The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-02-22
~ the point Of ssbsason, for The her was quits
warm fDsesmber It that
Further on he saws

0XUDu000D.
warm fDsesmber It that
Further on he says.
The road Isd prseipitou, and rocky dssssat OF
prfAps thooss nd fee. amongst Mokes Usd, and oow
f,ed msurssr Pools which esdd fer could be ses
Jrem ., eat hsseAt
And 50 on all the way through. Wild cattle
abound ON the plains within reach of the widely
separated streams of water. So they do in the
deserts Of South Africa But Captain Cooke
calls this Gadsden country, or the eastern end
of it, 1.-The arid table land of Mexico" which
means desert. And he saysit is studded with
profhsion Of ''isolated volcanic mountains."
which we think are all that Is required to
make it waste and bowling wilderness. From
the scarcity Of water along the line OF this jour
ney through the Gadsden country, from end to
end, the success Of Captain Cooke in getting
through with his command alive, though it
was in the winter season, constitutes that
peaceful march one of the finest military
achievements Of the Mexican war.
Lieut.. Emory, who travelled down the Valley
Of the ella, and every other traveller who has
gone by that route, give the same testimony;
but the precise and minute information derived
from Mr. Bartlett. OF the late Boundary Com
mission, ID in itself conclusive. The general
character of the country is that Of desert of
dry plains, thickly studded with volcanic noun
tains. No portion OF this charming land Of
"Aresonia" ever has been or can be reduced to
cultivation except by artificial watering; and
the few scanty streams which rise among its
mountains and sink among its sands, (precisely
az in the deserts of Africa and Asia,) are occu-
I,:o a H. hxy hor nd OH ruiu
hamlet Of ragged Mexicans or hungry Indians.
The fact il, any attempt to palm off this
Gadsden country upon the American Senate
as favorable region for cotton, sugar, or any
thing else agricultural we can hardly refrain
| nom regarding as but a thin disguise Of some
lobby member interested in the fifteen millions
to be paid to Santa Anna or in the five millions
set apart for the settlement of certain Anne
rican claims upon Mexico. The country to be
acquired is good tor--nothing. 1t is a humbug,
and looks very much like . trick for obtaining
| money upon false pretences, if the land is re-
commended for anything beyond its par value
as " q margin Of the deserts Of Chihuahua and
Sonora"
independently, however of the desert char
acter of this proposed acquisition, we object to
this Gsdsden treaty upon other and higher
grounds. The warlike aspect Of affairs in
Europe suggests the necessity Of Immediately
putting our scanty navy into shape for the
active protection of our commerce upon the
high seas. We may possibly be drawn into
this general collision Of the nations before this
terrible drama Of q general European war is
ended. 1t were wiser, therefore, to invest the
surplus in the treasury in strengthening and
equipping our navy, rather than to waste it for
sewage of the deserts Of Mexico.
But even without tho necessity which is upon
US for strengthening our navy, there is no ne
cessity for paying twenty, or fifteen, or ten, or
five millions of dollars for this land Of Areso-
nia'-this abominable Gsdsden country. Capt.
Walker Is in furnishing condition. he holds
his footing in Lower California, and from the
sympathy of the Mexican landholders there,
and the active cooperation of the Upper
Caiifornians, he will most likely hold out
till the independence of his new republic
is conceded by Santa Anna himself This
point being achieved, we may next ex-
pect him to make a successful foray into
Sonora, and the addition of all that department
to his republic. The next step will be the
annexation of the whole republic to our glori-
GUS Union, d Ia the annexation of Texas.
We should not be surprised if slmilar causes
to those which effected the independence and the
annexation Of Texas were at the bottom Of this
libersting enterprise of Colonel Walker. The
New York Custom House furnished the sinews
Of war to General Sam Houston; and the San
Francisco Custom House and government off,
cials have most probably furnished the needful
supplies to Colonel Walker. Where else could
they have come from? Colonel Walker had no
money-his men had no money. They were all
adventurers, like himself, without money, but
ready for any haphazard enterprise for liberty
from which good speculation might be made.
Who, then, furnished the money? Not the
California miners-they have had none to
spare Not the San Francisco merchants, to
any great extent-their means are Otherwise
invested. The money, then, for Captain Wal
ker's outfit and for the outfit of his reinforce
ments, must have been supplied from the San
Francisco government officials in the customs,
the post Office, &c. And it is quite likely that
our administration have been as well advised
of this expedition, its origin and its objects, as
General Jackson was Of the incipient move
ments for the revolution in Texas.
In this view it is quite possible that the adj
ministration may not be so very anxious for the
ratification Of the Gadsden treaty after all.
Certainly the treaty conflicts with the annexa-
tion policy Of Col. Walker, which may also be
the real policy of the administration for all
that we know. The rational course, then, for
the Senate is to reject the Gadsden treaty, and
wait the issue between Col. Walker and Santa
Anna. The clause for furnishing the flibus-
teros having been struck out of the treaty by
the President, the Senate can perceive the
meaning of it. Why not, then, reject the