Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1847-02-18
RXrRACrs FROM
u. G. CGVIIsOsSSs'S Speech,
In the Senate, on the Thres Million
ON THE MEXICAN WAR.


ton, an offensive war, even ifyou were assured
/ that You could reach the city Of Mexico during
| this campaign and dictate such treaty Sir,
what is 10 be the strength of the army which
you propose to raise In order tc accomplish this
! purpose And what is the amount of money
| which will be required TO carry on your mill
! tary operations with that army You pro-
pose TO raise upwards Of 10 600 men and to ex-
! pend 81 or 40, 900 900 of dollars Nay, we will
suppose that you have an effective war estab-
| lishment in the field Of but $4,000 troops
| Now, what will be the end Of the campaign !?
Suppose by the concurrence of favorable cir.
cumstances, you have effected the whole that
you contemplated by the employment of this
| force and the expenditure efthis money, what
then il The state of the case' Why, you will
sacrificed in the first place $50 900 900 to get
to the city of Mexico to dictate this peace; and
what the sacrifice of life will be, may be judg-
ed BY looking at the past One third must be
put down as certain to perish, rot by the sword
but by disease fifteen thousand lives, then,
must be sacrificed.
| And now put this questions it worth
while that these sacrifices should be made In
order to get that which is within your reach
without any sacrifice at all Sir, put high
en- question, are $4,000 900 to be expended in
pushing your war, which must result in OBJ
tanning for US no more than we have already !
| Is there man here who would give fifteen
millions of money for California Yet we
! propose 10 prosecute war at an expense of
thirty millions, for the purpose of producing
this result. Sir, have but touched the shell
of this matter Is there any certainty that you
will reach the city of Mexico, or if you reach
it, is there any certainty that you can dictate
peace there. even ifin possession of the city?
These are considerations of the utmost magni-
| tude. We have overrun portion of Mexico,
bui have we thereby concilated the Mexicans
who occupy that vast country Not at all.
They are more hostile to US than they were at
first, and more ready to do US an injury than
ever. Can we hold these possessions then
without large force? Far from it. 1t must
require several thousand Of our best troops.
What then have we accomplished We have
hardly approached the confines of populated
Mexico-we have but entered her Interior pros
vinces. Mexico proper consists of that remar.
kabe high land, of which the city may be said
| to occupy the center-a vast region extending
| down to the Pacific, and to the southern side Of
| the Gulf of California, containing seven mili-
| ons ofpopulaion, ten times as numerous as that
| of the country which we have captured Here
is the seat of her wealth and of her defence, in
| resistance to our arms. What description of
| country is it ? 1t is as mountainous as any
! region on the world. may we'll be compared
with Atlas in Africa, and with the Caucasus
in Europe. These mountains are interspersed
with enormous defiles, rendering the approach
| of an army work of the utmost difficulty
This IS the character of the country we are
about to conquer. How are we to overcome
these difficulties The plan is first as under
stand it,, to take Vera Cruz. Now what is the
description of country in that region The
country about Vera Cruz, like the province of
ia hot S,cRlv paUiop hn hama Of
the yellow lever for eight months in the year,
and, during the months that it is exempt from
this scourge, it is subject to the most violent
storms which endanger its navigation and make
it difficult for ships to laad. We may not be
able to reach the city of Mexico before the sick
ly season commences, and if we do not, all is
lost for this campaign.
But suppose We do reach thecity Of Mexico,
can we dictate peace Whom have We to
deal with A people who held out when
their independence was refused to be recognize
ed, for 30 years These are the people we have
to deal with, and is there any certainty that
we can bring them to consent to propositions
for peace, provided we get there7 Well, if
there is no certainty, but on the contrary, here
is every probability that another campaign will
be inevitable, (and it must be so, if either Of
these contingencies happen,) we must have
second campaign,
Now, a solemn question comes up. Can we
raise the means? And we must remember
that it will be necessarily much more costly
campaign than the first, at great distance
from place where we can procure supplies.
The expense must be proportonably great, and
this to be continued for great length OF time
tor if we do not conquer Mexico, If we do not
conquer peace, we must then have guerril-
la waitare--such war as exists between Rus
STA and the Caucasus. Well sir-can we have
the means Of meeting this enormous expense
In the first place, az to the men, let me tell you
that the spirit of volunteering is gone-that
spirit ceases when men return with broken
consttutions-wh men, who went for glory,
return with disordeied health. You will get
no more volunteers. You must depend upon
the ordinary course of recruiting your army.
md that must be sufficient to give US 10000
men for the third campaign, if it takes place.
Well, sir, suppose this difficulty surmount-
ed, can you provide the ways and means? l
fear there will be more difficulty in this than
YOU imagine-remember that you have only as
reliance your Treasury notes and such money
as YOU can borrow. You must either borr ow
or impose taxes-what taxes can you impose
Your taxes upon imports can give you but
small supply, you must resort to Internal tax
eS-a measure which is abhorred by the peo-
pie of this country more perhaps than by those
OF any country upon the race OF the earth.
But there is enc Circumstance which should
lead you to an avoidance of Internal taxation,
if it can be avoided by any possibilty-and it
is, that many Of the States are indebted more
than they can pay. Ifyou lay an internal tax
it must be laid uniformly throughout all the
States, and if You lay it upon those Sta,cs thus
indebted. will not reputation extend? Will
the people pay the taxi Will Pennsylvania
with debt Of forty milions-will those States
which arc unable to discharge their obliga-
tions-wil they bear such tax No. sir.
But. suppose this difficulty TO be got over
suppose that yeu get all the means yon want
is there sufficient unsninity aud zeal in the
conduct of this war to enable US to prosecute
it successfully to the termination which you
desire Does the experience of this session
furnish evidence that such would be the case
No. sir-there is too much division Of sen,i-
msnt. There is large proportion of the peo-
pie of this country who believe that tha war
was avoidable-who believe il might have
been avoided There is too large portion Of
tho people Of this country who believe that it
was commenced without constitutional author.