Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1846-06-20
THE MEXICAN WAR.

department OF lnlS government when can consul
tutonally institute war--the President of the Uni
ted States, in his Message announcing the fact to
Congress, and recommending appropriations of men
and money TO carry il on, concluded his recon-
mendations with the following well-remembered
declarations
In making these recommendations deem it pro-
per to declare that it is my anxious desire not only
to terminate hosnlites speedily, but TO bring all mat
tiers in dispute between this Government and Mex
leo TO an early and amicable adjustments and in
: this view shall be prepared to renew negotiations
whenever Mexico shall be ready to receive propo-
sitions, or to make propositions of her own"
In his more recent communication TO the Senate,
in reply to resolution of that body, the President
substantially repeats these declarations in the fol-
lowing sentences:
81 shall be at all times ready to conclude an hon
orable peace whenever the Mexican Government
shall manifest like disposition. The existing
war has been rendered necessary by the acts Of
Mexico, and whenever that Power shall be ready
to do US justice, we shall be prepared to sheath
the sword and tender to her the olive branch of
/ peace
The PRESIDENT is thus specifically pledged, not
only to receive from Mexico at any time any pro-
hosttes and the conclusion of a peace, but to
make propositions on the part of the United States
/" whenever Mexico shall be ready to receive them"
In his more recent Message, it is true, this pledge
is somewhat modified by the introduction of a
phrase rendered ambiguous, if not suspicious by
its having been employed some time ago. in the
same connexion, by the government paper, dead
silence being observed by that exponent of the
views of the Executive when asked to define the
acts which would be construed by the Executive
into readiness to do us justice "a phrase which
leaves the mind of every reader in the dark as to
the precise objects which the Executive has in view
in the further prosecution Of this war. The term,
Z" a sense of justice employed by the govern
ment editor in the case referred to, is, in fact as
indefinite as that of ga .iudicious tariff" which,
every body knows by experience, if he did not
know before, means any thing or nothing
But we have more practical object in view now
than to argue this point, even that made in both
these Presidential Messages, that the existing war
has been rendered necessary by the acts of Mexi.
CO." That is question which we are quite willing
to leave in the hands of enlightened members
Of both Houses of Congress, by whom it has
been and will yet further be thoroughly sfted. For
the present pass it Ky. We are content, for
argument sake, to take the Administration upon its
own ground. IL this made by Mexico s
crossing the Rio Grande, she installing her rights
in supposng the territory west of the Nueces to be
a province of her own, this invasion of hers has
been repealed with great slaughter of her troops and
a signal victory to our arms. We have in turn
crossed the Rio Grande, and occupied her terrific
ry she has retired before us, surrendering to US
her frontier town. the key to the navigation of the
Rio Grande, and to her upper provinces. She is
at our mercy with regard to every thing else that
she has to defend. In this state of things il she is
willing to make peace, doing every thing for our
satisfaction that we have moral right TO demand
of her, the question fairly and forcibly presents IL
SELF ought this war to be prolonged beyond the
occasion which, according to our own showing,
gave rise to IT?
This is a question which, we discover by indca-
tons in the newspapers, the People in every part
of the country now putting to one another. We
have already quoted at large highly respectable
Democratic authority on this subject. The purpose
for which we refer to it to-day is to introduce,
without any comment of our own, the following
extracts from Wing and other Independent papers
which have reached our hands within the few
last days.