1469
THE AUSTIN PAPERS.
' AUSTIN TO FULLERTON
.
. San Felipe de Austin October 2 1826
Gen'· Humphry Fullerton, . . Dr Sir, I was truly gratified to learn by your letter to Major Burnett that you had arrived at home safe in July, that your health was improving and that you had received applications from near one hundred families who wished to emigrate to this colony, and more were daily applying----: • • The forty swiss families you speak of from Vevey will be valu- able acquisition as cultivators of the vine, a species of culture which I have no doubt will succeed well and yield great profits in propor- tion to the Capital and labor employed. The climate and soil are said, by those who profess themselves judges, to be well adapted to the cultivation of the vine, we cannot decide from actual experi- ments for none of consequence have been made-wild grapes are very abundant in sandy soils throughout the country and of a good quality, well flavored.- , It is important that you should send on as soon as possible a list of the families who a.re coming on stating the name of the head of the family, age,. where born, last place of residence, wheither married or single, number of male and female children, ages, number of hirelings---:-occupation-age of wife-This list is necessary in order to enter them in the records of the Colony- In regard to the fees I nm as yet unnble to inform you-The com- missioner has not come on and I ha.ve received no final instructions on the subject-I am certain however that they will not exceed about four cents pr. acre including surveying fees nnd nil charges and six years will be allowed to pay a part of them. Such arrange- ments can no doubt be made with the surveyors in regard to their fees as will make the payment easy The Government move very slow...:-nnd sometimes produces em- bnrrnssments and frequently_disappointments nnd I wish the families who are coming on to understand that I am not in nny manner to be accountable or censurable for embarrassments occationed by the de- lays of the Government-So far as depends on me their business shall be promptly and faithfully attended to. we ns yet have no constitution for this state a.ltho the Legislature or congress convened to frame it have been two years in session-there is n prospect that it will be completed in all this winter-The question ns to the admis- sion of slavery is undecided tho I think it probable that the un- restricted admission of slavery will not be permitted-those now in the country will probably be held as slaves for life, what will be clone with their descendants is doubtfull.
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