416
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
been done towards laying a foundation for the formation of a rich and I hope a happy community- Texas no longer belongs to the wilderness-whether it will ultimately remain attached to Mexico, or unite with the north, or form an independent nation, is all mere matter of conjecture, If slavery is excluded, I think the latter the most probabl~but if it is admitted, Texas will become what all slave countries are and of necessity must be destitute of physical force and dependent on some other power even for the preservation of its internal tranquility-in short it must have a prop to lean upon, for no slave country can stand alone- I think that much good might be done by a series of publications in the National Gazette on the emigration of Swiss and Germans to Texas-also against the admission of Slavery here-against annexing it to the U. S.-in favor of its adhering to :Mexico as long as the federal constitution stands arul no longer, but then to set up for itself, under the protection of the U. S.- you will of course per- ceive that this letter is not for the public eye,- I have wished t-0 give y01.1, ns a relative, some idea of my labors and views here, they are pur~ I will die sooner than violate my duty to this govern- ment, and if it would let me work I would make Texas the best state that belongs to this nation, but my dear sir the truth is that the Mexicans cannot sustain a republic- The present form must fall and what is then to become of Texas? we are too weak to set up for ourselves, unless under the protection of our powerfull neighbor- and the protection which the strong affords to the weak is much to be feared- If we had population, our course would be a very plain one, but we have it not- Territory we have to form a snug re- public,- I am in hopes the federal system may stand a few years longer and that by that time we shall get in some thousands of swiss, Germans, etc, and North Americans-the emigration is still uninter- upted to my colony and there will be a great accession of strength this fall- , S. Rhoads Fisher of your city has paid us a visit and can give you much information as to this country- • I sent you a pamphlet sometime since containing translations of the laws of colonization etc-if you have not recd it you can get one from John P Austin, (Austin and Tayleur) New York, or from Arch. Austin same plac~you will see by the law that what I stated to you relative to the impositions a.ttempted by D. A. Smith, Stephen Wilson etc was correct-the publications of those men bad its effect in producing the law of 6 of April-last. Had all other impresarios gone to work in good faith as I did, Texas would now have had a very heavy population, but I am the only one out of near 30 who engaged to settle colonies who bas done any thing, except harm
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