Evil is evil, and sin is sin, and the consequences cannot alter the moral complexion of an act. No doubt, as Nature heals on her beautiful face the scars of the torn battle-plain, wipes away with her tears, shed from heaven, the stains of blood, and even clothes herself with a greener vesture and more blooming flowers than before; so the infinite Providence, in which all worlds and all beings are embosomed, with a like hopefulness and soothing efficacy of time, may work out of the bitter woes of war a greater good than man thought of; but God's goodness, instead of excusing our wickedness, only makes it appear all the more guilty and shocking. Mexico may not fall. The blow she has received may rouse her latent energies of self-improvement. But if the period should ever arrive when the largest republic on earth, next to our own, and the most hopeful and consistent one, is blotted out of the record of nations and becomes the Poland of the West, we shall stand condemned in the eyes of heaven and our own. as the authors of so tremendous a catastrophe.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE NEW TERRITORIES.

"And what, in principle, is war? It is the duel between nations, differing in no respect from the duel between individuals, except that the successful combatant is allowed to carry off as spoil the effects of his vanquished antagonist."-BISHOP POTTER.

THE acquisition of the territories of New Mexico and California is regarded by many as a sufficient compensation for all the losses and evils of the war, and a summary answer

to all objectors. The ports on the Pacific, the immense extent of country, and above all the astonishing mineral wealth are adduced as reasons to satisfy us that it was well the war was waged; as if these good things were some fair exchange; as if the question had been put to us, what shall it profit the nation, if it gain the whole world, and lose its own soul of faith and freedom; and we had seemed to answer, it shall profit us richly, if we can gain San Francisco, the Pacific port, the Sacramento, river of gold, and a boundless extent of new lands.

There are, however, important drawbacks to the value of our possessions, and to the satisfaction with which an honest man can speak of them.

There is, in the first place, the way in which they were acquired, by force, by conquest, by might, and not by right. As early as June 24, 1845, Commodore Sloat received secret and confidential orders from the Navy Department, to employ his squadron in the Pacific in warlike operations, seizing and occupying San Francisco, and other Mexican ports, as soon as he had ascertained with certainty the existence of war between Mexico and the United States, Seven ships of war and between 2000 and 3000 men and officers afforded him ample power to carry into execution his orders. Having heard rumors of the battles on the Rio Grande, he seized, July 7, 1846, Monterey, Upper California, without resistance, and issued a proclamation,* in which he annexed the country permanently to the American Union, saying that "henceforward California will be a portion of the United States," and in which he assured the people, that "the same protection would be extended to them as to any other State in the Union;" thus virtually excluding the idea of any changes in the government, which a treaty of peace, or the action of Congress might produce. In the language

* 30th Cong. 2d Session, Ho. of Rep. Ex. Doc. No. 1, p. 1010.

of Commodore Stockton, "the intelligence of the commencement of hostilities between the two nations, although it had passed through Mexico, had reached Commodore Sloat in advance of the Mexican authorities. When he first made his hostile demonstrations, therefore, the enemy, ignorant of the existence of the war, had regarded his acts as an unwarrantable exercise of power by the United States, and the most lively indignation and bitter resentment filled the country." The motives under which the conqueror acted are portrayed in the following extract from a letter to Commander Montgomery, dated Monterey, July 6, 1846,* "since I wrote you last evening, I have determined to hoist the flag of the United States at this place to-morrow, as I would prefer being sacrificed for doing too much than too little." The danger to which he was exposed, of being sacrificed for doing too little, was well set forth in a letter from Mr. Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy, which, after chiding him for remaining quiet from June 6th, when he heard of the affairs on the Rio Grande, till July 7th, when he captured Monterey, used this tone; † "but your anxiety not to do wrong has led you into a most unfortunate and unwarranted inactivity." Would it not often be better for our country, and for all countries, if public officers had more of that "anxiety not to do wrong?"

But the part enacted by Fremont in California sufficiently indicated that he was there, and that he took part in the revolutionary and warlike movements, not without high authority implied, though not perhaps distinctly expressed. He left St. Louis in June, 1845, on a topographical and scientific survey of Oregon and California, with a command of sixty-two men and two hundred horses. The Oregon boundary was in dispute, but the California boundary was

* 30th Cong. 1st Session, Senate. Rep. Com. No. 75, p. 73.

† 30th Cong. 1st Session, Senate. Rep. Com. No. 75, p. 71. Also,

p. 13.

tific survey.

clearly defined. And no armed party of men from the United States had any more right to be travelling in, and surveying that country, than sixty armed Mexicans to enter Florida and travel through it on a topographical and scienThere was an ulterior motive besides science. It was remarkable too that several months had been devoted to California, which belonged to Mexico, and not a day to Oregon, which did belong to the United States. What Fremont's instructions were when he was sent out, are secrets buried in the archives of the Government. But the facts are indisputable. Fremont was there, ready for any move

He naturally awakened the suspicions of the Californian authorities. Gen. Castro, military commander of California, ordered him to leave the country. But he took an intrenched position and avowed his intention, if attacked, to die in defence of the flag of his country, though he had dishonored that flag by confessedly planting it on the foreign soil of Mexico. He retired however to the north, into Oregon, before the forces of Castro, and was there reached by an officer, Lieut. Gillespie, the bearer of important despatches from the United States through Mexico, which he had committed to memory, that chance might not betray them to the Mexican government. On the 10th of May, 1846, the parties met. The nature of the message will best be told in Fremont's own language: "He brought me a letter of introduction from the Secretary of State, (Mr. Buchanan,) and letters and papers from Senator Benton and his family. The letter from the Secretary imported nothing beyond the introduction, and was directed to me in my private or citizen capacity. The outside envelop of a packet from Senator Benton was directed in the same way, and one of the letters from him, while apparently of mere friendship and family details, contained passages enigmatical and obscure, but which I studied out, and made the meaning to be that I was required by the Government to find out any foreign schemes in rela

tion to the Californias, and to counteract them.”* He further says, "the letter from Senator Benton had a decided influence on my next movement.” Lieut. Gillespie also testified essentially to the same statement respecting his instructions from the home government. Capt. Owens also declared before the committee on "California claims," that he did not think the revolution against the government would have taken place, or the people been united without the aid and protection of Captain Fremont. They had not confidence enough in their strength to undertake the war without support. Captain Fremont's party was strong and well armed, and went together like one man. Another witness, Loker, testified, "then commenced the revolution." †

Turning back from Oregon into "the unsettled parts of the Sacramento," and hearing rumors of warlike movements by Gen. Castro, Fremont put himself, June 10th, at the head of the American settlers at their earnest request, joining them "with his party, and (what they deemed of great moment) his name as an American officer." The first act of this clandestine war was the seizure of some horses of Gen. Castro. The town of Sonoma was captured, and on July 5th, the Californians declared their independence, and adopted the figure of the grizzly bear as their standard. Soon afterwards, however, Fremont and Stockton united their forces under the flag of the United States, and the republic of California had an even shorter existence than the republic of Texas.

Thus by violence and conquest, hatched, abetted and consummated before it was distinctly known that any declared war existed, was the territory belonging to Mexico torn away, and proclaimed to be an absolute and perpetual possession of the United States. Is it not within the bounds of imagination to conceive, that had the English, instead of the

*30th Cong. 1st Session, Senate. Ex. Doc. No. 33, pp. 373, 374. † 30th Cong. 1st Session, Senate. Rep. Com. No. 75, pp. 38, 39.