The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-01-31

and exasperate the People against each other
and this all TO establish Government when, II
no conceivable contingency, could endure LOT
single year"
October 9th Mr. MARCY, Secretary of War
writing to Colonel r. b. Mason, commanding tn
United States forces in California, repeats AM
fully endorses the views of Mr. Buchanan, anC
adds:
WL he man TIM, Il wW be The dWy Of me cOm
faQnder Of military force 10 reeOgni" ihe pres"
GorrHm,5n De fdc,O; 10 respect The officers Of Il, ana
! 10 Lad ths aid of hs military poTer 10 proffa N
yiohs of reysoas and yrop,ry ofths mh0bIdm'S o.
| me TevuoJV. Tho4gh he has nor The right 10 chang
or nodify i6e eyiaiag Girl Goo0Hm,w, mW be ms
! d,av 10 regayd n as an sriaug GOuemmI, unu' II
is changed by competent authority"
On the 18th of April, lsI9 General Mason
was relieved of his command by General Riley
who proceeded to carry out the policy of the Ad-
mDistration. He recognised the existing Gov
eminent. the Government de f0ciO--in other words
precisely that form and machinery of Govern
ment that had been established by Mexico, and
came into operation the moment peace was de-
clared As by this Government the commander
If the military forces in California was also civil
Governor. he felt bound to assume this character,
and also to sustain the existing Government
against the attempts of portions OF the People 10
supplant it by local Legislatures. In all this he
could plead the explicit instructions OF the Adj
minist ration that had appointed him
But he went one step further January 70,
ls49, the Commanding General OF the Pacihc
Division. General SMITH, wrote to the War De-
partment, as follows:
"Under the hope that some act of the last
Congress had provided, or at least Defined, the
Government of California, it was thought prn-
dent TO wait intelligence of the close OF the ses-
sion, and then, if nothing had been done in Wash
ington. to put in action the machinery of the laws
already existing here, and Mt the same time pro-
pose to the people of California to form state
Constitution, and present it at the next session OF
Congress, when their admission into the Union
MS a State would at once solve so many Difficult
ties and while it removed cause of disagree
ment at home, would give them an opportunity of
legislating for themselves.
''The steamer Edith has been sent to Mazatlan
for the necessary intelligence; and on her arrival
with information that no other than revenue
Jaw had been passed. General p3"H ;eeped ?,
proclamation for the election of the necessary
executive and jud1clG omcers under the existing
laws. and recommending, at the same time, the
election of delegates to n Convention to form a
State Constitution. Mr.. King arrived at the time
these proclamatiOns were about being issued, and
it was matter of great coDgratulation that the
Government, by anticipation, had approved of the
latter measure. Every means will be used to
give the people of California an opportunity of
expressing their wishes on this point, and of
bringing the matters to happy conclusion
1t seems, then, from this correspondence, that
the idea of proposing to the People of California
the formation of State Government originated
with the military officers in that country holding
their appointments and acting under instructions
from Mr.. Polk; that the proclamation calling a
Convention, and regulating matters concerning
the election, was the work Of General Riley, who
had anticipated the wishes of the Taylor Admin
istration, and that the special agent Of this Adj
ministration arrived Just in time to assure the
General of the appreciation of the Chief Execu-
tive By what authority did General Riley issue
his proclamation This will be known when we
shall know more of the powers Of Civil Cover
nor in California, under the Mexican Govern
ment That Government was recognised ns the
to sustain tit authorized him to act as Civil
Governor, and he did so - and we must pre-
sumo that in calling Convention of the People
and proposing to them to form State Constitu-
tion he did nothing more than he was authorized
to do as Civil Governor.
For all the transactions, thereto leading Il
the organization of a State Government in Cali
fornia, the last Administration is responsible
General Taylor merely followed in its footsteps
and added his sanction TO what had been don,
and projected by its agents. For example, Mr.
Clayton, in his letter of instructions TO Mr. King
April Sd, lS49 thus recognises the existing law
of California and New Mexico:
"The laws of California and New Mexico, al
they existed at the conclusion of the treaty o
Guadalupe lIdalgo, regulating the relations o
the inhabitants with each other, will necessarily
remain in force in those Territories. Their rela
tons with their former Government have beer
dissolved, and new relations created between then
and the Government of the United States; bu
the existing laws, regulating the relations of th'
people with each other, will continue, until other:
lawfully enacted shall supersode them. Our ma
val and military commanders on those stations
will he fully instructed TO cooperate with tn,
friends of order aud good government, 50 far a.
their cooperation can be useful and proper"
Precisely the same ground as that taken by
Messrs Buchanan and Marcy. One part of th'
instructions is rather obscure, Says Mr. Clayton
Yon are fully possessed of The Presid,m's riewS
and can with propriey suggest to the People o
California the adoption Of measures best calcu
lated TO give them effect. These measures must
of course originate solely with themselves. As
sure them of the sincere desire of the Executive
of the United States to protect and defend then
in the formation of any Government, republican
in its character hereafter to be submitted to Con
gress, which shall be the result of their own de
liberate choice but let it be at the same tim,
distinctly understood by them that the plan o
such a Government must originate with them
selves and without the interference of the Exec
utive"
As "the Presidents views were communi
Gated to MIR King, rabaly, we shall probably
never know what they we're, to their full extent
Undoubtedly, some of them are communicate,
to Congress, in the following paragraph, by tn,
President himself
81 did not hesitate TO express TO the people O
those Territories my desire that each Territory
should, if prepared to comply with the requisi
tons Of the Constitution Of the United States
form plan of State Constitution, and submit
the same to Congress- with prayer for admis
sion into the Union as "A State but did not an
tcipate, suggest, or authorize the establishment
OF any such Government without the assent o
Congress- nor did 0mhori-e any Gopernment aeea
or officer 10 meriere wRh or pJcise any influence o.
control orn tie ,icaioa Of deIcgdtes, or Orer an,
Conrauioa, IN mokmg or modifying thar domestic ia
aI~io"s, or 0ag 81 The wOtiS'oaS Of her propose,
Constitutional
We learn from this, that the President commu
nicated to the People of New Mexico and Cali
fornia his desire for the organization of Stat
Gorfrnn,enf IN each Of ihtm and he disavows hayin,