Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1847-08-26

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existed not by act of Mexico, but by our act
In either case, the official announcement was
false, aud cannot be defended
at is often hazardous in our poadlnrs to plead
what is not true, and in doing so N the present
case, the President has not only offended moral
ity, which he may regard as a small matter, but
has even committed blunder,
"'Hhe course the President should have pnr-
sued is p1i1 and obvious. On learning the
state of things on the frontier, the critical cond-
ton of or army Of occupation, he should have
demanded Of Congress the relnforcements and
supplies necessary to relieve il and secure the
purpose for whch it was avowedly sent to the
Rio Grande and If he believed it proper or ne
cessary, to have in addition laid before Congress
| full and truthful statement OF our relations
with Mexico, including all the unadu sted com
| plants, past and present, we had against her,
accompanied by the recommendation of decla-
ration of war He would then have kept within
the limits OF his duty, proved himself a plain
constitutional President, aud left the response
bini OF war or no war TO Congress, the only
warmuklng power known to our laws. Congress-,
alter mature deliberation, might, or might not,
have declared war-most likely not but wheth-
or so or not, the responsibility would have rested
with 1t, aud no blame would have been attached
to the President
"Unhappily, this course did not occur to the
iNoiuSHlj VI was wv pIdIil anu slIlplc u meet
his appreciation. BY declaring that the war all
ready existed and by the act Of Mexico herself
the President relieved Congress of all the re-
sponsblIy Of the war, by throwing 1t all on
Mexico. But since he cannot fasen it on Mexi-
co,--for war did not already exist, or if SO, by
our act, and not hers,-it necessarily recoils up
on himself, and he must bear the responsibility
OF doing what the Constitution forbids him to do
.. making war without the Intervention of
Congress. In effect therefore, he has rampled
the Constitution under his feet, set a dangerous
precedent, and, by the official publication of Il
pulpabe talsehood, sullied the national honor.
Iii with no pleasure that we speak thus of the
Chief Magistrate of the Union, for whose eleva-
ton to his high and responsible Office we our
selves votcd. But whatever may be our attach
ment to party, or the respect we hold to be due
from all good citizens to the civil magistrate we
cannot see the Constitution violated, and the
national honor sacrificed whether by friend or
foe, from good motives or bad, without entering,
feeble though it be, our stern and indignant pro-
test
But passing over this, we have yet to be
convinced whatever were the Just causes of
complaint we had against Mexico, that the war
was called for. We are willing to admit that
we had suffered grievous wrongs from Mexico,
and that we have shown exemplary forbearance,
and treated her with generosity; but she had
shown Willingness to treat with us, and the
greater part, If not all, of the old offences we
had had to complain Of she had acknowl lodged,
and they had been settled in a convention of the
two republics. True, she had not, in all cases,
fulfilled her engagements; but she had mani
tested no unwlngness to fulfil them, and no one
doubts that she would have fulfilled them, had it
not been for her unsettled and distracted internal
state. The more recent difficulties growing out
OF the affair of Texas demanded great delicacy
= and forbearance on our part. She felt herself
: wronged and humbed by the annexation of
Texas to the Union, and, however blameworthy
we may choose to regard her conduct we-ore
sure II the causes had been reversed, we should
have behaved at least no better than she did.
She protested, was her undoubted right,
= against the annexation of Texas but she com
united no act OF violence against u.s. so long as
we confined our army OF occupation to territory
over which Texas had actually exercised iurs-
dcton. We might well have forborne to press
our claims further, and 1t would have been nu
= derogaton 20 orr national dignity 10 have refrain
- ed from pushing our claims at once 70 thee, far
: therest limits against weaK, humbed and dis
trdcted neIghbor. 1t would have been lust and
,, wise to give her time to cool, time for hel
wounds to begin to heal, and to reconcile her.
: sell to her humiliatlng loss, specially since
she had been stripped of the province of Texas
t through her misfortune, not her fault.
= " The necessity OF sending our troops from
position within the territory claimed indeed by
!. Texas, bnt which, it is well known, continued tc
c be subject to Mexican laws and to form Dor
ton OF one OF the undoubted states or province:
OF the Mexican republic, was not at all urgent
. That the position taken up by General TAYLOR
under orders OF the President was in TERRITORY
I, winch had never been in the actual possession
s oi Texas, ana wuIch had continued -.nce a.
before Texan independence, subject to Mexican
authorlly, 1t Is worse than idle to question:
Whether we had right to claim under Texas
beyond what Texas held in actual subsection tC
her laws may be disputed; but even admitting
That we had valid title to all of Mexico t
which Texas saw proper to set up a claim, there
can be no doubt that little patience would have
enabled Us 10 adjust peaceaby the question o
boundary between the two republics. But i
worst mad come to worst we might, at an,
time, have fixed upon the boundary we intended
. 10 MAINTAIN, and confined ourselves simply to ii,
defence. The real Cause of the war; disguise i
as we may, was the act of the President IN or
:, derlng the troops under General Taylor to thu
r Rio Grande an act done on his sole responsible
# ny, while Congress was in session, and wlthou
n necessity or r. ason OF state for, go long we
d were The stronger party, there was danger o
i our losing our title by delaying to vndicate it
q aud there was no other conceivable reason 70
. urging lis Immediate vlndlcation. Tue vndca
It ton could have been safely, prudeuty delayed
The act, therefore, which brought on the war
n was an unnecessary act, and therefore the wa
Il itself was dncalled for"