Herald of the times, and Rhode Islander. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1846-1849, 1847-03-04


il as If from the Ipost baTbarous enemy fe,
such is the ridiculous assumption of those who
pretend that on the east bank ofthe Rio Grande
where your arms took possession, there were
Texan population--Texan power-Texan laws
and American United States power and law'-
II No MIR. President--.when see that stated IN an
Exec cutive docnme written by the finger OF
a Pre- sident ofthe tnred States-and when you
read in those documents, with which your tables
! groan, the veracious account OF that noble old
General Taylor, ofhs reception in that country
n and ofthose men, to use the language OF one OF
his ofiiccrs-heeing before their nyaders when
| you compare these two documents together, II
il not biting sarcasm npon the sincerity ofpub.
4 lie men--a bitter satire upon the gravity oi ali
public officers
/ Great God! Mr. President, is il possible that
The American people give countenance to this
atrocious falsehood that you were about to inter
pola,e into the history OF this country and write
| il down as a fact, when the whole world, and
every body, and you yourselves, acting, as il
| may be, on that very fasehood, know that what
is stated there is not true'
II Mr. President, there is absent to-day Senator
| from the other side Of the House whose presence
would afford me, as il always does--but partlcu-
! larly on this occasion-a most singular gratlii-
| cation. | alludc to the Senator from Missouri
| who sits farthcst from me (Mr. Benton) / re-
member, Mr.. President, he arose in this body
| and performed great act of Justice 10 himself
| and his country-,of justice to mankind, for all
men are interested in the truths ofhistory-when
he declared il TO be his purpose, for the sake of
the truth of history, 20 set right some gentlemen
| ON the other side ofthe House, in respect to the
| territory of Oregon, which then threatened TO
| disturb the peace ofthis Republic with the king
| dom of Great Britain. | wish II had pleased
| him to have performed the same good Offices on
| this occasion.
II wish il had been So ifhc could have found
| il consonant with his duty TO his country, that
now while engaged with an enemy whom we
! have no reason TO fear as ever being able to
check our progress or disturb our internal peace,
for the sake ofjustice then he did for the sake
| of Justice and the interest and peace of those
| two countries, England and America, he had
come forward to settle the truth of history in
| respect to the territorial boundary of Texas
! which our President said was the Rio Bravo
the "Rio del Norte, rs it is sometimes called
express this wish for no purpose of tauntng
! the Senator from Missouri, or leading him to
| believe that would draw his name into the
! discussion for any other than th" most sacred
purposcs which can animate the human bosom
| that of having truth established, for really
believe that that is true which the Senator from
Il NJ chigan stated yesterday that the worst said
lin the Senate il, that much might be SAID on
both sides! "A laugh) | cannot view it in
that way Much may be said, much talk may
be had on both sides on any question, but that
this is disputablc matter about which n man
could apply his mind for an hour, and still BE-
in doubt rs to me an inscrutable mystery.
\ | wish 10 invoke the authority Of the Sena-
tor from Missouri When about to receive
Texas into the United States, he cffercd a res
olutlon to this effect -
fHere the honorable Senator read the reso-
luton offered by Mr. Benton, pending the res
oluton for the annexation of Texas
II Now what did that mcan' Did the Senator
from Missouri believe that he was right when
he made that statement, Did he believe that
II was true that the right bank of the Rio del
Norte did belong to Mexico, and that so 1t
would be an act of insult The mere treaty,
he saws, would be an act of direct aggression
! upon Mexico for all the consequencesof which
| we would be held responsible. Mr.. President,
we have attempted to incorporate INTO this lie
| public n territory on the left bank of the RIO
II del Norte, and the consequences have come
| upon us. 1t was an act of aggression, as the
| Senator from Missouri denounced 1t IN that
resolution. We have attempted to do 1t. Now
| is IL for an humble man like me, who stands
here ike the poor publican of old, and does not
pretend to be one of the Pharisces that know
all things, and are better than all men-that
| smites his bosom and says, "God be mercifui
| to me, a poor Whig us it for me when these
appointed High Priests of the Temple Of De-
! mocracy hold two different stories, to Judge
| between them!
Il Is il for me to say that the President of the
| United States has told the truth, and that the
| Senator from Missouri has lied 1t IS not a
| controversy between the President OF the
! United States and me. 1t is a controversy
| & t.. Ifrt,tb bafh hIstt
! which the Senator from Missouri has declared
that it is part Of the Republic of Mexico
! This very country, which your President, in
! this document of his, which must have passed
! into the political history of Congress for what
! it is worth, has declared to be a part and par
| Gel of the state of Texas, and always so, and
! that therefore he marched an army IN its de-
fence and expelled the enemy. Why, sir, who
did he expel? lie found customhouse upon
| the left bank of the river, at San Isabel, and
yet no American property. And how was
! your American army received! why, the
population fled and here, it is said that for
ten wears, ever since l53G, before the Republic
of Texas, up to lS43, and a whole year after
N her anne xation, there was scoundrel of O
I'll Mexican in that custom house levying duties
upon everybody that traded there. A laugh
II This Republic of Texas must have been
strangely negligent of her state rights. shoult
think men so violent in fighting for their rights
might have fought little about that. II wa
Mexicans who were there. What is the fact
then? Gen. Taylor marches there with hi
army to protect the possessions ct the UnItc'
: States, and the people of that territory set hr
to the town of Isabel and run away from it.
I What a harmonious Republic you had Whe1
3 you came bristling in arms-your banner wav
D ing in the wlnd-your eagle spreading It's wing
for the protection Of all your c,tizens-you
I Anglo.Saxon Republican is so alarmed at tn
sight of this llus'rous banner, that he sets tir
! to his dwelling and runs away from you a
y from a savage "a laugh)
= This is so utterly and apparently contradi'
. tory to public documents, that do not wonde
j II has not been investigated nor would prob
d this miserable mass Of filth aud t.culence an
T. falsehood, If it were not that have been al
, raigncd here, aud by my own brethren too-b
those of my own household, for endeavorln
' to act upon the hypothesis that this left ban
, of the Rio Giande be not Texas or Unite
States property. 1t all turns upon that NJ
y man IN North America who has regard I,
- the rights of nations,- II say more, no man VII
!, regards truth and honor--does believe that IN
. marching of your army was into neighborIn
q republic, but will agree there IL only one cours
" I|I.n coll hack NI