And Dick Carroll was proved to be a shrewd prophet.
Texas continued in a great confusion. There was a hot-headed war party, which urged separation from Coahuila and establishment as a state under the constitution of 1824, at any price, whether of blood and arms or not; and there was a stronger peace party, which urged the people to wait, to abide by the advice of Stephen Austin, and to go slow and better their condition gradually, rather than risk all on a doubtful war.
Over across the Rio Grande, in Coahuila province, which was the other half of the state of Coahuila and Texas, the confusion was worse. The people of Saltillo opposed whatever the people at Monclova, the capital, did; but the state legislature, meeting, passed a number of acts which gave Texas several measures that it wanted. Then the Saltillo party declared all these acts, and others, illegal; set up their own governor, and spoke of war.
This left Texas without any settled state government; and to Dick Carroll and many others, including Ernest (who listened and thought as hard as he could), it looked as if indeed Texas must take matters into its own hands, or it would go to ruin.
Just as Dick had predicted, in April Santa Anna emerged from his ranch, Magna de Clavo, displaced the honest Don Gomez and the Farias cabinet, disbanded a number of state legislatures, deposed some governors whom he didn’t like, dissolved the congress, and ordered a new congress and a new constitution to suit himself!
Coahuila was in such a condition, with three governors, and no legislature at all, that Santa Anna ordered a new election for governor. Don Augustin Viesca was chosen, and the capital was placed at Monclova――which did not please Saltillo.
However, Texas took heart again. A letter was received at San Felipe from Stephen Austin. He had been released from prison by Santa Anna, was being well treated, and Santa Anna seemed friendly to Texas. Austin again counselled that his people “go slow,” and that the petition would be acted upon favorably, he was sure. In October he was called to a meeting with the president, and made a long talk, explaining what Texas desired, and why the Texas half and the Coahuila half never could agree. They were different races and had different countries and different ideas――and look at the confusion in Coahuila!