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

Senate for raising ten regiments ofnew troop
for the farther prosecution of the war agains
Mexco:-and we have been informed that tina
measure is shortly to be followed, in thi
branch ofthe Legislature, by bill to raise q
regments of volunteers for the same service
was DESTROYS of expressing my opinions a
gainst the object of these bills,-against tn
supposed necessity which leads to their enact
ment,-and against the general policy which
they are apparently designed to promote. Cir
cumstances, personal to myself, but beyont
my control, compelled me to forego, on tina
i dav, the execution of that design.
THE bill now before the Senate, is a meas
ure for raising money to meet the exigence
ofthe government and to provide the means
we'll as for other things, for the pay and sup
port of these thirty regiments,
Sir, these scenes through which we have
passed and are passing here, are various. Fol
"A fortnight, the world supposes, we have beer
occupied with the ratification of a treaty Of
peace, and that within these walls,
''The world shut out,
notes of peace and hopes ofpeace, may, strong
assurances of peace, and indications Of peace
have been uttered to console and to cheer us
Sir, it has been over and over stated, and is
public, that we have ratified a treatu-of
course, treaty of peace; and as the country
has been lead to SUPPOSE not of an uncertain,
empty and delusiVe peace; but of real and sub
stantial, a gratifying and an enduring peace,
"a peace which should staunch the wounds
of war, prevent the further flow of human
blood, cut off these enormous expenses, and
return our friends and our brothers,-and our
children, if they be yet living,-from the land
of slaughter, and the land of still more dismal
destruction of climate, to our firesides and our
arms.
Hardly had these halcyon notes ceased up
on our ears, until, in resumed public session,
we are summoned to fresh aoGriike operations,
to create new army Of thirty thousand
zen, for the further prosecution ofithe war;
TO carry the war, in the language of the Presi.
dent, still more dreadfuly into the uital parts
of the enemy, and to pres homo, by fire and
sword, the claims we make, the grounds which
we insist upon, against our fallen, PROSTATE,
| had almost said our gnoble enemy.
II may Judge from the opening speech of
the honorable Senator from Michigan, and
from other speeches that have been made upon
this floor, there has been no time, from the
commencement ofthe war, when it has been
more urgently pressed upon us, not only to
maintain, but TO increase our military means
not only to continue the war, but to press it
still more vigorously than at present.
Pray, what does all this mean? Is it, l ask
confessed then,-is il confessed, that we
no nearer peace than we were, when we
snatched up this bit of paper called or tniscall-
ed, treaty, and ratified it? Have we yet to
fight it out to the utmost, as If nothing pacific
had interviewed?
wish, sir, to treat the proceedings of this,
and OF every, department of the government,
with the utmost respect God knows that the
constitution of this government, and the exer-
else of its just powers in the administration
of the laws under it, have been the cherished
object of all my unimportant life. But, if the
subject were not one too deeply interesting,
should say our proceedings here may well e.
nough cause smile. In the ordinary trans
action of the foreign relations ofthis and of all
other MI ba has aa 10
gottdtc first and to ratfy aftertcards This seems
to be the natural order OF conducting inter
course between foreign States We have
chosen to reverse this order. We ratify first,
and negotiate afterwards. We set up a treaty
such as we find it and choose to make it, and
then send two Ministers Plenipote ntiary to me-
gotiate thereupon in the Capital Of the enemy
One would think, sir, the ordinary course of
proceedings much the justerj that to negotiate,
to hold intercourse and come to some arrange
nent, by authorized agents, and then to sub
NIT that arrangement to the sovereign author
lty to which these agents are responsible, would
be always the most desirable method of pro-
ceedIng. 1t strikes me that the, course we
nave adoptedis strapge--is grotesgue. So far
as know it is unprecedented in the history
OF diplomatic intercourse. Learned gentle
men on the floor of the Senate, Interested to
defend and protect this course, may, in their
extensive reading, have found examples of it.
i know of none.
Slr, we are in possession, by military power,
of New Me xico and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. be-
longing hitherto to the United States of Next
co. We are informed by the President that it
is his purpose to retain them, to consider them
as territory fit to be attached and to be attach
ed TO these United States of America And
our military operations and designs now be-
lore the Senate, are to enforce this claim of
the Executive of the United States we are
70 compel Mexico to agree that the part of her
domain called New Mexico, and the other
called California, shall be ceded to us;--that
we are in posse sslon, as is said, and that she
shall yield her title to us. This is the precise
object of this new army of 10000 men Sir,
1T is the identical object, in my judgment, for
which the war was originally commenced,-
tor which it has hitherto been prosecuted, and
IN furtherance of which this treaty is to be u.s.
ed, but as one means TO bring about this gener-
al result,-that general result depending af-
ter all on our own superior power, and on the
we may prescribe to fallen, fallen, fallen Mex
leo. - 0E
>. Sir, the members, composing the other
house,--the more popular branch ofthe leg
lsiature, have all beenielected since, 1 had al
most said, the fatal, Ill will say, the refnarka-
0ie-events of the 18th and 18th days of May,
io40' That other House has passed a resolu-
.on affirming that 'sthe war with Me xico was
Degun unconstitutionally and unnecessarily by
ene Executive government of the United
states. concur in that sentimep!;I hold
mat to be the most recent and authentic eK-
preston of the will and opinion of the major
ity fthe people of the United States. - q
=, There is, sir, another proposition, not so au-
ihentically amounted hitherto, but, in my
Judgment equally true, and equally capable of
aenonstratio and that is, that this wGr was