The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1848-04-08

States.
l understand, sir, there is report from Gen.
SooTT-trom Gen. SooTT, a man who has per-
formed the most brilliant campaign on recent
military record-a man who has warred against
the enemy,-warred against the climate
warred against thousand unpropitous circum-
stances,-and has carried the flag of his coun-
Try to the capitol of the enemy, honorably,
proudly, homGnely to his own permanent hon.
or, and the great military credit of his coun.
try-General ScoTT; and where is he2 At
puebla! at Puebla! undergoing an inquiry be.
fore his interiors in rank, and other persons
without military rank; while the high powers
he has exercised, and exercised with so much
distinction, are transferred to another-I do
rot say to one unworthy of them, but to one
interior in rank, station and experience TO him
self
But General ScoTT reports, as understand
that in February there were twenty thousand
regular troops under his command and en- route
and we have thirty regiments ofvolunteers for
The war. If full, this would make "a 900 men
or including officers, $4,000. So that, if the
regiments were full, there is at this moment
number of troops, regular and volunteers, of
not less than 55, 200 or 10000 men, including
recruits on the way. And with these 10000
men in the field, of regular troops, there were
also 10000 volunteers, making irregular and
volunteers under General ScoTT, 80, 900 men.
The Senator from Michigan knows these
things better than do, but | believe this is
very nearly the fact, Now, all these troops
are regularly oficered. There is no deficiency
in the line or in the staff, of officers. They
are all full. Where there is any deficiency il
consists of men. ..
Now, Sir, there may be plausible reason
for saying that there is difficulty in recruiting
at home for the supply of deficiency in the vol
unteer regiments !! 1t may be said that vol
unteers choose to enlist under officers of their
own knowledge and section. They do not in
cline to enlist as individual volunteers, to join
regiments abroad, under officers of whom they
know nothing. There may be something in
that. But, pray, what conclusion does it lead
TO, if not to this that all these regiments
must moulder away, by casualties or disease,
until the privates are less in number than the
officers themselves. .,.
But, however that may be, with respect to
volunteers, in regard to recruiting for the reg
ular service in filing up the regiments by pay
and bounties according to existing laws or new
laws if new ones are necessary-there is no
reason on earth why we should now create
500 new officers, for the purpose of getting
10000 more men. The officers are already
that respect there is no deficiency.
Ali that is wanted is men, and there is place
for the men and Isuppose no gentleman here
or elsewhere thinks that recruiting will go on
faster than would be necessary to fill up the
deficiencies in the deficient regiments abroad.
But now, Sir, what do we want Of greater
force than we have in Mexico? am not say
ing what do we want of force greater than
we can supply but what is the object of
bringing these new regiments into the field
What do we propose? There is no army to
fight. / suppose there are not 500 men under
arms in any part ofMexico-probably not half
that number, except in one place. Mexico is
PROSTATE. tits not the government that re-
sists u.s. Why it is notorious that the govern
ment of Mexico is on our side that it is
by which we hope to establish such
a peace, and accomplish such a treaty, we
like. AS far as / understand the matter, the
government of Mexico owes its life and breath
and being to the support of our arms, and TO
the hope-I do not say how inspired-that
some how other and at no distant period,
she will have the pecuniary means ofcarrying
it on, from three millions or our twelve
or from some of our other millions
What do we propose to do, then, with these
thirty regiments which it is proposed to throw
into Mexco? Are we going to cut the Threats
of her people? Are we to thrust the sword
deeper and deeper into the 'uitGL parts of
MeKieo9 What is it proposed to do Sir,
can see no object in it; and yet while we are
pressed and urged to adopt this proposition to
raise ten-and-twenty regiments, we are told,
and the public is told and the public believes,
that we are on the verge of a safe and honora-
BILE peace. Every one looks every morning
for tdngs of confirmed peace, or ofconfrm-
ed hopes of peace. We gather it from the ad
ministration and from every organ of the adj
from Dan to Beersheba. And
yet, warike preparations, the mourning of
expenses, the imposition of new charges upon
the Treasury, are pressed here, as if peace were
not in all our thoughts-at least not in any of
our expectations.
Now sir, propose to hold plain talk to- day;
and l say that, according to my best Judgment,
the object of the bill is patronage, office, the
qualification of friends This very measure
for raising ten regiments, creates four or five
hundred officers, --colonels, subalterns,a and not
then only-for, for all these feel some re-
spect;but there also paymasters, contractors,
persons engaged in the transportation service,
commissaries, even down to suffers, ct I'd gen.
as maase,-People who handle the public mon
ey without facing the foe, -one and all of whom
are true descendants, or if not, true represen.
tltives,- of corporal Nym, who said he would
tssutler be
'tUnto the camp, and profits should accrue.
Sir, / hope, with no dsrespectfor the apPli-
cants, and the aspirants, and the patriots, (and
among them are some sincere patrots) VINO
would fight for their country, and those others
who are not ready to fight but who are willing
to be paid with no disrespcct for any tthem
&C cording to their rank and station, their de-
gree and their merits,-I hope they will all be
/ hope that as the pleasant seas
on advances, the whole may find it tor their
interest to place themselves, ofaild mornings,
in the cars and take their destination to their
places of honorable private occuPa-
ton and civil employment. They have my
good wishes that they may find their homes
from the Avenue and the Capitol and from
the purlieus of the Presidents House, in good
health themselves, and that they may End their
families all very happy to receive them.
But, sir, .t-EEg .IiGHEf
maiora capamus."