216
'l'Ex.\S
TA'l'E LmR.\RY
1\0. 208
1835 J ,11ly 20, S . . l\I. WILLIA11IS, [S.r\. 1 FELIPE 1] TO THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS.. 'l'O THE PEOPLE OF TEX.AS. In appearing before the public at thi time, I am stimulated by a desire to remove unfounded impressions, and to endeavor by a brief statement of facts to convince the people of Texas, that no wish or intention of mine has ever been to war with their be t interests, or with the best interests of the country as ha been surmi eel, on ac- count of my becoming a purchaser of a part of the 400 leagues of land which the Government of the State was authorised to dispose of by the decree of the legislature of the 14th of 1\Iarch last past; und also to deny my having agency directly or indirectly in the.pas- sage of the law. I was an entire stranger to every member of the Legi lature at the time of my arrival in :Monclova (only 2 weeks anterior to the time the law wa pa sed.) with the exception of 1\Ir. Carabajaf who did not arrive at that place, until about the 10th qf the month, three of four days previous to the passage of the law. the memhers from the different Department of the State were mostly strangers to one another; the body was composed of new ·memhers and therefore cannot be presumed ,to have had any preconeerted plan on that nb- jeet, nor in fact on any other. The State was without one dctllar in the treasury and nothing pre ented a speedy relief ;-precedent had been g-iven by the previous legislature in decreeing the alienation of 400 league of publ~c lands, and as the land had been dispo. ed of, and no opposition made to it to the General Government, or by those most interested, the people of Texas, it was esteemed as the casie t and best mode of obtaining money, to raise it by a further sale of land, nctwith~tanding it was p;encrall.v e teemed to be impolitic; yet necessity although it may not justify, too frequently compels im- politic measures. General ,John T. l\Iason pnrcha ed la t year in the month of· lay or June 300 league . no excitement was. or ever ha~ been created on account of that sale. As an individual I conld not conceive that what was tolerated by the people of Texas in General :'.\Iason could in me be criminal.- o one i more ready, than I am to declare, that like disposition of the public domain are contt·riry to the best interests of Texa and impolitic, and this last ale hn proven to be particularly o on account of the pccnliar ituation of the General Government, and public affair & opinions of the republir iu general; ncvcrthele s I feel convinced. it wa not int nded, nor ·was it believed that it would act as an excitement of the feeling ,of the General Government and for the rea on that the ale of last year did not produce any. I purchased of the Government two hundred lea1?UC , and twC1 other individuals purcha ed each 100 lengne and nlthongh I an- ticipated realizing a good profit on my inve tment I never did in- "Prlnted. In no. 212.
Powered by FlippingBook