appeared. They had, by their own confession, only six hundred men under arms, commanded hy General Houston. Thal general succeeded in surprising the van~uard of the Mexican army, and it was Llwn only, when General Santa Anna, who, from acci,lenl or excess of zeal, was present, became the prisoner of the Texans, and was forced hy them lo sign an armistice, which was most improperly, and in a manner most contrary lo all probability, obeyed by General Filisola, that the Texans obtained the unexpected advantage of the evacuation of the territory. The undersigned conceives that none of these things indicate steadiness or consistency as yet. I-lad the general-in-chief President Santa Anna not been present al the San Jacinto, or had General Filisola not obeyed the orders of a captive, the consequences of that battle would have heen politically unimportant, and but very trifling in a military point of view. The situation of the Texans would nol have been improved by the victory, as the Mexican force was still six or seven times greater than theirs. Moreover, the season of rains and fevers immediately afterwards, rendered the continuation of the war impossible-a circu mslance which completely accounts for the subsequent inactivity. The l\'lexican Congress, however, has deprived the battle of San J acinlo of its political importance, by declaring null and void all acts signed by President Santa Anna during his captivity; and, as the sickly season will soon have ended, the day is at hand when the .Mexicans will cross the Colorado. The Texans will then have an opportunity of showing whether they possess the requisites for, national freedom and independence. We shall then judge by actions, not by accidents, whether their movement assumes the steady and consistent form which is necessary to render their ultimate success probable. Meanwhile, the undersigned, confiding in the integrity and the impartiality of the Government of the United States, hopes that, adhering lo the principles which they themselves established for the guidance of their conduct in the cases already mentioned, they will declare their ports lo be still closed a~ainsl the vessPls of the Texans, and will not admit them lo the rights of bclli~crants out of the territory which is the theatre of war. The undersigned apologizes lo the Secretary of Stale for the length of this note, and avails himself of the occasion lo repeat
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