Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1848-01-27


consent of the existing government, in orde
that the same may be admitted one of thu
States OF this Union.
That the foregoing consent of Congress i
given upon TIC condition, :lgat the said State
be formed, subject to the adjustment by thi
government of all questions Of boundary tina
may arise with other governments; and the
constitution thereof. with the proper evidence
of its adoption by the people of the said re
public Of Texas, shall be transmitted to the
President Of the United States, to be laid be
fore, Congress f2r its final action. on or before
the first day ofaanuary. one thousand eigh
hundred an! forty six.
The second resolution provides, that, if the
President Of the United States shall, in his
judgment and discretion. deem it most adv S
able. instead Of proceeding TO Submit the first
resolution to the republic OF Texas,as an over
ture on the par, of the United States for ad
MISSION, to negotiate with that republic, then
that State to be formed ot,t of the present
republic of Texas, with suitable extent and
boundaries, and with two Representatives il,
Congress until the next superintendent of re
presentation, sh all be admitted into the Tn
ion, by virtue of this act, on an equal footing
with the existing States, as soon as the terms
and conditions Of such admission. and the ces
sion Of the remaining Texan territory to the
United States 81 all be agreed upon by the
governments Of Texas and the United States;
and the sum of 81 90. 0U0 is hereby appropria
ted to defray the expenses of missions and
negotiations. to agree upon the terms of said
admission and cession, either by treaty to be
submttefto the Senate, or by articles sub
mitted to the two houses of Congress, as the
President may direct.
Immediately upon the annexation, the min-
lister of Mexico, General Almonte, demanded
his passports upon the ground that annexation
itself was state of hostility to Mexico; and
from that period to the march Of General Tay-
lor from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande, the
frequent efforts of the American government to
terminate the controversy by negotiation, fail
ed; and before that march, the Mexican gov
eminent were collecting their forces upon the
Rio Grande, with the avowed design, not of
taking possession only of the territory between
the Neuces and the Rio Grande, and concedng
to the United States that porticn Of Texas
which lay west of the Neuces, but of dispu-
whole Of the country between the Rio Grande
and the Sabine, and upon the ground that the
VIII ole and every part Of that territory was still
PolAo VI 4heAlCo, ny virtue Vi HeI oilSildi
paramount title. Now the proposition which
seek to maintain is this: that as between the
government Of the United States and the gov
eminent Of Mexico, the former had in this cpn-
dtlon of things perfect right, and the same
right for the purpose Of repeling the threaten
ed invasion, to march her troops into anv terri
tory between the Nueces and the Rio Grande,
as into any territory situated between the Sa-
bine and the Neeces. The question is not
whether such movement of the troops was,
under all the circumstances. judicous. and pru-
dent. 1t is not whether, by a different course.
an actual conflict might not have been avoided;
but whether, as q matter of right-asa matter
of self defence-the United States had not IN
der the law Of atoms, full and perfect author
ity and justification to make such movement
Now, what are the clear and indisputable
facts2 The United States had received the
republic of Texas into the Union, without an
tecedent!y defining her boundaries, and under
a constitution which reiterated what had been,
as far back as 1886, part Of her original con-
stitution as an independent repubic--lhat the
Rio Grande, from its source to its mouth, was
her southwestern boundary. The United
States extended all her laws over the State of
Texas, as so admitted They had assumed
actual jurisdiction at Corpus Christi. They
knew that there were citizens between the
Nueces and the Rio Grande who claimed to
be citizens Of the Stale of Texas SO admitted
They knew that for nine years the State Of
Texas had existed as an independent nation.
Who proposed Withdrawing Taylor on the
18th of May? Who denied then that we had
good right to repel the Mexicans, and to in
wade, for the purpose of avenging the ourages,
any and every part of Mexico! She had re-
fused to negotiate; she had considered apnexa-
ticn as war; she had terminated all diplomatic
relations; she had refused to receiye Our minis
ter, upon mere bubble of the then President,
because he was afraid CT his own power,
threatened with downfall, because it was be-
lieved he was willingsto negotiate at all. She
had mustered an army on the. Rio Grande,
with the declared object of invading all Tex
as, and recovering the whole to her own SOW
ereignty. Her then government owed its ex-
istence to this very determination. She had
never maintained any peculiar title to what is
now called disputed ,erritoty. What, in this
state, were the United States Is sdo? Were
they bound to remain still and await the nya
sion; or were they not authorized to meet the
threatened invasion, even upon the admitted
territory of the invader? Who doubts that,
with nations as with individuals. the right Of
self-defence gives the right to strike the first
blow? To prevent an injury is easier than to
repair it. Sir, where is the writer on.the law
of nations who holds a different opinon?-
There are some propositions SO plain that they
admit of no ustration-they furnish their own
best illustration-and this is one of them. We
had & clear, undeniable right to meet Mexico
at the very outermost limits of Texas, and re-
pei her there; or, if we deemed it advisable, an
equally clear undeniable right to anticipate her
by striking the first blow OF her own admitted
territory. BUTT is said that the place of con-
flict was on Mexican territory. Fit was, the
argument in our tiehalf would not be IN the
least enfeebied. She was there, intending te
go further; she was there, to drive our army
back to the Sabine; she was there, to reconquel
lTexas-the whole and every part Of Texas
and not to retain portion only. upon the
ground that such portion was not Texas.
But even if the fact is not as alleged; wheth
er this portion Of the territory was or was no
rightfully part of Texas. was, at least, mat
Ter of dispute. Texas claimed it. Texas
over portion Of it, exercised jurisdiction
Citizens residing on ii. claimed to be citizen:
of that government. Mexico had in vain at
tempted to recover it. The constitution o
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