The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1843-12-15
Texas Affairs.

There has Of late been all immense deal Of talk !
in the newspapers about Texas, and all sorts Of
strange figures Of war aud biood-shed have been
conjured up for the purpose of making the people
Of the United States. believe that this is the all
important topic Of the day. 1t has been sravcly
asserted that Great britain has matured such de-
signs upon the infant republic, a. involve, not on
ly the tranquility, but the very existence Itself OF
this great aud glorious Union. British agents,
We have been ;Jid, have positively offered loan
fpr the purpose Of liberating the slaves IN the re-
public; we have also becn.tod that the British
government has claimed as the property of certain
Of her subjects, twenty or thirty millions Of acres
Of land in Western Texas, accompanied, IN case
the claim was not Acknowledged, with positive
threat Of coercion; and, finally, 10 cap the climax
we arc told thot our e.Ege d g6liye, to Texas,
Gen. Murphy, las discovered most reasonable
correspondence between the British agents and the
government Of Texas disclosing the astounding
fact that Gen. Houston is about to convey the
young rcpuhIic--peoplc and ALTO the govern
uIent of Great Britain, and as a consideration he
Is to have the appointment Of governor general
for life Now all these stories, there is every
son to believe, are the mere creations Of heated
imagination. We have now before Us the New
Orleans Tropic of the 23l uli,, which, in hong
article, gives the origin Of these stories, and shows
them to be without the least foundation in all their
essential particulars
The origin Of the report relative TO the offer Of
loan by the BRUSH government TO libcratc the
slaves in Texas is thus given hy the Tropc;
Some spectators in Texas, ever ON the qui rire
for some means of advancing their own interests,
asked Capt. Elliot, the British cia,ge d'nGares,
what aid could DO obtained from the British go
yernlncnt IN aboIIshing, 6y purchase, slavery in
Texas. The reply, III substance, was that "lhe
British government would not consent to inter.
icre in the affair." but that, if it was the desire Of
The people Of Texas to abolish slavery by the
means proposed, it was possible that loan from
British capitalists might be secured" Upon the
lrul foundation of this unofficial and Informal con
vcrsaon is built the declaration that the agents OF
Great Britain are cndeavorlng by direct means to
abolish slavery in Texas!
The repor, in relation TO the claim. by the Bri-
llsh government, IA behalf of certain subjects, Of
land in western Texas, with the threat accompa-
ny!ns it, 1t appears by the Tropic has an equally
fad foundation. The fiction had its origin in the
following simple facts. Certain British specula-
orsiorwaflcd to a merchant in Galycsion-whose
name the TropIc will furnish, if required-some
old EmprcsaTio claims, with directions to asccr.
tain their validity. This agent applied to Capt.
Elliot, who took proper steps 10 ascertain from the
Texan government whether the claims would be
recognized The reply was positively in the ne.
ga'lve' aud 1t can be established that the agent for
the British claimants has since given il as his OPT
Mon, after considering all the circumstances of
the case that the claims were not worth a groat,
and so tho matter rests.
And the report about the reasonable corrcspon.
dcncc said to have been discovered by Gen Muir
! ply, appears To be OF piece with the rest. The
Irnpic speaks of II thus: "Discovefed by Gen
Murphy! The documents which he has iorwar-
ded to Washington, and which, it is insinua,ed,
are to astound half dozen nations, were obtain-
cd by him with the consent and concurrence of
the Texan government and is it to be supposed
that papers thus obtained furnish proofs of treason
on the part of tho highes, unctionarcs of Texas
Really. it ought to be imagined once and while.
that there is some limit 10 human creduy We
know the nature Of the documents, and arc pre-
pared to show, even now, that they arc comior,a-
bly, harmless, but prefer waiting until Tylerism
fairly shows lis hand"