The Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1834-184?, 1846-12-14

the twenty eighth of January 1905, assert
that the boundaries of Louisiana, as ceded |
10 the U. S. by France, ARE the river Per-
dido on the east, and the river Bravo on the |
west,' and they add, that 'the facts and
principles which justify this conclusion are
so satisfactory to cur Government as to con-
vince it that the u. S. have not better
right to the island of New Orleans, under
the cessioa referred to than they have to
the whole district of territory which is above
described Down to the conclusion of the
Florida treaty, in February, 1919, by which
this territory was ceded to Spain, the U. S.
asserted and maintained their territorial
rights to this extent.
In the month of June, 1918 during Mr..
Monroe's administration, information hav
ing been received that number of foreign
Adventures had landed at Galveston, with
the avowed purpose of forming settlement
In that vicinity, special messenger was
dispatched by the government OF the u. 5.
with instructions from the Secretary of State
TO warn them to deslst, should they be found
there 'or any other place north of the Rio
Bravo, and within the Territory claimed by
the u. s. He was instructed should they
be found in the country north of that river,
to make known to them 'the surprise with
which the President has seen possession thus
taken without authority from the U. S., Of
a place within their territorial limits, and
upon which no lawful settlement can be
made without their SANCTION He was in
structed to call upon them to 'avow under
what national authority they profess to act,
70 fhnp1 dino sthof I'll,
place is within the United States, who will
suffer no permanent settlement to be made
there, under any authority other than their
ewn.' As late as the Slh ofJuIy, 1912 the
Secretary of State of the United States, in "a
note addressed to our Minister in Mexico,
maintains that, by the Florida Treaty of
1919, the territory 50 far west as the Rio
Grande was confirmed to Spain. In that
note he states that 'by the treaty of the 22d
February, 1919, between the United States
and Spain, the Sabine was adopted as the
line Of boundary between the two powers.
Up to that period, no conside rable colonial
ton had been effected in Texas, but the ter.
ritory between the Sabine and the Rio Gran
de being confirmed to Spain by the treaty,
applications were made TO that power for
grants of land; and such grants, or permits
sons of settlement, were in fact made by
the Spanish authorities in favor of citizens
of the United States proposing TO emigrate
to Texas in numerous families, before the
declaration of independence by Mexico
The Texas which was ceded to Spain by
the Florida treaty of 1919. embraced all the
country now claimed by the State of Texas
between the Nueces and the Rio Grand
The republic of Texas always claimed this
river as her western boundary, and in her
treaty made with Santa Anna in May, 1886
he recognized it as such. By the Constitu.
ton which Texas adopted in March, 1886
senatorial and representative districts were
organized, extending west of The Nueces.-
The Congress of Texas, on the 18th of De
cenber, 1885. passed An act 10 define the
republic of Texas in which they declared
the Rio Grande from its mouth 10 its source
10 be their boundary, and by the said act
they extended their civil and political jnris
diction' over the country up to that bounda
~. During period of moro than nine
years. which interviewed between the adop
ton of her constitution and her annexation
as one of The States of our Union. Texas as
serted and exercised many acts of sovereign
ty and jurisdiction over the territory and in
habitants west Of the Nueces. She organ
lied anG defined the limits of counties ex
tending to the Rio Grande. She establish
ed courts OF Justice, and extended her Judi
cial system over the territory. She estab
lished custom house, and collected duties
and also post offices, and issued numerou:
grants for land, within its limits. A sena
tor and representative residing in it, were
elected to the Congress of the Republic ant
served as such before the act of annexation
took place.
Ia both the Congress aud Convention o
Texas, which gave their assent to the terms
of annexation to the U. States, proposed By
our Congress, were representatives residing
west of the Nueces, who took part in thu
act of annexation itself. This was the Tex
as which, by the act ut our Congress of tn
twenty ninth of December, 1916, was ad
mitted as one the States of the Union.-
That the Congress of the U. S. understoo
the State of Texas which they admitted int
the Union to extend beyond the Nueces
apparent from the fact, that on thirty frs
of December, 1845, only two days after tn
act of admission, they passed law sto es
fablish collection district in the State
Texas by which they created port of de
livery at Corpus Christi, situated west ofth
Nueces, and being the same point at whic
the Texas custom house, under the laws
that republic, had been located, and direc
ed that a surveyor to collect the revenu
should be appointed for that port by III
President, by and with the advice and con
sent of the Senate. a surveyor was al