The Arkansas banner., 1845-03-12
ANNEXATION or TEXAS,
SPEECH nF- MR.- WooBuRY.
or Nr# fisalrsn.RE.


 lions from the House for the admission 0
 the Siae of Texas into the Gnion-ihe ques
 tion pending being the motion ot Mr. Arehe
 fos is indefinite posiponement
 Mr. W00DBURY, being entitled te th' floor, addressed the Senate for about tw,
 hours.
 He said he regretted extremely that, unde existing circumstances, the resolutions beior the Senate had been opposed---w e'tel earnestness by the reportfrom the Committee on Foreign Relations, and also by the tWC able speeches o( the Senators from Kentucky and Virginia fMessrs Morehead and Rlves. This feeling of opposition arose, ln grea measure, in relation to the mode ol anneNa- ton adopted by the other House as to thls great national question; but Ii was not hs purpose to impugn the motives oi those who differed from him in opinion; he should oh- ly deal with their arguments. That thls re solution had passed by decided majority ia the other House, after there had been virtual appeal 10 he people oi tals country in relation ta the subiect-matter ol the feso- lu.ion and aller those Who came fresh from the people had decided upon the pfopflety of adopting it. that il is assailed, undefthese circumstances, as not merely uaeoastttailoa- al, but nexpedient-was, he confessed, a circumstance well calculated 10 create sur prsp Let him not be misunderstood byany gentleman on the other side. n what he How said. as admitting that he, Mir. NJ or any with whom he was associated, Il II should be proved that this measure was unconslta- tionai or inexpedent, stood here to carry out this measure. in the language ot those two Senators who had lately addressed the Senate, as high h-handed measure 0f party suprema- ~. On the contrary, those with whom he Mr. NoodburyA was associated were equal- ly opposed with himself to any violation of the constitution. and as this resolution would conform 10 that constitution or nct, so they would support Il or oppose IL And let Ii not be understood either, IS was lnsnHaied III the report of the Committee OH Foreign Reta- lions, that this was an attempt to aPPfopfate to ourselves the lands ot weak and unotend= ing neighbef. without is consent, by a sort of piralieal seizure upon their property. No such attempt was contemplated hY any otthe friends of the measure ltcould not be; and yet il was charged against them, that, by temporary, feeting majority, and few re- solves from the House of Representatives, they were determined to carry the measure, If possible, whether nexpediant or uaeonsti- tntenal
 He repeled all such iaferences--all suah imputations. He yielded 10 no one in coar= tesy as to the motives of gentlemen oil the other side: he charged none of them with opposing this measure upon party considefa- tions, nor woal4 he allow any such motives to be attributed 10 hose on his side of the House. What! seizing upon the lands ol an aaofieading neighbof, because il is week, when this resolution merely expresses our assent to that neiehhef coming into the Union, and cooperating with Us ia the great business of sell-goyernment; and when this government, which had been in existence fifty years, without stain or reproach, had never, to his certain knowledge, seized upon foot of land belonging 10 any neighbor, or any remote government-had never, by fe lonious seizure, taken particle of PfePelty of that description, upon any of the many occasions which had occurred to tempt such cupility. if il existed When they had il ln their power to obtain by seizure distant is- lands and distant provinces, they iorbofe; they diSdained to make use oG that power They wished for no acquisition of that sort. We desired no fraernization, unless with those powers which wished to lralernize with Us, and parlahe of our institutions, unless they could be connected by the free principles of our government-not taken hy seizure.- When gentlemen talked about Patagonia and the Celestial Empire coming into this uhioa, as he had heard suggested more than once, let them look back into our constitutional history, aud see fl 1t is possible for this gov ernment to embrace any nation, unless that nation be willing to come in aud adopt our republican institutions.
 And where does this charge come from the charge that we are aggrandizmg ourselves at the expense ot great principle of national law, and in violation of the rights of neigh boring countries From nation from whom we had never, since our independence. ob taneda foot of property-from nation which had seized upon lands. provinces, and re- gions ol country in every quarter of the halo table globe; and who had plotted over the map of the world with her forts of defence and offence, as We have with light houses on our coasts, to protect aud to save. When Poland was disbanded-when Atfehanistan was seized npon--that was only a nine days wonder, and no complaint, no interference, was heard from us. But when we merely express our assent, as the gentleman from Pennsylvania Mr. Buchananl had said; when we merely consent that another country may unite with Us in goyenment--andt that eoan try formed of one hundred thousand of our brethren, our kith and kin, men who had worshippet tt the same ait.rs with Us, who had been educated at the same school, train ed up to the same republican principles, syho had fought with Us at New Orleans aud Chippewa ;-when we merely consent that they may come into our Union aud pariici pate in the blessings of our instilulions,-on would suppose that the elements of our re- pabliean government were to melt With political heat, and chaos was to come again. He repelled all such inierences and attacks He stood here to say that he was us jealous of our co oastiiulional privileges and forms ol government as anv man on the other side of