The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 30, July 1926 - April, 1927 Page: 239

THE
SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
VOL. XXX APRIL, 1927 No. 4
The publication committee and the editors disclaim responsibility for views expressed by
contributors to THE QUARTERLY
THE COMMITTEE ON THE, TEXAS DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE
JAMES K. GREER
I
WORK OF THE COMMITTEE
The winter of 1835-'36 saw public opinion in Texas crystallize
toward the belief that the time had arrived for Texas to sever its
relation with the Mexican government. Hope that the Mexican
Liberals would assist the Texans in a future safe-guarding of
their rights had dwindled; a declaration on November 7, 1835, in
favor of the Mexican constitution of 1824 had repelled Americans
and failed to secure support from Mexico. Even Stephen F. Aus-
tin, the colonist most loyal to the Mexican government in Texas,
who had said in November, 1835, that Texas had "legal and equi-
table and just grounds to declare independence,"' but continued
to insist on strict adherence to the Mexican Federal Union dur-
ing the same period, finally said that he was now in favor of an
immediate declaration of independence. Having arrived at this
conclusion, Austin now threw all his influence,3 and it was of
'Austin to Provisional Government of Texas, Velasco, December 22, 1835,
in Austin Papers MISS., University of Texas. Volume I of the Austin
Papers, 1789-1827, was published by the American Historical Association
in 1924 as Volume II of its Report for 1919. Volume II, containing the
papers of 1828-September, 1834, is now in press as Volume II of the
same Association's Report for 1922. The concluding volume of the Aus-
tin Papers is being published by the University of Texas Press and is
now 'in type. All the volumes are edited by Eugene C. Barker.
'Austin to General Sam 'Houston, New Orleans, January 7, 1836, in
Austin Papers, University of Texas.
'Austin to: Henry Austin, January 7, 1836; to Henry Smith, January
10, to Thomas F. MVcKinney, January 16, to Gail Borden, Jr., January