The increasing number of histories of Texas and of books about Texas testify to the| appeal which the history of the state lias alike to its sons and daughters and to those who are foreign to its soil. Texas has been under the flags of France, Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America and the United States, and the scroll which records these changing fortunes has attracted the novelist, the political historian, the student of imperialism and of colonizing movements, and finally the economic and financial historian. Just as its political history is the most fascinating of any of the American states, so its financial history is varied, frequently spectacular, usually interesting, and always illustrative of either the principles or the fallacies of public finance.

William Gouge published in 1852 his Fiscal History of Texas, but outside of his book the finances of the state have had no historian until the present writer undertook the task. The suggestion of the undertaking came from the Carnegie Institution, and the author is under grateful obligations to it for material assistance.

The chief difficulty met with in the work has been the complete absence of financial reports for some years and the many imperfections in the reports extant. Too often do the reports of the state's financial officials seem to have been gotten out in a perfunctory way and merely to meet the minimum requirements of the law, and the author is convinced that a decided reform must occur if the reports1 are to fulfill their purpose of presenting to the average citizen an intelligible conception of the financial operations of the state government. The tax system of the state is and always has been defective and is sorely in need of change if the most elementary justice is to be done among men. If this financial history can arouse any interest in the state's fiscal problems, or if it can be of any use to those who are already interested in these problems, the writing of the book will be justified.

The chapters dealing with the Civil War and the Reconstruction were first published in the Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, and are included here in a somewhat modified form.

The author wishes to express his deep appreciation to Professor Charles J. Bullock, of Harvard University, and Professor Henry B. Gardner, of Brown University, for many valuable suggestions. He also gratefully acknowledges the aid of Emily Maverick Miller in reviewing and criticizing the manuscript before publication.

Edmund Thornton Miller. Austin, Texas, June, 1916.