The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-31 00:00:00

APPROPRIATION DOCTRINES.

Had the Government of Mexico acceded to the
equitable and liberal terms proposed, that mode of
a,!+n•tment would have been preferred. Mexieo
having declined tu do this, iatid .to offer any
other terms which could be. accepted by the United
States, the national honour, no less than the public

interests, requires that the war should be prosecu
with increased energy and power, until a just and satis-
factory peace can be obtained In the mean time, as
Mexico refuses all indemnity, we should adopt measures
to indemnify ourselves,by appropriating permanently a
portion of her territory. Early after the commence-
ment of the war, New Mexico and the Californias
were taken possession of by our forces. Our mili-
tary and naval commanders were ordered to conquer
and hold them, subject to be disposed of by a treaty
of peace.
These provinces are now in our undisputed occupa-
tion, and have been so for many months ; all resist-
ance on the part of Mexico having ceased within their
limits, I am satisfied that they should never be sur-
rendered to Mexico. Should Congress concur with
me in this opinion, and that they should be retained
by the United States as indemnity, I can perceive
no good reason why the civil jurisdiction and laws of
the United States should not at once be extended
over them. To wait for a treaty of peace, such as we
are willing to make, by which our relations towards
them would not be changed, cannot be good policy ;
whilst our own interest, and that of the people inha-
biting them, require that a stable, responsible,
and free government under our authority
should, as soon as possible, be established
' over them. Should Congress, therefore, deter-
mine to hold these provinces permanently, and
that they shall hereafter be considered as constituent
parts of our country, the early establishment of terri-
torial governments over them will be important for
the more perfect protection of persons and property ;
and I recommend that such territorial governments
he established. It will promote peace and tranquillity
among the inhabitants, by allaying all apprehension
that they may still entertain of being again subjected
to the jurisdiction of Mexico. I invite the early and
favourable consideration of Congress to this important
subject.
Besides New Mexico and the Californias, there are
other Mexican provinces which have been reduced to
our possession by conquest. These other Mexican
provinces are now governed by our military and
naval commanders, under the general authority which
is conferred upon a conqueror by the laws of war.
They should continue to be held as a means of
coercing Mexico to accede to just terms of peace.
Civil as well as military officers are required to con-
duct such a government. Adequate compensation to
be drawn from contributions levied on the enemy
should be fixed by law for such officers as may be
thus employed; what further provision may become
necessary, and what final disposition it may be proper
to make of them, must depend on the future progress
of the war, and the course which Mexico may think
proper hereafter to pursue.
With the views I entertain, I cannot favour the
policy which has been suggested, either to withdraw
our army altogether, or to retire to a de3ignated line,
and simply hold and defend it. To withdraw our
army altogether from the conquests they have made
by deeds of unparalleled bravery, and at the expense
of so much blood and treasure, in a just war on our
pirt, and one which, by the act of the enemy, we
could not honourably have avoided, would be to
degrade the nation in its own estimation anck in that
of the world.

To retire to a line, and simply hold and defend it,
would not terminate the war. On the contrary, it
would encourage Mexico to persevere, and tend to
protract it indefinitely. It is not to be expected that
Mexico, after refusing to establish such a line as a
permanent boundary, when our victorious army are
in possession of her capital, and in the heart of her
country, would permit us to hold it without resist-
ance. That she would continue the war, and in the
most harassing and annoying forms, there can be no
doubt. A border warfare of the most savage character,
extending over a long line, would be incessantly waged.
It would require a large army to be kept constantly in
the field, stationed at posts and garrisons along such
a line, to protect and defend it. The enemy, relieved
from the pressure of our arms on his coasts and in the
populous parts of the interior, would direct his atten-
tion to this line, and, selecting an isolated post for
attack, would concentrate his forces upon it. This
would be a condition of affairs which the Mexicans,
pursuing their favourite system of guerilla warfare,
would probably prefer to any other. Were we to
assume a defensive attitude on such a line, all the ad-
vantages of such a state of warfare would be on the
side of the enemy. We could levy no contributions
upon him, or in any other way make him feel the
pressure of the war, but must remain inactive and
await his approach, being in constant uucertainty at
what point on the line, or at what time he might make
an assault. He may assemble and organize an over-
whelming force in the interior on his own side of the
line, and concealing his purpose, make a sudden as-
sault upon some one of our posts, so distant from any
other as to prevent the possibility of timely succour
or reinforcements; and in this way our gallant army
would be exposed to the danger of being cut off in
detail ; or if, by their unequalled bravery and prowess
everywhere exhibited during this war, they should
repulse the enemy, their numbers stationed at
any one post may be too small to pursue him.
If the enemy be repulsed in one attack, he would have
nothing to do but to retreat to his own side of the
line, and being in no fear of a pursuing army may
reinforce himself at leisure for another attack on the
same or some other post. He may, too, cross the line
between our.posts, make rapid incursions into the
country which we hold, murder the inhabitants,
commit depredations on. them, and then retreat to
the interior before a sufficient force can be concen-
trated to pursue him. Such would probably be the
harassing character of a mere defensive war on our
part. If our forces, when attacked or threatened
with attack, be permitted to cross the line, drive back
the enemy, and conquer him, this would be again to
invade the enemy's country, after having lost all the
advantages of the conquests we have already made,
by having voluntarily abandoned them. To hold such
a line successfully and in security, it is far from being
certain that it would not require as large an army as
would be necessary to hold all the conquests we have
already made, and to continue the prosecution of the
war in the heart of the enemy's country. It is also
far from being certain that the expenses of the war
would be diminished by such a policy.
RECOMMENDATION TO PROSECUTE THE