The Mississippi Creole. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1841-1851, 1848-03-18

~SN Cp'SlNSSf ~ SNSoISA9 WV u llHA huuLJ
the President there says, that this decision Of
the council of government did advise Mr.. Sill
deIl's rejection. Which of them shall we be-
lieve! Mr.. Buchanan asserts the fact to be
one way; Mr.. Polk fatty contradicts him, and
declares it to be directly the contrary. Which
was right? am inclined to think Mr.. Buch-
anan was right, for the reason that he was
writing to Mr.. sIideIl, whom he had no motive
decision in fact was. But the President and
his Secretary must settle this %uestion Of fact
between themselves.
have said, sir, that on the 18th day of JAM
uary, 1916, when the President ordered the ar
my to march to the Rio Grande, Mr.. Slidell's
letter, informing the State Department Of his
rejection, had not been received. On the eth
Of December, l845, Mr.. Slidell wrote this let
ter to Mr.. Buchanan, enclosing to him the first
refusal of the exican government to receive
him. When was this letter received? 1t SO
happens that this letter containing the decision
Of the Mexican government with regard to
Mr.. sIidell, is the only one, the date Of the re-
ceipt Of which We are able to show from the
documents before us, Fortunately, we do
j know when this was received. On the 28th
day Of January, 1876, Mr.. Buchanan writes to
Mr.. SIidcll, " your dispatches Of the 9th and
J 29th Of December last were received at this
3 Department on the 23d inst" That fact, then,
is fixed. Yet the President had ordered Gen.
Taylor to march from Corpus Christi to the
Rio Grande on the 18th, ten days before he re-
4 ceived an intimation that our minister had been
rejected. Yet he tells US the army did not
: march; that it +" remained at Corpus Chris ti''
till after he had received information from
f Mexico. By using this form of language, did
4 he intend to deceive usf Could this %particu-
}, lar phraseology have been intended to produce
a false impression?
Certain it is, that whatever the President
e may say of The time when the army actually
marched, he ordered Gen, Taylor to advance
long before he heard that our ministerh had been
If rejected. He did not hear of the rejection Of
Mr.. Slidell till the 23d of January. The or
der was issued on the 18th ofJanuary previous
and the giving such an order, under the cir
cumstances, was, in my judgment, such an acI
of usurpation as renders him liable to the Sc
verest censure. 1t was an assumption of the
war power, and was the cause of the vast ex'
J. pense Of treasure and of blood which this wa
S. has occasioned.
Mr.. Rhett (of South Carolina he,e inter
IL posed with a question as to dates.
lg Mr.. Dixon replied. l assure the honorable
al gentleman from South Carolina that hay,
is been extremely careful and guarded in wha
+ | have stated; and I repeat, that there is no ev
Sc idence that the President had received tn
IN slightest hint from Mr.. Slidell OF the fact O
n his rejection, till ten days after the order t
of march to the Rio Grande was given. But,
1T the gentleman from South Carolina, or any on
en- who hears me. still doubts with regard to tm
us / beg 10 refer him to MI, Buchanan's letter t
on Mr.. Slidell of the Goth January, 1916. II
stead of putting the order to Gen. Taylor I
e. march from Corpus Christi on the ground
70; this rejection, Mr.. Buchanan says: " In I'll
mt mean time the President, IN ANTIGUA
to TON of the final refusal ofthe Mexican Go
ct, eminent to receive you, has ordered the arm
op- of Texas to advance, and take position on II
ell left bank OF the Rio Grande." The PresIdeI
m and his friends say this order was in cons'
quence of the rejection. Mr.. Buchanan, h
Secretary of State, says it had already bee
y given by The President, in anticipation Of tn
on event.
M But, sir, even the rejection of MIR. Slldell
lid the Mexican governments, OF which Mr.. Buc
Jan anan, aud the President, received inGormatit
to on the 23d day of January, 1916, (ten days .
to ter the date Of that fatal order, which, as pr
I'M dicted at the time by Mr.. Calhoun, precipitat'
the nation into war)-Is say, this rejectionofN
on. Slidell was not final. The President still h
46, reason to believe that our minister would
all received, as l shall proceed to show, And
9ci- venture here to ask the attention Of the col
les mittee to dates, which are Of the utmost il
ost- p%ortance. We are told that negotiation h
Der faiIed.-that peaceful means had been exhaui
ed before the President resorted TO extrel
It | measures. Yet, can you believe, sir, that
TIA. the 28th day Of January, 1916, after Mr.. S
he'd dell's letter Of the 9th December had be
pa received here, Mr.. Buchanan writes: "Y
should wait patiently for a final decision
lch- the question Of your reception, unless 1t shot
srn- be unreasonably protracted, or you shot
clio. clearly discover that they are tridiag with &
tbs Government"
hall "Wait patiently for a final decision!" "
Mr.. right, then, in saying, that the decision bef
,icb given was not considered final. Negotiati
Nh. was not abandoned; peaceable means had
did been exhausted on the 28th of January;
.alv The army was ordered into the disputed tel
con, tory on the l4th Of the same month!
Bnt look further. Mr.. Slidell continued