I'
'
I
Ou.r Cat/1olic Heritage in Texas
ones who were constantly starting trouble. Governor Salcedo branded all Frenchmen as restless, and said that whether they were Catholic or Protestant, educated or uneducated, they all had a bitter hatred in their heart for Spaniards and everything Spanish. These were the two types of immigrants that should be barred from Texas. Turning from the general to the specific, he maintained that the records of almost all the foreigners now living in Salcedo showed conclusively that they were faithful and peace-loving settlers who deserved to be allowed to remain in the province. The governor informed the commandant general that in view of the circumstances. he had disregarded the explicit instruc- tions of March I and 13, and permitted all foreigners to remain until their cases were individually decided. 47 In support of the governor's testimony, Father Maynes, parish priest of Salcedo, made a formal statement that the foreigners in his jurisdic- tion were peaceful, law-abiding citizens and loyal subjects of the king. He testified that as a general rule, the Protestants attended his religious services equally as well as the Catholics and had offered no open offence to the Church. He admitted that the foreigners did not go to confession regularly, but he attributed their failure to receive the Sacrament of Penance to their inability to express themselves in Spanish with ease." The persistence of Governor Salcedo and the blandness of Bonavia wore down Commandant General Salcedo's resistance. He gave up, and sent to Bonavia two copy books with the names of the foreigners in Salcedo and the evidence gathered against them by the governor, and instructed Bonavia to decide the fate of these immigrants. 49 Bonavia lost no time in informing the governor that he had decided that all foreigners who had resided in Texas for any length of time were to be permitted to stay, and that those who were considered disloyal or sus- picious characters were to be removed to the interior in order to pre- vent them from communicating with their friends and accomplices in Louisiana. The commander in Texas had taken upon himself to reverse the explicit order of March 13, which provided that no foreigner was to be permitted to move farther into the interior regardless of the cir- cumstances. On May 30, he reported his action to the commandant gen- eral, who seems not to have bothered to give his formal approval. 50 47M. de Salcedo to N. Salcedo, March 30, and April 6, 1810. Bexar Archives. 4BFather Jose Francisco Maynes to M. de Salcedo, May 30, 1810. Bexar Archives. 49N. Salcedo to M. de Salcedo, May 14, 1810. Bexar Archives. SOBonavia to N. Salcedo, May 30, 1810. Bexar ArcMves.
Powered by FlippingBook