The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945 Page: 193

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OHLAND MORTON
[continued]
Chapter IV---The Law of April 6, 1830
MIER Y TERAN reached Matamoros about the middle of March.
The available documents do not reveal the complete story,
but he had hardly arrived before trouble arose with de la Garza
and ended by the commandant general stripping the latter of all
military power and authority in his district. In a general mili-
tary circular, Mier y Teran declared that de la Garza had op-
posed his authority since the previous December; that he had
interfered repeatedly with his troops; that he was guilty of
habitual disobedience; that he henceforth was entitled to no
recognition from officers or troops in the Eastern Interior Prov-
inces; and that any action on de la Garza's part of a military
nature would be considered as that of a guerilla chieftain.41
The port of Matamoros had only recently been opened. Com-
merce was just beginning to flourish, and as is usual with new
towns where money is being spent, adventurers of both sexes
had flocked there to prey on the inhabitants; drinking, gambling,
and all night dances were common. Robberies and street fights
and murders abounded; the sanitary conditions were such that
the health of the inhabitants was endangered. The new com-
mandant general changed all these things. He began by re-
organizing the presidial companies and making rules concern-
ing the conduct of the troops, who were enjoined to attend
strictly to their own business and not to interfere either with
4"Manuel de Mier y Teran, General in Chief of the Army of Operations
and Commandant General of the Three Eastern Interior States, Military
Circular," Matamoros, April 29, 1830, in The Matamoros Archives, Vol.
XXII, The University of Texas Photoprints. Another copy of this circular
is found in the archives of the Hospital de Jesis in Archivo General de la
Nacidn, Mexico, Legajo 416.