Quintana 4 Nov 1834
Mr James F. Perry
Dr Sir I enclose you a scratch of something like what I think we should
join in and if it meets your views and those of your neighbours draw up one
and you are hereby authorised to put my name to any thing which you are
of opinion we should join in to put an end to the Demagogues and
scoundrels who wish to view and use us as mere appendages to their highness
and instruments for their convenience may the vengeance of heaven earth
and hell fall upon them is my sincere prayer
Thomas F McKinney [Rubric]
We most cordially consent to bear the part [you] suggested for printing
the Cols letter and the reply of the Central Committe to Govr Smith's
proclamation
McK and Williams [Rubric]
[Addressed:] Mr James F Perry Peach point
[Enclosure]
We the undersigned resident Citizens of the former Jurisdiction of
Brazoria (now Columbia) seeing as we concieve our most sacred and
inestimable rights and privileges usurped and sentiments expressed upon our
responsibility to which we do not nor did we ever subscribe deem it our
duty no longer to permit a few aspiring ambitious demagogues to use our
names or assume our rights. We therefore deem it an essential duty to
ourselves and our country to make a public avowal of our disapprobation
to such men and measures as are now exciting among us a scheme for the
purpose of organizing a local Govt, in Texas the measures proposed for
that purpose we conceive to be directly at variance with the true interest
of our adopted country and those among us who are most actively engaged
in the measure we concieve to be of the class of men above mentioned who
would sacrifice every man in Texas who is likely to become conspicuous
in promoting good order and tranquility to their sordid ambition or
vindictive personal feelings or mere tools and instruments of such men. We
conceive the course recommended for the purpose of organising as
calculated to do much harm by exciting the jealousies of the Govt as has
been done on former occasions by a few clamorous men who have falsely
proclaimed opinions and feelings to be those of the people which were
always repugnant to our feelings and in as much as erronious opinions
have thus been imposed upon our Govt and our neighbors by our neutrality
we feel it a duty from which we can no longer abstain to take this method
of expressing our disapprobation to any such measures and seriously hope
that those men will take the hint and allow us to have penetration enough
to discover their virtues and talents and allow us to call on them when we
require their aid. We take this mode of making this our expression of
feelings by each of us assigning our names to these presents that it may not
be said it is only the feelings of a few and that every man's name may show
for itself.