Our Catholic Heritage in Texas
tries; that he approved the filibustering expedition of Menchaca-its failure was as yet unknown-and that he advised that he, Gutierrez, should remain in Washington until a new government was established in Texas or any other part of Mexico which could send him the proper cre- dentials. On the question of military aid to the Revolutionists by the United States-discussed with Monroe on three different occasions- there arose "a great difficulty, namely, the taking possession of the borders of Louisiana," declared Gutierrez. This proposal he steadfastly rejected, because he could not treat of territorial adjustments, a matter that only the future Mexican nation could decide. In a second interview Monroe reassured Gutierrez that the United States was deeply interested in the outcome of the Revolution. He followed this assertion with an offer to send an army into Texas to occupy the territory as far as the Rio Grande and to help the Revolutionists in the interior of Mexico attain independence from Spain. But he explicitly stipulated that the army would be sent on the.pretext of taking possession of Texas as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Gutierrez might have had little formal education, but the rustic black- smith from the Rio Grande readily perceived that Texas would be the price exacted for such military aid. Anxious not to offend his powerful friend, and fully aware that without this aid the Revolution in Mexico would be prolonged for years, he tactfully rejected the conditions. It was a tempting offer, to be sure, but Gutierrez wrote in his "Diary" with pardonable pride that he could not bring himself to accept it. He chose to forego the incalculable advantages of military aid, as he considered the price demanded was not in his power to grant. In the third and last conference with the Secretary of State, held on December 17, 181 I, a bolder and more generous offer was made. Evidently relations between the United States and Great Britain had become strained almost to the breaking point. Monroe informed the astonished Gutierrez that the United States would send an army of fifty thousand men into Mexico to aid in the struggle for independence if war was declared. Gutierrez could not believe his ears. But his eagerness was short-lived, for when he asked Monroe to put his promise in writing so that the leaders of the Revolution would believe him, the Secretary of State was not ready to go that far, even though the words of the Seer of Monticello might have flashed through the Secretary's mind. In 1807 Jefferson had said, "I had rather have a war against Spain than not, if we go to war
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