Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1848-05-18

What of the Mexican War?

III the newspapers Ou VIC suujec' VI Hio "o''
is the following philippe in The New York
"Day- Book" of Wednesday last.
THE MEXICAN War has been very efectually
obscured by the universal in,eres. created here
IN the new and wonderful revolutions in Europe.
Mr.. Polk evidently made it principally for the
sake Of The newspapers, the news boys, and the
manufacturers and purchasers of alarming lex
lras"' and "four,h editions" and became popular
accordingly with these influential classes and
powers. The war might have gone on foT -.
dogs age" without murmur from the over
taxed community, so long as II furnished an
abundance of exciting news III all otherwise
"dry time" The newspaper-reading public,
The real governing power IN pure modern de-
mocracy, requires regular supply OF exciting
news--tires, murders, immoralnes, and lnde-
cencies of all kinds, "wars and rumors OF wars"
battles, onslaughts, sieges, massacres, rows, and
'consldeabe fuses generally" The war in
Mexico was the richest gift ever vouchsafed by
the American Government 10 news-requirlng
people. |. kept them in raplurous ecsiacy
of delight during Two years, which might but
for this cause, have passed in most oppressive
dullness and languor.
II is evident tina. this grea, Mexican war
has "fzzed out" There is no more glory TO
be won or claimed in it. A new victory. equal
to Buena Vista, Sacramento, or Cerro Gordo,
might be Obtained every week without creating
the least excitement here or in Mexico. The
miserable. helpless !nefriorty of the Mexicans
has long been SO completely established that
the recommencement of the work of slaughter
ing them would cause about as much satisfaction
in this country as the announcement that the
army of the United States was employed in the
massacre of legion Of monkeys. The Mexi-
cans have found their true policy al last
which is to lie PROSTATE and unresisng, thoug
still unyelding, like mud-turtle with head
and paws under cover and shell shut up
Armies may march over them and ,rample on
them fire and sword may ravage their fields
and habiaions murder and rapine may have
free course of desolalion among them but
there they will lie in weakness and misery
SO utterly helpless and hopeless as to be beneath
contempt, silently "appealing from tyranny to
Cod" and evoking even the tardy sympathles
Of common humanly-but in spite of force and
fraud, unyieldlng and UNcoNoUERED STILL
They know that such struggle cannot last
forever, aud lha, this passive resistance must
in time he completely successful. They know
that if The war is all on one side, the expense
must be all on that one side, and that there is
bottom to the longest purse. The annouce.
ment that the treaty is rejected by the Mexi-
cans, and that the war must be continued for
an indefinite period, with inevitably aggravated
feroclty, horrors, expense, and lnfamy, would
be received with one universal groan of anguish
and disgust throughout this mighty and "uicto
rious" republic. The people shave sopped
full of horrors" they are sick with the smell Of
blood from The reeking shambles which they
have erected in hundred fields, from Santa Fe
to California and Yucaran. The arm is weary
with staying. The pen ags in recording the
stale and dull repetition of slaughlers, and the
silen, but sure and steady le,rlbu'ions of the
peslilence on The viclors. And the question
sOoa to be uttered and felt. if no, answered, is,
"Whos to pay for all this :" Where is the
money TO come from that is 10 be thrown into
this boilomless pt ef perdiion, and senseless,
aimless, endless crime If more than a hun
ded millions of dollars have been spen, in
two years contest, with no nameable result
but proftless slaughter and the acquisition of
barren peslllential soil ,ha, cannot produce in
a lhousad years enough TO pay the cos, of
keeping it slx.months, what mortal can estimate
the monstrous expense of waging this shame.
ful war TO the attainment of the avowed pur-
poses of lis profiga'e and stupid promoters!
1t is useless---Il is senseless-.-iO attempt 10
suppress or disguise The actual stale and result
of The matter. This nation is wursted, bafied,
defeated, disgrace(ulIy defeated, in this mis-
cradle war. No power on earth can change
that result. The permanent, acquisition of half
the territory Of Mexico would not improve The
state of the case particle. Every square mile
would be an added expense and an added loss
10 the Treasury. A portion of II, now half
colonIzed by Americans, the Government now
knows neither how 10 keep nor how TO gel rid
of. Il sticks like The Cen,aur's envenomed
tunic TO the viclor.vic.m. The embarrassment
of The foolish creatures who Iumbled he coun-
try into this wreiched, inexiricable plight. would
be ludcrous if Il were not so wOlul 10 the suf-
fering people.
The history Of The war may be considered
as already written and closed, though the war
itself Continues indefinitely. Intermediate
pages may be occupied with the tedious paIic-
uI ars but the conclusion is, that "il The
bane of The nations prosperity, The deah OF US
honor, the grave. oflls liberty :"