The Somerset herald and farmers' and mechanics' register. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 183?-1852, 1847-09-07
The War with Mexico.


In "Brownson's Quarterly Review" for
the last month, July, lS47, the editor
argues that the War with Mexico is sun
called for, impoliiic, and unjust" MIR.
BRowNsoN is known to WELD powerful
pen; he has been for many years consid-
cred as no mean champion of democracy,
in support of which he obtained consider
able celebrity while editor of the ''Demo-
cratic Review" He is still the political
friend of the President, and an adherent
of the party by whom he was elected
1t was therefore certainly not to be ex-
pected that such a man, in such posi-
ton, would undertake to demolish every
argument advanced by Mr.. Polk and his
friends in support of the present war, as
| Mr.. Brownson has done. He has thus
voluntarily rendered service 10 truth,
for which the democrats" will never
forgive him. But we will allow him to
speak for himself:
''FOr ourselves, we have regarded the
Mexican war from the first as uncalled
for, impolitic, and unjust. We have ex-
amiued the documents published by order
Of the Government; we have read the Of
fetal defence of the war in the last annual
message Of the President to Congress,
and with every disposition to find our
own Government in the right; but we are
bound to say that our original impressions
have been strengthened rather than weak
ened. The President undoubtedly makes
it clear that we had many just causes Of
complaint against Mexico, which, at the
time Of their occurrence, might have justi-
| fed reprisals, perhaps even war, but he
cannot plead these in justification of the
present war; for they were not the ground
on which we professed to engage in it,
The official announcement of the Presi-
dent to Congress was that war already ex-
sted between the two Republics by the
act OF Mexico herself; and, whatever use
we may make of old grievances in ADJUST
ing the terms Of peace, we can make no
use of them in defending the war. We
can plead i'll its defence only the fact on
which we grounded it--namely, war ex-
lists by the act Of Mexico herself. But
unhappily, at the time of the official an
nouncement, war did not exist between
the two Republics at all, for neither Re-
public had declared war against the other;
there had been a collision Of their forces,
but this was not war, as the President
would probably have conceded had he
known or recoliected the distinction be-
tween war and hostiIities. By placing
the war on the ground that il existed by
the act OF Mexico, and that ground being
false, he has left it wholly indefensible,
whatever old grievances we may have 10
alIege against Mex CO.
1.-The act of Mexico in crossing the
Rio Grande, and engaging our troops on
territory which she had possessed and
still claimed as hers, but which we as
serted had, hy recent act, against which
she had protested, Become ours-the act
which the President chose to inform Con-
gress and the world was war-may or may
not have been just cause for declaring
war against her, but it assuredly was not
war itself. We have no intention to JUS
tify Mexico. She may have been deci-
dedly IN the wrong, she may have had
no valid title to the territory of which the
President had just taken military occupa-
lion; that territory may have been right
fully ours, and il may even have been the
duty of the President to occupy and de-
lend it; but it cannot be denied that she
had once possessed it; that it was still a
part of one Of her States or Provinces;
that she still claimed it, and had contin-
ued 10 exercise jurisdiction over it till
driven from it by our army of occupation;
that she invaded it with all armed force, ii
invasion it can be called, not as territory
belonging 10 US, but as territory belonging
to her; and that she attacked our troops,
not for the reason that they were ours,
but for the reason, as she held, land she
had as good right TO be Judge in her own
case as we had in ours that they were
intrtiders, trespassers on her soil. The
motive Of the act was not war against the
United States, but the expulsion ofintru-
ders from her own territory.
mo sophistry can make her act war;
certainly not without conceding that onr
act in taking military possession of that
territory was also war, and If that was
war. then the war, If it existed at all, ex-
isted by our act and not by hers. for her
act was consequent upon ours. The most
that the President was at liberty 70 say,
without condemning his own Government
was, that there had been a collision Of the