dispensed in a regular army which also requires a length of time to put it into men. Suffer me Sir, to close by saying my ernist desire is that evrey department may exert its self to have evry thing in readiness at any time and at all times to insure the Country the greatest Success. respectfully Yours, Eli Mercer [Addressed:] To his excellency Governor Smith San Felipe Texas [1608] (l\'ICKINNEY to GOVERNMENT]
Quintana, 25. Dec 1835
To The prO\~sional Govt. of Texas In council in San. Felipe It becomes necessary for us in duty to ourselves to address you on the subject of duties imposed on Merchandise by a late ordinance of your body, not that I conceive duties should not be imposed because to that I do not object But that it takes Merchants bv surprise & Taxes them so as to make it necessary for them to keep their goods on hand & wait until those who have large stock of goods on hand dispose of them this you know is ruinous in its character & under existing circumstances it is our case for I believe there is not one Merchant on the Brazos river who is in the habit of importing goods who only a few days since have introduced a heavier stock of goods in the country than they have ever previously done & free of duty This I think was all correct because such were the impressions under which they Bought their goods justified by custom of the Country. Mr partners Williams & White were absent in the United States buying goods under similar circumstances & could have been here a month sooner but for the difficulties here which reach them & they went about hunting arms & vessels for the service of the Country as you will see from Mr. Williams' letter a copy of which was forwarded to that body by Judge Dinsmore by this they were delayed & as the country afforded no protection to commerce our goods were shipped to N. Orleans & there detained until we could procure a convoy this was done al cost & delay by which the arrival of our goods was postponed until the passage of the ordinance imposing duties. I am not disposed to complain of any burthen I have to bare in common
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