1078
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
ground taken by W. H. V\Tharton and others, •which was· that I would not use energy enough with the Govt.-that I would be too passive and humble, and not display independence and firmness etc, and also that I was opposed to a State, and would defeat it, and would not obey the instructions, or regard the wishes of the people as expressed by the Convention etc, etc. Now, what I cannot under- stand is, that these same men, who at that time were violent political fanatics in favor of a State, and of high handed measures with the Govt. and who abused and opposed me, because I was too mild too passive, too luke-warm-the· same men who were the first, as they themselves say, to create an excitement in favor of separating Texas from Coahuila, ancl who in fact contributed very much to involve me and my friends in all this difficulty, and in the labyrinth in -which I am entangled, by compelling me, as it were, to yield to public opinion, or what I believed to be, and what I now believe was the public opinion at that time, and which public opinion was first excited by these same men (The fact is that the excitement in the colony at that time in favor of the State placed me in the alternative of yielding to them, or of opposing them by ·force by means of party divisions, or of leaving the country. I was disposed to adopt the first, or the last of these alternatives rather than the other of organizing a party or creating party divisions in the Col- ony). That these same men should now attack me, as it is said they have done, because I faithfully, fearlessly, and firmly repre- sented the wishes of the Convention and of my constituents, as these same men ·said those wishes were when I left there, instead of con- cealing or counteracting those wishes, as these same men said I would do-Tliat these sarne rnen should now try to ruin me and perpetuate my imprisonment, and should rejoice and exult at my sufferings, is what I cannot understand, and am unwilling to believe, for it would be the same as to believe that all their show and display of zeal for the public good, their pretended patriotism, had in fact no other definite object but to create confusion, out of which they hoped to derive some benifit, or at least to involve me in difficulty or total ruin. This I c_annot believe, altho such a thing was told me- I cannot yet believe it. I was told before I left the colony, that no matter what I did, or how I acted, ·some persons there would seek my ruin if they could. I am unwilling to believ_e that such baseness exists in human nature. That men should err in politics, become convinced of their error, and change their opinions, is a common and natural thing and amounts to nothing at all except a mere error in judg- ment which we are all liable to, and have all committed during our lives-but, there is a vast di:fference between an honest error
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