The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 54, July 1950 - April, 1951 Page: 119
544 p. : ill., ports., maps. (some col.) ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
Texas "ostensibly to make preliminary observations toward sur-
vey of the boundary between the United States and Mexico."
Undoubtedly the disturbed state of affairs in Texas was another
reason for his mission, as the author points out. Members of
the commission included Luis Berlandier, scientist and physician;
Rafael Chovell, mineralogist; Jos6 Batres and Constantino Tar-
nava, military observers; and Jos6 Maria Sinchez, artilleryman,
who kept an interesting daily account of the expedition. Terin
wrote lengthy and detailed reports on conditions in Texas which
shaped to a large extent the policy of the Mexican government
toward Texas during the next six years. One result of his re-
ports was the new colonization law of April 6, 1830. Terin was
not consulted in drafting the law, however, and he "disapproved
of certain provisions that aroused opposition of the colonists."
In the same year, he became the new commissioner charged with
the responsibility of carrying out the provisions of the new col-
onization policy. He was also commandant general of the Eastern
Interior Provinces and in this dual capacity he was directly con-
cerned with Texas and the problems of the settlers there. He
became a friend of Stephen F. Austin and valued Austin's judg-
ment on colonial problems. TerAn was judicious and friendly
toward the law-abiding colonists in Texas and did his utmost,
even to the point of endangering his own position, to ameliorate
their differences and to promote their general welfare. In carry-
ing out his duties, TerAn was motivated by what were, at times,
conflicting emotions. He greatly feared a revolt of the Texans
and the eventual loss of Texas. Moreover, he recognized the ex-
pressed interest of the United States in acquiring Texas. On the
other hand, his own integrity and sense of justice, as well as a
personal desire to help the colonists with their problems,
prompted him to espouse their cause on many occasions. He and
Austin understood the affairs of Texas better than anyone else.
Had the final solution of all of the problems of Texas been left
to these two men, history might have taken a different course.
Unfortunately, in the fateful year, 1832, Terin was forced to
abandon the problems of Texas to put down revolt against the
administration elsewhere in the Eastern Interior Provinces, and
Austin spent much of his time representing the settlers of Texasx19
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 54, July 1950 - April, 1951, periodical, 1951; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101133/m1/147/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.