Democratic banner., 1847-10-18
DANIEL WEBSTER.

and he made a long speech on the occasion
His remarks, as reported, contain singular
contradictions. He denounces the war as
aggressive and unjust-the result Of annex
ation-and says:
| am no apologist for Mexico. l have a
poor opinion Of the Mexican government.
| pity the people of tho country, and should
pity them more if they knew the state they
were in. 1t is the worst governed OF any
country in the world that pretends to be
civilized. 1t has been for twenty years the
prey of every military upstart, who had
money enough to get up a miserable army
From 1886, when was the battle of San ia
cinto, to 1912, Mexico had nc authority
over Texas, no just claim upon her terrific
ry. In l84l-2-3, Texas was an independ-
ent government, so nominally, so practical
lily, so recognized by our own and other gov
ernments. Mexico had no ground of COM
Iplaint in the annexation of Texas; we are
the party to cctnplain-we did not want
Texas. But she did take offence; she per-
sisted in claiming Texas as her province,
long as it had been an independent terrific
ry, and broke off terms of amity with our
government, calling home her ministers,
and refusing to receive our OWL. But this
was not war-very far from it."
If the annexation of Texas was the cause
of the war, and Mexico had no ground Of
complaint for that act, how is it that the
war is unjust? According to Mr.. Webster's
reasoning, We were in the right in that mat
ter. If Mexico chose to complain without
reason, 10 order her army to cross the Rio
Grande and attack Gen. Taylor, and re-
fuse to listen to proposals for adjusting the
boundary, the war was her act. But ad-
hitting the territory beyond the Neuces tc
be disputed, has not Mr.. Adams declared
that the proper mode of national action in
such cases is to occupy the disputed dis.
trict first, md negotiate afterwards?
Mr.. Webster said further:
"Much has been said of late concerning
the 'Wilmot proviso.' The sentiment il
embraces is a just one; but it is not a SEN
timent to form a new party upon. There is
not a man in this assemblage, who does not
hold to it in its purity, AS strongly as any
other man here. No Massachusetts Wing
can claim preference over another Massa.
chusetts Wing in regard to it. The senti-
nents of this p~roviso are not new. | APP
prove of them and have long done so. Did
| not commit myself in its favor in 1882
And haN> yer departed from it? l ALI
not quite ready to consent that these new
discoveries shall take out a patent for it,
[ deny the priority Of their invention. II
You will allow me to use the expression, il
is not their thunder"
We agree with him that the Wilmot pro.
viso is essentially Wing propOsition-bor'
rowed from Wing statesmen, and in accord.
ance with their long cherished hostility te
State rights, and to the south. Anew par.
ty cannot be formed on it, and it should b.
leftto the Wings, the original discovers
1t is Wing thunder.
The Wings have always opposed any ex'
tension of our national domain. The,
strovs against the purchase of Louisiana
and were r~esolutc in their opposition t,
Texan annexation. Hence we are not sur.
prised at the following declaration by Mr.
Webster:
"Even if the new territory to be added
to our Union should be free, l should de-
precats any great extension. | think we
now have a large extent of territory. | dc
not know that we can preserve our identit,
if we extend it from the Penobscot to thu
Rio Grande-to California-may he to tn,
South Pole"
Similar fears have always been express.
ed in Wing quarters, when questions of ter
~ritorial extension have arisen. If the Whit
theory were true, and ours was a consolida
ted Government, then there would be som'
rlground for such apprehensions. But as TIL
t system is federative, there is no DANGER.
. Before Mr.. w. closed his speech, however
he made the following admission:
"When in the State Department, SAT-
= Mr.. Webster, it was represented to me tina
it was very important to our commercial in
Z ~terests that a port in California or a plac,
where Americans could enter and do bue;