Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1847-07-03

" mas laiu 10 uHuCI ODllPduOHS ny TIE IOlOWlng
letter on the subject Of the western boundary O
Texas
allen A. Hall, Esq.
DEAN Sir As it to be questionable or rather
debaable question: politically, (and this is strange indeed
whether the Rio Bravo del Nore c. Rio Gande del Nore
river east of it. originally and since consid
cred, by historians and ge0apheS, the western boundary
of the province OF Texas the extreme boundary
the province IN Mexico next west OF it, permit YOU
TO edition of 9 Mathew Careys General Map Of the
World" &c. &c, published by him in PHILADELPHIA in the
year and, though may be quite ancient as the
one used by His Exceency," yet presume that even he
will not presume to question the qualifications
the source from whence emanaed As published be-
fore there could be political interest influence to serve
and all will that the author well qualified to be
correct and doubt did define the true boundaries of the
several provinces correctly look at the Doth man in that ed
ton, "Mexico New SPAIN" and you will find that The
Provincial de Texas commenced the mouth of the Sabine
river and extended west the Gulf Of Mexico to the mouth
OF river hough not named, it be- from comparing it
with other maps the Nueces) of Passo del Cabelo
and considerably east of the " Bay of Santiago" and
much farther east of the " Rio Bravo del Nore y and indeed
more than two degrees east of the del Nore The province
OF Sanlander Clamauipas) al that lime (and pray when has
been altered extended on both sides of the del Noe
from its mouth up for many miles, and indeed the Pro
vince Of Texas" did not touch the " del Nore at all
\ CEvALLos, the Spanish Minister, in one of his
letters to Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney, in 1905
says
"Ihe province of Texas where the Spanards have had
settlements from the seventeenth century, bounds by the east
with louisiana and contains the extensive which lies
between tho river Medina, were ends the Government Of
Coa9uh to the post abandoned" &c. See American
State Papers, VOL IL, page 295
| The river Medina is considerably to the eastward
of the Nueces. 1t is the principal tributary of the
Rio San Antonio.
In 1884 Gen. ALMoNTE, by commission of the
Government of Mexico, visited Texas, and drew up
statistical report of the country. Texas and Goa
hula at that time formed one State and Gen. AL
monte informed by the State Government of
Coahua and Texas that instead of the River de los
Nueces, as was generally supposed, and as then APP
peared on the map, forming the boundary between
Coahuila and Texas, this assumption was founded
on a geographical error The true limit ought it
was alleged, TO commence g at the embouchure of
the river Aransaso, and follow it to its source con-
nulng thence in direct line until it reached the
junction of the Medina and San Antonio rivers
from which ii ought to proceed along the eastern
bank of the Medina towards its source, and term-
nate on the borders of Chihuahua"
lhennedy'S Teas, page 4.
Mrs. HoLLEY, in her work on Texas states its
western boundary to be the NueceS, separating IL
from In1aaaLpas and CoahuiIa.
We have on our table a History of Texas, pub
lished in 1896, and written by DAVID B. EDWARD,
who describes himself on the title page as for
merly Principal of the Academy, Alexandria, Ia.l
late Preceptor of Gonzales Seminary, Texas 1t
is volume of 336 pages. On the 18th page he
says:
cit (rexas) is bounded the north by Red river, which
divides from Arkansas, Ozark District and New Mexico
the south by the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio de los Nue.
ces lchch die1aeS Il from the States IF C0aid and Ia
mauEPas the by the branch of the river Sa
hne and the State of Louisiana the by the State OF
Coahuila and the Territory of New Mexico"
Accompanying the work is map of Texas with
the boundaries, as given above, laid down. In
note on one corner of the map, speaking of the Rio
Grande, he says: # this river should ever be-
come the western boundary of Texas las desired
by the nhabitants) it will add hundred miles to
its sea-coas and fifty thousand square miles to its
superfces; the southern section of their surface
sandy, barren prairie, almost destitute of water
and It's northern rocky, sterile mountains, nearly as
destitute of timber"
We have before us the form of proposed con-
sttuon of Texas, drawn up by the Texas Con-
vention in 1882 and 1888" 1t begins thus
In the name of God, omnipotent Author and Supreme
Legislator of the Universe
"We the People of Texas being capable of figuring as a
State % in the contemplated in the second article of
the decree Of the General Congress of the Nation of the 7h
of May, 1894, do odan the following Constitution; and do
mutually agree with each other to form ourselves into full
and independent State Of the Mexican Conederacy by the
name Of the STATE OF Texas"
Article one of the schedule is as follows:
"THc &dteQf Teras Shainclpde all tie eoafry frmeriy
hao'cn as tie ProUiace Of Teras."
What the Convention regarded as the western
boundary Of the province of Texas " they clearly
make apparent in the 10th article of the Schedule.
where they proceed to divide the State into Sena
torial Districts. In this division, they 20 no FIR
tier west haa the riUer NtteceS. They stop there
In article 4th of the Schedule the Convention ex-
pressly recognise the old boundary line between
Texas and Coahula, which was the Nueces. In
that article they provide that the authorities of the
State Of Coahuila and Texas, that fill their offices
wuhin the limits Of Ieras, shall continue in the .
execution of their respective duties' Y
In view of this array of undenable, of recorded
facts, what becomes Of the assertion that the west
ern boundary of Texas has been always held to
extend to the Rio Grande The assertion, by .
whomsover made, whether by the President or his .
official organ, or by the party press, is an auda-
cious Justification of The truth Of history, perpe-
trated for the sole purpose of relieving Mr.. Polk
from the heavy responsibility he has incurred by
ordering the march of our army to the Rio Grande,
which order brought on The eTisting war Nth
WericO.
FROM THE SAME JUNE 10.
Wereicrred in our last to the " Secessional Con-
stitutiou" which was drawn up by the Texas Con