Indiana State sentinel. [volume], March 11, 1847, Image 2

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fpccch of 31 lien to tr
In tie U. S. Senate, lb. 24, on the Annexation of
Texas and the causes cf F i Mexican War.
Mr. BENTON said :
Mr. President: The senator from South Carolina
Mr. Calhoun has boldly tnade tJie ieue as tu the
authorship of this war, and aa boldly thrown the
blame of it upon the present administration. On the
contrary, I believe himself to be the author of it,
and will gire a part of my reasons for believing eo.
In saying this, 1 du not consider the march tu the
Rio Grande tu hare been the cause of the war, any
more than I consider the British march upon Concord
and Lexington to have been the cause of the Ameri
can revolution, or the crossing of the Rubicon by
Cawar to Lave been the cause of the civil war in
Rome. ' In all these cases, I consider the cauaea of
war as preexisting, and the marches as only the ef
fect of these caue. I consider the march upon the
Rio Grande as being unfortunate, and certainly should
have advUed against it if I had been consulted, and
that without the least fear of diminishing my influ
ence in the settlement of the Oregon question. My
opiuion of Mr. Tola and experience in that very
Oregon case has confirmed it did not authorize me
to conjecture that any one would lose influence with
him by giving him honest opinions; so I would hare
advised against the march to the Rio Grande if I had
been consulted. Nor da I see how any opinion ad
verse to the President's was to have the effect of les
sening his influence in the settlement of the Oregon
question. That question was settled by us, not by
the President. Half the Democratic senators went
contrary to the President's opinion, and none of them
lost influence with him on that account; and so I can
see no possible connexion between the facts of the case
and the senator's reason for' not interfering to save
Lis country from the war which," he Bays, he saw.
His reason is to me unintelligible, incomprehensible,
unconnectable with the facts of the case. But the
march on the Rio Grunde was not the cause of the
war; but the cause of this event, like the causes of
our own revolutionary war, were in progress lungbe
ore hostilities broke out. The causes of this Mexi
can irtr were long anterior to tins march ; and, in
fact, every circumstance of war then existed, except
the actual collision of arms. Diplomatic intercourse
had ceased : commerce was destroyed : fleets aiid ar
mies confronted each other: treaties were declared to
be broken: the contingency had occurred in which
Mexico had denounced the existence of war : the in
corporation of Texas, with a Mexican war on her
hands, had produced, in legal contemplation,' the sta
tus belli between the two countries: and all this had
occurred before the march upon the Rio Grande, and
before the commencement of this administration, and
had produced a state of things which it was impossi
ble to continue, and which could only receive their
solution from arms or negotiation. The march to the
Rio Grande brought on the collision of arms ; but, so
far from being the cause of the war, it was itself the
effect of these causes. The senator from South Car
olina is the author of those causes, and therefore the
author of the war; and this I propose to show, at
present, by evidence drawn from himself from Iiis
public official acts leaving all the evidence derived
from other sources, from private and unofficial acts,
lor future production, if deemed necessary.
The senator from South Carolina, in his effort to
throw the blame of the war upon the President, goes
no further back in his search for causes than to this
march upon the Rio Grande : upon the same principle,
if he wrote a history of the American revolution, he
would begin at the inarch upon Lexington and Con
cord, leaving out of view the ten years work of Lord
North's administration. No, the march upon the Rio
Grande was not the cause of the war: had it not
been for pre-existing causes, the arrival of the Ameri
can army on the Mexican frontier would have been
nluled with military courtesy, according to the usage
of all civilized nations, and with none so much as
with the Spaniard. Complimentary visits, dinners,
and fandangoes, balls not cannon halls would have
lp- th-ft K tut f irtn ThA -m. f flu- iitq r mrA lrn rr
anterior; and I begin with the beginning, and show
the senator from South Carolina an actor Irom the
first. In doing this, I am acting in defence of the
country, for the President represents the country.
The senator from South Carolina charges the war
upon the President: the whole opposition follow him:
tne bill under discussion is forgotten: crimination of
the President is now the object ; and, in that crimi
nation, the country is injured by being made to appear
the aggressor in the war. This is my justification
lor defending the President, and showing the truth
that the Senator, in his manner of acquiring Texas,
is the true cause ot the war.
The cession of Texas k Spain in 1319 is the begin
ning point in the chain of causes which have led to
this war; for unless the country had been ceded away
there could have been no quarrel with any power in
getting it back. For a long time the negotiator- of
that treaty ot cession (Mr. J. Q. Adams) bore all the
blame of the loss of Texas; and his motives lor civ
ing it away were set down to hostility to the south
and west, and a desire to clip the wings of the slave-
holding Mates. At last the truth of history has vm
dicated itself, and has shown who was the true author
of that mischief to ihe south and west. Mr. Adams
has made a public declaration, which no one contro
verts, that that cession was made in conformity to
the decision of Mr. Monroe's cabinet, a majority of
wincii was siavenoiuing, and among them the present
senator Irom South Carolina, and now the only eurvi
vor of that majority- lie dots not contradict the
statement of Mr. Adams: he, therefore, stands ad
mitted the co-author of that mischief to the south and
west which the cession of Texas involved, and to es
cape from which it became necessary, in the opinion
or the Senator from Sooth Carolina, tn trpt hark lex
as at the expense of war with Mexico. This conduct
ci me senator mvintr awav lexas when we nad
her, and then making war to get her back, is an
enigma wh.oh he has never yet condescended to ex
plain, and which, until explained, leaves Lira in a
stale of self-contradiction, which, whether it impairs
Jus owb confidence in himself or not, must have the
. eiTect of destroying the confidence of others in him,
and wholly disqualifies him for the office of champion
of the slavcholding States. It was the heaviest blow
they had ever received, and put an end, in conjunction
with the Missouri compromise, and the permanent lo
cation of the Indians west of the Mississippi, to their
future growth or extension as slave States. The
compromise, which was then in full progress, and es
tablished at the next session of Congress, cut off the
slave States from all territory north and we6t of Mis
souri, and south of 'Mi degrees of north latitude: the
treaty of 1919 ceded nearly all south of that degree,
comprehending not only all Texas, but a large part of
the valley of the Mississippi on the Red river and
the Arkansas, to a foreign power, and brought a nou-tlavcho-ding
empire to the confines of Louisiana and
Arkansas: the permanent appropriation of the rest
of the territory for the abode of civilized Indians
swept the little slavcholding territory west of Arkan
sas, and lying between the compromise line and the
cession line; and left the slave States without one
inch of ground for their future growth. Nothing was
left. Even the then territory of Arkansas was en
croached upon. A breadth of forty miles wide, and
three hundred long, was cut off from her, and given to
the Cherokees ; and there was not as much slave ter
ritory left west of the Mississippi as a dove could have
rested the sole of her foot upon. It was not merely
a curtailment, but a total extinction of slavcholding
territory ; and done at a time when the Missouri con
troversy was raging, and every effort made by northern
abolitionists to stop the growth of slave States. The
senator from South Carolina, in his support of the
cession of Texas, and ceding a part of the valley of
the Mississippi, was then the most efficient ally of the
restrictioiiists at that time, and deprives him of the
right of setting up as the champion of the slave States
cow. I denounced the sacrifice or lexas then, he
. Leving Mr. Adams to have been the author of it: I
denounce it now, knowing the senator from South
Carolina to be its author : and for this his flue rant
recreancy to the slave interest in their hour of utmost
- peril I hold him disqualified for the office of cham
pion of the fourteen slave States, and shall certainly
require Hm ta keep out of Missouri, and to confine
bimseu to bis own, bailiwick
.i , .
I com now lo me a.rect proois or me senator s
a&thor?bip of the war; and begin with the year 193G,
and with the month of May of that year, and with
the 27th day of that month, and with the first rumors
f the victory of San Jacinto. The Congress of the
Uoited States was then in session : the senator from
... Smooth uroJina. was men a member or this body; and,
without even waiting fir the official confirmation of
that great event, he proposed at once the immediate
Mr. Calhorn, in a lata 6 bat, gaT thcas consideration
. as an apology for bis ecvrie, or inactivity, la reUriot.ti.Trx
u tTh, caring the hit tessioa ef Conjrt . Xrfi. SentmeL
recognition of the independence of Texas, and her J
immediate admission into this Union. He put the .
two propositions together recognition and admission: !
and allowed us no further time for the double vote ;
than the few days which were to intervene before the!
official intelligence of the victory should arrive. Here
are some extracts from his speech on that occasion,
and which verify what I say, and show that he was
then ready to plunge the country into the Texan
war with Mexico, without the slightest regard to its
treaties, its commerce, its duties, or its character :
M Mr. Calhoun was of opinion that it would add more
strength to the csu.e of Tun to wiit a Tew days until they
ireeivrd official cunfittnatioo of I ha victory and ciptuie of
Smli Ados, io order to obtain a mors unanimous vote in fa
vor of the recognition of TYxas He bad made
up bis miud nut only to recognize the indepr ndeDce of Tex
as, cut for her admtsion into Ilm Uoion j and if the Texaos
managed their flaut prud ally, ihty would soon be called
opon to decide that question. Theie weie psweiful leasous
why Texas should be a pait of this Union. The southern
Slates, owning a slave population, were deeply intciested id
preventing that couutiy liom having the power to annoy
them; and the navigation and manufactuiing interetts of the
north and east weie equally inteteeted in making it a paitof
this Union. Ha thought ihey would soon be tailed n to de
cide these question j ai d when they did act on it, be was
for acting tn both togethei for recognizing (be independt nre
of Texa, and for admitting her into the Union.
If events should go on as they bad done, be eonld not bat
hope that before the close of the present session of Congress
the would not only acknow hdge the independence of Texas,
but admit bei into the Uuiun. He hoped theie would be no
unnecessary delay for io such cases delays weie dai.geious
but that they would set with unanimity and act promptly."
Here, then, is the proof of the fact that, ten years
ago, and without a word of explanation w ilh Mexico,
or any request from Texas without the least notice
to the American people, or time for deliberation among
ourselves, or any regard to existing commerce he
was for plunging us into instant war with Mexico. I
jay, instant war; for Mexico and Texas were then in
open war;-and to incorporate Texas, was to incorpo
tste the war at the same time. All this the senator
was then for, immediately after his own gratuitous
cession of Texas, and long before the invention of the
London abolition plot came so opportunely to his aid.
Promptness and unanimity were then his watchwords.
Immediate action action before Congress adjourned
was his demand. No delay. Delays were danger
ous. " We :' must vote," and vote unanimously and
promptly. I well remember the senator's look and
attitude on that occasion the'fixeilncss of his look,
and the magisteriality of Iiis attitude. It was such
as he often favors us with, especially when he is iu a
crisis, and brings forward something w hich ought to
be instantly and unanimously rejected as when he
brought in his string of abstractions on Thursday last.
So it was in 1300 prompt aud unanimous action,
and a look to put down opposition. Uut the Senate
were not looked down in 13"6. They promptly and
unanimously refused the senator's motion! and the
crisis and the danger goon natured souU! immedi
ately postponed themselves uutil wanted. for another
occasion.
The peace of the country was theft- saved; lut it
was a respite only, and Ike speech of the.senator
from South Carolina, brief as it was, becomes mo
mentous as forehadowing everything that has subse
quently taken place in relation to the admission of
Texas. In this brief speech we have the shadows of
oil future movements, coming in procession, in ad
vance of the events. In the significant intimation,
qualified with the if ttthe Ttxans prudently
managed thtir cjjairs, thty Ihe Senate) might soon
be calitd vpon tu Jtcide the qurstim of admissitn :n
in that pregnant and qualified intimation, there was
a visible doubt that the T exar.s might vol te prudent
enough to manage their own affairs, and might require
help; and also a visible feeling of that paternal guar
dianship which afterwards assumed the management
of their affairs for them. In the admonitions to una
nimity, there was that denunciation of any difference
of opinion which afterwards displayed itself in the
ferocious hunting down of all who opposed the Texas
treaty. In the reference to southern slavery, and an
noyance to ßlave property from Texas, we have the
germ of the se!f-dfece" letter, and the first glimpse
of the abolition plot of John Andrews, Ashbcl Smith,
Lord Aberdeen I beg-pardon nf Lord Aberdeen for
naming him in such a Connexion and the World's
Convention, with which Mexico, Texas, and the Uni
ted States were mystified and bamboozled in April,
1341. And, in the interests of the manufacturing
and navigating States of the north and east, as con
nected with Texas admission, we have the text of all
the communications lo the agent. Murphy, and of all
the letters and speeches to which the Txns question,
seven years afterward., gave rise. We have all these
subsequent events here shadowed forth. And now,
the wonder is, why all these things were not foreseen
a little while before, when Texas was being ceded to
a non-slavcholdirg empire! and why, after being so
imminent and deadly in May, 1836, all thee dangers
suddenly went to sleep, and never wakrd up again
until IS 14 1 These are wonders: but let us not an
ticipate questions, and let us proceed with the narra
tive. The Congress of 13GG would not admit Texas.
The senator from South Carolina became patient : the
Texas question went to elcp; and for seven good
years it made no disturbance. It then woke up, and
with a suddenness and violence proportioned to its
long repose. Mr. Tyler was then "President: the sen
ator from South Carolina was potent under his admin
istration, and soon became his Secretary of Slate.
All the springs of intrigue and diplomacy were imme
diately set in motion to resuscitate the Texas question,
and to re-invest it with all the dangers and alarms
which it had worn in 1830. rassing over all the
dangers of annoyance from Texas as possibly non
slaveholding, foresetn by the senator in 1836, and not
foreseen by him in 1819, with all the need for guar
dianship then foreshadowed, and all the arguments
then suggested : all these ' immediately developed
themselves, and intriguing agents traversed earth and
sea, from Washington to Texas, and from London to
Mexico: passing over all this, as belongins to a
class of evidence not now to be us-d, I come at once
to the letter of the 17th of January, from the Texan
minister to Mr. Upshur, the American Secretary of
Mate ; and the answer to that letter by JUr. Calhoun,
of April 11th of the same year. They are both vital
in tins case; aiid the first is in these words:
"Mr. Van Zandl to Mr. Upshur.
"Legation or Texas,
"Washington, January 17, 1844
"Sin: It is known to jou that an armistice haa been
prnt l.iimd between Mexico and Texan; that that armis
tice bus been obtained through the intervention of several
great power, mutually lrn iuij; and that negotiations
are now pending, hnvinv lor their object a settlement of
in atim-uiiic neretoiore existing between tlie two coun
tries. A proposition, likewise, having been submitted by
the President of the fJni.ed States, through vou. for the
annexation of Texas to this country , therefore (without
indicating tlu nature of the reply which the President of
j: ... i.. j -.it ... v . .
in iimj uiret.i iu ua maus io litis proposition I Deg
leave to suggest that it may be apprehended, ahould a
treaty of annexation be concluded, Mexico may think
proper to at once terminate the armistice, break off all
negotiations nr peace, and again threaten or commence
hostilities against Texas ; and that somo oi the other gov
ernment who have been instrumental in obtaining their
cession, U they do not throw their influence into the
Mexican scale, may altogether v ithdraw their good offi
ces or mediation, thus losing to Texas their friendship,
and exposing her te the Unrestrained n.enacea of Mexico.
In view, then, of these things, I desire to submit, through
you, to hia excellency the President of the United Stales,
this inquiry : should the President of Texas accede to the
proposition of annexation, would the President of the
United Stales, after the signing of the treaty, and before
it shall be ratified and receite the final action of the
other branches of both governments, in cae Texas should
desire it, or with her consent, order such number of the
military and naval forces or the United States to such
necessary points or places upon the territory, or borders
of Texas, or the Gulf of Mexico, as shall be sufficient to
protect her against foreign aggression?
" This communication, as well as the reply which vou
may make, will be considered by me as entirely eonfufen
tial, not to be embraced in ruy regular official correspon
dence to my government, but enclosed direct lo the Presi
dent ef Texas for his information.
" With assurances of my great regard, I have the honor
to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"ISAAC VAN ZANDT
" Hon. A. P. Unnca, fke."
This letter reveals the true state of the Texas ques
tion in January, 1514, and the conduct of all parties
in relation to it. Texas and Mexico, weary of the
war. reposing under an armistice, and treating for
peace. Great Britain and France acting the noblfc
part of mediators, and endeavoring to make peace.
uur own government secretly intriguing lor annexa
tion, acting the wicked part of mischief-makers, and
trying to renew the war: and the issue of its machi
nations to be unsuccessful unless the United States
should be involved in the renewed hostilities. That
wai the qaet?tion; and the letter openly puts it to the
American Secretary of State. The answer to that
question, in my opinion, should have been, that the
President of the United State did not know of the
armistice and the peace negotiations at the time that
he proposed to Texas to do tn act which would boa
perfidious violation of those sacred engagements, and
bring upon herself the scourge of renewed invasion
and the stigma of perfidy that he would not have
made such a proposal for the whole round world, if
he bad known ot the armistice and the peace negotia
tions that he wished success to the peace-makers,
both for the sake of Mexico and Texas, and because
Texas could then come into the Union without the
least interruption to our friendly, commerc
social relations with Our sister republic
and that, as to secretly lending the army a
the United States to Texas to fiht Mexico while we i
were at peace with her, it would be a crime against
God, and man, and our own constitution, for which
heads might be brought to the block, if presidents
i .1 . . i t... l l. :.. 7
, , ... I,- ,
auu iiic-tr 5.1ICIOMC3, im. cou siiuiiu.lv-. iiia mm
miuisiers, si.ouiu oe neiu capuaity responsioie 'or
capital crimes. This, in my opinion, should have
been the answer. But the first part of it that of the
scienter upon the point of the armistice and the peace
negotiations could not be given in point of fact; for!
the Department of State was full of communications
giving that information one of them from the agent,
(Murphy,) in these words: i
"The powers to be given to General Henderson are to
be of the fullest and most complete character, so that no
impediment shall be found requiring further or other
powers, or further or other inatructions. But, inasmuch
as the commissioners or Texas now in Mexico, in treaty
or negotiation touching an armistice, are supposed not to
have concluded their labors, and it is clear to the Presi
dent of Texas that so soon as this negotiation in relation
to annexation is known to the government of Mexico, all
negotiation on that and all other questions between Texaa
and Mexico will cease, and that the President of Mexico
will instantly commence active hostilities against Texas,
which Texas is wholly unprepared, by sea or land, to re
sist, it is understood that the government of the United
States, having invited Texas to this negotiation, will at
once, and before any negotiation is set on foot, place a
sufficient naval force in the Gulf to protect the coast cf
Texas, and hold a sufficient force of cavalry, or other
description of mounted troops, on the southwestern bor
der of the United Slates, in readiness to protect or aid iu
the protection of Texas pending the proposed nrgotiation
for annexation. 1 trust my government will at once see
the propriety of this course of policy ; for 1 found it im
possible to induce this government to enter heartily into
the measure or annexation without an assurance that my
government would not fail to guard Texas against all the
evils which were likely to assail her in consequence
of her meeting and complying with the wishes of the
United States."
Denial of the knowledge of the existence of the
armistice, and cf the opening of the negotiations,
was, therefore, impossible. Mr. Upsher, to whom the
letter of the 17th of January was addressed, gave it
no answer at all. During the forty diys that his life
was spared, he answered not ; and I mention this
particularly in justice to the memory of a gentleman
who is no more. Mr. Nelson, the attorney general,
his temporary successor in the Department of State,
d.d not answer it to the Texan minister in Washing
ton, but he did to Mr. Murphy in Texas, in reply to
his communication to the same effect with ihe letter.
Mr. Nelson's letter is dated the 11th of March, and
is in these words :
"Of the anxiety of the President to provide for the
annexation of the territory of Texas to that of the United
Slates you have been heretofore apprized; and of his
recdiness, by negotiation promptly to effectuate this de
sire, vou are well aware. He regards the measure as one
of vital importance to both parties, and as recommended
by the highest considerations or a sound public policy.
" Entertaining these views, the President is gratified to
perceive, in the course you have pursued in your inter
course with the authorities of Texas, the evidences of a
cordial co-operation in this cherished object of his policy ;
but instructs me tn aay, that whilst approving the genei.il
tone and tenor of that intercourse, lis regrets to perceive,
in the pledges given by you in your communication to the
lion. Anson Jones ot tlie 14th r ebruary , lliat you have
sutlered your zeal lo carry you beyond the line of your
instructions, and to commit the President to measures for
which he has no constitutional autlioiity to stipulate.
" Ihe employment of the army or navy against a for
eign power, with which the United Mates are at peace,
is not within the competency or the 1 resident; and
whilst he is not indisposed, aa a measure or prudent pre
caution, and as preliminary to the proposed negotiation,
to concentrate in theUull or iIexico,and on the southern
borders of the United Slates, a naval and military force
to be directed to the defence of tho inhabitants and tern
tory of Texaa at a proper time, he cannot permit the au
thorities of that government or yourself to labor under
the misapprehension that he has power to employ them
at the period indicated by your stipulations.
Uf these impressions, 31 r. Van andt, the chare de
ftftVaires of the Texan government, has been, and General
Henderson, who is daily expected here, will be fully
advertised. In the mean time, the President desires that
yon will at once countermand your instructions to Lieu
tenant Davis, as tar as they are in conuicl wiib these
tews
"In any emergency that may occur, care will be taken
that the commanders of the naval and military forces of
the United Mates shall be properly instructed. lour re
quest that they may be placed under your control cannot
be gratified.
This is very constitutional and proper language;
and if it had not been reversed, there would have been
no war with Mexico. Dut it was reversed. Soon
after it was written, the present senator from South
Carolina took the chair of the Department of State.
Mr. Tinckney Henderson, whom Mr. Murphy men
tions as coming on with full powers, on the faith of
the pledge that he bad given, arrived also; and found
that pledge entirely cancelled by Mr. Tyler's answer
through Mr. JNelson ; and he utterly retused to treat.
The new becretarv was in a strait; lor time was
short, and Texas must be had ; and Messrs. Hendcr
son and Van Zandt would not even bezin to treat
without a renewal of the pledge given by Mr. Mur
phy. That had been cancelled in writing, and the
cancellation had gone to Texas,' and had been made
on high constitutional ground. The new secretary
was profuse of verbal assurances, and even permitted
the ministers to take down his words in writing, and
read them over to him, as was shown by the Senator
from Tcxa, General Jlouston.j when he ppohe on
this subject on Thursday last. JJut verbal assurances,
or memoranda of conversation?, would not do. The
instructions under which tho ministers acted, required
the pledjje to be in writing, and properly signed.
The, then President, present senator from Texas, who
had been & lawyer in Tennessee before he went to
Texas, seemed to look upon it as a case under the
statute of frauds and perjuries a sixth case added to
the five enumerated in that statute in which the
promise is not valid, unless reduced to writing, and
signed by the person to be charged therewith, or by
some other person duly authorized by him to sign for
him. Ihe lirmness of the lexan ministers, under
the instructions of President Houston, prevailed ; and
at last, and after long delav, the secretary wrote, and
signed the pledge which Murphy had given, and in
all the amplitude of his original promise, lhat lei
ter was dated on the 11th day of April, 18 11, and
was in these words:
"Mr. Calhoun to Messrs. Van Zandt and Henderson.
"Washisctos, April 11, 1844.
GtRTtfJiiw; The letter addressed by Mr. Van Zandt
to the late Secretary of State, Mr. UpMiur, to which you
have called my attention, dated Washington, 1711 Junu
ary, 1844, has been laid before the 1'resideut of tbe Uni
ted Mates
"In reply to it, I am directed by this' President to say
lhat the Secretary of the Navy has been instructed to
order a strong naval force to concentrate in the Gulf of
Mexico, to meet any emergency ; and that similar orders
have been issued by the Secretary of War, to move the
disposable military forces on our southwestern frontier
for the same purpose. Should the exigency arise to
which you refer in your note to Mr. Upshur, 1 am further
d reeled by the l'resideot to say, that, during the pendency
of the treaty of annexation, he would deem it his duty
t !-
to use all the means placed in nis power oy wie consu
tution to protect Texas lxotn all foreign invasion. I have
the honor to be, &c., J. C. CALHOUN.
" Messrs. I. V ah Zakdt and 4. P. IIksdersos,
" Ministers from the republic of Texas."
This is the answer civen by Mr. Secretary Cal
houn to the demand; and, although a little dclphic ia
the snecincation of the emergencies and the exigencies
in which our forces were to fight the Mexicans, yet
taken in connexion with the terms of the letter to
Whl
ich it was an answer, and to which it refers, it is
sufficiently explicit to show that it is a clear and ab
solute promise to do the thing which Murphy had
promised, and which President Tyler, through the
Attorney General, Mr. Nelson, had refused to do
because it involved a violation of the constitution of
the United States. The promise was clear and ex
plicit to lend the army and navy to the President o
Texas, to fight the Mexicans while they were at peace
with us. lhat was the point at pease with us. air.
Calhoun's assumpsit was clear and explicit to that
point; and, that no circumstance of contradiction or
folly should be wanting to crown this plot of crime
and imbecility, it so happened that on the same day
that our new secretary here was giving his written
assumpsit to lend the army and navy to fight Mexico
while wo were w peace with her, tho agcat .Murphy
cxan government, in '
.through Mr. Nelson,
1. ,T -
Texas, the refusal of 31 r. Tyler
to do so, because of its'unconstitutional.ty.
Here is
the letter ef Mr. Murphy :
" Mr. Murphy to Mr. Jones.
" Ligation or the Umni StATis,
" Galveston, (Texas,) April 12, 1341. '
"Sir: The undersigned, charge d'affaires or the Uni
ted States near the government of the republic of Texas,
has the honor of informing Mr. Jones, that whilst his
to both countries had led him beyond the strict line of
: his instructions; that the President of the United States
",n.'i,er, himself restrained by the constitution of the
iLn,. rr?m employment of the army and navy
agninsi a loreisn power wuii wnom ine uinieu ciaiea are
i.j peace; and that
whilst the President of the Uni
,ej ylate, j, not
indisposed, as a measure of pru
dent precaution, to concentrate in the Gulf of Mexiro
and on the southern borders of the United States a sufti
rient naval and military force, to be directed to the de
fence of. the inhabitants and territory of lexas at a
roper time, he is unwilling that the authorities of Texas
hould apprehend that he has power to employ this force
at the period indicated in my note to vou on the 14lh of
IT. I t
euruarj laai.
In conformity with the secretary's letter of April
1th, detachments of the army and navy were imme-
iately sent to the frontiers of Texas, and to the coast
f luexico. The senator from South Carolina, in his
colloquy with the senator from Texas Gen. Houston
on Thursday last, seemed anxious to have it under
stood that these land and naval forces were not to
repel invasions, but only to report them to our govern
ment, for its report to Congress. The paper read by
the senator from Texas, consisting of our secretary's
words, taken down in his presence, and read over to
im for his correction by the Texan ministers, estab-
ishes the contrary ; and iows that the repulse of the
nftsion was in the mean time to be made. And, in
fact, any other courc would have been a fraud upon
the promise. For, if the invasion had to be made
known at Washington, and the sense of Congress
taken on the question of repelling it, certainly, in the
mean time, the nnsthief would have been done the
nvasion would have been made; and, therefore, to be
consistent with himself, the President in the mean
time was bound to repel the invasion, without waiting
to hear what Congress would say about it. And this
is what he himself tells us in his two mcs8ges to the
Senate, of the 15:h and 31st of May, doubtless writ
ten by his Secretary of State, and both avowing and
ustilyinir lus intention to hirht Mexico, in case of
invasion, while the treaty ot annexation was depend-
ng, without awaiting the action of Congress. Here
are extracts from these messages:
Message, loth of May. Extract.
"At the same lime, it is due to myself lhat I should
declare it as my opinion, that the United States having,
by the treaty ol annexation, acquired a title to Texas,
winch requires only the action of the benate to perfect it,
no other power could be permuted to invade, and, by
force of arm... to possess itself of any portion of the ter
ritory of Texas, pending your deliberations upon the
r.'Hty, without placing itself in a hostile attitude to the
United States, and justifying the employment of any
military means at our disposal to drive bark the invrsion.
Message, 31 st of May. Extract.
" In my message to tho Senate of the 15th of this
month, 1 adveited to the duty which, iu my judgment,
the signature of the treaty for the annexation of Texas
had imposed up n ine, to r-pel any invasion of that coun
try by a foreign power, while the treaty was under con
sideration in the Senate; audi transmitted reports from
the Secretaries of War and of the Navy, with a copy of
he orders which had been issued Irom those departments
for the purpose of enabling me to execute that duty. In
those orders, General Taylor was directed to communi
cate directly with the President of Texas upon the subject,
and taptaiu Conner was instructed lo communicate with
the charge d'affaires of the United Mates accredited to
that government. Io copy of any communication which
either of those officers may have mado pursuant to those
orders has been received at thu departments from which
they emanated.
Here is the avowal of the fact, and the reasons for
it that honor required us to fight for Texas, if we
intrigued her into a war. I admit that would be a
good reason between individual!, nnd in a case where
big bully should involve a little fellow in the fiht
again after he had got himself parted; but not so be
tween nations, and under our constitution. The en
gagement to fight Mexico for Texas, while we were
at peace with Mexico, was to make war with Mexico !
a piece of business which belonged to the Congress,
nd should have been referred to them! and which,
on the contrary, was concealed from them, though in
session, and present! and the fact only found out
after the troops had marched, and then by dint of calls
from the Senate.
The proof i3 complete that the loin of the land and
naval turcC3 was to fi''ht Mexico while we were at
peace with her! and this becomes a great turning
point in the history of this war. Without this pledge
given by our Secretary of Stale without his reversal
of Mr. Tyler's first decision there could have been
no war ! lex a" and Mexico would have made peace.
and then annexation would have fcllewed of itself.
Tho victor of San Jacinto, who had gone forth and
recovered by the sword, and erected into a new repub
lic the beautiful domain given away by our Secretary
in 1S19, was at the head of tlie Texan government.
and was conducting his country to peace and acknowl
edged independence. If let alone, he would have ac
complished his object ; for he had already surmounted
the great difficulty of the first step the armistice and
the commencement of peace negotiations; and under
the powerful mediation of Great JJntain and Jr ranee,
the establishment of peace was certain. A heavenly
benediction rests upon the labors ot the peace maker;
and what is blessed ot uoa must succeed, iit an
events, it does not lie in the mouth of any man and
least of all, in the mouth of the mischief-maker to
say that the peaceful mediation would not hare suc
ceeded. It was the part of all men to have aided.
and wished, and hoped for success; and had it not
been for our Secretary's letter of April 13th, authentic
facts warrint the assertion that Texas and Mexico
would have made peace in the spring of 1844. Then
Texas would have come into this Union as naturally,
and as easily, and with as little offence to anybody,
as Eve went into Adam's bosom in the rarden of
Eden. There would have been no more need for in-
tr-guing politicians to get her in, by plots and tricks,
than there was for some old hag of a match-making
bel-dam, with her arts and allurements, her philters
and her potions, to get Eve into Adam's bosom. And
thus, the breaking up of the peace negotiations be
comes the great turning, point in tho problem of the
Mexican war.
The tre.ty of annexation waj signed, and in sign
ing it the Secretary knew that he had made, war with
Mexico. No less than three formal notices were on
file in the Department of State, in which the Mexican
government solemnly declared that it would consider
annexation as equivalent to a declaration of war;
and it was in allusion to these notices that the Secre
tary of State, in his notification to Mexico of the
siguature of the treaty, said it had been signed in
FULL VIEW OF ALL POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES ! mean
ing war as the consequence ! At the same time lie
suited the action to the word ; he sent off detachments
of the army, and placed thetu under the command of
was communicating to the Tex
I . -! I. a .1
lai. and IT- . - . . - , ... - wa.3 UUI mall KJt um i uivjvi ill an .u.ai. buu it-. J . ...
. u his intercourse with the government of the republic of. , rr. . t u .i. not oroDose the Union t "it is the bosmexs
-l'...'. w. . u vu.im IW'IB 1. 1 v - I . . A I . I. L. I , . t i 1 n1 I.O -1 M II II 1 ir I uw u. ICIUCII. IJ ' I fcv
Of Mexico;; Texas, a regret is rlt in nce.lvin that hiatal Tor the no "gSer lnan oen. 10m. i.iuma, ..c wuuiu nSuv. , . - to our peifect ss
nd naVV fcf ! ari.mntiliiiiont til nt.iprl. allLd hon.fl-i! mnA inlf-rPKtim- Senators Will recollect lt. I UT. IVIaXGUM nOÜeQ a- . j Uadiiiir fliend at the 800th.
President Houston, and made him the judge of the
emergencies and exigencies in which they were to
tight. This authority to the President of Texas was
continued in full force until after the rejection of the
treaty, and then only modified by placing the Ameri
can diplomatic agent in Texas between President
Houston and the naval and military commanders, and
making him the medium of communication between a
foreign President and our forces ; but the forces them
selves were not withdrawn. They remained on the
Texan and Mexican frontier, waiting for the exigen
cies and emergencies in which they were to fight.
During all that time a foreign President was comman-der-in-chief
of a large detachment of the army and
navy of the United States. Ho was President Gene
ral of our land and sea forces, made 60 by the senator
from South Carolina, with authority to fight them
against Mexico with whom we were at peace an
office and authority rather above that of a lieutenant
general ! and we are indebted to the forbearance and
prudence of President Houston for not incurring the
war in 1811, which fell upon us in 1810.
The treaty was rejected by the Senate ; but so ap
prehensive was the senator of immediate war, that,
besides keeping the detachments of the army and navy
at their posts, a messenger was despatched with a
deprecatory letter to Mexico, and, as report said. Use
offer of a large sum of money to purchase peace from
her, by inducing her to treat for a boundary which
would leave Texas within our limits. This was re
port ; and I would not mention it, if the senator was
not present to contradict it if not correct. Report at
the time said from five to ten millions of dollars: from
one of Mr. Shannon's letters, we may set it down at
ten millions. Bo it either sum, it will show that tb
senator was then secretly willing to pay an immense
sum to pacify Mexico, although he now declares that.
l. J. . rt I. I.n... 1, A ,-11 vnta in -. I t inn (a Ino
he docs not know how he will vote in relation IO me
three millions responsibly asked by Mr. Polk. j
The secretary knew that he had made war with
Mexico that xu accepting the gage three times laid 1
, , : , . . , r ., - , r
down, he had Joined an issue with that compound of
Celtic blood, called Spanish, would redeem. I knew
it, and said it On this floor, in secret session fori
did not then choose to eay it in public that if there
l mnnt 1 I
O.III I
J . . .. .. . r '
1 now come to the last act in this irareav oi erroia
the alternative resolutions adopted by Congress in
ti e last days of the session of 1814- 4o, and in tlie
last moments of Mr. Tyler's administration. A re
solve, single and absolute, had been made by the
House of Representatives ; it came to this body ; and
an alternative resolution was added, subject to the
choice of the President, authorizing negotiations for
the admission, and appropriating 1U0,IX.0 to de
fray the expenses of these negotiations. A senator
from North Carolina, not now a member of this body,
but who I have the pleasure to see sitting near me,
Mr. II at wood, knows all about that alternative reso
lution, and his country owes him good thanks for his
labors about it. It was considered by everybody, that
the choice between these resolutions belonged to the
new President, who had been elected with a special
view to the admission of Texas, and who was already
in the city, awaiting the morning of the 4th of March
to cuter upon the execution of his duties, and upon
whose administration ail the evils of a mistake in the
choice of these resolutions were to full. We all ex
pected the question to be left open to the new Presi
dent: and so strong was that expectation, and so
strong the feeling against the decency or propriety ot
interference on the part of the expiring administra
tion, to snatch this choice out of the hands of Mr.
Polk, that, on a mere suggestion of the possibility of
such a proceeding, in a debate on this floor, a senator
standing in the relation personally, and politically,
and locally, to feel for the honor of the then Secretary
of State, declared Ihey would not have the audacity to
do it. Audacity was the word: and that was the
declaration of a gentleman of honor and patriotism,
no longer a member of. this body, but who has the re
spect and best wishes of all who ever knew him. I
speak of Mr. McDuffie, and quote his words as heard at
the time and as ince printed and oublUhcd by others.
Mr. McDuffie was mistaken ! They did have the au
dacity ! They did do it ! or rather, HE did it, (look
ing at Mr. Calhoun;) for it is incontestable that Mr.
Tyler was nothing, in anything that related to the
Texas question, from the time of the arrival of his
Secretary of State. His last act, in relation to Texas,
was the answer which Mr. Nelson gave for him
through the agent, Murphy, denying his right to lend
our forces to the President of Texas to fight the Mexi
fir j
cans while we were at peace with them : the reversal
ot that answer by li:s new secretary was the extinc
tion of hi? power over the Texas question. He, the
then Secretary of State, the present senator from
South Carolina, to whom I address myself, did it. On
Sunday, tlie second day of March,. tlt day which
preceded the last day of his authority and on tint
day, sacred to peace the council sat, that acted on
the resolutions ; and in the darkness ot a night
howling with the storm, and battling with the ele
ments, as if Heaven warred upon the audacious act,
(for well do I remember it,) the fatal messenger was
sent off, which carried the selected resolution to Tex
as. Tlie act was then done: Texas was admitted:
all the c mseqtiences of admission were incurred and
especially that consequence which Mr. de Docanegra
had denounced, and which our Secretary had accepted
WAR. The state of war was established the
status belli was created and that by tlie operation of
our own constitution, as well as by the filed declara
tion of Mexico: for Texas then being admitted into
the Union, the war with her extended to the whole
Union ; and the duty of protecting her devolved upon
the President of the United States. The selection of
the absolute resolution exhausted our action: the al
ternative resolution for negotiatiation was defunct:
the only mode of admission was the absolute one, and
it made war. The war was made to Mr. Polk's hand :
his administration came into existence with war upou
its hands, and under the constitutional duty to protect
Texas at the expense of a war with Mexico : and to
that point, all events rapidly tended. The Mexican
minister, General Almonte, who had returned to
Washington city after the rejection of the treaty of
annexation, demanded his passports, and left the Uni
ted States. The land forces which had been advanced
to the Sabine, were advanced to Corpus Christi : the
Mexican troops moved towards the Tiio Grande : the
fleet which remained at Vera Cruz, continued there:
commerce died out : the citizens of each country left
the other, as far as they could : angry denuncia
tions filled the press of each country : and when a
minister was sent from the United States, his recep
tion was refused. The state of war existed legally :
all the circumstances of war, except the single cir
cumstance of bloodshed, existed at the accession of
Mr. Polk ; and the two countries, Mexico and the
United States, stood in a relation to each other im
possible to be continued. The march upon the Rio
Grande brought on the conflict made the collision of
arms but not the war. The war was prepared, or
ganized, established by the Secretary of Slate, before
ho left the department. It was his legacy to the de
mocracy, and to the Polk administration his last gift
to them, in tlie moment cf taking a long farewell.
And now he sets up for a man of peace, and throws
all the blame of the war upon Mr. Tolk, to whom he
bequeathed it.
Cicero says that Antony, flying from Rome to the
camp of Csesar in Cisalpine Gaul, was the cause of
the civil war which followed as much so as Helen
was of the Trojan war. Ut Helena Tmjanis, sic iste
huicreipublicce causa ItVi causa vestis atque exitii
fuit. He says that that flight put an end to all chance of
accommodation ; closed the door to all conciliation ;
broke up the plans of all peaceable men ; and by in
ducing Cesar to break up his camp in Gaul, and march
across the Rubicon, lit up the flames of civil war in
Italy. In like manner, I say that the flight of the
winged messenger from this capital on the Sunday
night before the 3d of March, despatched by the then
Secretary of State, in the expiring moment of his
power, and bearing the fatal choice to the capital of
Texas, was tlie direct cause of the war with Mexico
in which we arc now engaged. Like the flight of
Antony, it broke up the plans of all peaceable men,
slammed the door upon negotiation, put an end to all
chance for accommodation, broke up tlie camp on the
Sabine, sent the troops towards Mexico, and lit up the
war. Like Antony, and tho others, he made the war:
unlike Antony, he docs not stand up to it ; but, copy
ing rather the conduct of the paramour of Helen, he
flies from the combat he has provoked ! and, worse
than Paris, he endeavors to draw along with him, in
his own unhappy flight, the whole American host.
Paris fled alone at the sight of Mcnelaus : the senator
from South Carolina urges us all to fly at the sight of
Santa Anna. And, it may be, that worse than Paris,
again, he may refuse to return to the field. Paris
went back under the keen reproach of Hector, and
tried to fight.
-For thee the soldier bleeds the matron mourns,
And wasteful war in alt Utfury burnt."
Stung with this just and keen rebuke this vivid
picture of the ruin he had made Paris returned to
the field, and tried to fight : and, now, it remains to
be seen whether the senator from South Carolina can
do the same : and, if not, whether he cannot, at least
cease to obstruct the arms of others cease to labor to
involve the whole army in his own unmanly retreat.
Upon the evidence now given, drawn from his pub
lic otiieial act alone, he stands the undisputed author
and architect of that calamity. History will so write
him down. Inexorable History, with her pen of iron
and tablets of brass, will so write him down : and
two thousand years hence, and three thousand years
hence, the boy at his lesson shall learn it in the book,
that as Helen was the cause of the Trojan, and An
tony the cause of the Roman civil war, and Lord
North made the war of the revolution, just so certainly
is John C. Calhoun the author of the preseut war
between the United States and Mexico.
He now sets up for the character of pacifiator
with what justice, let the further fact proclaim which
t now expose. Three hundred newspapers, in the
summer of 1314, in the pay of the Department of
State, spoke the sentiments of tho Department of ötate
and pursued as traitors to tbe United States all who
were for the peaceable annexation of Texas by set
tling the boundary line of Texas with Mexico simul
taneously with the annexation. Here is the instruc
tion under which the three hundred acted:
MAs the conductor of tha official journal here, he hit re
quested me to answer it (your letter, which request I com
ply with readily.
J&Ztjl WJ .' "J" lbJ
1 tbatyoa woulJcon-
1 ... . . n . i .
fi ronrself to attacks upon Bentco. howins that be bas
i,ed himself with the whis on the Texas question. Quote
Jackson's letter on Texas, whete he denounces all those as
uaitors to the the country who oppose the treaty. Apply it
to Benton. Pioclsim thst Beotun, by attacking Mr. Tyler
frienos. and driving them from the rrty. i. aiding
the ,1., 0f Mr. Clay sod chaise him with doio this to
defest Mr. Polk, and insuie bimse t the succession in 1843
and claim that full justice be dune to tbe acts ana motives ot
of the democrats
tlsfction. I quots
Such is tbe course
..:.. f l .1 r V j-Vi iaii n rnrn nr rinf
WUKU 1 mUIUIIKIIU IIIU . I iw.. - , -
. . .. . . . . ::
coicuoz to your real aiiacnmem io me lamiBiHuiwu
"Lock out for my leader cf to-morrow as an indication,
and icnid this letter ss of the most stiict and inviolate con
hdence vt character.
I make no comment on this letter, nor read the
other parts of it : a time will come for that. It is an
original, and will keep, and will prove itself. I
merely read a paragraph now to show with what
justice the person who was in the Department of
S.ate when these 3( 0 newspapers in its pay were
thus attacking the men of peace, now sets up for tlie
character of pacificator.
Mr. Calhoun. Does he intend to say that I ever
wrote such a letter !
Mr. Benton. I read it. I say nothing.
Mr. Calhoun.' I never wrote such a letter as that!
Mr. Benton. I have not said eo.
Mr. Calhoun. I take this occasion to say that I
necr exercised the slightebt influence over that pr-
per. I never had the slightest connexion with it. I
never was a subscriber to it, and 1 very rarely read it.
Mr. Eenton. It was the work of one of the organs
of the administration, not John Jones; and the in
struction wa3 followed by three hundred newspapers
in the pay of the Department of State. .
I have now finisheJ what I projn.se to say, at this
time, in relation to the authorship oi this war. l
confine myself to the oflicial words and acts of the
senator, aud rely upon them to show that lh and not
Mr. rolk, is the author of this calamity. JJut, while
thus presenting him as the anther of the war, I do
not believe that war was Ins ohject, out only an inci
dent to his object; and lhat all his conduct in rel
ation to the admission of lexas refers itseit to the
periods of our presidential elections, and to boikc
connexion with those elections, and explains ins
.... mi
activity and luactivity on those occasions, ihus,
in May, 1SG, when he was in such hot and violent
haste for immediate admission, the election of that
year was impending, and Mr. Van Euren the demo
cratic cand.date; and if the Texas question could
then have been brought up, he might have been
shoved aside just as easily as he was afterwards in
1341. This explains his activity in 1SJG. In 1340,
the Senator from South Carolina was a sort of a
supporter of Mr, Van Euren, and might have thought
that one good turn deserves cnuther; and so nothing
w as said about Teas at lhat election dangerous as
was the least delay four years before: and this may
explain the Inactivity of 1340. The election of 1944
was coming on, and the senator from South Carolina
was on the turf himself ; nnd then the Texas question,
with all its dangers and alarm?, which had so accom
modatingly postponed themselves for seven good year",
suddenly woke up; and with an activity and vigor
proportioned to its long repose. Instant admission, at
all hazards, and at the expense of renew ing hrti'ities
between Mexico and Texas, and involving the United
States in them, became indirc-nt-ablc necessary to
our own salvation a clear case of self-defence : and
then commenced all those machinations which ended
in the overthrow of Mr. Van Euren and Mr. Clay for
the presidency, and in producing tlie present war
with Mexico; but without making the senator Presi
dent. And this miy explain his activity in 1S44.
Now, another presidential election is approaching;
and, if there is any truth in the rule which inter
prets certain gentlemen's declarations by their con
traries, he will be a candidate again ; and this may
explain the reason of the production ofthat string of
resolutions which tbe senator laid upon the table Jast
week ; and upon which he has required us to vote
instantly, as he did in the sudden Texas movement of
1S3G, and with the same magisterial look and atti
tude. The Texas slave question has gone by the
Florida slave question has gone by there is no
chance for it now in any of its old haunts: hence the
necessity for a new theatre of agitation, even if we
have to go as far as California for it, and before we
have got California. And thus, all the senator's con
duct in relation to Texas, though involving his coun
try in a war, may have had no other object than to
govern a presidential election.
Our northern friends have exceeded my hopes and
expectations in getting themselves and the Union safe"
through tlie Texas and slave questions, and are enti
tled to a little repose. So far from that, they are now
to be plunged into a California 6lave question, lung
before it could arise of itself, if ever. The string of
resolutions laid on the table by tlie senator from South
Carolina is to raise a new 6lave question on the bor
ders of the Pacific, which, upon his own principles,
cannot soon occur, if ever. He will not take the
country by conquest only by treaty and that treaty
to be got by sitting out the Mexicans on a line of oc
cupation. At the same time he shows that he knows
that Spanish blood is good at that game, and shows
that they sat it out, and fought it out, for SCO years,
against the Moors occupy ing half their country. By-the-by,
it was onlyTl'O; but that is enough ; 100
years is no object in such a matter. The Spaniards
held out 700 years against the Moors, holding half
their country, and 300 against half of the other half;
and, what is more material, whipped thcraboth out at
the end of the time. This is a poor chance for Cali
fornia on the senator's principles. His five regiments
would be whipped out in a fraction of the time ; but
no matter; men contend more violently for nothing
than for something ; and if he can get up the Califor
nia slave question now, it w ill answer all the purpo
ses of a reality, even if the question should never arise
in point of fact.
Tlie senator from South Carolina has been wrong in
all this business, from beginning to ending wrong
in 1319, in giving away Texas wrong in 1836, in
his sudden and hot haste to get her back wrong in
all his machinations for bringing on the Texts ques
tion of 1814 wrong iu breaking up the armetice and
peace negotiations between Mexico and Texas wrcng
in secretly sending the army and navy to fight Mexi
co while we were at peace w ith her wrong in se
cretly appointing tlie President of Texas president
general of the army and navy of the United States,
with leave to fight them against a power with whom
we were at peace wrong in writing to Mexico that
he took Texas in view of all possible consequences,
meaning war wrong in secretly offering Mexico at
the same time, ten millions of dollars to hush up the
war which he had created wrong now in refusing
Mr. Tolk three millions to aid in getting out of the
war which he made wrong in throwing the blame of
thi-s w ar of his own making upon the shoulders of Mr.
Tolk wrong in his retreat and occupation line of
policy wrong in expelling old Father Ritchie from
the Senate, who worked so hard for him during the
Texas annexation; and more wrong now than ever,
in that string of resolutions which he has laid upon
the table, and in which, as Sylla saw in the young
Cesar many Maurise?, so do I see in them many
nullifications.
Ina picture of so many, and such dreadful errors,
it is hard to specify the wont,- or to dwell upon any
one to the exclusion of the rest; but there is one fea
ture in this picture of enormities which seems to de
mand that distinction : I allude to the pledge upon
which the armstice and tho peace negotiations be
tween Mexico and Texas was broken up in 1814, and
those two countries put back into a state of war, and
ourselves involved in the contest. The story is briefly
told, and admits of no dispute. The letter of the lTtli
of January is the accusing record, from which there
is no escape. Its awful words cannot be read rjw
without freezing up the blood. "It is known tövyou
that an armistice exists between Mexico and. Te-,
and that negotiations for peace are now goinW-o.-der
the mediation oftwo powerful sovereigns, mntual.y
friendly. If we yield to your solidtetio tp be an
nexed to the United States, under these circuasatancee,
we shall draw upon ourselves a fresh invasion from
Mexico, incur the imputation cf bad faith, and lose
the friendship and respect of the two great mediating
powers.. Now, will you, in the event of our acceding
to your request, 6tep between us and Mexico, and
take the war off our hands 1" This was the letter,,
and tbe terrible question with which it concluded,.
Mr. Upeher, to whom it was addressed, gave no an-
swer. In the forty days that his life was spared, he
gave it no answer. Mr. Nelson, his temporary suc
cessor, pave it an answeT; aud, speaking for the
President of the United .States, positively, refused to
take annexation oa tiyj condition proposed. Tbis aa