The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1847-09-02
TIE WAR wrrH nESmo.



Prom BrOw,'scn's Quarterly I;s,irw.
"Fm oaIsslsts. se have regarded the
Mexican War f'om The G,si as uneslIed
Tor. impoliuc aud unjust. We have "a.
sn,iasd the docsnen,s published by or.
der ol The Government: We have read tie
nilicisl drlrnre Of Tie war in The lssI 81.
nual Message 81 The President 10 can-
Rres., and ~Hh every disposition 10 End
our own G"sefnmenl IN The right; hui Ne
ale hound 10 say. thai our original im.
riessions have BEEN strengthened, rsiLer
than weakened. The PrssIdeni. nndoubl-
edly. maSss u clear. ltal We had many
jus, cause. IS eomPlsSi sRainsi Melieo.
which a. the lime al their neeuITsHrs
might have Justified Teprissls, perhaps
even war-hui he cannot pie ID the,e IN
Justification Of the present wal; for they
were not The ground on which We pro.
fs,ssd 10 engage IN il. The official an.
houncemeni Of tie P,esideni 10 Congress
was that wsr already excited between the
two republics. ~ THE ACT oF MExIco
HERSELF, aud whs,sTeT nse ~e may make
in old grievances in stjss,ipg the term,
of peace, We esH make no u.e vi them IN
defending The war. We can plead 10 as
offence only the fact on hlsh We groun-
dcd IL, W.: VAR sxIsts By the sct IL Msx.
ro herseli. But unhappiiy, at the uUs
oil the oiiirIal announcement, war DID NOT
EXIsT between The Two Republics al all.
Tor neiIhsr IrPUblic lad declared var
against the other. There had been col.
iision Of their Iorces. but this was not
war, ~ HE President would probably
have conceded, had he known or Tecol-
lecied tie distinction between war aud
hosriiues. BY rl.cing The war on tie
g'und that il existed By the &c, Of Mex
leo, aud Tia, ground being islse, he has
lcfl il wholly indrlens,ble, Whatever the
old grievance We may have 10 1lIrge
against MeAIco. = .. ~. s...,.
Tue act Oi Mexico in erossing,hs RIO
t;rands. and engaging our hoops on ien'-
iory which she bad possessed and siIlled
clsime % ber-, bui ahirh We asserted had,
by atereni aci sgainsi which she had pro.
tested, ber0De ours---ihe acl which the
Pfes'debt chose TO inform Congress, and
The world, was " sr--msy or may moi have
been Just cause ir declaring war against
hu. but Il assuredly was moi war n.elt.
We have no intention 10 justify Mex,co.
Shsm' have been decidedly in The v rong;
she may have had no valid title 10 The
territory nj which the President had Just
'sSen military orcupai,on; that territory
NAV have been rign fully ours, and il may
even have been Tie duty OF the President
10 occupy aud d, Iend It:--bu, il cannot be
ue"'ed shat she bad once possessed III
'h'' u was still part oil one OF her siacs
or provinces; that she sill claimed il, aud
hsa continued n exercise jurisdiction
over u, iill driven IRON II BY our army Of
occupation; that she inv AIDED il with an
armed ln'ce. II invasion il can be called.
o"1 as teruo'y belonging 10 Us, bu, as
territory belonging 10 her; and that she
s''arkrd our troops Motor the reason that
ihey were ours. bu, fur the reason, a. she
held, aud she hal as good a right 10 be
Judge IN her owu case as we had IN ours
that they we've intuders on her col.
he motive 81 her act was not war against
lhe United SAFES, but the expulsion Of :
Ihtr"'efs from her own Territory.
No sophls,ty can make her act war
-reft''n'y noi without coneeding that
ar' IN taking milrary possesslun OF that
territory was also wsr, and il thai was
war. u u existed at all, existed BY our ACT
add Ho' by Lers, for her act was conse-
lueht upon ours. The most that the Pc
ident was at liberty to.ssy, without ron
iemuing his own Government, was, that
here had been collision of The forces at
he two republics on territory claimed
y earh; but This collision he had no right
o tenn war, inr every body knows that
i'kes soms'Iling more than a collision
u tier respective forces on a disputed
rrTI'ofy ID constitute a var between two
wi 'zed nations. In no possible point
y view WIS the announcement OF the Pre-
'den' tina, war existed between the two
epnoIlcs. aud existed by the act oi Mex
20, correct. |, did not exis, al AL: or u
dId, existed not by The act OF McKee,.
nj by our act. in either Ease the off
Ial announcement was ia Sc, and cannot
e defended.
The President NAV have been gov
Inrd by patriotic motives; he may have
30 that prompt and energetic action was
aquired; he may have believed that IN
roa' emergencies lie chief magistrate "f
ose'lul republic, having TO deal with a.
'e+k aud distracted STATE. shnuiJ rise
1perlor TO mste technical iorm'. and the
l'eltes Of roth aud hosnr; but It strokes
that be "oulde have :vue Gel.i, .rt0.