Hollinger Corp. 
 P H8.5 
 
LA 372 
 .S3 C8 
 
 n 
 
 EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS 
 
 IN SAN FERNANDO 
 
 DE BEXAR. 
 
 I. J. cox. 
 
 Reprinted from the Quaetebly of The Texas Histobical Association. 
 Vol. VI, No. 1, July, 1902. 
 
s 
 
 
 EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS IN SAN FERNANDO DE 
 
 BEXAR. 
 
 I. J. cox. 1 
 
 To one only superficially acquainted with the history of Texas, 
 under the Spanish and Mexican regimes, the above title may be the 
 occasion for two surprises: first, that the authorities or citizens of 
 the villa of San Fernando ever made commendable efforts in any 
 direction whatever; and second, that any effort that they should 
 chance to make should be directed towards education. Yet both 
 of these facts are true; and, when due consideration is given to the 
 aggregate of such efforts, the net result is not inconsiderable, nor 
 the effect upon our present system lightly to be ignored. 
 
 By my title I am restrained from any consideration of the edu- 
 cational system of other portions of New Spain ; in which, however, 
 not a single public free school was established, prior to 1793 2 
 I must also pass over the work of the Franciscan missionaries, 
 which, though churchly in character, was creditable in result. The 
 field is restricted to the villa of San Fernando, which later devel- 
 oped into the "city" of San Fernando de Bexar, more familiar to 
 us by its modern name of San Antonio. The subject naturally 
 divides itself into two principal chapters : Education under Spanish 
 Rule, and Education under Mexican Rule. 
 
 EDUCATION" UNDER SPANISH RULE. 
 
 Matters strictly educational did not early occupy the attention 
 of the officials of San Fernando. Indeed, this is not surprising, 
 for the members of the cabildo (town council) were far from 
 being men of keen intellectual perception, while the generality of 
 
 ^r. Cox is holder of the C. C. Harrison fellowship in American history 
 at the University of Pennsylvania for the year 1902-1903. — Editor Quar- 
 terly. 
 
 2 Revilla G-igedo, Instruction Reservada, par. 335. 
 
 1— C. 
 
28 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 the people were all too content with gaining an existence with the 
 least possible effort, to demand anything better. The first real 
 sign of educational awakening is contained in a petition, presented 
 to the cabildo, in 1789, by Don Jose Francisco de la Mata. 1 In 
 this paper he says that, led by pity for the ignorance of the youth 
 of the villa, he had, a few years before, opened a sort of school for 
 them, in which they might learn something of the proprieties of 
 the church service, of parental control, and of public duties. The 
 object of his petition is to secure the good will of the members of 
 the cabildo, the cooperation of the village curate, the modest little 
 stipend of twelve reales per pupil, and lastly, but by no means of 
 least import, the formal authorization of his school by the proper 
 authorities, in order to prevent the undue interference of parents 
 with his educational methods. 
 
 The lot of this pedagogue could not have been a very happy one, 
 for he tells the members of the cabildo that the parents of those 
 to whom he had administered mild punishments were accustomed 
 to threaten him in a most insulting manner in the very presence 
 of their children. They would also, upon the least provocation, 
 remove the latter from his school, a policy disastrous alike to par- 
 ents, children, and the community at large. Perhaps these trials 
 could have been endured with greater equanimity had his salary 
 been in any way commensurate with his labors; but he had made 
 his tuition fees purposely small in order to attract to his teaching 
 all the children of the community. 2 
 
 As Don Jose Francisco asked for little more than the good will 
 of the cabildo and the forwarding of his petition to the governor 
 for his necessary approval, his request was readily received by the 
 members and forwarded according to his wish. The governor 
 granted what the petitioner desired, but as the document abruptly 
 ends at this point, we can learn no more of Don Jose's pioneer 
 educational experiment. From another document we learn that, 
 three years later, he was arrested and imprisoned because the 
 members of the ayuntamiento found in possession of one of the 
 
 Petition, May 1, 1789. Bexar Archives. 
 
 2 The census for 1783 gave this number as 321 boys and 264 girls; the 
 figures for 1791 are 285 boys and 268 girls. Bexar Archives. 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 29 
 
 alcaldes, certain papers of his, unworthily criticising the governor 
 of the province. 1 However, no record of his trial appears. 
 
 Some thirteen years later a new governor, Juan Bautista Elgue- 
 zabal, tries his hand at stirring the community to an educational 
 awakening. He issues a long decree that contains many regula- 
 tions for the betterment of conditions, among which none is more 
 important than the one in which he orders the alcaldes and the 
 alguacil mayor to see that parents place their children in school, 
 and to oblige them to do this under severe penalties, for the pro- 
 vision was of the greatest importance to the religious and political 
 life of the community. 2 The following year he attempts to enlist 
 the cooperation of the cabildo in the matter. At the meeting of 
 that body, on January 20, the main topic for discussion is the 
 foundation of a school and the selection of its master. Jose Fran- 
 cisco Kuiz, possibly a son of the pioneer pedagogue, is selected for 
 the position, provided his minority does not render him incompe- 
 tent to fill it. His residence, for the present, is to constitute the 
 school-house. 3 
 
 From the two items noted above, we should imagine that the 
 school sessions had been, since 17S9, by no means regular or well 
 attended. In all probability both private initiative on the part of 
 the master and popular support from the individual citizens would 
 be necessary for any sort of school whatever, and not infrequently 
 one or both of these elements was lacking. The mystery about the 
 matter is that the governor of the province should at all concern 
 himself about education. Possibly the leaven of Eevilla G-igedo^s 
 public schools, introduced at the capital during the previous decade, 
 was just beginning to make itself felt in the far-off province of 
 Texas. 
 
 Another petition 4 of equally tantalizing and indefinite educa- 
 tional import informs us that Francisco Barrera has been a school- 
 
 ^■Ayuntamiento vs. Don Vicente Amador, First Alcalde, for absence from 
 the province without leave, January 20, 1792. 
 
 2 Article 15 of Proclamation of Juan Bautista Elguezabal, January 10, 
 1802. Bexar Archives. 
 
 3 Act of cabildo, January 20, 1803. Bexar Archives. 
 
 "March 24, 1809. Bexar Archives. 
 
30 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 master in the villa of San Fernando, and (possibly for this reason) 
 finds himself unable to support his family. He asks for a license 
 to engage in public writing, and after five or six persons have been 
 examined, in order to ascertain his character, his request is granted. 
 School-teaching certainly did not seem to pay in San Fernando, 
 although at times the residents of the community seemed to rec- 
 ognize the importance of having a few men of some educational 
 ability in their midst. 
 
 The next important educational effort occurred during the revo- 
 lutonary days of 1811. On January 22 of that year Juan Bautista 
 Casas overthrew the regular government and proclaimed one favor- 
 able to the Mexican revolutionists. His actions while in power 
 caused many to become disgusted with him, so the curate, Juan 
 Manuel Zambrano, 1 organized a counter-revolution and overthrew 
 him, March 1, 1811. Then Zambrano with a junta of eleven mem- 
 bers, was selected by the principal inhabitants of San Fernando to 
 administer the affairs of government and restore the royal author- 
 ity. 2 It was this junta that took measures to organize more thor- 
 oughly the school system of San Antonio by providing for the 
 building of a school-house. Possibly Zambrano may have wished 
 to impress the people with the desirability of continuing longer 
 under the monarchial rule of Spain; or it may be that some of 
 Hidalgo's emissaries, who fell into the hands of the counter-revo- 
 lutionists, had carried considerable treasure with them, and the 
 junta had considered this as the most profitable way of spending it. 
 At any rate, 855 pesos were handed over to Don Bicente Travieso 
 to be expended in the erection of a suitable building to serve as a 
 school-house. In August, 1812, he was ready to submit his account, 
 with its accompanying vouchers, showing the expenditure of 843 
 pesos and five reales. The accounts were formally passed upon by 
 
 Muan Manuel Zambrano had been banished from the province of Texas 
 in 1807 upon petition of citizens and municipal officers alike for conduct 
 unworthy of a priest. After his successful counter-revolution he was 
 made a lieutenant colonel of the militia. In 1818 he was in command of 
 the post of Bahia, but was later deprived of his office. Subsequently he 
 appears as one of the escrutadores in an electoral junta of 1820. Evi- 
 dently his career was full of vicissitudes. 
 
 2 Bancroft, 'North Mexican States and Texas, II 17, 18. 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 31 
 
 the auditing committee and pronounced correct. 1 Everything, to 
 judge from the document, seemed to be in due form, and it looked 
 as if one might expect for the future a fairly well appointed school- 
 house, filled with happy children, whose progress would be fondly 
 watched by admiring parents. 
 
 Unfortunately for the reputation of Don Bicente Travieso and 
 those connected with him in this little "job," there exists an 
 inventory of the belongings of the school, taken just about a 
 month before Travieso passed in his accounts. In this inventory 
 mention is made of only a small portion of the articles that he 
 claimed to have furnished. It evidently refers to the same build- 
 ing, for the description tallies perfectly, and Don Bicente is even 
 mentioned by name, in the inventory, as having furnished three 
 benches. The condition of the building was also deplorable. Doors 
 and windows were without locks, and locks without keys; while 
 even the water-barrel had a loosened hoop, which article was duly 
 reported as one of the important items of the inventory. 2 Evi- 
 dently the temptation to plunder the public was too strong for 
 these worthy officials of old San Fernando. 
 
 In the above inventory mention is made of a bench obtained 
 from the previous school, so there had evidently been some sort of 
 an educational organization, with its building, since the days of 
 Governor Elguezabal. 3 Of course this building could have been 
 the residence of the school-master. An undated manuscript of the 
 Bexar Archives, evidently of this period, bids parents send their 
 children, under twelve years of age, to the public school, as soon as 
 it is completed. Meanwhile they are to give them the best possible 
 instruction at home. One wonders what this might have meant, 
 in those days and in San Fernando. 
 
 As the new school-building approached completion, Jose Erasmo 
 Seguin and Jose Antonio Saucedo reported a code of rules for its 
 government. There should be places for seventy pupils, of which 
 
 Account submitted by Don Bicente Travieso, August 10, 1812. Bexar 
 Archives. 
 
 inventory and conveyance of school-house and furniture made by Ygna- 
 cio de los Santos Coy to Jose Ygnacio Sanchez Castellano, July 3, 1812. 
 Bexar Archives. See Appendix A, Part I. 
 
 3 See Appendix A, Part II. 
 
32 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 five should be free and at the disposal of the master, to he given 
 to worthy persons of good disposition. The seventy places were 
 to be divided into two classes, according to ability to pay; the 
 first class paying a peso, and the second four reales each month. 
 A pupil might be advanced in his studies, but the method of his 
 payment was not to be altered. The teacher was to receive a salary 
 of thirty pesos a month. One of the alcaldes, with the aid of the 
 four ward commissioners, was to have charge of the collecting of 
 the fund and to keep a sufficient amount on hand to be a month 
 ahead in the payment of the teachers salary. One of the regidores 
 was to visit the school at least once a day to note the infringements 
 of the rules and to apply the appropriate remedy. All books, 
 paper, extra seats, etc., were to be furnished by those needing 
 them. 1 
 
 The above rules suggest a beginning in the matter of public free 
 education, although a very modest one. The salary of the teacher 
 was not to be munificent, but it is to be doubted if the miserable 
 village could pay, with any regularity, even this little stipend. 
 If the alcalde and regidor carried out their duties conscientiously, 
 they certainly had their hands full ; but we have already seen how 
 easy it was for the municipal authorities of San Fernando to make 
 a creditable appearance on paper, while falling far short of it in 
 execution. But, however bright the educational prospects of San 
 Fernando might appear for the moment, they were destined to be 
 speedily eclipsed by the dark days of the Magee- Gutierrez raid of 
 1813. 
 
 The next educational effort of note dates from February 15, 
 1815. At the meeting of the caoildo on that date, its members 
 considered very earnestly the urgent need in their community of a 
 teacher to instruct the youth in the "rudiments of Our Holy Eeli- 
 gion and the Primary Branches (Primeras Letras)." For a long 
 time they had felt this lack, but the fact that the unhappy commu- 
 nity was wholly without means sufficient for the support of a 
 teacher, utterly precluded them from making the provision that the 
 lack demanded. Among the possible solutions of this problem was 
 that all of those able should help to make a common contribution 
 
 Report of June 10, 1812. Bexar Archives. See Appendix B. San Anto- 
 nio had heen divided into four wards {barrios) in 1809; hence the use of 
 the term ward commissioners (comisarios de barrio). 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 33 
 
 of five hundred pesos, to pay the annual salary of a teacher. This 
 suggestion seemed to present little difficulty; for they appeared to 
 believe that the money would be contributed with great pleasure, 
 in order that the children might not lack so useful and profitable 
 a thing as an educational establishment. 
 
 For the accomplishment of this purpose they needed the approval 
 of the governor, and the latter was requested also to ask the com- 
 manding general to assign for the use of the school the house of 
 one of the insurgents of the recent invasion; since neither the 
 cabildo nor the community could raise the two thousand pesos nec- 
 essary for such a structure. 1 
 
 The last request again brings to mind the "job" in connection 
 with the construction of a school-house by Bicente Travieso, for 
 why should a school-house be lacking, if built three years before, 
 unless destroyed by some special calamity. If the latter had been 
 the case some mention would surely have been made of the fact. 
 In reading further in the records for that year, one learns that the 
 province was in such a deplorable state, owing to Indian depreda- 
 tions, that there was remote prospect, indeed, of raising even the 
 modest salary for the teacher. While the soldiers of the garrison 
 were without meat for the body, it was not at all likely that the 
 children's intellectual needs would receive attention. 
 
 Two years later the same matter was again brought up in the 
 cabildo. The parents of children were to be solicited to contribute 
 graciously, in order to pay promptly the teacher's salary. 2 We have 
 a list of the contributors from the south ward in 1819. 3 The total 
 money contributed was fifty-five pesos, four reales, and a fanega 
 (about two bushels) of Indian corn. Let us hope, for the sake of 
 the teacher, that the other three wards contributed more liberally. 
 But even if they did, it is not at all likely that the whole contri- 
 bution amounted to the five hundred pesos, which, in 1815, they 
 talked so lightly of raising. 
 
 a Act of cabildo, February 23, 1815. MS. in city clerk's office, San 
 Antonio. In a later letter the commanding general assigns for the use of 
 the ayuntamiento the house formerly belonging to the "traitor Vizente 
 Travieso." Evidently Travieso belonged to the wrong party in the revolu- 
 tionary days of 1813, despite his vigorous "pull" of the previous year. 
 
 2 Act of cabildo, January 9, 1817. MS. in city clerk's office, San Antonio. 
 
 "In the Bexar Archives. 
 
34 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 At a later meeting in 1817, they were informed by the teacher 
 that some parents still persisted in the old abuse of taking their 
 children from the school, without any motive, while others had 
 entirely forgotten to comply with the order to send them. After 
 mature deliberation, the village fathers decided that parents with- 
 out any excuse should send their children to school, under penalty 
 of suffering a fine of three pesos, and whatever punishment in addi- 
 tion should be esteemed just. The governor could make what dis- 
 position he pleased with reference to the children of soldiers. 1 
 
 Three years later and in the year following were made the final 
 efforts under the old regime. The cabildo again took into consid- 
 eration "the establishment of a school for the instruction of the 
 children." Don Ygnacio Villa Sehor was appointed a commis- 
 sioner, to look after "the good order and management of the 
 school." Don Ygnacio had complete authority from the governor 
 and from the ayuniamiento (or cabildo) to enable him to bestow 
 rewards or to punish those who failed in their duty to the school- 
 master, in his teaching of the children. He had the same control 
 over the parents with regard to the payment of tuition fees, and he 
 was to notify them that on the last day of the coming month they 
 must pay to their ward commissioner their school fees, according 
 to their respective salaries. 2 
 
 At the meeting held on the twenty-second of the following Feb- 
 ruary the four members of the cabildo then present, resolved to 
 request Governor Martinez to issue a proclamation requiring par- 
 ents to keep their children within doors until a school should be 
 established to give them the necessary education. In this manner 
 they might prevent the gatherings which certain youths were accus- 
 tomed to hold at night on the streets and plazas, and also keep 
 them from balls and other spectacles improper for childhood. Two 
 weeks later, as they thought that the youth of the city, through 
 parental carelessness, were still given too much liberty to roam the 
 streets, they received with favor the proposition of a citizen to 
 establish a school at the expense of these same negligent parents. 
 They were very willing to grant the request of the petitioner, for 
 
 *Act of cabildo, April 10, 1817. MS. in city clerk's office, San Antonio. 
 
 2 Acts of cabildo, February 10 and May 25, 1820. MSS. in city clerk's 
 office in San Antonio. ,] ; .\ ef] 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 35 
 
 they knew of no one else capable of teaching the children of the 
 community, and if they had known snch a one they would have had 
 no funds to expend for the purpose. Each of the regidores agreed 
 also to take a certain number of the streets of the city and to visit 
 the families of those living upon them in order to compel the par- 
 ents to send their children to school and to pay the expenses of 
 their tuition. 1 This act of the cabildo certainly seems definite 
 enough in character to be productive of some results, but we meet 
 in the minutes of the cabildo with no further mention of schools 
 previous to the adoption of the Plan of Iguala. 
 
 The above references, scattered through a period of some thirty 
 odd years, will serve to give an idea of the efforts put forth, in an 
 educational way, in the villa, or, after 1809, the "city" of San Fer- 
 nando. Of course these efforts are pitifully weak in results, yet 
 we must not judge the citizens of this frontier town of New Spain 
 harshly, before we consider the educational status of our own fron- 
 tier towns, on the eve of our independence from Great Britain. 
 After a careful comparative view, we shall find ourselves more 
 ready to render due credit for their efforts to clear the ground for 
 the later educational structure of Texas. 
 
 II. 
 
 EDUCATION UNDER MEXICAN KULE. 
 
 The year 1821 beheld the achievement of Mexican independence 
 from Spain, but in the confusion of the next few years there 
 occurred almost nothing of interest in Texas, from an educational 
 standpoint. While there was taking place in Mexico the swift 
 changes from colonial dependency to independent monarchy, and 
 later to constitutional republicanism, the wonder is that a govern- 
 ment of any sort continued to exist in the distant province of 
 Texas. Naturally, during this period we learn of no new efforts 
 in behalf of public education. The situation excites comment, 
 however, among those who regret the intellectual barrenness of the 
 time. From one report we learn that "owing to the vicissitudes of 
 the time and the critical condition of this province, this city, the 
 
 ^cts of cabildo for February 22 and March 8, 1821. Bexar Archives. 
 
36 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 capital, wholly lacks funds for the education of the youth, as well 
 as for erecting edifices of public utility and adornment." 1 
 
 Three years later a more lengthy comment adds that the city 
 is entirely without provision for public primary schools. The 
 ayuntamientosj under the previous regime,, had now and then pro- 
 moted the establishment of schools, but had displayed little or no 
 energy in keeping them up. This fact has already been sufficiently 
 illustrated from the testimony of the records. The salaries of 
 teachers had remained unpaid, in default of funds; while their 
 work was still further hampered by the failure of the parents to 
 support them in the matter of discipline, or to cease the withdrawal 
 of their children from school. Such was the miserable condition 
 of the city that it was doubtful if the citizens could pay the 
 expenses of a teacher from Mexico — and they had none in their 
 own midst — or if they could prevail upon a teacher to stay in such 
 a decadent community. 2 
 
 The real progress of a country, in the condition of Mexico at 
 the consummation of her independence, depends largely upon the 
 unselfish and prudent foresight of its leaders. It will be interest- 
 ing to note the presence or absence of that quality with regard to 
 the question of education, in those who controlled the destinies of 
 the dual State of Coahuila and Texas. The constitution of the 
 State, ratified March 11, 1827, required tbat the method of instruc- 
 tion should be uniform throughout the State, and that to facilitate 
 this, congress should form a general plan for public instruction. 3 
 There was to be a system of education, then, but this system must 
 be formed upon an approved plan. What this plan was to be 
 appeared in a later decree of the constitutional congress. 4 
 
 According to this decree schools upon the Lancasterian plan were 
 to be established in the capital of each of the three departments 
 of the State. Qualified teachers, employed for three years, should 
 be placed in charge of these establishments, at a salary of $800 per 
 year, payable monthly in advance. The number of pupils in each 
 school was limited to 150, but if more attended, the teacher might 
 
 Report from Sala Capitular of San Fernando, 1822. Bexar Archives. 
 2 Saucedo to the governor of the State, 1825. Bexar Archives. 
 s Artiele 277. 
 4 Decree No. 92, May 13, 1829. Gammel, Laws of Texas, I 237-240. 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 37 
 
 request a proportionate increase of salary from the State authori- 
 ties. The three teachers together were to form for the schools a 
 set of regulations which, when approved by the executive, should 
 be published. The course of instruction should consist of reading, 
 writing, arithmetic, the dogma of the Catholic religion, and all of 
 Ackerman's "Catechisms of Arts and Sciences/' 
 
 Each ayuntamiento was required to ascertain what children 
 could not attend, through lack of means, and from this number 
 to select from one to five by lot, to be sent to school at the expense 
 of that body. If there was no fund for this purpose, they should 
 send at least one pupil by private subscription. The children of 
 those citizens of the department of Texas who contributed towards 
 establishing the existing school fund of San Fernando should be 
 admitted free, provided their parents continued to pay their agreed 
 quota. All citizens who could afford it should be obliged to send 
 their children to these establishments, and due penalties could be 
 inflicted on those who were obstinate in this particular. 
 
 The ayuntamiento of the capital of each department was to take 
 charge of the school fund, of which it should appoint the keeper. 
 This fund should be made up of the existing school funds of the 
 capital towns, all legacies for school purposes, all quotas assigned 
 from the branches of municipal revenue, and the product of the pay 
 pupils in each school. The parents of the latter should pay four- 
 teen dollars per annum for each pupil, until he learned to write, 
 when the pay should be eighteen dollars. The ayuntamiento was 
 to be punctual in the collection of these sums and exact in keeping 
 account of them. The proceeds of the fund were to be devoted to 
 the payment of the teacher's salary, rent for building, and the 
 making and repairing of the necessary furniture. The amount of 
 money paid out must be accompanied by the receipts of the teacher, 
 duly authenticated by the sindico-procurador and accompanied by 
 an order from the alcalde. If the school fund was temporarily 
 exhausted, the municipality could assist from its funds; if these 
 also were exhausted, requisition might be made on the state agents. 
 In either case, the money so advanced must be replaced as soon as 
 possible. Each pupil, on leaving the school, was to pay to the 
 ayuntamiento ten dollars, to be known as gratitude money, with 
 which a special fund was to be created to be used to reward the 
 teacher at the close of his contract. A formal account of these 
 
38 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 funds was to be rendered at the end of each fiscal year. In order 
 to put this law into effect as soon as possible the executive was 
 empowered to use two thousand dollars from the State revenues, 
 for the purchase of the furniture, books, etc., necessary to carry out 
 its provisions. 
 
 In view of the limited educational exhibit so far made, the above 
 law seems very comprehensive, indeed. The sympathies and aims 
 of the authorities all appear to have been in the right direction, 
 but in means for the accomplishment of the same, they were wholly 
 deficient. Hardly a single provision of the above law was ever 
 carried out as originally planned. 
 
 The following year an attempt was made to put into force a 
 modification of the above plan. Until the Lancasterian schools 
 could be established, six primary schools were to be set up in the 
 three departments of the State, in places where they were most 
 needed. The teachers were to receive an annual salary of five hun- 
 dred pesos, while the gratitude money of the pupils was to be 
 reduced to six pesos. The ayuntamientos were to perform the 
 duties prescribed by the other decree. Yearly samples of the work 
 of the pupils were to be sent to the executive, to be reported to 
 congress. 1 
 
 The regulations of the new decree were carried out no better than 
 those of the former, but that did not deter the State congress from 
 passing additional . laws upon the same subject. By the terms of 
 a new decree the executive was ordered to make three silver medals, 
 to be paid for out of municipal or State funds, and these were to 
 be worn by pupils on the days of public visits to the schools, as 
 "rewards of virtue and application." The ayuntamientos should 
 distribute these tokens in the schools under their direction, in 
 accordance with the judgment of the teacher. The executive was 
 also to obtain from the funds of the State a sufficient number of 
 Fleuris's Castilian Grammar, Orthography, and Catechism, to be 
 distributed among the pupils, also as rewards of "virtue and appli- 
 cation. 2 If any of the above rewards ever reached San Fernando 
 de Bexar, the records do not now indicate the fact. The above laws 
 are interesting, however, in that they reveal the ideas of the State 
 
 decree No. 129, April 13, 1830. Gammel, Laws of Texas, I 258. 
 "Decree No. 144, April 30, 1830. Gammel, Laws of Texas, I 157. 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 39 
 
 officials concerning the best form of education. Very likely the 
 Lancasterian system would have been the best adapted to their use, 
 in order to reach the greatest number of pupils with the least outlay 
 of money, but as a matter of fact, the State had no public money 
 whatever to be used for schools, and never did have while the union 
 of Texas with Coahuila lasted. The churchly element, too, still 
 continued to constitute the greater portion of an all-round Mexican 
 education. Aside from this, only the merest smattering of learning 
 could be attempted. This was all that could be expected, at that 
 time, for each community must begin almost from the very bottom 
 in erecting its public school system. The native love of display 
 was also to be strongly encouraged by suitable rewards for "virtue 
 and application/' It is such a system as we should imagine an 
 oppressed people, just entering into a state of freedom, would 
 adopt; and especially when they had a very hazy idea of the 
 responsibilities connected with this same freedom. The authorities 
 seemed to feel the need of some system of education, but they were 
 unable to hit upon the right way for obtaining it. However, they 
 should be given credit for the desire, if not for its fulfillment. 
 
 Three years later the State congress inaugurated a policy that 
 promised more definite results. The various municipalities were to 
 sell the public property within their limits. In all the capital 
 towns of departments, where the funds were sufficient, primary 
 schools should be established. In addition to the subjects already 
 mentioned, instruction should be given in the elements of geog- 
 raphy, morals, politics, and good breeding. The ayuntamientos 
 were to designate buildings, as large as could be found, for the pur- 
 poses of instruction and for the residence of the teacher. Schools 
 were to be established in other towns as soon as possible, and in 
 the most practicable manner. In addition to the private revenue 
 belonging to the schools, one-half of the annual product of the 
 municipal funds should be devoted to educational purposes, until 
 the amount of the annual school fund should reach two thousand 
 dollars. All vacant property was to revert to the State and was to 
 be used for the schools. In all department and district capitals 
 "juntas of public education" should be organized, consisting of the 
 president of the ayuntamiento, the parish curate, and one other, 
 appointed by the State executive. This junta was to have charge 
 of funds, look after the attendance of pupils, employ qualified 
 
40 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 teachers and inspect their work,' assist the indigent and collect 
 from the well-to-do, and in general to do everything to make the 
 school system efficient. If the members did not perform their 
 duties in a proper manner, any citizen might lodge a complaint 
 against them. 1 
 
 The above decree seems a step in the proper direction — that of 
 allowing each community to attend to the matter of education with- 
 in its own limits, and to provide funds for this purpose by allowing 
 it the proceeds of the sales of the public land in its midst. It was 
 with these two principles as the foundation that the present school 
 system of our city has grown to such splendid proportions. A later 
 decree 2 provided that the proceeds of the sale of the "commons" 
 belonging to the city of San Fernando de Bexar should be reserved 
 as a perpetual fund to be used exclusively for the payment of teach- 
 ers of primary schools. Lest all here stated may seem ancient his- 
 tory, it may be well to note that this law was recently cited in the 
 suit brought by the school board of San Antonio for the recovery 
 of some land claimed by the Galveston, Harrisburg, & San Antonio 
 Eailroad. Yet, notwithstanding these new measures, the governor 
 had to report, at the beginning of 1834, as he had done the previous 
 year, that public instruction remained in the same condition as 
 before. In his message of that year he expresses the wish that the 
 parents of the State be aroused to the importance of educating their 
 children, "in order to banish the chaos of ignorance in which the 
 greater part of the communities lie." 3 
 
 From the above references we may gain a pretty fair idea of the 
 ambitious plans and tardy measures of execution adopted by the 
 State authorities of Coahuila and Texas — plans soon to come to 
 naught, so far as the greater part of the State was concerned, by 
 the success of the Texas Revolution. Thus all of the projects of 
 the central authorities were of no effect. It remains to be seen if 
 those of the municipality of San Fernando, in a more restricted 
 field of operations were doomed to a like failure. We have the 
 oopy of a letter, dated Januarjr 31, 1826, from Jose Antonio Sau- 
 cedo, the political chief of the Department of Texas, to Eafael G-on- 
 
 a Decree No. 229, April 27, 1833. Gammel, Laws of Texas, I 323-327. 
 
 2 N"o. 244, May 8, 1833. Gammel, Laics of Texas, I 336. 
 
 3 Messages of governor to congress, 1833 and 1834. Bexar Archives. 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 41 
 
 zales the governor of the State of Coahuila and Texas, in which 
 he reports the fact that a school was established in the city of San 
 Fernando on the fifteenth of that month. The school had been 
 established, that is, so far as funds for the payment of a teacher 
 were concerned. These had been raised by private subscription. 
 But a building, to serve as a school-house was still lacking, and this 
 lack Saucedo wished the protecting hand of the "Honorable Assem- 
 bly" (the State congress) to supply. He thought that San Fer- 
 nando, as a community, merited this gift, which it could not, owing 
 to a scarcity of ready money, procure for itself, and he promised his 
 best efforts to see that it was prudently used. "With his letter he 
 sent an estimate of the cost of the desired building which amounted 
 to 746 pesos, 5 reales. The congress, however, did not grant the 
 desired aid, for there was not sufficient assurance that the school 
 work would be continued. 1 Before the promulgation of the State 
 constitution we have the record of a patriotic junta, held May 26, 
 1826, to provide for the establishment of a public school. There is 
 a later reference to this 2 showing that contributions had been 
 pledged on that occasion, but the amount is not reported. The 
 next year, after the promulgation of the constitution, the sixteenth 
 of September was celebrated in a most practical and helpful way 
 by the installation of another patriotic junta, which later turned 
 over to the school fund, the sum of 323 pesos, 6 reales* 
 
 As the school fund is the most important part of the whole sys- 
 tem, it may be well first to trace that of San Fernando de Bexar 
 during the seven years (1828 to 1834, inclusive), of which we have 
 record. Besides the amount given above from the patriotic junta, 
 there was contributed during the year 310 pesos by individual citi- 
 zens, of whom the three largest contributors gave 20 pesos each. 
 The captain of the presidial company surpassed them all by sub- 
 scribing 25 pesos ("only for this time," however). The smallest 
 contributors gave only 4 reales each, and there were six of these. 
 The total number of contributors was 74, including the two pueblos 
 
 x Expediente, etc., for the construction of an edifice for a primary school, 
 January 31, 1826. Bexar Archives. 
 
 2 Minutes of ayuntamiento, May 27, 1830. City clerk's office, San 
 Antonio. 
 
 'Report of school fund, 1828-34. Bexar Archives. 
 
42 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 of Mission San Juan and Mission Espada. In addition to the cash 
 contribution there was a note for 100 pesos, given by the company 
 of Bexar, and one for 75 pesos, by the company of the Alamo. Be- 
 sides this, the proceeds from fees for the slaughter of animals for 
 1827 and 1828 contributed enough to raise the total receipts of the 
 fund for 1828 to 1060 pesos and 6 granos. The fund was to con- 
 tinue to be made up principally from direct contributions and the 
 fees paid for the killing of animals. The disbursements for the 
 year 1828 comprised simply the teacher's salary of 500 pesos. 
 
 For the year 1829, the direct contributions dropped down to 91 
 pesos. Evidently the members of the "Patriotic Junta" were losing 
 some of their enthusiasm. Other branches of revenue also fell off, 
 so that the actual cash balance, at the end of the year, was only 76 
 pesos and 6| reales, although there were notes for 315 pesos and an 
 unpaid account of 15 pesos, 2 reales. Of the subscription for 1828, 
 76 pesos, 4 reales remained unpaid. In the month of October the 
 authorities had been obliged to let their five-hundred-dollar teacher 
 go, and take one who would serve for 22 pesos a month. During 
 the early part of the following year there was some trouble with the 
 former keeper of the school fund, Captain Alejandro Treviho. He 
 did not transfer his account to the keeper ad interim until the 27th 
 of May, although he should have done so on January 1st, and before 
 that time he reported that, in a case of emergency, he had used 
 some 50 pesos of the fund for giving presents to the Indians. As a 
 military man, possibly this necessity appealed more strongly to him 
 than that of educating the children. At first Captain Treviho 
 claimed that he could not be deprived of his office as keeper of the 
 fund, because he had been appointed by the "Patriotic Junta." 
 Finally he turned over what he had on hand. The regular keeper 
 was absent a considerable part of the time, so the fund often 
 changed hands that year. There were many necessary repairs, and 
 the twenty-two-dollar man stepped out and a six-dollar one took 
 his place. This man, however, was only an assistant (ayudante); 
 the real master was then serving without pay. At the end of the 
 year the cash on hand amounted to some 39 pesos , with the same 
 amount in notes as before. Evidently these notes had been given 
 by the two garrison companies in an outburst of patriotic enthu- 
 siasm that rapidly cooled. By the end of 1 834 these two companies 
 had paid only 99 pesos on their four notes. 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 43 
 
 During 1831 there was collected by voluntary subscription 59 
 pesos, 7 reales, and from slaughter fees (producto de la came) some 
 162 pesos. The expenses that year were 135 pesos, the salary of 
 the assistant for nine months, and five month's salary for a new 
 teacher at 25 pesos a month. Other expenses for repairs left the 
 fund with 30 pesos, 6 reales in cash. The notes by this time 
 amounted to 270 pesos. For 1832 there are some new items among 
 the receipts, such as a voluntary contribution of 100 pesos, donated 
 by Doha G-ertrudis Perez, through her husband, Jose Casiano, and 
 a loan of 50 pesos to the school fund from another branch of the 
 municipal revenue. Contributions for that year added to the fund 
 90 pesos, 5 reales. From it were paid salaries to the extent of 435 
 pesos and expense of repairs, 13 pesos, 4 reales, leaving a balance 
 of 296 pesos, 5 reales, of which only about 80 pesos were in cash. 
 By the end of 1833 this cash balance amounted to 9 pesos only, 
 although but 250 pesos had been paid out for salaries. Resort had 
 again been had to borrowing from another fund, to eke out even 
 this smaller sum. In 1834 only 144 pesos were paid to the assist- 
 ant, but again it was necessary to borrow. At the close of that 
 year the account of the school fund terminates, but receipts given 
 by Bruno Huizar, as teacher, show that he was paid as late as Jan- 
 uary 31, 1835. 1 
 
 The "Ordinance for the Primary School of this City" (San 
 Fernando de Bexar) 2 deserves more than the passing notice permit- 
 ted by the limits of this article. At the very beginning the relig- 
 ious foundation of the school system is marked by selecting the 
 Child Jesus as the patron saint of the establishment and dedicating 
 the twenty-fifth of December to a special celebration in his honor. 
 Each year the teacher was to invite the parents of the pupils to 
 contribute to the expenses of this occasion. The pupils were to 
 address each other as "Citizen So-and-so," reserving "Senor" for 
 the teacher and other elders. The two vacations of each year were 
 
 1 The above facts are gleaned from the accounts of the school fund from 
 1828-1834, inclusive, contained in the Bexar Archives, supplemented by 
 occasional references to the minutes of the ayuntamiento during the years 
 1830-32, and to receipts for salary given by the teachers. 
 
 2 Drawn up by Juan de Beramendi, Refugio de la Garza, the parish 
 curate, and Jose Maria Balmeceda, March 13, 1826. MSS. Bexar Archives. 
 See Appendix C. 
 a— o. 
 
44 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 to extend respectively from December 23 to January 1, and from 
 the Wednesday of Holy Week to Easter Saturday. On festival 
 days "of only one cross" school should be held as usual. Until the 
 creation of a special fund, pupils should furnish their own books, 
 paper, pens, etc. 
 
 The course of study was to include "reading from book and from 
 manuscript, writing, accounting in the first five and principal rules, 
 of arithmetic, "some knowledge of the grammar of the language, of 
 the doctrine of our Holy Keligion from the catechism of Father 
 Eipalda, and the principles of good moral and political behavior 
 and of the remaining social virtues." For his services in teaching 
 these branches the school-master was to receive 500 pesos, but could 
 accept no fees in addition from the pupils. Public "disputations" 
 were to be held every four months. Some members of the ayun- 
 tamiento were to visit the school each week, and for their first visit 
 the teacher must have his list of pupils ready for inspection. 
 
 The length of the daily sessions would have been terrifying alike 
 to modern pupil and teacher. In the summer — from April to 
 October — they extended from six to eleven in the morning, and 
 from two to six in the afternoon. During the winter the morning 
 session extended from seven until twelve, but the afternoon session 
 was unchanged. The school was to be opened and closed with 
 prayer. A recess of a half hour was to be granted at 9 a. m. for 
 the purpose of taking breakfast (almorzar). Three questions on 
 Christian doctrine were to form the memory lesson for the morn- 
 ing, and as many more for the afternoon. The last hour of each 
 session was to be devoted to hearing lessons and correcting work. 
 On the last Saturday of each month the two lower divisions of 
 pupils were to have a sort of contest among themselves in their 
 written work and in reading. The other Saturday afternoons the 
 first and second departments were to employ in a very short mem- 
 ory lesson in Spanish grammar, while the third department should 
 review the questions of Christian doctrine learned during the week. 
 
 The most peculiar thing in the whole system, from our stand- 
 point, but doubtless one of the distinguishing methods of a Lan- 
 casterian school, was the division of the student body into two 
 general parties, "the Eomans and the Carthaginians," each having 
 a president, six captains, and six corporals. The presidents were 
 required to know how to write well ; to know the first four rules of 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 45 
 
 accounting, two-thirds of the catechism, and the same portion of 
 Spanish grammar and of the constitution of the country. The 
 captains must present half of these qualifications; the corporals, a 
 third part. The two parties were each divided into three classes: 
 the first comprising the captains and corporals; the second, those 
 who were already writing and who were under the immediate orders 
 of the captains ; the third, those who were simply reading, who were 
 in charge of the corporals. An equal number of pupils was assigned 
 to each officer. Sky blue was to be the color of the Eoman party, 
 and crimson that of their opponents. Each officer was to have his 
 rank appropriately designated, and the presidents, on public occa- 
 sions, should carry a cane. Doubtless where only one teacher could 
 be provided for 150 pupils, some such system of student espionage 
 and display was necessary, but to us it seems ridiculous. 
 
 The duties of the teacher by no means ended with the regular 
 school hours. He must look after and admonish his pupils regard- 
 ing their language, public conduct, and deportment toward their 
 elders. On the Fridays and Sundays of Lent he must conduct the 
 children in a body to the church. On all Sundays and festal days 
 the children must assemble at school an hour before the principal 
 mass, in order to attend that function in a body. These occasions 
 doubtless would afford a fine opportunity for display on the part 
 of the student officers. 
 
 The chapter on punishments includes such penalties as shutting 
 up the culprits in the school-house or keeping them in it under 
 arrest during holy days, employing them in sweeping, for a week 
 at a time only, giving them the dunce's seat {el asiento del aprovio), 
 shutting them up in a room called the ware-house {almacen) dur- 
 ing the day time, flogging for robbery of any sort, and the impo- 
 sition of a like penalty upon those who, from failure in lessons or 
 in writing, have to return to the dunce's seat within a week. The 
 teacher was to attend to the application of these punishments with 
 all the harmony and equity that the occasion demanded. Some of 
 these rules make interesting reading, and are doubly so, owing to 
 the fact that they are still in force in Mexican schools. The above 
 system of rules was submitted to the teacher, who agreed to enforce 
 it, and afterwards it was accepted by the ayuntamiento . 
 
 It may be well to mention the names of the teachers who were 
 to put into force this elaborate system. The pedagogue whose 
 
46 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 acceptance is noted above, was Jose Antonio Gama y Fonseca, who 
 contracted himself to serve four years from January 1, 1828, at the 
 promised salary of 500 pesos per annum. He served until the 
 ninth of October, 1829. He was succeeded by Victoriano Zepeda, 
 who served for a monthly stipend of 22 pesos, until January 31, 
 1830, when he begged to be excused to accept other employment 
 bringing him in greater returns. A committee, appointed by the 
 ayuntamiento, then tried to secure the services of Domingo Bus- 
 tillos, but he wished 25 pesos a month, so they could come to no 
 agreement with him. At this juncture Francisco Rojo offered to 
 fulfill the duties of the position without pay as long as he should 
 remain in the community. The ayuntamiento accepted with heart- 
 felt thanks this unselfishly patriotic offer, without, however, bind- 
 ing themselves not to give him some remuneration for his services. 
 Sefior Rojo probably estimated this proviso at its true value. The 
 assistant, Bruno Huizar, received the only salary paid for the time 
 being, and this amounted to six pesos a month. Upon representa- 
 tion of the preceptor Rojo, this was increased, in July, to eleven 
 pesos, two reales. By the end of the year this was again raised, 
 this time to fifteen pesos a month. He had previously asked per- 
 mission to act as sacristan of the parish church, but the ayunta- 
 miento preferred to raise his salary and retain him wholly in the 
 service of the school. It is not at all strange, with such salaries 
 for teachers, that the visiting committee from the ayuntamiento 
 should report, in May, that they found a very small number of 
 pupils in the schools. The teachers evidently did not wish to work 
 any harder than necessary for their meagre pay. 
 
 By January, 1831, the ayuntamiento was again under the neces- 
 sity of looking for a new school-master. Sefior Rojo had evidently 
 tired of his unselfish labors, or had taken his departure from the 
 community. The committee appointed to consider the matter 
 reported that they had advertised for a teacher, offering as a salary 
 the endowment of 500 pesos promised by the State; 1 but that to this 
 offer they had received no response, for prospective pedagogues evi- 
 dently did not fully trust the ability of the State to pay. The com- 
 mittee favored making an application to their representatives in 
 congress, to select for them a teacher in Saltillo from among the 
 number that presented themselves in that city. By the following 
 
 decree ISTo. 129, April 13, 1830. See above, p. 38. 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 47 
 
 July a suitable candidate appeared in their midst, offered himself, 
 and was accepted at the salary of 25 pesos a month. Juan Fran- 
 cisco Buchetti, the new preceptor, agreed to serve two years for 
 that pay, commencing in August, 1831. He served the rest of the 
 year, all of 1832, and three months of 1833, when he resigned his 
 position to the faithful assistant, Bruno Huizar, who, like Tenny- 
 son's brook, seemed destined to go on forever in his place, while 
 head masters continued to come and go. 
 
 In his petition to the ayuntamiento to be released from serving 
 the remaining four months stipulated in his contract, Buchetti 
 alleged that he had to depart from the city in order to engage in 
 other employment. The members of the ayuntamiento agreed, 
 "with extraordinary unanimity," to grant his request, especially in 
 view of the fact that for a year he had been extremely tardy in 
 fulfilling his duties and had been guilty of such serious irregu- 
 larities of conduct as "drunkenness and a scandalous mode of living 
 with his new wife." Perhaps the latter relation may account for 
 the unhappy pedagogue's downfall; for, if we may judge from the 
 ayuntamiento records, he had been unusually active during the 
 earlier portion of his service. 
 
 Huizar continued to act as sole master during the remainder of 
 1833. For the year 1834 we have the record of 144 pesos paid to 
 the preceptor of the school, who is none other than the faithful 
 Bruno. The salary paid later, eighteen dollars a month, seems just 
 about adapted to him, and it remains unchanged as late as the suc- 
 ceeding January, when our records fail. 1 
 
 A vigorous teacher could find much to occupy his spare time, if 
 such he had, after the prescribed hours of service. All improve- 
 ments and repairs in the school-building must come as a result of 
 his personal intervention in the meetings of the ayuntamiento. He 
 must also take charge of any functions in which the school partici- 
 pated. Buchetti was active in urging improvements, and the men- 
 tion of the "maestro" in the minutes of the ayuntamiento is espe- 
 cially frequent during his incumbency. He often appeared before 
 that body to report cases of insubordination and ask for special 
 power to deal with the same; or to complain of the poor furniture 
 and petition for new, or to present the bill for articles made or 
 purchased at his suggestion. In fact, the minutest details of school 
 
 J Eeport of school fund and minutes of ayuntamiento. 
 
48 lexas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 management seemed none too trivial for the consideration of the 
 "Illustrious Ayuntamiento" ; and the mark of a good teacher seemed 
 to be to give that body plenty of material for action. 
 
 The matter of raising the money for a special celebration, such 
 as that of the twenty-fifth of December, was also in the hands of 
 the teacher; and, from what we know of money-raising in San 
 Fernando, this was far from being an easy task. The ayuntamiento 
 had also permitted Buchetti to cultivate the public lots of the house 
 of the ayuntamiento during his continuance in office ; possibly after 
 attending to his many executive duties, he might feel the need of 
 outdoor exercise, although one must wonder where he could find 
 the time for it. His successor, Huizar, evidently had his hands 
 full, inasmuch as he petitioned the ayuntamiento to use its good 
 offices to have him released from militia service. Very likely he 
 lacked other things than time, but he may well have thought that 
 nine hours a day in the school-room, at the munificent salary of 
 eighteen dollars a month, was all the service in behalf of "God and 
 Liberty" that could reasonably be asked of him. 
 
 For the greater portion of the time one of the members of the 
 ayuntamiento had charge of the school fund, the ultimate control 
 always resting with that body. Angel Navarro, the third regidor, 
 for two years served in this capacity. Usually the keeper of the 
 fund, in company with another member, served as the committee 
 for visiting the schools, supposedly once a week. Two visits only 
 are mentioned during the two years of Buchetti's incumbency, so 
 it must have been that this regulation was more honored in the 
 breach than in the observance. All elections of teachers, increase 
 of salaries, in fact, everything in connection with the school had to 
 come before the ayuntamiento. It was also the function of this 
 body, acting through the alcaldes or keeper of the school fund 
 (depositario) . to stir up individual contributors to pay their quotas. 
 Of these delinquents the teacher usually furnished the list, and 
 either he or his assistant often helped in collecting from them. 
 In many matters concerning the public schools the parish curate 
 acted with the committee of visitors, either ex officio or by special 
 appointment, as was the case in formulating the code of rules. 
 
 With a system involving such elaborate details, evidently planned 
 for external effect, if not for permanent results, what was the net 
 result upon the community at large? We can not measure this 
 with any degree of accuracy, but it is possible to note the fact that 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 49 
 
 every teacher of this period complained of the non-attendance of 
 pupils and gave to the ayuntamiento long lists of parents who were 
 remiss in sending their children or in paying the voluntary sub- 
 scriptions they had pledged. These contributions were to be paid 
 in three equal installments during the year, but there seems to have 
 been no regularity displayed in complying with this rule. Mention 
 has already been /made of the most important individual gift — that 
 of Dona G-ertrudis Perez. Another of moment was that of twenty- 
 seven copies of a life of Saint Peter, to be used as rewards for the 
 pupils. After careful inspection by the curate and a special com- 
 mittee to determine if the work was of suitable character, these 
 were accepted with thanks. It is unfortunate that the name of the 
 donor of this latter gift comes down to us in the records simply 
 as "George Nixon's clerk." After taking up so much space in the 
 discussion of his gift, it certainly seems that the ayuntamiento 
 might have thought his name worthy of mention. 
 
 Only during the two visits to the school made while Buchetti was 
 master, did the inspection committee find the work progressing with 
 any degree of satisfaction. At all other times they spoke regret- 
 fully of the few pupils in attendance and the many children run- 
 ning loose in the streets. Threatened pains and penalties did not 
 seem to terrify the indifferent parents. 1 According to the statis- 
 tical report for the year 1832, there were in the city of San Fer- 
 rando de Bexar 297 boys and young men and 334 girls and young 
 vomen between the ages of seven and twenty-five. For the follow- 
 ing year these numbers were 296 and 334, respectively. 2 For the 
 former year Buchetti reports an enrollment of 100 and for the 
 latter, Huizar reports 60. Further comment upon these figures is 
 unnecessary. In his report on Texas in 1834, Almonte remarks 
 concerning schools : 
 
 "In Bexar there exists one supported by that ayuntamiento; but, 
 as it appears, its funds have become so reduced that not even this 
 useful establishment has been able to survive. What will be the 
 lot of those unfortunate Mexicans who live in the midst of barba- 
 rians, without hope of civilization ?" 3 
 
 Report and minutes as above, passim. 
 
 2 Messages of governor of State for 1833 and 1834. Bexar Archives. 
 
 "Report of Almonte in Documentos Para la Historia de Mexico, 4th 
 Series, V 40. Biblioteca National, Mexico. This report was published in 
 1835. 
 
50 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 It was not given to Colonel Almonte to read the future, so he 
 could not know his despairing question anent the results of efforts 
 toward education in San Fernando was to receive its answer in the 
 rifle shots that rang from the Alamo and on the battlefield of San 
 Jacinto. Had he understood the significance of those historic 
 events, he might have recognized the fact that the Anglo-American 
 was to accomplish what the Spanish- American had only attempted, 
 and that in the hands of the former the lot of the Mexicans domi- 
 ciled on this side of the Rio Grande, was, educationally, to be infi- 
 nitely brighter than it had been thus far. 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 Part I. 
 
 Inventory and conveyance of the school-house and of the furni- 
 ture in it, made by Don Ygnacio de los Santos Coy, to his suc- 
 cessor, D. Jose Ygnacio Sanchez Castellano, 1 in the following formj 
 
 First, a hall with platform, with two doors and one window; thf 
 key of one door being serviceable, and the other broken, and tm 
 window without any lock. 
 
 A room adjoining the hall, with its interior door without lockj 
 and one small window, with bars only. 
 
 A wooden cross. 
 
 Four tables, one of them smaller than the others. 
 
 Four benches, one of these from the previous school, and th^ 
 three remaining of those which D. Vizente Travieso made. 
 
 Two rulers, one of them with two measures lacking from eacl. 
 side, and the other with three lacking. 
 
 A barrel for carrying water, with five iron hoops. 
 
 A hoop loosened from the above barrel. 
 
 A wooden gutter. 
 
 A rawhide rope. 
 
 A trough of rough wood. 
 
 Thirteen ABC lists, the greater part <3i them interleaved. 
 
 Note. — In addition to the above, there exists, in process of 
 repair, in possession of D. Manuel Yudo, a table of this school; 
 
 ^his document and those under Appendices B and C are translated from 
 the original MSS. in the Bexar Archives. 
 
Educational Efforts, in San Fernando. 51 
 
 and having nothing else to convey or receive, we sign this in this 
 city of San Fernando de Bexar on the third of July, 1812. 
 
 Eeceived 
 Ygno. de los Santos Coy. Jose Ygnacio Sanchez 
 
 Castellaiio. 
 
 Part II. 
 
 Note of what is in the school/ towit : 
 4 Copy books. 
 
 One lead Inkstand with a Sandbox of the same [metal]. 
 One Ruler. 
 
 One Print of St. Joseph. 
 One Cross. 
 One Table. 
 
 One Cube with its Chaqual and all the primers and drawings of 
 the children. 
 
 Note. 
 Missed r One Pencil. 
 One old book of Lives of Saints. 
 One book of daily exercise. 
 2 Primers. 
 
 This, February 1st, 1809. 
 
 Fernando de Santiago. 
 
 appendix B. 
 
 School. 
 
 Having determined whether there be a worthy person to take 
 charge of it, who meanwhile may instruct the youth, he shall be 
 endowed with seventy places, of which five, of necessity, shall be 
 free, and the rest paid for by those interested. 
 
 1. The aforesaid free places shall remain at the disposal of the 
 one in charge of the school, who. shall nominate the pupils to 
 occupy them ; he taking care that they are given to poor individuals 
 of discretion, who are known to be of good disposition. 
 
 2. The seventy places shall be divided into the more able and 
 the less able, the first paying a dollar, and the second fifty cents 
 each month. Although each pupil may be advanced in his classes, 
 
 ^n the back of a report of the condition of the garrisons of Texas. 
 Bexar Archives. 
 
52 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 the method or order of his payment should not be altered in any- 
 other way than is by this assigned to him; for the end is to avoid 
 large contributions from the poorer ones. 
 
 3. The salary for the maintenance of the teacher shall be placed 
 at thirty dollars a month. 
 
 4. The collection of the fund shall be in charge of one of the 
 alcaldes, who, with the aid of the ward commissioners [comisarios 
 de 'barrio'], 1 shall look after the attendance of the children at school, 
 and [shall take care] that they be at least a month ahead in the 
 salary of the teacher, in order that he may not lack subsistence, 
 and that any surplus be turned into a general fund for the ordinary 
 expenses of the school. 
 
 5. That one of the regidores be charged to visit the school at 
 least once a day, in order to note the infringements of the rules 
 that he may observe, and to apply the remedy that appears to him 
 most opportune, as the case may demand. 
 
 6. That the books, paper, ink-stands, and copy-books be at the 
 expense of those interested, as also the tables and seats, in addition 
 to those which may be existing in the school-house. 
 
 These are the points which we consider necessary for the useful 
 establishment of this school, save those which may appear conven- 
 ient to the superior authorities. 
 
 San Fernando de Bexar, 10 of June, 1812. 
 
 Jose x\ntonio Saucedo. Josef Erasmo Seguin. 
 
 appendix c. 
 
 ORDINANCE WHICH SHALL BE OBSERVED IN THE PUBLIC 
 FREE PRIMARY SCHOOL DEDICATED TO THE 'INSTRUCTION OF 
 THE YOUTH OF THE VICINITY OF BEXAR: 2 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 General Provisions. 
 
 Art. 1. The Holy Patron of this pious establishment shall be 
 the Christ Child, and on the 25 of December, when his festival is 
 celebrated, there shall be a Church function and some other public 
 
 'San Fernando had been divided into four wards in 1809. 
 
 2 For the year 1828. In the translation of this code of rules the literal 
 expression of the original has been followed or imitated as closely as pos- 
 sible, the changes being, for the most part, only in punctuation. The 
 capitalization and parentheses are those of the manuscript. 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 53 
 
 demonstrations of worship and of merriment, which shall be 
 decided upon annually by the teacher, who shall present them 
 beforehand to the Illustrious Ayuntamiento for its approbation or 
 amendment, 
 
 2. Two months previous to said festival the Teacher shall send 
 an invitation, by writing, to the Parents of all the Children, invit- 
 ing them to make a contribution to defray the costs of this religious 
 act, and these shall cooperate freely, according to their means, with 
 whatever amount they wish, or with nothing, if they thus think 
 best. 
 
 3. Before the close of the eight days following this function, 
 the Teacher shall present to the Illustrious Ayuntamiento a written 
 statement of the amount of the contribution, and of the objects for 
 which it was spent. 
 
 4. Over the principal Doorway of the house which serves for 
 a School shall be placed an inscription of the following tenor: 
 PUBLIC FKEE PKIMAKY SCHOOL. 
 
 5. The style of address of the children among themselves, 
 within or without the School, shall be that of Citizen So-and-so; 
 and that which they shall use for the Teacher, as for all other 
 persons their elders, shall be that of Senor. 
 
 6. All the children for the present and while the corresponding 
 funds are being created, shall furnish their Syllable-books, Books, 
 paper, pens and the remaining necessary articles, which the Teacher 
 may require of them. 
 
 7. In the course of each year there shall be two periods during 
 which the children shall enjoy a holiday or vacation, one of these 
 lasting from the Wednesday of Holy Week until Easter Saturday, 
 and the other from the 23 of December to the 1st of the following 
 January, inclusive. 
 
 8. On feast days of only one cross there shall be school in the 
 same manner as on all other days. 
 
 Chapter II.- 
 
 The Principal Points upon which has been based the contract 
 agreed upon with the Teacher who is to serve the school, and 
 some other rules which bear relation to them. 
 
 9. - Citizen Jose Antonio Gama y Fonseca is obligated sponta- 
 neously and solemnly to teach, for four years reckoned from the 1st 
 
54 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 of January of the present year, all the youths of this vicinity, under 
 the rules that have been prescribed for him or which shall be in 
 the future; to read books and manuscript; to write, to calculate in 
 the first five principal rules of Arithmetic; to take care that they 
 receive some knowledge of the Grammar of the Language, likewise 
 of the Doctrine of our Holy Religion by means of the catechism 
 of Father Eipalda, and of the principles of good Morals and Man- 
 ners, and other social virtues. 
 
 10. He shall enjoy annually the salary of $500, to be paid at 
 the completion of each month, executing for this purpose partial 
 receipts in favor of the Illustrious Ayuntamiento , which shall 
 always be the immediate administrator of the funds destined and 
 collected for this object. 
 
 11. In consequence of the preceding article, the Teacher is 
 deprived of the power of exacting, even indirectly, from the pupils, 
 any kind of payment, remuneration, or contribution; (not even 
 that which is customary in other schools under the name of Fri- 
 days), unless their Parents desire to reward him spontaneously 
 with some gift, as a token of their gratitude. 
 
 12. He is prohibited also from selling seats, or other abuses of 
 this kind, which a corrupt custom has introduced into our schools. 
 
 For the first visit which must be paid to the school by the Illus- 
 trious Ayuntamiento the Teacher shall have formed a list of all the 
 pupils, expressing their names, ages, date of entrance, and the state 
 of instruction in which they then were, and a blank margin to the 
 right, in order to note the Progress and Retrogression, which may 
 be occurring, in accordance with the model which will be assigned 
 to him; likewise showing the copy-books and remaining documents 
 which may serve as evidence of the progress of the Children. 
 
 The Teacher shall be likewise prepared and in agreement with 
 the Curate of the place regarding the visits which the latter must 
 make to the School as Priest of this parish; agreeing also during 
 the time of Lent upon the days and the methods in which the chil- 
 dren must make their confessions, in order to fulfill their duties 
 annually with the Church. 
 
 Each four months the Teacher shall hold a public contest in the 
 School itself, announcing three days beforehand to all the vicinity 
 that 12 pupils (six from each Band) will compete, and in this 
 contest six individuals, who shall be invited in writing, shall serve 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 55 
 
 as synodals ; x he indicating to them the matters in which they may 
 examine the participants, any one else in attendance being free to 
 examine them also. 
 
 The contest being concluded, the Director associated with the 
 synodals, after previous information which he shall give them con- 
 cerning the progress of the Children who have participated in it, 
 shall proceed to the grading, which shall be done in three degrees — 
 Superlative, Comparative, and Positive, or especially good, very 
 good, and good; there being next drawn up a record, which shall 
 be filed at the School, indicating those who have been accredited 
 to the first, to the 2nd, and to the 3rd grade, signed by the synodals 
 and the Teacher ; then they shall proceed to distribute among those 
 of the 1st and 2nd places badges of distinction, which they shall 
 wear placed upon the left arm, as will be shown in the first instance 
 which occurs. 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 Concerning the internal management of the School. 
 
 This shall commence its work promptly every day in the Summer 
 from six to eleven, and from seven to twelve in the Winter for 
 the mornings, and for the afternoon, in each season, from two 
 until six. The period of Summer shall be reckoned from the 1st 
 of April to the last of September, and the six remaining months 
 for the Winter. 
 
 At the said hours, with the number of Children that are present, 
 the Teacher shall begin School with a devout prayer dedicated to 
 the Supreme Being (which shall also be repeated at the closing) ; 
 assigning next the distinct occupations with which the pupils are 
 to employ themselves. 
 
 Of all these there shall be formed two parties, or Bands (Borne 
 and Carthage), and in each one there shall be a President, six Cap- 
 tains and six corporals; which positions for the first time shall be 
 filled by the Teacher, according to the experience of the Children, 
 and afterwards they shall have the option of them who in the public 
 and private Disputations are most distinguished for their advance- 
 ment and application. The captains and corporals shall be denom- 
 inated in numerical order from 1st to 6th, according to winch they 
 shall take position, whenever they form, at the head of their bands. 
 
 a That is, examiners. 
 
56 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 In order to be President it is at least necessary to be already 
 writing [de delgado~] -, 1 to know the first four rules of counting ; 
 two-thirds of the catechism, the same of the lessons of Spanish 
 Grammar, and some others concerning the constitution which may 
 be taught them. The Captains must present a half of these quali- 
 fications, and the corporals a third of them, all of these being under 
 the judgment of the Director, upon the supposition that the instruc- 
 tion which is demanded shall be perfect. 
 
 The bands shall be divided amongst themselves into three depart- 
 ments; the 1st shall be composed of the captains and the corpo- 
 rals, and shall be called the Department of officers, and shall be 
 immediately subject to its respective President; all those who are 
 already writing shall form the second and it shall be under the 
 immediate orders of the captains; and the third shall be composed 
 of readers only, and the corporals shall have charge of it ; the num- 
 ber of children composing it being distributed among them in equal 
 parts, the same being done in the 2nd for the captains. 
 
 The daily device that the officers shall wear, within and outside 
 the school, shall be three fluted ribbons placed crosswise upon the 
 left breast and a bar of white metal which crosses the three bands 
 in the middle, commencing in the 1st and terminating in the 
 3rd, for the president; two arranged similarly for the captains, 
 and one for the corporals, both without bars, the Eomans being 
 distinguished from the Carthaginians in that the device of the first 
 shall be sky-blue, and scarlet that of the second; the Presidents 
 shall carry in addition, for all public occasions, in the hand the 
 most suitable cane possible. Each Band shall have a white Banner 
 with the inscription in the middle of Rome or Carthage, in con- 
 formity with the model which shall be given, and these shall be 
 placed in the school at the head of the party to which each one 
 corresponds; it being the duty of the corporals of the sixth rank 
 to bear these banners whenever they have to go in regular order 
 outside the School, occupying the position which belongs to the 
 Bearers. 
 
 In addition there shall be a place of opprobrium for the Children 
 of both bands, designated by the Teacher and destined for the indo- 
 lent or those who have relapsed into shortcomings in their respec- 
 
 ^his expression is too puzzling for an attempt at translation. 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 57 
 
 tive subjects, which they shall not be able to leave until they give 
 full proof of application and amendment, and with previous sup- 
 plication from the commander of the Squad to which they belong. 
 
 The duties of the President shall be : 1st, to receive immediately 
 the orders which the Teacher may have to communicate to the 
 School; 2nd, to cause these to be observed and properly fulfilled 
 by their respective bands, as well as all those prescribed in this 
 regulation, under immediate responsibility to the Director, for 
 which purpose they shall make use of the captains and corporals 
 of their command, who shall be subordinate to them in everything ; 
 3rd, to preside over their respective bands whenever they are gath- 
 ered in regular order ; 4th, to reply themselves in the public or pri- 
 vate disputations, whenever an individual of their respective bands 
 is unable to do so; 5th, to give an account to the Teacher of the 
 faults which they observe in the Children inside and outside of the 
 School, correcting them themselves by a serious admonition, or 
 ordering them to kneel down, if the fault should be grave, and 
 giving notice immediately to the Teacher, who shall carry into 
 effect these punishments in the best possible way, unless injustice 
 should be manifest. 
 
 The Department of readers shall be immediately in charge of 
 the corporals, each one of these taking care to assign and hear, 
 morning and evening, the Children of his Squad in the correspond- 
 ing lesson and other tasks provided for them, giving account of 
 the result to his respective President in order that the latter may 
 do the same, in turn, to the Teacher; both of these should them- 
 selves frequently surprise the instructors in order to see if they 
 comply with their duties, especially when some punishment is to be 
 applied to anyone whatever of the Children, of whom his immediate 
 director has given a bad report. 
 
 In the same manner and under the same conditions as given in 
 the preceding article, by which the department of reading has to 
 be subject to the six corporals, the department of writing shall be 
 subject to the six captains, and the department composed of the 
 former and the latter officers to the Presidents, and each one of 
 these sections shall be denominated a Squadron. 
 
 As the next act after the invocation to the Supreme Being which 
 
58 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 the a article prescribes, each of the captains and corporals shall 
 
 gather those of his Squadron in their respective seats — (which 
 shall be changed only through having obtained some promotion or 
 degradation), and shall proceed immediately to hear their lessons, 
 to rule paper for them, to pass lists, etc. 
 
 The Teacher shall observe very scrupulously that all the officers 
 fulfill their respective duties — and the least failure shall render 
 them liable to be deposed from the employment, — and to correct 
 them seriously, especially when through animosity or partiality they 
 conceal or exaggerate the faults of their subordinates. 
 
 In the morning at 9 the Children shall be permitted to go out 
 to breakfast, the Teacher taking care that this interruption does 
 not last more than half an hour. 
 
 He shall take care, also, that the special work of each department 
 shall be terminated morning and afternoon an hour before dismis- 
 sal and that this interval be employed in hearing lessons and in 
 correcting exercise books. 
 
 Three questions of Christian doctrine in the morning, and as 
 manv more for the afternoon, shall be the memory lessons which 
 shall be imposed upon all the pupils, including from every faithful 
 Christian, and marking each point separately by questions up to 
 where they begin. 
 
 On the last Saturday in each month the Children of the first 
 and second departments (one band against another) shall have, in 
 the afternoon, a contest in which shall be considered the exercises 
 and their respective instruction in reading, and the memory lessons 
 which they have learned ; and the decision shall rest upon the judg- 
 ment of the Teacher, there being an appeal from his judgment 
 only to the individual vote of three residents, simply in the branch 
 of writing. 
 
 The conquered party shall have to file in front of the conquer- 
 ors who shall be seated in their places, and as each pupil of the 
 former class arrives in front of the one who surpassed him, he shall 
 kneel on one knee to the ground and shall remain until the latter 
 shall lift him up, saying to him: Have a little more application. 
 The President only in every case, and those who have surpassed, 
 
 a It was evidently intended that the numbers after 12, which are want- 
 ing in the MS., should be inserted, and that this blank should be rilled 
 to correspond. The article referred to would thus have been numbered 
 the 18th. 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 59 
 
 although they may be of the conquered party, shall not perform 
 this last act of acknowledgment; but they shall remain standing 
 after they have filed past until the last of their associates shall have 
 performed it; and the Banner of the conquered shall remain furled 
 until the} r recover the lost honor. 
 
 Challenges shall also be permitted, at one time it may be of one 
 band against another, at another of the individuals of the same 
 one amongst themselves, observing in the first case everything pro- 
 vided in the preceding article; and in the second case the punish- 
 ment of the conquered shall be to go down to che place which the 
 conqueror held, the latter going up to the place of the former. 
 
 For the remaining Saturdays, in the afternoon, the Children of 
 the first and second Departments shall be employed only in learning 
 a memory lesson, the shortest possible, of Spanish Grammar, and 
 of any other manuscript compendium that shall be formed for 
 them. They shall become accustomed among themselves to ask 
 and answer questions, and those of the third shall merely take a 
 review of all the questions of Christian Doctrine with which they 
 may have been occupied during the week. 
 
 Failure of attendance on the part of the Presidents, as well as 
 that of any of the captains or corporals, shall be constantly pro- 
 vided for by the immediate successor, whether it be to obtain pos- 
 session of the place, or to fill it provisionally while the absent one 
 is not in attendance. 
 
 The day after the disputation provided for during each four 
 
 months in article / the rest of the Children shall be subjected 
 
 to an examination by the Teacher and the twelve participants, and 
 all those residents who wish may also be present. According to 
 the greater or less amount of learning which they show, they shall 
 be judged as belonging to the first, second, and third grade, without 
 giving them the honorary distinction of the badge provided for in 
 the cited article. 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 Rules which shall be taught to the Children for their conduct out- 
 side the School. 
 
 The Teacher shall especially take care to admonish them con- 
 cerning the propriety and moderation with which they ought to 
 comport themselves in their homes, in the Church, on the street, 
 
 ^his blank should have been filled with the number 15. 
 3-C. 
 
60 Texas Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 and in all their intercourse with their elders, advising them that 
 above all things, they abstain from the detestable use of obscene 
 words, from disputes, and from prohibited games. 
 
 On Fridays and Sundays of Lent in the afternoon, the Teacher 
 shall take care to conduct the Children to recite the Via Cruris 
 and to hear the accustomed doctrinal discourse. To do this he 
 shall try to shorten the duties of the School and to accomplish 
 the same as on all the remaining days, he agreeing with the Curate 
 of the place, whether before the discourse the Pupils may be exer- 
 cised in a Catechism of Christian doctrine. 
 
 On all Sundays and observed festal days of the year the Children 
 shall be assembled at the School an hour before high Mass, in order 
 to attend it in regular order. 
 
 On all occasions when the Children have to attend Church, in 
 their going and coming, they may go praising God by means of 
 some devout song in which the Teacher shall instruct them, seeing 
 that all of those who can carry some book in which shall be 
 explained the unspeakable mysteries of this august Sacrifice. 
 
 For the purpose of keeping order in the ranks, the first and 
 second captains of each band shall be employed, without having 
 any place therein, going back and forth along their respective lines, 
 to cause the best order and propriety to be observed. 
 
 Each one of the Presidents shall have a copy of this regulation, 
 and shall cause the captains and corporals to read it at least once 
 a week, and for this purpose they shall make all the copies possible, 
 the Teacher himself, moreover, taking care to read it aloud at least 
 once a month. 
 
 The Presidents for all cases which present themselves shall refer 
 to what is prescribed in this regulation. 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 Penal Laws. 
 
 The punishments which shall be applied to the Children who 
 may commit some fault shall be: to put them on their knees in 
 the School; to keep them under arrest in the same on holidays; 
 to employ them in sweeping and in other cleaning, for a whole 
 week, no more; to assign them to the seat of opprobrium until they 
 recover their lost standing ; to imprison them in a room or dungeon, 
 which shall be called the Warehouse, but they shall not pass the 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 61 
 
 night in it. In case that any pupil shall be convicted of robbery, 
 within or outside of the School, he shall be punished with six 
 stripes, the same penalty being inflicted upon those who relapse 
 into their faults in lessons or writing after having been a week in 
 the place of opprobrium. 
 
 The Teacher shall take care that all punishments be applied to 
 the Children with all possible forbearance and equity, in propor- 
 tion to the nature of the faults and persistence therein. 
 
 Failures in reading, in the copy-books, in accounting, or mem- 
 ory lessons shall be regarded as relapses, if they are repeated within 
 the space pf one week. 
 
 It remains under the immediate responsibility of the Teacher 
 alone to look out for the most punctual observance of this regula- 
 tion, as also the only object to which everything is directed, and that 
 is, the advancement and instruction of all the Children. 
 
 The immediate fiscal and Judge, who at the same time, shall 
 observe the conduct of the Director and apply to him the punish- 
 ment which he may merit according to his faults, shall be the Illus- 
 trious Ayuntamiento, from whose sentence appeal can be made only 
 to the Citizen Chief of this Department. 
 
 The only punishments which can be applied to the Director 
 either for the infraction of any article of this regulation, or for 
 any other grave fault, relative to his ministry, of which he may be 
 convicted, shall be: 1st, a discount from the salary of the next- 
 month, and, 2nd, the absolute deprivation of his office, a previous 
 succinct report to this effect having been approved by the Citizen 
 Chief of this Department. 
 
 The pecuniary penalty mentioned in the preceding article shall 
 not be less than one dollar, nor exceed six. 
 
 This ordinance, before being signed by the Illustrious Ayunta- 
 mwnto, shall be laid before the Teacher of the School, in order 
 that, within the limit of three days, having examined the whole 
 in detail, he may be able to make criticisms which occur to him, 
 which shall either be answered, if they are not thought reasonable, 
 or shall be made use of by addition to or amendment of, any of 
 the rules prescribed by the commission empowered for this purpose. 
 
 Refugio de la Garza 1 Juan Martin de Beramendi 
 
 Jose Maria Balmaceda. 
 
 ir The handwriting of the Ordinance, as well as that of the following 
 address, seems to be that 01 Refugio de la Garza. 
 
62 Texas, Historical Association Quarterly. 
 
 Being carefully informed of what is contained in the foregoing 
 Ordinance, which is to serve for the internal Government of the 
 PudHc primary School of this City, which is under my control, 
 and not having any reflection to make, I am in agreement with 
 whatever is prescribed in it and will take care that it be put in prac- 
 tice and properly complied with. 
 
 Jose Anto. Gama y Fonseca. 
 San Fernando de Bexar, 
 
 13 of Mch., 1828. 
 
 The foregoing Ordinance having been put under general discus- 
 sion, it has been approved in its entirety by this Ayuntamiento. 
 Capitular Hall of San Fernando de Bejar, 
 13 of March, 1828. 
 Bamon Musquiz Juan Martin de Beramendi 
 
 Jose Maria de la Garza Manul. Flores 
 
 Juan Angl. Seguin Victoriano Zepeda, 
 
 Sec'y ad Interim. 
 
 The education of youth has always been one of the most import- 
 ant bases for the felicity of Peoples, and the prosperity of their 
 Government. The Mexican, who, unfortunately, groaned under 
 the despotic and savage sway of the ambitious sons of Iberia, has 
 never occupied himself in perfecting this most important institu- 
 tion, which would already have placed him on a level with the 
 most cultured nations. The corrupt Government at Madrid only 
 cared to suck up, by whatever means within its reach, the precious 
 resources of the Americas, and studiously and craftily to retard 
 the growth of enlightenment. Nothing, in truth, was more natural 
 than this iniquitous behavior, since the first, increasing its riches, 
 satisfied all the desires of its vain and haughty natural caprice ; and 
 the second secured it in the domination of the richest and most pro- 
 ductive of its evil-acquired patrimonies, blinding us to the import- 
 ant knowledge of our Native rights. 
 
 Nevertheless, the natural empire of the reason, which some day 
 comes to prevail, and the characteristic qualities of all the children 
 of this soil, in union with other joint causes, broke finally the 
 ominous chain which bound us, elevating us to the rank of free 
 men, independent of any other. 
 
 In spite of this, and of the paternal beneficent institutions of 
 
Educational Efforts in San Fernando. 63 
 
 our Present Government, to which belongs the establishment of 
 primary Schools, the spirit of discord which still endures amongst 
 us has impeded it from occupying itself with this, as with other 
 matters that undoubtedly make for the aggrandizement of the 
 Nation, all its efforts being employed in assuring our internal and 
 external tranquillity, which is doubtless the corner stone of the 
 social edifice. 
 
 In spite of all, and in virtue of the ardent desires of the towns, 
 there are already seen in most of them educational establishments 
 for the youth who will form the future generation, which will come 
 to secure completely Mexican Liberties ; and among these, although 
 one of the most distant from the center, of the least populous, of 
 the poorest in moneyed citizens, and finally, vexed by the terrifying 
 hostilities which it has suffered from the savages through long 
 
 periods of time, 1 has just made a heroic and extraordinary 
 
 effort, stirred up by several of its citizens, and by that worthy citi- 
 zen, General Anastacio Bustamente, to make a collection amongst 
 all its citizens, amounting to six hundred dollars annually and 
 lasting for four years, in order to carry to accomplishment the 
 desire which in all time it has had for the education of its youth. 
 
 Yes, unfortunate Be jar, truly worthy of a better fate, you are 
 the one which has just given so heroic a testimony of beneficence in 
 spite of your notorious poverty; with difficulty do you commence 
 to lift yourself from the abject state into which you had sunk, 
 thanks to the presence of that philanthropic General and the aid 
 of the Supreme Federal Government. 
 
 Be filled, then, citizens of Bejar, with the ineffable satisfaction 
 which is produced by the important services directed to the good 
 of your children, of society in general, and of the adored Country 
 to which we belong, awaiting the glorious day in which you may 
 either experience the fruit of your sacrifices for this pious estab- 
 lishment, or in which your ashes may receive a new being, through 
 the eulogies which, without doubt, your posterity will lavish upon 
 you. 
 
 J The name B§jar was omitted here in the MS. 
 
Holl 
 
ubi^' w wasSi • 
 
 019885 563 7 
 
 Hollinger Corp. 
 pH8.5