San Felipe de Austin Nov 17. 1829
Mr John Durst
Nacogdoches
Dr Sir I have recd your letter by this days mail dated the 10th
instant, on the subject of the decree of the President freeing all the
Slaves.
You say to me in your letter "in the name of God what shall we
do.— do for God's sake advise me on the subject by return of mail,
we are ruined for ever should this measure be adopted "
What the people of Texas have to do, is to represent to the
Government, through the Ayuntamientos or some other channel, in a very
respectful manner; that agreeably to the constitution, and the
colonization laws all their property is guaranteed to them without
exceptions in the most solemn and sacred manner-— That they brought
their slave property into the country and have retained it here,
under the faith of that guarantee, and in consequence of a special
invitation publically given to emigrants by the Government in the
Colonizacion law to do so—that they have taken an oath to defend
the constitution and are bound to do so. That the constitution of
the state expressly recognises the right of property in slaves, by
allowing six months after its publication for their introduction into
the State—That they will defend it, and with it, their property.
There ought to be no vocifirous and visionary excitement or noise
about this matter— Our course is a very plain one—calmn,
deliberate dispationate, inflexible, firmness; and not windy and ridiculous
blowing and wild threats, and much less any thing like opposition
to the Mexican constitution, nothing of this kind will do any good,
it will in fact be unjustifiable, and will never be approved of by me
but on the contrary opposed most decidedly. I will not violate my
duty as a mexican citizen.
The constitution must be both our shield, and our arms, under it,
and with it we must constitutionally defend ourselves and our
property.
The chief of department Dn Ramon Musquiz, has taken a firm
and noble stand, he has suspended the publication of said decree,
and has represented in a very able manner against it. If he should
finally be compelled to publish and circulate it, the Ayuntamientos
must then, take an unanimous, firm, and constitutional stand. The
people will unanimously support them.
I know nothing of the men who compose the Ayuntamiento of
Nacogdoches, if they are true patriots, and true friends to themselves
and to Texas, they will not suffer that decree to be published or
circulated in that municipality and they will take the stand I have
indicated or some other that will preserve the constitution and our
constitutional rights from open and direct violation
These are my ideas on the matter. I have said the same to my
friends in Bexar, and when the decree arrives officially (which it has
not yet) I shall say the same to the Govt—What I do in this matter
will be done openly—Mexico has not within its whole dominions
a man who would defend its independence, the union of its
territory, and all its constitutional rights sooner than I would, or be more
ready and willing to discharge his duties as a Mexican citizen; one
of the first and most sacred of those duties is to protect my
constitutional rights and I will do it, so far as I am able. I am the
owner of one slave only, an old decreped woman not worth much,
but in this matter I should feel that my constitutional rights as
a Mexican were just as much infringed as they would be if I had
a thousand, it is the principle and not the amount, the latter makes
the violation more agravated, but not more illegal or
unconstitutional
S. F. Austin [Rubric]
P. S. Let me know what your Ayto. will do—
S. F. A [Rubric]