THE AUSTIN PAPERS 785 eral govt. and to all others with whom I conversed as to the people of Texas is as follows- " They will adhere. to Mexico and rigidly execute their duty to the constitution and laws, and religiously ob- serve [their] oaths [as] Mexican citizens-but at the same time they will with great pertinacity [do] their duty to themselves and to their neighbors as members of one political community- If their rights are violated, they will seek legal redress in a calm and peaceable and constitutional manner-if that fails and-or [is] treated with con- tempt they will then and not before, seek redress by any means in their power of an honorable and open nature for they will not tamely submit [to] illegal outrages-also they consider an in[vasi]on of the constitutional rights of one man, as an attack [on the] whole com- munity. If I know the people of Texas, as I think I do, I am confident that they will prove by their acts and declarations the above is cor- rectly applied to them and especially the first clause of it. My own individual motto has always been adherence and fidelity to M e:dco. Under the influence and guidance of [this] motto I have been enabled to [succeed] in securing to the settlers· of my c:ol[ony] all the benefits they [have] obtained [as far as?] I have had an agency in procuring them, and I will here, as I have often before, recommend it as [the] standing motto of the colonies, rind [a]s a general and standing popular toast-[It would?] tend to remove the unj[ust prejudices an]cl suspicions which m[any] good men among the :Mexicans have had, and will thus pave the way for our permanent prosperity, by the removal of restrictions-Also it will have a good effect at home, as a [poi]nter, a rallying point, a po-int d'apruit for p[ubli]c opinion, which is all important in any community, to produce union and unity of action and of purpose and besides all this, it is required of us by our oaths as l\fexicnn citizens. • Another of my fixed rules of action as to Texas generally is that with respect to her rights slie must ri/;ways act on the defenswe and never on the offensive. In December and January Inst I act[ed] under the rigid guidance of this [rule] I tliinlc [nowi] that there was a [strong?] determi- nation to break up the * . * * [of] American settlers, and that any plausible pretext would be taken -hold of to march an army into that [coun]try. I formed this opinion from t[he a]cts of the Govt. and * * * since * • • and * * * [line totally gone] * • * [circum]stances which occurred in the * * * department in November-the appointment of Fisher, is w[as] known was obnoxious and unpopular-it must have been known that his order or decree of 24 Novr. last relative to the com-
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