Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1846-10-07

PfoSoul tiioiueut, 16AuS DnS eXnlpltea tue
same external signs Of national independence
as Mexico herseH and with quite as much
stability OF government. Practically free
andtndependent; acknowledgement political
sovereignty by the. principal powers of the
world; no hostile foot finding rest within her
territory for six or seven years; and Mexico
herself refraining for all that period from
any further attempt to re-establish her
authority over the territory;' three addition
al years OF inaction on the part of Mexico
elapsed, before the final action of the United
States upon the question of annexation, with
the assent Of the same Senate whose pru-
dence, acircumspe ection, and wisdom, your
excelIency SO justly eulogizes. And if any
additional sanction could have been required
to a measure so evidently just and proper,
it has been afforded by Mexico herself who,
through her minister of foreign affairs, Mr..
Cueyas, authorized by the national Con-
gress, on the 10Th ofoMay last, declared:
''The supreme government receives the four
articles above mentioped as the preliminar-
les Of a formal and defnitive treaty; and,
further, that it is disposed to commence the
negotiation as Texas may desire, and TO
receive the commissioners which she may
name for the purpose" The first condition
was, I'M exico consents to acknowledge the
independence Of Texas.'' True it is, that,
by the second condition, Texas engaged that
she would stipulate in the treaty not to
annex herself, or become subject, to any
country whatever. When it is recollected
that this preliminary arrangement was made
through the Intervention OF the ministers Of
Great Britain and France, consequent upon
the passage of the act of annexation, itcan-
not be denied that it was intended to apply
solely to the United States and that, while
Mexico acknowledged her inability to contest
the independenceof Texas, and was prepared
to abandon all her pretensions to that terri
tory, she was induced to make this tardy
and reluctant recognition-not by any
abatement of her hostile sentiments towards
her so called) rebelllous subjects, but in the
hope of gratifying her untriendly feelings
against the United States. ea .-s.9
The undersigned cannot but express his
unfeigned surprise that, in the face of this
incontrovertible evidence that Mexico had
abandoned all intention or even hope ofever
reestablishing her authority over any por-
ton of Texas, your excelency should have
asserted that "Texas had been an integral
part of Mexico, not only during the long
period of Spanish dominion, but since its
emancipation, Without any Interruption ,vhat-
eusr during so long space Of time - and.
again, that ''the United States had despolled
Mexico Of valuable portion of her territory,
regardless of the incontroyertible rights ol
the most unquestionable property, and Of
the most constant possession. - How weak
must be the cause which can only be sustain.
cd by assertions. SO inconsistent with facts
that are notorious to all the world and how
unfounded are all these vehement declama
tions against the usurpotions and thirst fol
territorial aggrandizenlent Of the Unitee
States. The independence of Texas, then
being fact conceded by Mexico herself
she had no right to prescribe restrictions as
to the form of government Texas might
choose to assume, nor can she justly complain
that Texas, with wise appreciation of her
true interests, has thought proper to merge
her sovereignty in that of the United States.
The Mexican government cannot shift
the responsibility Of war npon the United
States, by assuming that they are the ag-
gressors. A plain, unanswerable fact res
ponds to all the subtleties sophistries by
which it is attempted to obscure the real
question that fact is, the presence in Mex.
leo of minister of the United States, clothed
with full power to settle all the questions in
dispute between the two nations, and among
them that of Texas Their complaints are
mutual the consideration Of them cannot be
separated; and they must be settled Lb'
the same negotiation, or by the arbitranand
which Mexico herself has elected would
what reason does Mexico attribut@ romat
United States the desire of finding 9 l@'i' u.
to commence hostilities ! The apFanger !
of few ships of war on the Mexican" them
and the advance of a small military forllads
the frontier of Texas, are cited as eviden
that the declarations of desire to preserve
peace are insincere. Surely it cannot be
necessary to-remind your excellency tha'
the menaces of war have all proceeded fir In
Mexico; and it would seem that the eleva in,
to power of its actual government was Q hi
recent to have afforded your excellency that
to forget the ostensihle reasons for ed hi
that which preceded it was overthrowshe
The crime imputed to the then PresideIg tn
crime so odious as to justify his fort be
expulsion from the Presidency, to w'day,
had been but few months previoutook his
with unparalleled unapimity, and irway tn
ance with all the forms Of the ,constlturld
was that of not having prosecuted the wa
against Texas, or, in other words, agains
the United States--a crime, Of which tn
enormity was aggravated in ten-fold de
gree, by his having accepted the propose
Of the United States to negotiate. To SUI
pose that the present government has nt
always intended, and does not still intent
vigorously to prosecute an offensive wa
!, against the United States, would be
, insinuate the degrading charge of maxim
, declarations which it did not design tofulf
with the unworthy motive Of sppplanting