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Stephen F. Austin Autograph Letter Signed. Four pages with a separate address cover, 7 7/8 x 9 5/8 inches; San Felip...

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Description

A frail but impassioned Stephen F. Austin writes to David G. Burnet: "my last words to the people of Texas are - be calm, be prudent, but firm and united"

Stephen F. Austin Autograph Letter Signed. Four pages with a separate address cover, 7 7/8 x 9 5/8 inches; San Felipe de Austin; January 10, 1832. An impassioned letter to David G. Burnet, a political ally who had failed as an empresario. The year 1832 was a critical transitional moment in the history of Texas: several years before outright revolution, but after confidence in Mexican policy had begun to erode. Austin rails against the Law of April 6, 1830, which cancelled empresario grants and sought to halt U.S. immigration. In poor health, he sees his decade of labor threatened by policies he believed to be economically irrational and politically self-defeating. Nevertheless, he remains bound to Mexico, advocating statehood for Texas within the Mexican confederation and explicitly rejecting rebellion unless "driven by dire necessity."

In full:

"G. Burnett Esqr. San Felipe de Austin Jany 10 1832

Dr Sir,

I certainly owe you an apology for not writing before now – but the causes you mention in your letter of 6th instant and many others weighed so heavily upon both body and mind that time flew away (not on downy wings) and no letter – my health has been very bad, but is now better & dayly improving & with it my spirits are reviving – what had depressed them? – The situation of Texas – What is it at present? – After ten years of the most laborious and painful exertions it has been advanced in point of population and improvements, from a total [illegible, ink erosion] valuless desert to what it now is, and those ten years of labor have prepared it for rapid and speedy improvements – But unfortunately – most unfortunately the policy of the Government seems to be – to throw a blight, a deadly chill over the whole country, and strangle everything like enterprise or future advancement – None but europians or mexicans can settle or even be admitted into Texas – The law of 6 April is positive and the orders issued under that law are still more so – How can europians or mexicans be induced to migrate to a wilderness? – How many 100,000 of dollars will it take to bring them? – Where is the money to come from? – What can the lower class of europians do in Texas? – What kind of citizens will they make? How can they be controled or governed or kept in order? – The rioting and window breaking mobs of England and ireland and the overflowing jails of the United States u seem /u to answer these questions – Bueno – time speeds its course, and the current of events flows on, sweeping us along upon its surface – whether it is taking us to Heaven or Hell, I know not – but time will shew – I am rather inclined to the opinion at present, that if the people of Texas ever reap any of the fruits of their labors, it will be because they are able to harvest them – or they are and always will be if always united –

But to the subject of your letters & particularly that of 6th inst. On the subject of augmentations, the Govt has issued a positive order forbiding any north american from petitioning for augmentations, or what is the same thing, stating that no augmentations shall be granted to them, and also that no grants of any kind can be made to those who have emigrated since the 6 april 1830 – tho this does not apply to my colony – Perhaps something may be done in the territory or what ever it is, (for I do not understand the arrangement) that has been, or is to be established to the cost of my colony, and it would not be amiss for you to see Bradburn and try and get some petition recd & recommended without delay for land in that quarter.

My contract for the colony u out /u of the ten league reserve expired on the 4th of June last, and the commissioners had to make a return of the families then recd – and with all they are trying to cut me out of a pact by saying that my contract expired in april on the day when the Govt signed it, when there is an express clause that it is to take effect from the day I signed which was on the 4 of June – Everything is in a tangle – whether the knots can be untyed, or must be cut I cannot say – But think the former – or rather hope so –

The tract which you mention in your first letter between Mrs McCormick & Earle is Hirams – The tract South of Loudouns has a quarter taken off from the part adjoining Loudouns

The balance is vacant – the other tract you speak of as No. 1 on Whiteman's plot, neither Williams nor my myself can tell which one you intend, for no. 1 on the plot is not on Spring Creek but in the main San Jacinto

You are aware that the law only allows one league, unless an augmentation is expressly granted by the Govt. & the order before cited cuts off u that /u hope – also the list returned by the comr. throws embarassments in the way for your name was not on it, neither was Cap. Hurd's – I will do all I can, but unless you see all the orders on the subject it will be difficult for you to understand how far I can go & may therefore blame me, as many others have for not exacting more than can be done –

I shall come in Feby. for Saltillo, but in my absence Williams can do anything that I could if present. And I have spoken to him to forward your views to the full extent possible –

My opinion as to Texas has for many years been the same and it is still unchanged – it is that we form a state u /u of the mexican confederation & the sooner it is done the better for Texas and for mexico – I will adhere firmly to this opinion unless driven by dire necessity from it – But my dear sir what have we to hope under the law of 6 April – how can the country advance? Teran says to me ‘unless you can effect impossibilities you cannot settle europians or mexicans' – if so what does he intend by such a rigid adherence to the law of 6 April – There is a mistery around that man which a very few months must clear away –

I know not whether I shall ever return from the interior – you know that such a journey is liable to many casualties – if I do not, my last words to the people of Texas are – be calm, be prudent, but firm and united –

My respects to Mrs Burnett

Your friend

S. F. Austin

Jany. 16 Lynch did not call for this as he said he would & I send it by Harris."

Burnett dockets the letter on the detached address cover, in his distinctive hand: "S.F. Austin / 10 Jany – 32."

At the start of 1832, Austin was already in declining health, suffering from what he described as exhaustion, nervous strain, and recurring illness brought on by overwork and stress. He explicitly attributes his delayed correspondence and low spirits to illness compounded by anxiety over Texas's political situation. As the year progressed and tensions with Mexican authorities escalated (culminating in the Anahuac disturbances in June), Austin's health remained fragile. He continued to travel, write, and advise despite recurring fatigue. By the time of the October 1832 Convention at San Felipe, Austin was physically strained but mentally focused. Despite his fragile state, he believed his presence was necessary to keep the movement constitutional and restrained. The convention itself added to his burden, as he carried responsibility for shaping petitions and moderating more radical voices.

The Convention of 1832 marks the moment when Texian resistance shifted from individual grievance and private correspondence (like Austin's letter) to organized political action. It also exposed a growing divide: Austin still believed reform within Mexico was possible, while others were beginning to doubt it. When Mexican authorities refused to recognize the convention, the stage was set for the more radical Convention of 1833, Austin's imprisonment, and ultimately the Texas Revolution.

The letter is not included in Fugitive Letters, 1829–1836: Stephen F. Austin to David G. Burnet, nor is it listed in any public collections of Austin's letters.

Condition: Uneven toning and dampstaining to all pages. Occasional ink burn and fading affecting a few words. With loss of paper to the address sheet, where the seal has been torn open.

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2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts Signature® Auction #6328 (go to Auction Home page)
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