The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-10-09
COMMUNICATIONS.
THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT
BRITAIN.

this country evinced by her newspaper press, Is
sufficiently hostile. The annexation Of Texas, by
her own voluntary assent, is branded as a dishon-
orabe and overbearing robbery Of Mexico. We
are said to be dishonest, knavsh, and graspng; and
to be afflicted with violent spasm OF territorial
acquisitveness. Our institutions and people are
stamped SO far as they can do it, with the brand OF
violated rights neglected duties, and long catalogue
of national sins.
Ii would be an interesting and curious investiga-
ton to trace the career Of England in her long
course to greatness and renown, and mark her con-
duct towards the rest of The world. What dark
record of rapine cruelty, and oppression, would u
present! Whilst her orators and her philosophers,
her poets and her moralsts, descant with eoquence
and power upon all the virtues and duties OF man
and nations her fleets and armies have deuged
every land with blood, and carried more nnmtgated
suffering to the homes and resides of other nations,
than can be fosnd on the blood-staned annals Of
aggression.
England, for nearly thousand years. has been
extending her dominions by the sword. The va
rious minor kingdoms Of the Heptarchy being
united, and conquered by William Of Normandy,
his son attacked and overran the kingdom Of Ire
land. One of the Edwards, century afterwards,
subdued Wales, after bloody conflicts; but neither
he his successors, although often attempting It.,
could conquer Scotland. The thistle and the Rose
were at length united peaoeably under James |; and
thus Scotland became the only honestly acquired
accession to the English crown, outside OF her most
ancient limits.
Having now united all of Great Britain and Ire
land under one crown, her territorial acqulsive-
ness' has been satating itself on every continent,
in every sea. No nation within her reach can
boast of exemption from her claws. She aspres to
be the autocrat Of commerce-"the mistress OF the
seas" She has seized upon almost every station
necessary to her success in every part of the
world.
From her good friends, the French she has taken
49,. NJ, A.xxnr
sions; thus securing the whole fur and lumber
trade Of that almost boundless region, together with
its invaluable fisheries.
From the Spaniards, the French, the Dutch, and
every other maritime nation owning islands in the
West India group, she has snatched their posses
sions, until she has become the principal owner.
From the Spaniards she has taken Gibraltar, from
the knights of st. John the island of Malta, and
from regenerated Greece the Ionian islands; thus
completely controlling the Mediterranean sea from
its eastern to its western extremity.
From the Dutch she has taken the Cape of Good
Hope and its dependencies; thus cutting the line of
the trade with India and China, and holding it in
her power.
In India, too, France has been compelled to retire;
and province after another of that vast region of
the earth has been brought under the sway of Eng
land, until one hundred millions of Hindoos bow to
her sceptre. What if these conquests have been
achieved in part by corrupting her native princes,
among themselves, until she could come in as arber
What if the direct and indirect of England in
that country have cost the lives of hundreds of thou
sands of her wretched inhabitantsI What if there
are millions now held in calling slavery there,
while she is proudly pluming herself as the cham
pion Of 'berty' throughout the world' Yet the
Times and its associate presses can unbushingly
pirate about American oppression and bullying!
But the dark catalogue is not yet made out. The
Emperor Of China was unwilling that the poison
| i. T. u L.
struggled into his dominions, to the great injury of
his Subjects and, having taken cargo in the act he
destroys it. England, the great champion of justice
and of law-the nation that excludes from her ports
the rich and savory vands from America, so much
needed by her starving poor-goes to war with
China, to revenge the exclusion and destruction of
her poison. Conscious of her superior skill and
strength, she basely assails mob Of men so far
below her soldiers in every military attribute, to
make every contest matter of ridicule, and, after
having shed the blood of thousands Of victims, she
concludes by demanding millions Of dollars and a
territory on her coast on which to plant the bloody
cross Of st. George; and yet she plumes herself on
her chivary, and taunts US with expressing weak
antagonist!
Is the appetite of England for acquisition of terri
tory satisfied No-far from it. Although all the
continents are burdened with her empire although
every sea beholds her flag planted on its islands
although insular continents of immense size own
her sway-yet she is pushing forward her plans for
more acquisitions, is still laborng under spasm of
territorial acquisitiveness."
In connection with France, (Which government is,
in my opinion, content with very humble part, in
playing jackal to her proud neighbor,) England is
now regulating the republics situated on the La
Plata, in South America. The united fleets Of
England and France with a most praiseworthy
gallantry have seized upon the petty little navy of
Buenos Ayres, and blockaded her ports! French
soldiers have undertaken the defence of Montevdeo
against the forces of President Oribe, who is the
lawful head of the government, by the choice of
nine-tenths of the inhabitants of the republic, in
which defence they sustained by the united
fleets. This is done by two great nations of Eu-
rope in violation of national law and justice, and at
the expense of two weak republics of this western
world Will this be submitted to by the United
States of America The members of the 29th Con-
gress will answer the question, in conjunction with
| the present energetic Executive ofths nation.
But last Of all, but most important for us, she has
| cast longing eye to our ong-neglected western
frontier-the territory Of Oregon She wishes to
shut out from the Pacific, to exclude from the
direct India trade. She wishes to hem us in, and,
as other mode presents ITSELF she hopes to make
good false claim, either by the sword or by STRAIT
agem Had the wings succeeded in the late cleo
ton, they calculated that every difficulty would
have been satisfactorily settled, by another ambassa
dor extraordinary aided by another .americaa Secre
fn'y Of State. Thanks to the democracy, that dan
ger is avoided She must now try the sword, if she
hopes to succeed in robbing u.s. She has sliced off
| a valuable portion of our northeastern boundary;
but she will have different men to deal with in the
present contest.
Sir Robert Peel has said that the title of England
shall be defended by the power of the British en-
pire. This proud threat has been heard in the log
cabins Of the great paicy: it has PASSED the Rocky
mountains. The hardy pioneers and yeomen Of
the West are ready with their reply. They are
cleaning out and preparing those fatal rifles, and
moulding those deadly bullets, which laid low the
pride of English chivalry at New Orleans. They
have heard that the admirers of England in this
country have proclaimed that "the sun never sets
upon her dominons, and her drum-beat is heard
around the world" They say that England can
not have any drumming stations on our territory,
until her legions have stood face to face with them
And in this resolution they are confirmed by the
conviction that the hardy freemen of all portions of
great nation are united with them on this inn