nnd as such it Is iruprescriptible, sacred, and inviolable, and cannot be destroyed except in case the people of 'l'exns should abandon it, and this they have never done. Texas does not admit tbe principle that Coalmila has a voice or consent Ii. the question of her right to be erected into a State; nor can she ask ot Coahuila ns a favor what belongs to her by right and by justice. Texas does not desire n baud's bl'eacltll of the tel'ritory of Conhulln. It tliere is a doubt conceruiug the division line of the old provinces o! Coolluila and Texas, or other peculiar questions, they niust be settled between those two states in a friendly manner or in conformity with the laws gowrning such case.., 3rd. The law of May 7, 1824, is very clear and well defined, and recognizes the natural right of Texas of erecting J1erself into n state, und concedes to her thc privilege of manifesting to the general congress her desire to be u st ate, when in the opinion of her inhabitants she bas the elements to fii,'llre as such. That law does not contain tbe provision of asking the approbation o! tbree- fourths of the states before congress shall consider the petition ot 1\'xns to
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