The Sun.
London, England, 1848-02-14 00:00:00

AMERICAN NEWS.

LIVERPOOL, SUNDAY.
By the Royal Mail steamship Cambria, Captain
Harrison, we have advices from New York to the
29th ult., and Halifax to the Ist inst.
The Cambria has brought 10,0001. in specie on
freight.
The steam-ship Acadia had arrived out.
The Royal Mail steamship Thames arrived at
Ship Island, New Orleans, on the lath ult., from
Havannah.

The steamer Yallabusha, with a heavy cargo of
cotton, bound for New Orleans, was entirely de-
stroyed by fire on the 18th ult., and 40 persons are
supposed to have perished with her.
A great fire, consuming several warehouses, took
place at Havannah on the night of the 13th ult.
A Whig " caucus," held at Washington on the
29th, had determined to recommend a national con-
vention for the nomination of President and Vice-
President.

Congress is still in full deliberation upon the
measures for continuing the war with Mexico. The
Bill asking for the ten new regiments is still in the
Senate.

The Treasury would very soon need replenishing.
According to the estimates of the Secretary
18,000,000 dolls. would be needed before the 30th of
June next. Accordingly, a Bill has been reported in
the I-louse of Representatives, authorising a loan to
that amount, limiting the interest to 6 per cent. for a
stock having 20 years to run, and which must not be
sold under par.
In Congress on the 20th Mr. Mangum submitted
resolutions calling for the instructions under which
General Scott's " order," No. 379, was issued, and
also his opinion as to the efficiency of his means to
carry the same into effect. The resolutions led to a
sharp debate between Messrs. Mangum, Cass, Crit-
tenden, and Allen. Mr. Mangum stated that he
had two objects in presenting these resolutions.
First, to know the extent of the Executive purpose
on the subject of the conquest of Mexico ; secondly,
to ascertain the opinions of the highest military
authority as to the means of carrying out this pur-
pose. He expressed his surprise at the tenderness
of gentlemen on the other side whenever infor-
mation was sought for. Mr. Cass said he was not
tender of the Executive, but of the honour of the
country. He did not wish to enlighten the Mexi-
cans. Desirous as he was to give every information
to Congress, he hoped the President would come out
fully and plainly and say.it was his design to conquer
the whole of Mexico ; but as to holding Mexico, that
was a different question. Mr. Crittenden replied in
a tone of strongssas!casm on the subject of the Execu-
tive withholding light frotn-Congresa, lest the enemy
should be benefited by it. All that was here asked
for was only information necessary to enable the
Senate to form a correct judgment 44 matters sub-
mitted to it for legislation.
The resolution was then modified by Mr. Mangum,
so as to leave it discretionary with the President to
omit any disclosure which in his opinion would be
detrimental to the public interests, and in this form

it was agreed to.
The House then proceeded to the consideration of
the Ten Regiments Bill. Mr. Foote examined the
proposition of Mr. Calhoun, and contended that the
tendency of their policy was to re-nationalise Mexico,
and showed that his (Mr. Calhoun's) predictions,
made at the last session of Congress, in regard to
the practicability of taking Vera Cruz and the city of
Mexico, had not been verified. Mr. Calhoun ex-
plained, and said that in an interview sought by
the Executive he had expressed the opinion that if
Juan
Vera Cruz and the Castle of San d'Ulloa were
attacked and our forces defeated, the inevitable con-
sequence must be our withdrawal to a defensive
line. Mr. Foote continued—after reviewing Mr.
Calhoun's speech he had laid down his own plan,
which was to annex Mexico by provinces, and admit
her to the benefits of the American territorial
system. He would establish depots at the principal
kuarS• and export
and trial by jury. He looked forward to a long
series of years of prosperity if they adopted this
course. He trusted that supplies would be voted,
for, if they did nut avail themselves of their present
power to subdue Mexico, but were content with a
defensive line, they might ultimately find themselves
engaged in a double war, with Mexico and Great
Britain. Mr. Thompson, of Indiana, insisted that
the Nueces, and not the Rio Grande, was the true
line of boundary between the United States and
Mexico. He asserted that General Taylor had
never advised the march of the army to the Rio
Grande, except hypothetically. The President was
determined to make war, and had deceived the peo-
ple. He had given General Taylor orders to march
the army beyond the Nueces ten days before he knew
of Slidell's rejection by the .Mexican Government ;
and the President knew that Mr. Slidell would be
rejected before he sent him to Mexico. Mr. Thomp-
son was eloquent and severe in his denunciations of
the Government, and Mr. Rhett followed, and replied
' to the constitutional argument that had been brought
forward as to the distinction between the war-ineking
and war-declaring power of the Government. Con-
gress could only declare war, whereas the waging of
war could only be by the action of the Executive.
On the 24th Mr. Baldwin's resolutions, calling on
the President for informati6n as to the existence of
any public domain in Mexico, and the power of the
Mexican Government to cede any portion of the same
to a foreign Government, were taken up. Mr.
Hannegan requested explanation as to the object of
the resolutions. Mr. Baldwin explained, that the
President having informed Congress, in his annual
message, that the republic of Mexico had no other
means of indemnifying the United States than by the
cession of her territory, the object of the resolutions
was to ascertain the grounds on which the President
founded the expectation of obtaining Mexican terri-
tory as indemnity.
Mr. Hannegan maintained, that as Mexico was
not a republic, but nothing more nor less than an
anarchy, the United States had a right to take by
cession any portion of her territory. Whether
Mexico had the power to cede was not the question
for them, but her, to decide. As to their own prat •
tice, they had asserted that the disputed north-eastern
boundary belonged to them. Yet they ceded away a
part. The Executive had decided that the whole of
Oregon was theirs, and yet they had given up two-
thirds.
The Senate then proceeded to the consideration of
the Army Bill. Mr. Clark spoke in opposition to the
Bill, and denounced the origin and progress of the
war. Ile calculated that by the passage of this Bill
the army in Mexico would be increased to 95.000 men.
He wished to know how this force was to be em-
ployed, and in what manner the Committee of Ways
and Means proposed they should ha provided for. He
believed that if the Bills now before the Senate were
passed, they would require a loan of 40,000,000 of
dollars for the present war, which could not be nego-
tiated on better terras than 90 cents on the dollar.
The abstraction of so large an amount of specie from
circulation would cause an alarming increase in the
price of breadstuffs, and fall heavily on the labouring
population of the States. He also objected to the
annexation of Mexico, or to the destruction of her
nationality, which were the only objects for which the
I war could be prosecuted any longer.
On the 27th the Ten Regiments Bill was again
taken up. Mr. Phelps, having " the floor," went
into a calculation to show the effect of the war upon
the financial and commercial affairs of the country.
He estimated that up to the Ist of July last the
Treasury had fallen into arrears from the com-
mencement of the war 68,000,000 dolls. At the
close of the present year this arrear would be in-
creased to not less than 80,000,000 dolls. He then
examined the estimates of the Secretary of the
Treasury for future revenues, all of which were too
high. Having made deductions from each item in
the Secretary's calculations, and having shown how
the estimates of expenditure for the next two years
might be expected to fall below the actual
amounts required, he concluded that the Secre-
tary had oven estimated the receipts for the
next year about 17,000,000 dolls., and under-
rated the expenditure 22,000,000 dolls. He did not
believe that the money asked for could be obtained
by loan or Treasury notes. The amount of specie
now in the New York banks did not exceed 5,000,000
dolls. The Boston banks held about 4,000,000 dolls.
and the Baltimore banks 2,000,000 dolls. It would
be impossible for Government to find 20,000,000
dolls. in specie, and nothing else would be received
for the proposed loan. The very large investmerei
recently made in Government stock, railroads, and
manufactories, had absorbed most of the active
capital of the country. The money-market was un-
usually stringent, and specie was leaving the