T e:xas on t!te Eve of the ille:xican Revolution
435
stamp out sedition, and to put an end to contraband trade. To accom- plish these arduous tasks, he had a greatly reduced military force, an empty treasury, a semi-hostile population, and a group of fickle Indian allies. Undismayed, the governor issued detailed instructions to the com- mandant of Nacogdoches to watch closely the movement of for- eigners and suspicious Spaniards within his jurisdiction. He author- ized him to call upon the commander at Villa de Salcedo in the event of an emergency. He informed the officials on the frontier of the insur- gents' plan to murder those who remained loyal to the king and warned ther.:i against even their intimate friends. Disloyalty, he declared, had permeated all classes and no one could be trusted. Suspects should be immediately arrested and tried. 69 To keep foreigners and filibusters out and to put a stop to contraband trade from Louisiana, he commissioned an officer from the garrison in San Antonio, Cristobal Dominguez, to supervise all frontier outposts from Nacogdoches to Orcoquisac and charged him with the full responsibility of closing the frontier. Efforts to arouse loyalty. Commandant General Salcedo issued a proclamation to all the inhabitants of the Interior Provinces on October 24, 1810. He asserted that French emissaries were misleading the loyal subjects of the king; that the real purpose of Napoleon was to gain control of the colonies, destroy religion, and enslave America. Through deceit he had imprisoned Ferdinand VII and made Pope Pius VII a virtual captive. Salcedo urged all to remain loyal Spaniards and oppose the spread of the rebellion. He exhorted the governors, commanders, and all public officials to maintain order as the best means to promote the general welfare and insure peace. He warned the people that idleness in times like those they were facing was conducive only to evil. For this reason all unemployed persons were to be classed as ,·agabonds and regarded as suspicious characters. He concluded his proclamation with a restatement of the decree issued by the viceroy concerning the treat- ment to be accorded French sympathizers and other seditious leaders. Anyone giving aid or comfort to, or harboring French agents was to be arrested and tried immediately on the charge of high treason, and if found guilty, he was to be executed within twenty-four hours after pronouncement of sentence. Those found guilty of spreading propaganda to stir up rebellion were to be condemned and hanged as traitors. Persons 69 M. de Salcedo to the Commandant at Nacogdoches, October 26, 1810. Bera, Archives.
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