Those who held commissions from the state of Coahuila and Texas lent their assistance to the disaffected; and none were more conspicuous in this way than Don Francisco Madero, and Jose Maria Carbajal, a surveyor; both of whom were arrested by General Teran, at Liberty, and sent to Anahuac, where they were imprisoned. Every settler who had arrived in the country during the reign of disorder was now put in possession of his grant of land, and the well-disposed proceeded accordingly; but the revolutionists, who received their grants merely as a blind, still kept lurking about the towns of Liberty and Anahuac in idleness.

In June, 1831, the number of these idlers, who were destined to fight against the Mexicans, was found to have increased, imperceptibly, from fifty or sixty, to upwards of two hundred; which was no sooner ascertained by General Teran, than he sent a reinforcement to Colonel Bradburn, the commandant at Anahuac, with orders to arrest the leaders of these lawless intruders as vagrants, which was accordingly done. Their associates still remained, under various disguises, in the country, waiting for the signal of rebellion, which was soon afterwards given by their countrymen and political scouts, at Vera Cruz, where the standard of confusion was again raised by Santa Anna, who now espoused the cause of Pedraza, whose place as president was unconstitutionally filled by Bustamante.

Santa Anna at this time believed the democratic

federal constitution of 1824 to be the only form of government suited to work out the salvation of his country; and he attributed all the evils which had befallen Mexico since its introduction, to the abuse. of the executive power by those who were elected to exercise it. Santa Anna, therefore, did not hesitate to take up arms in favour of Pedraza, who was one of the victims of misrule. On the 2nd of January, 1832, he openly declared in favour of Pedraza, at Vera Cruz, in opposition to Bustamante; and called on Coahuila and Texas, with the rest of the states, to support him.

To this call the Anglo-American colonists responded by besieging the different Mexican garrisons in Texas, and cutting off all communication between them and the commander-in-chief of the provinces. The number of the colonists was increased daily by the influx of Anglo-Americans, who entered the country as settlers, though they were regularly enlisted, in the United States, in the military service of Texas. By the introduction of troops in this way, the revolutionists soon found themselves strong enough to attack the Mexicans; which they did, and defeated them. Fort Velasco was first besieged and captured; and Nagodoches was subsequently attacked and carried. General Teran, the Mexican commandant, destroyed himself, owing to political feelings, strongly excited; and the Mexican army having fallen into the greatest disorder, the rebellious colonists fled to their homes,

dreading the severe chastisement they deserved, and which speedily followed, but not from the quarter whence it was expected.

The Indians, who refused to join either party, kept a vigilant eye on their movements, and no sooner detected the absence of the military force, which was sent into the country in the first instance to check them, than they fell upon the colonists, whose strength was completely paralyzed by the cholera, then raging with most destructive virulence throughout Texas, from the beginning of the summer to the close of the winter of 1832. At this distressing epoch, the peaceably-disposed colonists, who were styled the "peace party," appeared before the Mexican congress, with a petition setting forth the true state of Texas, and praying the government to defend them from the Indians, and to take such steps as would also protect their lives and property from the lawless intruders and strangers who were scattered over the whole face of the country.

Bustamante having in December abandoned the presidency to Pedraza, the latter received the petition with the most generous courtesy, and at once granted the protection sought for by the colonists at the hands of the government; but the introduction of troops into Texas, which had been called for, tended to inflame the revolutionary spirit that had crept into the country, and had remained passive only until the leaders of the war party found

that the military force was not sent to punish the rebellious, as they deserved, but, if possible, to restore peace without bloodshed.

The

In the spring of 1833, the war party, nothing daunted by the presence of a military force, renewed their labours under a new mask, and in a much milder tone. Having previously laid down their plans, and organised themselves so as to carry them into execution, they assumed the title of a "General Convention," and proceeded to call a meeting of its self-elected members at San Felipe de Austin, a small town on the Brazos river. first act of the convention was, to prepare a petition, which was subsequently despatched and presented to the general congress by Colonel Austin, setting forth the many disadvantages Texas laboured under from being annexed to the state of Coahuila, with a plan of a new form of government for Texas, which the petitioners prayed to have established. The petition then went on to state,

"That Coahuila and Texas were totally dissimilar in soil, climate and productions.

"That the representatives of the former were so much more numerous than the latter, that all legislation for the benefit of Texas could only be the effect of a generous courtesy.

"That laws happily adapted to the one would, on account of the great dissimilarity in their interests, be ruinous to the other. "That Texas was in continual danger from the aggression of the Indian tribes, without any efficient government to protect her in such cases.

"That the present legislation has been calculated to exasperate

F

the Indian tribes, by withholding their rights;* whereas by doing them JUSTICE, valuable auxiliaries might be gained, instead of deadly enemies; which would be the policy of Texas.

"That Texas possessed the necessary elements (a population of 80,000 souls) for a state government; and that, for her attachment to the Federal Constitution of 1824 and to the Republic, the petitioners pledged their lives and honours."

The receipt of this petition filled the Mexican government with suspicion. In the first and last paragraphs they found two glaring falsehoods, the first backed by a frivolous complaint, and the second by gross duplicity. The first falsehood is, "that the climate, soil, and products of Coahuila were totally different" from those of Texas, whereas it is well known that the latter is divided from Coahuila by the Nueces river only, which is so narrow that it scarcely deserves to be called a river. In the second place, they complained of the laws passed by the state legislature of Coahuila and Texas, as being merely "the effect of a generous courtesy." Thirdly, the policy of the Texans towards the Indians will be seen hereafter.

"that

Lastly, the petitions falsely asserted, Texas possessed the necessary elements for a state government," by which the Texans meant that she possessed a population of 80,000 souls; while it was a well known fact, that there was not more

* Meaning those secured to the Indians by the Colonization Laws. I am here availing myself of Mrs. Holley's condensed notice of the Petition of the General Convention.