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TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
mains unhonored although it was payable at sight and was presented early in l\farch. This is certainly a strange way of upholding the Credit of a Government, and will not tend to the ready circulation of Texian paper in this Market.· We beg your Attention to it as we have directed the Bill to be protested immediately if not paid, and of course, we will be thr[own] back on yourself as the Endorsee.
Very respecty. We are Dear S'ir
Your 0bt. Svt.
Brown & Guion
2nd June 1838
Dear Sir
,Ve are this moment since writing the precceding ep [istle] in possession of a Letter from Messrs Dobie & McCaskill the Corres- pondents of our Agent Mr. Akin of New Orleans by which it would appear that the Texian Government or their accredited Agent the Surgeon General of Texas seem rather remiss in meeting their obli- gations- This I certainly was not led to expect from the References given us. It now appears that Dr. Smith asserts that there was no such an understanding that the Dft. was to be paid in Mexican ,1\'filled Dollars, he Dr. Smith asserts that the signing the Dft. sometime. Mr. Allen mentioned; I presume [having] received a Portion of your import Duties in Silver, Dr. Smith [in] formed him that they recd. nothing but Texas money or Silver & Gold & that 1\Ir. A Brigham Treasurer would as soon pay his Dft. in silver or mexican milled Dol- lars as any other persons & made the Endorsement on the back to A Brigham Treasurer'' Messrs Dobie & McCaskill go on to relate. I assured Dr. Smith that if he would pay me in Treasury Dfts (Star money) that I would take it at the discnt in New Orleans, he would not & said that there was no such [un] derstanding & that if there was no silver it was to be paid in Star money Now to you who were present I will not insult you by [re]capitu- lating the Conversation which took place in your Presence repeatedly did we refuse to receive the Texian Dfts at discount as you well know and had these bills not been backed by the Honourable Character- which you have sustained here Dr. Ashbel Smith would as far as we are concerned have gone hence his mission unfulfilled. \Ve have therefore briefly to state-If as we are led to suppose in this their first attempt to impose a Correspondence with this City The Texian Govmt. shall compell us to become a Beacon Light to point out to the Honble Mr. Smith what his faith is to be in Texian Honour in 'J'exian Contracts more particlarly those entered into by Texian Heads of Departments we must be content and will as a Duty to our Fellow [Ciltizens take care it shall through the Instrumentality of the press [be] duly disseminated. It is passing strange that a Dft presented early in March, payable at sight should wait until May be- fore even this shuffling answer could be obtained It certainly would have been admirable Business indeed to receive a profit of abt 5 p Ct on goods purchased and lose 40 pr Ct on the Texi [an] Star money,
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