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The Bcgi1111i11-gs of Present Nacogdoclres
los Dolores de los Ais. In doing so they were to observe the provisions of the Laws of t/1e lndies. 14 The viceroy was also to ask the president of the Texas missions to appoint a Padre for the proposed settlement, provide for the equipment of the chapel and its maintenance, and to instruct the missionary to bring to the new community as many of the neighboring tribes as possible in order to promote closer friendship and to pre\"ent trade relations, alliances, and treaties with the English and other foreign settlements on the frontier. 15 Remarkable had been the success of, the petition of Ibarbo and Flores up to this point. But four days after the Ju11ta appro,·ed the petition and ordered that its pro\"isions should be granted, a letter from Oconor was referred to Areche, which was to cause the whole matter to be reconsidered. Oconor had written to Ripperda on February 17, in reply to his letter of December 11 of the previous year. He had categorically informed the governor he could not support the petition of lbarbo and expressed surprise at his failure to carry out in every detail article 22 of the N cw R cgu/atio11s, which provided for the immediate removal of all settlers in cast Texas to San Antonio. He declared he knew there were ample and sufficient lands on which the A daesauos could locate without encroaching on the property of others in the vicinity of San Antonio, the Cibolo, the San Antonio Ri,:cr, and La Bahia. He peremptorily ordered Ripperda, therefore, to take steps to bring back to San Antonio the stragglers who had remained at Los Ais, Nacogdoches, and in the country of the Tejas, as well as any who might have returned from Natchitoches, to have all ammunition and other property of the suppressed presidia transported at once, and to proceed to the distribution of land to the settlers in accordance with the instructions of the N1;,--zv R egulations. The expense account presented for carting the cannon and other presidia} property was irregular and should be revisecl. 16 He concluded by questioning the motives of Ibarbo. OconoYs opposition. His letter to the viceroy, which was referred to Areche on March 21, was couched in stronger terms. He not only disappro,·ed the petition of Ibarbo, but he seriously doubted the rectitude of the go\"ernor in recom- mending such a project. He declared he was com·inced that private interest, ignorance, mistaken piety, and malice had combined to defeat 14 No1,1sima Recopilacio11 de las leyes de las /11dias, Lib. iv, Titulo VII. 15 Junta de Guerra y Hacienda, March 1 7, Decreto, March 2 3, 1 7i 4. A. G. Al.
Historia, Vol. 51, pp. 235-239, another copy pp. 270-273. 16 Oconor to Ripperda, February 17, 1774. In Ibid., 244-247.
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