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SPEECH 
 
 OP 
 
 MR. CALEB B. SMITH, OF INDIANA, 
 
 ON 
 
 THE WAR AND ITS COST. 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE U. STATES, 
 
 FEBRUARY 3, 1848. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 PRINTED BY J. & G. S. GIDEON, 
 
 1848. 
 
 / 
 
t-"^ 
 
 s^ 
 
SPEECH 
 
 Mr. CALEB B. SMITH, of Indiana, being entitled to the floor, on the question of referring 
 the various parts of the President's Message to the several standing committees, addressed the 
 House as follows: 
 
 Mr. Speaker: 
 
 I shall not consume any portion of my time in discussing the origin of the 
 ■war with Mexico. That question has been very ably and thoroughly discussed, 
 not onl}^ at this session, but during the last Congress. The members of this 
 House, and the country, are in possession of all the information necessary to 
 enable them to form conclusions satisfactory to themselves. I have only to 
 say, in regard to this matter, that this House has decided, during the present 
 session, upon a solemn and deliberate vote by yeas and nays, that the war with 
 the Republic of Mexico, in which we are now engaged, was '■^unnecessarily 
 and unconstitutionally commenced by the President of ike United States.'" I had 
 the good fortune — and I deem it extreme good fortune — to have the opportu- 
 nity of recording my vote in favor of this sentence of condemnation. In giving 
 that vote, my heart concurred with my judgment; and I desire to say no more 
 at this time, in regard to the origin of the war, than to express my concurrence 
 with the decision so solemnly made by this House. It is a decision which, in 
 my deliberate judgment, the country will sustain and approve. Whatever may 
 be the opinions of individuals who, influenced by partisan feelings, may be dis- 
 posed to justify all that the President has done or may do, when party excite- 
 ment shall have been dissipated by time, and the impartial pen of history shall 
 have recorded the facts, the matured judgment of the American people will 
 sanction that vote of condemnation. 
 
 But I desire at this time to speak more particularly in reference to questions 
 of more practical utility — questions which concern the future rather than the 
 past. However this war may have commenced, on whomsoever shall rest the 
 responsibility of its origin, we are in the midst of it; its evils are now pressing 
 upon us, paralyzing the energies of the country, drying up its resources, and 
 wasting its best blood. It becomes us, the representatives of the American 
 people, sent here to deliberate upon questions affecting their interests, calmly 
 and dispassionately to deliberate, and consider whether some means may not be 
 devised, by which this war may be terminated, and its calamitous consequences 
 arrested. 
 
 The financial affairs of the country are at all times interesting, and demand 
 our attention. They become doubly so in time of war, when our expenditures 
 are greatly increased without any corresponding increase of revenue. Gentle- 
 men on the other side of the House sometimes charge those who oppose the 
 Administration with being in favor of the accumulation of a national debt. It 
 there are any who desire the increase of our public debt, they are likely to be 
 gratified to the fullest extent of their wishes. I shall take care to show that 
 such a charge can have no application to me. I regard the accumulation of a 
 national debt as an evil of the most serious magnitude, and one which every 
 consideration of duty and patriotism requires us as far as possible to avert. 
 
 The effect of the Mexican war upon our financial condition, and the rapid 
 augmentation of our public debt which it is likely to produce, have not, in my 
 opinion, received the attention their importance merits. We have now upon 
 our tables a bill which proposes to add eighteen and a half millions of dollars to 
 our public debt, and which the honorable Chairman of the Committee of Ways 
 
and Means has frivcn us notice he intends to call up in a few days. The 
 amount of tlie public debt at tho commencement of the present session of Con- 
 gress, as we were informed by the President and the Secretary of the Treasury, 
 was $-ia,(j.')9,»;.")n.40. To wliat amount is it to be increased? The President 
 has already recommended loans to the amount of thirty-nine millions, viz., 
 eighteen and a half millions for the residue of the present fiscal year, and 
 twenty and a half millioas for the next year. This additional amount of loans 
 we are told will be necessary to prosecute the war until the close of the next 
 fiscal year, ending on the 30tli June, 184f). Tluis we have in prospective, oa 
 the 30th June, 1849, according to the estimates of the President and his Cabi- 
 net, a public debt amounting to the sum of $84,(5.59,659.40. This looks like 
 an amount of debt which should cause the people to reflect, even if confidence 
 could be placed in the estimates of the Executive departments that it would 
 be no more. But an examination of those estimates must satisfy every one 
 who will examine them that they are wide of the mark. Ever since the com- 
 mencement of the war, the country has been deceived by false estimates — false 
 estimates of the aminmt of loans necessary, false estimates of the receipts ot ,/ 
 the Government, and false estimates of its expenditures. The official reports 
 now before us prove the estinvate.s heretofore made to be false; how, then, cart 
 those now presented command our confidence? At the commencement of the 
 last session of Congress, the President, in iiis annual message, speaking of the 
 loan necessary for the prosecution of the war, said: 
 
 " If the war should be cnniinucd until the thirtieth of June, 1848, hcin;,- the cml of the next 
 fiscal year, it i-s estimated that an additional loan of twenty-lhree millions of dollars will be re- 
 quired. This estimate is made upon the assumption that it wdl be necessary lo retain con- 
 stantly in the Treasury four millions of dollars to guard ajrainst contingencies. If sucli surplus 
 were not required to be retained, then a loan of nineteen millions of dollars would be sufHi--ient.'* 
 
 The country was thus assured that a loan of twenty-three millions woidd bo, 
 all the Government would require to enable it to prosecute the war until the 
 30th June, 1S48, and still retain four millions in the Treas^ury as a con.>tant 
 sur|)liis. Well, sir, Congress authorized the loan ask<;>d for — the twenty-three 
 millions, besides five millions authorized by a previous act, have all been ob- 
 tained; and yet, at the commencement of the present session of Congress, the 
 President asks for an additional loan of eighteen and a half millions to enable 
 him to prosecute the war to the end of the present fiscal year, 30th June, 1848. 
 I present here a short extract from his message: 
 
 " Retainins; a sutlioient surplus in the Treasury, llie loan required for the remainder of the 
 present fiscal year (ending 3Uth June, l^\3) will be about eighteen million five hundred thou- 
 sand dollars." 
 
 The Secretary of the Treasury, in his report, informs us that it is expected 
 to retain in the Treasury only three millions, instead of four, as stated in the 
 report of last year. Then, if we add to the eighteen and a half millions asked 
 for, the million taken from the suri^lus estimated to be in the Treasury, it ap- 
 pears that the estimate of loans of the last session fell short of the amount re- 
 quired, nineteen and a half millions of dollars. I should be much j)leased if 
 som(> friend of tlu; .iVdmiaistration would inform us how this gross blunder has 
 been made. Are we to attribute it to the errors of the Secretary of the Trea- 
 sury? Is his judgment, in regard to the finances of the country, so poor that 
 he is liable to fall into such glaring errors? Or has there been an attempt to 
 cover up and conceal from the country the enormous expenses of the war, and 
 the alarming national debt it is creating? I care not which horn of the dilemirnv 
 the Administration and its friends may choose; in either case it is conclusively 
 shown that no confidence can be placed in the estimates emanating from that 
 source. 
 
 Hut the estimates now made by the Treasury Department .show, that the pub- 
 Jic debt on the 30th of June, 1849, will amount to over eighty-four millions of 
 
dollars. The estimate is made on the assvmiption that tlie Government will re- 
 ceive all the revenue estimated in the Secretary's report, and will be required 
 to expend only the amount there estimated. But it will be seen, on examina- 
 tion, that these estimates of receipts and expenditures are entitled to as little 
 credit as the estimate of loans, made last year. Let us look at the estimates 
 of receipts and expenditures for the last year, and compare them with the 
 amounts, as shown by the reports. The Secretary, in his annual report, in 
 December, 1846, estimated the receipts for the year ending 30th June, 1847, 
 at $31,335,731.00. The actual receipts, as shown by the official report, were 
 ^•26,346,790.. 37, showing a deficiency of $4,98S,940.'63— almost five millions. 
 Jle estimated the expenditures for the same year at $55,241,212.08, while the 
 jeport shows that the actual expenditures were $59,451,177.65 — showing an 
 excess, beyond the estimates, of $4,209,965.56 The report now before us 
 proves that the Secretary's estimates for the last year varied so far from the true 
 amount of receipts and expenditures, as to make a difference of $9,198,906.19. 
 Is it not fair to presume that the estimates for the present and the ensuing 
 year are at least as erroneous as were those for the last year .'' A careful 
 ■examination of them will, in my opinion, show them to be erroneous to a 
 much larger amount. But assuming them to be erroneous onh* to the same 
 .extent, tlien there will be an additional deficiency of means, to the amount 
 of $18,397,812.38, which must be provided for by additional loans, and which 
 ivill swell the public debt, on the 30th June, 1849, to the sum of $103,057,- 
 471.75 — one hundred and three millions of dollars — a sum greatly beyond 
 the entire public debt occasiond by the late war with Great Britain. That our 
 public debt will reach that sum st that time there cannot be a doubt, while 
 there is every reason to believe that it will be manj^ millions beyond it. The 
 •estimates and recommendations of the Executive are clearly shown to be en- 
 titled to no credit. At the commencement of the session, the President and 
 .the Secretary of the Treasury both stated that a loan of eighteen and a half 
 millions would be required for the residue of the ^present year. A few weeks 
 .afterwards, the Secretar}^ ad inicrim informed us that a mistake had been dis- 
 covered in the annual report, by which the means of the Treasury were esti- 
 jnated at near seven millions of dollars less than the true amount, and that 
 .they then had means to the amount of near seven millions beyond the amount 
 .stated in the report. Upon this important discovery, he recommended that 
 the loan before requested should be reduced to twelve millions. But scarce- 
 ly had the report containing this information been printed, when we were 
 .again informed by the Secretary, that the previous estimates were erroneous, 
 and that it was now found necessary to raise the loan to sixteen millions. Was 
 ever such a series of blunders and errors before witnessed ? I venture the 
 prediction, that, before this session of Congress closes, we shall be called upon 
 to authorize additional loans, notwithstanding the assurances of the President 
 to the contrary. The loan now asked for will be found insufficient to meet the 
 extraordinar}^ expenditures we are incurring. 
 
 But, Mr. Speaker, taking the estimates of the President and his Secretary 
 as correct, with the exception of an allowance for errors in the estimates for 
 this and the next year, equal to that which the report shows to have existed 
 .in the estimates for the last year, and our public debt on the 30th of June, 1849, 
 "will be over one hundred and three millions of dollars, upon which we shall 
 have to pay an annual interest of $6,183,448.26. It becomes a matter of 
 grave interest to inquire hov/ this debt is to be paid. From what source are 
 the funds to be raised annually to meet the large amount of interest ? I should 
 be extremely happy to hear some gentleman, who understands and approves 
 the financiering of this Administration, explain to us how the heavy oblig-ailcns 
 we are incurring are to be met and cancelled. 
 
6 
 
 The loan bill of the last session of Congress pledges the proceeds of the 
 public lands for the payment of the interest and the redemption of the princi- 
 pal of tiie public debt. Does any gentleman suppose that we can avail our- 
 selves of anything from that source to meet the accruing interest for several 
 years ? A slight examination of the subject must dissipate all such hopes. 
 Before the war commenced — when the country was on the peace establish- 
 ment, and when its commercial, manufacturing, and agricultural interests, 
 were all prosperous, only between two and three millions a year were received 
 from the public lands. If the receipts should continue as large after the war 
 as they were before, can we expect to pay an interest amounting to six mil- 
 lions of dollars from this source? But let me inquire, what revenue are we like- 
 ly to derive from the public lands hereafter ? 'I'he last Congress, after pledg- 
 ing the proceeds of the public lands to the redemption of the public debt, voted 
 away sixteen millions of acres as a boiuity to the soldiers engaged in the war. 
 I make no objection to the bounty thus granted. It received my aj)probatiorr 
 and my vote. I was entirely willing to accord to the brave men who perilled 
 their lives in this war, and to the families of those who perished in its prosecu- 
 tion, the bounty which they merited. But I do object seriously to the conduct 
 of that Congress in providing no other means to meet the payment of the debt 
 they were creating. I protest against this mode of deluding the country into 
 the belief that a fund has been provided to meet the interest on the public debt, 
 when that fund is already dissipated, and can amount to nothing. The number 
 of claims for bounty land, which will exist under the act of the last Congress, 
 if the additional forces now asked for by the Executive shall be called into the 
 field, will not be short of one hundred thousand. These will draw sixteen 
 millions of acres of land, which, at the minimum price of the (jovernmenl, will 
 amount to twenty millions of dollars. Assuming that the sales of public lands 
 will reach three millions t)f dollars a year, it will require nearly seven years 
 to absorb these warrants, and during tliat period our revenue from that source 
 must be almost entirely cut off. 
 
 How, then, I would ask again, are we to meet this rapidly accumulating in- 
 terest ? There is but one way in my opinion, and that is, by a resort to direct 
 taxation; and to this we are rapidly ai^proximatirig. If this war is to be con- 
 tinued, direct taxation cannot be avoided. We liave already reached a crisis 
 which appeals strongly to the patriotism of those who brought the war upon the 
 country — tliose who stand by the Admini>tration, and defend its policy and its 
 measures — to assume the responsibility which their own measures have cre- 
 ated, and impose upon the people the burdens necessary to meet the enormous 
 expenditures which the prosecution of the war requires. Do gentlemen sup- 
 pose that a war can be continued year after year, with no other object than to 
 gratify the ambitious designs of our rulers, upon credit and loans alone, with- 
 out providing the means of meeting even the interest of the debt thus created ? 
 And if it could be, is it just, is it honest, or honorable, to impose upon the gen- 
 eration to succeed us, a heavy amount of public debt, while we meanly shrink 
 from taxing ourselves ? If we create a national debt, we ought to provide the 
 means of its extinguishment. This has always been regarded as of the utmost 
 importance to the credit of a nation. I will beg leave to call the attention of 
 the House fo a short extract from the first report of the Secretary of the Trea- 
 sury, under the administration of Washington, in which this principle is re- 
 ccjmmended and enforced : 
 
 '' Innorpor.iiitiK ns a fandamenlal majcivx in (he systfm of public credit of the United Slntr.q, 
 that the crciition of delH should alvayi br tircompnwtd vitU llie mratis of txtingxiuhmcvt ; ihnt this 
 is (he trxit secret for remki ini; puhlir credit iininorlal; niul dial it is difficult to conceive a situation in 
 which (here mny not be an adherence to the maxim." 
 
 The jjriiiciplc here laid down is one which should never be lost sight of. If 
 
this war shall be continued, and the credit of the Government shall be alone 
 looked to to raise the means necessary to its prosecution, it requires no prophet 
 to foretell, that the stocks of the Government will be hawked through the money 
 marts of the country at a depreciation, while purchasers will be extremely dif- 
 ficult to find. 
 
 I have thus attempted, Mr. Speaker, to show what will be the probable 
 amount of our public debt at the end of the next fiscal year. The amount at 
 which I have placed it I am sensible is low, and I believe greatly below what 
 it will be. But if it shall be no more, it is sufficiently large to call the serious 
 attention of the country to the subject. It will fall but little, if any, short of 
 the highest point of our public debt at any time since the adoption of the Con- 
 stitution. The public debt on the 30th September, 1815, after the close of the 
 late war with Great Britain, was $119,635,558.46. This was the largest 
 amount our public debt has ever reached. Of this sum, the debt created by 
 the late war with Great Britain was $80,500,073.50. The residue was the 
 debt existing before the commencement of the war. 
 
 Gentlemen on the other side of the House seem to be fond of comparing the 
 Mexican war to the war of 1812. There is at least one striking difference be- 
 tween the course pursued by the friends and supporters of the two wars. The 
 friends of the last war, in Congress, were willing to meet the crisis like men. 
 They did not rely upon public credit alone to raise the means to prosecute it, 
 but appealed to their constituents to pay the taxes necessary for that purpose. 
 In the first year of the war they doubled the duties on foreign imports ; while 
 the supporters of the Mexican war have, since its commencement, reduced 
 them nearl}^ one half. They also passed a law, immediately after the war was 
 declared, to raise one million seven hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars 
 by internal duties, and three millions by direct taxes among the States. If 
 these measures were necessary then, they are doubly so now, when the ex- 
 penses of the Government are so far greater than they were then. 
 
 Those who have not directed their attention to this subject will be astonished 
 at the vast amount of the expenses of this war, when compared with those of 
 the war of 1812. Let me compare them. The expenses of the Government 
 from the 31st December, 1811, to the same date in 1812, were $17,829,498 
 70. From the 31st December, 1812, to the same day of 1813, the expenses 
 w^ere $28,082,396.92. From 31st December, 1813, to the same day of 1814, 
 they were $30,127,686.38. This statement embraces the entire expenditures 
 of the Government for those periods, including both the war expenses and the 
 civil list. Thus, it appears, that the entire expenses of the Government for a 
 period of three years, embracing the whole period of the late war with Great 
 Britain, were $76,039,582.20. Now, let us compare this amount with the 
 expenditures for an equal period of the Mexican war. The expenditures from 
 the 30th June, 1846, to 30th June, 1847, as shown by the Secretary's report, 
 were $59,451,177.65. For the year' from the 30th June, 1847, to 30th June, 
 1848, they are estimated by the Secretary at $58,615,660.07. And for the 
 year ending SOtli June, 1849, they are estimated at $55,644,941.72. Making 
 an aggregate for the three years of $173,711,779.44; being an excess of 
 $97,672,197.44 over the expenditures of the three years embracing the whole 
 period of the late war. This comparison is made upon the estimates of the 
 Secretary, of the expenses of two out of the three years. And yet, upon his 
 own showing, the expenses will now exceed, by nearly one hundred millions, 
 those of the previous period. 
 
 I wish, however, to recur again to the estimates of the expenditures for the 
 present and the next fiscal year. The Secretary estimates the expenditures 
 for the present year at less than those of the last, and the expenditures of the 
 next year at less than those of the present. The expenditures for tho: year 
 
8 
 
 ending 30th June, 1847 — the first year of the war — were about fifty-nine mil- 
 lions and a half, and they are estimated for the ])resent year at about fifty- 
 eight milHons and a half, and for the next year at about fifty-five and a half 
 millions. TIk^ Secretary thus informs us that the war will cost less by a mil- 
 lion this year than it cost the last, and that next year it will cost about five 
 millions less. Can .such estimates as these command any confidence? Can 
 any man of ordinary intelligence believe, that as the war progresses its ex- 
 penses will be diminished? The reverse of this must be the case. Each 
 ■year that the war continues its expenses will increase. Such was the case 
 during the late war. The expenses of the second year were higher than those 
 of the tirst, and of the third year they were still higher. Time will prove 
 that it will be so with the Mexican war. I should be glad to be informed upon 
 "what data the Secretary has made this estimate of diminished expenditures. 
 Are we to liave fewer men in the field than we had last year? The President 
 tells us the number must be largely increased. Has the pay of the army been 
 reduced? Have the rations of the officers or troops been diminished? Have 
 any of the requisites belonging to any branch of the service been curtailed? 
 Has any thing been done to curtail or diminish any of the expenses of the 
 war? Nothing — absolutely nothing; and yet, according to the reasoning of the 
 President and his Secretary, wo may go on to raise new^ armies, and all the 
 "while the exjjenses will be diminished. The President insists that we shall 
 authorize him to call into the field thirty thousand more trooj)s, while at the 
 aame time he assures us that the expenses of the war will be diminished. 
 Was any thing ever more absurd? And yet this is the kind of financiering 
 "which has characterized this INIexican war. I'rom its very commencement the 
 country has been deceived and deluded by false estimates. A constant and 
 studied effort has been made to conceal from the peojde tlie enormous expense 
 it occasions. A national debt has been steadily and stealthily growing upon 
 the country, w hilc by false estimates of the amount of loans necessary for the 
 prosecution of the war, the country has been deceived as to the amount it was 
 likely to reach. 
 
 The actual expense of the war is far beyond the amount of expenditures 
 specified in the reports from the Treasury Department. Those reports })resent 
 us oftly w ith a statement of the money actually paid out. We have no means 
 of ascertaining the amount of unlieiuidated claims against the Government for 
 arrearages of pay, munitions of Avar, wagons, iiorses, mules, provisions, and 
 all the long train of supplies which an army recjuires, and which must all be 
 paid for ultimately. These would constitute an item of many millions of dol- 
 lars. In addition to this a very heavy item of expense is to be found in the use 
 of the mnferiel of war with which our arsenals were filled. Before the com- 
 mencement of the war these were well stored with all the munitions of war — 
 ■with every variety of cannon and small arms, and every thing requisite for 
 ofTensive and defensive warfare — the accumulations of thirty years of peace. 
 All this being property owned by the Government, has been used, but does not 
 appear in any statement of the expenditures. The amount of pro})erty thus 
 used cannot amount to less than five millions of dollars, and in all })robaltility 
 to a much larger sum. Then we have the claims for bounty lands, which, as 
 I have before stated, if the troops now a.sked for, shall be called out, will 
 amount to twenty millions of dollars; and, with tliose heretofore called out, 
 will not be l<'ss than fourteen millions. In addition to this will be the pension 
 list of wounded and disabled soldiers, and the families of those who have died 
 in the service, amounting to several millions a year, and to continue fi)r at 
 least twenty years. If a treaty of peace were now made, and our armies dis- 
 bmded as soon as it will be possible to disband them, the actual cost of the 
 ■w.ir to the country would largely exceed one hundred millions of dollars. 
 
9 
 
 But, Mr. Speaker, I desire to look for a moment at the prospective condition 
 of the country when the war shall be brought to a close, if we tihall ever be 
 so fortunate as to reach that peri:d. If we shall reach the end of the war by 
 the close of the next fiscal year, we shall then, as I think I have clearly 
 shown, have a public debt of over one hundred millions of dollars, with an 
 annual Interest of over six millions. I would again ask, how are we to meet this? 
 The gentleman from North Carohna, (Mr. McKay,) whose services for sev- 
 eral years as Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means may give to 
 his opinions additional weight, stated to the House a few days ago, that after 
 the war shall be ended the revenues of the Government will be sufficient to 
 pay its expenses, and the interest upon the ])ublic debt, without additional taxa- 
 tion. Is that opinion correct? Let us look at a few facts, calculated to throw 
 light upon this subject. The entire receipts of the Government for the year 
 ending 30th June, 1S46 — being the last year before the war — were $29,499,- 
 247.06. That amount was raised thus: from customs, $2b",712,667.87; from 
 pubUc lands, $2,694,452.48; and miscellaneous, $92,126.71. The expendi- 
 tures for the same year, were $28,031,114.20. This was the amount of the 
 expenditures for a peace estabhshment, (for although the war was commenced a 
 few weeks before the close of that fiscal year, the war expenses are brought 
 into the accounts of the next year,) and when this Democratic Administration 
 was carrying out its professions of reform and retrenchment. And yet the 
 entire receipts of the Government exceeded its expenditures only by the sum 
 of $1,418,132.86. If the receipts exceeded the expenditures then by only 
 that small sum, how can we expect them, after the war shall be closed, to 
 meet the expenses of the Government, and pay in addition six millions of in- 
 terest? Docs the gentleman from North Carolina suppose that the expendi- 
 tures of the Government will be less after the war than they Aveie before? He 
 surely has too much sagacity to entertain such an opinion. The gentleman 
 surely must know that our expenses will be much gieater after the war than 
 tJiey were before. Can any one tell how long it will require to get rid of our 
 large army, or to reduce it to the numbers it filled before the war? Sir, no 
 member of this House will live to see it reduced to the standard it occupied 
 before the war commenced. Let this war end when and how it may, we are 
 doomed to have a large military force fastened upon the country. The ex- 
 penses of the Government must be greatly increased. But let us see how the 
 account stands for the next year, the entire revenues for the year ending 
 30th June, 1847, were $26,346,790.37. The expenditures for the same pe- 
 riod, were $59,451,177.65. Of this amount there is charged in the Secreta- 
 ry's report to "Mexican hostilities," $18,365,518.03; for pay to volunteers 
 and militia, $1,368,709.40; for the redemption of loan and treasury notes, 
 $2,402,817.65; which leaves for other expenses, $37,314,123.57, being an 
 excess over the revenue of $10,967,333.20. 
 
 [Mr. McKay inquired from what source the gentleman from Indiana ob- 
 tained his statistics?] 
 
 Mr. Smith replied that he took them as he found them in the report of the 
 Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 Here, then, said Mr. Smith, Is an excess of expenditure in one year, over 
 the revenues, of nearly eleven millions of dollars. Upon what ground, then, 
 can any gentleman believe that, after the war shall end, we can meet the ex- 
 penses of the Government, and pay over six millions of interest, without addi- 
 tional taxation? It will be impossible, after the war shall be terminated, to re- 
 duce the expenses of the Government below thirty-five millions of dollars. 
 Add to this, six millions for interest on the public debt, and we have forty-one 
 millions of dollars to be provided for. How is it to be met? Can we expect 
 to realize this amoimt from duties on foreign goods? jDeprived, as we thall be, 
 
10 
 
 of any considerable revenue from the public lands for many years, I do not be- 
 lieve that we shall be able to realize, from all i;ources of revenue, without addi- 
 tional taxation, at the utmost over thirty millions of dollars, leaving eleven 
 millions unprovided for. Can we expect the credit or character of the Gov- 
 ernment to be sustained iinder such a system of financiering as this? The 
 Treasury notes and bonds of the Covernincnt are at this time selling at prices 
 below par in our commercial cities. The quotations have been constantly be- 
 low par since the commencement of the present session of Congress. 
 
 Bat, JMr. Speaker, I will not trouble the House with any furtlu r display of 
 figures. Those which I have already presented, i think, are sutiicient to show 
 that our financial condition is in an eminent degree embarrassing from the ope- 
 rations and effects of the Mexican war. The rapid increase of our public debt 
 is well calculated to excite serious alarm. The subject demands our most se- 
 rious att<'ntion. We may well take warning from the example of other na- 
 tions. The tax-ridden subjects of the government of Great Britain are now 
 paying the penalty of the folly and ambition of their rulers. The public debt 
 of Great Britain is now over eight hundred millions pounds sterling, being more 
 than four thousand millions of dollars. In order to meet the interest on this 
 heavy amount of debt, (although the rate of interest paid is but little more than 
 half the rate we are paying,) the government is compelled to resort to an 
 amount of taxation which is absolutely ruinous to the laboring interests of the 
 country. The whole of this vast debt has been created within a centurv and 
 a half. The financial expedients by which governments have obtained money 
 upon the national credit, for the prosecution of wars, are of modern origin. In 
 the earlier periods of history, the governments of p]urope raised the means 
 from year to year for the payment of the expenses of the wars in which they 
 engaged. The generation which prosecuted a war defrayed its expenses. It 
 was not left as a burden to clog the energies and oppress the industry of a sub- 
 sequent generation. 
 
 The first loan obtained upon the credit of the government of Great Britain 
 was in KiSO, under the reign of Charles II. Since then it has been accumu- 
 lating with every new war in which the ambition or the cupidity of the gov- 
 erifnient involved the country, until it has reached its present enormous amount. 
 Great Britain has extended her conquests into every quarter of the globe. Pro- 
 vince after ])rovince has been "annexed" to her dominions, until her flag is 
 seen in every clime. The splendor and power of her government has been in- 
 creased, but it has been at the expense of the happiness of her people. Strike 
 out of existence her national debt, and her subjects would he relieved of half^ 
 their burdens. We should beware lest, while we imitate her example in ex- 
 tending our conquests, and aruiexing additional territory, we may be bringing 
 upon ourselves and our children the evils under which she is now suffering. 
 
 The easy payment of the national debt after the late war, has induced the be- 
 lief with some that no danger is to be apprehended from that source; and that 
 no matter how great a public debt we may create, we can easily discharge it. 
 Gentlemen who entertain this oi)inion should look at the fact that our Govern- 
 ment was then cheajdy and economically administered. Its entire annual ex- 
 penditures were only twelve or thirteen millions of dollars, while now they are 
 between thirty and forty millions, aside from the war expenses. The interest 
 upon the debt we are creating must swell them even beyond this. Our expen- 
 .ses increase in a more rajtid ratio than our resources. I fear, sir, that we are 
 rapidly approximating the period when direct taxation will be found indis- 
 pensable. 
 
 Th(; friends of the Administration tell us that the Mexican war is popular, and 
 that th<; iM:opIe desire its prosecution. If they believe this, why do they not 
 deal fairly and candidly with the peoj'le? Why do they not tell them, if the 
 
11 
 
 war is to be continued, the people must pay at least a portion of its expenses? 
 Why do they not appeal to them to contribute a portion of their means to sus- 
 tain the credit of the Government, and enable it to obtain the means necessary 
 for the "vigorous prosecution of the war?" Sir, they know well that the 
 boasted popularity of this war would not survive the first visit of the tax col- 
 lector. I know, sir, that the patriotism of the people is sufficient to induce 
 them to submit to any sacrifice necessary to sustain the honor of the country. 
 Let but a foreign foe be found upon our soil, and any amount of taxation would 
 be cheerfully paid which would be necessary to repel him. But I do not be- 
 lieve that the American people desire to contribute their means, or sacrifice the 
 fair fame of the country, for the prosecution of an aggressive war, in a foreign, 
 land, with the object of conquest — to acquire territory to which we have no 
 right, which we do not need, and which could be of no possible benefit to us if 
 we should obtain it. If the course I have indicated shall not be pursued, I fear 
 we shall soon see the credit of the Government seriously impaired, and a de- 
 ficiency of means to carry on its ordinary operations. But I will say no more 
 on this subject. There are other matters to which I wish to direct my atten- 
 tion in what remains of my time. 
 
 It would afford me very great pleasure to hear some friend of the Adminis- 
 tration — some advocate of the war — define clearly and precisely for what object 
 it is to be further prosecuted. I should be glad if the President, oi; any of his 
 friends, would point out clearly the line of operations it is intended to pursue. 
 We have heard a great deal said about the necessity of prosecuting the war 
 vigorously, to obtain an '■'•honor able peace.^^ All certainly desire an honorable 
 peace ; but when gentlemen urge the prosecution of the war for that object, 
 why do they not inform us what they mean by an "honorable peace.!"' Do 
 they consider no peace "honorable" but one which will destroy the nationality 
 of Mexico .'' Must a peace, to be "honorable" in their estimation, require the 
 surrender by Mexico of half her territory? 
 
 There is another phrase very frequently used as indicative of the designs of 
 the Administration. It is "indemnity for the past, and security for the future," 
 and is about as unmeaning and unsatisfactory to explain the object of the war, 
 as the "honorable peace" so frequently referred to. It was first used in the 
 President's message, and has since become the common watchword of his 
 friends. Ask them what is the object of the war, and they are ever ready with 
 the reply, "indemnity for the past, and security for the future." Perhaps 
 we can understand what is meant by "indemnity for the past." But what is 
 meant by this cabalistic phrase, "security for the future?" Is security for the 
 future to be found in the possession of all Mexico? Are we to provide against 
 a breach of the peace by the "annexation" of the whole country? Are we to 
 keep the country quiet by the continued presence of a large military force? Or 
 are we to adopt the policy which, from the intimations in the President's mes- 
 sage, would seem to be one that meets his apjDrobation, that of placing in power, 
 in Mexico, an administration of our own choice, with which we can make a 
 treaty on our own terms, and then, by the presence of our armies, compel the 
 people of Mexico to render obedience to the government which we thus force 
 upon them? Are our rulers already so wild and reckless as to attempt to carry 
 out such a policy? The policy is not a new one. The scheme was tried by 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, in Spain, when he overran the country with his armies, 
 and placed his brother on the throne. While we imitate his conduct, we should 
 profit by his example, and take warning by his fate. If we undertake to carry 
 out this system, we must expect to keep an army of fifty thousand men there 
 for at least twenty years. 
 
 The course of the President, in the prosecution of this war, has not been 
 such as should characterize the Executive of a free government. Instead of 
 
12 
 
 fraakuess and candor as to the designs of the Administration, we Iiave 
 witnessed continual cfTorts at conceahncnt. Instead of precise and defi- 
 nite statements as to the object to be attained, we are met with hi<jh- 
 tsounding, general, and oracular phrases, as unmeaning and indefinite as 
 the Delphic responses. We have been told by the President, while the same 
 lesson has been frequently repeated to us by his friends, that we should not 
 discuss the origin or objects of the war, because, by doing so we may give 
 ^''niil and comfort to the eneiny.''^ The paid organ of the Administration pours 
 out its daily round of abuse of Congress, for not voting at once, without delay 
 and witliout ilebate, all the means ior j)rosecuting the war which the President 
 desires. We have called u|)on the Piesident, by a resolution of the House, to 
 inform us what were the terms uj)on wliich he authorized Mr. Slidell to nego- 
 tiate with Mexico. He refuses to give us the inl'ormation, and .tells us, in 
 efi'ect, that we have no right to ask him such questions. 
 
 Shall we, then, in obedience to his wishes, in ignorance of his designs, which 
 are so studiously concealed from the country, submit to him the continued pro- 
 secution of the war, as long as he may desire to prosecute it, and vote to raise 
 new armies as often as he may desire them? If such is our duty, I have mis- 
 taken the character of our Government. 
 
 Very shortly after the commencement of the war I exj)ressed my opinion on 
 this floor of its origin and its objects. I stated then, that the war was com- 
 menced for purposes of conquest, and that it would iu)t be suflered to end until 
 those objects were accomplished. Nearly two years have elaj>sed since then, 
 and the events of the intervening period have only confirmed my opinions. 
 Notwithstanding the repeated assurances of the President and his friends, that 
 the war was not continued with any design of concjuest, and that it should be 
 terminated as .soon as Mexico would agree to pay the indemnity due to us, he has 
 himself shown in his late message that such assurances arc entitled to no credit. 
 
 Mr. Trist was sent to Mexico last summer as a commissioner, with powers to 
 negotiate a treaty of [)eace. I will read a short extract from the President's mes- 
 sage of December last, to show what were his instructions. The President says: 
 
 4»The boundary of llio Rio Grande, and the cession to tlie United Slates of New Mexico and 
 Upper California, constituted an ukiinatum wliicli our commissioner was under no circumstances 
 to yield." 
 
 We are thus informed by the President that he determined to prosecute the 
 war for the acquisition of New Mexico and I'pper California — at least one- 
 third of the whole INIexican territory. His language is direct and explicit, and 
 liable to no misconstruction. I will read, now, an extract from his annual 
 message of December, lS4(j, to show what were the views he then expressed 
 ©f the objects for which the war shoidd be further ]irosecuted: 
 
 " The war lia.^ not been wajfed with a view to conquest; but, liaving been coninienccd by 
 IMrxico, it has been carried into tbe enemy's country, and will be \ igomusly prosecuted there, 
 ■with u view to obtain an honorable peace, and thereby secure ample inilenmiiv for the expenses 
 of the war, as well as to our much injured citizens, who hold large pecuniary demands a£:ainst 
 Mexico." 
 
 He disavowed, then, any design of conquest, and defined the terms of the 
 ^'honorable peace" which it was liis object to obtain, as indemnity for the ex- 
 pen-^es of the war and the claims due to our citizens. Does he show, now, 
 that he was willing to make such a peace as he had himself said would be 
 ''honorable?" If liis professions of a desire for peace, and his disavowal of a 
 dcsiirii of concjuest, made last year, were sinc(>re, he woidd have authorized 
 Mr. Trist, his commissioner, to have made a treaty of ])eace whenever Mexico 
 would agree to give the indemnity which he himself specified, as being all we 
 had any right to demand. Hut did he give Mr. Trist such authority? He in- 
 Btructed him to make no peace with Mexico unlcbs she would agree to "Me 
 
13 
 
 boundary of the Rio Grande, and the cession to the United States of JVew Mexico 
 and Upper California.'''' Had we any right to dfemand of Mexico the cession of 
 New Mexico and California ? Did the President believe that we had any such 
 right ? The President knew well that we had no such right. He has himself 
 informed us that those provinces were estimated to be of a greater value than 
 the amount of all tlie claims which he supposed Ave had against Mexico, even 
 including the expenses of the war. Let me read another short extract from hia 
 last message, to show what are his opinions on this point. He says: 
 
 " As the territory to be acquired by the boundary proposed might be estimated to be of 
 greater value tlian a fair equivalent for our just demands, our commissioner was authorized to 
 stipulate for the payment of such additional' pecuniary consideration as was deemed reasonable." 
 
 He does not now authorize Mr. Trist to make peace when Mexico will pay 
 all that he believes to be our just demands, including all the expenses of the 
 war. But he insists that we shall continue the war until Mexico cedes to us 
 territory which he admits is '■'■of greater value than a fair equivalent for our just 
 demands.'''' 
 
 What was the amount of the ^^pcciiniary consideration,'''' which Mr. Trist was 
 authorized to stipulate for, the President does not inform us. In the correspond- 
 ence between the Mexican commissioners and Mr. Trist, it is stated at twenty 
 millions of dollars. It is very probable that that was the amount he was autho- 
 rized to offer. 
 
 In the propositions for peace which were made by the Mexican commission- 
 ers, a large amount of territory was offered, but it was rejected under the in- 
 structions of the President. Nothing less than the boundary of the Eio Grande, 
 and the whole of New Mexico and "California, would be received, although the 
 President admits we have no just claim to them. And yet, he says, he enter- 
 tains no design of conquest. Is it no conquest to take from Mexico her terri- 
 tory by force, when at the same time we admit we have no right to it ? 
 Does the offer of a '■^pecuniary consideration''^ change the character of the trans- 
 action, or render it any less a conquest ? We keep our armies within her terri- 
 tory, we sack her towns and bombard her cities, we slay thousands of her citi- 
 zens, we make war upon her in every conceivable shape, we tell her that this 
 shall be continued until she cedes to us one-third of all her territory, although 
 at the same time we admit that it is much more than all our just demands; and 
 yet the President, while doing all this, gravely informs the country that he en- 
 tertains no design of conquest. This is what he denominates prosecuting the 
 war for indemnity. 
 
 But, Mr. Speaker, I fear the designs of conquest which are seriously enter- 
 tained are not limited to New Mexico and Upper California. The idea of in- 
 corporating the whole of Mexico into the American Union is more than hinted, 
 at from high quarters among the supporters of the Administration. Such a de- 
 sign will not be openly avowed, particularly before the Presidential election,, 
 lest the people shall take the alarm, and adopt effectual means to prevent the 
 consummation of so fatal a measure. I have before me a speech, made but a few 
 days since in the other end of the Capitol, by a gentleman who stands upon con- 
 fidential tgrms with the Administration. I will read an extract from it. He says : 
 
 "There are numerous cases, all tending to the same point, that whenever it becomes impracti- 
 cable to obtain territory by purchase, we take it by force. All that strip of country lying be- 
 tween Natchez and Baton'pcouge was taken possession of in that way. And we have done so 
 in all cases when we could not obtain territory by negotiation ; and this course has been pursued' 
 throughout the world, in all times, by all Powers." 
 
 This is from a speech made by the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign 
 Relations in the Senate, (Mr. Sevier,) deUvered on the 24th January last. 
 The honorable Chairman here openly avows the intention to take the territory 
 of Mexico by force, and justifies it upon the ground that such has been the 
 practice throughout the world. 
 
14 
 
 1 will also read an extract from another speech, made in the same body 
 during the present session of Congress: 
 
 " I repeat, whnt 1 l>efore said, that the longer Mexico continues her obstinate rejection of 
 TCasoiiable indemnity, and the £;rcater exertion she compels us to make, the greater will l)e our 
 demands, and tiie heavier her losses. What we would have accepted last year, or even at the 
 commencciiient of the present campaign, we may well refuse now ; and wliat we would accept 
 now, we may well refuse after a few months. And Imw much the public sentiment of this 
 country may demand a year or two hence, if the war continues so lonp;, I do not pretend to pre- 
 dict. We may have to make the great experiineni so dreaded by the iSenalor from South Caro- 
 lina, mill the .Sinatur iVom Kentucky, and annex the domains of Mexico to our own. This is 
 «.he penalty which national injustice has often been compelled to pay, and which Mexico may 
 be preparing (or herself." 
 
 This extract is from tlie speech of a gentleman (Mr. Cass) who it is gener- 
 ally believed will be the candidate of the Democratic party for the Presidency. 
 The policy here marked out maybe regarded as the foreshadowing of the course 
 to be pursued in the event of his election. The indemnity to be demanded 
 from !^Iexico is to be increased in proportion to her obstinacy. What would 
 have satisfied us a few months ago, must not satisfy us now. Tlie longer we 
 protract the war, the more of her provinces must we take. With every addi- 
 tional month our demands must be increased, until we reach the point of an- 
 nexing the entire country. 
 
 [A gentleman sitting near Mr. Smith remarked, in an under tone, "that is 
 progressive Democracy. "] 
 
 Yes, said Mr, S., it is "progressive Democracy," with a vengeance. De- 
 inocracy is indeed progressing at a fearful rate. "When the annexation of 
 Texas was first proposed. Democracy shrunk back affrighted. Now it contem- 
 plates, with complacency, the conquest and annexation of a country with nine 
 jnillions of inhabitants. 
 
 Can any one doubt, from the evidences before us, that we are rapidly hasten- 
 ing to that "great experiment" to which Mr. Cass refers.' The object will not 
 be openly avowed; the country will still be deluded with the hopes of peace 
 until after the Presidential election; and then, should the Democracy elect 
 thrtr candidate, the mask will be thrown aside, and the annexation of Mexico 
 openly advocated. Then, that "public sentiment," to which General Cass re- 
 fers, will be invoked in aid of the measure. 
 
 I do not believe that the Administration has any desire to negotiate a peace 
 with ^Mexico. I have no expectation that any treaty will be made before the 
 Presidential election. For several days the city has been filled with rumors of 
 a treaty negotiated by iNIr. Trist. The letter writers from this city have filled 
 the press with statements of the prospect of successful negotiations. The plea- 
 sure every where manifested by the public at these rumors — the avidity with 
 which they are caught up and repeated all over the country — proves the anxiety 
 for peace which exists Avith the people. With people of all political parties, 
 the same ardent w ishes for the termination of the war are expressed. But the 
 hopes excited by these rumors are doomed to disappointment. J^^ver since the 
 commencement of the war, the cry of peace has been raised. After each suc- 
 cessive victory won by our armies, the same syren song has been sung, the 
 same dulcet notes have been sotmded, but yet peace came not. There has 
 been a continual cry of "peace, peace, when there w'as no peace." 
 
 The President's organ, since the rumors of Mr. Trist's negotiations have 
 been so rife, has stated, explicitly, that all such rumors are without founda- 
 tion. It is well understood here that, notwithstanding Mr. Trist's jwwers 
 to negotiate have been revoked, the Mexican authorities have n)ade ]M-oposi- 
 tions to negotiate with him; that they are anxious for j)eac<', and would be 
 willing to obtain it even at the price of the territory which the President 
 frsays he authorized Mr. 'i'rist to receive. It is a|)parent, however, that the 
 Admini.-tration has no desire to make peace, even upon those terms. The 
 most violent abuse has been visited upon Mr. Trist, by his own parly Iriends, 
 
15 
 
 for remaining in Mexico, or for suftering anything to be said to him about peace 
 by the Mexican authorities. It is said, also, upon the authority of various 
 sources of information, that Gen. Scott is ardently favorable to peace, and 
 anxious to promote it Avith all the influence of his name and position. This 
 may, perhaps, in some measure, account for the hostility of the Administration 
 towards him. I should be glad to ascertain what connection there may be be- 
 tween this and the late extraordinary movement of the Administration, in re- 
 moving him from the command of the army, and subjecting him to a trial be- 
 fore a board of inferior oflicers. The truth is, the Administration neither ex- 
 pects nor desires peace. Any hopes of an early peace which may be enter- 
 tained by the people will be disappointed. The ignis fahms of peace, so con- 
 stantly held up before them, will still elude their grasp. No peace need be ex- 
 pected, unless the people shall express their desire for it, in such terms as will 
 compel the Administration to abandon their designs of conquest. 
 
 If the Administration really and sincerely desired peace, it would be an easy 
 task to obtain it. I believe that peace, an "honorable peace," may be obtain- 
 ed in sixty days — a peace just to Mexico and honorable to ourselves — a peace 
 •which would testify to the world our magnanimity and sense of justice, as our 
 briUiant victories have already shown our heroic courage and skill in war. Let 
 the President appoint commissioners — not one of the clerks of a Department — 
 but men of high standing and character, no matter to what political party they 
 may belong — men known to the country, and whose character as statesmen 
 ■woidd furnish a guaranty of the upright and honorable intentions of the Govern- 
 ment. Let the Administration renounce its wild schemes of conquest, and through 
 such men as these propose terms of peace, just and honorable, and, my word for 
 it, we shall have peace at once. Let us demand from Mexico all that we have 
 a right, in truth and justice, to demand, and nothing more. Let us not insist 
 on the cession of territory Avhich the President hi.jiself tells us is more than 
 "our just demands." Let us not insist on demands which our own Govern- 
 ment admits are unjust. 
 
 Mr. Sawyer here interposed, and asked Mr. Smith what were the terms 
 we ought to offer. 
 
 Mr. Smith replied, it is for those who have the control of the Government 
 to propose the terms. The Administration should inform the country explicitly 
 upon what terms it is willing to make peace. I have already stated, in gen- 
 eral terms, what propositions we should make. I repudiate entirely the pre- 
 tence set up, that we should demand of Mexico the expenses of the war. 
 The House has decided that the war was "unnecessarily and unconstitution- 
 ally" commenced. If this be true, upon what pretext can we claim that Mex- 
 ico should pay the expenses of its prosecution? This higgling with Mexico 
 for the cost of the powder burnt in bombarding her cities is disreputable to the 
 nation. What were our claims before the war begun? We insisted upon 
 having Texas, with such boundaries as she was fairly entitled to. Mexico was 
 indebted to us, by treaty, some two millions of dollars. Besides this, there 
 w^ere unliquidated claims for spoliations, the precise amount of which has never 
 been ascertained. These constituted all our claims before the war. We set 
 up no claim then to any of the territory of Mexico beyond Texas. All we 
 then asked was that Mexico should acquiesce in the annexation of Texas, settle 
 and define her boundary, and pay the claims which we held against her. Has 
 the existence of the war increased our just demands? If the war was com- 
 menced as we have decided, by an aggressive movement of the President, it 
 is very clear that it has not. Our rights now are no greater than they were 
 before the war began. 
 
 If, however, the Administration intends to hold and retain permanently 
 New Mexico and California — acknowledging at the same time that they con- 
 stitute a larger measure of indemnity than we have any just right to demand — 
 
16 
 
 ■why not hold those proviiict'?, and withdraw our forces from the other portions 
 of McNico? Why shall we keep an army of fifty tliousand men in the heart 
 of Mexico, preying upon the vilals of the country, when w ith ten thousanc' men 
 "we can hold all that the Administration pretends it wishes to retain? Five thou- 
 sand trcMips in New Mexico, and an equal number in Upper California, would 
 hold those provinces ae;ainst all the force which Mexico can bring into the field. 
 
 There must be ulterior designs beyond the mere acquisition of those prov- 
 inces. W that, in truth, is all that the Administration desires or intends to ac- 
 quire, there is wisdom and sound policy in the course marked out by the dis- 
 tinguished Senator from South Carolina, (Mr. Calhoun.) By adopting that 
 policy, three-fourths of the immense expense we arc now incurring might be 
 avoided, and the further effusion of blood might be stayed. 
 
 I fear there is but one remedy for these evils, and that is in the hands of 
 the people. The people must place the power of the Government in the hands 
 of men of ditferent princijiles. The time is approaching when they will have 
 the opportunity of api)lying this remedy, and 1 trust it will be applied. 
 
 I am forced to the belief, Mr. Sneaker, that the whole policy of the Admin- 
 istration, as connected with the war, has been characterized by a want of sin- 
 cerity and fair dealing towards the country. Had the design to bring on this 
 ■war been known or avowed, it would have been prevented. But amid contin- 
 ued professions of a desire for peace, and the avoidance of causes of hostility, 
 the war w-as stealthily brought on, while the country was carefully kept in 
 ignorance of the danger of hostilities, until the blaze of the battle-fields in 
 Mexico exposed to us the fact that war existed. Had the last Congress, with 
 its strong ])emocratic majority, resorted to the meins of raising revenue for 
 its prosecution, which the exigency demanded, the boasted popularity of the 
 war would before this time have vanished. 
 
 It was my fortune to have a seat on this tloor at the time Texas was annexed. 
 I opposed this measure, believing that it woidd be the source of evils of great 
 magnitude. Those who urged it upon us assured us that it would not ])roduce 
 war, and at the session of Congress alter its annexation, the President con- 
 gratulated the country that it was a bloodless achievement. The very same 
 gentlemen, who then assured us that the annexation of Texas would not pro- 
 duce war, now attempt to defend the President trom the charge that he com- 
 menced the war, by the assertion that the annexation of Texas produced the 
 war. The position assumed now is not very consistent with the one assumed then. 
 
 liut we have Texas, and there let us stop. If we can succeed in wringing 
 from the distress and suffering of Mexico, a cession of more of her territory, 
 every foot which we thus acquire Avill prove a curse and a calamity to us. It 
 is a great mistake to suppose that by the extension of our territory we shall 
 increase our power or our greatness; more especially when that extension is 
 effected by force and violence. History furnishes no single instance of a na- 
 tion deriving benefit or advantage from an extension of its dominion by force 
 and conquest. We cannot form an exception to the rule. 
 
 f believe, Mr. Speaker, we are approaching a crisis which is to be decisive 
 of the fate of our Government. We cannot shut our eves to the alarming dan- 
 gers of the career of conquest upon which we have entered. If it shall not bo 
 arrested, it must be fatal to our Union. The denationalization of Mexico, and 
 its annexation to this Republic, would be destructive of our Government. 
 Whoever may live to see that event, will, in all probability, survive the glori- 
 ous Union of these United States. 
 
 146 
 
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