The Development of Frictio,i, 1820-i835
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When Moses Austin made his request in December, 1820, for per- mission to establish a colony, Texas was still a province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and Mexico had not yet attained her independence. The governor had full powers to administer the scantily populated region in which there were only two municipalities left: San Antonio and La Bahia. The Austin petition was granted by the Spanish Govern- ment in a belated effort to populate the remote province and erect a bulwark against foreign aggression. Before Stephen F. Austin could undertake to execute his father's contract, Mexico had attained her independence and had set up a monarchy. Austin's grant was _fortunately confirmed under the imperial law of colonization before the law was declared inoperative. The young empresario returned to his colony after more than a year's absence, clothed with practically absolute powers of administration. His good sense, moderation, and tact prevented any clash. Tlee government of Texas under Spain. The governor of Texas in 1820 was under the general jurisdiction of the commandant general of the Eastern Interior Provinces, with headquarters in Monterrey, and practically independent of the viceroy. In the summer of 1820, with the restoration of the Constitution of 1812 in Spain, orders were issued for the election of deputies to the Spanish Cortes and of representatives to a provincial deputation to be set up in Monterrey. The Eastern Interior Provinces were allotted two deputies in the Cortes and were given representation in the Provincial Assembly in proportion to the population officially recorded in the 1818 census? The procedure in choosing an elector to represent Texas in the election of deputies to the Cortes and representatives to the Provincial Deputation is too elaborate to describe here. Juan Manuel Zambrano was duly selected as the repre- sentative from Texas to go to Monterrey, where he joined the electors of the other three Interior Provinces, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and New Mexico. On October 1, 1820, with Arredondo presiding, they met to designate the two deputies to the Cortes and the seven representatives to the Provincial Deputation: one from Texas and two from each of the other three provinces. Ambrosio Maria de Aldasoro, a merchant from Monterrey, was chosen to represent Texas in the Deputation.J The Provincial Deputation, called for by the Constitution of 1812, was the first inter-provincial representative assembly in which the four 2 Instrucci6n a la cual deberan celebrarse • • . las elecclones de Dlputados a Cortes ..• , Nacogdoc/ies Arcl,ives. SAviso de la Junta Electoral, October 3, 1820, BJrar Arcliiv1s.
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