The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 53, July 1949 - April, 1950 Page: 259
538 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Constitutions of Stock Growers' Associations
ones were added'12 The constitution and bylaws of the Texas
and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, adopted by a con-
vention at Fort Worth on March 14, 1940, contain twenty-seven
articles. The governing instrument of the Wyoming Stock
Growers Association, adopted at the annual convention at
Laramie on June 6, 1946, consists of twenty-three sections. Both
of these important documents, like the Mesta constitution are
flexible; they can be amended or changed otherwise at the
annual conventions, where democratic processes are adhered to.
The constitutions or bylaws of the three organizations consid-
ered herein contain provisions which are essentially similar. All
three contain regulations relating to membership, election of offi-
cers, and meetings. All stipulate certain property qualifications
for membership. Other common features are those pertaining to
duties and obligations of officers and members; brands and brand
inspectors; fees and fines; and methods of amendment. The
problem of rustling appears to be eternal; documents which
were basic to this study contain provisions designed to dis-
courage rustlers and to bring them to justice.
Property qualifications for membership are to be noted. Arti-
cle IX of the Mesta constitution of 1537 provided that any owner
of at least three hundred sheep, hogs, or goats, or at least twenty
cattle or horses, was eligible for membership in that organization.
Article VII of the Mesta constitution of 1574 raised property
qualifications for membership to very high proportions: to be
a member one had to possess at least three thousand animals
of the small type (sheep, hogs, or goats), or one thousand of
the large type (cattle, horses, or mules); and in addition one
had to be an estanciero, that is to say a ranch owner. This pro-
vision is significant because it indicates the rapid growth of the
pastoral industry in colonial Mexico, and shows that cattle and
sheep "barons" existed even at that early date. And it appears
that the organization had become one of special privilege for
12The Spanish text of this document is in Eusebio Bentura Belefia, ed., Recopila-
cidn sumaria de todos los autos acordados de la real audiencia y sala del crimen
de esta nueva espania y providencias de su superior gobierno; de varias reales
cddulas y ordenes que despuds de publicada la recopilaci6n de indias han podido
recogerse ast de las dirigidas a la misma audiencia o gobierno, como de algunas
otras que por sus notables decisiones convendra no ignorar, 4 vols. in 2, Mexico,
1787, II, 27-64.259
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 53, July 1949 - April, 1950, periodical, 1950; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101126/m1/335/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.