The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945 Page: 56
617 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
which have disappeared the former owners, the Indian
tribes. There is no Power like that to the north, which
by silent means, has made conquests of momentous
importance. Such dexterity, such constancy in their
designs, such uniformity of means of execution which
always are completely successful, arouses admiration.
Instead of armies, battles, or invasions, which make a
great noise and for the most part are unsuccessful,
these men lay hands on means, which, if considered
one by one, would be rejected as slow, ineffective, and
at times palpably absurd. They begin by assuming
rights, as in Texas, which it is impossible to sustain
in a serious discussion, making ridiculous pretensions
based on historical incidents which no one admits-
such as the voyage of La Salle, which was an absurd
fiasco, but serves as a basis for their claim to Texas.
Such extravagant claims as these are now being pre-
sented for the first time to the public by dissembling
writers; the efforts that others make to submit proofs
and reasons are by these men employed in reiterations
and in enlarging upon matters of administration in
order to attract the attention of their fellow-country-
men, not to the justice of the claim, but to the profit
to be gained from admitting it. At this stage it is
alleged that there is a national demand for the step
which the government meditates. In the meantime, the
territory against which these machinations are di-
rected, and which has usually remained unsettled, be-
gins to be visited by adventurers and empresarios;
some of these take up their residence in the country,
pretending that their location has no bearing upon the
question of their government's claim or the boundary
disputes; shortly, some of these forerunners develop
an interest which complicates the political administra-
tion of the coveted territory; complaints, even threats,
begin to be heard, working on the loyalty of the legiti-
mate settlers, discrediting the efficiency of the existing
authority and administration; and the matter having
arrived at this stage-which is precisely that of Texas
at this moment-diplomatic maneuvers begin: They
incite uprisings in the territory in question and usually
manifest a deep concern for the rights of the inhabi-
tants. There follows a matter of notes in which are
found equitable and moderate phrases, until with the
aid of other incidents, which are never lacking in the
course of diplomatic relations, comes finally the desired
conclusion of a transaction as onerous for one side as
advantageous for the other. They used such a method
to dispossess the Powers of Europe of vast territories,
which under the name of colonies, they once possessed56
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945, periodical, 1945; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146055/m1/60/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.