Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1846-12-24
War and Freedom'~ Il hitler die we
Tending,

The It'd, ngs of successive conquests and
=" Annexatio is" have been waited on The West
ern breeze ov, er the whole breadth of our land
and received, if with far less exutaton on the
one hand than was anticipated by the contrivers
of the war, ccrti 'inIy on the other with far less
alarm and appreh nsIon than the Acs demanded
and lessons of all history warrant We have
seen a mere soldier, with the training and max
inns of the Camp, tal';e Civil as well as Military
possession of a regiolr large enough for an EN-
pire, "annov" it by hA simple fiat to the Union.
as permanent DISPOSE 'ion while the fortunes
of war are yet untold aud coolly proceed to APP.
point its Executive and, 10 save all trouble of
cIectng Representatives and assembling Legls-
Iature, this same Military sub altern hitherto cooIy
informs the "annexed" people that he will, at
his earliest convenience, look over their former
code of laws and make such alterations as he
deems desirable. A late Tobacco Inspector of
this city, and certainly not very credible spe-
cimen Of the class of cormtrants commissioned
by Politics to prey upon Commerce, raises a
regiment and is commissioned to lead it around
Cape Horn to conquer California, Of which he
is to be Governor that is, virtual Dictator and
Vlceroy But while on his passage cabals rise
against him which invade the White House; he
is supplanted in the post on which he had so
ondly counted and young Lieutenant of Dra-
goons, who happens to have won the heart aud
hand of a powerful Senator's daughter, and
who for year before the war broke out had
been engaged, at the head Of detachment Of
U. S. troops, in Surveying and oyerrunnng
vast, remote portion of the Mexican territory,
in scaudaIous defiance of the law of nations
and the faith Of treaties, is by rescript from
the Presidential Palace, made the Gespotic arbi
ter of life and death over all California, with
its population of. Americans, Mexicans Euro
peans and Indians. How long this despotsm
shall continue must of course be determined by
future and unforeseen events; but while it con-
llnucs, Fremont will be as absolute in Cafor-
MIA as Nicholas in Russia
All this, il will be said, is inevitable and
therefore moi to be censurcd. War and its nee
esslties must make their own laws. Yes, sir,
ot,ce grant the Invasion and Conquest of coun-
try whose people hate and oathe though they
may not be able TO resist you, and any amount
of despotisn1 and crime will be inevitable. lit
is the first step that costs But how any man
who preterds to be Republican can look on
these proceedings without apprehension and alb
hortence, is the problem. VIII, does not see
that they are undermining all the settled and
sautary standards of popular judgment--cx-
alting might above highland teaching our
youth to look to superior force rather than to
law as the guider of their aspiring steps? Has
the world ever known Republic which extend
ed its boundaries by the subjugation of diverse
and hostile races without undermining thereby
its own Liberties! And shall not this people
consider aud avoid the periIs now confronting
them ere it prove too late.-N. J. Tribune.