120
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIA'TION.
_P,pain,, no:r 1b~tween France .and the. Un.~ted States, it was sufficient for:them to obtain.liberty tp settle from,Spanish Officers, ,or in other ,words,.that they.;"i;ere. suffer'c;l: ~q,_se~tle.on any Lands, within the •Kings Domains not in the occupancy of others- , That the Spanish .Officers.·strtfer'd. tho Americans, to emigrate untill the change of Governn1ent took place cannot be denied, not only suffer'd, but con- tended they h;id a right to dispose of Land untill Gov"· Clabourn -took possession o.f: :N Orlearur-Oughtian uninformed People to suf- Jer for settling.on Lands promised to .them by Spanish Officers, and which ,tbefr ,Printed -Hand Bills assur'd them should be confirm'd •ito them on con;dition,.they .become actual Setlers- . It ought to be .remember'd, ·that whilst the, United States were contracting with France for Louisiana, the Emigration continued-no steps were taken by the Spanish Officers, or Government to undeceive the People, and tha.t had·the drnnge neve1· taken place, all the Actual Settlers would have obtained Land for Cultivation J., It ought also to.be remember'd, that Hundreds, who Settl'd iri the :Spring of)804, had in-the Fall and Summer of 1802 and 1803 visited this Country and return'd· after their. Families and some time was necessary to dispose of Property and ·remove to the ·Country, and although the change· might have been heard of, their arrangements .were made and they could not Retract-Their Houses and Lands dis- pos'.d of -thier ~ittle all a Float, and they were oblig'd to come for- ward and meet their fate. be· the ·Consequence ever so distressing- Many of those settlers took possession-of Land in the Spring and Summer of 1804 and after expending from Twenty to Thirty Dollars for Sur.veying and-Recording Fees, find themselves stripped ~f both Land and.Money,: The Law of the.United States cuts .them off and presents to them Misery and ruin-Murmurs ,and Complaints are the Consequence .pnder such·circumstances can .the·People .of Louisiana be well dis- pos'd towards the·United States.· Ask-yourself wether, something is not.necessary -to •be done for them·-wether their situation does not call for some Act of Government to regain and secure thier affec- tions :-This something is easily .told-' Give -them a Gov•· who has the interest of the Territory at heart- Give Land to each resident .up to .1804 Suffer the Country- to settle, so as to strengthen the out Settlements -and the Cloud or Discontent will vanish, the United -States Government will find Louisiana a valueable and advantageous acquisition.- Secondly-to secure this,Country -from :Spanish and Indian depred-n- ·tions ' to-elucidate :this point, I ·submit the following observations, It is ·to· be 'remember'd::E-have before stated:that in 1797 the outset- tlements •began to form -and -continued to increase gradually untill
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