Newspaper Page Text
fcMoltMtfcMMhMM* <w foMiUy to silher. Rapid
and wJf-spicd a* baa been the progress of the
. btlrr. we haw wtframrh* r*> ’Otrrfcre with :t.
fche hold* wic'Uti'd of ibc North American cn
luwii:. She ha * e.t:i Wished lor thmimion ill the
licrutU'iaa. the We-l InJro*, anJ in Guiana, on
Ibe S'Mjin American continent. She hold* lie*
l ie, on the bay ot Yucatan, in North America*
with a district of aboti’ fourteen thousand square
uulr*, it we m) Wn*t her own geographical deli*
iicitp a*. \\ c are la rin rhe ccapatiuif of ter*
tihitiea in retry quarter ot the ghd*e. ta.tly, in*
er.ii'l itely extended. and still eeer extending her
ae2f.v It ni nt easy l<> keep pace wuh her rn
muct.in-nts. Af w years ago ‘.he InJu* ivn
the wet< rn boundary of hc r liHSon empire.
(<* has psasej it. S:ie has overrun Afigbauis
tan and beet* -ochi/Un, though I believe she has
temporarily Withdrawn from the former. She
Uan.U at the gates of Persia. She ha* discus*
•ed the policy of passing Persia, and making the
Tigris her western boundary in Asia. One
etnde more would place her upon the shores of
Mm Mediterranean; and her armies would no
bmqiT bud tin ir way India by tire circumna
vi(tiinn r f Afr icu Indeed, she has now, for all
government jwp**cs of communicalion. except
the transportation of troops and munitions of
war, a direct intercourse with the rast. Her
■learners of the largest class run from England
to Alexsri'irui-.tV.mi Alexandria there is a water
cixnniuuicaitou wuh Cairo—some sixty Hides;
Iron: Cairo-.t is hut eight ho rsr vorlunJ to Su z,
at the bond of the Red Sea; fioin Sue* her steam
sts ot the Urgcsr class run to Aden, a military sta
ti-*n of hers at the mouth of the Red Sea, from
Aden to Cej |.*n, and fiom Ceylon to China.
She is not merely conquering her way hack from
HiadorMun. She has raised her standard hevond
tt. She has entered the confines of the Cell s
tai Empire. She has gained a permanent so >t
huid w ithin h;and who that knows her, can be
lieve that prolc t will long be wanting to extend
her dominion there! Though it is fore-uninerce
tnaiiilv that she is thus ad ling to the number
and extent ol her dejn-ndi-nci.*, it is not for com
merce atone. The love of power and extended
empire is one of the efficient principles of her
gigantic rflbrU and movements. No island,
however remote, rock, however barren, on I
which the cross of St. George has once been j
unfurled, is ever willingly relinquished, no mat-,
ter how expensive or inconvenient it may be to l
tniiiiiain ii. She may be said literally tocncir-j
le the g'olie by an unbroken chain of depen- i
dencies. Nor is it l>y peaceful means that she ‘
Minus extending herself. She propagates com-•
metre, as Mnhammednni-in pro; agaled religion, !
by fire and sword. If she negotiates, it is/ with ,
fleet* and armies at the side of her ambassadors, |
in order to use the Lnguageof her diplomacy,
“to give force to their representations.” She is
essentially and eminently a military power,
unequalled on the sea and unsurpassed on tho
Uml. H xppily. the civilization, which disting
uishes her at home, goes with her arid obliterat
es some of the bloody traces of her march to un
limited empire.
Much loss has any unkind feeling dictated
tny relerence to France. Our relation* with
her have usually been of the most friendiy char
acter. From the foundation of our Govern
ment there has existed, on our side, a strong
feeling of sympathy in her prosperities and her
misfortunes, which no temporary interruption of
our friendship has been able to eradicate. There
urea-on for this feeling : it would not have been
creditable to us as a peop'e if it had proved a
transient sentiment. S*hc stood forth at a criti
cal period in our contest for independence, and
rtn-iered us the most essential service by her co
operation and aid. The swords of Washington
end Lafayette were unsheathed on the same bat-’
tie field*. Our waters and our plains have been
crimsoned with the generous blood of France..
Thenmie* of Rochatnbeau, Do Grasse, and
D'Estaing are identified with our struggles for
freedom. They have become, in some degree,
American, and we give them to our children as
name* to be remembered for the gallant deeds
of thoae who bore them. It is not surprising,
under such circumstances, that in the survey of
the European system, we should have been ac
customed to regard France a* the power most
likely, in the progress of events, to become the
rival of England on the ocean as she haa been
ob the land; and with a large portion of our
paople, if the wish has not been “parent,” it has.
•t least, beer: companion “to the thought.”—
For this reason, the declaration oi .VI. G uizot was
considered, independently of all views of right, as
peculiarly ungracious, and as a demonstration ol
feeling totally inconsistent with t ie ancient friend
•kip by which the two countries have been uni
tod. I have never believed it to be in accordance
with the sentiments of the French people. And
•o strong I.a* bcpn my reliance on iht ir right
judgement anJ feeling, that I confess I have ,
thought it not unlikely that an interposition of
our affairs, so compilely at variance with ami
csble relation*, which ought to be held sacred,
might he arrested by a more decisive interposi
tion at home against its authors.
I repeat, I have spoken in no spirit of unkind
new either towards Great Britain or France. ]
desire nothing hut friendship w'th them—close,
cordial constant, :t utual beneficial friendship. I
•peak of thrm historically, as they exist and ex
hibit them elves to the eyes of the civilized—
world.
Thus far, I have considered llie probable con
vequncus of retiring from Mexico, as they are
likely to alii-el our political relations will; her,
and possibly with other States, I now liTin, for
a single moment only, to a different class of con
siderations—f mean considerations nri-fing out
of our claims to indemnity for injuries. Al
though the war was not commenced to se
cure it, thw is ona of the avowed objects for
wtiieh it has been prosecuted. Shall we abandon
the position we have taken, and leave this ob
ject unaccomplished ! Shall we not rather retain
what we have acquired, until our just claims are
satisfied ! To do otherwise would be to have
incurred at* enormous expenditure of treasure
•nd blood to no purpose—to have prosecuted the
•rar till wc had the means of indemnifying our
aslvex in our own hands, and then voluntarily
fta relinquish them. Such a course seems tome
Utterly irreconcilable cither with justice to our
selves or with sound policy. If Ia n not mis
taken to the views I have expressed, it would
ba an abandonment ol indemnity without get
ting rid of the war, on which we must now tely
la procure it. These considerations do not ap
ib to the poiicv suggested by the honorable ‘
(Senator ironi treutii Carolina. He proposes to
take indemnity into our own hands by occupy
iga portion ofnoithern or central Mexico, and
bolding it without a treaty. My icma'ks are
only applicable to the policy of withdrawing from
Mexico altogether, and leaving the adjustment
of differences to future negotiations.
Having thus declared myself in favor of the
occupation of Mexico until she shall consent to
aaaka peace, I deem it proper to say, in connec
tioo with this subject, that I have been uniform
ly opposed, and that lam still opposed, to all
aebetuca of conquest for the acquisition of tcriito
iy. In this resjiect, I concur in what the Sena
tor from South Carolina has said, and for nearly
tho same re -sons, I am < posed to all ageh scheme*
they would he incon'tstent with the avowed
obpet*of the war; because they would be incom
patible with justice auJ souui policy; and he
rt**e if *uccessKd, they would bo utterly suh
veraiveofthe fundamental principle of our pa'iti
cal syMem. resting as it does on a voluntary
association of free and independent States. I
ka*e been uniformly in favor of the ni<t ener
treasure* iu the prosecution of the war, be
*aar I believed them most likely to bring it to a
fkwa- Ia carrying our arms to the enemy’s cap
ital and occupying his territory, I can see noth
ing inconsistent with the principles of justice!
9* lhUsgiS id ct’ ilized States. Iu tue prose- 1
anti flu ofa war undertaken to procure a redress
afinjarw*. the territories or property of an enemy
b® seised for the express purpose cf compel
bag kioi to do ju>tici. More may be taken than
ew*titt -a fair indemnity tor actual in
‘juries, provided it badone with the intention of
rarfuriug the surplus when he ahail consent to
toaka peace •*y reasonable terms. It is in this
■pjrit, ami with this intention, that mv coi*per- i
Ivea g:T4 to the vigorous proftcu iou
•ftke war. Wc luve a right to insist on a fair
bound*tt; ve nnv exact iinleninity f-r injmi -sl
w* asay d-*u**n l ioJupiuilication for the expen
ara of the War. ii me please. But here all riglii
ecu*-*; and it u>iri; this is conceded, we have
MHO W our Mini-, we are Wound, on *-v-rv prin
s:pl •! the )aw and good coius iei.ix, to n.iuke
• restitution. It ia admitted an all hauds that
j Mexico is incapable of indeiawifying us in mo
il y. But she may do so-hy ceding to us top if
jloiy which is useless to her* which she has not
t -e ability to dvleiid, and which may he useful
!>o us. I have always been in favor of acquiring
j territory on jn-t terun-. The acquisition ol Cali
| lorn ia bus a ways appeared to me very desirable,
jon accuojit of its ports on the Pacific. I have
mot.>rmly voted lor acquiring it. when the pro
! jioshum has come before us. 1 believe, on the first
!occasion, I was in a minority often or eleven.
|My opinion is unchanged. Indeed, it is c n
j firmed by the tact, that (California has. by our
: military o|H'rutious, liccouic lorevei detached from
| Mexico, ii it were to be abandoned by us, it*
j forty thousand inhabitants would undoubtedly
i esiatdish an independent government for them-
I selves, and they wcuid mairtain it if undisturbed
by foreign interference. I take the actual condi
tion ot tilings as I find it, ami with an earnest de
sire to fulfil all the abligafions it devolvs on us
in a spirit oi justice toward* Mexico and towards
the people ol C.ilitrrriia.
I concur alsr> in what the honorable Scnatoi
j from Mouth, Carolina ha* said m relation to the
I influence ot war on our politic*] institutions.—
| No man cun dej lore it under any ciicumstances,
j more than myself. Independently of the evils
i which it always bring in. its train, there are con
siderations connect'd witn our political organ
! iz.ition and the nature of our social progress,
i which render it doubly pernicious iu its lendeti
! eies. The final success of the experiment wq
are making in free government may depviid, in
.some degree, on a steady mainter.rtneh of the
| s l ,ir, ‘ °* peace, in which our political system
hao its origin, and in wb,ch it has thus tar been
administered- Ore,*, as is our capacity for war
jour whole the.no of government is averse to it.
, I h e greatest possible economy in expenditure:
I the least possible patronage in the hands of the
1 Executive ; the smallest pecuniary exactions
: from the people, consistent with our absolute
| wants; the absence of all demundson the public
| treasury, which call for unusual contribution* of
; revenue or promote excessive disbursement; the
; exemption ot the country from alt exigencies
which devolve on tho legislative and executive
| departments ot the government the exercise ol
j extraordinary power*;—these are the conditions
j under which the ends of our political organiza
’ lion arc most likely to be fulfilled. Sir, none
j ol these conditions belong to a state of war. Ex
j travaganl disbursement; extraordinary contribu
tions ot revenue, present or prospective—pres
ent, in augmented burdens of taxation, prospec
tive, in the shape of loans and anticipations of
income, leading ultimately to taxation; extraor
dinary powers summarily, and sometimes arbita
rily exercised; —these are the insepaiuble com
panions of war; and they are inimical to the ve
ry genius of our social system.
There are considerations, which, in my judg
ment, rentier a war with Mexico peculiarly unlor
tunete, and which justify all the efforts we have
made to bring it to an amicable termination.—
We are mutually engaged in carrying out on
this continent the experiment of tree government
which in all other ages has proved abortive. We
are Hying it under eminently auspicious circum
stances. We have no strong Governments a
re.und us, founded upon antagonist principles,
and adverse in their example aru! influence to the
success of cure. We are sustained by the tac.
ulty of popular representation, which was un
known, or at least imperfectly known, to the free
states of antiquity, and by force of which we
have been enabled to carry out, on geographical
areas of indefinite extent, an organization which
had previously been deemed applicable only to
communities of limited population and territory.
It is natural, under tbpse circumstances, that the
friends of tree government, wherever they are to
be found, should turn to us as the last hope of
liberal institutions. They look to us for example
of moderation and forbearance in our intercourse
with foreign nationes specially those having terms
of government analogous to our own—and for an
exemption from the evil passions which have
embroiled the countries of the Old World and,
involved them, century after century, with brief
inlet missions, in wars of ambition anJ revenge.-
In asserting the superiority of our own form of
govermn-mt, the strength of the argument will be
weakened, if wc shall be found no more exempt
than those, which are less popular, from strife
and contention with .neighboring States. Re
garding the sucess of our institutions asaffecting
deeply the welfare of our ra-'-e, ami vindicating
the competency of mankind to self-government
I have always esteemed it peculiarly unfortunate
that any cause ofalienntionshould have existed of
sufficient magnitude to induce the two principal
republics of the western hemisphere to turn their
arms against each other. The cause of liberal
government is injured, and far more deeply in
jured, than it has been by tho dissension ot the
republics in the southern portion ot the Ameri
can continent.
These are considerations which it were well
for us alvvay-s to keep in view—in peace, that
wo may not rush hastily into war; in war, that
wc may spare no honorable effort for a restora
tion of peace.
There is yet another con-ideraticn of a kindred
character. While the monarchies of Europe
are at peace w ith each other, and social improve
ment is advai cing.on the continent at least, with
unparalleled rapidity,almost the only wars now
waging omong-neighboring States are between
u* and-Mexii o. and between some of the South
American republic*. I desire, as much as any
one can, to see these dtssi nlions composed and
to see these republican States resume the fulfil
ment of their g.cat mission among the nation* the
maintenance ol the principles of political liberty,
and the cultivation of the arts of civilization and
peace.
I these views I concur with the Senator from
South Carolina. But here I am constrained to
sepaiate from him. When we come to practical
measures, our path lie wide apart.
It is for the very reasons I have just stated,
that I cannot ass; lit to the polity he proposes. I
believe it calculated to prolong the war, not to
terminale it; to keep alive the sp rit of animosi
ty which divides us from Mexico, instead of res
toring the friendiy relations whi< h ought toex
ist between us. I am in favor, then, of standing
as we are. And, sir, if s’ e sh ill refuse to make
peace ; if we mus! cantitu e in the occupation of
her capital and three-f* ur.lis of her territory, it
may be in the o dir of Providence that we sh 1 1
through this very. nece>s ty, become ihe instru
ments of her p.rl-ticai and social regeneration.—
In the party conflicts which distracts her, the
means may be found of consolidating her gov
ernment on a republican basis, of healing her
dissensions, and of uniting her tons in bonds
oi friendship by an exercise of magnanimity and
forbearance in the final adjustment of our diffi
culties with her. I believe even now som.-thing
of the salutary influence of our presence in her
capital and principal sea-ports begins to be felt.
The abolition of trarst duties, the reduction of
the impost on foreign articles of necessity and
convenience, and a freer commerce among the
Mexican State ,may, if continued, strike a fatal
blow at the anti-commercial system by which
her people have been oppressed, and the inter
nal abmes by which her rulers have grown rich
—a system ofmal-administration not even equall
ed by that which exists in old The
higher improvement in government, in the arts,
and in civilization under all its forms, which dis
tinguishes our own peop.'rymay, by force ot ac
tual contact, be communicated to the Mexicans,
and lay the foundation c-f an improved social
order. Startling a* the reflection i*, it is nev
ertheless true, that civilization, and even ebris.
tianity, have some time® been propagated by
arms, where they vvou 1.1 otherwise have been
hope lessly excluded. ‘Thus, the very passion*
which seem fitted only to desolate human society
may, in the hands of Providence, Isecome ti e
agents of its advancement. Let us, then hope
i.nd trust that'the.contest in whirl we areongng
ged with a neighboring power deplorable as wc
all consider it, may be an instrument of social
ami political amelioration Ur our adversary.
The Senator Irom Bout!i Carolina has said, in
his emphatic langu .ee, that we are “tied to a
corpse.” It is a striking figure, Mr, President,
and partakes strongly of the boldness in which
the illustrations of that distinguished Senator rro
always conceived. Mexico is, indeed, prostrate
j —-ajmetit politically inanimate, if you please—
under the oppressions which have h*en heaped
upoiffcer. year after year, by unscrupulous rulers.
Bui I shift:ld be sorry to In iieve her beyond the
p.o.ver of resuscitation, even by human means, f
do nut expert, a* our cantact with her becomes
’ more ialjmafe, to tec Uei, lik® the dead body
touched by the bonea of the propbet, spring, at
n single bound, to life aud strength. But I
hope to sec her—possstbly through our inetru
mental.ty—freed from the despotic sway ui her
military tulers, and rising, by sure degrees, to
i the national importance i wih her to possess—
order aud tranquility first, next, social improve
ment anJ 4 stable government, and at last an hon
orable rank among the nations of the earth. I
contemplate no direct interference with her gov
ernment—no permanent system of protection to
be exercised over it—no alliance with her be
yond what may be necessary to secure to us the
objects of peace. Bui Ido contemplate a treaty
stipulating for commercial arrangements, lor pro
tection and security to our own citizeus in their
future in tcrcourse with her, and no withdrawal
of our ibrees without it, at least until all chance
of obtaining one shall prove hopeless. If we
were to retire now, alt commerce between her
and us would cease and be transferred to our
rivals, our frontier would be a line of war, not a
boundary between peaceful neighbors; and un
less Ihe tide of couqucst should be poured bar k
upon her under the provocations such a condi
tion ot our relations would almost necessarily
superinduce, no citizen 0 f the United States
could be expected, for years to come, to plan
-his foot on Mexican soil. War dissolves that
political and commercial relations of indejiend
ent States so far as they rest upon voluntary
a?rci;mont. It j$ only by a treaty of peace that
they can be revived, or new relations be substi
tuted for the old;
Mr. President, advocating a* I do the occupa
ton of Mexico until she shall consent to make
peace, it may te incumbent on me to state in
what manner I think i’ can best be maintained
—And here I amt say, I think the
estimates of the effective force in the field have
been greatly overstated. I propose no specific
plan lor adoption. I leave all practical measures
in the hands of those to whom they belong. I
only purpose to state what suggests itself to my
mind, as advisable. I think we should find it
most advantageous to remain much as we are,
excepting to occupy such ports on the Pacific
as our fleet may reduce and maintain as c m
mercial avenues to tire interior. It may. how
ever, become necessary to occupy San Luis Po
tosi and Zacatecas for the protection of the
mining operations in those Slates, and the agri
cultural districts near the city of Mexico, to
command supplies for the army. I should con
sider an army of twenty-five thousand well-dis
ciplined, effective nienftbe smallest number ad
equate to the purpose of maintaining positions
keeping oj>en communications, from the coast to
the iuterior and dispersing the enemy’s troops if
they shall he reeinbodied; but in order to keep
up such a lorce, we should require a nominal
organization of at lecst forty thousand men, with
full thirty thousand under pay. Without the
general staff,the twenty five regiments of regu
lars now in service, and the ten new regiments
proposed by the bill, will constitute sucb a force*
and when the latter shall be raised and brought
into the field, a portion of the volunteers may
be discharged, if it shall be found prudent to do
so. Many of the regiments are greatly reduced
in numbers, and, as I understand, are anxious
to return home. I doubt now’ wehther there are
more than twenty-five thousand effective men in
all Mexico, though the rolls show over forty
thousand. [General Cass, chairman of the
Committee on Miotary’ Affairs, here, said
the Adjutant General was of opiniuion that they
did not exceed twenty-four thousand.] Some
of the returns, on which the Adjiita.it General’s
report is founded, are of as early a date as Au
gust last. It will be recollected that last sum
mer, when there was great anexiety in relation
to General Scott, statements of the number of
his troops were pubbshed here. They were
founded on the returns in the Adjutant Gener
al’s offie —and in his official report of the bat
tles beiore the city of Mexico, General Scott
complained that his force had been greatly over
stated. He said it had been “trebled” in these
returns, if I recollect rightly, and that the army
had been “disgusted” by the exaggeration The
returns of the army now should, in like manner,
be subjected to great deductions in order to ob
tain the real effective force. If the ten regi
ments proposed by the bill are aulhoiized, months
will l-e required to raise them; they will not pro
bably, as the chairman of the Committee on Mil
itary Affairs has stated, give many more than sev
en thousand men, and in the mean time the ar
my will become constantly diminished bv the
casualties of service. For these reasons, anil for
those given—arid so ably given—some days since
by my honorable friend from Mississippi, [Mr.
Davis] I support the bill. I support it for anoth
er reason, which has governed me Irom the com
mencement of the war: to place at the control
of the Executive the men and means deemed
necessary to bring*it to an honorable termination.
As hostilities are now suspended, the chief
provence of the army will l>e to maintain inter
nal tranquility, support the civil authorities in
the execution of the laws, to free the country
from the robber arid guerrilla bauds by which it
is infested, and subserve the great purposes of
government,by affording security to liberty, pro
perty, and life—a security the Mexicans have
not often fully enjoyed. The very exercise of
these beneficent agencies will tend to disarm
hostility towards us with the thinking portion of
the population. It will place our aimies in a
most favorable contrast with hers, which have
been scourges rather than piotectors to their own
countrymen. I would, if possible, have no more
bloodshed. I would make our armies the pro
tectors, not the enemies of the Mexican people,
and render them subservient to the erode ation
of abuses and to the institution of a better civil
administration, under Mexican inagi-trates, ab
staining from all interference with the frame of
the government, and changing in its action on
ly what, by universal consent, requires to be
changed. If this course were to be adopted and
steadily pursued, I should earnestly hope its ef
fect would be, at no distant time, to make the
capita!, under our p-otection, the centre of an
influence which would lead to the re-establish
ment of the federative system on a durable basis,
arid givetothat distracted country the settled or
der which is alone necessary to make her happy
and prosperous.
To abandon the city of Mexico would, I fear
putan end to all thse prospects and hopes. That
city is the political us well as the financial centre
of the Republic. It is there governments have
been instituted and deposed, armies levied,-reve
nue systems devised and carried into execution.
So long as wo hold it and control the adjoining
districts. I believe nothing but imprudence or
mismanagement can raise up a formidable oppo
sition to us. If we abun lon it, ail the resources
of the country, which it commands, will again he
at the control id its rulers, to be employed against
us in the renewal of active hostilities. Before it
was captured, energetic movements seemed to me
our true policy. Now that it is in our undispu
ted possession, our leading oljoct should he to
introduce better commercial and financial sys
tems, and let them work out under our protection
their legitimate results.
Great qualities are necessary in him who is
charged with the execution of these delicate and
responsible junctions. He should have prudence
self-control, a knowledge of civil affairs, ot the
country,, of the people, and their character, and,
if possible, their language. Established institu
tions, existing usages, sometimes prejudices, even
must be respected. Some of the most disastrous
reverses which have befallen armies ol occupa
tion, have had their origin in violations of the
nrevailing customs and feelings of the people.—
To avoid this fatal error, everything depends on
the direction and wisdom of the directing author
ify.
It imv be, that all reasonable expectations
will he disappointed ; that the hostility of Mexico
will prove unappeasable; that she will prefer the
political disorganization, which now exist*, to an
amicable arrangement with ns. If so, circum
stances must dictate the course to be pursued
jvhen ibis conviction shall be forced on us. But
sir. let us not adopt such a conclusion hastily.—
Let us rely on the influence of more rational mo
tives to give us peace.
A nd now, sir, I submit whether this coarse had
not better be pursued for a while, if I am right
in uppnsjng ihe temporary occupation of Mex T-.
ico, under discreet officers, may lead to a stable*
peace, rather than to withdraw our forces, and
leave the adjustment of difficulties to the uncer
tain chance of a restoration of a re*pi>sible gov
ernment, to be terminated at last, perhaps, by the
renewed arbitrement of nfnm.
I Lav® thus stated with frankness the views I
‘entertain in respect to the future conduct of the
war. Notwithstanding the anxious consideration
I have given the subject, th y may be erroneous,
it is a question ut great difficulty, on which
differences of opinion may well exist, and on
j which a mistaken course of policy may lead to
the most unpleasant consequences. Whatever
faith t tnay entertain in the soundness ol the
opinions I have advanced. I certainly should have
‘more if they were not totally at variance with
those ot gentlemen possessing, from longer rape
| rience, much higher claims than myself to public
confidence. But I have not on this account
■ thought proper to withhold them, knowing, as
|we doj that, from the very contrariety and con
flict of thought and conviction, valuable deduc
tions may sometimes lie drawn.
Mr. President, L feel that l have already tres
passed too lung ou the indulgence of the Senate;
hot I urn uhwtiiing so close without asking its
attention for a very few moments to some con
siderations connected with our future growth and
progress, and with the influence we must, in spite
of ouiselvcs, exert over the destinies of Mexico.
They are no new opinions: they have been ex
pressed years ago, both in public and privtae.
Sir, no one who has paid a mod rate degree
of attention to the laws and elements of our in
crease, can doubt that population is destined
to spread itself across the American continent,
filling up with more or less completeness, accor
ding to attractions ot soil aud climate, the space
that intervene? between the Atlantic and Pacific
ocean*. This eventual, aud, perhaps, in the order
of time, this not very distant extension of our
settlements over a tract of country, with a diam
eter, as we go westward, greatly dispropoitioned
to it* length, becomes a subject ot the highest in
terest to us. Un tho whole extent.of. our north
ern flank, from New Brunswick to the point where
ihe northern boundary of Oregon touches the Pa
cific, we are in contact with British colonists,
h iving, for the most part, the same common pri- ,
gin with ourselves, but controlled and moulded j
by political influences from the Eastern hemis- i
piiere, if not adverse, certainly not decidedly .
friendly to us. The strongest tie which can he ,
relied on to bind us to mutual offices of friend
ship aud good neighborhood, is that of commerce; I
and this, as we know, is apt to run into rivalry, .
and sometimes becomes a fruitful source of alter- |
ation.
From our northern boundary, wo turn to our j
southern. What races are to border on us here, j
what is to be their social and political character, j
aud what their mean* of” annoyance! Are cur ;
two frontiers, only seven parallels of latitude apart |
when we pass Texas, to be flunked by settle- j
ments having no common bond of union with j
ours ! Our whole soutnern line is conterminous,!
throughout its whole extent, with the territories
of Mexico, a large pertioa of which is nearly un
populated. The geographical area ot Mexico is
about 1,500,000 square miles, and her popula
tion about 7.000.00 U souls. The whole northern
and central portion, taking the twenty sixth par
allel of iatitude as the dividing line, containing
more -than 1,000,000 square miles, has about
050,000 inhabitants—about two inhabitants to
three square miles. The southern po'tion, with
less than 500,000 square miles, has a population
of nearly six and a half millions of sou!*, or th r
teen inhabitants.to one square mile. The abor
iginal races, which occupy and overrun a portion
of California and New Mex'co, must there, as
everywhere else, give way before the advancing
wave of civilization, either to be overwhelmed by
it, or to be driven upon perpetually contracting
ureas, where, from a dimunition of their accus
tomed sources of subsistence, they must ultimate
iy become extinct by force of art invincible law.
We see the operation of this law in every portion
of ibis continent. W 7 e have no power to control
it, if we would. It iy the behest of Providence that
idleness, and ignorance, and barbarism, shall give
place to indu.-try, and knowledge, and civilization.
The European and mixed races, which possess
Mexico, are not likely, either from moral or phy
sical energy, to become formidable rivals or ene
mies. The bold and courageous enterprise which
overran and conquered Mexico, appears not to
have descended to the present possessors of the
soil. Either from the influence ot climate or the
admixture of races—tho fusion ol castes, to use
the technical phrase—the conquerors have, in turn
become the conquered. The ancient Castilian
energy is, in a great degree, subdued; and it has
given place, with many other noble tiaits of the
Spanish character, to a peculiarity which seems
to have marked the race in that country, under
whatever combinations it is found—a proneness
to civil discord, and a suicidal waste of it* own
strength.
With such a territory and such a people on our
southern border, whet is to be the inevitable course
of empire? It needs no powers of prophecy to
foretell Sir I desire to speak plainly: why should
we not, when we are discussing the operation of
moral and physical laws, which are beyond our
control? As our population moves westward on
our own territory, portions will cross our south
ern uoundary. Settlements will be formed within
the unoccupied and sparsely-peopled territory ot
Mexico. Uncongenial habits and tastes, differ
ences of political opinion and principle, and num
berless other demerits of diversity will lead to a
separation of these new-formed societies from the
inefficient government of Mexico. They will not
endure lobe held in subjection to a system, which
neither yields the in protection nor oilers any in
centive to ttieir proper development and growth.
They will form independent Sfates on the ba/is
of constitutions indentiial in ail their leading fea
tures with our own; and tliey will nature ly seek
to unite their fortunes to ours. The late of Cal
ifornia is already sealed ; it can never be renui
ted to Mexico. The operation of the great cau
ses, to which I hav. alluded, must, at no distant
day, detach the whole of northern Mexico from
the southern portion of that republic. It is for ;
the very reason that she is-incapable of defending
her possessions against the elements of disorder
within and the progress of hotter influences from
without, that I desire to see the inevitable politi
cal change which is to be wrought in the condi
tion of her northern departments, brought about
without any improper interference on our part.
Ido not speak of our military movements. I re
fer to the time when our difficulties with her shall
be healed, and win n she shall be left to the op
eration of pacific influences—silent, but moie
poweiful than the aim of force. For the reason
that she is defenceless, if for no other, I should he
opposed to all schemes of conquest. Acquisition
by force is the vice ofarbitrary governments. I
desire never to see it the reproach of ours. For
the sake, of the’ national honor, as well as the
permanency of our political institutions, I desire
nut to see it. ‘The extension of free government
on this continent can only he arrested, if arrested
u t all, by substituting war for the arts of peace.
Leave it to itseli, and nothing can prevent the
progress of our population across the continent.
Mr. Jefferson, with his prophetic forecast, fore
told this result forty years ago. He prophesied
the peaceful progress of our people to the Pacif
ic. He foresaw them forming new settlements,
and, when strong enough to maintain themselves,
organizing in dependent societies and governing
themselves by constitutions and laws analogous to
our own. It is true he believed the area of free
dom might be enlarged, advantageously to our
srlves and others, without extending to the same
bread limits the area of our jurisdiction. It was
the progress and the triumph of great principles
of politic :I right, to which his philosophical mind
instinctively turned as to the legitimate aim and
boundary of our ambition and desires. Since
his day the public mind in this country has greatly
outrun his anticipations of our progres. It look*
to the extension of our Constitution and laws over
regions which were formerly beyond our reach
as integral portions of the same system ot govern
ment. Modern improvements have given great
strength to this prevailing sentiment. It i* possi
ble by steam if we can succeed in making
ifie projjer application of it, over so broad a sur
face, to reach the Pacific ocean from Lake Mich
igan, or the Mississippi, in eight or nine days—
a peried of time less than that which W3S requir
ed to travel from Boston to Philadelphia, when
the Congress of the American colonies first as
sembled in the latter city. Under these circum
stance*, the extension of our political boundary
so as to embrace all territory wa may justly call
our own, seems no longer in he considered a ques
ionabie policy. Ifotfjerdistrict®, not now within
the territories of the Union, shall found indepen
dent goverpmen's. an d shall desire to unite them
selves to us on terms mutually acceptable, it is
Ia question which enn.-err? only them and us, and
t in which r.s tranjer fan hr permitted so intrude.
i When the time cornea fir the settlement of any
tAioli questions, they will doubtless be considered
with all the solemnity which belongs to proposi
tions involving the public wellare. To those with
with whom the decision belongs let us leave them
with the assurance that the wisdom which'lias
governed and guided us so long, will still point
out to us the path of liberty, tranquility and safe
ty.
One position we have assumed, and I trust
it will be maintained with inflexible firmness
-—that no Power beyond this continent be
permitted to interfe-e with our progress, se
lling as there is on our part no violation of its
own tights. I would resist, at the outset, as
matter ol the gravest offence, all indications ol
such interfereme. If the ebstiaet right could he
‘asserted on grounds of international law. there
bar been nothing in the nature of our extension,
or the means by which it has been accomplished,
to warrant its application to us. From the for
mation of our Government, for ne.rly three-quar
ters of a century, military power—brute force—
had had no agency in the conquests we have
achieved. We have overrun no piovinces oc
countries abounding in wealth. Our capital has
witnessed no triumphal entries of returning ar
mies, hearing with them the spoils and trophies
of conquest.. t)ur ships have not been seen re
turning from subjugated districts, freighted with
the tributes ol an extended commerce. In the
extension of our commercial intercourse, we have
not, line our Anglo-Saxon mother, been seen
; hewing down with the sword, with unrelenting
: and remorseless determination, every obstacle
j which opposed itself to her progress. Our career
thus far has been stained by no such compan
ionship with evil. Our conquests have been the
I peaceful achievements of en erpri-e and industry
;—the one leading the way into the wilderness,
the other following and completing the aequisi-
I tion by the formal symbols of occupancy and pos
’ session. They have looked to no objects beyond
I the conversion of uninhabited wilds into abodes
jot civilization and freedom. Their only arms
i were the and the ploughshare. The accumula
! lions of wealth they have brought were all ex
• traded from the bosom of the earth by the unof
fending hand of labor. If, in the progress of our
! people westward, they shall occupy territories not
i our own, but to become ours by amicable arrange
; merits with the governments to which they he
! long, which of the nations of the earth shall ven
j ture to stand forth, in the face of the civilized
j world, and call on us to pause in this great work
jof human improvement 1 It is as much the in
; iciest of Europe as it is ours, that we should be
j permitted to follow undisturbed the path which,
; in tire allotment of national fortunes, we seem
| appointed to tread. Our country has long been
j a refuge for those who desire a lager liberty than
they'enjoy under their own rulers. It is an out
let for the political disaffection of the Old World
—for social elements which might there have
become sources of agitation, but which are here
silently and tianqutlly incorporated into our sys
tem, ceasing to be principles of disturbance as
they attain the greater freedom, which was the
object of (heir separation from less congenial com
binations in other quarters of the globe. Nay,
more; it is into the vast reservior of the western
wilderness.teeming with fruitfulness and fertility,
that Europe is constantly pouring, under our
protection, her huinnn eurplusses, unable to draw
from her own bosom the elements of their support
and reproduction. She is literally going along
with us in our march to prosperity and power,
to share with us its triumphs and its fruits.—
Happily, this continent is not a legitimate theatre
for the political arrangements of the sovereigns of
the eastern hemisphere. Their armies may
range, undisturbed by us, over the plains of Eu
rope, Asia, and Africa, dethroning monarch, par
titioning kingdoms, and subverting republics, at
interest or caprice may dictate. But (oliticai
justice demands that in one quarter of the globe
self-government, freedom, the arts of peace, shall
be permitted to work out. unmolested, the great
purposes of human civilization.
Mr. President, I trust there will ho nothing in
the final adjustment of our difficulties with Mex
ico to impair, in any degree, the moral of our
example in the past. Our course, heretofo ,
has been one of perpetual exertion to bring about
an amicable arra gement with her. I trust we
shall persevere in the same course of conduct,
whatever unwillingness she may exhibit lo come
to terms. Entertaining theopinions which I have
expressed, I naturally feel a deep soiicitutje, as
an American citizen, that our public conduct
should comport with the dignity of the part we
seem detirted to perform in the great drama of
international politics. I desire to see our good
name unsullied, and the character we have gain
ed for moderation, justice, and scrupulousness in
the discharge of our national obligations, main
tained unimpaited. In these, let us be assured
our great stiength consists: for it is these which
makes us strong in the opinion of mankind.
In what I have said concerning the progress
of our people over the unpopulated regions west
of us, and in respect to our responsibilities as a
nation, 1 trust I shall have incurred no imputation
of inconsistency. On the contrary, I trust I shall
l>e considered consistent in all I have paid. I re
gard our extension, as I have endeavored to fore
shadow it, to he the inevitable result of causes
the operation of which it is not in our power to
arrest. At the same time, I hold it to'be our sa
cred duly to see that it is not encouraged or pro
moted by improper rnpans. While I should con
sider it the part of weakness to shrink from ex
tension, under the apprehension that it might
bring with it the elements of discord and disunion
us our political boundaries are enlarged, I should
hold it to be the part of folly ami dishonor to at
tempt to accelerate it by agencies incompatible
with our obligations to other nations. It is the
dictate of wisdom and of duty to submit ourselves
to ihe operation of the great causes which are
i at work, and which will wo k on in spite of us.
in carrying civilization and freedom across the
American continent.
In advocating a continued occupation of the
cities and territory we have acquired in Mexico
until she shall assent to reasonable terms of peace
I trust also that I shall be deemed consistent with
myself. Depiecating war a3 the greatest of ea
lamnities, especially for us, I desire to see this
war brought to a close at the earliest practicable
day. lam in favor of whatever measures are
most likely to accoinplist/this desirable end. I
am opposed to an abandonment of our position:
Ist. Because I believe it would open a field of
domestic dissentioii in Mexico, which might be
fatal to her existence as an independent state,
or make her take refuge in the arms of despotism;
2d Because it might lead to external interfer
ence in her affairs of the most dangerous tendency
both to her and us; and
3d. Because I fear that we should only gain a
temporary suspension of hostilities, to be renewed
under great disadvantages to us, and with every
prospect of a longer and more sanguinary con
test.
Mr. President, it is this last consideration,
which weighs most heavily upon my own mind.
I hold it to he indispensable to the public we lln r*
under all its aspects, that we should have, at the
termination of this contest, a solid and stabb
peace. Unpromising as the condition of tilings
seems at the present moment, my hope still is.
that firmness tempered with prudence, will give
us, not a mere outward pacification with secret
irritation rankling within, hut substanciai concord
and friendship, which shall leave no wound un
healed. And, sir, we should be satisfied with
nothing short of an accommodation ot differen
ces which will enable the country with confidence
to lav aside its armor, and to resume the peace
ful pursuits to which, by the inexorable law of
our condition, we must look for prosjierity and
safety.
My advice, then, (if I may presume to advise.)
is, to stand firm, holding outselves ready at all
times lo make a peace, and carrying into our
negotiations for that purpose a determination to
cement a future good understanding with our
adversary, by an adjustment of our differences on
terms of justice, moderation, and magaanimi
ly-
The following toast wasgivenby Henry Clay,
in Washington, on the 25th January, 1814, at a
public dinner, given to Com. Petry :
By Henry Clay, of Kentucky. —The policy
looks to peace as the end of war, and to war as
the means of peace,
A towel dipped in hot water, and applied to
i the part affected, will, it i* said, afford an cf-
I fective and immediate relief to the painful eon
, traction of the muscle* ceiled #ramj.
COLUMBUS, GA.
TUESDAyTmARCH’t, |*H€k
dj* The Editor has been absent this week.
“The Muscogee Democrat says that the City
Council ot Gpiumbus has again authorized the
Mayor to subscribe $ 150,G00 to the Muscogee
Rail-Road, ‘This Road will cost with its depots
and furniture more than onemillion of Dollars. —
Where is the moaey to come from t
We copy the above from the Savannah Re
publican. It has paid but little attention to pass
ing events in Western Georgia, if at this late
day, it supposes that the $150,000 subscribed by
the city of Columbus, is our only resource for
building our Kail-Road to Barnesville. But we
feel at liberty to take it for granted, that the Re
publican is not so uninformed on the subject as
it assumes to be ; and that the remark was dic
tated by that spirit of egotism and self-love, so
prevalent in Savannah—a spirit which cannot
pardon the impudence of Columbus in refusing
to consult the interest of Savannah* before look
ing to her own—in refusing to go (unaided by
either Savannah or Macon) directly to the latter
place, abandoning a connection with Barnesville,
and the up-country.
Now let us ask the Republican “ where, O!
wtiKHt.! is the money to come from”? to build the
South-Western Rail Road. A road that will
cost six times as much as ours. And whkuk,
O,! WHsiti! will the lamentations of its country
subscribers end ? Those lamentations will be
longer, and perhaps last looser than the South-
Western Rail Road. Savannah is to he benefit
ed by the operation ; arid so will be the planters
near it; but the stockholders—the country stock
holders, whose patriotism and zeal have been so
warmed up by the patriotic, eloquent and sub
scribing speeches of Col. DeGrafi’ nried and oth
ers—they will stiff r the ‘-slings and arrows
of outrageous fortune.” Their money and not
the money ol Savannah and Macon, will he ex
pended iii completing the road far enough to
carry the cotton trade of the South-Western
portion of the State to Savannah, and where,
O I where! is the balance of the money to come
frvm ” ? Not from Macon ; she can have no
heart in the matter, for the South-Western Road
will become an artery through which Savannah
will bleed her to death.
True, the Central Rail-Road will after $500,-
000 have been expended by the aforesaid stock
holders, subscribe $250,000 in the stock of her
own road, now worth, as we are informed, fifty
cents in the dollar / a beautiful operation —and
by which in effect the South-Western Road
will throw away $125,000 to get the Central
Road to subscribe $250,000 !!! Here the pro
ject will stop. Savannah wi I have accomplish
ed her object; the country stockholders will ha*e
become sick and disgusted, and their stock will
be wortli about thirty cents in the dollar. Be
fore the road can be completed to Fort Gaines,
many of them will have gone to “ where the
wicked cease from troubling and the weary are
at r st,” and the remainder to where the wicked
never cease from troubling and the weary arc
never at rust. We have used the term “coun
try stockholders,” because they are the sheep
who are to furnish the fleece when the great
shearing ( sharing ) shall come off.
The “Macon Tdegtaph” has been lately
quoted, with an audible smacking of the lips,
by some of the Whig journals on the subject ol
the “ land acquiring” doctrines of Senator
Houston. The Savannah “ Republican” finds
it “really refreshing” to find such sentiments in
a “ strong party journal.”
But, does the “ Republican” give any credit
to the party to which this “ strong party jour
nal” belongs, for the candor of its confessions?
Far from it. It makes use of the stick put into
its hands by the “ strong (Democratic) journal,”
to whack its own friends over the head. Now
our doctrine is never lo throw “ Pearls before
swine”—never to aid the Whig press in making
points against Democratic men and measures,
being fully assured that their ingenuity and ven
om are fully equal to the task of doing full jus
tice to the subject. Such magnanimity as our
Macon friend and cotempora y exhibits, is just
about as ijl-timcd and ill-placed, and as complete
ly thrown away on Whig sensibilities as Amer
ican magnanimity has been on ths Mexicans.—
And we should think that the use the Whig pa
pers are making of the “Telegraphic Despatch,’
as the “ Republican” calls it, would convince
our Macou cotemporary that we are right in this
view.
We have called to see Messrs. Ta'box&Mar
ble, at their new Book Store, next door below
Slruppers, on the East side of Broad street, and
below St. Clair Street. They have really a fine
assortment of Books, suited to all tastes, ail class
es and at ail prices.
Ft ATTF.niNG. — El Noticioso de Tampico, of
the 19th February, contains the following inter
esting intelligence :
Messrs. Clay, Calhoun, Botts, Webster, Galla
tin, Van Dick, (?) 4-c. —These illustrious defen
ders of the cause of Mexico have justly acquired
for themselves the gratitude of good Mexicans.
At a general meeting of the Philanthropic Soci
ety of Mexico, held on the 2dth ult., it was re
solved to send them a communication manifest
ing the gratitude of the meeting, and naming
them honorary members of the Society, whatev
er may be the political circumstances in which
the United States and Mexico may find them
selves. For ourselves we render the homage of
thankfulness to these magnanimous and gener
ous men who speak in behalf of our country
in the very land where troops are collected to
make war upon it. Eternal praise to the defen
ders of the cause of justice and civilization.
Who Mr. “ Van Dick ” is, we do not know,
but the “ Philanthropic Society of Mexico” has
greatly sinnpd against the virtue of gratitude
not to have included Senor Don Tomas Corwin,
el arriero, of Ohio, in their manifestation* of af
fection, and honorary appointments.
With what grac** can it be denied that W hig
statesmen have given “aid and comfort’ to
the enemy, when that enemy thus pu licly ac
knowledges it, and confers honorary degrees in
return for it]
The i,SD Wf-bster Ticket. —
The Boston Courier thus refers to Col. Webb’s
nomination of Darnel Welaster lor Vice Presi
dent on the same ticket with Gen. Taylor for
President:
“ The Presidency. —The public generally are
aware of the attempt made by some of the New
York politicians to make a President of General
’lavlor, and toeonfer'on Daniel Webster the
honor of the Vice Presinency. Ridiculous and
contemptible as this project may seem, we be
lieve it is seriously entertained by some who have
great influence in the ranks of the whig*. ‘lt is
not in man that walketh to direct his steps, but
we trust we shall never be so thoroughly deser
ted by all good influences, as to suppart General
for President: but If such degradation
I should fall to our lot, we pray to Heaven that
| we may not be lost in that lower deep of deg D .
I eracy. that wouldi require us to support Dani*)
| Webster for an office so much beneath his
! ceptauce.” ‘ v
Pitux ASB Thu*.—The following pointy
correspondence is worthy ot the consideration )f
all newspaper publisher* and reader* ;
Interesting Correspondence.
- Clinton, Lenawee Co.,}
Mich. Feb. 4, 1848. 5
H. Qreely , Esq. —Please send me the Ns*
York Daily Tribune, and I will pay you at th
end ol the year. By so. doing, you. will promote
the Whig cause in this section of country, and
oblige, your*, dec.,
HENRY W. STEVENS,
[Reply.]
Nkw York, Feb. 15,1848..
H. W. Stevens, Esq.—Dear Sir: Your* of tba
4th has just reached me, and your request has
been duly considered. I beg leave to say in an-,
•wer that I cannot doasyou wish under existing
circumstances, for the lollowing reasons: let, J
can’t remember that l ever had the honor of
knowing you; Sdly. The fact that you did not
pay the postage ol your ‘ fetter, is not calculated
to impress me favorably as regards your pecuni*
ary reliability ; and 3rdly. I published newspa*
pers seven years on credit with lots of subserL
bers, and caine near starving to death thereby,
For the last seven years I have gone on the op
posite tack, sending my paper very rarely to any
one who had not paid lor it in advance; and (
think it will gladden your philanthropic heart to.
know that the change has worked admirably far
my constitution. 1 have since had not only %
goodly array of subscribers, hut enough to eat, *
good suit of clothes, and very often some changa
in my vest pocket. Wishing you a share of tba
same blessings, I remain, yours truly,
HORACE GREELY,
P. S.— l should like well to do anything fairly
within rav power to ‘promote the Whig rause*
in Michigan, where there really seems lobe Bead
of some effort in that direction. If, therefore, a
dozen Whig* of your town will write me, tba)
sending the Tribune to any named address wff|
have the effect you intimate, I w II give tba pa*
per gladly ; but as to sending it on credit to a
stranger, i would most respectfully ask to be eg*
cused. Disliking to tax any one with postage
unless he has requested it, I send you this in th#
Tribune, and postpaid. Adieu? a.
Correspondence of the Times,
Nkw Orleans, March 3,1848 k
There is nothing now here to interest yott*
readers, for since my last there has baea na
change of fever reports, or amusement*. The
first is decided to be non-epidemic, and. precau
tions are taken to prevent the arrival of boat at
passenger under its dread influence.
The glorious 22d was like life, nbthing bob
clouds and sunshine, April tears and sudden
smiles. At one moment the heat was unbear*,
ble—.the next,* cloud went sailing over tb* skj,
bringing with it a gust of wind that snatched
the dust up from the streets and sent it flying into
every body’s eyes and powdering everj body’s
faces. There was not much excitement in uy
humble opinion, though I did hear something of
“ universal preparations” having been made for
the occasion. It was a peaceful quiet day to
those within doors, independent, of count, of
the eternal rumbling, crashiug, and rattling that
presides day and night in all the larger streets of
New Orleans.
The same attractions are offered at the Thea
tres and Concert Rooms. Th* Viennoiae.Bia’ e
op Troupe, Forrest, &c., &c., are drawing full
houses. To-night there is a repetition of “Lin
da de Chamoutji,” at the St. Charles, whil*
Forrest is still bidding farewell in the Tragedy
of “ Metarnora. Gen. Tom Thumb has returned
with new laurels Irom the island of Pine Apples,
and has consequently more “ magnificent pres
ents” from his Spanish admirers, to add to the
value of his collection from all the crowned head*
in Europe.
To me the great amusement is walking pt)
the shop windows in which thousands lie, in
the shape ofcachemercs, embroidered crapes, now
so fashionable, and bijouterie, 1q tempt th* su *
teited with new longing*. The skill displayed
in the arrangement of these platerglass shows,
is decidedly an accomplishment, and you ar*
often startled at sight of some stuffed bridal at
tire stepping oqt of the greatest profusion of
ribbons, laces, and pelerines, or a waxen figur*
turning on its pedestra! with a gay ballgostipn*
that evinces the veritable gout Parigien, I lovo
to study the physiognomies of those who peer into
these tempting windows, and can read a tgle of
failing papas and stingy husbands; well filled
purses, whose strings slipped asiu,
bright eyes gleaming over the splendid emplette*
of the hour, and red lips parted into snril** of
satisfaction and anticipated triumphs, But ths
j reverse of the picture ! How many pal* sad
faces turn towards the sam# objects; how m*ny
hidden tears flow at the thought of the many
comforts one single pearl fan’s price would bqy
for them and theirs] How many a heart sighs
at the sight of so much luxury abroad, and star
vation at home] How many a poor young
creature returns to look with disgust upon her
simple toilette with the recollection ol the bright
things she has passed on her way through tha
crowded streets of this gay city.
But I am getting sentimental, and must beg
your indulgence. Should new lions “come fra*
the town,” I will show them off in my next, and
leave moralising to those who will, I trust, be
more chary of it, than your present correspon
dent. Vale. H.
[communicated.]
THE SOUTHERN Q.UARTERU.Y RE*
VIEW.
The object of this communication, Mr. Editor,
is not to offer any criticism upon the matter, sty If,
or literary taste displayed by the “Southern Quar.
terly Review,” buttogain some information with
regard to its political bearing. Can you inform
me, sir, if it is openly or secretly devoted to the
predominance of either of the two great parties
of the Union, or does it glory in the paradoxical
cognomen of the “no party party”! lam led
to ask this question from the character of several
of the articles which appear in the January
number. The tone of these articles in point,
has caused me great surprise, for I had suppossd
the “Southern Quarterly” devoted entirely to
raising the standard of Southern and American
Literature, and averse to admitting to its page*
the discussion of such subjects as are connected
with politics and politicians.
If in this opinion, I together with many oth
ers have been mistaken, it is time the delusion
should he removed. It is time the Democratic
party should have their eyes open to the fact
that this journal, while its professions are high
and disinterested, is circulating its poisonous po
litical doctrines under the specious garb of ad
vancing literature. The objectionable portions
of these articles are mostly in reference to ths
Mexican war, upon which party lines are clearly
and distinctly drawn, the Democratic party hoi
ing that we are right, that the war exists by 1 •
act of Mexico, and has been constitutions
commenced and carried on by ear Government.
whil# th# Whf p*m- contend that *e