The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-10-21

the heads which conceive il, and insulting to the
understandings 10 which il is addressed. Not an
inch Of territory is described IN the treaty, as
conveyed to the United States. The SIS, 900
are not given to her as purchase-money All that
Mexico does is to agree TO boundary line between
the two countries and we defy any man,
wholly ignorant OF the two countries to tell from
the treaty, which side of the line the parties to it
were respectively to take. The line was fixed
TO define the boundaries of land already ours by
conquest; and the price was paid for the peaceful
enJoyment orour conquered possessions. Accord
lngly no terms Of conveyance are found in the trea
ty; but diagram of the boundary is drawn out,
from which II appears that the Rio Grande was
the eastern boundary OF all the territory surrender
ed by Mexico to the United States He who con-
veys by reference to plan or map, makes the
map an interpreter of his language !; and in the
case before us, the map referred to in the treaty.
expounds the intention of the parties thus: sMex-
leo acknowledges, (what Texas asserted, and the
United States haye established) that she owned
no territory east of the Rio Grande. She agrees
therefore that that river shall separate thetwo
tries as high up as New Mexiso. That thence
the dividing line shall west, then north, then
west again, to the Pacific ocean, and that all the
territory north of this line and west Of the Rio
Grande hitherto owned by Mexico shall belong to
the United Stat So This is the plain meaning
Of the map, and it corresponds to the letter with
the understanding of the parties repeatedly ex-
pressed. If not, then the marking of the Rio
Grande as boundary, means nothrng-or worse
than nothlng-a rank fraud upon Texas. II
means what we understand it to mean, or it leaves
Texas with no boundary at all above the south
line of New Mexico; and the war, commenced to
establish the Rio Grande as her western bounda-
ry, has ended in the obIiteration of one-half of
her boundary line, and the establishment Of the
other half. And this by her champion and her
enemy, with whom she has not been permitted to
speak Had the United States thus treated her,
without setting up a claim against her, i would
have been shocking. But under the guidance Of
that demoniac spirit which is walked up among us
under the name Of abolitionism, the United States
has not only done this, but she has set up claim
adverse to that of Texas, aad avowed her deter
minatiOn to maintain it at the point of the bayo-
net! | hasten from this branch of the subject,
for relief from the shame and Indignation which il
inspires.
She has never, then, really purchased New
Mexico from Mexico and if the treaty be
sidered as contract of sale and purchase, the part
of New Mexico lying east of the Rio Grande, is
excluded from it. So much for the purchase
word upon the possession.
During the war, General Kearny was sent to
attack the Mexican forces collected in and about
Santa Fe they retired before him, and without
firing gun, he took possession of the city
Thence he issued his proclamation declaring " his
intention to hold the department (of New Mexico)
with its original boundaries, (on both sides OF the
Del Nore) as part of the United States, and
under the name oil the Territory oil New Mexico"
That Is to say, occupying single city the east
side of the Rio Grande, or rather certain houses
or barracks in it, he publishes the world that he
takes possession of the whole department Of New
Mexico, on both sides Of the river, as part of the
United States. This is what the President calls
an actual possession of the whole territory. Now
so hapt ems that to the part OF it the east
of the Del Norte, Texas had done just precisely
the very same thing, ten years beiore-with this
difference, however, that when Texas made her
proclamation, she had actual possession Of fifty
thousand times the extent Of territory won from
Mexico, that Kearny had. Mexico did not ratify
the proclamation Of Texas when it was made, nor
did she ratfy the proclamation Of kearny. Texas
claimed this territory as her orn-Kearny claimed
it as part If The Unied Siaes-so it would be as be-
longing to Texas. Kearny was sent forth to con-
quer this territory for Texas. AS against Mex
leo, her right was asserted by the United States,
and maintained by force of arms. Now that Pre-
sIdent Fillmore, under all these circumstances,
should claim this territory as belonging to the
United States, upon any pretext, is insuGerable-
that he should claim it by right Of possession is to
say the least oft, bold experiment upon human
credulty and Southern forbearancc
But we have only considered Kearny's possess
sion in its inception. We will follow it down to
the date of the message in sour next, which will
probably close our labors upon this deeply inter-
esting subject.
Mississippi. LELIUS.