Democratic banner., 1847-02-22
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condition of our country, and Willie see
nothing in the foreign relations oil our GOV
ernment to fear, although engaged in war;
and our army menaced by four times Its
own number, yet no one whose heart is true
to his native land, can behold what Is going
forward in the political world as shadowed,
forth in the procccLin IS Of Congress and :he
public presses of the day. without feeling.
that "ail is not right" And it does SCENT to
IN, 4 AN no vain allrnist) if there was
cvpra moment in our political history, when
t,c w~arDin. voice Of the sentinel upon tue
watch towers of orr liberties should be
Heard, i isnow. Yes, now At this moment,
,baiM he frcnzicl spirit of faction shall
have p~rccipitatcd us into that awful abyss
from which we may know no resurrection.
1t is best, at least at times, 10 pause in our
career of folly and infatuation, and ponder
upon the events passing around us. For a
long series of years, two nations, the one
powerful, the other weak and vacillating.
had been at outs. The first being powerful
with that generosity and magnanimity, ever
characteristic CT the people of the United
States, bore every act and outrage Of the
Mexican Government with Il fOrbearance
which they as a nation were unable to I'M
derstand; treaty after treaty, was violated,
pledge after pledge was forgotten, and
faith after faith was broken-our country
men were taken prisoners and immurcd in
the gloomy prison houses of Mexico-our
envoy sent by her express request to settle
the difficulties between the two nations,
wa, openly inSultcd upon her own soil; yet
with all the inna ate forbearance (which Tie
Lion feels for the Jackall, our Government
took no decisive steps to repel the repeat
ed insults offered us. One outrage led on
to anotllcr, until this treachcrous nation en-
boldened by our patient endurance of
wrongs, dared to polutc our soil by the
tread of her soldicry. Longer endurance
were then criminal, and the lightning from
the lowering cloud was not quicker than
the vengeance which our army inflicted
upon this ignoble nation. The brilliant bat
ties of Palo Alto and Resaca dc L. Palma.
%sufficcd to sweep every vestigc of TIE in
'vading army from American soil, which fol-
lowed up by the fall of Monterey, con
~stitutes it one among the most glorious
campaigns helo 1ging to our history.
Time passes on-our army in tie South
is still carrying on its operation -volun-
tcers are blocking in to complete in a blaze
Of "sorv what was 50 aupiciously commcnr.
81. Al taat is bri- 5ht in the present con,Ii-
lion Of our country is already drawn: that
. which remains to he written is rs dark to
T., heart of tie patriot IS the storm cloud
winch obscurcS the sky when tie 'hurrl-
cane comcth." Congress assembled on,lic
first of December last, and the first act al
most in both Houses, was an attempt by
men standing high in the affections Of =
powerful and well organized party, to throw
every obstacle which their stations gave
them, in the way Of the prosecution of the
war, This same Congress by an over
wbclming majority had in June 1876, de-
clarcd for the war, and voted large sums to
carry it on. In times of profound peace,
when the treasury was overlooking, this pa
triotic party could vote en- massc for a tar
if upon tea and coffee; yet when war is de-
clared and the wants of the country imperi-
ouSly demand the means of CARRYING it on,
they refuse to impose one cent of duty up
on these articles. l will not say, | dare not
say, that this violent opposition to the war
was a Wing measure, My estimate of the
American people is too high to allow me to
suppose for a moment, that they could will
lngly or Eorcibly be dragooned into an un-
hallowed attempt to PROSTATE their own
country. Wing leaders may do it-Web-
ster the unmitigatcd proAigate, the demon
allzer, the ~reviler of Madison and TIE last
war, and the open mouthed ap%ologist Of
British rapacity-the hired minion who has
been twice bought and sold, may do it, but
the masses of the Wing party arc too cb;v