20
THE AUSTIN PAPERS
Cap Martin, McKinney, Dr. Miller, J. H. Bell, etc. etc. a·long list of good men might be made out. Those who are constantly trying to climb the skies without a ladder, must learn by experience that such a course will not do, before they can be useful to the country, or even to themselves. The people should recollect that the interest of the farmers and laboring part of the community is what ought to be looked to, and not the interest and ambitious views of young lawyers or impatient aspirants or inflam- matory political adventurers who are always trying in all countries to make instruments and tools of the people. Young men of this class will be useful and very valuable members of society hereafter, when experience shall have fully matured their judgment and tempered their youthful ardor and taught them prudence. But untill then they are better calculated to do harm by keeping up excitements and filling newspapers with violent and inflamatory remarks than anything else. S M Williams has been a faithful and useful servant to the colony, and he and McKinney are very well calcu- lated to be of great-and essential benefit to the farmers as merchants, to export the produce of Texas, and give character and activity to our infant commerce: They richly deserve encouragement, and I sincerely hope they will receive it from all persons. They neither of them are grasping or gaping for office, and for that very reason they deserve to be employed tho as exporting merchants they can be of more advantage to the people than in any other situation, for they will secure a fair price to the farmer for his produce and give ·system and stability to the market as regular merchants do in all countries, and save the farmers from mere pedlars and transient dealers, who are an evil rather than a benefit. I need not recommend lo either of you, harmony with your neighbors and with all persons-because I know that your ideas on this subject are the same as mine-public good and individual happiness depends· very much on harmony between the members of a community, and especially of a new and rising community. There might be a very good society below Brazoria including both sides of the river, and I see no substantial reason why there should not be harmony amongst the families of the opposite banks of so small a river. It has not been my fault or yours there is not, and it is to be hoped that those who have tryed to create party division there and in other parts. of Texas will take a different course in future. It is my sincere wish and any advance towards such a happy State of things will be met by me with pleasure, as I have no doubt it also will by you. r expressed my ideas on this matter in a letter to McKinney the 18 of last month to which I refer you. The beginning of last month I was rather in low spirits. I had heard so many bad reports for so long a time, and nothing favourable from Texas, that I began to doubt that the people of the Colony had totally forgotten and oontemptuously cast me away. This idea did, what nothing
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