Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1846-05-26
THE ENQUIRER
RICH MOND, VA.
Morning, May 25, IS46.
PARTY SPIRIT.

the character Of parlizans, and until the storm Of
war be past unite with all political parties, what
ever be their hue, in devising measures for the
vigorous prosecution and termination Of The war
with Mexico We have never, Tor party effect,
claimed any great honor for the Administration
in The management of the difficult questions be-
fore it, We have commended that the President
had done his duty and nothing but his DUTY. We
have been willing TO wait until peace is restored,
for fair and full trial OF the Administration
upon the merits of the Mexican affair. If for
party purposes We quarrel among ourselves, how
can we expect 10 see union al home, or secure the
respect OF foreign nations The Wing press,
with some few exceptions, have. in our judgment,
exhibited most unpatriolic and improper spirit
in this matter. They have denounced the Presi-
dent as The most miserable culpr and have as
sailed the crm,nality oflhe war, as invoking the
vengeance of Heaven.
As conductors OF free press, we have been
4 forced 10 hold up 10 public condemnation many OF
The Wing journals for THAR violen. course 10 re-
gard 10 the Mexican war. We Today make a
lew extracts from journals oflhe same party, and
show that in their spirit and their assaults upon
the Government, they have given the cue 10 some
OF The berest opponents, in Foreign Govern
ment, OF our political institutions and national
rights. As good par,y-men, they may feel con-
scious Of doing their whole duty but they show
| themselves 10 be poor patriots. The New York
Express continues its furious attacks ufon The
Administration, upon Congress, and upon the
I virtue and intelligence Of The American people,
embracing a large majority Of It's own party:
4 "Therc is an utter and complete revolution in
our country, and conversion ol our Republic
inlo despotism, il The one. man power, The Exc
\ cuiiye Of il, Can declare war. We vain Repub-
Leans, if this he the TACT arc only cheated bv
! name and we are no better of than the subjects
! vi The Aulocfa Nicholas, or OF the Emperor OF
Austria. When dcspo orders war, subjects
obey. Is this our case? Let us see.
"Mr Polk has mol ordered war; il is very true,
but he has made war inevitable. and upon this
evasion, it is attempted 10 get him Oft The on>-
man powe! OF our government, in imitation OF The
one. man power OF governments over sea, as Com
mander. in-Chiel 0! the army and navy, directs
The invasion Of The Saie ~ a neish60rag republic,
and wilhou, the then useless Formally OF decla.
ration OF war, warncccssarily ensues-lhat is, a
war created and declared by one man, and only
one man, in which from love OF country, from
sympathy, and from the laws OF selldefence, 4
whole nation olsubjscts follow.
NOV, il is Just as easy for Mr.. Polk TO involve
us in war with Great Britain, as in a war with
Mexico, and precisely upon the same principles.
Thus, what has been hitherto considered OF some
Importance, in irresponsible monarchies viz the
declaration OF war, is TO become mere empty
nothing, in our so called, but, if Mr.. Polk is
| .obt al ha Ey-
exutive here in America, we see, enacts war, just
as The Executive in Europe, Asia, or Africa.
"The highest, most august, and awful exercise
of human power is in The creation Of war. But
this high and mighty power OF sovereignty this
semblancc Oi the prerogative OF The Divinity, a
chance elected President of ours, whom The
spasms of only a party elected into place, clothes
himself with, ard when the country is al peace.
happy, and quiet. he secretly and clandesinely
! whispers decree, that creates all the horrors OF
war between Two formerly friendly and once
sympalhising Republics. He dcgrades us in The
eyes Of Philanthropy, and Constitutional Liber-
", from the august pedestal OF Peace, on which
for thirty years we have stood, and confnscs as
Nth The ra6bLc Of frer-irarring and bntcdering
Spanish american Republics, that disgrace the
name Of liberty.
"Thc mournlul moral of this picture is NOT,
however that one man has dared TO do such a
DIS tIdl great CdL NC IOuHd 81
uated so blind, so forgetlul OF their duty TO Con.
sliiulional Liberty, as 10 sustain him The
sting OF the reflection is, that even we Americans
! love party more than we love liberty. The
idolatry, We see, and we lrembe as we see, that
disgraces the Hindno and MAKES him unfit for
freedom or Christianity disgraces 100 many even
among Us the only difference being that they wor-
ship images OF things and creatures, and we wor-
ship party"
Can We imagine more reckless or wanton
assault not only upon the Administration, but
upon The whole American people, whom the EI-
press represents as degraded subjec's7"
The N. Y. Mirror goes back 10 the anne1a-
lion OF Texas and in the old slang ofthe Wings
denounces il as an "open and palpable violation
of the Constitution of the United States" and as
'the first great, pable, undeniabe outrage ever
committed by party upon the Constitution" II
continues in the same rabid strain
1.-The Executive authority, in The hands of Mr..
\ Tyler, and then of Mr.. Polk, inflicted The first
! fatal stab on The Constitution, by setting at naught
its plainesl and most important provision. The
second step has now been taken by the same
branch Of the Government. It has made war by
its own proper authority, and Congress has sane
toned the deed. Il marched an army into TO-
re1gn territory and aicaus SUBJECT u foretgn
j,arisdiction, as we'll as claimed by foreign pow
cr; The forces of The United States. by orders
from The same authority, forcibly expelled foreign
troops from this territory, and pointed their guns
| al a foreign town, while our fleet blocsaded The
| river on which il was situated. These are acts
/ ofwar, and they hare been committed by the EX-
ecu,ive without any warrant whatever from Con-
sress, the body TO which the war-making rover
is especially delegated by the Constitution"
1t then winds up with sweeping attack upon
Congress and after jusifying The ouirages OF
Mexico in crossing The river aud numbering our
citizens, which it designales by The mild ex-
preston Of natural resistance" proceeds:
"Whal does Congress do7 Why, as the tool
OF the President il recognizes The war as exist
ing-like another Parliament of Paris il regis
lers the decree that il shall exist. For ourselves
this aspect OF things is vastly more alarming than
any inconvenience or temporary suffering grow
! ing out OF The war itself"
Somuch for journals calling themselves Anne
rican, which assail their own Government and
country and virtually encourage and justify 10
reign nation with whom we are al war.
Let us see, now, how a foreign journal treats
the same subject II has caught The cue, and fol-.
lows the lesson most strictly-Commenl is I'M
necessary-but we ask The patriotic reader to
mark The remarkable coincidence Of spirit and
thought which is observable between the "a me-
rican" and ioreignj journals.
The Montreal Gazette is the government or
gan for The Canadian provinces and is supposed
10 express The sentiments OF her Majesty's 60
vernmen in that quarter. The Gazette comes onl
most fiercely against The United States and ad-
vances very much the same grounds that have
been assumed by many ofour own Wing papers
Let The British organ speak for itself, and lei The
people judge of the "paiTiolism" OF our papers,
who advocate the same views:
1.-THE Rio del Nueces has always been consi-
dered the Texan frontier, and the advance of
single soldier beyond it, even concedins the whole
question ofthe justice of Texan revolt and sub.
segment annexation, trouid hare been pesifre act
| of hostility But the advance of whole corps
darmee, which, insignificant as it is in numbers,
is declared by the President Of the United States