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SPEECH 
 
 Off 
 
 i^ 
 
 HENRY CLAY, 
 
 AT THE 
 
 LEXINaiON MASS MEETING, 
 
 V 
 
 13th NOVEMBER, 1847/^^ '♦^ 
 
 '''■ U.S.A. M 
 
 .0,. Jf--JJ 
 
 , •' W»$rti 
 
 TOGETHER WITH THE RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THAT OCCASION. 
 
 ^\^ 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 Pkintbd by Georgb F. Nesbitt, Stationer and Printer, 
 Corner of Wall and Water-streets. 
 
 1847 
 
i 
 
 
MR. CLAY'S SPEECH 
 
 LEXINGTON MASS MEETING 
 
 13x11 NOVEMBER, 1847. 
 
 After the organization of the meeting, Mr. Clay rose and addressed it substan- 
 tially as follows : 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen : 
 
 The day is dark and gloomy, unsettled and uncertain, like the condition of our 
 country in regard to the unnatural War Avith i\Icsico, Tlie puhlic mind is agitated 
 and anxious, and is tilled Avitii scri(»u.s jipprclicnsions as to its indefinite eontinuance, 
 and especially as to tlic consequences which its terminution may bring forth, mena- 
 cing the harmony, if not the existence, of our Union. 
 
 It is under these circumstances I present myself liefore you. No ordinary occasion 
 would have drawn me from the retirement in whicli I live ; Ijut, Avhile a single pulsa- 
 tion of the human heart remains, it should, if necessary, be dedicated to the service 
 of one's country. And I have hi ped tliat, although I am a private and humlile citi- 
 zen, an expression of the views and opinions I entertain, might form some little ad- 
 dition to the general stock of information, and att'ord a small assistance in delivering 
 our country from the perils and dangers wiiieh suiTound it. 
 
 I have come here Avith no purpose to attempt to make a tine ppeech, or any am- 
 bitious oratorical display. I have brought with me no rhetorical boijucts to throw 
 into this assemblage. In the circle of the year, Autumn has come, and the season ot 
 flowers has passed away. In the progress of years my Spring time has gone by, and 
 I too am in the Autumn of life, and feel the frost of Age. RIy desire and aim are to 
 address you earnestly, calmly, seriously, and plainly, upon the grave and momentous 
 subjects which have brought us together. And I am most solicitous that not a soli- 
 tary word may fall from me, offensive to any party or person in the whole extent of 
 the Union. 
 
 War, pestilence, and famine, by the common consent ot mankind, arc the three 
 greatest calamities that can befall our species ; and War, as the most direful, justly 
 stands foremost nnd in front. Pestilence and Famine, no doubt for wise althougli in- 
 scrutable purposes, are inflictions of Providence, to which it is our duty, therefore, to 
 bow with obedience, humble submission and resignation. Their duration is not long, 
 and their ravages are limited. They bring, indeed, great aflliction while they last, 
 but society soon recovers from their effects. War is the voluntary work of our own 
 hands, and whatever reproaches it may deserve should be directed to ourselves. 
 When it breaks out its duration is indefinite and unknown — its vicissitudes are hid- 
 den from our view. In the sacrifice of human life, and in the waste of human trea- 
 sure, in its losses, and in its burdens, it affects both belligerent nations, and its sad 
 effects of mangled bodies, of death, and of desolation, endure long after its thunders 
 are hushed in peace. War unhinges society, disturbs its peaceful and regular indus- 
 try, and scatters poisonous seeds of disease and immorality, which continue to geif- 
 
minate and diffuse their baneful influence long after it has ceased. Dazzling by its 
 glitter, pomp, and pageantry, it begets a s^pirit of wild adventure and romantic enter- 
 prise, and (iffccu disqualifies those who embark in it, after their return from the bloody 
 fields of battle, from engaging in the industrious and peaceful vocations of life. 
 
 We are informed by a statement, which is apparently correct, that the number of 
 our countrymen slain in this lanientaMe Mexican War, although it has yet been of 
 only eighteen month's existence, is equal to one half of the whole of the American loss 
 during the seven years' War of the llevolution. And I venture to assert that the 
 expenditure of treasure Avhich it has oceasi >ned, when it shall come to be fiiirly ascer- 
 tained and fciOted up, will be found to be more than half of the pecuniary cost of the 
 War of our Independence. And this is the condition of the party whose arms have 
 been everywhere and constantly victorious ! 
 
 How did we unhappily get involved in this War ? It was predicted as the conse- 
 quence of the Annexation of Texas to the United States. If we bad not annexed 
 Texas we should have had no War. The people were told that if that event hap- 
 pened, War would ensue. They were told that the War between Texas and Mexico 
 had not been terminated by a treaty of peace ; that Mexico still claimed Texas as a 
 revolted province ; and that if we received Texas into our Union, we took along with 
 her the War existing between her and Mexico. And the Minister of Mexico formally 
 announced to the Government at Washington, that his nation would consider the An- 
 nexation of Texas to the United States as producing a state of War. But all this 
 was denied by the partizans of Annexation. They insisted we should have no War, 
 and even imputed to those who foretold it, sinister motives for their groundless pre- 
 diction. 
 
 But, notwithstanding a state of virtual war necessarily resulted from the fact of an- 
 nexation of one of the belligerents to the United States, actual hostilities might have 
 been probably averted by prudence, moderation, and wise statesmanship. If General 
 Taylor had been permitted to remain, where his own good sense prompted him to be- 
 lieve he ought to remain, at the point of Corpus Christi ; and if a negotiation had 
 been opened with Mexico in a true spirit of amity and conciliation, War possibly 
 might have been prevented. But, instead of this pacific and moderate course, while 
 Mr. Slidell was bending his way to Mexico with his diplomatic credentials, General 
 Taylor was ordered to transport his cannon, and to plant them, in a warlike attitude, 
 opposite to Matamoros, on the east bank of the Rio Bravo, within the very disputed 
 territ.try, the adjustment of which was to be the object of Mr. Slidell's mission. 
 What else could have transpired but a conflict of arms ? 
 
 Thus the War commenced, and the President, after having produced it, appealed 
 to Congress. A bill was prepared to raise 50,000 volunteers, and in order to commit 
 all who should vote for it, a preamble was inserted falsely attriljuting the commence- 
 ment of the War to the act of Mexico. I have no doubt of the patriotic motives of 
 those who, after struggling to divest the bill of that flagrant error, found themselves 
 constrained to vote for it. But I must say that no earthly consideration would have 
 ever tempted or provoked me to vote for a bill, vrith a palpable falsehood stamped 
 on its face. Almost idolizing truth as I do, I never, never could have voted for that 
 bill. 
 
 The exceptionable conduct of the Federal party, during the last British War, has 
 excited an influence in the prosecution of the present War, and prevented a just dis- 
 crimination between the two Wars. That was a War of National defence, required 
 for the vindication of the National rights and honor, and demanded by the indignant 
 voice of the people. President Madison himself, I know, at first reluctantly and with 
 great doubt and hesitation, brought himself to the conviction that it ought to be de- 
 clared. A leading, and perhaps the most influential member of his Cabinet, (Mr. Gal- 
 latin,) was, up to the time of its declaration, opposed to it. But nothing could with- 
 stand the irresistible force of public sentiment. It was a just War, and its great 
 object, as announced at the time, was " Free Trade and Sailors' Rights," against the 
 intolerable and oppressive acts of British power on the ocean. The justice of the War, 
 far from being denied or controverted, was admitted by the Federal party, which only 
 questioned it on considerations of policy. Being deliberately and constitutionally de- 
 clared, it was, I think, their duty to have given to it their hearty cooperation. But the 
 mass of them did not. They continued to oppose and thwart it, to discourage loans 
 ond enlistments^ to deny the power of the General Government to march the uulitia 
 
5 
 
 beyond our limits, and to hold a Hartford Convention, -which, whatever "were its real 
 objects, bore the aspect of seeking the dissolution of the Union itself. They lost, and 
 justly lost, the public confidence. Eut has not an apprehension of a similar fate, in a 
 state of a case widely difierent, repressed a fearless expression of their real senti- 
 ments in some of our pubHc men ? 
 
 How totally variant is the present War ! This is no War of Defence, but one un- 
 necessary and of offensive aggression. It is Mexico that is defending her firesides, 
 her castles, and her altars, not we. And how different also is the conduct cf the 
 W hig party of the present day from that of the major part of the Federal party durir.i; 
 the VVar of 1812 1 Far from interposing any obstacles to the prosecution of the \\ ar, 
 if the Wliigs in office are reproachable at all, it is f(jr liavinglent too ready a facility to 
 it, without careful examination into the objects of the War. And, out of office, A^ h(» 
 have rushed to the prosecution of the War with more ardor and alacrity than the 
 Whigs? Whose heaits have bled more freely than those of the Whigs ? Who have 
 more occasion to mourn the loss of sons, hiisbands, brothers, fathers, than Whig pa- 
 rents, Whig wives, and Whig brothers, in this deadly and unprofitable strife ? 
 
 But the havoc of War is in progress, and the no less deplorable havoc of an inhos- 
 pitable and pestilential climate. Without indulging in an unnecessary retrospect and 
 useless reproaches on the past, all hearts and heads should unite in the patriotic en- 
 deavor to bring it to a satisfactory close. Is there no way that this can be done ? Must 
 we blindly continue the conflict without any visible object, or any prospect of a definite 
 termination ? This is the important subject upon which I desire to consult and to 
 commune with you. Who, in this free government, is to decide upon the objects of a 
 War, at its commencement, or at any time during its existence ? Does the power be- 
 long to collective wisdom of the Nation in Congress assembled, or is it vested solely 
 in a single functionary of the Government ? 
 
 A declaration of War is the highest and most awful exercise of sovereignty. The 
 Convention Avhivh framed our Federal Constitution, had learned from the pages of 
 history that it had been often and greatly abused. It had seen that War had often 
 been commenced upon the most trifling pretexts ; that it had been frequently Avagcd 
 to establish or exclude a dynasty ; to snatch a crown from the head of one potentate 
 and place it upon the head of another ; that it had often been prosecuted to promote 
 alien and other interests than those of the nation whose chief had proclaimed it, as in 
 the case of Enghsh wars for Hanoverian interests 5 and, in short, that such a vast and 
 tremendous power ought not to be confided to the perilous exercise of one single man. 
 The Convention, therefore, resolved to guard the War-making power against those 
 great abuses, of which, in the hands of a monarch, it was hO susceptible. And the 
 security against those abuses which its wisdom devised, was to vest the War-making 
 power in the Congress of the United States, being the immediate representatives of 
 the people and the States. So apprehensive and jealous was the Convention of its 
 abuse in any other hands, that it interdicted the exercise of the power to any State 
 in the Union, without the consent of Congress. Congress, then, in our system of 
 Government, is the sole depository of that tremendous power. 
 
 The Constitution provides that Congress shall have power to declare War, and grant 
 letters of marque and reprisal, to make rules concerning captures on land and water, 
 to raise and support armies, and provide and maintain a navy, and to make rules for 
 the government of the land and naval forces. Thus we perceive that the principal 
 power, in regard to War, with all its auxilliary attendants, is granted to Congress. 
 Whenever called upon to determine upon the solemn question of Peace or War, Con- 
 gress must consider and deliberate and decide upim the motives, objects and causes of 
 the War. And, if a War be commenced without any previous declaration of its ob- 
 jects, a> in the case of the existing \\ ar with Mexico, Congress must necessarily pos- 
 sess the authority, at any time, to declare for what purposes it shall be farther prose- 
 cuted. If we suppose Congress does not possess the controlling authority attributed 
 to it; if it be contended that a War having been once commenced, the President of 
 the United States may direct it to the accomplishment of any object he pleases, with- 
 out consulting and without any regard to the will of Congress, the Convention will 
 have utterly failed in guarding the Nation against the abuses and ambiti< n of a sin- 
 gle individual. Either Congress, or the Presideiit, must have the right of determining 
 upon the objects for which a War shtill be prosecuted. There is no other alternative. 
 If the President possess it and may prosecute it for olyects against the will of Con- 
 
gresg, "vrliere is the difference between our Free Government and that of any other 
 nation which may be governed by an absolute Czar, Emperor, or King. 
 
 Congi-ess may omit, as it has omitted in the present A\ ar, to proclaim the objects for 
 which it was commenced or has been since prosecuted, and in cases of such omission 
 tlie President, being charged with the employment and direction of the national force, 
 is, necessarily, left to his o\^^l judgment to decide upon the objects, to the attainment 
 of which that force shall be applied. But, whenever CongTess shall think proper to 
 declare, by some authentic act, for Avhat purposes a war shall be commenced or con- 
 tinued, it is the duty of the President to apply the national force to the attainment of 
 . thos« purposes. In the instance of the last War with Great Eritain, the act of Con- 
 "gress by which it was declared was preceded by a message of President Madison, enu- 
 merating the wrongs and injuries of which we complained agairst Great Eritain. That 
 •message, therefore, and Avithout it the well-known objects of the War, which was a 
 .War purely of defence, rendered it uiinecessary that CongTess should particularize, in 
 • the act, the specific objects for which it was proclaimed. The whole world knew that 
 it was a War waged for Free Trade and Sailors' Rights. 
 
 It may be urged that the President and Senate possess the treaty-making power, 
 without any express limitation as to its exercise ; that the natural and ordinary termi- 
 oation of a War is by a treaty of peace ; and therefore, that the President and Sen- 
 ate must possess the power to decide what stipulations and conditions shall enter into 
 such a treaty. But it is not more true that the President and Senate possess the treaty- 
 making power, without limitation, than that Congress possesses the war-making pow- 
 er, Avithout restriction. These two poAvers then ought to be so interpreted as to recon- 
 cile the one with the other; and, in expounding the Constitution, we ought to keep 
 constantly in view the nature and structure of our free GoA'ernment, and especially 
 the great object of the Convention in taking the war-making poAver out of the hands 
 of a single man and placing it in the safer custody of the representatives of the Avhple 
 nation. The desirable reconciUation between thetAVo powers is effected by attributing 
 to Congress the right to declare Avhat shall be the objects of a war, and to the Presi- 
 dent the duty of endeavoring to obtain those objects by the direction of the national 
 force and by diplomacy. 
 
 I am broaching no new and speculative theory. The statute-book of the United 
 States is full of examples of prior declarations by Congress of the objects to be at- 
 tained b}'^ negotiations Avith foreign powers, and the archives of the Executive Depart- 
 ment furnish abundant evidence of the accompHshment of those objects, or the at- 
 tempt to accomplish them by subsequent negotiation. Prior to the declaration of the 
 last^ War against Great Britain, in all the restrictive measures Avhich Congress adopted, 
 against the tAVO great belligerent poAvers of Europe, clauses Avere inserted in the ecA'- 
 eral acts establishing them, tendering to both or either of the belhgerents the aboUtion 
 of these restrictions if they would repeal their hostile Berlin and Milan Decrees and 
 , Orders in Council, operating against our commerce and navigation. And these acts 
 of Congress were invariably communicated, through the Executive, by diplomatic 
 notes, to Fi-ance and Great Britain, as the basis upon Avhich it was proposed to restore 
 friendly intercourse Avith them. So after the termination of the \\ ar, various acts of 
 Congress were passed, from time to time, offering to foreign powers the principle of 
 reciprocity in the commerce and navigation of the United States Avith them. Gut of 
 these acts have sprung a class, and a large class, of treaties (four or five of Avhich Avere 
 negotiated while I Avas in the Department of State) commonly called reciprocity trea- 
 ties, concluded under all the Presidents from Mr. Madison to IMr. Van Euren, inclu- 
 sive. And Avith regard to commercial treaties, negotiated with the sanction of prior 
 acts of Congress, AA'here they contained either appropriations, or were in conflict Avith 
 unrepealed statutes, it has been ever held as the republican doctrine, from Mr. Jay's 
 treaty doAvu to the present time, that the passage of acts of Congress Avas neces- 
 sary to secure the execution of those treaties. If, in the matter of foreign commerce, 
 in respect to Avhich the power vested in Congress to regulate it and the treaty-making 
 poAver may be regarded as concurrent. Congress can previously decide the objects to 
 which negotiation shall be applied, how much stronger is the case of War; the poAver 
 tp declare which, is confined exclusively to Congress ? 
 
 I I conclude, therefore, Mr. President and fellow-citizens, with entire confidence, that 
 Congress has the right, either at the beginning, or dui-ing the prosecution of any 
 War, to decide the objects and purposes for Avhich it Ava.s proclaimed, or for Avhich it 
 
ought to be continued. And, I think it is the duty of Congress by some deliberate 
 and authentic act, to declare for what objects the present War shall be longer prose- 
 cuted. I suppose the President would not hesitate to regulate his conduct by the 
 pronounced will of Congi-ess, and to employ the force axid the diplomatic power of 
 the nation to execute that will. But, if the President should decline or refuse to do 
 so, and, in contempt of the supreme authority of Congress, should persevere in 
 waging the War, for other objects than those proclaimed by Congress, then it wortM 
 be the imperative duty of that body to vindicate its authority by the most strin;: :.. 
 and effectual, and appropriate measures. And, if on the contrary, the enetnv si 1 
 refuse to conclude a treaty, containing stipulations securing the objects de>' 
 Congress, it would become the duty of the whole Government to prosecu! 
 with all the national energy, until those objects were attained by a treaty of ; .■. 
 There can be no insuperable difficulty in Congress making such an author it. u is o 
 declaration. Let it resolve, simply, that the War shall or shall not be a War of con- 
 quest ; and, if a War of Conquest, what is to be conquered. Should a resolution 
 pass, disclaiming the design of Conquest, peace would follow in less than sixty days, 
 if the President would conform to his constitutional duty. 
 
 Here, fellow-citizens, I might pause, having indicated a mode by which the nation, 
 through its accredited and legitimate representatives in Congress, can announce for 
 what purposes and objects this War shall be longer prosecuted, and can thus let the 
 whole people of the United States know for what end their blood is to be farther 
 shed, and their treasure farther expended, instead of the knowledge of it being locked 
 up and concealed in the bosom of one man. We should no longer perceive the ob- 
 jects of the War varying, from time to time, according to the changing opinions of 
 the Chief Magistrate charged with its prosecution. But I do not think it right to 
 stop here. It is the privilege of the people, in their primary assemblies, and of every 
 private man, however humble, to express an opinion in regard to the purposes for 
 which the War should be continued; and such an expression will receive just so 
 much consideration and consequence as it is entitled to, and no morei ,' 
 
 Shall this war be prosecuted for the purpose of conquering and annexing Mexico, 
 in all its boundless extent, to the United States ? . 
 
 I will not attribute to the President of the United States any such design ; but I 
 confess I have been shocked and alarmed by manifestations of it in various quarters. 
 Of all the dangers and misfortunes which could befall this nation, I should regard 
 that of its becoming a Avar-like and conquering power the most direful and fatal. 
 History tells the mournful tale of conqueiing nations and conquerors. The three 
 most celebrated conquerors, in the civilized world, were Alexander, Caesar, a: id 
 Napoleon. The first, after overrunning a large portion of Asia, and sighing and 
 lamenting that there were no more worlds to suljdue, met a premature and ignoble 
 death. His lieutenants quarreled and warred with e.ach other as to the spoils of his 
 victories, and finally lost them all. Caesar, after conquering Gaul, returned with his 
 triumphant legions to Rome, passed the Rubicon, won the battle of Pharsalia, trampled 
 upon the liberties of his country, and expired by the patriot hand of Brutus. But 
 Riiine ceased to be free. War and conquest had enervated and corrupted the masses. 
 The spirit of true liberty was extinguished, and a long line of emperors succeeded, 
 some of whom were the most execrable monsters that ever existed in human form. 
 And that most extraoi'dinary man, perhaps, in all history, after suijugating all con- 
 tinental Europe, occupying almost all its capitals — seriously threatening, according 
 to IM. Tlniirs, proud Alljion itself — and decking the brows t.f various members of his 
 family with crowns torn from the heads of oth' r monixrchs, lived to behold hi.s 
 own dear France itself in the p- esession of his enemies, and was made himself a 
 wretched captive, and far removed from country, family, and friends, breathed hi'^ 
 last on the distant and inhospital^le rock of St. Helena. The Alps and the Rhine 
 had been claimed as the natui*al boundaries of Frcanee, but even these could not be 
 secured in the treaties to which she was reduced to submit. Do you believe that the 
 people of Macedon or Greece, of Rome, or of France, were benefitted individually or 
 collectively, by the triumphs of their great Captains ? Their sad lot was an im- 
 mense sacrifice of life, heavy and intolerable burdens, and the ultimate loss of 
 lilierty itself. 
 
 That the power of the United Sta'^es is competent to the conquest of Mexico is 
 quite probable. But it could not be achieved without frightful carnage, dreadful sac- 
 
8 
 
 rifices of human life, and the creation of an onerous national debt ; nor could it be 
 completely effected, in all probability, until after the lapse of many years. It would 
 be necessary to occupy all its strong holds, to disarm its inhabitants, and to keep 
 them in constant fear and subjection. To consummate the work, I presume that 
 Standing Armies, not less than a hundred thousand men, would be necessary, to be 
 kept perhaps always in the bosom of their country. These standing armies reveling 
 in a foreign land, and accustomed to trample upon the liberties of a foreign people, at 
 some distant day, might be fit and ready instruments, under the lead of some daring 
 and unprincipled chieftain, to return to the country and prostrate the public liberty. 
 
 Supposing the conquest to be once made, what is to be done with it ? Is it to be 
 governed, like Roman Provinces, by Proconsuls ? Would it be compatible with the 
 genius, character and safety of our free institutions, to keep such a great country as 
 Mexico, with a population of not less than nine millions, in a state of constant military 
 subjection ? 
 
 Shall it be annexed to the United States ? Does any considerate man believe it 
 possible that two such immense countries, with territories of nearly equal extent, with 
 population so incongruous, so different in race, in language, in religion and in laws, 
 could be blended together in one harmonious mass, and happily governed by one com- 
 mon authority ? Murmurs, discontent, insurrections, rebeUion would inevitably en.*ue, 
 until the incompatible parts would be broken asunder, and possibly, in the frightful 
 struggle, our present glorious Union itself would be dissevered or dissolved. We 
 ought not to forget the warning voice of all history, which teaches the difficulty of 
 combining and consolidating together, conquering and conquered nations. After the 
 lapse of eight hundred years, during which the Moors held the conquest of Spain, the 
 indomitable courage, perseverance and obstinacy of the Spanish ra(.e finally triumphed 
 over and expelled the African invaders from the Peninsula. And even within our 
 own time, the colossal power of Napoleon, when at its loftiest height, was incompe- 
 tent to subdue and subjugate the prcnid Castillian. And here in our own neiglibor- 
 hood, Lower Canada, which near one hundred years ago, after the conclusion of the 
 seven year's War, was ceded by France to Great Britain, remains a foreign land in the 
 midst of the British provinces, foreign in feelings and attachment, and foreign in laws, 
 language and religion. And what has been the fact with poor, gallant, generous and op- 
 pressed Ireland ? Centuries have passed since the overbearing Saxon overran and sub 
 dued the Emerald Isle. Rivers of Irish blood have flowed during the long and arduous 
 contest. Insurrection and rebellion have been the order of the day; and yet, up to this 
 time, Ireland remains alien in feeling, affection and sympathy toAvard the power which 
 has so long borne her down Every Irishman hates, with a mortal hatred, his Saxon op- 
 pressor. Although there are great territorial differences between the condition of Eng- 
 land and Ireland, as compared to that of the United States and Mexico, there are some 
 points of striking resemblance between them. Both the Irish and the 1\1 exicans are 
 probably of the same Celtic race. Both the English and the Americans are of the same 
 Saxon origin. The Cathohc Religion predominates in bt th the former; the Protest - 
 antamong both the latter. Religion has been the fruitful cause of dissatisfacti<in and 
 discontent between the Irish and the English nations. Is there no reason to appre- 
 hend that it would become so between the people of the United States and those of 
 Mexico, if they were united together ? Why should we seek to interfere with them 
 in their mode of worship of a common Saviour? We believe that they are wrong, 
 especially in the exclusive character of their faith, and that we are right. They think 
 that they are right and we wrong. What other rule can there be than to leave the 
 followers of each religion to their own solemn convictions of conscientious duty to- 
 ward God ? Who but the great Arbiter of the Universe can judge in such a question ? 
 For my own part, I sincerely believe and hope, that those who belong to all the depart- 
 ments of the great Church of Christ, if, in truth and purity, they conform to the doc- 
 trines which they profess, will ultimately secure an abode in those regions of bliss 
 which all aim finally to reach. I think that there is no potentate in Europe, whatever 
 his religion may be, more enlightened, or at this moment so interesting, as the liberal 
 head of the Papal See. 
 
 But I suppose it to be impossible that those who ftivor, if there be any who favor, 
 the annexation of Mexico to the United States, can think that it ought to be perpetu- 
 ally governed by military sway. Certainly no votary of human liberty could deem it 
 right that a violation should be perpetrated of the great principles of our own Revo- 
 
9 
 
 lution, according to which, laws ought not to be eTincted, and taxes ought not to be 
 levied, without representation on the part of those who are to obey the one and pay 
 the other. Then Mexico is to participate in our councils, and equally share in our 
 legislation and government. But suppose she would not voluntarily choose represen- 
 tatives to the National Congress, is our soldiery to follow the electors to the ballot-box 
 and by force to compel them, at the point of the bayonet, to deposit their ballots ? Anil 
 how are the nine millions of jVIcxican people to be represented in the Congress of the 
 United States of America, and the Congress of the United States of the Republic of 
 Mexico combined ? Is every Mexican, without regard to color or caste, per capitnm, 
 to exercise the elective franchise ? How is the quota of representation between the 
 two Republics to be fixed ? Where is their seat of common government to be estab- 
 lished ? And who can foresee or foretell, if Mexico, voluntarily or by force, were to 
 share in the common government, what would be the consequence to her or to us ? 
 Unprepared, as I fear her population yet is, for the practical enjoyment of self-gov- 
 ernment, and of habits, customs, language, laws, and religion, so totally different from 
 our own, we should present the revolting spectacle of a confused, distracted, and mot- 
 ley Government. We would have a Mexican Party, a Pacific Ocean Part}'-, an Atlan- 
 tic Party, in addition to the other parties which exist, or with which we are threaten- 
 ed ; each striving to execute its own particular views and purposes, and reproaching 
 the others with thwarting and disappointing them. The Mexican representation in 
 Congress would probably form a sepiirate and impenetrable corps, always ready to 
 throw itself into the scale of any other party, to advance and promote Mexican inter- 
 ests. Such a state of things could not long endure. Those, whom God and geogra- 
 phy have pronounced should live asunder, could never be permanently and harmoni- 
 ously united together. 
 
 Do we want for our own happiness or greatness the addition of Mexico to the ex- 
 isting Union of our States ? If our population were too dense for our territory, and 
 there was a diffictdty in obtaining honorably the means of subsistence, there might be 
 some excuse for an attempt to enlarge our dominions. But we have no such apology. 
 We have already, in our glorious country, a vast and almost boundless territory. Be- 
 ginning at the North, in the frozenregions of the British Provinces, it stretches thous- 
 ands of miles along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mexican Gulf, until it al- 
 most reaches the Tropics. It extends to the Pacific Ocean, borders on those great in- 
 land seas, the Lakes, which separate us from the possessions of Great Britain, and it 
 embraces the great father of rivers, from its uppermost source to the Balize, and the 
 etill longer Missouri from its mouth to the gorges of the Rocky IMountains. It com- 
 prehends the greatest variety of the richest soils, capable of almost all the productions 
 of the earth, except tea, and cofiee, and the spices ; and it includes every variety of 
 climate which the heart can wish or desire. We have more than ten thousand mil- 
 lions of acres of waste and unsettled hand- — enough for the subsistence of ten or 
 twenty times our present population. Ought we not to be satisfied with such a 
 country ? Ought we not to be profoundly thankful to the Giver of all good things for 
 such a vast and bountiful land ? Is it not the height of ingratitude to Him, to seek, 
 by war and conquest, indulging in a spirit of rapacity, to acquire other lands, the 
 homes and habitations of a large portion of his common children ? If we pursue the 
 object of such a conquest, besides mortgaging the revenue and resources of this 
 country for ages to come, in the form of an onerous National Debt, we should have 
 greatly to augment that Debt by an assumption of the sixty or seventy millions of 
 the National Debt of Mexico. For I take it, that nothing is' more certain than that, 
 if we ob;ain voluntarily or by conquest a foreign nation," we acquire it with all the en- 
 cumbrances attached to it. In my humble opinion, we are now boimd in honor and 
 morality, to pay the just debt of Texas. Ani we should be equally bound, by the 
 eame obligations, to pay the debt of .'Mexico if it were annexed to the United States. 
 
 Of the possessions which appertain to man in his collective or individual condition, 
 none should be preserved and cherished with more sedulous and unremitting care 
 than that of an unsullied character. It is impossilile to estimate it too hifrhly in soci- 
 ety when attached to an individual, nor can it be exaggerated or too greatly magnified 
 m a nation. Those who lose or are indifferent to it, become just objects of scorn and 
 contempt. Of all the abominable transactions which sully tlie page's of history, none 
 exceed in enormity that of the dismemberment and partition of Poland by the three 
 great continental powers — Russia, .luslria, and Prussia. Ages may pass away, and 
 
10 
 
 centuries roll around, but so long as human records endure, all mankind ■will ufiite in 
 execrating the rapacious and detestable deed. That was accomplished by over- 
 whelming force, and the unfortunate existence of fatal dissensions and divisions in 
 the bosom of Poland. Let us avoid affixing to our name and national character, a 
 similar, if not worse stigma. I am afraid that we do not now stand well in the opin- 
 ion of other parts of Christendom. Repudiation has brought upon us much reproach. 
 All the nations, I apprehend, look upon us, iu the prosecution of the present War, as 
 being actuated by a spirit of rapacity, and an inordinate desire for territorial aggran- 
 dizement. Let us not forfeit altogether their good opinions. Let us command 
 their applause by a noble exercise of forbearance and justice. In the elevated station 
 which we hold, we can well afford to practice the God-Uke virtues of moderation and 
 magnanimity. The long series of glorious triumphs achieved by our gallant command- 
 ers and their brave armies, unattended by a single reverse, justify us, without the least 
 danger of tarnishing the national honor, m disinterestedly holding out the olive branch 
 of peace. We do not want the mines, the mountains, the morasses, and the sterile lands 
 of Mexico. To her the loss of them would be humihating, and be a perpetual source 
 of regret and mortification. To us they might prove a fatal acquisition, producing 
 distraction, dissension, division, possibly disunion. Let therefore, the integrity of the 
 national existence and national territory of Mexico remain undisturbed. For one, I 
 desire to see no part of her territoi-y torn from her by war. Some of om- people have 
 placed their hearts upon the acquisition of the Bay of San Francisco in Upper CaUfor- 
 nia. To us, as a great maritime power, it might prove to be of advantage hereafter, 
 in respect to our commercial and navigating interests. To Mexico, which can never 
 be a great maritime power, it can never be of much advantage. If we can obtain it 
 by fair purchase for a just equivalent, I should be happy to see it so acquired. As 
 whenever the War ceases, Mexico ought to be required to pay the debts due our citi- 
 zens, perhaps an equivalent for that Eay may be found in that debt, our Government 
 assuming to pay to our citizens whatever portion of it may be applied to that object. 
 But it should form no motive in the prosecution of the War, which I would not con-, 
 tinue a solitary hour for the sake of that harbor. 
 
 But what, it will be asked, shall we make peace without any indemnity for the ex- 
 penses of the War ? If the published documents in relation to the late negotiations 
 between Mr. Trist and the Mexican Commissioners be true, and I have not seen 
 them anywhere contradicted, the Executive properly waived any demand of indemni- 
 ty for the expenses of the War. And the rupture of that negotiation was produced 
 by our Government insisting upon a cession from Mexico of the strip of mostly barren 
 land between the Nueces and the Rio Bravo and New^ Mexico, which Mexico refused 
 to make. So that we are now fighting, if not for the conquest of all Mexico, as inti- 
 mated in some quarters, fur that narrow strip, and for the barren province of New 
 Mexico, with its few miserable mines. We bought all the province of Louisiana for 
 fifteen millions of dollars, and it is, in my opinion, worth more than all Mexico to- 
 gether. We bought Florida at five millions of df)llars, and a hard bargain it was, 
 since, beside that sum, w-e gave up the boundary of the Rio Bravo, to which I think, 
 we were entitled, as the we.stern limit of the province of Louisiana, and were restrict- 
 ed to that of the Sabine. And we are now, if not seeking the conquest of all Mexico, 
 to continue this War indefinitely, for the inconsiderable objects to which I have just 
 referred. 
 
 But, it will be repeated, are we to have no indemnity for the expenses of the War ? 
 Mexico is utterly unable to make us any pecuniary indemnity, if the justice of the 
 War on our part entitle us to demand it. Her country has been laid waste, her cities 
 burned or occupied by our troops, her means so exLausted that she is unable to pay 
 even her own armies. And every day's prosecution of the War, while it would aug- 
 ment the amount of our indemnity, would lessen the ability of Mexico to pay it. V^e 
 have seen, however, that there is another form in which we are to demand indemnity. 
 It is to be territorial indemnity ! I hope, for reasons already stated, that that firebrand 
 will not be brought into our country. 
 
 Among the resolutions which it is my intention to present for your consideration at 
 the conclusion of this address, ore prop ses, in your behalf and mine, to disavow, in 
 the most positive manner, any desire on our part to acquire any foreign territory 
 whatever, fir the purpose (-f intn educing slavery into it. I do not know tl.at any cit- 
 izen of the United States entertains such a wish. But such a motive has of.e^ been 
 
11 
 
 imputed to the Slave States, and I therefore think it necessary to notice it on this occa- 
 sion. My opinions on the subject of Slavery are ■well known. They have the merit, 
 if it be one, of consistency, uniformity and long duration. I have ever regarded 
 Slavery as a great evil, a wrong, for the present, I fear, an irremediable wrongs to its 
 unfortunate victims. I should rejtuce if not a single slave breathed the air or Avas with- 
 in the limits of our country. Eut here they are, to be dealt with as well as we can, 
 with a due consideration of all circumstances affecting the security, safety and happi- 
 ness of both races. Every State has the supreme, uncontrolled and exclusive power 
 to decide for itself whether Slavery shall cease or continue within its limits, without' 
 any exterior intervention from any quarter. In States where the slaves outnumber 
 the whites, as is the case with several, the blacks could not be emancipated and in- 
 vested with all the rights of freemen, without becoming the governing race in those 
 States. Collisions and conflicts between the two races would be inevitable, and af- 
 ter shocking scenes of rapine and carnage, the extinction or expulsion of the blacks 
 would certainly take place. In the State of Kentucky, near fifty years ago, I thought 
 the proportion of slaves, in comparison with the whites, was so inconsiderable that we 
 might safely adopt a system of gradual emancipation that would ultimately eradicate 
 this evil in our State. That system was totally different from the immediate aboli- 
 tion of Slavery for which the party of the Abolitionists>of the present day contend. 
 Whether they have intended it or not, it is my calm and deliberate belief, that they 
 have done incalculable mischief even to the very cause which they espoused, to say 
 nothing of the discord which has been produced between different parts of the Union. 
 According to the system we attempted, near the close of the last century, all slaves in 
 being were to remain such ; but, all who might be born subsequent to a specified day, 
 were to become free at the age of twenty-eight, and during their service were to be 
 taught to read, write and cypher. Thus, instead of being thrown upon the communi- 
 ty, ignorant and unprepared, as would be the case by immediate emancipation, they 
 would have entered upon the possession of their freedom, capable in some degree, of 
 enjoying it. After a hard struggle, the system was defeated, and I regret it extreme- 
 ly, as, if it had been then adopted, our State would be now nearly rid of that reproach. 
 
 Since that epoch a scheme of unmixed benevolence has sprung up, which, if it had 
 existed at that time, would have obviated one of the greatest objections which was 
 made to gradual emancipation, which was the continuance of the emancipated slaves 
 to abide among us. That scheme is the American Colonization Society. About 
 twenty-eight years ago, a few individuals, myself among them, met together in the 
 City of Washington, and laid the foundation of that Society. It has gone on amid 
 extraordinary difficulties and trials, sustaining itself almost entirely by spontaneous 
 and voluntary contributions from individual benevolence, with scarcely any aid from 
 Government. The Colonies, planted under its auspices, are now well established 
 communities, with churches, schools and other institutions appertaining to the civil- 
 ized state. They have made successful war in repelling attacks and invasions by their 
 barbarous and savage neighbors. They have made treaties, annexed territories to 
 their dominion, and are blessed with a free representative government. I recently 
 read a message, from one of their Governors to their Legislature, which, in point oi' 
 composition, and in careful attention to the public affairs of their Republic would 
 compare advantageously with the Messages of the Governors of our own States. I 
 am not very superstitious, but I do solemnly believe that these Colonies are blest with 
 the smiles of Providence, and if we may dare attempt penetrating the veil by which 
 He conceals His all-wise dispensations from mortal eyes, that He designs that Africa 
 shall be the refuge and the home of the descendants of its sons and daughters, torn 
 and dragged from their native land by lawless violence. 
 
 It is a philanthropic and consoling reflection that the moral and physical condition 
 of the African race in the United States, even in a state of slavery, is'far better than 
 it wouli have been if their ancestors had never been brought from their native land. 
 And if it should be the decree of the Great Ruler of the Universe that their descend- 
 ants shall be made instruments in His hands in the establishment of Civilization ;ind 
 the Christian Religion throughout Africa, our regrets on account of the origiiul 
 wrong, will be greatly mitigated. 
 
 It may be argued that, in admitting the injustice of Slavery, I admit the necessity 
 of an instantaneous reparation of that injustice. Unfortunately, however, it is not 
 always safe, practicable or possible, in the great movements of States and public 
 
13 
 
 aB'airs of nations, to remedy or repair the infliction of previous injustice. In the in- 
 ception of it, we may oppose and denounce it, by our most strenuous exertions ; but, 
 after its consummation, there is often no other alternative left us but to deplore its per- 
 petration, and to acquiesce as the only course, in its existence, as a less evil than the 
 frightful consequences which might ensue from the vain endeavor to repair it. Slavery 
 is one of those unfortunate instances. 1 he evil of it was inflicted upon us by 
 the parent country of Great Britain against all the entreaties and remonstrances of 
 the Colonies. And here it is among and amid us, and we must dispose of it as best 
 we can under all the circumstances Avhich surround us. It continued, by the importa- 
 tion of slaves from Africa, in spite of Colonial resistance, for a period of more 
 than a century and a half, and it may require an equal or longer lapse of time before 
 our country is entirely rid of the evil. And in the meantime, moderation, prudence 
 and discretion among ourselves, and the blessings of Providence, may be all necessary 
 to accomplish our ultimate deliverance from it. Examples of similar infliction of irre- 
 parable national evil and injustice might be multiplied to an indefinite extent. The 
 case of the Annexation of Texas to the United States is a recent and an obvious one, 
 which, if it were wrong, cannot now be repaired. Texas is now an integral part of 
 our Union, with its own voluntary consent. Many of us opposed the Annexation 
 with honest zeal and most earnest exertions. But who would now think of perpetra- 
 ting the foUy of casting Texas out of the Confederacy and throwing her back upon 
 her own independence, or into the arms of Mexico ? Who would now seek to divorce 
 her from this Union ? The Creeks and the Cherokee Indians were, by the most ex- 
 ceptionable means, driven from their country, and transported beyond the Mississippi 
 River. Their lands have been fairly purchased and occupied by inhabitants of 
 Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Who would now conceive the flagrant 
 injustice of expelling those inhabitants and restoring the Indian country to the Che- 
 rokees and Creeks, under color of repairing original injustice ? During the War of 
 our Revolution, millions of paper money were issued by our ancestors as the only cur- 
 rency with which they could achieve our liberties and independence. Thousands and 
 hundreds of thousands of families were stripped of their homes and their all, and 
 brought to ruin, by giving credit and confidence to that spurious currency. Stern 
 necessity has prevented the reparation of that great national injustice. 
 
 But I forbear : I will no longer trespass upon your patience or farther tax my own 
 voice, impaired by a speech of more than three hours' duration, which professional 
 duty required me to make only a few days ago. If I have been at all successful in the 
 exposition of the views and opinions which I entertain, I have shown — 
 
 1st, That the present war was brought about by the annexation of Texas, and the 
 subsequent order of the President without the previous consent and authority of Con- 
 gress. 
 
 2d, That the President, being unenlightened and uninstructed, by any public dec- 
 laration of Congress, as to objects for which it ought to be prosecuted, in the conduct 
 of it, is necessarily left to his own sense of what the national interests and honor may 
 require. 
 
 3d, That the -whole war-making power of the nation, as to motives, causes, 
 and objects, is confided by the Constitution to the discretion and judgment of Con- 
 gress. 
 
 4th, That it is, therefore, the right of Congress, at the commencement or during 
 the progress of any War, to declare for what objects and purposes the war ought to 
 be waged and prosecuted. 
 
 5th, That it is the right and duty of Congress to announce to the Nation for what 
 objects the present War shall be longer continued ; that it is the duty of the Presi- 
 dent in the exercise of all his oflicial functions, to conform to, and carry out. this de- 
 clared will of Congress, by th« exercise, if necessary, of all the high powers with which 
 he is clothed ; and that, if he fail, or refuse to do so, it becomes the imperative duty 
 of Congress to arrest the farther progress of the War, by the most effectual means in 
 its power. 
 
 Let Congress announce to the Nation the objects for which this war shall be far- 
 ther protracted, and public suspense and public inquietude will no longer remain. If 
 it is to be a War of conquest of all, or any part of Mexico, let the people know it, and 
 they will no longer be agitated by a dark and uncertain future. But, althr ujrh I 
 «night have forborne to express any opinion whaitever, as to the purposes and objects 
 
13 
 
 for which the War should be continued, I have not thought proper to conceal my 
 opinions, whether worth anytliing or not, from the public examination. Accordingly 
 I have stated, 
 
 6th, That it seems to me that it is the duty of our country, as well on the score of 
 moderation and magnanimity, as with a \Tiew of avoiding discord and discontent afc 
 home, to abstain from seeking to conquer and annex to the United States, Mexico, or 
 any part of it ; and especially to disabuse the pubUc mind in any quarter of the Union 
 of the impression, if it anywhere exists, that a desire for conquest is cherished for tho 
 purpose of propagating or extending Slavery. 
 
 I have embodied, Mr. President and fellow citizens, the sentiments and opinions 
 which I have endeavored to explain and enforce in a series of Resolutions, which I 
 beg now to submit to your consideration and judgment. They are the following ; 
 
 1. Resolved, As the opinion of this meeting, that the primary cause of the present 
 unhappy War existing between the United States of America, and the United States 
 of the Republic of Mexico, was the Annexation of Texas to the former; and that tho 
 immediate occasion of hostilities between the two Republics, arose out of the order of 
 the President of the United States, for the removal of the army under the command of 
 General Taylor, from its position at Corpus Christito a point opposite Matamoros, on 
 the east bank of the Rio Bravo, within territory claimed by both Republics, but then 
 under the jurisdiction of that of Mexico, and inhabited by its citizens ; and that the 
 order of the President for the removal of the army to that point, was improvident 
 and unconstitutional, it being without the concurrence of Congress, or even any con- 
 sultation with it, although it Avas in session; but that Congress having, by subsequent 
 acts, recognized the War thus brought into existence without its previous authority 
 or consent, the prosecution of it became thereby National. 
 
 2. Resolved, That, in the absence of any formal and public declaration by Con- 
 gress, of the objects for which the War ought to be prosecuted, the President of the 
 United States, as Chief 3Iagistrate and as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Na- 
 vy of the United States, is left to the guidance of his own judgment, to prosecute it 
 for such purposes and objects as he may deem the honor and interest of the nation 
 to require. 
 
 3. Resolved, That by the Constitution of the United States, Congress, being in- 
 vested with power to declare War, and grant letters of marque and reprisal, to 
 make rules concerning captures on land and water, to raise and support armies, to pro- 
 vide and maintain a navy, and to make rules for the government of the land and na- 
 val forces, has the full and complete war-making power of the United States ; and, so 
 possessing it, has a right to determine upon the motives, causes and objects of any 
 War, when it commences, or at any time dm-ing the progress of its existence. 
 
 4. Resolved, As the farther opinion of this meeting, that it is the right and duty of 
 Congress to declare, by some authentic act, for what purposes and objects the existing 
 War ought to be farther prosecuted ; that it is the duty of the President, in his offi- 
 cial conduct, to conform to such a declaration of Congress ; and that, if after such 
 declaration, the President should decline or refuse to endeavor, by all the means, civil, 
 diplomatic, and military, in his power, to execute the announced will of Congress, and, 
 in defiance of its authority, should continue to prosecute the War for purposes 
 and objects other than those declared by that body, it would become the right and 
 duty of Congress to adopt the most efficacious measures to arrest the farther progress 
 of the War, taking care to make ample provision for the honor, the safety and secu- 
 rity of our armies in Mexico, in every contingency. And, if Mexico should decline or 
 refuse to conclude a treaty with us, stipulating for the purposes and objects so declared 
 by Congress, it would be the duty of the Government to prosecute the War with the 
 utmost vigor, until they were attained by a treaty of peace. 
 
 5. Resolved, That we view with serious alarm, and are utterly opposed to any pur- 
 pose of annexing Mexico to the United States, in any mode, and especially by con- 
 quest ; that we believe the two nations could not be happily governed by one common 
 authority, owing to their great difference of race, law, language and reUgion, and the 
 vast extent of their respective territories, and large amount of their respective popu- 
 lations; that such a union, against the consent of the exasperated Mexican people, 
 could only be effected and preserved by large standing armies, and the constant ap- 
 plication of military force — in other words, by despotic sway exercised over the Mex- 
 
u 
 
 ican people, in the first instance, but which, there would be just cause to apprehend 
 might, in process of time, be extended over the people of the United States. That we 
 deprecate, therefore, such a union, as wholly incompatible with the genius of our Govern- 
 ment, and with the character of free and liberal institutions ; and we anxiously hope 
 that each nation may be left in the undi&turbed possession of its own laws, language, 
 cherished religion and territory, to pursue its own happiness, according to what it may 
 deem best for itself. 
 
 6. Resolved, That considering the series of splendid and brilliant victories achiev- 
 ed by our brave armies and their gallant commanders, during the War with Mexico, 
 unattended by a single reverse, the United States, without any danger of their honor 
 suffering the slightest tarnish, can practice the virtues of moderation and magnanim- 
 ity towards their discomfited foe. We have no desire for the dismemberment of the 
 United States of the Republic of Mexico, but wish only a just and proper fixation of 
 fchehmits of Texas. 
 
 7. Resolved, That we do, positively and emphatically, disclaim and disavow any 
 wish or desire on our part, to acquire any foreign territory whatever, for the purpose 
 of propagating Slavery, or of introducing slaves from the United States into such for- 
 eign territory. 
 
 8. Resolved, That we invite our fellow-citizens of the United States, who are anx- 
 ious for the restoration of the blessings of peace, or, if the existing War shall continue 
 to be prosecuted, are desirous that its purposes and objects shall be defined and known, 
 who are anxious to avert present and future perils and dangers, with which it may be 
 fraught, and who are also anxious to produce contentment and satisfaction at home, 
 and to elevate the national character abroad, to assemble together in their respective 
 communities, and to express their views, feelings and opinions. 
 
 After rea,ding the resolutions and handing them to the Secretary, Mr, Clay conclud- 
 ed by apologizing for the length of time which he had trespassed upon the meeting, 
 and thanking the ladies and gentlemen most cordially for the honor done him by their 
 attendance, on this occasion, and the profound attention with which they had listen- 
 ed to him. 
 

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