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operations; but all it act , and all its power were to be based on a republican federative y tern. The ·power of the government were 1rholly derivative, were tru t power , granted for certain expre sed or well under toad purposes: and that rrovernment, like au individnal, so soon as it transcended those powers, its acts were null and void, and of no effect. 'I'he government of l\Icxico has tran.:cended the power delegated, by attempting a change of tl1e govemment from a republican -fed- erative ilito a central one. It acts in thi respect are constitutionally null and void. But the government has reso1ted to revolution to sustain itself, and the civil war, now ra"'ing, is the consequence of this unholy' attempt. Throughout the republic, the two parties arc arrayed: the military and clergy, and ar_i tocrat , on the one ide, and libcrali ts on the other. Look at the liberal line, extended from Acapulco in the outh, to Texa in the cast· and you find states, and generals, and men reiterating the same principles with your eives, to sustain the Constitution of 1824, or perish in it overthrow. In the outh, the liberal ' have gained two impot'tant victories over their encmie ; and from every portion of the republic yon are receiving assurances tliat the liberal · party are rallying to the rescne. In Texas; •ou have gained an important victory; but, at the very moment of ucce s, you arc persuaded to de crt your allies; to break the liberal ranks. To ~ivc to the enemies of the Constitution and of free- dom, , ictory, when defcnt would be their portion, did you youL· duty Y Among avages, such de ertion would be called "treason:" among christians and freemen, it would be looked on with horror; and you wonl<l be treate.d as a people not to be tru ted, as having no respect for onths, or compact , or honor. Citizens of Texa ! be not deceived: suffeL· not yourselve to be led away by the peciou reasoning of individuals, who from motive of _per onal aggrandizei:nent, ,1 onld per uadc yon tliat yon had the right to declare :Vl)lll' elves a free and independent people·: who would per nade ou, that your fellow-citi- zens of the nited States would sn ·tain YOU in that course. The liberal and enlightened statesmen of that ·country will do no such thing. :Meeting are held in every city of that republic anti money and men are raisin..,. for your as istance. but it is all based on the sup- position that you at·e contending for the same princinles a did your father of tl1e revolution, and that yon are 110w fighting to su tain liberty in thi republic.. · Those meetings act on principle. and they expect you to do the same. Your true political itnation i. not now well i.mderstood by them, but tl1ey will now say to you that your fntnre course should be in accordance, fir. t, with yam· con titutional obligations. Have you, then, the con titutional right to . eparate from the Re- nublic of Uexico, -and declare your elves free and independent? The ans\\·er to that (jue tion will be found in the oath you took when you became citizens of Texa . That oath was, "I swear to support the Constitution of the republican federative Government of l\Ie:,....-ico, and the laws of the amc." o long as that con titution exists, o long you mu t su tain it, unless it is o administered as to compel yon, in defence.of your rights, to do otherwi~c; and nothing
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