TEXAS EMIGRATION / CAUTION, A DIATRIBE AGAINST THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS, in an anonymous manuscript repeating many of the complaints heaped upon the newly created nation by N. Doran Maillard in his book THE HISTORY OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS
(London: 1842). 4to. 4 pages, approximately 1250 words, dated "London June 16th 1842." Paper browned and brittle, several small chips resulting in the loss of a few letters. Item #41645
Describing himself as one of three survivors from a recent English emigration party to Texas, the author warns against falling for promotional pitches about the new republic, "certain sickness, if not death, awaits those who may be tempted." Most of the message repeats stories found in Maillard's work, described in Jenkins (BASIC TEXAS BOOKS, Austin, 1988) as "the most vitriolic denunciation of the Republic of Texas, written with absolutely no regard for the truth." The manuscript reads, in part: "The country is open but at the same time desolate, being thinly peopled and most unhealthy ... the prospect of the Emigrant in Texas is war with the Mexicans & the savage Indians, and a revolt on the part of the African Slaves who will take advantage of the first opportunity offered to them to rid themselves of the cruel bondage in which they are now held. Let the public beware of this scheme! Let them but read with but moderate caution the tempting baits held out to them and they will at once detect that the Texan Emigration Scheme is too good to be true, but should any poor Englishman fall into the Texan trap, let him not forget this caution from a returned Emigrant." The writer refers to Maillard's book several times, closing with a promotional pitch of his own: "Those who want historical & general information of Texas can obtain it in almost every Coffee Shop & at any circulating library, by asking for Maillards History of Texas. Many copies of which work have recently been distributed gratuitously by the author for the benefit of the working classes." Written at the height of the British debate over recognizing the new republic, the tone of this manuscript suggests that it may have been intended for printing as a broadside. The British government passed formal recognition ten days after its preparation.
Price: $5,000.00