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Our Catliolic Heritage in Texas
due largely to the failure of these officers to understand the relation which the king and the viceregal officials intended should exist between the two pioneer institutions, which in cooperation with one another formed the very body and soul of the frontier system of Spain in America. Femando Perez de Almazan becomes Governor. While at Los Adaes, Aguayo wrote a significant letter to the viceroy on November 7, 1721, just ten days before his return march to San Antonio. After giving many interesting details of what had been accomplished by the expedition placed under his care and the many difficulties which had been overcome, he declared that he was going to leave his Lieutenant-General Don Fernando Perez de Almazan in command of the entire province upon his withdrawal. He assured His Excellency that no one was better able to carry out the reorganization of the Province of Texas just recovered from the French than Don Fernando, whose noble parentage, distinguished services, unques- tioned ability, unselfish devotion to duty, and great zeal fitted him par- ticularly for this important work. In discussing the vital question of the administration of the vast territory, he pointed out that he had come to the conviction that it was not possible for a single man to govern efficiently the two provinces of Coahuila and Texas. In support of the opinion he alleged that the distance from the Presidio de Coahuila to Los Adaes was fully three hundred fifty leagues and that the road was intercepted by numerous rivers and streams, many of which were impass- able during the greater part of the year as a result of the heavy rains. He stated that the governor of the Province of Texas would naturally be forced to divide his time between Los Adaes, San Antonio, and La Bahia, each of which he should visit frequently. These tasks would be impossible if he had to reside in Coahuila. "If the government of the two provinces is not separated, it is my humble opinion," he declares, "that the fruits of this expedition will be seriously jeopardized." In view of the facts stated, he concluded that the government of the two provinces should be separated for the best interests of the king and the provinces themselves. 1 Should his recommendations meet with the approval of the viceroy, he suggested further that in selecting a governor for the province, Don lAguayo to the Viceroy, Los Adaes, November 7, 1721. A. G. /., A11diencia de Mexico, 61-2-2 (Dunn Transcripts). It is worth while noting the arguments advanced by Aguayo in 1722 in support of a separate political government from Coahuila for Texas, which are surprisingly similiar to those advanced in 1833 for independent statehood.
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