Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1847-02-26

hands of one man-the war-nakiny power. being
in the hands of the monarch, the despot the feu-
d,l lord. and the limited monarch had been found
in hostility to the rights, and destroying the lives
of millions of their subugatcd people. in all the
ages of the world. They determined, therefore
that the power to make war should never be vest
ed in the hands of any one man. They dcclar-
ed that it should be with the sovereign States
and their Representatives alone to say whether
the nation should seek this last appeal for the re-
dress of any injuries of which it might have reas-
on to complain. They provided, however. that
the President of the United States, for the time
being should be the commander-in-chief of the
armies of the United States.
They took very good care that that army
should be exceedingly small, and they who had
the most fearful apprehensions of investing in
one man even the power to command this army
always inculcated upon the minds OF every one
the necessity Of keeping that army within limits
Just small as the necessity of the oxto NAL re-
lations of the country would possibly admit 1t
has happened. Mr.. President. that when little
disturbance on your Indian frontier took place,
Congress was invoked for an increase of your
military force. Gentlemen came here who had
some partial service in the armies of the United
States. They tell you that the militia of the
country is not to be relied upon-that it is only
in the regular army Of the United States that you
are to find the men competent to fight the battles
OF the country. and from time to time when that
necessity has seemed to arise, forgetting this old
doctrine, that large standing army in time of
peace was always dangerous to human liberty.
we have increased that army from six thousand
up to about sixteen thousand men and the other
day, Mr.. President-the other day-wc have
given ten regiments more; and for not giving il
within the quick time demanded by our master
the comnander-in-chief, some mnion-I know
not who, for have not looked into this matter
| until this notwithstanding upon the fv-bown
remnants that fall the Executive shamblcs and
lie purifying there, has denounced lis as Mexi.
cans. and called the American Republic to take
notice that there was in the Senate of the United
States a body of men chargeablc with ncvsm
-NleXlcans in heart-traitors to the United
States.
! trust, Mr.. President, that our master vii
be appeased by the facility with which, mme
diatcly after that rebuke Of his mnion. the Sc
nate acted upon the bill and gave him the army
which he required.
1t must have occurred to every body, how ut
terlv ilnpotent the Congress of the United State,
now is for any purpose whatever but that o
yielding to the President every demand which
he makes for men and money, unless they as
sumo that only position which is lcIt-tha
which in the history Of other countries. in tmc
favorable TO human liberty, has been Otter
resored to as check upon arbitrary power
withholding that money. refusal to grant tn,
services of those men when deman led for pur
poses which the Senate of the United States d.
not deem to be proper.
will ask any Senator here to furnish M
with any means of escaping from the prosecu
ton of this war for an hundred years to come
if it so please the President of the United State
to occupy this while. Ito for that time Fur
nish me with any possibility of getting ava
the power TO command your army whenever h
! pleases. and in the manner that he pleases, an
then granting to the Administration, as you cal
1.-THE Prcsidcnt--cvery dollar in money, and i
need be every abc-bodicd man CAPABLE of bear
ing arms in the United States to prosecute tha
war--tcl me, you who say that being in a war
and conccding. as the Constitution has conccd
ed to the President, the power to command YOU
armies in the field. TO send them as he please,
to Monterey, to Mexico, to iucatan, to Pana
ma, to China, if You please--undcr the penalty
too, of death, denounced upon the officers that
shall disobey, that communicative him that
power and then concede it to be the duty of Con
gress--bcing thus engaged without your con
sent at first, without appealing to you to give
]
duct of the war, and as many men and as much
money as may crafty to the full his schemes OF
ambition or avarice, or whatever else you attri
butte to him, and then tell me, what is the Gov
eminent of the United States but one of the
blankest. levclest. most odous and most hateful
| dcspotsms that it has ever pleased merciin
God to allow nation to be afflicted with on the
face of the earth
| ! have looked at this subject with painfulen-
dcavor to come to the conclusion, if possible
that it was my duty, as Senator of the United
States, finding the country in war, to flight il
! out as we say in the common and popular
phrase of the times, to a just and--honorable
peace could very easily conccdc that to be
my duty ii ! found my country engaged in Just
WARM war necessary even to protect thai
| t,ncied honor Of which you talk so much.
should have some apology in the Judgment O
my country men, in the determination of my
conscience, and in an appeal which you, and ]
and all OF lis must soon be required to make be-
/ fore tribunal where this vauntcd honor Of the
Republic, fear me, will gain but little credit
as defence to any act we may be guilty of here
in the Senate of the United States.
But when ] am asked to say that will pro
secute Il war, | cannot answer that question
yea or nay, until ] have determined whether
that was IA necessary war; and cannot deter
mine whether it was necessary until know
how it was that my country was involved in 1t
And it is to that particular point, Mr.. President
| without reading documents, but referring &c
a few facts which | understand not to be denied
on either side of this chamber--that ! wish Il
direct the attention of the American Senate
and so far as may be, that Of any of the humble
and honest constituents whom represent here
/ We send our people to Texas. They went
after liberty they say a laugh. They could
not have ii at home
/ remember it well, They went to Texas to
/ fight for their rights. They could not fight fnl
them in their own country. Well they fought
for their rights. They conquered them! They
conquered peace. laughter. They were
your ctizcns-not Mexicans. They were re-
cent emigrants to that country. They went
there for the very purpose of selzing on that
country and making it a free and independent
| Republic with the view, rs some OF them SAID,
of bringing it into the American Contederacy
in due time Is this poor Celtic brother of yours
| in Nexico-is the Mexican man sunk so low
that he cannot hear what fills the mouth and ear
of rumnr all over this country tie knows that
this is the settled purpose of some of your people
lie knows that your avaricc has fixed his eagle
GLANCE on these rich acres in Mexico, and that
your proud power counted the number that could
be brought against YOU, and that your avarice
and your mower together marched on TO the sub
iuoaiion of the third or fourth part of the Re-
nublic of Mexico, and took it from her, They
knew this. and knowing 1t, what must have
been the feeling and sentiment in the mind Of
] al. ~, St,tA ,trhA In