THE AUSTIN PAPERS 583 the journey very well-corn in this place is only 75 cents to a dollar the fanega I again recommend D 0 Victor's land matter to you par- ticularly-that is, his own clairns, the others are for his friends and are of secondary consideration in comparison with his, for they want the land for speculation-he wants it for his family, he has ten children, and a more promising :family I have never seen. remember me to Mrs. Sweet and Sarah SF AusTIN [Rubric] s. RHOADS FISHER TO AUSTIN Harrisburgh January 10th 1831 l>ios y Libertad l\fy DE.AR Sm My object in coming to this place was to load the Schooner Champion with lumber or freight for Tampico, and I intended to keep her in the coasting trade provided I found it to my Interest, knowing it was decidedly to the advantage of the Colony to have a vessel as well calculated as she is. to carry off their produce. But l have to state to you with regret that unless a different construc- tion of the maritime laws shall be made, or the laws then1selves changed, it will be impossible for any vessel to pursue it. I waited e,n Colonel Bradburn with the letter you honored me with, and found him as you represented a Gentleman. I stated to him that I had paid in Arnnsaso Bay a Tonnage duty on the Schooner, and all the other Government dues for which I had a receipt from the .A.clministrador; that after leaving there we entered the Bay of Matagorda in ballast, and finding no loading had come on to this for lumber to proceed to Tampico: he said his instructions were positive, and that I must pay the tonnage duty here, and that had there been an office at Matagorda, the same would have been re- quired there; and further, that the same must also be paid in Tam- pico: this then, amounts upon the Schooner whose tonnage per U. S. Register is 611, besides other port charges to $552.50 from which 16 p. c. is to be deducted; no vessel can stand this, and unless a change be made the Trade must be abandoned. I am not prepared to dis- pute the legality of Col. Bradburn's demand, but Mr. Hirnm, and several other gentlemen here say they ,vould not pay it, for Colonel Bradburn has nothing to do with this Colony, nor has the ayunta- miento at Austin ever received any official notice of an officer hav- ing been placed at Galveston entrance. I have no hesitation in addressing to you, my dissatisfaction, but under the present feeling between the two people prefer n slight submission (for submission I consider it to be) to being the means of increasing that feeling.
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