Carolina Watchman

              terms oi the wat hinaii r year two dollars w«ble m i ' bu , if not paid in advance two dollars i rged i inserted at 1 forthe first and 25 eta i uent insertion court orders clmrged er than these rates a liberal deduc i ... who advertise by the year the ejimra must be postpaid better from the hon j r poinsett sr.tresbi-hg s c ) dec 12 1--47 u t lh ui sik : iii compliance with yourre ,,.-, ami in conformity with my promise i ., determined to give yen very briefly my zgi oi ibe all-engrossing topic of ie day i tinel latet than 1 expected to be in co .... and have wily i moment seen the indent's message and the report of the • n of war iid am surprised lo per that they persist in recommending a 1 policy whieh will lead to sliil further lenditnre of blood ant treasure and i bave tn be abandoned wilh the j on the subject of the acquisition of ;. i have nothing to do especially as the it seems to think congress pledged lo nquests i can only express my re i and my firm conviction that these tetrito lj acquisitions will nol add to our strength or i;!v commendation that most seriously ne is contained in the paragraph where lent says there can lie no doubt that lists a peace parly in mexico and that ecome expedient for our commanding ingive assurances of protection lo such in short to create a parly make peace md guaranty it in ihe possession of nothing can be more chemical ; no id be more insecure ban ihe execu ijf.ii a project were it practicable — iity would bear no proportion lo the ind ihe members ol it would require to i from public indignation and ven ii long years to come by a force not lidable than lhat now in ihe country lie chance of any indemnity or the levying contributions of any sort if iverument should agree lo pay and heir protoctors they must from the na hings tail to do either pray save us acsol atlempting such an intervention ' e attempl might lead to an intervention of a enl sort lhal would possibly prove more the presidenl is apprehensive ol iei»n interference fir.->l in california and next stablishment of a monarchy in mexico not ihe slightest risk of the former ie mexican people are left to them i chance ofthe latter they were so entirely republican iu l822 thatl did not hesi tale confidently to foretell the downfall of tur rhey are much more so now and no scheme of that sort could have even m ; in-nt.i tary success unless tbe leaders considered it is the only chance of opposing us there ex • i strong monarchical patty strong in wealth i station — the priests tbe former aristocracy ind ibe adherents of spain we may drive ihe numbers under their banners still ihe presi feat is wrong : nor armed intervention might wm<j on us a powerful foreign foe hut could nit prevent he en ; whereas if we hold back ny ii<e or it a monarchy would not exist in mexico three years with fifty thousand foreign c'viniets to sustain it the people are repub in the president says he is convinced lhat the "-'. means of bringing the war lo an honora ble close will be lo prosecute it wilh increased energy and power in the vital parls ofthe ene my country now i am persuaded lhat so limp as we continue lo prosecute the war in the thetior of mexico we shall have no peace villi the nation and all attempts to make peace with a faction will place us in a worse posi tion than open war i speak with the authori ty of a perfect knowledge of the nature of the country and tbe character ofthe people i was glad to find that the secretary rejecls ike plan of overrunning the whole country as inexpensive but 1 was surprised to perceive mt he only estimates ihe number of men it wild require lo do this or to maintain our prf'*nt conquests at seventy thousand men for be first and some ihirty-five or forty thousand cond he says nothing ofihe annual hosumption of men during this prolonged con ;'. limine the most favorable period of the peninsular war carried on in a country friendly them the british forces lost annually six m per cent one fourth of whom died of wads and casualties in mexico we should we at leal twenty percent per annum of re<r es ami at least forty per cent of vol nteers i remarked in tbe isthmus between ian and black sen that ihe russian quired to be recruited entirely in three y^ws lhal is lo say ihey required a renewal ird every year _ the conquest ol lhat country by russia af wdsus lessons we night lo profit by the mssian forces overran the caucasian country ■ 1796 and received the submsision of the nple they conquered a peace well in '■ l1 ~ i passed through the heart ofthe countrv ich had been garrisoned with twenty thou ind men for eleven years atacost of between by and seventy thousand men or six or se fen thousand men a year at that lime ii was fccessary lo wait the departure of a train from post to post as it was unsafe to move with less ban two ;.., c « s i artillery and a full com pany f infantry this state of things confined until lo4 . when ihe caucasians organized a power w opposition to their conquerors and up to the present day have contended against them with klvantage the caucasus dt.es not contain ore than a miilion and a half of inhabitants ; '^ russian empire not less than sixty millions tie caucasians have no regular army ; the emperor six hundred thousand well-disciplined troops ' both the president and ihe secretary build 1 a system of line defence as it is called cb they easily overthrow because no milt ';'} man would suggest such an anomaly — ipose a frontier can only be defended "•' a chain of posts bordering on the line ; wreas it is best secured by strong interior ice rut j di,j |, 0 - intend to intrude my in military matters settle what ter r.v vou intend to claim and toll mexico you nl lo l<,»ep it she will bluster and pro **• bul never attack you her leaders will j 8 l«o much at slake lo venture so far from 4 " ca p"al she will have no means to equip es and maintain them on long marches and j*»l campaigns and i hazard nothing in twoor three strong places in ihe inte |* our line would keep them in check for century and in less lime we might buy a p£bl ght necessar v by adopting ihis m-jit v ace t uld come al iast witl * present in '* and n tead of raising thirty thousand the carolina watchman bruner & james ) editors dr proprietors $ " *"* * r *" * ° v ., s new series do this amd liberty is safe ' < gen-i.harrison ( number 40 of volume 1y salisbury n c thursday february 3 1843 men you would huve iroops enough to keep peaceable possession of our new territory and might dismiss the volunteer force to succeed in levying the military contri butions the president speaks of and provision ing ihe army hy force i h troops mn.-t be very much increased it requires a very large force to procure supplies witbout paying for thorn — they can only lie gathered by formidable de . tachments and our army never has lieen and never will lie sufficient numerous to enable the commanding genera lo separate so many men from the main bodv i have given you my opinions very hurriedly for it appears to me there is little time to lose in settling the course to he pursued we can at this period withdraw our forces without dis honor ; nay such an act wouldfelevale us in the estimation ofthe world the slightest reverse — a threat of foreign intervention — might ren der such an act difficult if not impracticable before our iroops evacuate ihe mexican terri tory thai people ought to be told what we in tend to do it is barely possible that they _ might be disposed lo peace upon witnessing such a movement with regard to ihe details of ihe defence of the line — not the line defence — they can be de termined very easily and i think we might be certain of remaining unmolested for twenty years and forever with such precautions as might lie taken at little cost \\ itli great respect and regard i am my dear sir yours truly j p poinsett hon a p butler u s senate washington a mr badger's speech j in the senate january 18th mr badger said if i believed sir that the duty which i owe to the country and to the state which has sent me here could be performed by yielding to the re i quisitions of the executive of the country j such supplies as he may deem requisite for the prosecution of the war upon plans ! for prosecuting it which have not been made known to congress — if i believed that i had not a high and controlling ob ligation to exercise my own best judg ment for the benefit of those whom i rep resent and for the general welfare ofthe i country upon every question submitted to . ihe consideration of this body i might be | disposed to vote for the bill upon your ta ; ble if sir ihe yeas and nays had not ! been ordered upon the passage of this bill '. i might have been content to permit the measure to pass as far as i am concerned ' | without offering a single word to the se ; • nate upon its intrinsic merits but the ; \ yeas and nays have been ordered upon ! ; this bill i cannot vote for it 1 shall re cord my vote against it : and i think it is ; due to the country — i feel that it is due ; to myself — that the views and principles ' | which will govern my conduct in giving this vote should be plainly and distinctly stated and should accompany to the pub ■' lie the vote itself sir i shall endeavor ! to assign those views and principles in as short a compass as is consistent with a , full exposition of what i believe to be the j truth on this all important subject and which every consideration obliges me to put before those whom i represent with out any unnecessary diminuation without leaving out any thing that may be requir ed in a full and complete expression of the argument which in my mind is con clusive in regard to the measure before you i shall offer my own opinions sir with entire respect and even deferential • consideration to the great minds of this body and throughout the country whom i i know to be arrayed against me with out intending towards them any disre spect 1 shall take the liberty to declare j what are tbe opinions which i entertain with regard to the origin of the war the manner of its prosecution the tendency of i lie measures now proposed and the schemes that are evidently entertained hy the executive of the country in relation to it i shall not go as far back sir as an honorable senator from maryland did a few days ago i mean the honorable senator from that slate who first address ed the senate upon this bill but never theless i shall be under fhe necesssity of going a little back for the purpose of ma king myself fully understood first then 1 will lay it down and en deavor to demonstrate that the war in which we are now engaged with mexico was the immediate result of the unlawful and unconstitutional act of the president of the united states i suppose sir that there is no gentleman on this floor or else where who supposes or believes that the president of the united states is vested with the war power of this country it is a power expressly and in terms con ferred upon the congress of the united states and the president would have no control direct or indirect except from . the incidental circumstance of his limited 1 veto of the action of the two houses and ; except from the fact that in virtue of his r ofiice he is the chief commander the prin ' cipal military officer of the u states 1 maintain then mr president that ! j when ihe president of the united states ■ moved the troops under gen taylor to the rio grande and took possession of the " left bank of that stream he commuted a | clear and undoubted act of war whal is war ? what do all the writers on the j law of nations tell us it is ? they all in . ! substance define it to be a contest about i rights which is carried on or maintained ; | not by«argument but by force it can ! therefore admit of no question that when i i a nation claiming certain rights which are disputed by another undertakes to support those rights by force she under takes to support them by war — war as tar as she is concerned it is true if the act of violence or aggression on her part be not resisted by the other that suffers it — if it he patiently and tamely submitted to — no war results to constitute war it is as essential that there should be two parties as it is there should be two par ties to a treaty of peace the act of one nation cannot alone constitute a war ; it is like the act of an individual striking a blow if it be not resented no contest no battle no fight is the result the blow is an act ol aggression ; it is ar act com mencing a contest but it does not amount to a perfect contest whether this act on the part of the president was an act of war of hostility ot aggresion depends not at all upon the question whether we had a right to the territory of which he took forcible possession war between na tions presupposes a contest about rights the publicists who speak of contests be tween nations never suppose them to con tend except about rights war is a contest about rights public war is a contest be tween nations about rights carried on by force and not by argument if therefore it were assumed as clear and unquestiona ble that the title of texas and the united states extended to the rio grande it is still beyond all doubt that mexico pos sessing the left bank of that stream hav ing a settlement there having oliicers there and exercising jurisdiction there — any movement to dispossess mexico to occupy what she thus occupied and what she claimed to be her own is an act ot war it is an act of war just and right ful if territory be ours — just and rightful if the territory be unjustly and improperly withheld — just and rightful if also the act of war be directed by those who repre sent the sovereignty of the nation well sir this act was committed by the presi dent ot the united states he ordered the troops to the rio grande they ad vanced when they came into the mex ican settlement the inhabitants fled be fore them in dismay ; the officers aban doned ihe public buildings and set fire to them and under such circumstances our forces under the command of officers of tin united states look from mexico lhat which she was in possession of and by force kept possession of the territory and placed it under the jurisdiction of the u states now sir on this subject i had the hon or at the last session to bring to the atten tion of the senate the case of the action of mr jefferson during his administra tion of this government under circum stances of a very similar character with this difference that the title of the terri tory withheld from us was truly and clear ly ours in every other respect the case j was like this the territory was with i held by another power and a disposition j manifested by that power to deprive us of j what we held under these circumstan : ces mr jefferson conceived that he j had no right to use the military forces of the country to obtain possession of that which was withheld from us but he j states as a reason for referring the subject to the determination of congress that matters relating to peace and war belong exclusively to congress and as this move ment might change the relation of the two countries from peace to war therefore it belonged to congress to determine whe ther the movement should be made or not but mr president i have other autho rity i certainly shall not say that it is more respectable in itself than the au autbority of mr jefferson i doubt very much whether with a large portion ofthe american people and of the senate it would be thought quite equal to mr jef ferson's but upon this question with re spect to the president of the united stales the authority is conclusive and overpow ering it creates upon him what law yers call an estoppel for ] am able to show that the president of tbe united states has himself recognized that such an act as this is an act of hostility — of aggres sion — of war on the 11th of july 1845 the secretary of the navy writes a confi dential communication to com conner an officer in the u s service then in the gulf of mexico he says : the unanimous vote ofthe texan congress for annexation leaves no doubt of the consummation of that measure — when you ascertain satisfactorily that the texan convention which assembled on the 4th has also acceded to annexation you will regard texas as a part of your country — to be defended like any other part of it " at the same time every honorable ef fort is to be made to preserve peace with all nations the restoration of our bound ary on the southwest by the consent and choice of the people of texas is due to the strong attraction of the principles ot liberty which endear america to every one of its sons and is a tribute before the world to the policy of peace of political freedom and of union on the principles ot freedom it is the president's desire that this great event should be consummated without the effusion of blood and without the exercise of lorce ; believing that free institutions in their own right will achieve all that can be desired i read this part of the communication sir for the purpose of calling distinctly j the attention of the senate to the fact ; that though this paper was written on the ; 11th of july — some months prior to the actual consummation ofthe act of annex , ation — yet the instructions to which i pro pose to call the attention of the senate i are given prospectively — cautiously — and ; with a view to the actual completion of that measere when as appears from the ! instructions themselves the officer to whom they were directed was required to consider texas as a part of this country to secure this end most effectually you are charged to commit no act of ag gression ; and at the same time yoy are , invested with the command of a force suf ficient lo take from others a disposition to hostile acts then after enumerating the forces at the officers command the secretary says : that you may precisely understand what is meant by the aggression which you are instructed to avoid 1 will add that while the annexation of texas ex tends our boundary to the del norte the president reserves the vindication of our boundary if possible to methods of peace . you will therefore not employ force to dislodge mexican troops from any post east of the del norte which was in the actual possession of the mexicans at the time of annexation " should mexico declare war you will at once dislodge her troops from any post she may have east of the mouth of the del norte : take possession of tampico ; and if your force is sufficient will take t the castle of san juan d'ulloa it being ; the determination ofthe president to ire j | serve peace if possible and if war comes | i to recover peace by adopting the most prompt and energetic measures again sir the secretary of war writes \ i to general taylor under date of july 8 i 1845 " sir this department is informed that ' | mexico has some military establishments i on the east side of ihe iiio grande which ! are and for some time have been in the ; actual occupancy of her troops in car rying out the instructions heretolore re j | ceivetl you will be careful to avoid any ! j acts of aggression unless an actual state i of war should exist the mexican forces j at the posts in their possession and which i have been so will not be disturbed as lotiu j as the relations of peace between the u j states and mexico continue now sir here we have from the repre ! j sentatives of the president in the two de ! ! partments war and navy a clear and j distinct recognition of this proposition j that although the president held that our : i true boundary was the del norte yet that it would be an act of aggression a hostile act an act which would not be justifiable except in a state of war to dispossess mex ! ico from any portion of that territory — as { she held the possession at the time ofthe i annexation when therefore orders were i issu«d to general taylor on the 18th of i january 4g which directed him to ad | vance and occupy a position on the left bank of the rio grande the president or i | dered what he then undoubtedly nnder : stood to be an act of war he ordered : what he intended and what he supposed would be regarded on the part of mexico as an act of hostility for sir you will observe that when general taylor in the execution of this order advanced to the rio grande and drove the mexicans from their possessions — when he occupied what had before been occupied by the mexi cans — and the inhabitants were flying be fore him and these facts were reported to the president there was not the slightest intimation that general taylor had ex ceeded the orders which had been given to him and had thus been the means of precipitating the country into a war which : by a prudent regard to those orders might have been avoided on the contrary up to this very moment all that was done in pursuance of that order has been recog nized by tbe president as having been rightfully done as having been done in accordance wilh the purposes which the executive had in view when the orders were given pjut sir if the act was not an act of war it was plainly and manifestly an act which was likely to produce a state of war it was an act the tendency of which was to change the relations of mexico and this country from a state of peace to a state of war can there be any doubt of this sir it is impossible to doubt it when we recollect the unhappy and an gry state of feeling which existed between the two countries when we recollect the position which our army held at cor pus christi for so many months and the disputes existing between the two coun tries — the mutual charges of insincerity and breaches of faith when we recol lect all this it must be manifest that such an act as moving an armed force to the rio grande was in itself if not an act of war al least one which wore ihe appear ance of aggression and one which was calculated to rouse the feelings of the mexicans and to provoke retaliation thus much must he conceded ; and il so sir whence did the president of ibe uni ted staiesderive his power to do this with out the consent of congress according to mr jefferson an act which in its execution may change the relations of a country from peace to war is an act bevond the competency of the executive arid to be passed upon only by congress 1 he constitution has undergone no change the'people have made no amendment to it it stands now as it stood in the time of mr jefferson whence then has mr polk derived his authority to precipitaie measures which must lead directly to war — congress being in session and without even deigning to inform them of what he proposed to do .' but sir at ail events there is not the slightest reason to doubt as 1 apprehend that the movement ofthe troops to the rio grande was the act which produced war there had been previously threatenings on the part of mexico there had been exactly that state of feeling which was likely to result in war but there had been no war and my conviction is sir that if our troops had remained quiet at corpus christi where they had a right to remain on ihe ground so strongly put by the senator from maryland mr pearce that it be longed to texas by virtue of her revolu tion and was then in her possession there would have been no war but at all e vents suppose that war would have been produced by some other cause though our troops had not been moved which is mere matter of speculation yet it cannot be denied that in point of fact — this war was the result of the movements of our troops upon the del norte that move i ment was an act of war it was at all events an act tending to change the rela tions of the two countries from peace to war and an act which the president could not lawfully or constitutionally per form the next proposition which i lay down is that this war thus resulting from an act of the president has been prosecuted by him from the commencement with a i view to the conquest — the permanent con quest—of at least new mexico and up per and lower california i beg the at tention of the senate while i shall at j tempt to demonstrate this proposition from j public documents first sir 1 will call ihe attention of the senate to the instruc tions given by the secretary of war on the 3d of june 4g to gen kearney : should you conquer and take posses sion of new mexico and upper califor nia or considerable places in either you will establish temporary civil governments therein — abolishing all arbitrary restric j tions lhat may exist for so far as it may be done with safety in performing this duty it would be wise and prudent to con ' tinue in their employment all such of the existing officers as are known to be friend ly to ihe united states and will take the oath of allegiance to them the duties at the custom houses ought at once to be reduced to such a rate as may be barely sufficient to maintain the necessary offi cers without yielding any revenue to the j government y'ou may assure the people of those provinces that it is the wish and ■ design of the u states to provide for them i a free government with the least possible delay similar to that which exist in our territories they will then be called on 1 to exercise the rights of freemen in elect ing their own representatives to the terri torial legislature it is foreseen that what relates to the civil government will be a difficult and unpleasant part of your duty and much must necessarily be left to your own discretion in further proof of this sir i read the instruction given by the navy depart ment to com sloat 12th july is 1(5 the object of the u states is under its rights as a bvl'igerent nation to pos sess itself entirely ot upper california '• the object of ihe u states has refer ence to ultimate peace with mexico tit 1 . i if at that peace the basis of ihe uti pos sidetis shall be established the govern ment exped through your forces to be found in actual possession of upper cali fornia •• this will bring with it the necessity of a civil administration such a gov ernment should be established under your protection ; and in selecting persons to | hold office due respect should be had to the wishes of the people of california as well as to the actual possessors of autho rity in that province it may be proper to require an oath of allegiance to the ('. s from those wbo are entrusted wilh au thority you will also assure the people of california of the protection of the uni ted states '• after you shall have secured upper california if your force is sufficient you will take possession and keep the har bors on the gulf of california as far down at least as guaymas but this is not to interfere with tbe permanent occupation of upper california then sir on the 13th of august we have instructions from the navy depart ment to commodore stockton or whoever might be the commanding officer in the pacific now sir in order to understand the scope and bearing of these orders still more clearly let us see what was done under themby the officers lo whom they were addressed in a letter ol general kearney to the adjutant general of ibe 24lh august 1310 written from santa fe he says : on the 22d i issued a proclamation claiming the whole of new mexico with its then boundaries as a territory of the u states of america and taking it under our protection j in another part of the same letter be on my return which will be i two or three weeks a civil government shall be organized and the officers appointed for it ; after which i will be ready to start for i pper california which 1 hope may oe by the latter end of next month ; and in such case i shall expect lo have pos session of that department bv the close of november then we have general kearney's pro clamation in which he announced his in tention to"hold new mexico as a part of the united states under the name ofthe lerritory of new mexico " and he requires of those who have left their homes and taken up arms a gainst the troops of the u states to re turn forthwith to them or else they will be considered as enemies and traitors sub jecting their persons to punishment and iheir properly to s : ezure and confiscation for the benefit of the public treasury it is the wish and intention of the u s to provide for new mexico a free gov ernment with the least possible delay similar to those in the united states ; and the people of new mexico will then be calied on to exercise ihe rights of free men in electing their own representatives to the territorial legislature but until this can be dene ihe laws hitherto in ex istence will he contii ued until changed or modified by competent authority ; and those person holding office will continue in ihe same for the pesent provided thev will consider themselves go d citizens and are willing to take the oath of allegiance to the u s " tin i . s hereby absolves all persons residing within fhe boundaries of new mexico from any further allegiance to ihe republic of mexico and hereby claims them as citizens of the u s those who remain quiet and peaceful will be consid ered good citizens and receive protection — those who are found in arms or instig ating others against the u s will be con sidered as traitors and treated accord ingly \\ hat was the action of commodore sloat ? how did he interpret and under stand the orders he had received ? well we have distinct information upon this point communicated in the proclamation of comodore sloat to the people of cali fornia he says : henceforward california will be a portion of the united states and its peace able inhabitants wiil enjoy the same rights and privileges they now enjoy together with the privilege of chosing their own magistrates and other oliicers for admin istration of justice amonti themselves and the same protection will tie extended to i hem as to any other state in the union i'hey will also enjoy a permanent govern ment again commodore stockton says the territory of california now belongs to the l s and will be governed as soon as circumstances will permit by officers and laws similar to those by which the other territories ofthe united states are regulated and protected now sir it i imposible,i think to read what was done — what was reported bv our officers to the president as having been done by them — without seeing lhat they understood and acted on his instruc tions as designed to make a permanent conquest of such portions of mexican ter ritory as they were instructed to take pos session of there is not one word said in the instructions — nothing declared in the actions of the officers obeying those instructions — which referred or appeared to refer to a military occupation of those territories for the purpose of compelling mexico to do us justice for the wrongs we had sustained at her hands these officers clearly understood lhat they were to take possession of and hold those ter ritories as a portion of fhe united states what says commodore s ockton i robert f stockton commander-in chief ofthe u s forces in the pacific o cean and governor ot the territory of california ami commander-in chief of the army of ihe same do hereb make known to all men that having ly right of con quest taken possession of thai territory known by the name ol 1 , • , and lower california do now declare it to be a ter ritory of th u states u name of tlie territory of california i'hey took possession they organized government — and tin •-, acti d in all res pects as if from that time forward these territories ceased ■■> be tie property of mexico and became the property of the ! r nited states well now did they understand their instrnction right .' why sir in the mes sage of the president ol the united states communicating those documents to us there i something said which implies a disavowal <*! whal was done an intima tion that in some respects the instructions had been exceeded " these documents a_\s the president ** contain all fee it appears then upon the statement cf president of the u.s and the roport of the secretary of war that the organic law established by general kearney for the government ofthe territory of new mex ico in consequence of its late arrival-late wilh reference to the then succeeding ses sion — had not been read by him and sub mitted to the president and his orders la ken with respect to it well now that i.s ae only one of the documents of which it is intimated that the contents were not known bv the proper department and com municated to the presidenl and approved and sanctioned by him therefore it is a reasonable just : necessary conclusion that every one of the other documents except the one lbus specified and taken out bv the exception has been admitted sanctioned and approved and further even in reference to general kearney's organic law nothing is excepted to by the president but this : that he has under taken to prescribe the form of a perma nent territorial government no excep