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 JACKSON DEMOCRATIC ASSOCIATION COMMITTEE. } 
 
 hxgsry expose 
 
 r 
 
 £f" t E T T E E 
 
 FROM 
 
 THE HON. EDMUND BURKE.' 
 
 W a s ii i n g ton, Jan e 17, 1848. 
 
 Dear Sir : Sfour letter of the 1 1th instant, inviting me, in behalf of the Demo- 
 crats of Nashua and vicinity, io be present at a meeting proposed to be held by 
 them on Tuesday, the 20th instant, for the purpose of responding to and ratify- 
 ing the nominations of Cass and Butler, the nominees of the great Democratic 
 party cf the Union, for the offices of President and Vice President, has been re- 
 ceived. In reply I am compelled io n^^rv-s my regret that it will not, be possible 
 /or me to be present on that occasion. I regret it the more, because it would 
 give me great pleasure to unite with any portion of the sterling and indomitable 
 portion of Democracy of the Granite State, in responding to nominations so 
 honorable to the Democratic party, to the glorious eaure which it supports, and 
 to the character of our beloved country. 
 
 There is no hurr.buggery contemplated by the Democratic party ii) these nomi- 
 nations. There is no clap-trap availability, apart from great principles and mea- 
 sures, connected with them. On the contrary, the nominees, Cass and Butler, 
 ate known to be of the highest order of talent, which lias been ripened and im- 
 proved by long experience in political affairs, and of an unblemished private 
 character. Their principles are well known, and their capacities for the high 
 station for Which they have been designated have been thoroughly tested and 
 proved. They are men of whom the Democracy may well be proud, and whom 
 they will delight to honor. 
 
 General Cass is a native-born-son of the Granite Slate — a self-made man, grow- 
 ing op from a poor boy to wealth and the highest respectability in private life, 
 and filling almost every grade of office, from the lowest to the highest and most 
 responsible, in the service of his country. From the first start in life he has been 
 a Democrat. He received the first office he ever held from that great 3postle of 
 Democracy j Thomas Jefferson, in 1S07. lie was called to the cabinet by General 
 Jackson, and has enjoyed the confidence of every Democratic administration from 
 Jefferson's to that of our present patriotic and truly Democratic President, James 
 K. Polk. In every station to which he has been called, civil or military, he has 
 acquitted him?elf with the highest ability and honor. 
 
y L \ n - 
 
 General Butler is equally meritorious and deserving of the confidence of his 
 countrymen, Like Gen. C;;ss, his life has been mostly devoted to civic pursuits. 
 But when his country has demanded his services in the tented field, he has always 
 responded to the call, lie was the favorite of Gen. Jackson, and fought by the 
 side of that intrepid old hero in the Indian battles of the south, and at the great 
 battle of New Orleans. lie was also among t lie first to rally to the standard of 
 his country in the late war with Mexico, during which, by his brilliant success, 
 he won the high position of commander-in-chief of the American armies in 
 Mexico. No man is more bra\e and chivalric as a soldier, and none more brilliant 
 as a statesman, orator, and scholar. I know him personally, and can affirm that 
 all 1 have said of him is true. 
 
 But this is not all that can be said of the illustrious standard-bearers of the 
 Democracy. In tbe war of 1812 and '13, while the federal party, now masked 
 under the once patriotic name of Whig, was committing what the National Intel- 
 ligencer, the present national organ of the Whig party, denounced as ''moral 
 treason" against their countiy, by aiding the cause of Great Britain, Cass and 
 Butler were both fighting its battles ; and thus, b\ conquering our enemies abroad 
 and putting down the traitors at home, were doing all in their power to secure an 
 honorable peace. 
 
 And duling the late war with Mexico, which htrs been conducted with such 
 unparalleled brilliancy, and so honorably closed, while the traitorous Whigs were 
 aiding the cause of the enemy, by traducing that of their own countiy ; while 
 they were voting against supplies, and encouraging our enemies to jrreet our pa- 
 triotic soldiers with "-bloody hands and hospitable graves" Cass ana Butler were 
 found as ever standing by their country, and upholding its cause, its honor and 
 its glory — Butler in the field, fighting against our enemies — Cass in the Senate, 
 sustaining our cause by his eloquence, wisdom, and devoted patriotism. 
 
 Thus is the caus-e of th? countiy, its honor, its glory, its success at home, and 
 its standing abroad, involved in the election of Cass and Butler. 
 
 But let us take a glance at that conglomeration of factions who style themselves 
 the " Whig party, 1 ' 1 and their candidate. 
 
 And, first, of their candidate. Who is he? For the future fame of the standard- 
 bearer of the Whig paity, I regret to say, it is General Taylor. He is a brave 
 old man — has served his country well, and deserves its applause. lie led patriotic 
 Americans to battle against his country's Mexican enemies; and he was ever tri- 
 umphant. He was then engaged in a noble, a patriotic cause, and bis star of glory 
 never paled. In that noble cause he won his imperishable renown as a warrior. 
 So far, his name stands well on the page of history.' 
 
 But now, where is Gen. Taylor? He has permitted the enemies of his coun- 
 try, the Mexican sympathisers at home, the very men who have declared by 
 speech, by writing, and by their votes in Congress, that the war in which he won 
 his renown was a "Damnable War,'' a " Work of Butchery,'' deserving the 
 "Curse of Heaven,'' — the very men who have prayed for his defeat, who would 
 have rejoiced if he and his whole army had been conquered and massacred at 
 Buena Vista— the very men who have done everything in their power to disparage 
 and disgrace their country in her late contest with Mexico, and who have sought 
 to embarrass its councils and paralyze its efforts — who have voted against men 
 and supplies, expressing their determination to "Starve the army out of Mexi- 
 co,'' — who have called our brave soldiers " Butchers," and even applied the 
 scandalous epithet to Gen. Taylor himself; these men, thus reeking with pestilent 
 treason against their country, General Taylor has permitted to use his illustrious 
 name for the unholy purpose of defeating and breaking down, politically; the party 
 
that has nobly and patriotically sustained tliat country in the council and in the 
 field, in the very war in which the General won all his glory and renown. He 
 heads the Mexican Whigs at home in a contest, the object of which is to defeat 
 and destroy the American patriots whom he led to victory in Mexico. What spec- 
 tacle can be more disgusting? What exhibition more scandalous ? But the brave 
 old General reckons this time without his host. The American patriots will de- 
 feat and disperse his Mexican Whig cohorts, as easily as he defeated and dispersed 
 the real Mexicans at Palo Alto, Resaca, Monterey, and Buena Vista. As well 
 might he attempt to reinstate Benedict Arnold and the tories of the revolution in 
 the affections and confidence of the American people, as the Whig allies of Mexico 
 who are now clinging to his skirts, and attempting to smuggle themselves into 
 power under the cover of his popular name. The Democrats will honor and 
 respect him personally, but they never will vote for him as long as he keeps in 
 such bad company. 
 
 But General Taylor says that he is no statesman — that he knows nothing of 
 politics — that he does not know whether he is in favor of a bank, a tariff, or any 
 other measure of the Whig party — that he will not pledge himself to any meas- 
 ure of the Whig party — in short, that he has not even voted for forty years, hav- 
 ing been a mere soldier all the days of his life. Why, then, does the Whig party— 
 the party which advocates a national bank, a high protective tariff, the distribu- 
 tion of the proceeds of the sales of the public lands, an extravagant system of 
 internal improvements, an assumption of the State debts, the bankrupt law, and 
 the whole brood of federal measures — support General Taylor? The only answer 
 is, they ?upport him on the ground of his supposed availability. They thus 
 abandon all principle, and fight only for office — the " spoils of victory," which 
 they affect to despise so much when out of power — and that is pretty much al- 
 ways. 
 
 But, what has rendered General Taylor so available ? Nothing but the success- 
 ful battles which he fought, in a war which they have condemned and opposed. 
 What shocking morality is this ! What base betrayal of truth and modesty ! What 
 violation of decency and consistency ! 
 
 But this is not all. The Whigs of the northern States have pretended to be 
 opposed to the further extension of the territory of the United States. Yet, for 
 the selfish purposes of securing the offices of the General Government, they are 
 willing to support for President a man who was in favor of talcing by force seven 
 States of the Mexican Republic, running the line as low down as the. Sierra Madre 
 mountains. 
 
 The Whigs have condemned President Polk for ordering Gen. Taylor to march 
 the troops of the United States to the Rio Grande, and thus "unconstitutionally" 
 commencing the war. Yet they are ready to vote for the man who advised the 
 President to make this very order ! 
 
 The Whigs pretend to be horror-stricken at slavery ; they have advocated th& 
 Wilmot proviso, and have declared that they would never vote for a slaveholder. 
 Yet they are supporting for President a man who owns two hundred slaves, and 
 who has been at least purchasing slaves nearly all his life. 
 
 The Whigs affected to be horror-stricken at Mr. Van Buren, because it was 
 contemplated to employ Cuba blood-hounds to hunt the Indians in the Seminole 
 war; yet they are supporting for President the very man who commanded in Flo- 
 rida on that occasion, and who recommended that very measure. 
 
 When General Jackson was a candidate for the Presidency, who had not been 
 in the army for near twenty years, and then but occasionally, the Whigs affected 
 great horror at the election of a military chieftain. Now they support for Presi- 
 
tleat a man who is still a General in the army, and who has no other ground on 
 which to advocate his election, except '.hut he has been a successful military chief- 
 tain. 
 
 Can sr.ch brazen inconsistency, such barefaced hypocrisy, fail to disgust honest 
 and truthful men? And are there no honest men in the Whig ranks to be dis- 
 gusted by such atrant knavery in politics? We shall see. Let the religious men 
 of the Whig party be guilty of such conduct, and reconcile it to their consciences 
 if they can. No man of principle and integrity believes in the attrocious maxim, 
 that "■all is fair in politics. " And if there are any such men in the Whig ranks, 
 they will scout this foul and disgusting desecration of principle, of which the 
 leaders of their party have been guilty, in the nomination of Gen. Taylor, under 
 the circumstances in which they have presented him for the suffrages of the Ame- 
 rican people. 
 
 One word as to trie policy of the two parties. Let us incur to 1S42. The 
 Whig party was then in power. It repealed the Sub-treasury established by Mr. 
 Van Buren. I: enacted a. high, protective tariff, in place of the compromise act, 
 which they promised should be perpetual. It distributed the proceeds of the sales 
 .of the public lands. It established a bankrupt system, by means of which a horde 
 of broken-down speculators in its ranks escaped iron: the payment of their just 
 debts.. It carried into effect its favorite system of measures with the exception of 
 a bank. What was the result? The revenues of the Government partially failed, 
 and it was forced to contract loans, even in a time of profound peace. The policy 
 of the Whig party also partially destroyed the credit of the Government, lor it was 
 forced to contract its loans at a discount, notwithstanding it promised to pay in- 
 terest quarterly. And the result of this disgraceful policy was the expulsion of 
 the Whig party from power in 1 r> J i ; thus proving, under the Harrison and Tyler 
 administrations, as well as those of the two Adamses, that the Federal or Whig 
 party is incapable of administering the General Government successfully, and to 
 the satisfaction of the people. 
 
 Now, how has it been under ihe present Democratic administration ? Texas 
 has been annexed, thus adding 350,000 square miles to the territory of the Union. 
 A just and equal revenue tariff has bc^n established, yielding mere revenue than 
 could be raised under the prohibitory system of the Whig parly. The indepen- 
 dent treasury has been re-establishetf, thus preserving the currency in a sound 
 condition, and elevating the credit of the Government at hotne and abroad. A 
 war commenced against us by Mexico without just cause, has been carried on, 
 and brought to a triumphant and honorable close, after a succession of military 
 ' achievements unparalleled in the annals of the world for brilliancy and glory. 
 The national character has been elevated in the estimation of foreign nauon* to a 
 degree never before known in the history of this republic. An additional territory, 
 equal to 500,000 square miles, has been added to the national domain ; and the 
 credit of the nation has been constantly preserved. In a time of peace, under the 
 Whig rule, our national stock was below par. During the present administration, 
 in the midst of a foreign war it has been sold by the Government at a premium^ 
 and never at a discount. More than haif a million of dollars have been realized 
 to the treasury in premiums upon the sale of national stocks under the present 
 administration. And, to crown all, never ha3 our country been filled with such 
 abundance, such plenty, and each an amount of prosperity and happiness, na- 
 tional and individual, as under the present Democratic policy. 
 
 Now, if General Taylor is elected, this brilliant and glowing picture is to be 
 changed. He has promised not to use the veto power, the great safeguard of the 
 people against vicious legislation; and thus he will permit Whig policy again to 
 
prevail. Then will come national dishonor, and national discredit, and national 
 and individual distress. The patriotic tr:en who have sustained the honor and 
 glory of their country in the Senate and tield, are to he put down j and the men 
 who Siave sympathised with the public enemy, who have traitorously given him 
 '•aid and comfort," who have voted for the disgrace of their country in Congress, 
 by alleging that the war was unconstitutional!/ commenced, who have encouraged 
 the Mexicans to lasso and hntcher our brave young men who volunteered to fiorlit 
 the battles of their country — men whose conduct should render them more infa- 
 mous in the estimation of their countrymen than Mexican guerillas — are to be in- 
 stalled in power, with their baleful batch of measures, to depress and embarrass 
 the country, to injure its credit, and to destroy the high reputation which it now 
 enjoys in the estimation of foreign nations. 
 
 But if those two noble and glorious patriots, Cass and Butier, shall be elected, 
 the prosperity, credit, honor, and glory of the republic, will be preserved. 
 
 Can the intelligent and unwavering Democracy of the Granite State hesitate in 
 their choice ? If there are any honest, conscientious, and patriotic Whi^s, f would 
 also respectfully ask them, if they can hesitate: 
 
 1 am, respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 EDMUND BURKE. 
 
 B. B. YVhittemore, Esq., and others of the Committee of Arrangements. 
 
 GEN. Z\CIIARY TAYLOR—HIS PROFESSIONS AND PRINCIPLES. 
 
 He wires in an<l wires our. 
 And leaves the people still in doubt 
 "Whether the snake that made the track 
 Is going north or coming back. 
 
 Gen. Taylor's electioneering ietteis have already been published, and arc now 
 before the enlightened freemen of this great republic. And what a spectacle!! 
 Does he or his friends suppose that such palpable contradictions and glaring in-' 
 consistencies can escape the notice and condemnation of his intelligent country- 
 men? Let them not " lay that flattering unction to their souls." The people will 
 see, as they have seen, and will know full well how to appreciate such turning, and 
 twisting, and trying to dodge responcibilities, and will hold his Janus-faced prin- 
 ciples, if principles they may be called, up to the caze of all the world in all their 
 naked and di-gusting deformity. And now for the specifications: 
 
 He has contradicted himself — ■ 
 
 1st. In relation to his being a candidate for the presidency. 
 
 2d. In relation to the duty of aspirants to office to declare their political opin- 
 ions when called for by the people ; and, 
 
 3d. In relation to the giving of political pledges as to the principles which will 
 govern his administration in the event of his election, and his independence as a 
 candidate for the presidency^. 
 
 Now, if it can be fully made out that Gen. Taylor has, within a twelvemonth, 
 thus contradicted himself in relation to every material point on which he has 
 written — if it can be shown that his correspondence, though professedly non- 
 committal, does in fact prove upon him a commitment to a greater degree of 
 inconsistency, as to his political portion, than was ever before brought home to 
 a public man — then we do not see upon what grounds of principle; of public 
 
policy, or common honesty, he is entitled to receive the votes of any party for 
 the presidency. 
 
 We propose now to bring him to trial before the country upon our charges, 
 and to see, after a careful inspection of his letters, and committals by his friends 
 with his assent, how far good common sense, consistency, and fair dealing war- 
 rant his conviction at the hands of the people. 
 
 1st. In relation to his desire to be a candidate for the presidency. 
 
 In his first letter on this subject, dated Monterey, April 29, IS47, he says, in 
 answer to the inquiry whether he would consent to be the candidate ot the Native 
 American party — 
 
 "That even if he was an aspirant to the presidential office — which ivas not the case— he could 
 not, while the country was involved in war, and while his duty called him to take part in the 
 operations against the enemy, acknowledge any ambition beyond that of bestowing his best 
 exertions towards obtaining an adjustment of our difficulties with Mexico." 
 
 In his letter to James W. Taylor, dated Monterey, May IS, 1847, he says: 
 
 "For (he high honor a.d responsibilities of such an office, (as the presidency,) I take thi s 
 occasion to say that I have not the slightest aspiration. A much more tranquil and satisfactory 
 life, after the termination of my present duties, awaits rne, I trust, in the society of my family 
 and particular friends, and in the occupations more congenial to my wishes. 
 
 And again, in his letter to-a citizen in Lansingburg, New York, dated Camp 
 near Monterey, May 29, 1847, he says: 
 
 "The presidential olfice presents no inducements to me to seek its honors or its responsibili- 
 ties. The tranquility of private life, on the contrary is the great object of my aspirations, on 
 the conclusion of the war. But I am not insensible to the persuation that my services are yet due 
 to the country, as the country shall see fit to command them.'' 
 
 And in his letter to Dr. C. Wilcox, dated Camp near Monterey, Mexico, July 
 20, 1847, he says : 
 
 " I can say. in all sincerity, I have no aspirations (or the presidency; and if I am a candidate, 
 or to be one, it must be recollected I am, or will he made so by others, and by no agenev of 
 mine in the matter. Under this state of things, should a majority of the good people of "our 
 country think proper to elevate me to the first office in their gift — or I may say the first in the 
 world — 1 feel bound to serve them." 
 
 This is the fourth letter in which he distinctly avows that, personally, he has 
 no aspirations to the presidency. 
 
 So Ca?sar thrice put aside the crown, when it was tendered to him; but the 
 historian says, that on the third occasion he barely put it by. Now let us see 
 whether the old General's aspirations were really in favor of retiracy to private 
 life, as he has thus far written, or whether their decided and growing tendency 
 has not been most strongly set in the direction of the White House. And now 
 for the proof: for out of his own mouth we intend to convict him. 
 
 The first letter in which he begins to manifest an itching for the presidency, is 
 the one to Dr. John T. Clarke of New Jersey, dated Camp near Monterey, Mex- 
 ico, June 21, 1817, in which he says : 
 
 " I take this occasion to remark, that if the people of the country desire to place me in the 
 high office of the chief magistracy, 1 do not feel myself at liberty to refuse; but on the con- 
 trary, in that position, as well as one more humble, it will ever be my pride and constant en- 
 deavor to serve my country with all the ability 1 possess." 
 
 In his letter to William Hall, Esq., of Maryland, dated Camp near Monterey, 
 Mexico, July 6, IS47, he says : 
 
 " If the good people of the nation should so greatly honor me with elevation to the chief 
 magistracy, I shall by all zealous endeavors, and "to the best of my ability, strive to serve them, 
 ;»ud maintain the best and highest interest of the whole country." 
 
In his letter to J. A. Birkey, Esq., dated Camp near Monterey, July 13, 1847, 
 he says : 
 
 " My willingness to yield to the wishes of the people at large, and to serve them in the office 
 of the chief magistracy, should they fully and unanimously place its weighty responsibilities 
 upon me, has been more than once expressed." (This being the third time.) 
 
 But in his lettet to the editors of the Richmond (Va.) Republican, dated Baton 
 Rouge, (La.,) April 20, 1848, after the bud of his growing ambition had fully 
 blossomed, he says, in distinct terms — and listen to the old man, for he had not 
 only now got his aspirations up to the highest pitch, but his dander also — 
 
 " I do net design to withdraw my name, if Mr. Clay be the nominee of the Whig National 
 Convention ; and, in connexion, I beg permission to remark, that the statements which have 
 been so positively msde in soma of the northern prints, to the effect, 'that should Mr. Clay be 
 the nominee of the Whig National Convention, I had stated that I would not suffer my name to 
 be used,' are not correct, and have no foundation in any oral or written remark of mine. It has 
 not been my intention at any moment to change my position, or to withdraw my name from 
 the canvass, whoever may be the nominee of the national convention, either ot the whig or 
 democratic party." 
 
 Now, what of the old General's aspirations to the presidency ? Three letters 
 in favor of retiring to private life, and four — the last being a* clincher — in favor 
 of the White Hotiseand its responsibilities, under al! circumstances. 
 <&d. In relation to the duly of aspirants to office to declare their political opinions 
 when called for by the people. 
 
 fa his letter to Edward Delony, dated Camp near Monterey, Mexico, J jne 9 
 
 1847, he says : 
 
 "It is a happy feature in our government, that official functionaries under it, from the lowest 
 to the highest station, are not beyond the reach and partial supervision of the humblest citizen ; 
 and that it is a right inherent in every freeman to possess himself of the political principles and 
 opinions of those into whose hands the administration of the government may be placed ; to alt 
 of which I fully coincide with you in opinion." 
 
 And in his letter to Captain J. S. Allison, dated Baton Rouge, Apiil 22, 184S, 
 he says : 
 
 " I hold no opinion which I would not readily proclaim to my assembled countrymen." 
 
 Now let us see how his acts in this respect, as shown by other portions oi his 
 correspondence, square with this opinion as expressed to Mr. Delony and Captain 
 Allison. 
 
 In his letter to Mr. Biikey, dated at Camp near Monterey, July lo\ 1847, he 
 
 says : 
 
 "That as to the request of the Native American convention to be informed of his views 
 relating to several points of national policy as entertained by the Native American party, tha^ 
 limited Measure from his public duties constrains him to replv, in very general and brief terms, 
 that to the points cited m his letter he does not fed himself at liberty to express his frank opinion. 
 
 And fn his letter to J. W. Taylor, Esq., of Cincinnati, Ohio, dated Camp near 
 Monterey, May IS, 1847, he says : 
 
 if My own personal views were better withheld till the end of thv war, when my usefulness 
 as a military chief, serving in the field against a common enemy, shall no longer be compromised 
 by their expression, or discussion, in any manner." 
 
 And now, since the war is over, he refuses to take his letters out of the post 
 office, to avoid the responsibility of answering the inquiries of his fellow-eiuzens 
 as to his political principles, under the parsimonious pretext of the expense of the 
 postage. Suppose any one of those who had written tj him should be told by 
 him, as an excuse for not answering his letter, that he (a man of immense wealth) 
 had not taken it out of the office on account of the expense; what would be the 
 indignation at such treatment ? And yet such is the attitude of this would-be 
 
8 
 
 occupant of the White House; for such has been his conduct towards a portion 
 of his countrymen, (See the letter of Gooigc A. Pike, Esq., postmaster at 
 Baton Rouge, the place of Gen. Taylor's residence, to the Postmaster General, 
 dated 8th of July, 1848.) 
 
 And lastly, in his Allison letter, fas it is called,) he says : 
 
 "I confess, while I have great cardinal principles [Heaven save the nark!] which will regu- 
 late my political life', 1 am not sufficiently familiar with all the minute details of political legisla- 
 tion to give solemn pledges to exert my influence, if. I weie President, to carry out ibis or 
 defeat that measure. I bai r e no ( c6nce;alment. I hold no opinion which I would not readily 
 proclaim to my assembled countrymen ; but crude impreflions upon matters of policy, which 
 may be right to Qjy ur.d wrong to mo. row, are perhaps not the best teat of fitness for office. — 
 One u<ho cannot be trusted without pledges, cuiinot be confided in merely on account of them" 
 
 So the old General conclude.: to give no opinions, after all j and says, in this 
 famous letter, which is called his platform of whig principles. M / do not knoic 
 that I shall again icritc iipon this svhjccl of national politics. V And now he is 
 General Mum, and refuses to take his letter'? out of the post office. It remains 
 to be seen whether the people will take him on tryst, in this land of republican 
 liberty, were it is one of their cardinal principles that they have a right to the 
 opinions of aspirants, from the highest to the lowest ollice in the government. 
 
 See in what a ridiculous attitude he stands, for instance, on the Wibnot-prociso 
 question. Senator Cprwiii of Oiiio said, in a speech delivered in the United 
 States Senate, on the 24th of July, that if General Taylor was known io be 
 opposed to the ll'ilmol pupviso, he would not vole for him himself, and that he 
 would siot get a single vote in the free States. Now, it is well known, on the 
 contrary, that if he were to express himself, he would not get a single vote in the 
 slave States. Now, what is his opinion on this question ? IVilmot Proviso, or 
 not? The southern whigs claim him as opposed to, while the northern wing of 
 whigery insist that he is committed in favor of it ; and, as to- the old gentleman, 
 he is mum, and refuses to take his letters out of the post office. 
 
 But we have a letter from General T. in reply to one from Mr. B. M. McCon- 
 key of Cincinnati, Ohio, directly in point upon this subject. Now let us hear 
 the old General answer for himself. Mr. JVItfConkey, among other things, pro- 
 pounded this interrogatory : 
 
 '•'Should you become President of the United States, would yO'i veto an act of Congress 
 which should prohibit slavery or involuntary seryitue forever, except for crime, in all the terri- 
 tories of the United States where it does not now exist :" 
 
 To which the General replies : 
 
 Eaton Rouge, (La.,) February 15, J846. 
 
 "Sir: In reply to your inquiries, I have to inform you that I have laid jf down as a prin- 
 ciple, not to give any opinions upon, or prejudge in any way, the various questions of policy 
 now at issue between the political parties of the country, norto promise what I would or would 
 not do, were I elected to the presidency of the United States ; and that, in the case presented 
 in your letter, I regret to add, I see no reasou for departing from this principle. 
 
 " Your obedient sejpant, 
 
 Za.CH ARY TAYLOR. 
 
 Now, was ever man or politician in such a dilemma ? 
 
 If he answers in favor of the " Wilmot Proviso, '' he loses all support in the 
 slave States •, and if against it, (Mr. Corwin says,) he will lose all in the free 
 Stales ; and if he does not answer at all, the probability is, that he will lose both; 
 and then again, as to his not answering yes or no, he has solemnly declared, in a 
 previous portion of his correspondence, that, the people have a right to know the 
 opinions of candidates for office, from the highest to the lowest, on all matters of 
 public policy. Now, who does not pity the General in his present predicament? 
 But if gentlemen wish not to be catechised, they must not become candidates for 
 
high political stations, for which they are r.ot qualified. ''Oh! consistency, thou 
 art a jewel'' in the whig camp of politics, whether the headquarters he at Mon- 
 terey or Baton Rouge. 
 
 But lastly — 
 3d. In relation to the giving of political j&edges, as to the principles which will 
 govern his administration in the event of his election, (an event h\j no means 
 probable,) and his independence as a candidate for the presidency. 
 
 Upon this charge it will be found that the General is a used-up man. 
 
 'The moment that you had pronounced him one, 
 
 Presto ! his face changed, and he was another; 
 And when that change was hardly well put on, 
 
 It varied, till I don't think his own mother 
 (If that he had a mother) would her son 
 
 Have known, he shifted so from one to t'other, 
 Till guessing, from a pleasure grew a task, 
 At this epistolary 'iron ma?k.' " 
 
 And now as to his pledges. In his letter to J. W. Taylor, dated May 18, 
 1847, he says : 
 
 "In no case can I permit myself to be the candidate of any part}', or yield myself to party 
 schemes " 
 
 In his letter to a citizen of Lansingburg, New York, dated May 29, 1847, he 
 says : 
 
 " But I will not be the candidate of any party or clique ; and should the nation at lar^e seek 
 to place me in the chair of the chief magistracy, the good of all parties and the national good 
 would be my great and absorbing aim.'' 
 
 In his letter to Mr. Delony, dated June 9, 1347, he says: 
 
 "If the good people think my services important to that station, (the presidency,) and elect 
 me, I will feel bound to serve them ; and all the plederes or explanations I can enter into aud 
 make, as it regards this or that policy, is, that I will do so honestly and faithfully to the best of 
 my abilities, strictly in compliance with the constitution. Should I ever occupy the White 
 House, it must be by the spontaneous move of the- people, and by no act of mine, so that I could 
 go into the office untrammelled, and be the chief magistrate of the nation and not of a party." 
 
 In his letter to Gen. Peter S. Smith, of Philadelphia, dated July 6, 1SJ7, 
 he says : 
 
 " If elected to that high office, it must be by the spontaneous Will of the people at lar^e, ami 
 without any agency or pledge on my part, in any particular. If ever 1 fill that high office, it 
 must be untrammelled with party obligations, or interests of any kind, and under none but 
 those which the constitution, and the high interests of the nation at large, most seriously and 
 solemnly deman i. 1 do not desire the presidency, and only yield thus far my assent to be con- 
 sidered a candidate, in the same proportion in which it is desired by the people, irrespective of 
 party." 
 
 In his letter to Mr. Birkey, dated July 13, 1S47, he says : 
 
 " I am not willing to be the candidate of any party, or to pledge myself to any political creeJ, 
 save that which proceeds directly from the constitution, and the best and paramount interests oi 
 the country, and which they solemnly demand. If elected to the presidential office, it must be 
 without any agency of my' own, and to those duties I must go untrammelled by party pledges 
 of every character." 
 
 In his letter to Doctor Wilcox, dated July 20, 1847, he says : 
 " Should I ever occupy the White House, it must be by the spontaneous move of the people, 
 and by no act of mine, so that I could enter upon the duties appertaining to the Chief Magis- 
 trate of the country untrammelled and unpledged, so that 1 could and would be President of the 
 nation, and net of a party." 
 
 In his letter to Mr. William G. Wood, dated Camp near Monterey, September, 
 23, 1847, he says : 
 
10 
 
 " I do not feel myself at liberty to express any sentiment having the nature of a pledge to any 
 political party. 
 
 In his letter of reply to Messrs. Murphy, Harris, Hopkins, and others, of Alabama, 
 dated Baton Rouge, January 23, 1848, he says : 
 
 "I beg you to accept my profound acknowledgments, and to assuie my fellow-citizens who 
 compose this meeting, that I shall offer no active opposition to the use of my name in connexion 
 with this responsible office, as long as they continue to use it thus independent of party distinc- 
 tions.''' 
 
 In his letter to Peter S. Smith, of Philadelphia, dated January 30, 1848, he says : 
 
 " I should deem it an honor, and would accept such a nomination, provided it had been 
 made entirely independent of party considerations." 
 
 In his letter to Col. A. M. Mitchell of Cincinnati, Ohio, dated Baton Rouge, 
 February 12, 184S, he says : 
 
 "I deem it but candid, however, to add, that if the whig party desire, at the next presidential 
 e'ection, to cast their votes for me, they must do it on their own responsibility, and without 
 any pledges from me. Should I be elected to that high office, I should deem it to be my duty, 
 and should most certainly claim the ri^ht, to look to the constitution, and the high interests of 
 our common country, and not to the principles of a party, for my rules of action." 
 
 In his letter of February 6, 1S49, he says: 
 
 "I have not changed the position I first occupied, as regards my being a candidate for that 
 high office. At the same time, such have been the indications of the people, irrespective of 
 party, a3 evinced by large meetings in many of the States in favor of my being a candidate for 
 the office in question, as to justify me, without departing from the course I have marked out to 
 pursue, to accept a nomination lrom a national convention, should such be held for the presi- 
 dency, from the whigs or democrats, or from both, should they think proper to tender it, without 
 being pledged, or even considering myself so, to advocate the views or opinions of either. 
 Those who are not willing to vote for me without pledges, let them cast their votes at the pro- 
 per time for those who will make them." 
 
 And now comes the clincher upon this subject of no pledge?, and the determi- 
 nation of the old General to preserve his independent position, irrespective of 
 party, at all hazzards. 
 
 In his letter to the publishers of the Richmond Republican, dated Baton 
 Rouge, (La.) April 20, 184S, he says : 
 
 " If nominated by the Whig National Convention, I shall not refuse acceptance, provided I 
 am left free of all pledges, and permitted to maintain the position of independence of all parties, 
 in which the people and my own sense of duty has placed me ; otherwise I shall refuse the 
 
 NOMINATION OF ANY CONVENTION OK PARTY." 
 
 Here, then, is the independent platform of the old General, and his friends say 
 that " General Taylor never surrenders ." 
 
 Well, we shall now see whether a change, and a very sudden one, too, has not 
 come over the spirit of his dream. 
 
 We will now refer to the Allison letter of April 22, 1S4S, to show, in the lirst 
 place, that the General reiterated what he says he has often said — that he was a 
 Whig, but not an ultra Whig; and that, if elected, he would endeavor to act in- 
 dependent of party domination. 
 
 He says he will endeavor to act free of party domination; but now comes the 
 Philadelphia Whig Convention, and Judge Saunders of Louisiana. The Judge 
 said to the members of that convention, as the political friend of General Taylor, 
 and in behalf of the (Whig) delegation from Louisiana, "that General Taylor de- 
 sires it to be understood, that, in his opinion, his friends who come into this con- 
 vention are bound to abide by its decision, and sustain the nominee ' heart and 
 soul,' — that Gen. Taylor recognises in his friends in this convention those who 
 have the right to withdraw his name, and will cheerfully acquiesce in such with- 
 drawal." 
 
 Here, then, he submits himself to the decision of a Whig Convention, through 
 
11 
 
 his friend Judge Saunders, and receives the nomination of the Whig party; and 
 his approval of this nomination is endorsed by his Balie Peyton Committee at 
 New Orleans, by express authority from himself. 
 
 Now, what becomes of the General and his repeated declarations, that under 
 no circumstances would he consent to become the candidate of a party? What 
 faith can hereafter be reposed in the declarations of such a man ? Or what could 
 be expected from an administration with such a man ostensibly at the head of it? 
 None — none whatever. The General has surrendered, and is now not only a 
 Whig, but an ultra Whig, of " the Boston stamp ;" for Abbott Lawrence, who 
 says he speaks by authority, declares to his northern friends that General Taylor 
 is as good a Whig as himself. 
 
 What are his principles now ? His friends refer to his Allison letter as his plat- 
 form, in which he says, among other things, " Upon the subject of the tariff, the 
 currency, the improvement of our great highways, rivers, lakes, and harbors, the 
 will of the people, as expressed through their representatives in Congress, ought 
 to be respected and carried out by the Executive." These, they say, are his 
 opinions. That is, that he is for or against a protective tariff — for or against a na- 
 tional bank — and for or against a system of internal improvements, as Congress 
 may determine. But what are your own opinions upon these subjects, General? 
 Mum. As goes the Congress, so goes the General. So in regard to the " Wilmot 
 proviso." Black or white? is the question — and again he is mum. The Whigs 
 at the North say he is for it, while the Whigs of the South say he is opposed to it. 
 Such are the absurdities of the times. 
 
 Now suppose it were possible to give form and feature to such political tergiv- 
 ersation, and what a monster would be here presented to our view : 
 
 " Suppose a painter to a human head 
 Should join ' Old WhiteyV neck, and wildly spread 
 The various plumage cf the feathered kind 
 O'er limbs of different beast?, absurdly joined ; 
 Or, if he gave to view a beauteous maid, 
 Above the waist with every charm arrayed, 
 Should a foul fish her lower parts unfold — 
 Would you not laugh such pictures to behold? 
 Such is the book, which, like a sick man's dreams, 
 Varies all shapes, and merges all extremes." 
 
 And yet such are General Taylor's politics! 
 
 As to his independence, that is gone, gone, gone. Now hear what his late in- 
 dependent friends, who have been betrayed by him, say upon that subject. 
 
 The " Buena Vista'' newspaper, their late organ, thus announces the formal 
 disbandment of the independent Taylor party in Maryland : 
 
 "This is the last number of the ' Buena Vista' which will be issued. Our cause has suffered 
 that worst of misfortunes — the failure of its leader. We must take back to our own bosoms the 
 confidence we had so freely lavished ; we can be true to ourselves, tvhen others are untrue to us. 
 The cause of our country still remains, full of vitality, and more than ever worthy of our devo- 
 tion ; the genius of the constitution still invokes our fealty and reverence. In the approaching 
 political contest, the philosophy of indifference is ours. We rely upon the fortunes of the republic, 
 and in the mean time remain neutral between the rival competitors for place. Nevertheless, it 
 is for each one to determine his own course for himself. As uu organization in behalf of Gene- 
 ral Taylor for the presidency, our bond of unity is gone." 
 
 *********** 
 
 "We have no private griefs — no mortifications, save the profound one of having failed in an 
 honest effort to serve the best interests of the country. The position of General Taylor, if hon- 
 orably maintained, and his election upon the fcigh ground of manly and patriotic independence, 
 we regarded as fraught, and to be fraught, with incalculable national blessings. His abandon- 
 ment of that position, we look upon as a national calamity proportionally heavy." 
 
 " Finding him thus unreliable in one thing, we have no reason for supposing we can rely upon 
 him in anything. We must take back to our own bosom3 the confidence we had so freely lavished. 
 
12 
 
 Our pain and disappoiiUme.it arc bitter, in finding that our standard of him u-as higher than his 
 standard of himself," "What we could not control, we should, under ordinary circumstances, 
 have contented ourselves with simply lamenting. But, having helped to mislead others while we 
 were deceived ourselves, we have felt it our duty to undeceive them, so far as this exposition 
 has gone. That done, we shall, as individuals, pursue our own coarse— others will pursue iheirs." 
 
 His independent friends in Louisiana have adopted the same course ; and lie is 
 left alone with his Whig principles (such as they are) in the keeping of his Balie 
 Pay ton Whig committee in New Orleans, and refuses to take his letters out of the 
 post, oflicc, because he is charged with the postage, and is unwilling to answer 
 them. The election in November will show, that however willing the people 
 may be to award all just merit to the General for his military services, (and, even 
 as to that, there have been others in the late war with Mexico as good as he,) they 
 are, nevertheless, not willing to elevate to the presidential chair a man without 
 any civil qualifications or experience whatever; and who, in the short space of a 
 twelvemonth, has written himself into so many absurdities and inconsistencies, 
 Alas ! fot the Whig party, when such an availability is made to take precedence 
 of such men as Hemy Clay. Miserable indeed must be their cause, when driven 
 lo such extremity; and when their available candidate, after all his supposed 
 availability, finds it necessary to resort to such wretched subterfuges ! 
 
 But Shakspeare says — and perhaps General Mum and his friends expect to profit 
 by his observance of the maxim for the future — 
 
 " I do know of those, 
 
 Who therefore only are reputed wise 
 
 For saying nothing." 
 
 GEN. TAYLOR SURRENDERS TO THE WHIGS. 
 
 Baton Rouge, La., July 15, 1S4S. 
 
 Sir: I have had the honor to receive your communication of June 10th, an- 
 nouncing that the whig convention, which assembled at Philadelphia on the 7th 
 of that month, and of which you were the presiding officer, has nominated me 
 for the office of President of the United States. 
 
 Looking to the composition of the convention, and its numerous and patriotic 
 constituency, 1 feel deeply grateful for the honor bestowed upon me, and for the 
 distinguished confidence implied in my nomination by it to the highest office in 
 the gift of the American people. 
 
 I CORDIALLY ACCEPT THAT NOMINATION, but with a sincere distrust 
 of my fitness to fulfil the duties of an office which demands for its exercise the 
 most exalted abilities and patriotism, and which has been rendered illustrious by 
 the greatest names in our history. But, should the selection of the Whig con- 
 vention be confirmed by the people, I shall endeavor to discharge the new duties 
 then devolving upon me, so as to meet the just expectations of my fellow-citizens, 
 and preserve undiminished the prosperity and reputation of our common country. 
 
 I have the honor to remain, with the highest respect, your most obedient ser- 
 vant, Z. TAYLOR. 
 
 To the Hon. J. M. Morehead, 
 
 Greensboro' ', Guilford county, North Carolina. 
 
13 
 
 NINE DAYS LATER ! 
 
 GENERAL TAYLOR, SEEING THE COMPANY INTO WHICH HE HAS FALLEN 
 BACKS OUT OF THE WHIG NOMINATION. 
 
 Baton Rougt, La., July 24, 1S48. 
 
 Dear Sir : Your letter of the 5th instant, asking of me a line or two in regard 
 to my position as a candidate for the Presidency, has been duly received. 
 
 In reply, I have to say that I AM NOT A PARTT CANDIDATE, and if elected 
 shall not be tbe President of a party, but the President of the whole people. 
 
 I am, dear sir, with high respect and regard, your most obedient servant, 
 
 Z. TAYLOR 
 
 George Lippard, Esq., Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 LATER STILLII 
 
 GENERAL TAYLOR REGRETS THAT HE WAS NOT NOMINATED BY 
 THE DEMOCRATS. 
 
 "I never had any aspirations for the Presidency, nor have I now, farther thatx 
 the wishes of my friends are concerned in the matter; nor would I have it on 
 any other terms than I staled when the subject was first agitated", which is, that 
 my acceptance must be without pledges or being trammelled in any way, so that 
 I could be the President of the whole nation and not of a party. 
 
 "I have accepted tbe nomination of the Philadelphia Convention, as well as 
 the nomination of many primary assemblies gotten up in various sections of the 
 Union, in some instances irrespective of party; AND WOULD HAVE ACCEPT- 
 ED THE NOMINATION OF THE BALTIMORE CONVENTION had it been 
 tendered on the same terms. I am now fully, if not fairly, before the country as a 
 candidate for the Chief Magistracy ; and if it should be my good or bad fortune to 
 be elected, I trust my course will be such, for the most part, as regards the man- 
 agement of our national affairs, as will meet the approbation of my fellow-citizens. 
 Should they fail to do so, they will, I flatter myself, have the charity to attribute 
 my errors to the head, and not to the heart. 
 
 " Very respectfully, your friend, Z. TAYLOR." 
 
 THE VERY LATEST RECEIVED! !! 
 
 GENERAL TAYLOR ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION OF THE CHARLESTON 
 DEMOCRATS, ON THE TICKET WITH GEN. BUTLER. 
 
 Raton- Rouge, (La.) August 9, 1S46. 
 
 Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of 
 the 26th ult., officially announcing to me my Domination for the presidency by 
 "A LARGE MEETING OF THE DEMOCPvATIC CITIZENS OF CHARLES- 
 TON, SOUTH CAROLINA," held in that city on the 20tfi ult., and over which 
 you were the presiding officer. 
 
 This deliberate expression of the friendly feeling existing towards me among 
 a large and respectable portion of the citizens of your distinguished State, has 
 been received with emotions of PROFOUND GRATITUDE; and though it ba 
 but a poor veturn for such a high and unmerited honor, I BEG THEM TO AC' 
 CEPT MY HEARTFELT THANKS. 
 
u 
 
 Concluding that this nomination, like all others which I have had the honor of 
 receiving from assemblages of my fellow-citizens in various parts of the Union, has 
 been generously offered ine without pledges 01 conditions, IT IS THANKFULLY 
 ACCEPTED. And I beg you to assure my friends in whose behalf \ r ou are acting, 
 that should it be my lot to fill the office for which 1 have been thus nominated, it 
 shall be my unceasing effort in the discharge of its responsible duties to give satis- 
 faction to my countrymen. 
 
 With the assurance of my high esteem, I have the honor to be, your obedient 
 servant, Z. TAYLOR. 
 
 Wm. B. Prixgle, Esq., President fyc., Charleston, S. C. 
 
 BLOOD-HOUNDS ONCE MORE. 
 A Resolution from John Q. Adams for Gen. Taylor to answer. 
 
 The Congressional Globe for 1840, page 252, contains a resolution offered 
 March 9th by Hon. John Quincy Adams, in the following words : 
 
 "Resolved, That the Secretary of War be directed to report to this Home, the natural, poli- 
 tical, and martial history of the blood-hounds, showing the peculiar fitness of the class of war- 
 riors to be the associates of the gallant army of the United States, specifying the nice discrimi- 
 nation of his scent between the blood of the freeman and the blood of the slave — between the 
 blood of the armed warrior, and women and children — the blood of the black, white, and colored 
 man — between the blood of savage Seminoles and that of the Anglo-Saxon pious Christian. — 
 Also, a statement of the number of blood hounds and their conductors, imported by the Govern- 
 ment, or the authorities of Florida, from the island of Cuba, and the cost of that importation. — 
 Also, whether further importation of the same heroic race into the State of Maine, to await the 
 contingency of a contested northeastern boundary question, is contemplated, or only to settle 
 an example to be followed by our possible adversary i.i the event of a conflict. Whether meas- 
 ures have been taken to secure exclusively to Ourselves the employment of this auxiliary force, 
 and whether he deems it expedient to extend to the said blocd-hounds and their posterity the 
 benefits of the pension law." 
 
 In the ordinary process of military matters, this resolution would be endorsed, 
 •'Respectfully referred to the General commanding in Florida, by whom the em- 
 ployment of blood-hounds was recommended, to give the information sought." — 
 And that being the case, the following letter becomes interesting: 
 
 Headquarters, Army in the South, 
 
 Fort Brooke, July 28, 1839. 
 
 Sir : I have the honor to enclose you a communication, this moment received, 
 on the subject of procuring blood-hounds from the island of Cuba, to aid the army 
 in its operations against the besides in Florida. 1 am decidedly in favor of the 
 measure, and beg have again to urge it, as the only means of ridding the country 
 of the Indians, who are now broken up into small parties that take shelter in 
 swamps and hammocks as the army approaches, making it impossible for us to 
 follow or overtake them without the aid of such auxiliaries. 
 
 Should the measure meet the approbation of the Department, and the necessary 
 authority be granted, I will open a correspondence on the subject with Mr. Ev- 
 erston, through Major Hunt, assistant quartermaster at Savannah, and will author- 
 ize him, if it can be done on reasonable terms, to employ a few dogs, with per- 
 sons who understand their management. 
 
 I wish it distinctly understood, that my object in employing dogs is only to 
 ascertain where the Indians can be found, not to worry them. 
 
 I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, Z. TAYLOR, 
 
 Bvt, Brig. Gen. V. S. A. Comm'g. 
 
 To Gen. R. Joxes, Washington, D. C. 
 
15 
 
 From Gen. Taylor, therefore, the information sought must come. The ques- 
 tions propounded have never been answered. But it is not even now too late. 
 These are the same blood-hounds that were let loose on Mr. Van Buren, who 
 was the Democratic candidate in 1840. Something of their nature and charac- 
 teristics was then made out — but their real history, and especially their true pater- 
 nity, was not discovered. A voice from the grave, as it were, now calls upon 
 General Taylor for light upon this subject — light which he alone can give. And 
 there is no postage unpaid in the way, since the call is spread upon the public 
 documents. 
 
 DR. LIEBER'S DEFINITION OF A TRAITOR. 
 
 Dr. Lieber, in his great work on Ethics, thus describes the duty of a citizen to 
 his Government: 
 
 "Remember that it is your state, your nation, that declares and fights out the 
 war, not this or that minister ; remember that the honor and history of your coun- 
 try are engaged ; that however conscientious you be in your opposition, you may 
 err after all; that you cannot oppose the administration, without strengthening 
 the enemy, who has unsheathed his sword against your kindred. A traitor is he 
 who would not gladly defend his own country. If an opposition feels really and 
 conscientiously convinced that the war is inexpedient, let them follow the old 
 Roman rule — '■treat after victory, but fight until then.' " 
 
 EXTRACT FROM COL. WYNKOOP'S LETTER. 
 
 "We, here, can see no difference between the men who in 1776 succored the 
 British, and those who in 1847 gave arguments and sympathy to the Mexicans. 
 This kind of language, from a man who came into this campaign a Whig in 
 policy, may sound strange to you, but I have again and again been compelled to 
 listen to and to sutler that which would have changed the disposition and alien- 
 ated the affections of the most determined partisan. Even now, I do not object 
 to the leading and main principles of my old party, so much as I curse and de- 
 precate the tone of its acknowledged leaders and supporters. If there is any 
 reason which will prevent General Scott from effecting an honorable peace, com- 
 manding, as he does, the whole city of the Aztecs, with his powerful battery, it 
 is the spirit of treason which I unhesitatingly say is promulgated by the leading 
 Whig journals at home. In a sortie upon some ladrones at Jalapa, a short time 
 since, 1 possessed myself of all the late newspaper publications in that place, and 
 upon examining them, I find that, in that place, same as in Mexico, the strongest 
 arguments published against our army are selections from Whig papers in the 
 United States. I send you a late copy of the 'Boletin de Noticias,' in which you 
 will perceive that the first article is an extract from the National Intelligencer. 
 "Your friend, F. M. WYNKOOP." 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE SPEECH OF GEN. PIERCE, DELIVERED AT CONCORD. 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE, JANUARY 29. 
 
 " He was here, not to discuss any matter in controversy, but to meet his friends. 
 Still; the subject of the war was necessarily presented to their consideration by 
 
10 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 lllllllllllll 
 
 011 932 915 2 
 
 the occasion. Before engaging in. it, it was his belief that it was irresistibly forced 
 upon us. If he had ever doubted before, conversation with ihe most intelligent 
 men in Mexico would have confirmed him in the opinion, that after the annexa- 
 tion of Texas, it was unavoidable on our part. Conquest was evidently neither 
 the cause nor the object of the war, and yet he was constrained to say, that there 
 had seettied to be, in the obstinacy of the Mexicans, the uniform success of our 
 arms, and the present state of our relations with that country, souk thing like the 
 irresistible force of destiny. For one, it Ins been, and still was, his hope that a 
 peace, just and honorable to both nations, might be in soiue way achieved. The 
 obstacles to such a consummation, as he apprehended, had arisen from unexpect- 
 ed sources. There was, unquestionably, in Mexico, a formidable and intelligent 
 party, who had resisted, and would resist, negotiations, so long as they could 
 hope, through our army, to escape from the military misrule under which that 
 country had literally groaned for the last, twenty years. Again, die party desiring 
 peace, and sincerely striving for it, had been embarrassed and weakened, if not 
 discouraged, by the course cf things here. President llerrera and the Mexican 
 Congress, who were understood to be in favor of peace, might be so weakened by the declarations 
 of our own countrymen, that they wculd not (fare to conclude a peace. When nl the camp near 
 Jaiapit, a paper published ni that city wa to him, the whole ofthefirat page of which, and 
 
 of the second, v.-as fdicd with extracts frum the .Lneriaan press, anil from speeches made in 
 this c j, ced the editors lo. say, that whjle the, intelligent and virtuous portion of the 
 
 people of S'" m^nis, nothing remained, for than to add in justification of 
 
 their coarse towards the United Stales. On the same day that he read the bitter denunciations of 
 the war, and all connected with it, from newspaper aiticlcs and speeches made at home, he saw 
 posted 'ay the way side, and upon the ranches, the proclamation of Gen. Salas to the guerrillas, 
 with the watchword of ' Death to Yankee? , without mercy !' Thus, with communication cut off 
 irora the coast, with no knowledge of the situation of the a, my in the interior, with daily rumors 
 of strong forces to obstruct their march, was there furnished from ou* own country food which (ed 
 the ferocity that pursued his command at every turn. The effect it was calculated to produce 
 upon the Mexican Government and people was s ifiieientiy obvious. What was the feeling in- 
 spired iu hi.i own command, it was unnecessary to say. However lightly their po.-ition might be 
 regarded at home, they knew that there was hut one course, and that was to go forward. In the 
 ejfice of the Secretary of State, in the city of Mexico, dlafge collection of extracts from newspapers 
 and speeches of our oien countrymen were found filed away in the. pi;;eo?i holes, and had been used in 
 preparing proclamations to \infiame the Mexican population: Men of all parlies in this country 
 exercised their own judgment, and expressed theii own opinion, in their own way ; and so he 
 _ trusted it would ever be ; but he could not but regard it as most unfortunate that upon a great 
 question, involving the blood of our countr) men, and so deeply and. vitally the interests of the 
 nation, we could not present a uuited front. If we could have done so, he firmly believed that 
 months ago ti.ere would have been a peace, just and honorable to both nations. If we could do 
 so now, he thought the skies were bright and promising. General Pierce, after again thanking 
 the audience for their kind reception, sat down amid repeated and enthusiastic cheering/' 
 
 EXTRACT FROM A WORK ENTITLED "ADVENTURES IN MEXICO," BY C 
 
 DONNA VAN; 
 
 " But the most difficult n.atU-r of comprehension to the editor, was how Whig generals should 
 be placed at the head of the American army, while tho Administration was opposed to the 
 Whigs. And when Coiwin's speech against the war-was received through 'El Monitor,' frorn 
 the city of Mexico, we were asked if Seiior Corwin w&ula not immediately raise a company of 
 volunteers, issue a pronuneiamento, apd attack the President! The editor was delighted with 
 the speech, and republished it, by inserting gome two columns daily. Hs esteemed Senor Cor- 
 win, as far superior to Seiior Polk, in sagacity and eloquence.. 13 ut, poor fellow, he knows but 
 tittle of the enlightened state of parties in this country, where officials can abuse each 
 with impunity, and where greater revolutions have been consummated by the pen, than 
 ever accomplished by the sword. 
 
 These extiacls, with the declarations of such personages as Twiggs, Morgan, and Doniphan, 
 will be acknowledged by posterity at least, and perchance by some <:f the present generation 
 too, to make out the case of moral treason pretty satisfactorily. 
 
 other 
 were 
 
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