The Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, Volume I

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TEX.AS

T.\'l'E LIBR.\UY

hortly compel you to remove. You are needy and defencele , and who is to aid you 1 Your Father the Pre ident has told you, that it out of his power to protect you-that you will ha,·e either to go to the Arkan as or come under the law of Alabama. Are you pre- 1,arecl for the latter alternative? By adopting the former, you go to a Country superior to the one you How occupy-will be rec'eived with pleasure by your brethren-protected by the Pre ident and free the annoyance of the wbiteman; But if you accept the latter, and remain where you are, livin,., with people of uncongc-nial habits & tempers and subjrcted to laws which you are not allo,ved to partic- ipate in making, you will be an ca y prey to the rapacity of bad men and soon fall victims to a system of Government which you are incapahle of comprehending. We then earnestly entreated them to accept our overtures of friendship, and to receive the Talk which Ly order of the President you had sent them for their own welfare. Friend & Brother.-Though we were treated with becoming re- spect and attention, it grieves us to think of the reluctance with which they finally consented to hear the Talk read. It was inter- preted te them. They listened to it with indifference. After the reading was finished, some of them commented on that part of it, where you recommend them to repeal immediately tl1eir law again t Emigation, and to allow every individual the freedom of expre sing bis sentiments on all matters without fear or restraint. It wa said that the Govt. of the United States l1ad no right to dictate to them abont their laws-that it was their privilege to pass & keep in force what- ever law they thought proper-that the white people were very jealous of this right themselves- thay they ~.pent mnch time in mak- ing their laws and would not allow people of other nations to con- trol them in the exercise of .their Legislative powers. But without any di passionate consideration of the Talk they returned it to n., saying that they had no regard for it & would. make no reply-- Brother-As discouraginr, as this circum tance may appear, we are not dispirited from making .further efforts in a cau e, on the good or ill snccess of which, depend the pro perity or total extinc- tion of so many of our brethren. Another Council is to be held in a frw days, at which we de ign renewing our endeavors to awakru our people to a sense of their real situation and prevail on thC'm to consider more eriously the advise of their Father the Pre irlent, who ha nevrr pokrn to thC'm fal ely 01· drludecl thc-111 with promL es. ".e nttrihntr, in part. the ill sneer· s of our rfTorts at the first co11ncil, to the abscC'ncc- of. omc of the principal members of th<' De-legation who were with u at ,va hington ity. ,vc ,,·rrr pmsnadrd from connr- ations hel<l with them, that we should receiYr thC'ir active ro-opcrn- tion ; hut whrn we- attended the council on the 7th in. t. thry wr1·r not presrnt-"\Yr exprct howcYu to mcrt them at thr C'n uini:? c>on- vrntion of the chief, when wr hope to recriw thC'ir aid. w·<' shoul,1 certainly not have the h a1-t to say any thing fnrthcr to the our f sicl hrethrru hl'rr, if wc wrr not fully sntisfied that the ill. nrcc.. that we havr met with, is attrihutahle to other cau C's thnn an unwillini?- ncss on the part of n majority of thr nation to emigrntl'. "'e are convinerd that a large portion ai-e rl'ady to 1110,·e chrerfully to the "\Ve-st, bnt arc rr trained from nn nvowal of thrir fcelin"s thro fear

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