Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1846-06-10
WHOLE NUMBER 81. I

WHOLE NUMBER 81, z
II 3aar, however, that this setti-
Il ifae 10 much approved BY our coun.
IL about to be brought into disre-
Y md Contempt by the use which the
\ man and some Of his coadiutors are
making Of it. They go for their
y e3ceantf right or wrong, but they insist
) that their country is, and has been, all the
, time in the wrong. They say that they
will support the war, but that in their opin-
ion, 'the war is unholy, unrighteous, and
damnable.' -
! Mr.. J. w. HoUsroN.-Who made use
of that expression? Was it any gentle
man on this side of the House? s
Mr.. DoUGLAss.-Yes, sir. The gen
tleman from Ohio MIR. Delanol who has
just taken his seat, made use Of the identi-
cal words, and repeated them several times
with great emphasis in the course of his
speech, while the great body of his political
friends listened with the most profound re-
spect, and gave every indication Of appro-
baton and encouragement, by expressions,
looks, and mods of assent. | see the ven
cradle gentleman from Massachusetts,, be-
fore me, now mods his approval of the SEN
timent.
MIR. ADAMs--Yes, sir. Mr.. Chairman,
| approve and endorse every word and syl-
liable of it. ......... .....g
Mr.. DoueLAss.-So suppose, from the
marked indications of approval which that
gentleman and his friends gave to every
attack upon the rights interests, and honor
of his own country. What reliance shall
we place on the sincerity Of gentlemen's
professions that they are for the country
right Or wrong, when they exert all ther
power and influence to put their country in
the wrong in the eyes Of Christendom, ard
invoke the wrath of heaven upon us for
our manifold national crimes and aggres-
sons? With professions Of patriotism on
their lips, do they not show that their hearts
are against their own country? They ap-
peal to the consciences and religious feel
ings Of our countrymen to unite in execrl-
1-ffiS ton ST our government army, oitizensss
soldiers, and country, for prosecuting wht t
they denounce as an unholy, unrighteous,
and damnable cause. They predict that
the Judgment of God will rest upon us, that
sickness, and carnage, and death will te
our portion--that defeat and disgrace will
attend our arms! Is there not treason in
the heart that can feel, and poison in the
breath that can utter, such sentiments a.
gainst their own country, when forced to
take up arms in self.defence, to repel inva.
sion by brutal and per6dious enemy?--
They for their country right or wrong, who
tell our people if they rally under their
country's standard, their bones will bleach
on the plains of Mexico, and the enemy
will look down from the mountain top to
behold the destruction of our armies by dis
ease and malarias, and all those mysterious
elements Of death which Divine Providence
employs to punish wicked people for
prosecuting an unholy and unjust war!
Sir, tell these gentlemen that it requires
more charity than falls to the lot Of frail
man to believe that these sentiments are
consistent with the sincerity Of their pro-
fessions-with patriotism, honor, and duty
to their country. Patriotism emanates
from the heart, fills the soul, infuses itself
into the whole man, and speaks and acts
the same language. Afriend Of his coun-
try in war will feel, speak, and act for his
country-will revere his country's cause,
and hate his country's enemies. America
wants no friends, acknowledges the fidelity
{ of no citizen who, after war is declared,
condemns the justise of her cause, or SYM
pathises with the enemy. All such are
traitors in their hearts; and would to God
that they would commit some overt act for
which they could be dealt with according to
their desert. ..e t,..I ,y
will now proceed to examine the ar
guments by which the gentleman from O.
hio, and those with whom he acts, pretend
to Justify their foreign sympathies. They
assume that the Rio del Nerte was not the
boundary line between Texas and Mexico
that the republic Of Texas never extend
ed beyond the Nueces-and consequently
our government was under no obligation,
and had no right, to protect the lives and
II property Of American citizens beyond the
last t-mentioned river. In support Of this
assumption, the gentleman has referred to
the dispute which he says arose between the
provinces OF Coahuila and Texas, and the
u decisions of Almonte and some other Mexi-'
can general thereon, prior to the Texan
revolution, and while those provinces con-
/ stituted state of the Mexican confederacy.
} He also referred to Mr.. Hastings History
of Texas, in which we are also informed
that the same boundary is assigned to the
! Mexican province Of Texas. | do not
deem it necessary to go back u q period
anterior to the Texan revolution, 70 ascsr-
tain the limits and boundaries Of the replb-
! lie Of Texas. But if the gentleman has go
great a reverence for Antiquity. as to place
more reliance upon old authorities, which
have become obsolete and inapplicable, IN
consequence Oft changed relations of that