The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1848-03-24

The fret Of these in importance, is the svinced
by the remarks Ia the course of which you say
that the Secretary Of War proposes to degrade by
requiring that the commander Of this army, shall de-
fer to you the chief clark Of the Department. of State
the question of continuing dscou nuing hostties
Upon this point sir, have to state that the order
conveyed to you In the letter Of the Secretary of War
dii not originate with thst officer, but emausted from
him. who II the constitution of the United States be any
thing but an empty formula, Is tho commander-iu
chiei of this army. and of the whole armed force of
the United States in Whatsoever quarter Of tho globe 1t
may be directed 10 operate In this present instance
this fact il positively known 70 and had It not been
So should still, slight as Is my acquaintance with mi
ary affairs have taken it for granted for do not
collect to have heard OF an instance in which
important order Issuing from the War Department shove
all, maneslly founded upon cxscu i've determine
tions respecting onr foreign relations was ascribed to
any other or Ia which disposition to treat such
order with contempt sought to shelter itself under any
such as the preencs that it was regarded as the
mere ect OF the Secretary OF War.
Commodore Perry, to whom the same Identical order
was issued through the Navy Department, and with
whom had conversation on the jet, did not sac
IN it anything at al, extraordinary, This howevsr may
have been caused by his being less habually vigaut
of less gifted with discernment in regard to- the honor
Of his branch Of the public service. Or perhaps this
want of penetration his part may be attributable to
his not having equal reason for believing his Own per
sonal be so excessive ana tho influenza
of the Secretary of the Navy, be overwhelming,
that for the sake of aordng indulgence to tho
oerona envy and malevoence of the latter in the
vest shape in which these base passions manifest
themselves, most important measure OF the govern
meat belonging obviously TO the branch Of public duties
reference to the functions OF the War DeparmenD was
deliberately planned and decided upon and condden-
tial diplomatic agent despatched post haste from Wash
'ugton with communication for the Mexican govern
ment!
Thus much in regard to the author of the degradation
supposed by you be involved in this With
pect the degrad alton itself ami the imagined ncces
sity of your deferring to mo on "a military question, tho
the IN u s to IN
hrst letter, 1t my intention to submit for your pera
SAIL will suffice shows that "the question of connu-
l,o.N. hNnr
in manner committed to my discretion is one which
tho President in the hsrge OF the duty which he
tirey to the chief executive authority Of govern
ment If the contingency shall occur on the happening
of which, provided by the third article of the proposed
treaty, hoses required to be suspended, you will
without delay communicate this fact to the commanders
Of land and naval forces respectively the Secreta
ries of War and of the Navy having already issued
ders to them for the suspension of hostes upon the
receipt Of such notice from yourself"
here seen that the object of the order thus pro-
vsionaly issued to the comman ders OF our land and
naval forces is simply that they shall cease to wage
upon Mexico, the of certs in con.
you should be fully informed by the exhibition of the
proposed treaty Immediately upon my reaching head
quarters is the ratification by the Mexican govern.
nen of definite treaty, establishing peace between the
Two countries No power or discretion whatever, no
shadow of any such thing is vested in with respect
to the suspension Of hos SO far this s
connected with my mission, by any possibility
grow out Of my mission, it cannot take place except
upon the occurrence of state of things strictly defined
ny the President treaty of peace and amty such as
am empowered to make, must first be conceded, and
not only concluded but ratified by Mexico and then,
upon notice Of this state OF things given by to the
respective commanders the order for the suspension OF
he stilites Is to into force this order being the
Presidents order, emanatng from him, through the
appropriate departments and not my order. TO re-
present 1t as mine, strikes ms as berg no less OBJ
vonsy erroneous than would be to state that the &C.
nerais of the army under your had been SUD-
jected to the authority Of your aidesde caup and
CURED to defer" to them, because you had issued
order requiring the former to exscut. a particular
me ~
they should receive from the latter notice or d.
recdon TO that effect And the would be DO less
palpabe, IT, instead Of the course pursued by the go
vernmentn issuing to yourself and to Commodore Perry
he provisional order which you have received the Pre-
you should hear Of the proposed treaty until
should have bsen ratified on the part Of Mexico and
mad been instructed then to notify this fact to ou and
20 require you In his name to suspend bostilities
So long then as the two countries shall continue to
be in state of war, the operations Of our forces in
Mexico canao by the remotest possibility be affected
by the fact that am charged with the dnty OF making
that notification. Sa far those operations are con-
cerued the stands and cannot but continue to
place Washington, and it order FOR the suspsn
ion of hostisies mad issued until after those negoa
lions had been brought to successful close. The only
differences which can result from our government hav
ing diplomatic representative on tue spot Ii, that the
restoration OF may possibly be there by fastened
And the only difference mode by this agent being in
Itucted to give notice of its restor alton Upstead of
waiting till this could travel from Mexico to Washing
ton and back again from Washington to thu army is
two MORE the sooner and that this very conside
ration might in itself be the of peace by deerm
iuing the enemy to conclude treaty which, otherwise,
would be unwilling to enter into. On your part, sir
above all other men, this certainly could not be objected
10, for, unless my memory deceives our batteries
,oforo Vera Cruz WERE In your official despatch,
ported being in state of awful activity epthet
which struck me at the moment ss being a somewhat
unusual in artillery technicss, although the Ma
onai Intelgencer very aerw ards accounted for
it to my entire satsfscton by ths which it
our country, that you are distinguished for hu.
sble corroboration from the little word thus nadver
tenty dropped from your pen.
In word sir the course determined upon by our 60
sernment, respecting the suspension Of hos.ies, Is
what any man OF plain unsophisticated common sense
would take for gtantsd that 1t must be; and it is not
what your exuberant fancy and cultivated imsgna
ton would make The queetion truly presented by it
sud 1t would require very skul sophistry indeed to
make our country believe that this coud be otherwise
han obvious to any man occupying your POSITIONS
DOT, whether the immediate command and direction of
the United States forces in Mexico to continue to re-
side in the senior officer OF the army present is to be
transferred to person not belonging to the army
rhe question s WHISTLER the government Of the United
States is to b permitted by General Scott to discharge
it's international functions and duties in its own way,
and by agents OF it's selection when he msy have
taken fancy to relieve it Of tho trouble Of attending to
them by himself settling the preiminsres of peace In
ldustng the terms of that srmistce with regard to
which he has judged proper vehsmerty to assert his
own exclusive competency
1t may be remarked that il tho order thus pro-
spectvey given by the President instead Of having re-
ference to notice of the happening of certain antci.
pated possionity (wnich 1t was deemed expedent ana
necessary not to refer TO specifically in The order) had
directed that hostites should be suspended upon the
receipt of requirement from secret aud confidential
agent OF the government; even in this case, genuine,
contradisnguished from a merely verbal or formal
respect for the authority of the constitution would ne
likely to suggest to any commander receiving such or
der and habitualy entertaining such genuine sentiment
least to abstain from all premature determinations to
treat it as nullity He might, through love of country
and forgeoness of SELF make up his mind should the
order take effect under circumstances rendering de-
stuctve Of the public veal then to disobey it. But he
h.pta ID thn
termination to set TO his army example OF insub
ordination by unnecessary disclosure of even this
contingent intention, before these circumstances had be-
come matter of fact aud of positive knowledge, aud
whilst they had yet not ceased to DO the coinage OF
an imaginato ready to mpute to the chief magistrate
elected by country aided In his deliberations by the
eminent citizens whom he adj called around him for the
purpose, a course OF proceeding imbecile as to
awaken surprise that the bare possibility OF its having
ever been contemplated by them should suggest itself to
any mind
With regard to the choice made by the President Of