Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1847-12-04
MR.. sLIDELL's MISSION AND THE WAR.

The Union defends its attack upon Mr.. CLAY,
for that passage of his late Speech in which he
alluded to Mr.. SLIDELL's Mission, with so much
tenacity as to satisfy US that there is design on
foot to mystify that whole matter This impress
sion is confirmed by the way in which the same
passage is referred to in Louisville paper, the
Courer which, in stating the objections of the war
party to Mr.. CLAWS Speech exhibits the same pur-
pose to discredt the averment of Mr.. CLAY, TO the
effect that whilst Mr.. SLIDELL was yet acting in a
diplomatic capacity in Mexico, the order issued
by the Executive for marching the army of the
United States into the territory of Mexico west of
the true line of Texas. We feel ourselves bound,
therefore, TO correct the fresh error into which the
Unon'' has fallen in reply to u.s. The material
part of its last article is as follows:
sThe application Of Mr. Sidel to be received by Mexico
in his diplomatic capacity, referred by President
Herrera his government council for their decision upon
the question. On the 10th of December the council render
ed their final Negative decisiQ,' which Mr.. SIide in
Sspach under date of December II, communicated slI0
State Department here. This despatch, ascetaining Mr..
SHdes rejection, received in Washington before the
order directing General Taylor towards the Rio
Bravo was issued on the 18th of January"
The despatch of Mr. SLIDELL of the 18th of De-
cember, lS45, may or may not have been received
IN Washington before the order IN question was
given to Gen. TAYLOR. Whether 1t was or was
not is of no consequence; for that despatch does |
not communicate any such thing as the final deter
mnation of the Mexican Government not to receive /
Mr.. SLIDELL. The despatch lies before us, as COM
municated by the Executive to Congress. We have
read it over carefully, and the approach Mr.
SLIDELL makes to the pretended fact of his final re-
lection is in the following sentence ~
a refusal to treat with, or eUen to receive me at
all in the only capacity of Minister Plenipoten-
tary, &c. in which am authorized to act, I'M
der pretexts more or less plausible, is possible
q ought perhaps to say probably event. This
is contingency" &c.
An event which was merely possible or at
most " probable" could not Of course haze occur
red The Government of Mexico had not, there
fore, finally rejected Mr.. SLrDELL on the 18th of
December nor at the date of Mr.. SLIDELL's des-
patch Of the 18th December. This Government,
therefore, most certainly, had no information at
the date Of its order Gen. TAYLOR Of the refusal
by the Mexican Government to receive Mr.. SLIDELL
We have before US also Mr.. Secretary BUcH-
ANAN's despatchin answer to this very despatch of
Mr.. SLIDELL, which shows the ground taken by
the Union = to be utterly unsusainable, and es-
tablishes beyond doubt that the statement of Mr..
CLAY, that the order to march TO the Rio Grande
DC. was given before the Mexican Government had
made any final decision the subject, is as true as
the fact itself is important. We quote from the
a--r-'eii " "a. D~~hanan Eallnws
/" Mr.. buchanan TO Mr.. SlideH