The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-05-22

via ST. Louis, TO SANTA e. which 10 on small rive
enjoying into This side the Rio GraDde) This &C
is a positive acknowledgement that Santa Fe is no
in the United Staes--a law, II mistake not signed
n by President Polk himself Moreover, the Santa +,
. traders have continued up TO this time TO pay i'm
post duties TO the Mexican treasury for both foreign
and American goods thus carried over land and sold
N Santa Fe. .sr. ......- ..
Mr.. Senator Benton was strictly correct in saying
two years ago, that the Texan Congress had wrong
fully included, on paper parts of the provinces OF
departments of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Chihuahua
and New Mexico. A very little attention to geo
graphy and the history Of the operations of the
emgrants from the United States TO Texas, will
show that they have right whatever to any coun-
try west Of the Neuces or north Of Red river, hav
ing never brough: il under their authority. They
attempted TO do II several times, but always failed
Their fret movement was in 1886, soon after the
n Texan declaration Of independence An expedition
a was sent 10 seize the custom-house and public prop
erty at Matamoras, but before il reached the Rio
Grande il was met and driven back by Santa Ana .
army, then advancing. Alter the battle OF San ia
cinto in eastern Texas, in the same year, recolect
no movement upon the Rio Grande until 1889, when
| see some mention Of a small msrauding expedition
which penetrated far as Salulo, IN Coahuila, and
whose greatest boosted exploit consisted in its mas
teriy retreat and escape into Texas. avoiding the
pursuing Mexicans as sklfully as Xenophons ten
thousand Greeks did the armies of Persia.
! The next movement was the Santa Fe expedition
|
sioners, with an armed ciyil posse of three hundred
men or more, TO organize the Mexican settlements
on the upper waters Of the Rio Grande, and bring
them under Texan authority These were
treated as invaders, all captured and sent to the
mines Of Mexico. Thus matters stood until the
summer Of l642 when Gen. Cos, or Gen. Woll,
crossing the Nueces, advanced eastward into Texas
as far the river San Antonio. The Texans hay-
ing rallied considerable force, he retreated, and
| Texan army Of seven or eight hundred, under Gen
Someryille, went in pursuit. They crossed the Rio
Gnande at Laredo, and sacked the town. General
Somerville, unable to restrain their rapacity, order
ed a retreat being entirely without funds with which
| TO pay for supplies but between i've and six hun
dred men refused 10 obey, elected new leader, de-
clared they could help themselves TO what they
wanted in tnSrayS country, seized all the boats
hey could find the river, burnt those they did
not want, and set off down the river TO Mier, Of
which they got possession in the night, but were
4 next day all captured by Gen. Ampudia, and
marched off into the interior Of Mexico captiyes
Some were confined in the castle Of Perote, and
some employed in paving or repairing tho streets
of the city Of Mexico. do not know whether all
Of them have yet been liberated. This was in jan
uary, l643, and was the last Texan attempt upon
the Rio Grande, any point il.
| | believe the right OF conquest - generally ac-
knowledged, but | never before heard Of country
being acquired by successive and unyarying defeats
| vet such is the utle which Texas conveys to us,
|
to the Rio Grande to maintain. The bill which
passed the House yesterday sanctions his proceed
! ings, and endorses his manifesto Of the causes Of
war, throwing the odium on the Mexicans which
| Justly attaches to himself
| have another objection to the bill. Ii virtually
authorizes the President to make acquisitions OF
militia, TO be marched beyond the limits Of the Uni
| ted States, in violation Of the constitution.
| Among the enumerated grievances which the
President sets forth against Mexico is her neglect to
pay claims for spoliatons acknowledged to be due.
/ II this were Of war, it would be the duty
of Congress to declare it. and not for the President
| to commence it without declaration; but consider
ing the distracted condition Of Mexico; considering
in how many hands the government has been when
these spoations were committed; considering, too,
that Santa Ana made forced loan to pay up some
of the insalments of the treaty, at time too when
we were despoiling Mexico Of one of her faires'
provinces, do not think it very manly generous
in US to commence hostilities because Mexico has
failed to pay these claims from an empty treasury
at least, while we, with full treasury, have neg.
lected to pay our own citizens for French spoa-
tons for which we became responsible nearly half
century ago; and whilst, too, many of the States oil
our Union, enjoying profound peace, are refusing to
tax themselves to pay the interest their debts,
and or more actually repudiating them.
When some one remarked to Taeyrand that Ma
| p ,eon had been guilty Of a crime in putting the
Due d'Enghen to death, the willy old politician re
marked that sit was worse than crime; it was
blunder.n Unless the President desires war; ant
looks to the conquest Of Mexico, submit whether
he has not committed both political crime and
blunder, and | will wait for an answer on the re-
suits Of the measure. -
! L. SEVERANCE.
twill be observed that the only jus6caory position
oths letter is that Terra, does not ertend to the Del Mort
The argument in support Of tkis position is that thu
Texan expeditions between 1899 and l843 did no
mount 10 conquest of that part Of the Texan terri
tory. Now to this we reply that we have never rest
ed-and, so far we are informed, others have neve
resed-the Texan title TO this territory on the sue
cess of these expeditions. When such an argu
ment shall be put forward, it will be time enough
for Mr.. Severance to demolish it. The fact is tina
these expeditions on the part of Texas, and on thu
part of Mexico, were little more than predatory in
cursions They decided nothing. The war and
the whole subject-matter Of the war-to witt the in
dependence Of Teras up to the line Of the Del Norie-
had been decided three years before at the battle o
San Jacinto.
We take this opportunity to refer to another
point in Mr.. Severance's letter, to which we have
not before alluded. Not content with honoring and
applauding our enemies in their invasion of our
country and in their efforts to cut our soldiers to
pieces, he must also, in the same document, make
an attempt to defame the constitution Of the United
States According to his reading Of that instrument
IL Jorbids the President to repe invasion like that
of the Mexcans, and to send volunteers to rescue
our soldiers, when supposed to be in danger Of star
walton or the sword Very well. We will no.
argue that question with him. 1t is enough to re-
mark that his constitutional law learning, judged
by this specimen of it, is about par with his pa
| triotism
Mr.. Severance, in applauding and honoring the
Mexicans, thinks it not Every manly or generous
in our government to use force against Mexico tc
compel the payment of the several millions of dollars
which she US, and has two or three times
promised to pay. Does Mr.. Severance know
how that Mexican debt was incurred Does he
know that it is the damages-the liquidated dam
ages adjudged to for series Of mos
atrocious acts Of robbery, plage, and violenc,