The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-06-06
WIG CHARGES.

As specimen of the spirit which animates the
wing press, we quote the following passage from
the New Orleans Tropic:
"THE AFTER THOUGHT or THE ADMINISTRATIONS
If there be any thing which could add disgust and
con empt to the Indignation which every rejecting
American patriot must feel at the disgraeeha diem
ma in which, by Executive weakness and prohlga-
cy, the little army Of occupation has been so recent
ly plunged, il is the aEARsEss, the MATeHLLss COW
| ARDIcE with which that Executive, through the
official organ at Washington, has endeayored to
shirk of all responsibilities OF the occasion, and to
thrust them upon the shoulders of General Taylor.
Says the official: Gen. Taylor had the authority 10
make rsqui'tOns in Of aPprehsndtd danger, upon
the States nearest 10 the seal Of pG. Why did he not
make those acquisitions earlier That's the purport
Of the eaiImniaiing inyinuation- Is it possible that
| any man in the community, with his eyes open, can
be beguiled by any advertisement like this Do
we not all know that the general government never
appropriated one picayune, by way Of provision to
render those acquisitions available Where was the
money to pay the subjects Of those requlsItons-to
equip them, TO forward them the theatre Of war;
The national government never provided cent for
these most necessary purposes. Like an imPorer-
ished k,ape, they drew the draft, without thinking of
| providing funds TO meet it."
Before making any reply to this, wo wish to pre-
mise that the Tropic is Of those journals which
profess to sustain the Mexican In addition to
this, il is to be remarked that the Tropic hereto
fore, as compared with the more vrulent whg
journals, has seemed disposed to maintain GER
tain decorum and decency in its opposition to the
administration. 1t has apparently endeavored to
keep something like probability in view in most Of
its charges. 1t has abstained far possible from
taking for granted sniir, and total ignorance and
prejudice on the part Of its readers. But we are
constrained say that it has recently laid aside all
these redeeming characteristics. There is scarcely
any term Of reprobaton which may not be
properly applied to the language which have Just
quoted We had thought when we first read it to
ay it before readers specimen extract with
out any comment But we conclude that it is best
briefly to describe its true character.
We shall therefore proceed to demon,tras-lst.
i That the occupations made by the Tropic wholly
foolish; ID. That they are wholly false; and, 3d.
That their fasehoods and folly manifest to
make the uterance Of them insult to the intell-
gence of the readers of the journal in which they APP
pear.
The first charge is, that Executive ,peakness and
profgacy have recently plunged The lille army Of oec-
patton into disgrace etul dilemma" Now we submit
that that is a very foolish saying. The whole
of General Taylor and his little army. For what
reason Plainly for this-that, under instructions
from the Executive, to calculate wisely his own
strength, and the strength ofhis enemes-to maintain
his position and to call for such aid he nigh, think
proper-that, under these instructions, we say, he
has approved himself in all respects competent to
WELD the discretion thus entrusted to him, by gain
ing two of the most splendid victories known to
our military annals, and by driving before him the
rash and misguided invaders of our soil This
just ths-is the Tropics idea of "disgraceful d.
emma!" The "weakness and proAgacy" of the
adminstr alton shown by its placing officer in
position to dc his duty nobly in vesting him with
powers to summon proper aid to perform it, and in
thus securing its complete and glorious performance
!. The administration has been "weak and proAgate'
enough thus to trust an officer whom events and
the reclamation of the country prove to be eminent
" worthy of the trust We say again to call Gen
era Taylor's position ''disgraceful dilemma, y
and the result of Executive weakness and profit
gacy, is most manifestly foolish saying.
But folly may be the misfortune only, not the
fault, of tho "Tropc." We say, in the next place
that its accusation is totally false 1t charges us as
the "oficial representative" Of the administration
with uttering "oalumnating insinuatons" agains
s Gen. Taylor Nothing could be farther from the
truth. In the article to which the "Tropic" refers
we made insinuaton whatever News reached
i Washington that Gen. Taylor's army was supposed
to be in danger. Seeking to prevent any undue
exaggeraton of such danger for the moment
! we stated what was the fact, that Gen. Taylor ha'
been authorized for several months TO call for rein
forcemeuts-that he had made no such call-tba
= "lke gallant officer he had "beleved his fore
J., adequate to meet any enemy which might presen
itself'--that he had been strengthened in TIN
& view by limitations from the Mexican gen
eral that hostilities would not Immediately tax
place; and we added our belief that our soldier
were safe in their camp. This the whole spiri
= of our article And we ask, is it not a shameless
e fasehood to say that this is a spirit of calumn
against General Taylor, and that it was dictated b.
"meanness and matchless cowardice" on the part q
@ the "Executive'''
ID We have proved the charge Of the Tropc to b
De foosh we have proved it also to be false. We wi
prove it to be tranparsntly and grossly foolis
and FALSE as to make il insult to the intelligence
Of its readers; and having done this, we shall le
that journal alone hereafter until it shall say some
u thing worth answering The charge Of the Tropi
l. against the administration is, that it plunged Ger
era Taylor and his army into disgrace
full dilemma in that il sent him to the Ri
!. Grande, with authority to call for aid withou
he 'approprsting one picayune" by way of provi'
le ion to render his requiston, available. This con
. duct "on the part Of the national government" tn
lTrope is decent enough to sdgmstzs as the conduc