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Texas on tlze Eve of t/1e 11'/exican Revolution
change of mind on the part of the commandant general. By the time he issued his irate order annulling the governor's proclamation, the standard of rebellion had been raised in the interior of Mexico and the Capital itself had been seriously threatened by the masses under the leadership of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. The cry for emancipation from the tyrannical Government of Spain had been taken up and had been reechoed throughout Mexico. There was no time for quibbling. Measures that could not be effectively enforced would but lead to a whole train of evils. Hurriedly, the commandant general wrote the governor again on October I 3, approving the general terms of the proclamation of July 29. All those returning to Texas in response to the call were to present themselves to the Spanish officials for readmission after giving the reason for their departure from the country, the number of animals they had taken with them, and the places where they had resided during their absence. This information was to be duly filed before the emigres were permitted to return. 63 Once again the commandant general had been forced to reverse his policy within a year. The power of Spain in America was rapidly crumbling and the imposing edifice of Spain's colonial empire was about to crash upon the heads of its devoted defenders. The ruling of the commandant general was in itself an admission of weakness. He well knew that he had no means of enforcing his orders. His outbursts of temper were but the rage of his impotency. Villa de Palafox. Villa de Palafox, established by Governor Cordero, of Coahuila, was not within the province of Texas at the time of its founding. Since it was located east of the Rio Grande and within the present limits of Texas, its establishment, nevertheless, deserves to be included in this history. On April 27, 1810, Governor Cordero instructed Captain Juan Jose Diaz, the commander of Presidio de Rio Grande (located near present Eagle Pass), to distribute lands to such settlers as wished to establish their homes in the new villa, which was named Palafox, in honor of a Spanish patriot who had fought with distinction against the French invaders of the Peninsula. The villa was located on the east bank of the Rio Grande, about half-way between Presidio de Rio Grande and modern Laredo. The settlers were to be drawn from older establishments in Coahuila. A regular map was drawn for the lay-out of the town and Captain Juar Jose Diaz was put in charge of
63 N. Salcedo to M. de Salcedo, October 13, 1810. Bexar Arcnives.
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