Alabama state intelligencer., 1831-12-22

| N'N SNAo'iiSeo OSCilCS. nc government have enacted q law .emancipating all the slaves of the country. It is now a dead let ter. But whenever the attempt shall be madcto enforce 1t, revolution will be tine
 ccnsequence--and a revolution once com
 menced, Texas will become independent of
 the Mexican Republic. Without some gross
 measure of this sort, that independence is far
 distant The people of that country are fla
 yored and happy, and they know it.
 On the whole, have no doubt that the A.
 merlcan population in Texas realize more
 than they expected The policy of the Mex
 lcan Republic in colonial matters, seems to be
 generous, kind and patcrna, and well worthy Of magnanimous people.
 The tazvS of the country arc mild. gentle
 and judicious, though but little understood by
 the people, and still less observed. Their system IS very defective. In cases of small
 moment, both civll and criminal, the Alcal- | des, (ot whom, like Justices of the Peace in | the United States, there is one for each de- |
 hnite district of country,) are an absolute and hnal tribunal. In cases involving amounts | exceeding S100,-in all real actions, and in | all important criminal proceedings, the only origl1al Jurisdiction is vested in Junta S1- hren4a, at Saltllo. The distance, delay and expense of this reference are nearly cquiva-
 ,ens ,!,,e 70 tribunal. But to answeras some sub
 stitute for a mere convenient court of law, and
 also as gross essay towards the jury system,
 there has been provided certain mode by
 which the parties-litigant may obtain the be-
 ncht of a court of arbitration, elected by tliem- selves To this latter mode, (arising wholly | from the necessity of the thing do most is | sues tend. lna criminal pontof view, the ju- dietary system of Texas is so defective, that to. be charged with a crime not 6aiiabie, a. , mounts to punishment in itself, though the ) party chargedbe quite innocent. The Alcal- 5 dc, where the crime is said to be committed, / examines all the testimony in the case, and transmits the record to the President of the Supreme Junta at Saltillo, from whence is de-
 rived final judgment-and from the date of 2 which interlcdutory proceeding to which f. 9 nal decree, years may elapse. During all
 this time the prisoner must remain incarce- l rated, nhon hyesumhtion, and there can be no subsequent redress. But the country is 7 new and unsettled, and these things are eve ' " day improving. Americans are lovers of l more speedy justice, and they are becoming . a majority in the State. These evils arise out l of the old Spanish system, and though fol- lowed, are oftentimes not in force. They = have no digest of the system under the Re / public, and hence the ignorance and evils of . their legal institutions.
 l The morals of Texas, like every new and l unsettled province, more especially if of a = mixed population, arc deporably loose and r indefinite. Life and property are measura- l bly, as well secured in Texas as elsewhere r the officers of the government have secured
 those matters, for which prompttude they S deserve well of the country-but in relation t to internal affairs, the inauguration is atoge- . ther insufficient to picture the scene. It has f too been long refuge tor those who had ''no l place at home" 1 was told that this also / was fast changing for the better; indeed, from
 what l know, it becomes nowise dificult to
 live alo9f from it, even now. The American
 circle al Nagadoches, with an exception or
 two is not to be excelled in hospitality or po-
 ltencss in the cities of the United States , Nor is Unnecessary to make that society pure I ly Amefcan, to be enabled justly to apply
 the renark. The military officers at the
 Presidics, in general are fit for any society. At Nagadoches, particularly, might be espe- [ cially named the Commandant, Col, Piedras,
 the sur5eon of the post, Dr l.axaza, Capt. 6 Ortago, and some other Spanish gentlemen, I as worthy of the most polished court in I ChristeIdom. The late Secretary of State, Padillo, possessed in V ny distinguished de-
 gree tht urbanity and native goodness, neces- 2 sary to tender him esteemedby all who knew
 him.
 On the whole, it has occurred to me, con
 sdering the origin of the population, the in fluence of Spanish habits and language, and the facilities so extended country presents
 for crime, that Texas presents an aspect ho-
 norable to itsef-And with the consequences naturally to be anticipated from things and dninSs now in progress, public and private,
 thatit offers to all classes of men, facilities for
 happiness and competency, if enc profession alont be excepted, viz. that of physician.