It is exceedingly difficult to reconstruct the system of work carried on in La Réunion. In one place it is said that the laborer received one-third of the products of his labor; in another statement it was said that each worker was paid a stipulated sum and that near riots occurred in an attempt to get higher wages. Toward the end of the colony’s existence the “reserves” were apportioned to each man according to his deserts. Just how these reserves were accumulated is not clear; however, they appear to have consisted of money or goods stored up in excess of the actual demands of the colony. In some cases the reserve accumulated from contributions made by incoming colonists and in other instances it was formed from excess production.[23]

Nevertheless, there was some order and plan even in this chaos. There was to be a council of six men, in addition to Considerant, which was to govern locally all of La Réunion. Then, there was the Council of Workmen, supported by all workers, which elected two workers to be added to the council of six. This Council of Workmen was formed by organized groups of laborers who elected one member from each trade group. For example, Mr. Louckx was committeeman of the workers in wood. Dailly was head of metal workers, and other trades were similarly organized.[24]

Men were assigned to certain work; quite often they were changed day by day. This led to waste and inefficiency. On one job six men were employed in marking cattle, and because of their ignorance they often burned the cattle severely, marking only about twenty-five each day. However, in May, 1856, a young veterinarian, M. Louis, took charge of this trade and marked as many as seventy a day. Dr. Savardan tells how he, a trained physician, and several professional men were set to cutting wood. Considerant, noticing that they were destroying the younger trees, called their attention to it, whereupon two of the woodcutters became very angry and contended with him. These same men also built fences, dug wells, and did other odd jobs about the place. In spite of the apparent universality of labor, there was some complaint that all were not showing returns from their labors, and contention arose as to whether all should produce something of general value.

“En réalité, depius l’expérience malheureuse du Texas—et mème bien avant—on ne pouvait plus dire que Victor Considerant était un représentant authentique du socilisme etopique at pacifique.”

Translation

“In reality since his unhappy experience in Texas—and even before—one is able to say only that Victor Considerant was an authentic representative of Utopian and pacific socialism.”

Maurice Dommanget, Victor Considerant, sa Vie, son Oeuvre, p. 218.

CHAPTER VII
THE BREAKUP

La Réunion was a failure from the moment it started; it was never a success. Of course, a historian cannot predict what would have happened under certain given conditions, but it seems reasonable to believe that any other type of colony formed by the same people under the same conditions would also have been a failure.

In the first place, Considerant was not a suitable man to head such an enterprise. His theory of colonization as propounded in Au Texas is reasonable enough and, if followed, could probably succeed under favorable conditions. However, his weaknesses were his personal attitude and his lack of administrative ability. Savardan says that Considerant was a great organizer and promoter but did not possess a sense of continuity or of development. He easily became discouraged and soon lost interest in proposed plans and procedures. When he arrived in New York in 1854 on his return to Texas, he was met by the denunciation of the Know-Nothing Party (American Party.) Tirades against foreigners made by leaders of the party were diplomatically and ably answered by Considerant’s pamphlet, European Colonization in America, but in spite of his confident tone exhibited in this pamphlet, he became discouraged from that moment. His absolute faith in the sense of justice of the American people, as stated in Au Texas, vanished and he was forced to realize the absurd servility of people who will subject themselves to demagogues in time of national hysteria. Considerant never exhibited any sign of vigor, initiative, or enthusiasm after the publication of his address to the American people.

When he joined Savardan’s party in Galveston, a change in his attitude was evident. He was sullen, withdrawn, and sensitive to criticism. Instead of going with the party from Houston to Dallas, he went to Austin and then to La Réunion. However, there is no indication in the records of any initiative on his part to put the colony in shape, or of any plan of unity of development worked out. The moment he reached La Réunion he began to think of leaving it. In a conversation between Cantagrel and Savardan in April, 1856, before all the colonists had arrived, Savardan understood that Considerant had come to the conclusion to disband the colony, to parcel out the land to colonists and others, and to break up the community affairs. Savardan states that not more than ten per cent of the colonists wanted to divide up the land, that most of them felt that they could not exist independently.[1]

Considerant, leader of the whole undertaking, was never in the colony for any length of time. He was alternately at Austin, San Antonio, or Uvalde, and consequently, when he was at La Réunion, he could not make any decision because he was unacquainted with the workings of the organization. Apparently, refusal of the state legislature to grant the lands which Considerant had expected to obtain for the colonists completely destroyed what hope he had left; it was after this refusal that he wrote to France advising that no more colonists be sent.[2] Finally, after an absence of five months, he returned to the colony from a trip into Southwest Texas, and being convinced that the colony was doomed, appointed a successor to himself and suddenly, on July 7, 1856, departed in secret.[3]

Considerant, in his pamphlet Du Texas, assumes all blame for the failure of the La Réunion experiment and confesses that he had a serious lack of confidence in himself. After his plans failed, he became a despairing and broken man, often planning to end all by self-destruction.[4] It is certainly true that this lack of self-confidence prevented success of the colony.