The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1847-05-28
.The Administration aud Congress-


The National ntelligencer' OF Wednesday morning
devotes long and labored article under tins head 10
the of prosecuting the war For one, we ieei
due acknowledgements for the investigation calls ior'
and are much disposed TO repeat the compliment
which Charles James Fox paid at public table to ms
distinguished competitors Thanks 10 Mr. Burke for the
discussion he has provoked"
1t should create of surprise that the lnie
lgencer-whch is SO decidedly Mexican IN ITS feelings
| and so strongly opposed 10 the war-shoud fall MO
such strange perverson lis comments upon the CON
duet of those who are charged with IFS management
large part of this very labored article consists IN an al
tempt to conroyer statement, that the adnlnstra
lion sused the most Jealous efforts, and made the most
urgent appeals Congress- pass the Ten Regiment bill
in season for the troops be raised to take part in Gen
SCOTS operations"
The confident holiness with which our statement is
mpeached and the unfair statements put forth
plish this object have induced inquire more fully
into the matter and 10 expose the mnfamess of its
marks.
The point of attack, understand il, is, that the
administration, early last summer The beginning
of autumn contemplated attack upon the OF the
Gulf OF Mexico, and an expedition from il against the
Mexican capital and that il was remiss in furnishing the
means Of carrying it into effect, and that the charge OF
dilatoriness against Congress is unfounded.
In September, general Taylor consulted, and his
advice asked in regard TO military operations The Gulf
coast. The general suggested the necessity OF large
body OF regular troops for such expedition is very
evident, from the OF his letter. that in General ay
or's opinion, the enterprise ought not be undertaken
without regular troops than could be spared for that
service.
The first fact aduced by the nellsence' is letter
from the Secretary OF War OF the nth of November, de-
Ginning the offer OF company of uoiuneersnot the kind
of troops which General Taylor mentioned needed for
that expedition There is expression in the closing
sentence of that letter, which be' Iniegencer' eagerly
seizes upon TO sustain its position. II is this: The
amount of force already in service is deemed sufficient
for the prosecution Of the war" The evident meaning OF
the letter is that troops of the kind Oferedtha
is volunteers then deemed to be required Had it
been oreseen that this letter would be published and sub
mitted to the pervertng ingenuity of the Inteigencer
it is probable consideration would have been given
TO the language and care beyond the necessity OF the
case, taken guard it against peverse interpretations
The fair meaning of ii certainly is, that force of
the description rendered then needed This opinion was
certainly warranted by the views which Gen. Taylor him
the troops for such an expedition If the editors OF the
"Integencer' ignorant OF the fact, very few others
in the country are that, from the day when Congress
passed the act for increasing the regular force every Ell
fort was made, and has been continued down TO this
me to fill the companies of the regular regiments up 10
the maximum allowed by law; and al the date of the let
ter copied in the Inelligcncer, nearly hundred re-
crutng rendezvous opened, and the recruiting
vice urged with the utmost vgor.
The Intelgencer" in the communication in which
il quotes the letter OF the 18th of November to show that
the department did then need force quotes from
the report OF the Secretary of War, written shortly after
part (and only parD of what he says in relation TO
filling the old regiments; Tor, if II had extracted all
the Secretary says the subject it would have refued
the position aborng TO establish but in that part
quoted, the Secretary informs Congress that prompt
measures taken procure recruits After stating the
causes of the of success he urges upon Congress
the Importance of increasing the inducements 10 enlist
by pecunary and land bounty; and also the
sity of raising additional regular regiments for the
war In the face of all this strong proof Of the anxiety
of the administration TO increase the army TO
be rare instance OF dsngenuy 10 resort the ''lnte
lgencer" does, casual letter. having particular refer
volunteers, to sustain the charge that The govern
men was moi devoting their best and most strenuous e
forts to procure the necessary force execute the enter
prise they had resolved on.
The "Inellgencer" enters boldyupon the task of vim
dcatng Congress from The charge of having been dila
tory carrying into effect the recommended BY
the Executive in relation 10 the vigorous prosecution of
the war.
| The main measures recommended, were the filling up
of the old regiments 10 the number authorized by law,
and the raising of ten additional regiments for the
The Secretary had stated in his report that The authority
to call volunteers had not been exhausted AMI that
wthsanlng che prompt measures taken TO procure
cruts the recruiting service had not been attended with
the desired success and the regular regiments not fill
ed up 10 the extent authorized by law Upon these two
facts, the inference drawn byhe nelgencer that Con-
gress had occasion the recommendations of the
Executive and that it is extremely unjust to impute blame
to them When The writer in the Integencer" put forth
his justification for the delay Of Congress, he well knew
that one of the earnestly recommended and
urged and for the delay OF which no small degree of
blame is mputable 10 them, the call for The neces
sary and proper 10 I'LL up these regiments The
Secretary after communicating the fact that the reg
ments were not filled, and explaining the reasons
of the want Of success in the recruiting, invoked
IN emphatic terms, the aid of Congress TO overcome
the difficulties He asked for the allowance of bounty
| in money and land, which was deemed ndspensably
necessary Did Congress act promptly on this