The Mississippi Creole. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1841-1851, 1848-04-01
Volume 6.


ON THE REFERENCE OF THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
Dehrered in The House Of Representatives. Of The
U. s., jan "a, 1915
CONCLUDED
The President asserts, in his annual message
of 846, that Mexico herself has never plac-
ed the war, which she has waged, on the ground
that our army occupied the intermediate terri
tory between the Nueces and the Rio Grande -
This assertion, thus so'emnly made, | shall
show to be untrue. 1t has been often repeated
In the newspapers of the day, and on the 2jth
day OF December last, at public meeting held
in Texas, which was addressed BY Senator
Houston, one of the resolutions offered by him,
and adopted by the meeting, declared, " that
the Nueces was not mentioned in Mexico as
the western boundary of Texas, until the point
was raised and urged by the opposition here"
When false statements like these are made
by such high official characters as President
Polk and Senator Houston, it is not strange
that they are repeated and insisted on by their
followers on this floor, and in the public press
But it happens, very frequently, that when the
President in a message to Congress makes a
statement unfounded in fact, he furnishes us
the means of proving the statements untrue
in the documents at the same time laid before
us. In this instance, in particular, it is re-
markable, that the documents accompanying
his war message of 1916, convict him Of;
what shall call it; | know not how to char
acterize this assertion of the President in Ian
guage consistent with truth, yet respectful to
him, and proper TO be used here. 1t is almost
impossible to suppose that the President, when
he made this assertion, believed it to be true,
unless you come to the conclusion that lie had
never read the documents submitted to us by
himself have here, sir, the letter Of Pedro
d'Ampudia, commanders Of the Mexican forces,
dated 6 Head quarters at Matumoras, A pril 70,
1896" the receipt of which General Taylor
acknowledges on the same dny-in which the
commencement of hoslities is put expressly
on the ground, that our army was occupying
the country between the Rio Grande and the
Nueces. 1t is as follows:
Fourth Military Dirraon.-Gencral in
Chief: To explain TO you the many grounds
fer the just grievances felt by the Mexican ma
ton, caused by the United States Government,
would be loss of time, AMI an insult to your
good sense. | therefore pass at once to such
explanations as | consider Of absolute neces-
sity.
"Your Government, in an incredible manner
you will even permit me to say an oHtava-
giant one, if the usage or general rules estob
Hshed and received among all civilized nations
are regarded-has not only insulted, but has
exasperated the Mexican nation, bearing its
conquering banner to the left bank OF thoslho
Bravo del Norte, (Rio Grande,) and IN this
case, by explicit and definite orders OF my Gov
eminent, which neither can, will, nor should re-
ceve new outrages, | require you in all iorm,and
at latest in the peremptory term OF twenty-iour
hours, to break up your camp, and retire 10 the
other bank OF the Nueces river, while our Gov
ernments are regulating the pending questions
with regard to Texas. If you insist upon re-
naming upon the soil OF the department oil
Tamaulipas, it will clearly result that arms,
and arms alone, must decide the question.
Signed, PEDRO DE AMPUDiA.
"To Gen. TAYLOR"
This the President submitted to US in May,
1916. Yet, in his message OF December fol-
lowing, he Informed US "ihat Mexico had new
er placed the war on the ground that our army
occupied the Intermediate territory between
the Nueces and the Rio Grande." HIS adher-
ents, taking the cue from him, relterate the
untruth, and pretend that the boundary OF the
Nueces was an aiter-thought, suggested to
Mexico by the opposition here. 1t is sufficient
for me to expose the miserable fraud and false
hood OF such pretence without comment.
Il appears, then, that # Texas claimed to
the Rio Grande, Mexico claimed to the Nueces
Texas was in possession of Corpus Christi,
west of the Nuecos, and Mexico was in pos
session of the whole eastern bank Of the Rio
Grande, from its mouth to it's source. While,
Therefore, by the annexation resolutions, the
question OF boundary was left open for nego-
tiation, the actual boundary, as marked by pos
session, seems to have been, not the Nueces or
the Rio Grande, but the stupendous deserts"
between the two rivers. Mr.. Polk, however,
claims, that because Texas held Corpus Christi,
which, though west Of the Nueces, is one hum
bred and fifty miles east of the Rio Grande,
therefore she extended to the last named river
very much as il the State Of New York
should say, " our eastern limits extend beyond
the Hudson, therefore our boundary on the
east is the Connecticut rivers
But il is said that Santa Anna, by treaty
with Texas, acknowledged her Independence,
and admitted the validity of her claim to the
boundary of the Rio Grande. The point is
deemed Of so muchimporancc, that it is made
in the annual message Of the President at the
meeting Of the second session OF the 29th Con-
gress as follows:
ain the month of May, 1896, (says President
Polk in that message,) Santa Anna acknowl-
edged, by treaty with the Texan authorities,
in the most solemn form, the full, entirr, snd
perfect independence Of the Republic Of Texas
IL is true he was then a prisoner; but it is
equally true that he had failed to rcconquer
Texas, and had met with signal defeat; that
his authority had not been revoked, and that