THE AUSTIN PAPERS. 679 The wages I will give the said ten men is fifteen Dollars a month pay- able in property, they finding themselves- Those who wish to be employed will apply to me without delay
A USTIN TO THE CoLONTSTS Colarado River House of Mr Castlemans
August 6 1823.
Fellow Citizens, I have once more the pleasure of addressing yo11 a few lines from the Colorado- My absence has been protracted greatly beyond my calculations and has been in the highest degree unpleasant to me, as it has retarded the progress of the most favourite enterprise I ever engaged in in my life; but I now flatter myself with the hope of re- ceiving a full compensation for the difficulties I have encountered by witnessing the happiness of those who compose this Colony. I assure you that if my own private and personal interest had been the only incentive to induce me to persevere I should probably have abandoned the enterprise rather than surmounted ihe difficulties produced by the constant state of revolution in which the country bas been, since my arrival in the city of Mexico. But I was a.nirµated by the gratify- ing hope of providing a home for a number of meritorious citizens and of placing them and their families in a situation to make themselves happy the balance of their lives. One of the greatest pleasures a vir- tuous mind can receive in this world is the consciousness of having benefited others, this pleasure I now have in prospect. The titles to your land is indisputable-the original grnnt for this settlement was made by the Spanish Government before the Revolution, it was then confirmed and the quantity of fond designated by the decree of the Emperor Agustin Iturbide on the 18 th of February last, and the whole was again approved and confirmed by the Sovereign Congress of the Mexican Nation on the 14 of April last after the fall of the Emperor. The titles are made by me and the Commissioner of the Government, and are then perfect and complete for ever, nnd ench settler may sell his land the same as he could do in the United States. All that depends on me, towards the advancement of the Colony will be executed in good faith, so far as my a~ilities extend, and with all the promptness in my power; but to enable me to benefit them to the full extent that I wish, it is necessary that the settlers should have confidence in me, and be directed by me I have n better oppor- tunity of knowing what will be advantageous to them as regards their conduct and intercourse with the Government than any of them could have had, and I feel almost the same interest for their pros- perity that I do for my own family-in fact I look upon them as
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