The Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1846-1852, 1847-09-03
Political.

Mr.. Bronson, the editor Of the QunfterIy ne
view, has published an article in that periodical,
in which he completely demolishes every argu-
meut advanced by Mr.. Polk and his friends, in JUS
tihcation Of the present war with Mexico Mr..
Bronson was formerly the editor Of tho Demo.
cratic Review, wheI he distinguished himself as
the able champion of tho administration and its
principles, and is still the political friend of the
and bis party. 1t was hardly to be ex-
pected, therefore. that he should thus voluntarily
the errors and usurpations Of those who
control the affairs Of the government, aud should
uphold the doctrine on this subject, which is SO
directly dt variance with that maintained by the
Locoioco party generally. We make the follow
ing extract:--Bah Patriot.
"For ourselves we have regarded the
Mexican war from the first as uncalled
for, impolitic, and unjust. W. have ex-
.amined the documents published by or
der of the government; we have read the
official defence of the war in the last an.
nual Message of the President to Con-
gress, and with every disposition to find
our W government in the right; but we
are bound TO say, that our original i'm
pressions have been strengthened rather
than weakened. The President undoubt.
eddy, makes it clear that we had many
just causes of complaint against Mexico.
which at the time of their occurrence
might have justified reprisals, perhaps
war,-but he cannot plead these in justi-
fcation Of the present war; for they have
not the ground on which we profess to
engage in it. The official announcement
of the President TO Congress was that
war already existed between the W re.
publics, By the act Of MeDico herself and
whatever use we may make of old griev-
ances in adjusting the terms of peace, we
can make no use of them in defending
the war. We can plead in its defence
only the fact on which we grounded it,
namely, war exists by the act Of Mexico
herself. But, unhappily, at the time of
the Official announcement, war did not
eTist between the two republics at all, for
neither republic had declared war against
the Other. There had been a collision
of their forces, but this was not war, as
the President would have probably
conceded, had he known or recoliected
the distinction between war and hostili-
ties. By placing the war on the ground
that it existed by the act Of Mexico, and
that ground being false, he has left i,
wholly indefensible, whatever the old
grievances we may have to allege against
Mexico.
1.-The act of Mexico in crossing the
Rio Grande, and engaging our troops or
territory which she had possessed and
still claimed as hers, but which we as,
serted had, by a recent act against which
she had protested, became ours,-the acl
which the President chose to inform Con
gress and the world was war-may or
may not have been a just cause for declar,
ing wal against her, but it assuredly wa
not war itself. We have no intention tt
justify Mexico. She may have been de
cidedly in the wrong; she may have hat
no valid title to the territory of which the
President had just taken military occu
patton; that territory may have been right
fully ours, and it may even have been the
duty of the President to occupy and de
fend it;-but it cannot be denied that sh'
had once possessed it; that it was still
part of one other states or provinces
that she still claimed it, and had c%ontinu
ed to exercise jurisdiction over it, til
driven from Thy our army of occupation
that she invaded it with an armed force
if invasion it can be called, not as terrific
ry belonging to US, but as territory belong
ing to her; and that she had attacked GU
troops, not for the reason that they wer'
ours, but forthe reason, as she held, an,
she had as good a right to judge in he
own case as we had in ours,-that the,
were intruders, on her soil. The motiv'
of her act was not war against the Unite'
States, but the expulsion of intruder
from her own territory.
mo ~sophistry can make her act war;
certainly not without conceding that on
act in taking military possession was ais
war; and if that was war, if it existed a
all, it existed by our act and not by hers
for her act was consequently upon ours
The most that the President was at libeI
ty to say, without condemning his ow
government, was, that there had been
collision of the forces of the two repub
lies on a territory claimed by each; bu
this collision he had no right to term wal
for everybody knows that it takes some
thing more than a collision of their res
pective forces on a disputed territory t
constitute a war between two civilize
nations. In no possible point of viey
+ was the announcement of the Presiden
that war existed between the two repub
lies, and existed by the act of Mexico COZ
rect. 1t ibid not exist at all; orif it die
it existed not by act of Mexico, but b
our act. In either case, the official ar
nouncement was false, and cannot be de
Tended.
THE President may have been gov
erned by patriotic motives; he may hav
l felt that prompt and energetic action wa
required; he may have believed that i
great emergencies the chief magistrate {
a powerful republic, having to deal wit
a weak and distracted state, should ris
superior to mere technical forms, and til
niceties of truth and honor; but it strike
us that he would have done better, prov
/ en- himself even more patriotic, and SUI
/, 6ciently prompt and energetic, if h
| L. -. c. L..nolc n Ahn nrIinnr N rnln