The Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1846-1852, 1847-12-31

1.-The object OF the United States has re-
ference to ultimate peace with Mexico;
altimate. observe, possession of herco-
'vetedserritory being the peaultimate OBJ.
ject;l and. if, at the peace, the basis Of
the zti POssidetis shall be established, the
Government expects, through your for
'ces, 10 be FOUND IN ACTUAL POSSESSION
of Upper California"
The President declared to Congress, il
is true, inhis Message of last year, that
this war with Mexico had not been waged
in spirit Of conquest. Would any one
suppose, with these instructions TO our
Naval Commander. aud corresponding
instructions to our Military Commanders,
that he understood the import of this dis
claimerl No one can at least misunder-
stand the purport ofhis present Message
breathing, as it does, nothing but war, q
Cmqueror's peace. or the alternative OF
the annihiation of Mexico.
Nor does the President seem to under
stand himselfin another respect any bet.
ter than he did when he disclaimed any
purpose Of conquest in the prosecution
of the war with Mexico.
In setting forth, for instance. in the be.
ginning of this Message, his own love Of
Peace aud strenuous efforts to preserve
for us its blessings, we must look on him
as exhibiting very signal example of
self delusion. No mans pacific merits
could we'll be- less. His course, thus far.
in his high Office, on the contrary, real
lied to the full, in almost every instance,
what we said of it a year ago; namely,
that, having seen that wars were popular
in this country, and felt that he himself
was not too popular, he had thought to
himself, 81 will be War President, and
that will make me popular and render
all my opponents and competitors odi-
GUS" Accordingly, his very Inaugural
had full-blown quarrel with England in
| it; his first annual Message announced
that he had done nearly all he could to
bring that quarrel to focus; meantime
he had secretly taken steps for another
with Mexico, by way of making sure of
war somewhere. So that, no sooner
had the inlerposition of the Senate foil.
ed him in his original plan, than, by a
diligent improvement of his time, he had
another fight ready to substitute for that
which had been refused him.
Grown more wary this time, he took
care not to be foiled by any body's dis
cretion; and, though Congress was sitting
for five months before he had brought ev.
cry thing to bear, contrived to have war
completely in blaze, and our succorless
army placed in what (their prowess un-
KNOWN seemed an almost hopeless pro.
dicament, before the country or Congress
knew one word of what he was about.
Such are the general and larger facts,
as to that merit of loving peace which
the President appropriates to himself
II we look closer and scan the particulars
Of things, we must not only say that Pres
ident Polk is not possessed of that vir.
tue Of ruler which he claims, and-we
regret that we must say .it-has shown,
and every where in the Message shows
himself, utterly Indifferent to the carnage
aud calamities of war.
OF little less than stone, indeed, must
his heart be, who can look, without the
strongest commiseratou, upon the spec
tacle Of a nation reduced To the extremi.
ityof distress in which Mexico, known
from the first To be incapable Of resisting
US, now stands. Not one spark of com.
passion can his breast ever have known,
who, after inflicting upon a wretched
people, destitute ofany resources against
us but their hereditary obs;inacy, all the
slaughter and humiliation which we have
every where inflicted upon Mexico, can
coolly resolve in his heart that this is not
enough; not blood enough, not tears e.
uough; not sufficient ravage. not satisfac.
tory disaster not national wo and degre.
CATION duly deep; for that the victim
people, though covered with blood and
PROSTATE in the dust, still, with desper-
ate though feeble hands, fights, though
vainly, for its hearths and altars-that
therefore, as Mexico does not yield, we
must now begin TO strike her "in her vital
parts" and besides Seizing, for ours per-
petually, territories the utmost that even
Rapacily has dared avow for our aim,
most pacifcally and peace. lovingly ex-
hons us to go on ravaging the rest ofMex-
leo I'LL the nation yields or is Destroyed
Why, the very savage of the court
yard, in other times--that most brutal of
the bully Of the bailiwick, who
chewed up an ear or nose. or scooped
out with his thumb PROSTATE adversary
eye-was humane, was generous, in com
parison with this; for he, when he fought
never fought the weak, but rather his
match; nor, when his rival champion lay
gasping and helpless under blm, game to
the last and ready TO die sooner than ut
terthe craven word enough" would he
have ever thought Of proceeding to mutil-
ate the vanquished, by way offorcing him
o confess himself conquered, aud then,
moreover, have helped himselfto what
ever he could find III the MANNED mans
pockets. No: even in his hardened
heart, there would be manly pity, be.
cause there was courage: if he did not at
once raise up his enemy with respect, he
at least would not begin 10 stike at his
vital parls:" and well for him, too, that
he would not,for the very ycrowd ofa court
green. coarse as it then was, was yet un.
debauched of every right sentiment by