The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-04-23
reasons usually assigned for THIS extraor-

lSuHS system lHuSI pttoo p""J' - "
probability, before any Gibbon will arise
sufficiently impartial to write true his
tory of the decline and fall of the Spanish
empire But in America, and especially
in Mexico one great cause OF decay Is
only too apparent, The country con
quered WIS SO large and the opportun-
tiles for enterprise were 50 many that the
young blood and talent Of Spain were
almost drained away, and yet, VITA Il
few local exceptions, the Spanlards III
the New World were nowhere numerous
enough to be more than mere army OF
occupation.
AT this late day it needs no argument
to prove that when two peoples widely
dissinilar fuse into one the result Is al
ways destructive to the higher and often
to both. For the most part the detached
communities of Spaniards were lost in
the miscegenation. Only in the cities
and certain peculiarly reserved circles
did the Aryan remain unnlXed: else
where the Spanard was lost in the mes,
tho When Santa Anna took control the
unmiXed Aryans in Mexico certainly did
not exceed half Il million, and with our
present knowledge of race relations 1t
might easily have been seen when Mexico
became independent that the country was
| destined to long internecine conflict be-
! fore the social strata could be adjusted.
| Suffice it here to say that when the
constitution Of 1924 va proclaimed the
population of Mexico was perhaps one
| twelfth pure Spanish, three-fifths pure
| Indian and the remainder brown mixed.
| The creoles or pure whites had the vices
natural to n very small ruling caste,
| and the meStiZOs were moved allKe by
hatred to them and feeling of mingled
| dread Of and contempt for the Indians
according as the latter were wild or sub
misi;ive. The natural result was that
the revolution, which had been III prog
ress for fourteen years, continued with
slight intermissions, One president,
Guadalupe Victoria, served full term.
Then Pedraza and Guerrero, Bustamcntc
and Santa Anna alternately rose and
fell in series of revolutions and wars
which are to the American reader about
as Ineligible as the wars Of the red and
black ants-but not half as instructive.
1t was in the nominal administration
of tie last Spanish viceroy that Moses
F. Austin, of Missouri, secured II grant
Of lands III Texas, and in the very revolu-
! tionary year of 1898 that his son,
Stephen f., obtained IL confirmation of
/ it: in 1929 the first American colOnists
located, and in 1921 the region was
! united in state with Coahuila. 1t is
therefore not III the power Of any writer
to trace I'LL the dcviations Of title, but
the controlling fact is that the new
settlers Swore allegiance TO the conStitu-
ton of 1922, and remained loyal to it as
long as it had even Il nominal existence
Civilization has Il right to be; barba-
risin has not This truth alone is IA com
plete Justification Of the English race in
settling the waste places Of the earth
from Massachusetts to Texas ANA from
South Africa to Australia 1t would
therefore be mere folly to write Il de-
Tense of the pioneers Of Texas: their
work is their complete Justification,
But it is Il curious fact that in all the
years previous to 1919 Texas was Il der
elict," Us writers on international law
call region to wlich no nation has es-
tablisled complete tide.
The record is in the highest decree
curious. Hubert Howe BancrUft's Latest
researches have shown that De Leon en-
plored Il part Of the coast about 1893. and
thus established Spanish claim. La
Sitlle hegIn settlement III 1855. In 1861
a Spanish Governor arrived with sol
dierS. In III the French tried it again.
Vast stores Of material for thrilling TO-
nance might be found in the accOuu+S
of these attempts. The period Of Span
ish missions followed. and truly won
dertul era it was. In l7jS the country
really had Il considerable white popula-
ton. Thea came the horrible Indian
War, and in 1853, when France coded
Louisiana to Spain, all Texas contained
less than 1000 civilized people of all
races. In 1903, Spain having re-ceded
Louisiana to France, that nation sold it
to the United States, and now Texas be-
came IL "derelict' indeed
Apparently it belonged to any one
who could take it and keep it. Many
did take it-nobo0y kept it. 1t was too
tempting TO be let alone, yet too big to
be easily held. Aaron Burr made Il
splendid start, and although he figures
in American history Us conspirator and
Il quasi-traitor, the generous mind and
chivalric spirit cannot repress sigh of
regret that he did not succeed, or rather
that the United States could not at that
time allow him to succeed. What a
splendid court he would have set up!
What dashing set Of bold spirits would
have gathered around him from France,
M \