Newspapers / Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.) / Dec. 18, 1846, edition 1 / Page 2
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j - , 5 -! - " f- : - ? !; ! - J "J if-, 'f-'i tt: A, I: If i 1! ' i. V 1' Ii -1 ii s Si M4 .'fl ill if 1 i f v ft 1 .: I! - i .1 t.-l " ! i s v- r- i! i .!'! 13 4: 4 it 1! ill ill It- 1 r ii Ti :rr ua, a: tne pvri Jt " bf I ,niiK?xii6i;to; the Ufiitcj States, liprn the fame rotation to Mexico ihlt Mexico had borne to Sp.'dn fW raanyears !j before Spain ucbi)vlld her widepenUence, ! w th this ImpArtkntditTcrvure that. before the i Wncxa!i.i of 'iixas to II.Q U. States was con. 1 ulnniaied, Mexico herself, by a formal act of her government'- had ackrU fW he m'c; pSndence LfTe&sa. a na ion. ft is true, .hat ; In the act 'of recognition she prescribed a cpr h :i:J:- .L,.:..i. U ha.-I rto tWcr or authority to iXo el Kit '! a. .ho,.!,! not annex herself to j ourjarmy, with a vi iXZlWr ;, hut thi could not detract in Jeff . we invade tZ tSS fi. b region which Mexico j hal hen nwI of her actual independence, j Upon 1 XhU pllinietateihent of fijrls, it is absurd for ' Mexiccf io allegif, as a pretext f.r commencing ' hoitiiit cs bgaiuft the U. Slates, that Texas is Subsequent. bank ef tho RioGr.uide; Jy, Congress passed an act f establishing eer tilri doj5 routes," extending VcaJ of tho ; Neu cesf The country; west of that river now con stitute? a part of, one, of the Congressional dis tricts of Texas, and is represented in the House of Representatives; The 'senators from that Stale vero chosen by a legislature in which the couhlfy west of that river was represented. In yiew of all these facts, it is; difficult to conceive upon what ground t can, be maintained that, in occupying the country west of the Neuces with army, with a view solely to its security ana i'U the territory oi Mexico. been still more difficult to jug. Uoon I tifyUhc Executive, whoso duty it is to see that me laws ue laiiniuwy t?vuu-,w w all these proceed insi?, boih of the Congress of Texas and of the United States, he had assum- i i a i. A ni i,m nr i - u iy lAit ii h ii'rn iia till a part ul Mr territory1, ;..!.. .. 1. kt.X. m tifn. t-.r r.r rof.uincr It..tlUtii nro ihnse wh . conceUmg all this ; 3 ei 'r : .L. ' , 7 i . . . i.. wtnri ibm lerrnorv nnn lis J iA be true amh ihe 'croi n that the true wes. ''"" .. 7' T sT "f. n ! P Ue, 'nV:. T J : J.i- V..,..a lciQ t hab 'anU including Corpus Chnsti, as well lliiair "l i t.-'i t - f lowinirl Gen.iPaiedc thrDnh W 'tninwtef - l war, issued orderi !to I tlleTSU jan!3n,craf . ; commanu on the -lxian frontier 191 rt "vi1k bar naval force ourarrriy, Iievelry means which witf, permits.-; S To this, Gen. Paredes had been pleiJged to the , o army ana people m Mexico Qunuwv "; rcrolijiioh which i bad hrmight him into power. On the: 19th of April, 1616, ten. rareoes aa. dressed a letlfjr 4 jtho commander ni that fon tier, in! whicli he stated to hip J! ufto pres. ent date I supposb yoa at the head ;of that Val. iant army, cither fighting already, tir preparing fur the operations of a campaign ; and, suppos. intr von already on the theatre off operations, and With all the forces assembled, it is indispen y' "fit "J off cd to cu. Consul, gave a farorab trt l questing, at, ijie same time that liiiti jj,v,f""v"1'll"u.' 'a V" h una b- gotiations should be pending. ; Upon the receipt of this note! our naval force was! promptly with drawn from; Vera iCruz. A MifiUter was im- mediately appointed, and departed to Mexico. Every thin; Iwre H promising aspect for a epee dy and peaceful adjustment of alf oUr difficulties. At the datC;df my annual message to Congress, in December last, no doubi wasj entertained hut that he would be received by tlje Mexican Go vernroent, and the hope was cherished that 'all cause of misunderstanding between the two. counties would be speedily removed. In the u.i i : ! i 1 sable that hoitilities be commenccid, yourself j confident hope that such would.be the result of tern b undary Rio Urdndc in as nndi that, .therefore, In marching f-irer, we passe our airny t' the east bank of the latter lassedlhc Texan line, and invaded the territoryf Mexico, a simple siaiememoi iaqis, krjown to exist, vill concliiViveiy refute such ah assumption. Texas, as cedtnl to the United States by Franco in 1803, has been alvVays LT claimctp cxleiwiuig west to tno mo uwuu of .UlO'Uravo. Itus laci is eaiiiuiiaiicu ... Authority f our most eminent statesmen at a pej rlod wieln; the q lesiion was as well if not bet. ter umlefstood than it is present. DuKng Mr. Jeterson'andmiiustratlion, Messrs. Monroe and Pibckney, v ho had leen snit on a special mission to Madrid, charged among olhcr things, with the adj'istn out of hoimdary between; the Vfo countries, in a note addressed to the Spanish Minister of Foreign AfTii, under date of the iventy.righth of January, 11805, assert that the boundaries of Iousiaua, as ceded to the United States by Franc "are thif river Terdido on the cjast, niiidi tho river Bravo on the' west;" and they otldjthat 41 he facts and principles which justify this conclusion are so satisfactory to our government as to convince it that the United states have not :i better right to ji he bland of Kew Orleans, mder thejeessiori referrtd to, than they have It the whole district of territory y hich is alwve described" tf! Down to tho conclusion of the Florida treaty, )n February, 18 10, by which this territory was Ceded o LSnain, ho United a'es asserted (ant Viiaintafned their lerritorifll rights to this extent. In the month of June, 1618, during Mr. Mon oes ajhninistration, information having been received that a number of foreign adventurers Itad landed at Gclveston, with the avowed pur pose of firming n settlement in that vicinity, a peciaJ messenger was despatched by the gow 4rnment of the I nited States, with instructions, from the Secreta y of State to warn them to del list, should they l found there "or any other tvlace tiorih of thd llio IJiavo, and within the ter- . L!ii 1 l.J .1. TT..:..l C!.ki IT.. ; L the remainder of Texas, against the threatened Mexican invasion, i . But Mexico herself has never placed the war which she has waged upon the ground that our army occupied thei intermediate territory be tween the Nuces and the Rio Grande. Her re futed pretension that Texas was not in flict an independent State, but a rebellious province, was obstinate!y;persevered in ; and her avow ed purpose in commencing a war with the Uni ted Stales was to reconquer Texas, and to re store Mexican authority over the whole territo ry not to the Neuces only but. to the Sabine. InJview of the proclaimed menaces of Mexico to this eflect, I deemed it my duty, as a measure ofiprecaution and defence, to order our army to occupy a position on our frontier as a military pdst, from which our troops could best resist and repel any attempted invasion which Mexico mizht make. inn the initiative against the enemy. The movement of ourarmy totheilio Grande i was made by j the commanding general under j positive orders to abstain from all aggressive acts , towards Mexico, or Mexican citizen and to re- j gard the relations between the two countries as j peaceful, unless .Mexico should declare war, or j commit acts of hostility indicative of a stat of j war;! and these Orders be; faithfully executed, j Whilst occupying his position on the east bank j f ihfl Rif. Grande, within the limits! of Texas, j i then recentlyjadmitted as one of the 'States of our Union, the commanding iicneral bf the Mex ican forces, who, in pursuance of the orders of his government, bad collected a large army on the opposite Miore of the Itio Grande, crossed the river, invaded our territory, and commenced hostilities by attacking our forces. j Thus, after; all ihe injuries whichvie have re ceived and' borne from Mexico, and after she had insultingly rejected, a ministcrsent to her on a mission bf peace, and whom ihe had so lemnly agreed to receive, she consummated her his mission, I informed Congress that I forbore i it . . - i , (1 a ' ai mai lime io recommend saca ulterior mea- sures of redress for the wrongs and injuries we had so long borne, as it would have been proper to make h aid no such negotiatibn been institut ed." To my surprise and regret; the Mexican Government though solemnly pledged to do so, upon tHe arrival of our minister in Mexico, re fused to receive and accredit him. When be reached Vera Cruz, on the thirtieth of Novem ber, 1845, he found that the aspect of affairs had undergone an unhappy change. 1 be Govern ment of Gene ml Herrera, who was at that lime President of the Republic, was tottering to its fall. General Paredes (a military leader) had manttestedihis determination .to overthrow the government of Herrera, by a military revolu tion ; and one of the principal means which he employed fo eflect his purpose, and render the government ot Herrera odious to theTirmyanrl people of Mexico, was by loudly condemning its determination to receive a minister of peace from the United State Our army had occupied a' position at Corpus ! Texas by conquest. On the contrary, it i ion? rnmmpnfinir hn nfiensivo war. and sbeddiniTthe r - u - blood of our citizens on our own sotl. The United States never attempted to acquire an Christi, west of the Nuces, as early as August, 1845, without complaint from any quarter. Had the Nuces been regarded as tho true western boundary of Texas, that boundary had been passed by our army many months before it ad vanced to the Eastern bank of the Rio Grande. In my annual message of December last I in formed Congress that upon the invitation of both I their request Id this government- ; This gov ernment, however, having, remained neutral be tween Texas and Mexico during the war be tween themarid considering it-ducf to the hon or of our country, and oiin fair tamo among the nations of the arth, thatVe should not tit this peridd consent to annexation, nor until it should be manifest to the whale world that ihe fe-con-quest of Texas by Mexico was impossible, re fused to accede to the overtures made by Texas. On the twelfth! of April, 1844, and after more to make it our duty to afford such protection and j than seven years had elapsed since Texas had defence ; and that for that purpose our squadron ! established her independence, a treaty was con had been ordered to the Guland our army to j eluded for the annexation of that Republic to " to take a position between the Nuces and the j the United States, which was rejected iby the del Norte," or Rio Grande, and to "repel any j Senate. Finally, on the first of March, 1845, iiistrudeif, should they bo found in the country ! invasion of the Texjan territory which might be ! Congress passed a joint resolution forjannex- the Congress and Convention of Texas, I had deemed it proper to order a strong squadron to the coasts of Mexico, and to concentrate an ef ficient military force on the western frontier of Texas, to protect and defend the inhabitants a gainst the menaced invasion of Mexico. In that message I informed Congress that the mo ment tho terms of annexation offered by the United States were accepted by Texas, the lat ter became so far a part of our own country as s, alleging that it was the course of outrage against our "country by intention of Herrera, by a treaty with the Uni -c'. i i'ii- .i .-.,IC!... :. i: I 1 r r teu oiuius, iu uiMnt iiiut.' r me ie rruory oi 4iexico, by ceding away the department of Texas. The government ofllerrera is believed to have been well disposed to a pacific adjustment of existing difficulties ; but, probably alarmed for its own security; apd! in order to ward offthe danger of the revolutjon led by Paredes, violated its solemn agreement, and refused to receive or accredit our Minister ; and this, although informed that he had been1 invested with full power to adjust all questions in dispute between the two Gov. ernments. i Among the frivolous pretexts for this refusal, the principal one was, that our minister early period after the people had achieved their moepenaence, iney sougnx. io ue aniiexeuxo iue United States. : At a general election in) Sep tember, 18,36, they decided with great unanim ity in favor of V annexation ;" and' in Novem ber following llie Congress of the Republic au- thoiized the appointment of a minister to bear e) response, re- peace, that Paredes should net retain power in Mexico. ! i Cefire thai time there were symptoms of a revolution fo Mexico, favored, as it was tinder stood to be, by the more liberal party, and es pecially by those who were opposed to foreign in terference and to the monarchial form of gov. ernment. banta Anna was then an exile in Havana, having been expelled from power and banished from his country by a revolution which occurred in December, 1844 ; but it was known that ho had still a coniiderablo party in his fa- vor in ruexico. w was aiso equally well known that;no vigilance which could be exerted by our 'squadron wouia. in an probability, ', have i preventea mm irom eneciing a landing some-1 where on the extensive gulf coast of Mexico, if he desired to return to his country. He had openly professed an entire change of policy ;! had expressed his regret that he had subver-i ted the federal constitution of 1824, and avowed! that he was now in favor of its restoration. i He had publicly declared his hostility, in the strongest terms, to tho establishment of a monl archy, and to European interference in the af fairs of his country. Information to this efTeci had been received, from sources believed to be reliable, at the date of the recognition of tho existence of the war by Congress, and was af terwards fully conGrmed by the receipt of the despatch of our consul in the city of Mexico, with the accompanying-documents, which are herewith transmitted. Resides, it was reason, able to suppose that he must see the ruinous coii. sequences to Mexico of a war with the United States, and that it would bo his interest to fi. vor peace, I It wa3 nnder these circumstances and upon these considerations that it was deemed expe dient not! to obstruct his, return to Meiico. should he i attempt to do so. Our. object wis tho restoration of peace ; and with that view no reason was perceived why we should take part with (Paredes, and aid him, by means bf our oiocicaae, in preventing the return of his rival to Mexico. On the contrary, it was be lieved that the intestine divisions which ordina ry sagacity could not but anticipate as the fruit of Santa Anna's return to Mexico, and his con lost with Paredes, might strongly tend to pro duce a disposition with both parties to restore and preserve peace with the U. States. Pare des was a soldier bv Profession, and a mrm. ar v Icct our frce r Ry t!ie block a ! th enemy Lp. 1 Wei! may ti ¬ ll the energy ar. 1 volunteer officer these few rno: '! -our country c.ir. dently rely for t: and the defence force, ready at i tho comforts c f I. tions of the cm: . may ie lor the i economical, as t! the necessity eft; my in time off love their iru!;' : i fend aud protc I : Whilst the w ,ir and successful ; ; to arrest its evi! brilliant victories ninth of May !! be corhpromi.!. ! made Io Mcsic . July last, to tor;. ' and honorable ! of August fo to accept this to the, decii" lo.i had not gone! upon a special mission, confined archist in! principle. He had but recently be to the question of Teras alone, leaving all the fore been; successful in a military revolution, bad obtained power outrages upon our flag and our citizens unre- north of that rivef-, to make known to them 4f 'the ' ' '.I 1 I i I r r 1 .1 surprise wiiu wn enme rresiuuni nas seen pos- I sesafioo thus taken, without authority from! the I VnileJ (States, of a place within their territorial limits, and upon which no lawful settlement can bema'djn without their sanction." He was in structed to call u )on them to " avow under what national authority they profess to act," and to give them duo warning " that the place is with in the United Strtes, who will suffer no perma nent scjttliemenl to bo made thetfe, under any au thority other than their own.'r As late a the $th Jujy 1842, the Secretary of the; United States, in a note addressed to our minister in Mexico, maintains that, by the Florida treaty of i 1810, thej territory as far west as the Rio Grande was oonhrmed o i bpain. in that note lie states that, by the treaty of the twenty-second jof February, 1819, between the United States and iSpain, the Sabine was adopted as the lino of oundary between the two powers. Up to that erio4, n considerable colonization had; bejen ffecteu in Texas ; but ihe territory between ihe Sabino and the Rio Grande being confirm- j eu to Spain ty tne treaty, applications ; were Unade to that Power for grants of land, and such grants, or permissions of settlement, were in ji iact made by th r Spanish authorities in favor of citizens of the Jutted States proposing to emi I grate ioj Texas in numerous families, before the Ideclaratien of indepeiulence by Mexico." j . TlU Texas v hich was ceded to Spain by the .Florida treaty t C S0, embraced all the coun- try nov claimeilby the Slate of Texas, between Uthe Neuces nnt the Rio (Irande. Tho repub- ,lic of Texas always claimed this river as her attempted by the Mexican forces." ing her to the united States, upon certain pre It was deemed proper to issue this order, be- i Iuninary conditions to which her assent was cause, soon atter U I 1 resident oi lexas, in : April, 1845, had issued his proclamation con- ; vening the Congress of that republic, for the purpose of submitting to that body the terms of annexation proposed by the United States, the required. The solemnities which character ized the deliberations and conduct of the Gov ernment and people of Texas, on the deeply in teresting questions presented by these resolu tions, are known to the world. THe Congress, government of Mexico made serious threats of Executive, and the people of Texas, irt a con- invading the Texian territory. These threats I vention elected for that purpose, accepted with great unanimity the projwosed terms of Annexa tion : and thus consummated on her part the tiion a became more apparent, in the progress of the question, that the people ot l exas would decide in favor of accepting the terms of annexation ; and, finally, they had assumed such a formida ble character, as induced both the Congress and Convention of Texas to request tbat a military force should be sent by the United States into her territory for the purpose of protecting and defending her against the threatened inva sion. It would have been a violation of jjood faith towards the people of Texas to have re fused to afford the aid which they desired great act of restoring to, our fe it. ! a gainst a threatened invasion, to which they had i ffression, the most uniust vast territory which had been ceded to Spain by the I londa treaty more than a quarter of a century before. ! After the joint resolution for. tho annexation of Texas to tho United States had been passed by our Congress, the Mexican j Minister at Washington addressed a note to the Secretary of State, bearing date, on the sixth of i March, 1845, protesting against it as "an act which can of ag- be found been exposed by their free determination t an- j recorded in the annals of modern histojry'; name nex themselves to our Union, in compliance : ly, that of despoiling a friendly nation like Mcx- with the overture made to them by the joint re- solution of our Congress. I Accordingly, a portion of the army was order- ; ed to advance into Texas. Corpus Christi was the position selected by Gen. Taylor. He en camped at that place in August, 1815, and the ! army remained in that position until the elev- j enth of March, 184G, when it-moved westward, j and on the 28th of that month reached the east bank of the Rio Grande opposite to Matamor as. This movement was made in pursuance of : orders from the W ar Department, issued on the twestern bound-jry, and in her treaty made with thirteenth of January, 1840.' Before these or- (Santa Anna in May, 183(3, ho recognized it as ders were issued, the despatch of our minister tjsuch. By the constitution which Texas adopt- in Mexico,transmittingthe decisionof the Coun i jVd in March, lf'30, senatorial and reprcsenta- cil of Government of Mexico, advising that he jl; tivo districts were organized extending west of; should not be received, and also the despatch of j,l he Neuces. he' Congress ot lexas, on the i our Consul residing in the c;ty of Mexico the i il!niiflntli fif I)ifrpmliif. 1 W.'U! nnael ,inrt i fnrmpr hnnrinrp Hutu nn lki i ueimo :ne uc unuanes ot ijic republic ot l ex- j lauer on tne eigriteenth ot December, lo45, co as," in which they declarel the Rio Grande pies of both of which accompanied my message from its mouth to its source to be their bounda- j to Congress of the eleventh of May last were ry, and by tho s:iid act they extended their !" civ- ; received at the Department of State. These if and political jurisdiction" over tho country communications rendered it highly probable, if hp to I hat bounJary. During a period 'bf more ! not absolutely certain, that our minister would than nine yeara, which intervened between the not be received by the Government of General adoption ot her constitution and her annexation I Herrera. It was also weil known that but lit as one jof the States of the Union, Texas assert ed and exercised many acts of sovereignty and jurisdiction over. the territory and inhabitants west of the ISeuces. She organized and de fined llio limits of counties extending to thej Rio Gram e. She established courts of justice and and e tended bet judicial system over the terri tory. JSheV established a lantl oflice, and Issued numc rOuVgranta for land.within its limits. A sen ator and representative residing in it were! elec ico, of a considerable portion of her territory ; and protesting against the resolution of annex- ation as being an act, " whereby the province i of Texas, an integral portion of the Mexican j territory, is agreed and admitted into the Amer- j can Union ;'and he announced that, as aeon- i sequence, his mission to the United; States had ; terminated, -and demanded his passpjorts, which : were granted. It was upon the absurd pretext, ' made -by Mexico, (herself indebted for her in- ; dependence! to a successful! revblfion,) that j the republic bf Texas still continued to be, not- j withstanding all that had passed, a province of! Mexico, that this step was taken by; the Mex- ican minister. ! dressed. The Mexican Government well knew ; that both our national honor and the protection j duo to our citizens imperatively required that l the two questions of boundary and indemnity j should be treated of together, as naturally and inseparably blended, and they ought to have seen j that this cburse was best calculated to enable j the United Stales to extend to them the most liberal justice. On the thirtieth of December, 1845, General Herrera resigned the Presiden j cy, and yielded up the Government to General i Paredes without a struggle. Thus a revolution I was accomplished solely by the army command. ; ed by Paredes, and the supreme power in Mexi J co passed into the hands of a military usurper, i who was known to be bitterly hostile to the U. ! States. Although the prospect of a pacific adjustment with the new government was unpromising, j from the known hostility of its head to the Uni , ted States, yet, determined that nothing should be lett undone on our part to restore friendly relations between the two countries, our min ister was instructed to present his credentials to the new government, and ask to' be accredi ted by it in the diplomatic character in which he had been commissioned. These instruc tions he executed by his note of the first o( .March, 1846, addressed to the Mexican Minister of Foreign affairs, but his request was insultingly refused by that minister in h'i3 answer of the twelfth of the same month. No alternative re mained for our minister but to demand his pass ports, and return to the United States. Thus was the extraordinary spectacle presen ted to the: civilized world, of a government, in violation of its own express agreement, having twice rejected a minister of peace, invested with full powers to adjust all the existing differ ences between the two countries in a manner just and honorable to both. I am not aware that modern history presents a parallel case, in which,! in-time of peace, one nation has re fused even to hear propositions from another for terminating existing difficulties between them. Scarcely a hope of adjusting our difficulties even at a remote day, or of preserving peace with Mexico could be cherished while Paredes remained at the head of the government He Every honorable effort lias been used by me had acquired the supreme power by a military to avoid the war which followed, but all have revolution, and upon the most solemn pledges proved vain. ; All our attempts j to preserve , to wage war against the United States, and to peace, havo;!been met by insult and; reiistence re-conquer Texas, which he claimed as a revol on the part of Mexico. My efforts to this e.nd ted province of Mexico. He had denounced as ed to the. Congress of the republic, and served ;j as such bcforelthcact of annexation took nlace. i In both the Congress, and the Convention of tie hope could be entertained of a different re sult from Gen. Paredes, in case the revolution ary movement which he was prosecuting should prove successful, as was highly probable. The partisan. of Paredes, as our minister in the des patch referred to states, breathed the fiercest hostility against the United States, denounced commencedin the note of the Secretary ofState of the tenth of March, 1845, an answer1 to that of the Mexican minister. Whilst; declining to reopen a discussion which had already been exhausted, and proving again what was known to the whol world, thatjTexas had long since achieved her independence, the Secretary of State expressed the regret ot this government con- part guilty of treason all those Mexicans who sidered Texas as no longer c6nstifuting a of the territory of Mexico, and who wcrefiiend- ly to the cause of peace. The duration of the war which he waged against tho United States was indefinite because the end which he pro posed, ot the reconquest ol lexas, was I . a ,Vi ik l 1 . V. 4 T I WW uj Milieu ue uhu uoiamea power. lie was sworn enemy of the U. States, with which ho hacf involved his country in the existing tvar.-l Santa Anna had been expelled from power y the army, was known to be in open hostility to Paredes and publicly pledged against foreign intervention and the restoration of monarchy in Mexico. In view of these facts and circum stances it was, that, when orders were issued to the commander of our naval forces in the Gulf, on the fifteenth day of May last, only two days alter the existence ol the war had "been recognised by Congress, to place the coasts' of Mexico under blockade, he was directed not to obstruct tho passage of Santa Anna to Mexico. A revolution took place in Mexico in hc early part of August following, by which ihe power of Paredes was overthrown, and he has since been banished from the country, and is now in exile. Shortly afterwards, Santa An na returned. It remains to be seen whether ma return may not prove to ie favorable io a pacific adjustment of the existing difficulties, it being manifestly his interest not to pcrsevjere in the prosecution of a war commenced by Paredes, to accomplish a purpose so absurd as the reconquest of Texas to the Sabine. Had Paredes remained in power, it is morally per tain that any pacific adjustment would have been hopeless. j Upon rhe commencement of hostilities by Mexico against the United States, the indig nant spirit of the nation was at once aroui.ed. Congress promptly responded to ihe expecta tions of the country, and, by the act of the t dr tcenth of May last, recognised the fact that war existed, by the act of Mexico, between tho U nited States and tliat republic, and granted the means necessary for its rigorous prosecution. Being involved in a war thus commenced by Mexico, and for the justice of which on our part we may confidently appeal to the wholo wOrld, I resolved to prosecute it with the utmost vigor. Accordingly, the ports of Mexico on the Gulf and on the Pacific have lieen placed under blockade, and her territory invaded at several important points. 1 he reports from the De partments of War and the Navy will inform you more in detail of the measures adopted in A L I I . I ' me emergency in wnicii our country was plac ed, and of the gratifying results which have been accomplished. ' The various columns of the army have per formed their duty under great disadvantaj jes, with the most distinguished skill and courage. The victories of Palo Alto and Resaca dc la Palma, and of Monterey, won againtt grcitly superior numbers, and against most decjded advantages in other respects on the part of the enemy, were brilliant in their execution, and entitle our brave officers and soldiers to the grateft'ul thanks of their country. The na ion deplores the loss of the brave officers and men who have gallantly fallen while vindicating hnd l . : assemh.cd in ti I communicate I letter If tho i r open riegciiau ; . can givcrnrr.cn', Secretary of St . Tho" war will s vigor, 'as the 1.: is hoped that t!. i gress, to which ferrcd may" rc peace j Vi'ith ; unreasonable, c : it is the part ergy of our mi! is maae Know n. portant to hr ! ; : provinces which ' live treaty cf r - and ratified by t The war Las conquest ; but 1 1 . ico, it has ben' I i try, and will I with a view to ' thereby secure t es of 'the war, i -citizens, who . ; gainst Mexico, i By, the laws : is subject to ini;5 ins innw.irj either a treaty withdraw fr rn being ncceai i . duty iof the c .t ? i . ' der and the rLV" has been excrci our military a tablishment c f i of the conqior lating them as j stitulions of o;r of New Me.iie :. ie -t any luriner rr inhabitants tot1, have thus, f; :. according to l! It may be j rr- these imporlat t quatfe apprcj-ri . tortincattoiTi au sarily incidei.i session and at.; . Iear the c! , sonsj commuiii ; important, a a peate with Mo be appropriate 1 Executive, sm i unon two tornv j tration of Pre-! On the '2C: hi of 82,000,000 posal of the Pn . It yas at that ti Louisiana fro;:: be applied a? r. might be pai 1 ,' Feb., 160G, t!. i appropriated v. . Flofidas fro::j the. proposed negotiation as treason, and openly ! est and most friendly relations between the sis- , openly advocated the establishment of a monar- called upon the troops and the people to put down the Government of Herrera by force. The reconquest of Texas and war with tho United States were openly threatened. These 'were the circumstances existing when it was deem HI I 'I of Gen. Taylor to advance to the western fron- Texasj which i ave their assent to the , terms of ed proper to order the army under the command uiir iin io iLe United btates, proposed by our Congress, wre renrvsnf.iiivi4 rMiilmir .f ,.r ' i I ; 4l k w . ji I "I? 7 lV' T?.look P"1 in "'0 l ofaunel. V . . V1 Ine twenty-ninth of De- ceincr. 18 15, was admitted as one of the States rfTFnion- i'rat the Congress of the Uni ted fctafruMierstood the State of Texas which they dmtted into the Union to extend beyond t :U 7 "rrareni irom me tact, that on theMrty.firstjrf December, 1845, only two days r ariehe act of admission, they passed a law to estaMbli a jUoction district in the State of vx yUieh they created a port ofdeliv. Cfy Hl Coipul Christi. situated west of ih'o Neu- tier of Texas, and occupy a position on or near 1 vet, waving all ceremony, I embraced the ear the Rio Grande. lie'st favorable opportunity " to ascertain from The apprehensions of a contemplated Mexi- l-he Mexican government whether tbey would can invasion have been since fully Justified bv receive an Envoy from the United States en- 1 . IM J r mm . (Kiic-fan ivtt'n fiiil nnttii fi oiiiic?f j-nll : n ik mine. hnrio t-i .i i i i A i .-v - . M i. : a T i . i i less, liesiaes, mere was good reason to be- ueicllulllo uicir country s rights ana nonor. that Mexico should have taken offence; at the lieve, Ironi all his conduct, that it was his mten- ; It is a- subject of pride and satisfaction that resolution of annexation passed by! Cbngress, tion to convert the republic of Mexico into mon- , our volunteer citizen soldiers, who so promptly and gave assurance that our ". most strenuous archy, and to call a foreign, European prince ; responded to their country's call, with an epe- eflbrts shall! be devoted fo the amicable! adjust- lo the throne. Preparatory to this end, he had, ' rience Of the discipline of a camp of only a jfew ment of every cause of complaint! between the during his short rule destroyed the liberty ol the i weeks, have borne their part in the hard fought , i . .i Lr : ...J- .: : r : l .. ...u:i 1 1 , . 1 i governments, ana 10 me.i cumvauon w ui kiuu- . press, loinatuig iuai pviuuu ui ii umj wmcn , oame 01 .uonierey wun a constancy and cour age equal to that of veteran troops, and worthy of the highest admiration. The privationt of long marches through the enemy's country, and through a wilderness, have been borns without a murmur. Ry rapid movements the proviece of New Mexico, with Santa Fe, its capital, has been captured without bloodshed. The nivy has co-operated with the army, and rendejed important services : if not so brilliant, it h be cause the enemy had no force to meet Ihenvon their own element, and because of the defences ter republics.' That I have acted in the spirit! of this assur ance, will appear from the events Which have since occured. Notwithstanding Mexico had abruptly terminated all diplomatic intercourse with the United States, and ought, therefore to have been the first t ask for its resumption, - I i - 1 - r - SfH. IIU iCU Iwing jhc same point at which the Tet 1 1 nlr the laws of thati repub badWrrJvTated, and directed lhat;H sur e) or to c.lUtthe rcvenuo should be appoint, edjor that phrt hy PrPSid4,t by andl with ? .te?IB ' natd and confirm. ..Jr TrL rUMWen incc in the. peifunnancHof bisdnti,. in j Jr.t . . 1 ! 4. : . "iuicC litis UI iue rerH,bhc of lexas, and of our Confess! nrecc ded the orders for the advance uu RIIIIJ IO the- event. Ihe determination of rush into hostilities with the United States was afterwards manifested from the whole tenor of the note of the Mexican Minister of Foreign Af fairatn our minister, bearing date on the 12th of March, 184G. Paredes had then revolution izedthe government, and his minister, after re ferring to the resolution for the annexation pf Texas which had been adopted by our Congress in March,1845, proceeds to declare! that "a tact such as this, or, to speak with greater exact ness, so notable an act of usurpation, created an imperious necessity that Mexico, for her own honor, should repel it with proper firmness and dignity. The supreme government had before hand declared that it would look upon such an act as a casu bcllf; and, as a consequence i of this declaration, negotiation was, by its very na lure, at an end, and war was h only recourse of the Mexican government.' ; , It appears, also,' that, oh the 1th of " April job jions in dilpute between the two governments." In September, 1845, I believed the! propitious moment for such an overture had arrived. Tex as, by the enthusiastic and almost innimous will of ber people, had pronounced in avor of annexations Mexico herself had agreed to ac knowledge! the independence of Tea as,; subject toa condition, it is true, which she had jno right i to impose land no power to enforce. The last ! 1? . : .C-? 'C- l 1 . 1 1 '. i Lilt lingering hope ot lexico, u sne uii couia nave retained any, that Tekas would ever again be come one f her provinces, must haveleen a bandoned.i i 1 - -i j ; The Consul of the United States at the city tif Mexico j was! therefore instructed by (he SecT retaryof S,tate ou the l&th of September, 1845, to make the inquiry of the Mexican Government. The inquiry was made,! and on the fifteenth of October; 1845, the Minister of Foreign Affairs chy. Ihe better to secure the success of his ultimate designs, he had, by an arbitrary de cree, convoked a Congress not to be elected by the free voice of the people, but to be chos en in a manner to make them subservient to his will, and to give him absolute control over their deliberations. Under all these circumstances, it was belie ved that any revolution in Mexico, founded up on opposition to the ambitious projects of Pa- redes, would tend to promote the cause of peace ! wnicn nature has interposed in the difficulties as well as prevent any attempted European in- ' f lhe navigation on the .Mexican coast. Our lenerencu mi uic au.nrs, i me ,nrm American "iuu,u" unc, wun me co-operauon continent both objects of deep interest to the United States. Any such foreign interference if attempted, must have been resisted by the U. States. My views upon that subject were fully communicated to Congress in my last an nual message. In any event, it was certain a ot a gallant oiheer of the army, and a small force hastily collected in that dis-tant country, have acquired bloodless possession of the Cal iforrfias, and the American flag has been raised at every important point in that province. I I congratulate you on the success which has were made to f means to enaL! important objoc t became necc;; HTiTtfrTi? f wit"? I I arisen in whic' ponani ior king them car: that, the mca?u: sionl met with ti hies in both 1 different funn-. of 82,000,000 much to be re-: lawj The rcn commend the r . and I again 'v. ration, and tion'upon it. and bo mt r.oc ry; shou'd it I t.Jl . . ! wno:e or in pit er public e. ' Immediately the 'existence. tentl teerp might Porto Rico to j Unifed Slates ; tion of the S: article of our tr of del., 170'j, t; jcctsofcithr r. or letters of m i the bther s!,i 011 Wa3 rli; a:. It tflUrd JTU3 chived asura: artic part of th Or. er-i ! r U . 1 ... L - , ., . fi . ,, ai uu u cr a ine. government ui , thus attended our military and naval orvnii. Mexico wn.ci. wQu.u deprive Paredes of power . In le tban 8RVCn monAf aft M could be; for the worse so far as the United : mence1 hosliIitleSf at a time 8C,ecled CJP ST wC8, CnCerknod' Wh,le l 7M.hfy! Self' we havc lakpn session of mapr probable that any change must be tor the bet- j pr;nc;Dal . . . f t inwM. I 1 . i ""4Uluf army, ana acquired militarv DOSea. ter. This was the state of affairs existing when Congress, on the thirtieth of May last, recog. nised the existence of the war which had been commenced by the government of. Paredes; and it became atij object of much importance with a vjew tq a speedy settlement of our.diffi culties aud the- restoration of an honorable ? n . aT . mousoi me Mexican provinces of New Mexico, New lon, Coahuilla, Tamaulipas, and the Cal.fornias. a territory larger in extent than that embraced in the original thirteen Slates of the Union, inhabited by a considerable pop. illation, land much of ii more than a thousald miles Irpta the points at which we had to cqI- mittdd from t!.i! ; and Porto Ric i t; ting :ny atfemr traiiilt t!ic lT. : i fully 'satiolu-J t'iut : it aswela in ; :: theirjpart, faitl.f impows on tjsem. Inlormali'Tri 1.3? men of Htate tl.-it ITtTana blank c-r lifkrales of nat m' Ireti)t heztl of ;!. so, reason m c; ; - brrn'trari-irU'e 1 t lliesc" pajvrP, i:i t'r A the jirei;:r.:.: . ized pationi f r c tlifir co.ij'jrt a; these couj;r.is ; . : : .''' , ;.--" - I !.V:-!tj ;.; i " . j -1- if ; : i -'ir. 1 (
Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 18, 1846, edition 1
2
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