Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1847-05-07
Friday Morning, May 7. 1917.
THE IsTnMUs or TEHUANTEpEC.

lumn in Yesterdays Whig is totally thrown away.
/, entirely and mons,rously eIaggeraes our posi-
ton on the subject OF ship canal TO unite the At
lantic and Pacific Oceans across lhat narrow is1h-
mus. We have not in any sense contended iof
The construction of said work by Congress-0u'
we have zealously urged the importance OF ac-'
curing 4 slip OF land, or The fright oil way
through the islhmus. The Wing may, IN IL hor-
ror oil The extension Of our limits and The expan-
sion Of The commerce Of the world, resist The ex-
pediency Of such measure but Il VIII scarcely
be so bold as to deny, thai in arranging Inc terms
Of peace with Mexico, our government can
lawfully and conslilutionally acquire slip OF
land in that or any other portion Of Mexico I'm
der the laws Of war, We can capture any province
OF Mexico and indeed the whole OF the country,
10 be held until peace is concluded and in the ne
COLLATION. We may make the acquisition Of certain
territory binding condition II we can thus OBJ
tain even whole provinces in accordance with The
laws OF nations, most certainly we are not pre-
cluded from the acquisition Of narrow piece
OF land, sufficient 10 form 4 communication
between The two oceans. AMI the wing may
rely upon ii, it will be done. That paper may
dcnounce, in rounded periods, The curse Of ex-
tending our limits, as did the Federalisls OF New
England in The case Of Louisiana and Texas
oil whose accession no one now presumes to COM
plain, for The resources which these new CONNER
cial avenues have placed in their possession have
effeclually senced all grumbings; it may, fol-
lowing The lead OF MIR. John S. Psndeton, i'm
peach as fraudulent" the claims OF our own tel.
low-cilizens upon Mexico for grievous spollatlons
OF their properly and injury TO their persons; II
may regard Mexico as the aggrieved party and
our own Government as completely in The wrong
and may urge The withdrawal o. our troops, with
on, The smallest compensation in money or TERRI
tory Tor The wrongs which we have suffered, and
the blood and treasure we have expended, in This
"unjusl and alrocious" war; il may do all this,
vet il will never induce the American people 10
yield 10 such suicidal and degrading conditions as
10 retreat from Mexico without acquiring indem
nifty, in some form or other. Money, Mexico
cannot command. Territory she has in album
dance which is useless TO her, bu, will prove va
tory, we cannot doubt, will be insisted on by our
Governments and among The terms OF settlement,
a narrow and at present yalueess slip OF land
across The Ishmus OF Tehuanepec, will be in
cluded Can any one doubt The immense impoI-
lance OF the communication between The two
oceans which We have referred TO? Besides lis
commercial blessings it may be, in The language
of Mr.. Dallas, "convened into The means Of
bringing closely together, OF improving and OF
enriching The whole human family"
So much for the acquisition Of territory, which
We hold 10 he fully justified BY right and The
law Oh nations We now come to the use TO be
made OF said strip OF land al Tehuantepec. we
have advocated the construction OF snip canal
or railroad between the navigable rivers on either
side, SO as 10 bring The teeming riches OF The ~
dies within The control OF our own enierprsihe
citizens, and here again we quote another siaphic
passage from Mr. Dallas letter:
"Tho ohi.i ehjarrs 10 BIZ attained are, speedy
communication between This countTy and The
western coasts Of North and Sonh America, es-
peciay with our territories Of Oregon and Ca
liiornia; AZ easy and quick access 10 China, the
witch Islands, Russian settlements, and even, be-
lore long hope, The tempting and untouched
treasures of magnifcen, Japan; and, finally the
facilitating and enlargng OF thai great source oil
wealth, rs well as nursery OF able seamen, The
whale fishery"
This much We have freely asserted and still
cordially maintain; bur the Wing makes us go
great deal farther. Il graluitonsly assumes that
txt,r
Of shipcanaI across their islhmus, "when the
territory shall have been conquered or purchased
from Mexico"-and, filled with this erroneous
idea, goes on TO ask, with masisieral air, what
clause Of that instrument can be tortured BY So
pnisry, or forced BY The most violent abuse OF
language into The service OF The advocates Of This
gigantic scheme, who denying The tight Of Con-
eiess to improve on, o1on harbors and rivers, I'M
der that clause OF The Constitution which imposes
upon that body the duty OF regulating commerce
"caong The several States" nevertheless have The
eronIrry 10 deduce from tha,veIy clause auhori-
u frs! 10 buy iron foreign Government THE
RIGHT of way through its territory or 10 compel il
by force 10 yicid it 10 our demand, and then 10
cul great canal through The soil thus purchased
or conquered =
Now, we have never advanced, nor do we now
sustain, the opinion that Congress does possess
ar should exercise The power oil constructing nus
magnificent work. Whatever may BE- Mr. Dali
las views on the subject, we unequlvocally ccny
such a power 10 Congress We have consistent
ly opposed the construction Of Internal Improve
men,s by the Federal Government "wilhin The
States" and as strongly object TO The e1ef-
else of such power in territory acquired OF
Mexico. But We contend, that, even without
The aid OF Congress, this grand CONNER
cia highway Of nations will yet be constructed.
Let Us first obtain The territory, as we can BY just
and constitutional means, and then, in The lam
guage Of Union, there can be "no doubt that the
commercial interests and the commercial capt.
,sl both Of our own and Of other countries, unit
ing in so great an object, will speedily turn il 10
practical account. Private enterprise will
doub,lrss relieve our Government from the
necessity even Of contemplating any doubtful
exercise of lis own powers in the construction
Of a ship canal beyond cur own territorial
entirely distorted our position. The "mon-
sirous absurdity" 10 which il refers, is all
picture of its own iancy-and our own zeal
ous opposition TO The construction OF gigantic
improvements by The national government, is per-
iscly consistent with our support Of The PROPOSE
lion 10 secure The Is'hmus Of Tehuaniepec, 10 be
afterwards converted by private enterprise into
highway of nations. Unlike The Wing, We would
turn The present war with Mexico, into which we
have been forced 10 practical beneiIto ourselves
and The whole world We would seize the oc-
casion presented 10 Us, Of uniting all nations in
The bonds of peace and fellowship and mutual
interest. We would do so, al The same Time,
without exercising or claiming the least power,
in violation Of the constitution or OF justice. -
All this, we conceive, can be accomplished, and
The constitution which We would cherish above
all other considerations, maintained inviola.e.