The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-12-14
CITY OF WASHINGTON.
MONDAY NIGHT, DEC. IA, 1916.
I'm. March % ths rio Granas.

me evening" is from It's beginning to its end attempt
develop and sustain the following broad proposition
that The trar ,ras begun by hs President piom authori
tvoflatr and spirit Of conquest and has been prose
,d under his orders 10 The result Of annering aud IN
,orDoratng iato our Uaion by Easeutice act uast
r,aDs of foreign territory Such annexation and incor-
ooaton of foreign territory into own, the Intelligent
,sr pobaby considers entirely invalid But il charges
uDon the Executive design and intent thus to acquire
territory and claims that the President, through his
AGENTS in New Mexico and California has proceeded up
on the assumption that the territory conquered has be-
come by the act of conquest part and parcel Of the terri
tory Of the United States.
To sustain its general proposition thus explained and
limited the Intellgences article makes, in The of
its seven columns three distinct points, each of which,
illustrates and eniorces in very peculiar fashion OF its
own sThese points are:
lst That the march OF General Taylor to the Rio
Grande and his encampment the bank OF that river,
upon the 2sth OF March last OF done by
the Executive without authority Of law;
I'd That the war so commenced, has been prosecuted
BY the President in the spirit OF conquest, and by usur
patton OF power and
3D. That under pretence OF securing military possession
Of the conquered provinces during the ar the President
has in effect usuped power not given by law to ae-
qtirs foreign territory, and annex it to our own.
This, stated just fairly we state it, is the
whole and purpor OF the Inelligencers article Upon
the last OF these three points have said all that we
al present design TO say. We have shown the Su-
preme Cont OF the United States, distinctly as
sertng that the temporary military possession, BY
British troops Of town in the State of Maine car
ned with during such possession the right OF the con-
queor 'to all eira and military authority over
the place. Such being, under the law of nations the
admitted begerent right of the conqueror OF hostile ter
to we do deem necessary, at this stage of the
discussion, say anything further in justification of the
military proceedings of officers in California and
New Mexico, until it shall be shown that these pro-
ceedngs authorized by the President, have looked
beyond the temporary and provisional government and
occupation of those territories during the trar But the
preceding points of the Integencers article remain
to be considered.
Was then, the march OF General Taylor to the Rio
Grande under TIE orders OF the President an act of war
unauthorized By law The Federal organ afirms that it
The right and duty Of the President of the Uni
ted States to repel the threshold an invasion of
territory, and to that the laws OF the United
States executed wherever they extend are admitted
Now, if ii can be shown that the laws of the United
States preceded General Taylor in his march from the
Nueces to the Rio Grande-and if it can further be
shown that that region was at the time of his encamp-
ment on the Rio Grande, threatened with Mexican in
vasionhen the right and the duty of the President to
order that officer the bank of that river are too clear
TO be disputed In this stage of the inquiry however
unanswerable the argument may be- which fixes the
Southern portion of the Rio Grande as the true western
boundary OF Texas the issue made by the Integencer is
not what was the boundary in question: but what was
the existing law Of the United States in reference to the
territory into which General Taylor marched, and in
which he took up his military position On this issue of the
case all men, as we suppose, agree The laws of the
republic of Texas, in every possible FORM reached
up the Rio Grande. That river was the terminus of
several OF her organized counties Over the territory
between the Nueces and the Grande she had estab-
shed all possible land marks of legisation-cours of
justice customhouse, post Offices land Office grants
OF land, and the stated election both of Senator and
Representative for the district With such egsla-
tive system existing the territory the republic of
Texas into the Union as State, and thus trans
ened the guardianship of her whole title to it to the
into the Union, the Congress OF the United States pro-
eeeded to exercise sovereign power and jurisdiction over
the same territory by the establishment of collection
district and port of delivery there with proper officers
duly nominated, confirmed, and commissioned to exc
cute there the laws of the United States Now, till
these proceedings OF Congress denied there an end
OF the question OF the legality of General Taylors en-
campmeni IN the territory Congress had iegiaed oper
it. therefore the President was certainly bound to de-
lend ii from invasion, and 10 execute within it the laws
Of the United States
Grant for the moment and for the sake of the anrI-
men what is wholly untrue, that the territory in fact
belonged TO Mexico still, under the existing acts of
the Congress OF the United States the President had
no option so to consider it. He was bound BY the law
he found the law OF the United States extending over
certain territory. He found that territory threatened
with INVASION These two facts alone were conclusive
as TO his constitutional right and duty in the premises
Ills oath of office bound him to repel the invasion and
10 execute the law there. This doctrine has been
thousand times recognised with reference to territories
our title to which was by the very men who recognised
H. disputed and dsayowed What was the brint of the
whole objection to the passage of an Oregon bill last
session!
"hy' just this that such bill wouid carry our lar
mo dSputed errory that the President would be con-
suuuonay compelled to execute ii there and that this
might bnng war Now, how does the case OF the terri
Tory between the Nupces o,,on ,,o,