TO THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS.
[Seguin? Austin?]: 1855. Printed broadside, 7-3/8" x 18." A bright copy with old horizontal folds, Very Good plus. Signed and dated in type, "Seguin, July 7, 1855."
Andrew Neill (1813-1883), born in Scotland, moved to Mississippi, and then to Texas in 1836 as a volunteer in the Texas army. This rare broadside pleads his case for election to lieutenant governor "as an Independent candidate." Neill supports railroads, properly funded internal improvements, embraces "the principles contained in the declaration of Independence . . . and have occupied conservative ground on national politics." There is "no higher law" than the U.S. Constitution. He wants Texas to become "the greatest of all the Southern States."
"I, of my own choice, came to this free land, fully appreciating and understanding the principles of the constitution, and before I saw Texas, had been honored with both civil and military office. So soon as the tocsin of war was sounded against the oppression of Mexico, I came to Texas, not alone, but with men and means, and on the dark and bloody ground, near which I now live, have I suffered every privation of a frontier soldier, until Texas was disenthralled and free. With lacerating wounds, and servile imprisonments in Mexico, I was still independent; and refusing the protection of the proudest monarch on earth, ran the risks of escape to freedom, and returned to my adopted land. And, now, having lived for nearly twenty years amongst you, apply to me the tests of a Jefferson: - 'Is he honest, is he capable?' - and if in these respects, you are satisfied, cast your votes without reference to party, and I shall be satisfied; and if the choice should be made of another, I shall still endeavor to sustain myself as a good citizen."
When the Civil War began, Neill moved to Galveston and became a lieutenant colonel in the First Texas Partisan Rangers.
Winkler 579 [1- U TX], but not located at the U TX online site. Not in Sabin, Raines, or online OCLC, Yale. Item #38994
Price: $4,500.00