"Letter from J.N. Campbell to John Campbell." (1850) Rice University: https://hdl.handle.net/1911/75463.

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St Ann’s College 22nd Octobr 1850

My Dear Brother

It is but a few days Since I recieved your letter of 
the 22nd July and even now it was by a mere chance that I did
recieve it. I went to post a letter for my brother james, and after
doing so, I by chance looked over the list of unclaimed letters in
the Quebec Post. office, and thus I found your letter. I had been absent
on vacation when it came to Quebec. When I wrote to you before, I did
not expect to be in St. Ann’s this year, so during all the past year
the Superiors of the college were in expectation of getting Some one to take
my place, but they were disappointed, & so was I too, for I am really tired
of the place, but there is no resource, however my time here ends with
next July certainly, they cannot insist on my remaining longer. I have
had a letter about 2 weeks since from Sister Nabla, it tells me that
all are well except brother Peter who was at that time recovering from 
sickness. My Dear John you express a wish that all our brothers
and Sisters were in Texas, I can do no more than add my wishes to yours,
but I see the impossibility of it, even supposing that none of them
love the spot where they were born, for at present not one of them
would get as much for their property now as would take their family
out, and I could on no account advise them to come if the entire
family could not be bought, of course brother james having no family
he & his wife could easily, so could Thomas and sister Rose both being 
unmarried, but even these, they have no ready money, & no one to give it
& besides Thomas & Rose would not know how to reach you & would be
liable to be cheated & robbed in every port they could reach, in one word
none of them can come without money, & if I had it I would give it to 

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send some of them to Texas at once. The state of Ireland is too horrible to
relate, for brother cannot assist brother, nor can Sister assist Sister. I need
not conceal from you that tho’ I hate landlordism & tyranny of every
sort, still I should like some of them would remain in Drimcoe; and I after
a short time would pay the rent of it, for I expect, that a change shall soon
take place between landlord & tenant & if such were the case I would 
visit my native place once more, & therefore would like to have my
old home to go to; and you too I hope to see you in Ireland, even if Some of
our brothers & sisters go to Texas, indeed I suppose it would then be easier
for you to pay Ireland a visit. I hope she will soon arise from that
terrific nightmare the creation of O Connell & his party, that has crushed her
so long, that absurd principle of nonresistance even to save one’s own life. 
And this after having by the very opposite principles robbed the poor of
some Millions of pounds in the course of 20 years. I say “robbed the poor”
for, the poor alone paid their £s & Shillings to the Repeal Association
& what did they get for it? insult alone. and now not one farthing of this
money forthcoming, all squandered by a set of briefless barristers the cormorants
of that accurse association. look for instance at the absurdity of
giving from £100 to £500 to clerks who could give their services for nothing, 
and giving a pension to the wife of T. Mc Ray the Secretary, this way
went the money of the poor. and now the O Connell character has followed
in the same path.

my dear brother I can not blame you for trying to keep your money from
the landlords & agents of Ireland, they are an accursed crew it is certain, but as I
said before if you were to expect any of them as far as Texas, you would have to
arrange every thing for this passage & give very accurate directions how &
where they should proceed when they had landed here. I would like very
much that you would take Thomas to you, and if you could lend or bestow
me, I will say lend me $100 I will pay his passage to New Orleans or to
Galveston, and refund the money to you again. When you write, let me
know what you think of this proposal. I would like to be the means of
settling brother Thomas & Sister Rose, but at present I have not the means. 

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Of course you may not have ready money either so it would be impossible
for you to do as I request, but, you will easily say so, as after a year or so
I will be able, if I live, to save so much. At any rate in my opinion none
of them can come without our aid, this is certain.

I am well aware of the many difficulties the Texans had to encounter
in freeing themselves from a yoke as weighty almost as that of poor
Ireland which many would be glad to leave if they could. and it is a
hard case, that when they do take courage & leave Ireland every step they
take till they are perfectly settled, they are subject to the influence of the
Blacklegs of the American ports, an influence exercised by the very scum 
of European society & still more galling than that of Irish nobility. Pshaw!
there is no such thing as Irish nobility, nor even respectability. the very men whom
I knew to be foremen on grand juries & magistrates are obliged to go to the Poorhouse
for their dish of soup or pound of Indian meal. some of those whom
we call landlords, seek the situations of porters as those public shambles. 
Some whom are formerly called ladies seek the situation of nurse in hospitals
at a few pence per day. Such is life in Ireland, how then can you expect
but that all should be in need of assistance?

Again I do not blame you for not litting your money
go to landlords, but in the name of God assist some of them to
come to you & leave as much as they can spare to assist those
who will have the courage to remain or be obliged to remain for a time. 

I expect a letter from brother James soon, when I answer it I will
try to persuade some of them to go there, and after a time they will be
able to bring the rest. My dear John I am glad that you can write
your own letters as I will thus hear from you oftener. Write soon
your brother till death
J.N. Campbell

My address is on an enclosed envelope
[[unclear]]

Revd J.N. Campbell
St. Ann’s College
District of Quebec
L Canada

[[Page 4 – envelope]]

Paid, 28 cents

John Campbell Esqr
Seguin, Co. of Guadelupe
State of Texas
U. States

J.N.C