The purpose of the Mexican republicans in per mitting the creation of these colonies of foreigners has not been explained any more than have the purposes of the royalists who began the work by encouraging Austin. The Spanish tradition ran counter to such a policy. If circumstantial evi dence counts for anything, the Mexican authorities had some vision of a new régime which Americans do not yet understand. One thing is certain: they had no intention to leave the colonies permanently separate from the rest of the population. Only the Spanish language was to be used in public trans actions. A colonist who married a Mexican was allowed more land than one who did not. All the laws repeated or implied the provision of the origi nal grant to Austin, which laid down as the first and principal requisite for colonists that of being Catholics or agreeing to become so.