The newspaper was in financial difficulty, as the Bordens rarely paid their bills. In March 1837, Thomas Borden sold his interest in the enterprise to Francis W. Moore Jr., who took over as chief editor. Three months later, Gail Borden transferred his shares to Jacob W. Cruger. Borden was a delegate at the Convention of 1833, where he assisted in writing early drafts of a Republic of Texas constitution. He also shared administrative duties with Samuel May Williams during 1833 and 1834 when Stephen F. Austin was away in Mexico. President Sam Houston appointed Borden as the Republic of Texas Collector of Customs at Galveston in June 1837. He was popular and performed his job well, raising half of the government income during this period through his collection on importations. Houston's successor to the presidency, Mirabeau B. Lamar, removed Borden from office in December 1838, replacing him in the patronage position with a lifelong friend from Mobile, Alabama, Dr. Willis Roberts, newly arrived in Texas. Roberts' son later was appointed Secretary of State of the Republic. Lamar was said to have known Roberts for 25 years. However, Borden had been so well liked, the newcomer was resented. The "Galveston News" frequently criticized the new regime about malfeasance. When a shortage of funds came to light, Roberts offered to put up several personal houses and nine slaves as collateral until the matter could be settled. Two resentful desk clerks were later determined to have been embezzling funds. Roberts was replaced in December 1839, when Lamar appointed another man. After Houston was re-elected to the presidency, he reappointed Borden to the post. The publisher served December 1841 to April 1843. He finally resigned after a dispute with Houston. Borden assisted in the original survey of Galveston. Working for the Galveston City Company, the surveying team laid out the east end of the island in a gridiron pattern, similar to major cities on the east coast of the US. Streets running the length of the island, from west to east, were named as avenues, according to the alphabet and in ascending order. Avenue A was the first avenue on the bay side, and this sequence continued through Avenue Q, running parallel to the Gulf of Mexico. Intersecting the avenues were numbered streets, starting with Eighth Street and continuing through Fifty-Eighth Street, which formed the western edge of the property owned by the Galveston City Company.