Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1847-03-20

passed the boundary of the United States, invad-
i" ed our territory, and shed American blood upon
{" American SOIL" The first avowed object OF the
war, then, was to repel invasion.
TO the conviction of our readers it has, we pre-
sumo been demonstrated that the was begun,
not by the act of Mexico, but BY the act Of our own
Executive, in marching formidable army into
territory, which, if denied be Mexican, cannot be
denied to be- through express and particular recogni-
ton by our own law, disputed territory. But we
do not ask of them to rely even upon such demon
stration. We will sustain the position by no less
authority than that of the chairman ofthe Committee
of Foreign Relations in the last and preceding House
Of Representatives, always the champion OF the Ad-
mnistration--one of the few real friends OF the
Mexican war in either House of Congress-who
cannot be suspected by any one of giving testimony
or pronouncing judgment in this matter under the
influence Of disaffecion to either the " annexation
or the war which has ensued. On the 3D. day OF
January, ls45, that gentleman Mr.. Z. }. NIGER
soLL) pronounced discourse in the House OF he
representatives., (which may be found IN the " Globe
of the same night) in which, advocating the JOINT
resolution for the annexation of Texas to the United
States, he spoke precisely as follows:
/ "The stupendous deserts between the Nueces
: and the Bravo rivers are the natural boundaries
between the ango-Saxon and Mauranlan races
There ends the valley of the West. There Mex
| leo bepns. Thence beyond the Bravo, begin the
| Moorish people and their Indian associates, to
whom Mexico properly belongs who should not
cross that vast desert if they could, on our side
ne, TOO, ought 10 stop there, BECAUSE intermina-
BILE conflicts MUST ENsUE either our going south
or their coming north of that gigantic boundary.
UHile peace as cherished, THAT BOUNDARY WILL
BE SACRED. Not till THE SPIRIT OF CONQUEST
RACES will the people ON EITHER side modest or
mix with each other; and whenever they do, one
or the other must be conquered, if not extin-
.guished'
To this let US add the testimony of Mr.. CAL
HouS, in the Senate, on the 18th of last month
He was of opinion he said, :" that if the an
nexation of Texas had not taken place, there
would have been no war with Mexico, but that
annexation not the cause of the war. The
immediate cause Of the lcar acas the marching
Of our troops from Corpus Christi to the Rio
del Norte. Ii Gen. Taylor had remained with his
forces where he was, there would have been no
invasion-there would have been no conflict
How can it be pretended, in the face of admis-
sions such as these, from such sources, that the
marching of army in hostile array through this
very territory, west of the line beyond which conflict
was inevitable, was not an act of wilful war; or that
the soil on which blood thus came to be shed was
American soil !! s.Not till the spirit of conquest
ragged" overpowerng the spirit OF peace, was the
fatal step taken, the consequence of which the
Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs SO
truly prophesied.
SECONDLY For PREPARATION for alleged repeated
,Urongs and injuries to our citizens, as toeH those
tchich had been adjusted by treaty those chieh
hare been since got up.
1t is true that, as we have said, the war with
Mexico, the thunder of which broke upon the ears
of an astounded People on the / lth of May last,
was then asserted by the President, in his Message
announcing it-and declaration to the same effect
was extorted from Congress-to have been caused
by the act Of Mexico in invading our territory and
shedding the blood Of our citizens This cause"
was assigned when men and money were asked to
carry on the war, and all the men and all the money
asked for were granted. But hardly two months
had elapsed before, as shall show, the Executive
took other ground.
letter addressed to the Minister of Foreign Re-
vi hCAiSo, by s'SSis'aiy DpSIhNhN, oI
the 9th OF July, 1916, says 1t is deemed use-
less, and it might prove injurious, to discuss the
causes Of the existing war;" Mr.. REJoN in re-
ply to this letter, on the 3lst August, 1916, says
His Exceency, on being made acquainted with
the terms of the said note, could not but fix his
attention strongly the circumstance that, refus-
ing discussion upon the causes Of the war exist
ing between the two Republics, it is desired at
present to consider those causes merely thing
that is past, and belongs to history" On the 26th
of September, 1916, Mr.. BUCHANAN, in replying to
Mr.. RECON, says: :" 1t is with no little astonish-
ment that the President has perceived from the
= communication of his Excellency that the Next
can Government has so far Inexperienced the
meaning of the undersigned as to suppose that this
Government either desired or intended to with
draw from the negotiations for peace the causes,
on either side, which led to the existing war, and
to consider them merely thing that is past
and belongs to history Very far from it. This
would have been to abandon the just and acknow-,
lodged claims of our injured citizens for violations
Of their personal liberty and seizures of their pro-
Perty, continued throughout many successive
years, and which, in the opinion of President
| JACKSON, so long ago February, 1897, would
have justified, in the eyes of all nations, immc-
'diate war" In May, 1916, we are told that
Mexico has commenced the war by invading our
territory and shedding the blood of our cilizens.