Weekly national intelligencer., 1848-05-06

s " INC. ne very continent itself must embe beneath
INC conhc' OF the contendng parties and factions and our
loved and glorious Union must be shaken 10 its yey centre
oy ns shock, It be not entirely oyehrown and all this
simply because the Administration has insisted having the
ana ms Is also part of security for the future.
How, them stands the account between he
ana 'ne people OF TINS country On the side 10 two
years Of war anguish, and distress twenty FIVE thousand
pope sa Oh aeao hundred thousand mournes through
out the land the national character for justice honor and
magnanmity suled, If not gone hundred and fHy mil
lions of money expended IN the war; besides one mil
lions to be paid according TO the provisions the treaty for the
territory we get with internal dscord and distractions al
home and the eternal and perpetual hatred and enmty Of
the Mexicans border While on the side Of the Ad
mins,aon we have Offset, part Of New Mexico and
i California.
Mr. Chairman, 6rbear any further comment on this mart
Of the sabject; but before conclude will briefly notice the
few prominent and indeed only grounds which the Pes-
dent and his friends justify this
And, krst, they insist that Mexico invaded u.s. and shed
Amecan blood american soil The correctness Of this
position depends entirely upon the questions whether the soil
on the Rio Grande where the collision first took place. law
fully belonged to at the time and whether the
time in quiet possession whether the army was
marched without the authority Of Congress upon territory
which did not then belong and which had been
IN possession Now there dispute but that Texas
Immediately preceding her revolution belonged to Mexico
is there any pretence that Texas then under
Stood extended the Rio Gyande any point Of it. Texas
bounded the far side by the States Of Taaupas
Coahuila, Chihuahua and New Mckee, through each Of
which States the river in question ram throwing parts each
this side, and by which Texas bounded the Nueces
being the dividing line between Texas and Tamaupas all
the maps existing al the time will prove But Texas revolt
ed and assumed herself with the right dispose Of
herss she thought proper Now, if for the sake Of the
argument admit the general proposition that Texas had such
right the question s arises, what the limits bounds
OF the country called Texas which had this right Mexico
had agreed any and bounds and Texas had
but other te was the ts which she had established
by victorious swodthe title Of revolutions conquest
That part OF Texas then, and that part aIone if any, which
joined in the revolt and itself loose from Mexico estab
shed its independence and maintained its authority and urs
dcton defiance of Mexico, by the power Of her sword
that par say, and that aone if any had the right
herself But the dominion of Texas extended Santa
Fe which many miles this side of the river 1t did extend
to the Nueces and to single settlement the other side
embracing Corpus Christi, but it extended beyond the
"supendous deserts the valley Of the Rio Grande where
the conflicts took place. And when Gen. Taylor reached
there he found the country in the of Mexcans
who born there, who culcivang the SOIL who
received him intruder and fled from his presence peo
pie who had belonged to Texas way any
time submitted to her dominion, taken part the revoIu
hon beg leave refer here of letter written
at the time from this very territory. 1t is as follows
Our situation here is extraordinary right in the
enemys country, actually occupying their and
fields the people Of the soil leaving their houses e
small handful of marching, with eolors flying
cities displaying the spanged in defiance un-
der their very noses and they with army twice size,
sit quietly down and make the least resistance the
effort to drive the invaders off .
But any doubt existed on this subject that doubt is dis
PEELED BY the President himself who his instructions
Mr. Side, expressly admits that did the Rio
Grande, and positively dnses him offer Mexico five mil
lions OF dollars for the purchase of that very country Texas
attempted Is tue not sword but by the OF her
Legislature to extend her dominion the Rio Grande and
il was that foolish and mpotent effort which the President
blindly followed that led to all the trouble.
Again II is said in justification that Mexico owed
ney which she neglected to pay Admit it. She did
money which she neglected but refused pay. But,
in the first place. this is Justification which the people Of this
country should be slow assume; here, where have
many States of who have paidtheir debtors neither
principal interest for many years. and whe,e Of
them after having actually had the money! absolutely
rspudate AID refuse 10 pay at ALL IN the second place.
this furnished good war; only furnished up
which Congress might have declared but gave tie
President such, right whatever hostties
by marching the army into the enemys country And he
himself in his message short time before, expressly says
On the 18th page OF his message Of ls45 in speaking this
very subject, he says;
Wthou the previous authority Of Congress the Executive
power adopt enforce adequate remedies for
the injuries had suffered do than tobe prepared
repe the threatened aggression the part Of Mexico"
And in the third place, these dfcuies with Mexico had
been satisfactorily adjusted at the time, and the interest and
three nsamen Of the principal actually paid, when the at
tempt Texas produced rapture and stopped further
payments In the message, and the page last
quoted FROM the President when speaking this subject and
of the treaty Of January, ls43, says:
By this treaty it provided that the due the
awards in favor CLAIMS under the convention of the 1h of
April 1889, should be paid ;he 3oh of April ls4S and
that the principal Of the said awards and the arising
thereon shall be paid in FIVE years in equal nstamsn every
three months the said OF five years the
30h day Of April s aforesaid The interest due the
30 day April is4S and the three first CT the twenty
ments have been paid"
What, then, becomes Of , prctext for the war But
has frequently said here that Mexico would not have
been satisfied Gen. Taylor had remained Corpus Christi;
tha, she claimed the nueces only, but the whole Of
Texas up Louisiana and would be satisfied with nothing
short Of it, This allegation has only evidence
tain IT, but directly conadicied by the facts Of the
Gen. Taylor only notified by the Mexican Authorities
while his march, that no fall back the Nuece and
that such march the Rio Grande deemed offensive
Mexico, but after he had taken his position opposite
Matamoros fifteen days after he had reached hes Gen. Am
puda quietly gave him notice to break up his camp and retire
beyond the Nueces into Texas that decide the
controversy The troops reached the river on the 2Sh of
March, 1876, and the President in his message Of May
Of that year, in speaking Of this occurrence says
The Mexican forces Mataaoros beligerent
attitude, and the 18th Of April fifteen days after their ar
va) Gen. Ampuda, then in command notified Gen. Taylor to
break his camp within twenty four hour and retire be-
yond the Nueces rivers and the Of his failure
ply with these Demands announced that arms and aone
must decide the question"
Thus putting to fight the assertion that Mexico con-
tending for the whole Of Texas and establishing beyond dis
pu,e the position that but M the order and march the Rio
Grande, we should have he'd no conflicts whatever
But once more, 1t has been said frequently that Mexico had
refused to treat with and that therefore, forced
to fog her nio submission. II the 80, II could not
justify the President nor, this day, the Congress
ITSELF in marching army upon her compel her TO love