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TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
he took care himself, for appearance sake, to ·vote for himself, with a knowledge that the vote would avail him nothing-
SANTA ANNA He boasted that when he came into power he amalgemated all parties, by not persecuting any. His leniency for a while was carried to such an extent that a long time elapsed without any execution for crime whatever until the audacity of high way robbers rendered it necessary for him to change· his policy, which when he done, he ran into the opposite, and became as cruel & bloody as he had been forgiving & lenient- Orders were given for Robbers to be executed by the mili- tary without trial; a sanguinary decree, so faithfully & promptly exe- cuted, that it could not fail speedily to have the desired effect of expel- ling them from the roads & highways- The Congress of Mexico passed in 1835 a Law of general Amnesty to all except Foreigners & citizens of foreign birth.- Whilst Williams was at )Ionclover during the session of 1835, he writes to Genl Austin in Mexico, that his release is near at hand; for our Legislature was about taking some step toward that object. He writes thus-"The body, I am informed, resolved that an in£ciativa should be made to Congress; that the Legislature would not be satisfied with an amnesty law that excluded from a participation of its benefits, its citizens be- cause of foreign birth, and requesting that such be included"- _ In the same letter he writes "I had intended this for a long letter but a part of the day I and my companions have been under arms by re- quest of the Govr. to sustain the authorities against an expected attack" GENL AUSTIN When he was invested with absolute mi[li]tary, ju[di]cial & Legisla- tive powers, previous to the constitution organization of Texas, There is no instance of abuse of power- He organized the militia as a de- fense against the Savages; and as a Judge seldom had to make a judicial decision: for when applied to by disputants, he always was able by his friendly advise to reconcile them & get them to settle their differences amicably between themselYes- There were but few exceptions- In criminal cases he was lenient & never excessive in punishmt. As a Legislator his laws were always satisfa [ c J tory to the governed & conducive to the weal of the Coun- t [ r J y, neYer founded in selfishness revenge or private objects- In the summer of 1826 he gave public notice to the people that his health being bad and because of the high necessity of attending some little to his priYate affairs, which he always neglected, they must make ar- rangemts to do their own Legislation. A voluntary sacrifise of high prerogative which nothing but the most exalted patriotism and dis- interedness is capable of making- During all this time there was no discontent in the Colony or dissatisfaction with his administration; No such thing as party was ever Known Genl. Austin, in 1832 acted
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