The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1847-11-27

10 the scale Of any other party to advaEce and promo
Merean Interests such Of things could
: endure. Those. whom God and Geography have DIT
noanced should live asundef, could be permanen
o W and hsrmoniously united togsher.
r Do we want for our own happiness or great
b ness the addition Of Mexico to the existin
Union Of our Statesl II our population wa
, too dense for our territory, and there was
difficulty in obtaining honorably the means o
} subsistence there might be some excuse for Al
} attemptto enlarge our dominions. but We hav
no such apology. We have already, in on
!, glorious country, vast and almost boundles
, territory. Beginning at the North, in the fro
zen regions Of the British Provinces, il stretches
thousands Of miles along the coasts Of the At
lantic Ocean, and the Mexicsn Gulf, until il al
most reaches the Tropics Ii extends to the
Pacific Ocean, borders on the those great in
land seas, the Lakes, which separate rs from
the possessions Of Great Britain, and il embra-
ces the great father OF rivers, from its upper
most sources to the Balize, and the still longer
Missouri, fromits mouth to the gorges Of the
Rocky Mountains Ii comprehsnds the great
est variety Of the richest soils, capable OF Al.
most all the predictions OF The eartb, except
tea and coffee, and the spices, and il includes
every variety Of climate, which the heart could
wish or desire. We have more than ten thou
sand millions Of acres Of waste aud unsettled
lands, enough for the substance Of ten or twen-
ty times cur present population Ought we
not to be satisfied with such eountryl Ought
We not to be profoundly thankful to the Giver
OF all good things for such a vast and beautiful
isndl Is u not the height Of ingraiitude to
Tim 10 seek, by war and conquest, indu ging in
spirit Of raPacity, To acquire other lands, the
homes and habtations Of large portion Of his
common chdren7 IL We pursue the object of
sach conquest, besides mortgaging the reve-
nue. and resources Of this country for ages to
come, in the form Of an onerous national debi,
We should have greatly to augment that debt.
BY an assumption Of the sixty or seventy mil
lions Of the national debt Of Mexico. For
take it that nothing is more certain Than that, if
We obtain, voluntarily or by conquest, foreign
nation we acquire il with ell the incumbra noes
attached to it. In my humble opinion, We are
now bound in honor and morality, to pay the
Just debt Of Texas. And We should be equally
bound, by the same obligations, to pay the debt
Of Mexico, II il were annexed to The United
States.
OF all the possessions which appertain man, in hs
collective or individual condition, should be pre-
served aEd cherished, with seuIous and unremit
ting care than that OF uns0ed character is impO~
si0e TO estimate itoo highly In socety when sfaehed
10 an i9avldnA nor can be exaggerated or too greatly
msgnihed In Haiion- Those who lose Indifferent
TO H. become just objects OF seorn and contempt OF all
the abOmnabe transactions, which suliy the pages of his
tory none exceed 10 eROrmy that ofhe
and partition of POlznd the three gre4t Continental
Powers Of Russia Austria, and Prussia Ages pas
away and centuries roll around but long human
cords endure all mankind will unite in e1ecrang the Ta
pacous and dete-ahle deed. Thai accomplished by
overwhelming force. and the unfortunate existanee Of
tai dssens0ns and divisions In the bosom Of Poland Let
US evotd shKing 10 name and national character
similar, II not worse stigma afraid thai do
stand well in the opinion Of other parts OF ehren
dom. Repsdstloh has bTOugh upon much reproach
Al the nations appreheDd look upon in the prose-
cutiOn Of the present being by spirit
rapacy and an nordinaie desire for territorial agzran
Al irafn nha oTr.rf
ions Let US command their applause by noble exer
else Of fOrbearahee and justice In the elevated
which hold safely afford to practice the God
like virtues Of moderation and magnaniDiy. The long
series Of glorious riumphs, achieved by gallant
manders and their brave armies. unattended BY single
reverse justify without the least danger oftaTRshing
the national honor, in disintereslely holding the
olive branch Of peace.
We 90 not want the mines, the mountains,
the morasses, and the sterile lands Of Mexico
To her the loss Of them would be Illuminating
and he a perpetual source Of rsgret.a mortifi-
cation. To US they might prove fatal acquisi-
ton, producing distraction, disse nsiOn, division,
possibly disunion. Let, therefore. the integrity
Of the national existence and national territory
of Mexico remain updisiurbed. For one, de-
sire to see no part Of her territory torn from her
by war. Some Of our people have placed their
hsa IT'S upon the acquisition Of the Bay Of San
Francisco in Upper California. To US, as
great maritime Power, it might be Of adva ntage
hereafter IN respect 10 our commercial and
navigating interests.
To Mexico, which can never be a great
maritime power, it can never be of much adyan-
tage. live can obtain il by fair purchase with
Just equivalent, should be happy to see it ac-
quired. As, whenever the war ceases, Mexico
ought to be required to pay the debt due our
citizens, perhaps an equivalent for that Bay may
be found in that debt, our government assuming
TO paw TO our citizens whatever portion Of il
may be applied to that object. But it should
form no motive in the prosecution OF the war,
which would not continue a solitary hour for
the sake Of that harbor.
But what, il will be asked, shall we make peace
without any indemnity for the expenses of the
wari If the published documents in relation TO
the late negotiations between Mr.. Trist and the
Mexican Commissioners be true, and have not
seen them any where contradieted, the Execu-
tive properly waived any demand Of indemnity
for the expenses Of the And the rupture
of that negotiation was produced by our gov
eminent insisting upon a cession from Mexico,
Of the strip of mostly barren land between the
Nueces and the Rio Bravo and New Mexico,
which Mexico refused to make. SO that we are
now fighting, IL not for the conquest of all Mexi-
co, as intimated in some quarters, for that mar
row strip and for the barren Province of New
Mexico, with its few miserable mines. We
bought all the Province of Lonsians for fifteen
millions of dollars, and il is, in my opinion,
worth more than all Mexico together. We
bought Florida for FIVE millions Of dollars, and
hard bargain it was, since, besides that sum, we
gave mp the boundary the Rio Bravo, to which
think we are entitled, as the Western limit of
the Province Of Loisiana, and were restricted to
that Of the Sabine And are now, il not
seeking the conquest Of all Mexico, to continue
this war indefinitely for the uncomfortable OBJ
iscts IN which / have inst refarred
Bot, it will be repeated, are we to have no
indemnity for the expenses Of this war Mex
CO is utterly unable to make rs any Peeuniary
indemnity, IL the justice of the war our part
entitled Us to demand il. Her country has
been laid waste, hsrcities burned or occupied by
our troops, her means so exhausted that she Is
unable to pay even her own armies. And every
days prosecution Of the war, whilst II would
augment the amount Of our indemnity, would
lessen the ability of Mexico to pay it. We have
seen, however, that there is another form in
which we are to demand indemnity. II is 10 be
territorial indemnity. hope, for reasons al
ready stated, that that hre-5rand will not be
/ brought into our country.
Among the resolutions, which il is my inten-
ton to present for your consideration, At the
conclusion Of this address, one proposes, IN your
behalf and mine, to disavow, ia the most posi-
tive manner, any desire, on our part, to acquire
any foreign territory whatever, for the purpose
ofintroducing slavery into it. do not know
that any citizen Of the United States enter
tains such wish. But such a motive has been
often imputed to the slave States, and there
fore think il necessary to notice 1t on this occa
sion. My opinions on the sabjeet Of slavery are
we'll known. They have the merit, il it be one,
/ Of consistency, uniformity, and long duration.
Ihavs ever regarded slavery as great evil, q
wrong, for the present, fear, an irremedabls
wrong to its unfortunate victims. / should re-
i ioice II not single slave breaihed the air or
1 was within the limits Of cur country. But here