The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897 Volume 1 Page: 487
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Proceedings of the Convention of Texas.
13
( 487 )
were situated in a wilderness of which the Government had never taken
possession.—They were not sufficiently explored to obtain that knowledge
of their character and situation, which would be necessary to a sale of
them. They were in the occupancy of savages. They were shut out from
all commercial intercourse with the world, and inaccessible to the com-
monest comforts of life; nor were they brought into possession and cul-
tivation, without much toil and privation, and patience and enterprize,
and loss of lives from Indian hostilities and other causes. Under the
smiles of a beneficent Heaven, however, the untiring perseverance of the
immigrants, in a great degree, triumphed over all natural obstacles; it
reduced the forest into cultivation, made the desert smile, established
commercial intercourse with the rest of the world, and expelled the sav-
ages, by whom the country was infested.
From this, it must appear that the lands of Texas, altough nominally
given, were in fact really, and dearly bought.—It may here be premised,
that a gift of lands by a nation to foreigners, on condition of their becom-
ing citizens, is immensely different from a gift, or sale, from oue individ-
ual to another.—In the case of individuals, the donor, or seller, loses all
further claims upon the lands parted with. But in this case, the Govern-
ment only gave wild lands that they might be redeemed from a state of
nature, that the obstacles to a first settlement might be overcome, and
that they might be placed in a situation to augment the physical strength,
and the power, and the revenue of the nation.—Is it not obvious, that
Mexico now holds the same jurisdiction over the Colonized lands of Tex-
as, that all nations hold over nineteen-twentieths of their Territory?—
For the first six or seven years after the commencement of our settlements
in Texas, we gratefully admit, that our enterprize was animated, and our
hardships alleviated, by the kindness and liberality of the Mexican Gov-
ernment. We insist, however, that this beneficent disposition of the Gos
eminent, was followed by gratitude, and loyalty on our part.
The only portion of our conduct, during this period, that could be
tortured into any thing like disloyalty, was the Fredonian disturbance,
at Nacogdoches, in 1826. And when it is considered by whom these
disturbances were originated, and by whom quieted, instead of exciting
the suspicion of Government, we respectfully conceive that, that transac-
tion should have confirmed its confidence in our patriotism.
The disturbance alluded to, originated with some fifteen or twenty
infatuated individuals. The great mass of the settlers, were opposed to
their mad design, which they testified by capturing the conspirators, and
putting them in custody, before the arrival of a single Mexican soldier.
Was there any thing in this calculated to awaken the suspicions of
Government ?
Bad and desperate men, there will always be found, in every commu-
nity. There will always likewise be, a portion capable of being easily
misled; and is it not really a matter of astonishment, that in this in-
stance, the bad, the desperate, the dissatisfied, and the misguided, were
limited to so insignificant a number?
Excepting this disturbance, which was opposed by ninety-nine hun-
dreths of the settlers, and which was quieted by their zeal and patriotism,
we repeat it, that up to the passage of the Law of the 6th of April, 1830,
our conduct was orderly and patriotic.
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Gammel, Hans Peter Mareus Neilsen. The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897 Volume 1, book, 1898; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth5872/m1/495/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .