Carolina Watchman

              term two dollaes per annum mar l d ■ - ' ' :"'"!:':" quent insenion court or ier8charged25per rspeecfl of mr hudson of ma8sach1 setts ),, the subject of tin rvar with mexico ., d rvtltives muv 14 ls4g hoc i -■'. rephi -■ n,a coxclcden there is in my apprehension one cap lal defect in all the argument adduced carrv the texan boundary west to the eo grande there may be and proba .. are i few persons living immediately kon ihe west bank of the nueces who ve acted with the texans j hey have en cut oil from the valley of the rio jrande by the wilderness and deserts ihich lie between those two rivers and nay have regarded themselves as belong ng to texas hut this if it be admitted o the tidiest extent does not prove that texas las ever extended her laws one kindred and fifty miles further to the rio grande and over people of another race peaking another language and owing cllegiance to another government texas ias no title to it herself except what she ob aitied by the revolution—that is by con quest and possession did she carry her inns west to the rio grande ' she has made several attempts and has always been defeated—in each case her forces save been driven back or captured does ihe hold the country west of the xueces except perhaps a very small portion in the immediate \ icinity of the river there ps not a particle of evidence that she does mexico being the original owner on eve ry principle ol law would still continue to own all except what actually revolted di was conquered by texas and as tex as never conquered the country up to the llicj grande and as it is now or was on lie approach of general taylor's army inhabited by the subjects of mexico who owed allegiance to that government and who were so faithful to their own coun trv as to hum their dwellings on the ap proach of the american army and cross the river to their own countrymen i con tend lhat there is not a particle of proof that the whole country east of the rip grande belonged to texas or belongs to the united slates the president himself has furnished ev idence that the mexicans were in posses sion in the valley of the rio grande and he most that can possibly be said is that the territory is in dispute in all sueh . possession is a good title as against an imperfect one wc had therefore by no principle of law a right to dispossess her by arms pending the controversy and especially as she was willing to receive a special minister to ireat expressly upon this subject of boundary the advance jf our attny therefore was an act of ag gression we have encroached upon ter ritory where she had the possession and claimed to have a perfect title letacase like this be submitted to any court ot jus tice and the verdict would be rendered against us i will even go further if our title were the best or we were in possession up to the banks of the rio grande even then we should be the aggressors according to general taylor's own account in his despatch of the 15;h of april he says that lu blocked up the rio grande and slopped all supplii s for matamoros this was the first act of aggression for at that time it is not pretended that the mexicans had made any attack upon our troops col cross had been missing for a few days but the worst apprehension was that he might have been murdered by some " ban ditti known to be in the neighborhood and what provocation had-general tay lor for blockading matamoros and cut ting off the supplies for the mexican ar my ' lie tells us that he had received a despatch from general ampudia sum moning him to withdraw his force within twenty-four hours and to fall back be yond the xueces was this summons an act of hostility ? it was not so regarded by general taylor for in his note in reply he says the responsibility will rest upon those who rashly commence hostilities so according to his own confession be fore the mexicans had commenced host il l hies he blockaded their town and cut oil their supplies does not this make us the aggressors have we in time of peace a right to blockade the mexican ports and so cut off supplies from their army ' this is not a threat but an act of hostility we were not only the aggressors in inva ding a country in possession of mexico but we were guilty of the first overt act and 1 should like to be told even if the rio grande were the true boundary whe ther the mexicans were not justified in crossing the river to cut off general tay lor's supplies alter he had blockaded the port and cut off theirs ! the aggression was on our part we commenced hostil ities mr joses of georgia i wish to ask the gentleman from massachusetts whe ther he has any authority for saving that , the mexicans crossed the river simply to cut oil'general taylors supplies i will not higgle with the gentleman from georgia about terms 1 suppose that general arista had sent his troops a cross the river to oppose general taylor by throwing themselves between him and his supplies 1 regard arista's movement as a hostile one brought on by the hostile movements of our own troops our forces had blockaded matamoros and cut off the supplies irom the mexican army ; and the mexicans in return attempted to inter cept our supplies both were acts of hos tility 1 know no difference between at tacking the army itself and cutting off their provisions and munitions of war it is as much an act of hostility to cut oil an army by famine as by the sword or if gentlemen regard nothing as war but an collision of forces we have no evi the carolina watchman bruner & james ) _,,.._ > " keep a check rrox all your editors <\ proprietors \ a safe p { new series rulers do this axd liberty < "*" gen'l harrison [ number 11 of volume iii salisbury n c friday july 10 1846 dence that the mexicans made the first attack general taylor in his despatch dees not pretend it from the view 1 have taken of this whole subject it appears to me that we have been the aggressors we annexed texas to ih is union ; but the texas we annexed was limited in her territory to the xueces or that immediate vicinity thoogh she had made several attempts to extend her territory by arms to the rio grande she had always been unsuccess ful . the whole country east of the rio grande to the xueces or certainly to the desert remained in the hands of the mex icans they had settlements in the ter ritory they had military posts there and custom-houses which we have always ac knowledged as belonging to mexico by paying duties there to the mexican gov ernment though texas had laid some claim to the territory mexico was in pos session and we had always acknowledg ed ir and yet the president of the uni ted states without authority of law sends our army to dispossess the mexicans by taking possession of the territory and plan ing our standard on the banks of the rio grande—the very extreme point to which the most sanguine ever laid claim gen taylor had also by the direction of the executive erected a battery opposite matamoros with his guns pointing into the town as if to awe them into submis sion this can be regarded in no other light than an act of aggression so im patient was the executive to dispossess the mexicans and take possession of the whole country between the xueces and the rio grande that as early as june is4.1 before annexation had been con summated mr bancroft the aclir.g se cretary of war in his instructions to gen taylor informed him that his " ultimate destination was the rio grande this is followed up by an order of august 23 1845 in which we find the following " should mexico assemble a large body o troops on the iiio grande and cross it with a considerable force such a movement must be regarded as an invasion of the united states and the commencement of hostilities in an order of august 30 1815 the secretary of war goes further and says : " an attempt to cross the river with a \ large force will be considered by the pre i sident as the commencement of hostilities there may be other acts on the part of mexico which would put an end to the relations of peace between that republic and the united states in case of war either declared or made manifest by hos tile acts your main object will be the pro tection of texas but the pursuit of this object will not necessarily confine your action within the territory of texas mex ico having thus commenced hostilities you may in your discretion should you have sufficient force and be in a condition to do so cross the rio grande disperse «< capture the forces assembling to invade texas defeat the junction of troops uniting for that purpose drive them from their po sitions on either side of that river and if deemed practicable ami expedient tahc and hold possession of matamoros and other places in the country i scarcely need say that enterprises of this kind are only to be ventured on under circumstances present ing a fair prospect of success mr chairman it seems to me that no man can read these orders and review the whole course of the president without per ceiving that the executive was seeking an occasion against mexico—using every means in his power and means which by the constitution he did not possess to bring on a war with that republic and after these numerous acts of aggression the president has the effrontery to tell us in his late message that '* war exists not withstanding all our efforts to avoid it and exists by the acts of mexico herself sir i regard this declaration as utterly untrue and as it was incorporated into the bill and preamble i could not vote for it 1 believe the preamble to be false and was satisfied that it was connected with the bill for the purpose of shielding the president i believe that this recognition of existing war was connected with the supplies for the army for the purpose of committing as many'as possible to this base war of conquest and to this gross encroachment upon the constitution re garding the preamble as false and the war inexpedient and one got up for the purpose of conquest i could not as a faith ful representative of the people give it my support i believe 1 should have been false to truth to justice and to the besl interests of my country if i had given my sanction to such a measure the gentleman from illinois mr doug lass has pronounced every one a hypo crite a traitor and a coward who voted against the bill and who charged the ex ecutive as the aggressor in this case but sir i shall not be deterred from what consider to be my duty by any such intim idation i come not here to bow to exe cutive dictation or to register the edict o lames lv polk or any other president have no ambitious ends to answer no..pat ronage to seek no high political asplra tions to gratify and hence shall not be ve ry solicitous ot courting executive favoi or flattering the morbid sensibility of noi sy and restless demagogues but althi that gentleman may brand us as coward i will assure him that neither the strengt of his voice nor the violence of his gesth ulations nor the spasmodic emotions of his patriotism will in the slightest degree alarm me the gentleman may •' shake his ambrosial locks and give the nod and some gentlemen may perhaps trem ble in his presence but 1 shall remain un awed yes he may " assume tlie god affect to nod and sf-em to shake the spheres but lie will not shake my convictions of duty or determination to obey them the gentleman from ohio mr thur man who addressed the committee yes terday read numerous extracts from the federal papers published during the late war with england lie has produced these extracts with an air of triumph as if he had demolished his colleague at a blow because that gentleman had applied to the present war some of the epithets which had been applied to the war of 181:2 but granting all that the gentle man has said what does it prove his colleague had denounced the present war and its authors and he meets it by say ing that the war of 1812 was denounced he does not attempt to show that the pre sent war is just or that the executive has not transcended his powers but contents himself with a low attempt to create a popular prejudice against his colleague if he felt competent to meet the arguments of his colleague why did he not do it why depend upon the cry of federalism ? i do not know the source whence the gen tleman obtained his '* elegant extracts but it is suggested by gentlemen around me that lie might have obtained them from his democratic friend now at the head of one of the departments who for merly so zealous a federalist that he-is said to have remarked that if he thought he had one drop of democratic blood in his veins he would apply the lancet and let it out while the gentleman was denouncing the " immortal fourteen and represent ing them as enemies of their country he ought lo have recollected that two of them from his own state had proved their cour age and patriotism by fighting the battles of their country and some of the rest of that number have seen more of the tented field i presume than that gentleman him self as to his attack upon the federal par ty in 1812,1 have nothing to say they leed no defence from me they number ed in their ranks some of the wisest states ncn and firmest patriots of the country if ihey erred i am not responsible for their rrors having never belonged to that par y though young at that period my feel ngs were enlisted on the other side in politics mr sims of south carolina utao some inquiry about the conduct of the federalists at that period i should be pleased to hear the gentle nan but my lime will not permit it is are that we upon this side of the house 3an obtain the floor and i have no time o be catechised by the gentlemen on the ther side ; they will have their turn here lfter but if the gentleman from south carolina is troubled about threats of dis union i will ask him what he thinks of iiore modern threats of nullification and lisunion in another quarter he may derhaps understand that better but we are charged with withholding uccor from our gallant little army in the lour of its peril—with being indifferent to ts present alarming condition this marge sir is founded upon an entire mis representation of the facts in the case does any person believe that any of the troops raised by virtue of our act of war can reach the iiio grande before the fate of our army will be decided for good or for evil ? the collision between our for ces and those of mexico took place on the 24th of april and the subject was brought before us on the 11th ol may seventeen days after the event we could not ex pect that the subject would be disposed of here under two or three days and the intelligence of our action could not reach lien taylor before the last of may some thirty-live days after the first collision it is also manifest lhat volunteers could not be raised organized and sent lo the scene of action before the middle of june some six or eight weeks must elapse before the troops raised by our act could reach gen taylor's camp how then can it be pre tended that our action could have any re ference to the immediate condition of our army l from the facts submitted by gen taylor it appears to be certain that the fate of his army must be decided for weal or for wo within a short time the com manding general also informs us that he had in virtue of authority reposed in him called upon the states of texas and lou isiana for 5,000 men ; and he had author ity to call upon several other states the call for these troops was made on the 26th of april and would reach the authorities of those states ten or twelve days before the intelligence of the collision reached us these troops would be sent irrespec tive of any action by this body and it is upon them and others which he was au thorized to call for that gen taylor must depend it is not true therefore that the fate of our army depended upon any ac tion of ours our action had reference not to the immediate fate of our army but lo the future operation of that army lt was a question not of immediate succor to our troops but of the conquest of mexico this was in fact the question which the majority pressed upon the house ; and if our army should have suffered by the de feat of that bill the responsibility would have rested upon those who to gain party ends were pleased to connect the ques tion of supplies with gross falsehoods and a war of conquest and aggrandizement but we are told by gentlemen on this floor that it is treason to oppose the gov ernment in time war sir i have no sym pathy with that dastardly sentiment what ! has it come to this that a weak or wicked executive may usurp power and involve the nation in an unjust war and an unscrupulous majority may press through the house without debate a bill sanctioning that iniquitous procedure and then all mouths must be closed on the subject 1 is this the liberty and the only liberty granted to the representatives of a free people ? is it treason to point out the faults of a corrupt administra tion ? are we to submit in all things to the will of the president ? if so we have nothing left of liberty but the name we are already under a despotism such doctrines may answer for corrupt s}*co phants who bow to the executive for place but they are unworthy of freemen i protest against all such corrupt and cor rupting sentiments treason to speak a gaitist the measures of the administration because we are at war ! sir i have from my earliest boyhood had profound vene ration for the earl of chatham arising from the manly course he pursued in the english parliament in pleading the cause of america he spake freely of the im policy and the injustice of the mother country towards the colonies he com menced his patriotic course before the war began but he did not cease with the breaking out of hostilities he pleaded for america ; he exposed the administra tion he denounced their measures as in famous while the war was in progress when opposing the administration he em ployed language like this sir i rejoice that america has resisted ; three millions of people so dead to all feelings of liberty as volufarily to submit to be slaves would be fit instruments to make slaves of all the ' rest " the americans have been wrong ed they have been driven to madmess by injustice if i were an american as 1 am an englishman while a foreign troop was landed in my country i never would : lay down my arms—never never never ' i solemnly call upon your lordships and upon every order of men in the state to stamp upon this infamous procedere the indelible stigma of public abhorance — such was the language of the friends of liberty on the floor of parliament and that body even under that tyrannic ad ninis tration bad not the hardihood to attempt to suppress it the last act of his life was , an elfort of the colonies the opposition in parliament have always spoken with freedom in peace and in war this is english liberty pitt and barre and burke and all the leaders of the opposi ion even at that day were too enlight ened had too ardent a love of liberty to subscribe to the degrading and cowardly sentiment which we hear proclaimed up ra this floor in the hall of an american congress i have no boasts to make of my devo ion to my country i am a citizen of this country this is the land of my birth — my lot is cast in the united states and ny fortune is connected with hers when he is right i will sustain her ; and if i relieve her to be in the wrong i will not jive her up but will point out the errors md do all in my power to bring her into he right so that if war must come and mr young men must be otl'ered on the al ar of our country we may safely com nend them to the god of battle—to that jeing who rules in the armies of heaven nd among the inhabitants of the earth [ desire the prosperity of my country and aothing but my devotion to her interest md to higher principles of moral rectitude nduced me to separate from those with whom i have generally acted i could lot consent to involve my country in a war which i believe to be unnecessary md unjust—a war of conquest brought bout by ambitious men to answer person al and party purposes before i conclude my remarks i must lotice another subject closely connected with this and one out of which our pres ent difficulties have grown gentlemen with whom i have acted on this floor will aear me witness that i have not been in he habit ot going out of my way to at ack the institutions of the south though [ have always regarded slavery as an e ril—a political and moral wrong—having 10 power over it in the states i have bee lisposed to leave it with those who b»ve it in their keeping to manage according o their own sense of propriety uf when gentlemen throw this subject in my path—when they bring it up here lor ac tion and ask me to give a vote upon it i will speak and act freely—i *»» not s v it my countenance—it shall not be extend ed by me this war is one of the first fruits of the annexation of texas and that measure was got up and consumma ted to exrend and perpetuate slavery mr calhoun in the correspondence sub mitted with the treaty avowed this to be the primary object of annexation i op posed it then and i voted against the war because its object is to extend not the " area of freedom b^it the area of bond age and i wish to commend this sub ject especially to the gentlman from illi nois whose bosom glows with such ar dent patriotism that he is willing to spill rivers of hlood in this war with mexico that gentleman was born in a state where the blight of slavery was never known ! and his residence is now in a free state all his associations we may suppose have been in favor of freedom and yet he is willing to aid in riveting fetters upon oth ers now as free as himself yes mr chairman 1 hough he professes an ar dent love of liberty and would have us belive that his bosom was warmed by the very fires of patriotism he is desirous of spreading the curse of slavery over a large section of country where it is now un known he is so devoted to his country and so in love with her institutions that he is willing to sustain with blood and treasure an institution at war with the first principles of a republican govern ment—liberty and equality he denoun ces mexico as an uncivilized and barba rous power and still he aspires to be a leader in policy designed to extend and perpetuate slavery and to plant on the soil of mexico an institution which she barbarous as she is and corrupt as the gen tleman would represent her to be would not permit to pollute her soil this is the position of the gentleman who denounces all as traitors who will not bow to the dic tation of the majority on this floor he may occupy that position but i con fess that i do not covet it i agree with the late whig candidate for the presiden cy mr clay " that all wars are to be re garded as great calamities to be avoided if possible ; and that honorable peace is the wisest and truest policy for this coun try i agree with him also that in a war for conquest and especially in a war to extend and perpetuate slavery we should stand disgraced in the eyes of the civilized world in such a war i fear that victo ry itself would prove a defeat and that a triumph over enemies in foreign countries would eventuate in the destruction of our free institutions at home war under any circumstance is a great calamity but when it is waged without an adequate cause—when it is carried on to gratify an inordinate ambition or an unholy spirit of conquest it is more than a calamity it is i crime of he deepest dye and the admin istration which shall use the power re posed in it for good for such wicked pur poses merits and justly merits pubbic ex ecution let those in power look well o it that this execration does not fall up in their heads they may think it a ight thing but let them remember that aloodshed for unrighteous purposes will cry from the ground to iiim " who brihg 3th the princes to nothing and who taketh jp the isles as a very little thing 5en taylor in the last war the new york telegraph rescues from oblivion the following incident in which jen taylor was engaged during the last war on the 3d of september 1812 soon af er the beating of the retreat at fort har ison in the then territory of indiana of ivhich post captain taylor was in com mand four guns were heard to fire at a short distance in a direction which left 10 doubt that two young men who had one out a few hundred yards to make nay had been attacked a portion of the prophet's party was supposed to be in the neighborhood captain taylor having not more than fifteen or sixteen men fit for service probably waited till morning when he sent out a small party with a corporal to learn the facts cautioning them against an ambuscade as he recent ly did captain thornton thebodiesof the young men were found dreafully mutilated cold and still and were brought in and buried a communication of a threatning char acter was then sent in with a white flag from the prophet's party which satisfied capt taylor that he was to be attacked he accordinglv made his preparations — he personallv examined the mens arms to ascertain their conditio distributed sixteen rounds per man and though just recovered from a severe \ attack of lever saw for himself ew't disposition made that the emergerf-y required a non comminioned o&<*r was ordered to walk around the ip'erior of the fort during the ni'mt to f've ne alarm if 1-1c sentinel should v°l an t"0"?11 it was well un derstood the post could not very well he defl-iided by its small and enfeebled gar y on capt taylor resolved not to sur render it while he lived at about 11 o'clock at night the capt was called from his quartars by his order ly and informed that the indians had suc ceeded in firing the lower block bouse — this building contained in the lower sec tion the propertv of the army contractor and was used also as an alarm post in which a corporal and ten men were sta tioned the firing commenced at the same time and was actively kept up on both sides captain taylor immediately ordered the fire buckets to be made ready water drawn from the well and the lire extinguished as at this moment it had not extended very far in the captain's despatch to gen har rison he says from debility apprehension or other causes his meu did not obey his * orders with alacrity and verv soon tlie fire reached fhe store-room and communicated to a quantity of whiskey the flames as cended to the roof and the men gave up all for^ost the heavy fire of the rifles and musketry ; the yelling of hundreds of savages and above all the screams and wailings of nine or ten women and chil dren in the fort were enough to have con fused the bravest soldiers ; it was perceiv ed also that if the block-house were burn ed down the barracks next to it which made part of the fortification would be destroyed so completely had the men in the fort become disheartened that out of fifteen or sixteen who were able to fight two of the best and stoutest soldiers jump ed the picked and ran away this was a moment which tested the superior quali ties of capt taylor's mind any man may get on smoothly when he has no difficulties to meet but it is only the truly great who know how to overcome them and to rise above the pressure of adverse circumstances the commander took his measures with promptness lie ordered a party of men to mount the barrack roof throw oil that part of it on fire next to the block-house and then keep the gable thoroughly wet he pointed out to his men that the build ings would thus be saved while the block-house was burning down a tempo rary breast-work was erected protecting the entrance over tlie ruins which was but about twenty leet wide this able irangement being made the destruction if the block-house was of no consequence n the final defence if attacked these skilful directions gave the sol diers new life they went to work with desperate energy and by day-light under a heavy fire continuing for eight hours the tort was in fact safer than before when morning came capt taylor re turned the enemy's shots with so much spirit and effect that they drew olf and lever made their appearance again while n was there the whole of the miamis kvere present at this siege had counted in certain success but their cunning md their charges were unavailing and daptain taylor gallantly maintained his losition against a large and superior force it seems as if all victories were to be won with odds against him the com nunication which the gallant young olii er made to gen harrison on the occa iion was written in the most unpretend tig and modest manner and is a narra ive worthy of being read capt taylor m the recommendation of his general vas promoted to a majority and in his a'hole subsequent career has shown liiin elf a prudent modest intelligent and irave inati mportant to mill owners hotclikiss's vertical water wheel ■ x consequence of the very irreat popularity winch 1 these wheels have attained by the use of nearly 4000 i tii in indifferent parts of the country the subscribers ave sold about 100 rights in north carolina thirty ol k-hich are in full and successful operation in cumberland ounty when properly introduced they nearly foi.i>le lie value of the null and in quantity of work generally ir exceed the mosl sanguine expectations of ihe owners iiany of whom are gentlemen distinguished for iheirsci nce and practical skill who have attested to the value of his improvement the wheels are more durable and nore easily kepi in order when properly put to jether than the common llutter wheel they will save ine-third of tlie water and run well in back water when here is a head above the speed of tlie saw is increas ed to more than double the strokes per minute the price of an individual right for one pair of wheels s 850 we refer among others to tlie following gentlemen k>me of whom had ihe wheels in operation i'2 months or liore and from many of whom we have received certi icates highly approving of these wheels and stating lhat heir saws with this improvement,cut 2500,3000,3500 md ev.n as high as '><•')<) feet a day according to tin lead of water f.\vi.tt;:.'ii.i.i ltxoib a graham thomas rouse cumberland mr lassiter col alex morchison jones christopher mnnroe lemuel himmon alexander williams craves col a s mcneill john bryant farquhard smith columbus john mcdaniel lot williamson jolili kvalis robi 1 w howell w c mcn'fill bladen richmond gen janes mckay john c mclaurin robert melvin j"'"1 l fsirley s n richardson ansa tomas c smith a bauebnm isaac wright j r reid millwright john ■ caswell j t doda n millwright g t bart/dafe patrick murphy guilfobd john " spearman dr faolks j i iv royal new hanover chatham james murphy ; cole & brai charles henry smith & pullen onslow n c rol erl aman wake greene s beasly the mas hooker j t i be !■ - man . nl parts of the state with such a deservedly high character the si feel istified in offering these wheels to the public — the or county rights on reasonable terms t ' :'•>' "" h mcl foi gale pairs of wh ol wa ter in this place wilmington washington and new bern and also for sale by james t i dson caswell th \ i aution all pen from paying any persons but oui ■■ agents for the right of using th • xotice to millwrights ifyou wishem i yourselves with ;■ mil .' i wheels as we now wish to employ bt lew 100 in this parts i the state duncan mcneill arch i mclaughlin a a mcketh \\. fayeitecille january 1846 lyv tl i edit ill.-1 any editor of a newspsp r in no as who wi . pnl lisfa the above for i to one tndh in dispose i as be may ; • justreceived tat wbeelei s old maml fresh medicines wines spirits teas spices swttffs cizars tebacco soaps can fruits nuts.s^.l.ndbotwr cracker brashe dvestufe and a spleoeid sssortmmi of taoc -■■ soda water wuhchoice syrups on drafi phyamns prescriptions | i apwitb ;.-...,, ivesedat.111 .. articles w,!l vl ;- (;; - ir > 1846—ti '• i 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