Newspapers / Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.) / Feb. 3, 1848, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
t. - i of the Watchman. Lriiifco,prr ycarjTro Dolla as-payable in I" 'Bui if not paid in advance, Two dollars ' 1 tvrs Wrtfd al 9 1 (of the first, and 25cts i-T juTni iniKrtion. v Court orders charged fct hisr ha "l,e"- A ,iberBl deduc- 53 iha' dvertiw by tbe year. . Urt EJitara must be PO( paid. HTTP" tETTEll Fltoil THE HON. J R. v. POINSETT. Sf ATBsnrBO. CS, C. ) Dec. 12, 1847. jjr pKASm : III compliance with your re .w, and, in conformity with my promise, I iTdctelrmUied to give yu very briefly my n on the all-iRros$ing tujuc of the day. I 'detained later than t ejected to be in Co and have Wily this-, moment seen the L-siiidenCf Message and the Repent of the It I ...... I m .n .....-i..n,l .. .. thlat trwy peTsisi in rccommenning a Tif E MOflft W ATCHMig BRUNEE k . JAMES, Editor? 4 Proprietors, U i Kee? a check cpoji all toc Rl'LERS. - Do this, axd Liberty is safi." Gcn'l. Harrison. i NEW SERIES, NUMBER 40, OF VOLUME IV. SALISBURY, N...C, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1848. I. t '-t 1 . :.. men, you wouia pare troops enougn io Keep peaceable possession of our new 'territory, and L. J? .-I- J L..1 c mijjni aismiss in a .voiuniecr iurce. To succeed in j levying the military contri billions the President speaks of, and provision ing the army by force, thti troop? must be very arc disputed by another, undertakes to support those rights by force, she. under takes to support them by var-pvar as far as she is concerned. It is true, if the act of violence or aggression on her part. I be not resisted by the other that suffers it murli inprnii cort i It rpnuiroi a varv Urno f. m nrnmpf s.mnliil J uitfcflut nnvin, rr tt,om ! 11 be patiently and tamely submitted rs4U" pl'cy vhkh will lead to still further ; Thpy can onJy bMgatfiered by formidable de. to no war results. To constitute war, it ile eipendittire-Df blood and treasure, and jachments, and cU army never has been and i 1S as essential that there should be two (;fin'ij iw nr . .,,.uiiru. iui mu eVer will be sutpqient numerous to enable the j parues, as it is, mere stiouia Dc two par kin? onVthc ibjecf of the acquisition of; commanding GerjeVal to separate so many men ! ties to a treaty of peace. The act of one vrrW-1 ,iaVo ,ni,,8 to do, especially as the j from ,j,e main bod v. Pff4!dti serins io uium oiigres. Ficugeu io j have g,ven y0q my op1nipns vcry hurriedly, conquests. I can only express my re- titty) nty firm conviction that these leirito. nil acquisitions will not add to our strength or periiy.' v ' !.'- rcdorhtnendation that most seriously alarms tne is contained in the paragraph, where ibe fxfsident, says thee can be no doiiht that dxifexisls a peace, party in .Mexico, and that become expedient for our commanding ifraU.tiva a'ssuraqces of protection to such ijrty; .in'.thoit, to create a party, make peace fa it, and guaranty it in tho possession of owrr. Nothing can be more chemical ; no jjprg couH bo 'more insecure than the execu-Toni-tJT such a ' project we?-e it practicable. 511 party i would bear no proportionj to the j!ion, anditho ; members of it would require to Unroteited from public indignation and veil. ince (or long years o come, by a force not iris formidable than that now in tho country, ttihout the hfancQ of any indemnity, ( or the owe of levying contributions of any sprt. If ibecacc government 'should agree, to pay and mWwj iheiir prbtottors, they must, from the na. Wf ufdiins, tail to clo either. Pray, save us i Jigruc4 ol atlemplfng such an intervention. JVj attempt nuhl lead to an interVentilon of a j.Jerent sort. Hut would possibly prov6 more juccessffil. Tlie President is apprehensive ot rein interference,' first in California, and next n the establishment of a monarchy in Mexico. Titrfl i hot v4 he slightest risk of the jformer, 11, jf the Mexican people are left td them kW, no chance of the latter. They were so tiuifely republican' in 1822 that I didtiot hesi- (arc confidently to foretell the. downfall of Itur-' bale. Ihryare much more so noxKantJno ttttme of that sort could have even momenta. jary1 luccess, utiles tie leaders consiftfered it 11 iS only" chance of ivppoaing us. There ex it'it sjrnng monarchic,! PVT strong in wealth iwtatilm ibe Priefis.lhe former ari.iocraev indjbo'inlherenlsrof Spain. We mnydfive the iimliers vnle.r th-Vr banners. Still ihe Presi. nt is nrong: our armed intervention might Wing oti us ft poVf rlul foreign foe, but could it prevent the e t il ; ivhereas, if we hold ba:k, y 'fc for . it, a monarchy would not exist in Hfiico three year, with' fifty thousand foreign Wynncta to .sustain it. The people arc repub lican. j 'The President tayhe is convinced that the tatmeartaT'of bringing the war to an honora bl cb5e jll bo lei prosecute it with increased mergy and power in the vital parts of the ene. y'ffmmtry. Now, I am persuaded that so Uija u continde to prosecute the war in the ' m m m ' ' m till inienor ol exlco, wo- nhaii nave no peace tith jhe najtjon, and all attempts to make peace itha faction will place us in a worse posi. ifon jUn open war. I speak with the authori lof a perfect knowledge of the nature of the country and the character of iho people. ' I Wis glad to find that the Secretary rejects it flan of overrunning the whole country, as 'io expensive ;; but I was surprised to perceive &i)ie imlyj estimates Hhe nurhber of men it W.d require ito do this, or to maintain our pffMt conquests, aj seventy thousand men for tMrM, and somelhiTty.five or forty thousand lwil second.1' He says nothing of the annual ewsomption of men during this protongedcon for it appears to rri? there is! little time to lose in settlingj the course to be pursued. ! We can at this period withdraw oir forces without dis honor : nay, such an act wouldjelevate us in the ! estimation of thefvyorld. The slightest reverse a threat of foreign intervention might ren- der such an act difficult, if not impracticable. ! Before our troops vacuate the Mexican terri ; tory thai people !oiht to be told what -we in tend to do. It !is barely possible that they might be disposed; to peace upon witnessing such a movement. ! nation cannot alone constitute a! war; it is like the act of an individual striking a blow, if it be not resented, no contest, no battle, no fight is the result. The blow is an act of aggression ; it is arc act com- mencing a contest, but it does not amount i to a perfect contest. Whether this act on the part of the President was ah act of war, of hostility, of aggreston.deriends not j at all upon the question, whether we had i a right to the territory of which he took j forcible possession. ' War, between na- ! , J- " f . j.wv. . v-uiuLl """"I 1 C fiM .... - w With regard to (he details of iho defence of 1 ne Pu'cists, who speak of contests be the line not the liiie defence they can be de- i tween nations, never suppose them to con tend except about rights. War is a contest about rights. Public war is a contest be- termined very easily, and I think we misht be certain of 7remliri ng unrrjolested for twenty years, and forevjeri. with such precautions as tnijrht betaken il jlitlle cost. With great respect and regard, I am, my dear sir, yours, truly, J. P. POINSETT. Hon. P. Bvf ler, V. S. Senate, I f Washington. MR. K.YDGER'S SPEECH, In the Senate, January 18th Mr. 13 A DC lilt said : If I believed, sir, that the duty vyhich I owe to the country and to the Staj which has sent me here, could be perfoiped by yielding to the re quisitions of tlid Executive of the country such supplies as he may deem requisite for the prosecution of the war, upon plans for prosecuting it which have riot been made known td Congress if I believed that I had not ja Mgh and controlling ob ligation to exercise my own best judg ment; fbr the beifefit of those whom I rep reseiVfi and for the general welfare of the cnuftfty, upon ejvery question submitted to the' consideration of tlds body, I might be disposed to votfcfor the hill upon your ta ble. Jf. sir, the! yeas and nays had not been ordered iipcii the passage of this bill, I might have iieen content to permit the measure to pass, as far as I am concerned, without ofTerlig a single word to the Se nate upon it intrinsic merits. But the yeas and naysj have been ordered upon this bill. I ca)inot vote for it. 1 shall re cord my vote against it : and, 1 think it is due to the country I feel that it is due to myself that the views and principles which W4II govern my conduct in giving this vote should be plainly and distinctly stated, and should accompany, to the pub lic, the vote itself. Sir, I shall endeavor to assign those) views and principles in as short a com pals as is consistent with a full expositionfof what I believe to be the truth on this fill important subject, and which every consideration obliges me to put before those whom I represent, with the attention of the Senate to the fact. that though this paper was written on the 11th of July some months prior to the actual consummation of the act of annex ation yet the instructions to which 1 pro pose to call the attention of the Senate, are given prospectively cautiously and with a view to the actual , completion of that measere, when, as appears from the instructions themselves, the officer to whom they were directed was required to consider Texas as a part of this country. "To secure this end most effectually, you are charged to commit no act of ag gression ; and, at the same time, m are invested with the command of a force suf- and to be passed upon onlv bv Congress. The Constitution has undergone nochange. ine people have made no; amendment to it. It stands now as it stood in the time of Mr. Jefferson. Whence, then; ha's Mr. Polk derived his authority to precipitate measures which must lead directly to war Congress being in session, .and without even deigning to inform them of what he proposed to do ? But, sir, at all events there is not the slightest reason to doubt, as 1 apprehend, that the movement of the troops to the Rio Grande was , the act which produced war. There had been, previously, threatenings ;on thepart or Mexico. There had been exarik Hint in war. liut there had been no wr riwl my conviction is; sir, that if our troops 1 1 1 . n . .. remained quiet at .Corpus . Ubristi, . 1. 1 ...' ficient to take from others a disposition to ' !lale of feTe,inS wllch was likely to result nostilft acts. Then after enumerating the forces at the officer's command, the Secretary says : " That you may precisely understand what is meant by the aggression which you are instructed to avoid, 1 will add, that while the annexation of Texas ex tends our boundary to the Del Norte, the 1 '..s.ci .1 .. .1 r 1 . ' ... . 1 TiTOi.i- , x icaiumt icsei vrs uie viuuicauon 01 our 1 vents, suppose that war would have hren i 1 ue u. o. nereoy ansoivr K,. .-. .4 , : 1' ; 1 1 - .i t r . , ... . . .1 I? i had where they had a right to remain on the ground so strongly put by the Senator from Maryland, (Mr. Pearce.) that it be longed to Texas by virtue of her revolu tion, and was then in her possession, there are billing to take the oath 11 I ' 1 .. ' ... IT O ""mu ime ueen no war; uut at all e Iu another part of the s tt says': " On my return (which wii; or three weeks) a civil gn r; be organized, and the ollict r for it; after whicb.I will br r for Upper .California, which 1 be by the latter end of next r in such case; I ahall expect to session of that department In November." Then we have General Kc . clamation, in which he anr.c : tentioq to'hold New Mexico ; the United States, under the :. territory of New Mexico. "And he requires of tho left their homes and taken i gainst the troops of , the U. : turn forthwith to them, or rl be considered as enemies and t jecting their persons to pun: their property to siczurc an 1 for the benefit of the public tt "Itis the wish and intentit S. to provide for New Mexico eminent, with the lensi : similar to those in the United : the people of. New Mexico v called on to exercise the ri men in electing their own r ; to the territorial legislature ' this can be done, the laws hi;!, istence will be continued i;: or modified by competent au;', those persons holding ofllco w i in the same for the pesenU pr will consider themselves no. 1 c to the U. S. tween nations about rights, carried on by force and not by argument. If, therefore, it were assumed as clear and unquestiona ble that the title of Texas and the United States extended to the Rio Grande, it is still beyond all doubt, that Mexico pos sessing the left bank of that stream, hav ing a settlement there, having officers there, and exercising jurisdiction there any movement to dispossess Mexico, to occupy what she thus occupied a,nd what she claimed to be her own, is an act of war. It is an act of war just and right ful if territory be ours just and rightful if the territory be unjustly and improperly withheld just and rightful, if, also the act of war be directed by those who repre sent the sovereignty of the nation. Well, sir, this act was committed by the Presi dent of the United States. He ordered the troops to the Rio Grande. They ad vanced. When they came into the Mex ican settlement, the inhabitants? fled be fore them in dismay ; the officers aban doned the public buildings and set fire to them, and under such circumstances, our forces under the command of officers of the United States, took from Mexico that which she was in possession oil and by force kept possession of the territory and placed it under the jurisdiction of the U. States. . Now, sir, on this subject I had the hon or at the last session to bring to the atten tion of the Senate, the case of the action of Mr. Jefferson, during his administra tion of this government, under j circum stances of a very similar character, with this difference, that the title of the terri tory withheld from us was truly and clear ly ours. In every other respect the case was like this. The territory was with held by another power, and a disposition manifested by that power to deprive us of what we held. Under these circumstan ces, Mr. Jefferson conceived that he had no right to use the military forces of the country to obtain possession of that boundary, if possible, to methods of peace, j produced "by some other! You will, therefore, not employ force to ! our troops had. not been n cuse, though ! rPSiding within the bound nlov force to our troons had. not been moved. whiVh i Mexico from nnv further allL dislodge Mexican troops from any post j mere matter of speculation, yet it cannot Republic of Mexico and In i east of the Del Norte which was in the be denied, that in point of iact this war ! them as citizens of the U. S. actual possession of the Mexicans at tbp ! wa tb possession ot ine Mexicans at the was the result of the mrivPmpnt f nr time of annexation." I troops upon the Del Norte. That move- uiiuuhi mcucu ueciare war, you win , ment was an act of warJ It w.-is at all at once dislodge her troons from anv post she may have east of the mouth of the Del Norte: take possession of Tampico; and if your force is sufficient, will take the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, it being the determination of the President to pre serve peace, if possible, and, if war comes, to recover peace by adopting the most prompt and energetic measures." Again, sir, the Secretary of War writes to General Taylor under date of July 8, 1845: ' Sir. This department is informed that Mexico has some military establishments on the east side of the Rio Grande, which are, and for some time have been, in the actual occupancy of her troops. In car rying out the instructions heretofore re ceived, you will be careful to avoid any acts of aggression unless an actual state of war should exist. The Mexican forces at the posts in their possession, and which have been so, will not be disturbed as long as the relations of peace between the U. States and Mexico continue." Now, sir, here we have from the repre sentatives of the President in the two De partments, War and Navy, a clear and distinct recognition of this proposition, that, although the President held that oar true boundary was the Del Norte, yet that it would be an act of aggression, a hostile act, an act which would not be justifiable except in a state of war, to dispossess Mex ico from any portion of that territory- as she held the possession at the time of the annovatinn W lion hnro fV-. r- npilorc ii'o ft . issued to General Taylor, on the 13th of ? " nlluT ir.u. events, an act tending tojehange the rela tions of the two countries from peace to war; and an act which the president could not lawfully or constitutionally per form. The next proposition which I lay down is, that this war thus resulting from an act of the President, has: been prosecuted by him from the commencement with a view to the conquest the permanent con-J quest of afleast New Mexico and Up per and Lower California. I bey the at tention of the Senate while I shall at tempt to demonstrate this proposition from public documents. First, sir, I will call the attention of the Senate to the instruc tions given by the Secretary of War on the 3d of June, '4G, to Gen. Kearney : Should you conquer jand take posses sion of New Mexico and Upper Califor nia, or considerable placfts in either, you wilj establish temporary civil governments therein abolishing all arbitrary restric-, tions that may exist, forjso far as it may be done with safety. In performing this duty it would be wise and prudent to con tinue in their employment all such of the existing officers as are known to be friend ly to the United States, and will take the oatlr of allegiance to them. The duties at the custom houses ought, at once, to be reduced to such a rate as may bp barely sufficient to maintain the necessary olh remain quiet and peaceful wil! ered good citizens and receive ; those who are found in an: . ating others against the U. S., . sidered as traitors, and treat ingly.n f What was the action of f Sloat? How did he interpret ; stand the orders he had receive we have distinct information point, communicated in the j r of Comodore Sloat to the .pecj ': fornia. He, says : " Henceforward California portion of the United States n: ; able inhabitants will enjoy the and privileges they now enj y. witb the privilege of choVit!;: magistrates and other officer.-, i istralion of justice among their the same protection will be t r them as to any other State in' t They will also enjoy a permar ment." Again Commodore Stocktc;. "The Territory of California i: to the U. S., and will begovrr.. as circumstances will permit 1 and laws similar to those by v. other Territories of the United i- regulated and protected. I Now, sir, it is impoible,l tU ' a I what was done what was n our officers to the President! ; been done by them without they understood and acted on l.! tions, as designed to make a j ,.,;iUn..i i: k .- . .t. revenue io conqucst of SUCh portions of Mr ' government, lou mavi assure the people nc a r tvpm net pi if r 1 f . . f ' . . I out any unnecessary oiminuauon, witnout j which was withheld lrom us. But, he leaving out arty thing that may be requir- ; states as a reason for referring the subject eu in a iun nno complete expression oi to lhe determination - of Congress, that the argumentlwhich, in my mind, is con clusive in regard to the measure before VV Durrnf the most favorah e nerud ot the I i i. 1 1 r . i J". l rrlrA nn in rJm.rl friendlv i y0U' 1 sha11 ffer ?NV opinions, Sir, with entire respect, and even deferential i countries from peace to war, therefore, it consideration,fto the great minds of this body and throughout the country, whom I know to be arrayed against me, With out intending towards them any disre spect, 1 shall take the liberty to declare what are the , opinions which I entertain with regard to the origin of the war, the manner, of it$ prosecution, the tendency of lhe measures now proposed, and the puifidular war carried on in a country friendly th;jri, the Ilritish forces lost annually six twn per Cnt .one. fourth of whom died of tounls nd casualties In Mexico we should ta;at leat twpnly per cent, per annum of reg. 2-ir torcic; and at lest forty per cent, of vol . "tars. I remarked' in the isthmus between Aepaspian and Black Seas that lhe Russian fcrcei required to be recruited entirely in three J'tri; (hat is to say, they required a renewal of OBe-t h i rd'j e ve r y year. Ilie contiuost ot that country by Russia af- us lesson a we. CuJht to profit by. The sian force overran the Caucasian country rpic. Tliey -'conquered a peace. Well, in -T I oassed throuch the heart ot the country, o , r T,u, fff0 ,x,,n flrt 'fif!r"c. had been garrisoned with twenty thou, j d h Senalupon , His bill.) but, never- H or eV",ni yearV,aC0Stf tWe? ! theless, I shalj be undekthe necessity of 4 "fy and seventy thousand men, or six or se- l,lt'roc, r . thausarid men a year, i At that time it was ! gn$ a HmejDacK lor ine Vun,w ui.ma fceiarv to it,(v,l,Mirt..r nf irnin tmm ! king myself fhllv understood. potv io vo, il was unsafe to move with less First, then.ll will lay it down, and en- hart two iApc- nf nriillerv and a full comnanv deavor to demonstrate that the war in fntry. ifhis state of 'things contined until which we are now engaged with Mexico, i"tO, whe,n lhe Caucasians onranized a nower. t was thn immediate result of the unlawful wl oo!ojition to ti r. rv t V n ' .1 ..nlninnl nnt if t li r Trrcl fl pnt r.ent day hayo contended against them with . of the United States. I suppose,' sir, that MTantage.. - J he Caucasua t not: contain ! .i ; n Ai f olcO. 1 .... i . ; iiitrc is no ueniiciiiaii ima uwi v,io matters relating to peace and war belong exclusively to Congress; and as this move ment might change the relation of the two of those provinces that it is the wish and 'design of the U. States tp.provide for them belonged to Congress to determine whe ther the movement should be made ornot. But, Mr. President, I have other autho rity. I certainly shall not say that it is more respectable in itself, than the au authority of Mr. Jefferson. I doubt very much whether with a large portion of the American people, and of the Senate", it January, 46, which directed him to ad vance and occupy a position on the left bank of the Rio Grande, the President or dered what he then, undoubtedly, under stood to be an act of war. He ordered what he intended, and what he supposed would be regarded on the part of Mexico, as an act of hostility. For, sir, you will observe, that when General Taylor, in the execution of this order, advanced to the Rio Grande, and drove the Mexicans from their possessions when he occupied what had before been occupied by the Mexi cans and the inhabitants were flying he- Territories. They will . then be called on to exercise the rights oft freemen; in elect ing their own representatives to the terri torial legislature. It is foreseen that what relates to the civil government Will be a difficult and unpleasant part of yipur duty, and much must necessarily be left to your own discretion." In further proof of this, sir, 1 read the instruction given by tie Navy Depart ment to Com. Sloat, 12th July, 18 1G. ' ' The object of the U. States is: under its rights as a belligerent nation, to pos- u k tt , , . , - , . nuuiu Lo uiuuzut uuiik yui w iii. - , 8u.in..w jMHr.uaua-u, , jersons. ijut upon this question, with re- I the Executive the country ln relation cl to the pident of the United Stales, to it. I shall got go as far back 8ir as j authoritv is conclusive and overpow jan honorable, Senator from Maryland dul eri It cVeates upon him, what law ! a few days ago, (i meaq the honorable , .. nn MtonneL lthr , Hin ah!(, fo show. that the President of the United States has himself recognized that such an act as this is an act of hostility of aggres sion of war. On the 11th of July, 1845, fore him, and these facts were reported to sess itself entirely of Upper California the President, there was not the slightest ! The object of the U- States has refer intimation that General Taylor had ex- ; ence to ultimate peace; with Ab-'sico ; and ceeded the orders which had been given if, at that peace, the bars of tho;; pos to him, and had thus been the means of sidetis shall be established, the govern precipitatingthecountry into a war, which, ment expects, ihrough your forces, to be bv a prudent regard to those orders, might found in actual possession of Upper Cali- have been avoided. On the contrary, up , to this very. moment, all that was done in pursuance of that order, has been recog nized by the President as having been rightfully done, as having been done in accordance with the purposes which the ; Executive had in view when the orders J the wishes of the people of California, as . instrnction right ? Why, fcir. In forma. " This will bring with it the necessity of a civil administration. Such a gov ernment should be established under your .Mexico, and became the proj protection; and, in selecting persons to t nited States. ; hold office, due respect should be had to j Well, now did they under they session ol. mere is not one in the instructions nothing ! the actions of the officers cic '. instructions which referred c r tb refer to a military occupati territories, for thefpurposc of. c Mexico to do us justice for V; we had sustained at her hai ' I officers clearly understood that : j fo take possession of, and ho! t j ritories as a portion of the Un : j What says Commodore oc!:'t j ' 1, Robert F. Stockton, coir.r: 1 chief of the U. S. forces in thd 1 cean, and governor of the 'l i t California, and Commander-in c !, army of the same, do hereby tr to all men, that having by ri:!.: quest taken possession of th;.: known by the name of Upper .. California, do now declare it ; I ritory of the U. States under !;. the Territory of California 1 They took possession. ,Th'v governments and they acted i . pects as if from that time iu: I territories ceased to be the t r the Secretary of the Navy writes a confi- were given. 71 a muuoun a a naif of inhabitants ; j wh who supposes or believes that the Riisiian empire hot less han siTiv mil ions tn - -V ,t,"TT j c?. . - j TV. :..'..iJ. i.... ... m,ni9. I President of .the United States is vested eror six hundred thousand well.ZL ;S ! Wlth the Power of V5 Untvy. It ' Both the President nnd the Secretiry build ty system;of line defence, as it 'is called. "ch they easily oterthrow, because no mili. man would suggest such an anomaly. y-wpposq a frontier can only be defended H chain of posts, bordering on the line; .'erfa's it is best secured by strong interior wt.- But I did not intend to intrude my J"iynon, military Irnaticrs. Settle what ter- 7 you Intendlo claim, and tell Mexico you JN to keep lit. She will bluster and pro , hut inever attack , vou. Her leaders will loo much 4t stike to venture so far from H'3'1' !e W1" na1re 1,0 "an to equip " 'niaui mem on long marcnes ami t carhpargns knd I hazard nothing in lL 3 ,ba! 5 or ik'f rong places in the into. I our ioe wo,dd keep them iiqfcheck for if6.?07, and we mighl buy a .if thought! necessary. By adopting this W c6m5p al Ul Present in 117 ndj instead of raising thirty thousand is a nower einresslv, and in terms, con ferred upon the Congress of the United States. And the President would have no control, direct or indirect, except from the incidental circumstance of His limited veto of the action of the two Houses, and except, from the fact, that in virtue of his oince he is the cniei commanoer, prin cipal military officer of the U. States. I maintain .then, Mr. President, that when the President of the United States moved the troops under Gen. Taylor to the Rio Grande and took possession of the left bank of that stream, he committed a clear and undoubted act of war. What is war T What do all the writers on the law of nations tell us it is? They all, in substance, define it to be a contest about rights which Is carried on or maintained, not by argument, but by force. It can, therefore, admit of no question, that when a nation claiming certain rights, which dential communication to Com. Conner, an officer in the U. S. service, then in the Gulf of Mexico. He says: r "The unanimous vote of the Texan Congress for annexation leaves no doubt of the consummation of that measure. j When you ascertain, satisfactorily, that the Texan convention, which assembled on the 4th, has also acceded to annexation; you will regard Texas as a part of your country to be defended like any other part of it. I At the same time, every honorable ef fort is to be made to preserve peace with all nations. The restoration of oUr bound ary on the southwest, by the consent and u: M' ihi neoDle of Texas, is due to the strong liberty, which endear America to eerj one of its sons, and is a tribute before the world to the policy of peace, of political r..,,lm and of union on the principles ot freedom. It is the President's desire that this Tfat event should be consummated without the effusion of blood, and without the exercise, of lorce ; believing that free institutions, in their ownright, will achieve all that can be desired." But, sir, if the act was not an act ot war, it was plainly and manifestly an act which was likely to produce a state of war. It was an act the tendency of which was to change the relations of Mexico and this country from a state of peace to a state of war. Can there be any doubt of this sir? It is impossible to doubt it. wherrwe recollect the unhappy and an well as to the actual possessors of autho- j sage of the President of theUo rity in that province, i It may be proper communicating those docum :. to require, an oath of allegiance to the U. 1 there ii something said whicli j S. frotn those who arejentrusted 'with au- disavowal of what was done, a: thority. You will also assure the people tion that in some respects the jr. of California of the protection ot the U in- had been exceeded. 1 hesc u ted States. says the President, contain 4i After you shall have securetl Upper California, if your force is sufficient, you will take possession, and keep, -the har bors on the Gulf of California, as far down, at least, as Guavmas. But this is not to i i ti, It appears then, upon the slaK President of the U.S. and the U the Secretary of War, that the cr; established by General Kearney (rovprnmpnt of the territorv oflNc D - - i gry state of feeling which existed between txxm onnntries. When we recollect the position which our army held at Cor- interfere with the permanent occupation jc0( in consequence or its late ani n Christi for so many months, and the of Upper California." with reference to the then succ ; disputes existing between the two coun tries the mutual charges of insincerity, and breaches of faith when we recol lect all this, it must be manifest that such n art as moving an armed force to the attraction of the principles of j Rj0 Grande was, in itself, if not an act of war, at least one wnico wore mc ance of aggression, and one which was calculated to rouse the feelings of the r..:..o tr nrovoke retaliation. Thus much must be conceded ; and, il so, Kearney to the Adjutant GeneraUf the sir whence did the President of the Uni- 24ih August, 181G, written from Santa Then. sir. on the 13th of August, we sion had not been read by bun have instructions from the Navy Depart- milled to the President and hii or ment to Commodore Stockton, or whoever ken uh respect to it. Well, r might be the commanding officer in the js :,. only one of the documents ( Pacific. I it is intimated that the contents w -n' . : -Am - nnilprt.i nd thi I. ... th nrrrvr denartmeht n: iov, air. iu ifiiiui. iy v . .... miu n "j " -- - y- scope and bearing of these orders still municated to the President a nil ar more clearly, let us see what was done and sanctioned by hirh. Therefor under them by the officers to whom they reasonable, just :.r. ! necessary? cor I t I 1;. I..Mr f -n,.r I ,1 .., m-orv m nf lbe Other 'duC' 1 1 ' Tt Ml 111 ri"!sLI. lli r I' I" I w-v IIKll Hill ..w . i - m ...1 I except the one thus specitieu jan I out hv the exception, has been aJ j , ted Statesderive his power to do this with out the consent of Congress. According to Mr. Jefferson, an act which in its execution may change the relations an act t u;o n,rf nf the communication, I ot a country i.um t V.. sir for the pirpie of calling distinctly 1 beyond the competency ot me HWum ' ml - i i i i it i . : t.nMinnfn n nil niiiiruit'u. nil re, ne says. 1 , .......- --, , t z . - r oo t ;eeM.it rrrvlamation. even in rcierence io ucnew iv , i x- M.;;n with ' nrcrnmr. law nothincr is excepttc t claiming ine wnoie oi xew ...... . - - its then boundaries, as terriwry ol the the President but th.s: that he b ! 0. Staus of America, and taking itundec taken to prescnb, th form of a M nent territorial government. ."So ! . ! I ' t ' j jl T t . t 1
Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 3, 1848, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75