TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
490
to exist as a separate and independent people, but must be finally com• pelled to unite with us under the same constitution and laws, and share our destiny as an undivided Nation. That which you will have to do 'UJltimately, we invite you to do now, not from any desire to promote our . own interest at the sacrafice of yours, but for the exalted purpose of diffusing the blessings of our institutions, and of giving to all who reside within our teritory the freedom we enjoy.-Actuated by this spirit of Philanthrophy alone, we now throw wide the doors of the Temple whicb we have erected to Liberty, and ask you to enter as members of the same family. And do you enquire, "what are the advantages to be gained by th€ change you propose?" Our arn,wer is, "You will find them in the Con- stitution we present you". The distance which separates us, and other .causes have prevented your acquiring an accurate knowledge of the· character of our Institutions, and the entire protection our laws afford to all the just rights of the citizen; but on a careful perusal of the docu- ments which we herewith send you, you will find that our views are as liberal as our principles are just, and that that [sic] our Bill of Rights embraces a wide field of liberty, upon which the opnressed of all Nations can meet in peace and harmony. Perhaps no Government on earth combines freedom and security in a more eminent degree than that which we have established. It circumscribes the liberty of none; but leaves every individual to pursue happinPss in his own way, with no other re- strictions on his conduct than such as are essential to the maintenance of justice and the preservation of the public morals. The only abridgment which our liberty knows is the restraint thrown upon vice,-restraints which give no inconvenience to a virtuous community and arc worn as garlands rather than as fetters. By a reference to our ·constitution, you will find that all power resides in, and emanates from, the people; that they have reserved to themselves the right of Peaceably assembling in any numbers for the purpose of discussing the affairs of the Nation; that they are unrestricted in the liberty of speaking, writing and -pub- lishing their opinions on all subjects, and can make such alterations and improvements of their Government, as experience and the progress of knowledge may suggest. Equal privileges are guaranteed to every indi- vidual; none can claim exclusive immunities; and the same protection is offered to all. No one can be punished, except by the verdict of his fellow citizens; nor can any one be taxed for the support of ecclesiastical establishments. The people are left free to worship God according to the dictates of their consciences; and the Government itself, being noth- ing- more than the executor of their will, it can impose no exactions without their consent or inflict any wrongs upon them which they can- not readily redress. Such feilow citizens are the nrominent features of a government which we offer to your acceptance in" a spirit of kindness and which we would earnestly pursude you to make a fair and just comparison of the ad- vantages it offers with those which you now enjoy unaer the Mexican Authorities; we disclaim any disposition to dictate to you in the choice which you shall make between them, or to influence your understanding by any other means than by argument and reason. Knowing that men of correct principles and enlightened minds can acknowledge no force but the force of truth, we address you, not in the voice of our artillery,
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