Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1847-06-25

you for the expenses II puts you to in short
there is nothing like 1t it is the most econom.
cal thing in the world, but requires large in.
IDENTITIES for its expense it is very repu-ive
and very attractve-that, to drive out invaders
this, to get in minister; it is very subversiye
of tyrants, very constructive of free govern.
ments; it is excellent for libcrating the Press
in Mexico, and for enslaving it in the United
States; but, above all things, there is nothing
like war for its peacefuness
Serenthly in the same Message, the Presiden.
cy promises thus The war will be vigorously
prosecuted there Tin Mexico) with view to oh.
tain an honorable peace, and thereby secure
ample indemnity for the expenses of tina war"
Thus tan honorable peace" becomes the object
for which war is prosecuted which both Mr..
BENTON and Mr.. CALHOUN who never agreed
in any thing ese) agree--supporters of the Pre-.
sident as they are, or have bcen-ought to have
been avoided, and might easily but the peace
thus obtained j, clearly to be honorable' only
as q" securing an ample indemnity for the ex-
penses of the war" So that, with delicious
confusion of ideas, we have war set on foot to
repel an invasion, which we either made or
marched in search of and we are keeping up
the war in order to extort an ample noneyed in
demnity Of its expenses Qor the President will
not avow any acquisition Of territory as his OBJ
jecO from nation SO poor SO mortgaged and
hypothecated in all its revenues, that the very
army in which was placed all its hopes starved
at San Luis Potosi, and the great fortress of San
Juan de Ulua fell with but six days provision in
it, because Mexico could not, for her life, raise
the half ola million of dollars From people
thus inoneyless, creditless, beggared, we were
to get back, as the terms Of an honorable peace,
the cost of all the war on our side, besides ena-
bling them to pay their own ! 1t is lndemnities
no longer for the ancient spolaton of our cit.
zens that we seek them we abandon :. an hon.
orable peace can be made without them. So,
too, Of Riding Mexico of Tyranny and setting
up again our friend, the Presidents pro,ege that
lover of liberty, SANTA ANNA the President has
got him back, to the head of an army into the
Presidency so that these are no longer condi-
tons Of the honorable peace" or objects of the
peaceful war" Nor is the Liberty of the
Press nor is the reception Of Mr.. SIIDELL nor
is Free Trade at home nor is an invaluable
System of Finance-for we have got it, and a
debt Of probably at least a hundred millions of
dollars as part oft. In short, the only object
of the war is Indemnity for its expenses and,
as the Administrations Congressional organ
the Chairman of the House Committee of For
eign Relations, has averred to the world that The
system Of Finance created by the mar is north 10
as more than lis cost, on an equitable settlement
Mexico owes us less than nothing
| Eighthly. In our former survey Of the affects
of the war, we showed that the same Congress.
sional organ OF the Administration, its Chair.
man Of the Committee of Foreign Relations, had
in his Report on the Presidents Message, avow.
ed for the Executive that the purpose Of the wal
is one which this Government has pursued ever
since Mexico became independent 1921 )-thal
is, the acquisition of California. For that do.
cument says Complaints of the resort Ia
| , Il e.. 4 a..
of reproach by the facts TINT Mexico, by war
constrains the United States 10 take by conquest
what, ever since Mexican independence erery
| American Administration has been striving 10
get by purchase and that The Executive orders
and military and naral execution Of them, FOR
THE ACHIEVEMENT OF CONQUEST, have conformed
not merely to long established policy Of our orr,
Government, but Wise principles Of se!:preserra,;;
ton, indispensable to all prOridem government. v
We showed, then, from this particularly con-
fdential source, (Which Immediately represents
in Congress the views of the President and Sc
cretary of State as to questions of our Foreign
Policv0 that the Administration has, through
its legislative organ, declared that we are fight.
ing to get what we have long wanted, but lis
owner would not sell-tbat is California that
its possession is to us matter OF self-preserva.
ton ) and that, therefore, every prudent Govern
ment in our situation would take it by force
since we have been unable to get it otherwise
Now, as Mr.. INGERsoLL cannot intend to charge
Mr.. Polk with neglecting for us what mere
scf-preservation renders Indispensable, he mus
be held, in effect, to declare that this Admins
traion did not criminally wait for Mexico t,
constrain it to save us from destruction, BY lay
ing the strong hand on California, but prudent
. ly, providently," periodically, took the inita
tive, and picked quarrel Qhe Executive is a
n loss to say about plaO with Mexico.
Thus far we have recited afresh, snd in a more
summary shape, the causes and objects of wal
which had, before the Goth March, been avoweC
by or for the President. Since that time he has
been good enough to supply rs, through further
declarations, with additional variations Of pre-
text. Some of these we shall now proceed tc
Notwithstanding with them certain other
which, though elder, we had overlooked, ant
continuing our original numerical arrangement
, Nmthiy. On the 9Th of July last, Qess thar
two months after the battles of Resaca de Ia Pal
ma and Palo Alto, known here on the 23d of Ma!
only, and before, therefore he could have recei
we'd any orders from here, or any thing in alii
lion to his original instructions, except the dl
rect news, from the Rio Bravo, of hostilities be
, gun there,) Commodore SLoAT, as " Command
erin. Chief of the United States Naval forces il
/ the Pacific Ocean," issued a proclamation " t
the Inhabitant. of California" declaring that h
! was about to take possession Of that entire de
partment that henceforth it will be portion
Of the United States" that " its pe,ceable in
habtants will enjoy The same rights and pripiiess
as the citizens ofany portion Of that Union = tina
they shall choose their opn magistrates and oihe
officers from among themselves y that the sam
protection will be extended to them AS to an
other State Of the Union :" that 4" they miN EMO
q A PERMANENT GOVERNMENT" that they sha
N u