Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1847-06-25


necessary Instructions, he would deviate from
them, before he got ashore or met any difficulty
This Proclamation is clearly, therefore, to be
taken as einbodying Just what his instructions
directed him to do land neither more nor less) as
soon as he learned with certainty that war had
broken ont. Further these instructions. being
in Advance of the pretended cause immediate OF
the Wharf.-The " invasion Of our soil" and shed.
ding on it " the blood of our citizens"-conld
not know ,ohat Merican injury IRE should hare
10 nuenge, nor Of course, 'phat degree or sort of
redress zoe might justly take. Yet here we see
this President of ours ordering a whole country
to be seized and permanently kept at the firing
OF the first gun AT home he has, in his own
person, londly denied all purposes of conquest
and this, long after he had commanded it in Ca
lfornia. Here. he says, we fight " to conquer
peace" only there, he has usurped whole
broadside Of the continent, and constituted its
people, without their consent or ours, equal and
perpetual members Of this Union 4; for it is indis-
soluble, and once in it, who are to put them out
In word hauing first made them citizens and
their country STATE forerer, (or that word only,
not s' territory" figures in the context Of the
procamaton) he next makes himself their sal.
preme legislator, the source of all their laws and
rights, the fountain of all magisterial and other
municipal or legislative authority, and even the
head Of heir religion, Of which, at his fiat, all
the conditions are altered This last point Of
ters a remarkable commentary on the sincerity
Of the Unions late dsavowal, for the President
and Cabinet, of any participation in the project
which lately appeared in that organ. for pulling
down the Catholic priesthood in Mexico, as enc
mics to the liberty, property, and enlightenment
of that country. The very same measure had
already, in mder form only, been applied to
Ia forna nj is loUollv tharo if tho
Executive is at all bound by his own engage
ments to any body but the Baltimore Conven-
ton.
TentMy. In the proclamation issued by Gen.
KEARSY (22d August, 1886 on reaching the
capital of New Mexico, the cause of the war is
barely stated (as in Commodore SLoAT's) to be
" the act of Mexico" in crossing the Rio Grande
and attacking General Taylor; and the object Of
the war is not even indicated in either proclama-
ton, except that both declare the possession
taken to be permanent, and therefore put tico
great regions out of all further question of right,
of negotiation, of fair and s. honorable peace"
This silence as to Justice of claims, and this
decisive action of mere and bare conquest, once
more substantiatc that as the real OBJECT oil the
war-an object which could as little, from the
necessity of the case, be disdpoued in the coun-
tries meant to be dismembered from Mexico as
it could with advantage be. arowed any where
else. And this ia, we venture to say, the key to
all those contradictions. and that amazing gov
ernmental prevarcaton, which we are now at
tempting to trace through its many shittngs
turnings, and windings.
But the Santa Fe proclamation has other tea
lures peculiar to it. To stretch th'ther the
claim BOUNDED on mere impotent act OF Texas
legislation. and nothing else) to all the soil cas-
of the Rio Grande would have been idle the tale
of the old Santa Fe Expedition made it impos
sbe to pretend that the Texas claim was no
altogether fictitious in that quarter. Putting
aside, therefore, all pretence Of title up to thu
Bravo, this proclamation " announces our Gene
rails intention to hold the Department win ~
original boundaries Con both sides of the De
Norte) as a part of the United States, and undel
the name of the Treasury of New Mexico :" thai
he is instructed BY his Government TO respect the
religious institution. Of New Mexico, project the
property OF the church, and preserve their rell-
uious rights" in " the alnplest manner: :" that he
is to respect the rights of private property that
he is to defend them from the hostile Indians
that they must aid him in enforcing the law.
[of the United States i that all. who have lett
their homes through dread of our troops. or &c
fight us, must return 10 them forthwith that, il
they do not, they will be considered as enc
mics and traitors, subjecting their persons
to punishment and their property to conilsca
ton :" that it is the wish and intention OF tn,
| United States TO PROVIDE FOR MEXIco lai
| MeXicol "A FREE GOVERNMENT, WIN tlie ieaS
| possible delay - that the people OF New Mex
co will then be called on to exercise the rights
If freemen in electing their own Representa-
ives - that meantime the 4" existing laws vii
continue in force and the actual magistrates re-
main in office" provided they comport them
selves as good citizens and take m oath ot al!
eriance TO the United States :" that the ne
raj " RI leases all New Mcxicans from GER al
l,piance to Mexico" that he hereby c.um
them AS citizens of the United States tina
=. such AS are found in arms or instigat'n5 other
AGAINST the United States will he treated dccor
| diaplu" MORE. - Accordingly, mears hung
as has been since abuudantly explained by priIc
tce Finally, the proclamation says that Gen
X. will. for the present, " be considered GoVer
nor of the Territory"
1t is not a little curious, IN comparing thes'
two last proclamations, 70 observe one spec'a
difference the nearer to the Presidents person
| the more absolute the Girl powers wlnch he as
sumes ant. the farther from that presence, th'
stronger the religious authority he puts on II
California he lets men off from beng hung 10
not coming back to their houses when thev aI'
hidden ; in New Mexico he does not m SAINT
| Fe he " protects their church and "their reii
pious rights in the amplest manner ! in Mont
erey of the Pacific he aboshcs the s"prenatc.
of the Mexican faith altogether Yet again
his royal will deals diversely in other parncu
lars california he at once constitutes state
New Mexico but Territory in the former
every body [black, white, red, or mixed, am
bond or free is at once full citizen OF the Unl
ted States in the latter the boon is only dstan
and prospective-when he shall have PROVIDE
for ifericoa free government, similar to those
the limited States" In other respects, supren
: mower is cxerted with an even hand he appoint
What shall be law and who its officers in bot
countries. For the present, continuing thel
old laws and officers, he lets Mexico leg's'at
+ and appoiut for United States Territory ; bu
presently he will be even with them, and do a
the law-givng and distribute all the spo'ls
) himself.
). II is true the government, through its orga
here. has pretended to deny that it had give
authority for these extraordinary proclamation
The dsavowal is. however, contradicted by pric
and by subsequent facts. We are, at this M
ment, engaged in showing that the aHrm1iI'
declarations of this Administration are decets
and why should its negaiire ones be more car
; did! No; as we have already urged in regal
to Commodore SLoAT, so of the case OF Gener
/ KEARNEY: both expeditions were very delibe
: ately planned at the Navy and War Offices
were executed at leisure ; were looked on !
certain to secure TO us two easy conqnests, tnen
, selves with the expected glory and popularity
, their acquisi,ion) no doubt at first the utmo
/. foreign objects Of the war. In both quartz,
+. Mexico was known 20 have slender forces, U