Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1846-12-12

Administration on its very first accession to power is
| sufficiently shown by these indications. Nor, by
the way, was the thought of bringing on war by
the advance of Gen. TAYLoRs forces to the Rio
Grande entirely out of the mind of the Administra-
ton long before that march actually ordered !;
for, on the lth Of September, 1915, many of our
readers must well remember, the "Union" held
the following language
| 81 Arista dares to carry out his braggart
threats--if he ventures to cross the Rio Grande
with reinlorcements to any little armed post which
| Mexico may occupy on the east side of that
river, Gen. Taylor will attempt to prevent him
| blood must foD-WAR MUST ENsuE."
| ARIsTA did not croos the Rio Grande and so,
after waiting four months in vain for such god
send the Administration ordered Gen. TAYLOR to
march his force to the Rio Grande. With what
| object? For what purpose These are questions
WHICH the reader will answer for himself, if he be
not satisfied with the view which, in the preceding
columns, has been already taken Of that matter.
| As early as the 9th of June last, the g Union"
inadvertently disclosed the fact that our squadron
instructed long before the breaking out of this
war, to be in the way to take possession of Cali
fornia, in the shape Of suppostion that san Anne
session of the principal harbors of California"
And before the news of our occupation Of those
harbors or of the capital of New Mexico reached
this country Qhat is to say, the Goth September)
the " Union" discoursed as follows
| "There is every reason to believe that General
| Kearney is already in possession Of Santa Fe;
that Gen. Taylor is now will be in few days
at Monterey, and perhaps at Saltillo; and that
| Gen. Wool will be at Chihuahua by the 10th or
i 18th Of October. Shall we then fold our arms
i and relinquish one of the advantages which we
may have obtained On the contrary, shall zoe
not prosecute our uictories and make additional
conquests-toDards California and toacards the
capital Of Merico usey?'
| And few days afterwards, the news Of the oc-
cupation Of Santa Fe having arrived, the Union"
expressed the views of the Administration thus
"The discretion which marked his Gen. Kear-
ney's proceedings after he had reached Santa Fe,
and the subsequent steps which he is about to
take, sciH make THIS ACQUISITION one Of the most
! remarkable and important events of The aCdr.
He has located our victorious eagles at this point,
; and Mexico has to ask herself If zoe hare THUS
: ACQUIRED Of her finest provinces, what is to
stop us in our career, why will she persevere
in the war amid so many difficulties p
j We have neither time nor space to multiply
proofs, which might be adduced of the intention of
the Administration TO consider New Mexico and
California at least, when overrun, as having been
acquired by conquest for the United States. The
President himself almost avows the design in his
recommendation oprouide forhe security Of these
important coNoUEsTs, by making appropriations for
acknowledgements of course field fortiica-
tons or other operations proper to state Of war
f not requiring such specific appropriatons-and for
! defraying the expenses of the civil government
which officers have, by order of the President
|, established in these Territories of the United
States" This Recommendation by the Executive
is full recognition of what his. officers have said
and done.
i The President refers to the Law of Nations as
authorizing what he has done, and proposes 10 do,
in California and New Mexico. Leaving him to
settle with Congress the question how far state
of war erects an Executive authority supreme
over both Congress and the Constitution, we will
content ourselves with saying that, in what the
President asserts to be the right and duty OF the
conqueror," he and his advisers have evidently suf
fered themselves TO be misled by the antiquated
maxms OF writers upon national law who hourished
at time when such thing as written Consu-
ton was as unknown as the Magnetic Telegraph !;
at a time when all power was deemed the preroga-
tive Of the ruler, and all rights of the people re-
garded as gracious or coerced concessions by him in
their favor. These maxms, therefore, so far as
they concern the relations between our Executive
and his constituents or their Representatives in
Congress, have in many cases no application at
all ; and certainly have none when they are resort
ed to for the purpose of deriving from them for
the President powers which are denied to him by
the Constitution. The President has Of himself no
lawful authority to annex acquire Territory, or
to establish civil governments over Territories either
within or without the United States All such acts
are foreign to his Office, and, in the absence of any
authority derived from Congress, cannot but be re-
garded as usurpatons of power.
The whole idea of acquisition of foreign terrific
ry by casual conquest or temporary possession
obtained by force, is deusion. Not only has not
the President no power TO go forth with arms in
his hands and territories from foreign Power
but Congress cannot lawfully authorize him to do
it. The law on that point is not only well under
stood by civilians of the present day all over the
world, but in own country it has been long ago
adjudcated and settled by its highest Judicial ribu-
nal. In Peterss Digest of the Decisions of the
,cb how +ak 10,