The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1847-12-16

latter declaring that he considered 81 the an
nexatiof of Texas, and war with Mexico iden-
ticah" Passing over several other gentlemen,
both wings and democrats, who had publicly
expressed similar opinions, proceed to no.
tce those of Mr.. Van Buren,, which may be
! found i'll his letter bearing date April 20,
1914, in answer to one addressed to him by
the Hon, w. H. Hammctt, member of Con-
gress at the time from Mississippi in which
! the writer says" As one of your warnest
supporters in 1886, and 1910, and as dele
gate to the Baltimore Convention, desire
particularly to know your opinion as to the
constitutionality and expedcncy of immedi-
ately annexing Texas to the United States,
so soon as the consent of Texas be had to
such annexation"
| To which Mr.. Van Buren, after stating his
views as to the consttutionality of the meas
ure, pro- eeded in his reply to the other branch
of the inquiry, that of the expediency OF an
nexation, &c. After referring to the appli
cation of Texas to be annexed to the United
States while he was President, he says: -
" Coming to the decision which it became my
duty to make, was aided, in addition TO the
other members of my cabinet, by the counsel
and constitutional advice Of two distinguished
citizens of your own section of the Union, of
the first order of intellect, great experience
in public affairs, and whose devotion to their
own, as well as every other section OF the
Union, was above all question" 1.-The re-
suit of our united opinions was announced to
the Texan minister, General HunO, in
communication from the late Mr.. Forsyth,
Chen Secretary Of State), the substance of
which cannot better express than by moor
porating one or two brief extracts in this let
ter. SO long as Texas shall remain at war,
while the United States are at peace with her
adversary, the proposition of the Texan min
lister pcnipotentiary necessarily involreS the
question of rar Wah that adversary. The
United States are bound to Mexico by a trea-
ty of amty and commerce, which will be scru-
pulously observed on their part" &c. The
United States might justly be suspected Of
disregard of the friendly purposes of the com
pact, if the overture of General Hunt were
to be even reserved for future consideration,
as this would imply disposition on our part
to eSpouSe The quarrel bet,cecn Teas and 1ier-
leo, disposition wholly at rariance with the
spirit of the treaty, and with the uniform pol
icy and the obvious welfare of the United
States Tho inducements mentioned by
General Hunt, for the United States to an
mex Texas to their territory, are duly appre-
ciated but powerful and weighty as they
certainly arc, they are light when opposed in
the scale Of reason to treaty obligations, and
respect for that integrity of character by
which the United States have sought to dis.
tinguish themselves since the establishment of
their right to claim place in the great fami-
" OF nations"
Here then, we have the official declaration
of our own government, that the annexation
of Texas would be an open violation of our
treaty of amity with Mexico. And even if
the overture of General Hunt were reserved
for future consideration, it d" would imply a
disposition on our part, to eSpoaSe the quarrel
between Texas and Mexico" Let the read
err Of Mr.. Folks messages, in which he re-
peats so often, the falsehood, that "Mexico
commenced this war;" keep this document be-
fore his eyes; and am quite sure he will no
longer enquire, "Who is James X. Polk ?"
Finally, as to the charge that Mexico re-
fused to receive our minister, &c. which is
urged by Mr.. Polk as a principal cause for
commencing actual hostilities against her,
will only add, that the whole correspondence
on this subject, exhibits upon its face, the
most conclusive proof of premeditated de-
sign on the part of Polk and his extraordinary
envoy, Slidell, to over-reach Mexico; for
which purpose, n systematic course of chica-
merry and low pettifogging was resorted to, I'M
PARALLEL in the annals of diplomacy, and which,
considering the weak and distracted state of
Mexico supcradds to its character of deep
depravity, that of consummate meanness.
A Wing.
P. S. 1t was not until after the foregoing
was written, and in the hands Of tho printer,
that first saw the address entitled, Peace
with Mexico, by Albert Galatin," in which
this eminent and venerable statesman, after
discussing at great length, and with surpass-
ing ability, the subject of the war with MeXi-
co, which he does under several distinct
heads, arrives at the conclusion-That the
annexation of Texas was an offensive and uu-
Just act to Mexico.
That the government of the United States
grossly erred in sending minister to Mexi-
&C, instead of commissioner
That Texas never had any valid claim to
the Rio del Norte as its boundary.
That the United States ought not to make
a conquest of Mexico, or insist upon receiv-
ing from her any other Naturalization than
that due to American citizens by Mexico, be-
fore the war begun.
That as preliminary to peace, we ought
to evacuate the Mexican territory now in our
possession. A WIG.