The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-10-03

| tnOusanu square miles, winch contained toNna,
villages, and city, and at least one hundred
thousand inhabitants, which had been under the
quiet and peaceable dominion of friendly Pow
ers for over two centuries Ii is melancholy
TO reflect, that the sayings Of the President
upon this subject are only monuments Of menda-
city, hardly equalled, and that his acts are mon
strously vicious We all know that after the an
nexation Of Texas our Government proposed to
Juy Of Mexico all her territory lying east Of the
Rio Grande, and to pay her about six millions for
il. We all know, also, that after the annexation
we passed law directing the duties to be refund
ed on imported goods, which should be exported
in unbroken packages to Santa Fe The United
States had a commercial az mt there, accredited
to the Mexican Government, then, and for years
before Are not these facts perfectly conclusive
that we considered, knew, and admitted New
Mexico and Santa Re to belong to Mexico ? Can
they be reconciled with common sense upon any
other principle.
Now, as Texas in her maps has located her own
boundary as her historians have described 1t; as
she does not show town or village, or even a
single squatter, north of the Red river, or any
where-ese in New Mexico; and as President Polk,
Texas best Trend and Mexlcos worst enemy,
admits all this | shall assume proved that
Texas dM not, previous TO the annexation, OWN
any part of New Mexico Neither had Texas
any better title the territory between the Nueces
and the Rio Grande
Will any gentleman inform me the name of
any Texan town, village, or even inhabitant, on
the west side of the Nueces have searched the
geography and the history and the maps of Texas
in vain. There was no such thing at the time of
annexation At that time the only pretence OF
settlement on the west side of the Nueces just
at its mouth, at the bay of Corpus Christi. This
place or rather name has acquired some celebri-
ty as the headquarters of General Taylor; his
army of about two thousand men, was encamped
upon the beach and remained there till IL marched
to Point Isabel. have 1t from good authority,
that at the time General Taylor encamped on
that beautiful beach there were but two houses at
Corpus Christi-a dwelling and a store house /;
and they were erected by a Colonel Mckinney
who had taken the oath Of allegiance to Mexico,
and that occupation was for smuggling purposes
and was itself evidence Of the fact that Mexican
laws and authority prevailed there.
/ Mexico on the contrary, had towns and villages
on the east bank of the Rio Grande; the country
LHc,-7 - NstaDd. The N,~-yt ~ s~.Asd New<1an-
lander, or Tamaulipas, for the whole length of
that province, which runs diagonally from the
26th to the 30th degree of north latitude there
were old Spanish settlements-there were RENO
sa Cimargo Revilla, Grande Baptista, Moncl6.
VA, and Aquaverda, on the west, and Mier La
redo, Dolores, and Encinos on the east side of
the Rio Grande. There were intermediate towns
and Lagunilla on the west bank of the Nueces, so
long as Is years ago. Why sir part of the bat
tie of Palo Alto was fought in field of Indian
corn, the standing and growing crop of Mexican
farmer. Here it was Mr. Polk said that " diner
icdR blood mas she'd on american SoF'-soil that
had been owned and occupied by the Spanards,
and the Mexicans after them, for more than one
hundred years-their peaceable and uBdisturbed
possession. We have no better title to the banks
of the Potomac than the Mexicans had to the east
bank of the Rio Grande and all the way to the
Nueces. The law which Texas passed is all her
title-she had nothing by possession, nothing by
treaty, and nothing by conquest.
1t is insisted as a clncher, that the map attach
ed to the treaty of peace with Mexico made /, b.
ruary 2, 1913, shows that al east of the Rio
Grande belonged to Texas. The map referred
to is J. DisturnePs revised edition of the map OF
the United Mexican States of the date of lS47,
and does not purport to give any division of any
portion of the Mexican territory lying east of
the Rio Grande, and north Of the Red river That
| country is designated in large capitals, "Santa
| Fe" all the way to the boundary of the United
States. Ii is the same province of Santa Fe,
which President Polk, in his instructions to Mr.
Slidell, says was settled by the Spaniards more
than two centuries ago, and had ever since re-
manned in the possession Of Spain and the Repub-
lie of Mexico that the Texans had never con-
quered or taken possession of it; its people had
never been represented in any legislative assem-
| bly, or convention of Texasn
This map also shows Austin's boundary line
clearly defined bounding Texas on the north and
west. If any Inference is to he drawn from this
map il is clearly proved that Austins boundaries
are the true boundaries Of Texas
Let any gentleman trace the dotted lines along
the south branch of the Red river to its source,
and he will find what the topographer considered
what Austin considered, and what President Polk
considered the northern boundary of Texas.
Those who argue in favor of the title of Texas
to the territory north of the Red river and west
of the Nueces, seem to adopt the legal folly, that
great many idle pretences, and numerous I'M
founded and absurd claims, will, when added to-
gether, make good title
Shall | be deferred from speaking the truth
Shall filsify history, in the vain attempt to jus
tfy or gloss over one of the most hagtious acts on
record American blood was not shed on Amer
lean soil--it was shed upon Mexican soil hers
by right, by possession, and she was in the right
| TO defend it Texas AYERS that if her treaty with
Santa Anna did not give the Rio Grande for her
western boundary nor her own law, that our
President having said that it WAS American soil,
having marched the army Of the United States
there under the pretence and allegation that it
was American soil that the United States are
concluded or eaOpped from saying it does not be-
long to Texas. This argument, if it amounted to
anything is only applicable to the territory south
| of FL Paso; il has nothing to do with New Mexi-
co, for it not pretended that that, or any por-
ton of it, belonged to Texas; expressly the con-
| trary was admitted The battles of Pao Alto
and Resaca de Ia Palma are nearly a thousand
miles from Santa Fe. But let US examine this
doctrine of estoppel, and see whether there has
been some Presidential jugglery or official leger-
demain which has estopped the United States from
unip nd fhn arritn uaha haS
quered and bought
The plea of estoppel is plea in bar, predi-
Gated on mans own act which stops him from
averring any thing to the contrary
Blackstone hath IL
| "a man shall always be estopped by his seed aud
not he permitted TO prove ANYTHING in contr dcton
| 20 what he has once s0lemnly ayowed
1t estops man from proving the truth. IL is
always An odious plea, but well adapted If well
founded) to this case, where the great effort is to
! suppress the truth. IL is probably the first time
that it was ever pleaded between States-the first
time that great and powerful nation came very
near losing an immense territory by legal quib-
BILE IL remained for abstractionists constitution
al grammarians, TO apply that odious plea in the
| intercourse Of nations
To make it applicable the law should read in
this wise
The plea Of estoppe is plea in bar predi-
Gated on the acts and sayings Of mans agent
who transcends his authority, which stops the
man not only from saying that his agent tran
scended his authority, but also from proving that
what he said was false
Blackstones definition, in order to be applica-
BILE to this case should be paraphrased as follows
A man shall always be estopped by the deed OF
his agent, who has no authority to make such
deed, and not be permitted to aver or prove either
that the agent did not make the deed, or that he
had no authority to make it.
Gentlemen had better leave this bubble, this
plea Of cstoppel, to the pettifoggers-thosc who
know nothing of the philosophy and much of the
| knaveries of the law.