present Government, or rather, the parties interested in the_ Dec~ee for alienating 400 leagues of Texas, proceeded to the rntenor (Texas) there propagating alarmi_ng r~ports for the. pt~rpose of kindlinu the torch of discord and ma chrect manner bnngrng ahout in San°Felipe [rebellion] against public faith and aJl right, the intercepting opening and publishing of tl_1e official a~d very confidential correspondence addressed to said Cap Tenono, after having arrested, molested outraging the soldiers who were the bearers. If such proceeding were to remain unpunished, it would be believed that the Mexican Nation is unjust, or perhaps that she wanted force and energy sufficient to make herself respected. She therefore considered herself in the necessity of proving the contrary and of adopting with regard to the delinquents and only with regard to them, measures, which by no means made connexion with the good and peaceable inhabitants of Texas. This has been repeatedly manifested lo them by myself and the Commandant GeneraJ to the political Chiefs of Nacogdoches and Brazos although unhappily without effect, on the contrary it appears that such manifestations have been viewed \\1th contempt, \\1thout viewing the Mexicans are patient of suffering, but valienl, full of honor and capable of making their Government be respected then the Commandant General suspended the march-of troops in order lo do away with apprehension and show that he had no distrust of the good ;entiments of the Colonists provided the delinquents were delivered 1p for trials by the competent authority, fresh motive occurs for supposing that there exists strong intention of provoking a disastrous war, which it is important in time to prevent. When the authorities of Gonzales were repulsed by this Political Chief to deliver thy piece of artillery Lying there, as it had been lent to the "empresario" of that Colony by my predecessor and it belongs to this military jurisdiction, those authorities not only refuse to deliver it up but say they will give it up to force only. Such conduct placed me_under the necessity of sending a party of 100 men to exact their delivery and I gave orders to the Commander to send a new communication lo the Alcalde of Gonzales, manifesting to him the injustice of wishing to detain an article which does not belong to that municipality, and that if against expectation he did not deliver up the gun, the said commandant was then lo employ force, Either from fear or malice, the Alcalde of Gonzales aware that it was an outrage to arrest the corporal and soldiers who were the first bearers of the communication from the political Chief, caused the inhabitants residing on this side of the river to leave their houses, aUarmed the Citizens and in order lo impede the passage of the
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