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renowned fortress, which commands its principal maritime entrance, the capture of which alone was glory enough for France; we have taken its capital, dispersed its armies, made its government, and reduced to subjection a large portion of its population; we have fought at least fourteen important actions, of which eight were pitched battles, and in every one there was a disparity of force against us, and in many an inequality, which carries us back for similar examples of desperate struggles, to the early ages of the world,—to the combats of the Greeks and Persians, which they resemble, rather than the conflicts, which the severe truth of modern history judges and records. We have captured a score of great cities, some of them fortified and defended, and capable of strong resistance. Time would fail me to tell all we have done, nor can it be necessary; for is it not already written in imperishable letters upon the records of history, and in burning and shining characters upon the heart of every American! "9

This language was not spoken by the distinguished senator in a spirit of boasting, but in reply to an honorable member who had spoken lightly of the efficiency of our government and of the achievements of our army.

It has been urged by some, that if we had invaded Mexico with a large army, her chance of success would have been deemed a hopeless one by her own government, and that negotiation and peace would have been the immediate results. Perhaps so. It is easy to say this when another and more moderate course was adopted. If a powerful and overwhelming movement had been made by the administration, against that feeble and miserable people, OPPRESSION and CRUELTY would have been the cry every where. Mexico would have had no chance to expose her weakness, and her strength would have been over-estimated. As it now stands, in every battle, her numerical force was greatly superior to ours, and it cannot be said, that she had no opportunity to test the bravery of her troops by battle, or to vindicate her honor by victory.

Much has been said by the opponents of the war with regard to the return of Santa Anna to Mexico. Of the means sanctioned or provided we have no remark to make. This subject was conclusively disposed of by the president in his answer to Congress. We allude to it only for the purpose of expressing our undisguised astonishment that any one, under any circumstances, should deny to Mexico the service of her sons! Supposing permission had been asked to allow his return, who would have refused it? What was Santa Anna that we should fear him? Why should he be continued in banishment by Was he our prisoner? And if he were considered by Mexico her ablest general, his absence would have been deemed as the cause of defeat, and false hopes would have continued to blind her people. Of what avail has his return been to Mexico!

us?

Our country owes her army a debt of gratitude which nothing but duty to her own great interests can ever pay. Our soldiers were our fellow-citizens. They bravely fought the battles of justice, and won victories that shall tend to lessen wrong and establish peace in all coming time. They made sacrifices for others' good, and, if they suffered, time will prove that for every pain shall come a thousand blessings to the future race.* While we greet with smiles and joyous acclamations the hardy soldier's return from the war, let us pause to drop a

tear for

THE FALLEN THAT DO NOT COME.

The desolated home of the departed soldier should be relieved by our charities, and soothed by our sympathies.

* It was estimated that 70,000 victims were sacrificed at the coronation of Montezuma. The ordinary number of sacrifices, annually, was very large before the conquest of Mexico by Cortes. The total loss of both nations, in the late war, does not exceed 12,000. This estimate does not embrace the deaths from disease. A complete report is not yet made. The saving of life was great, in consequence of the conquest of ancient Mexico, and it will be great during the next century, in consequence of the war just closed. See Appendix Y.

The death of a soldier is an event of the nation, and fraught with a nation's consequence. It is not a loss, but a public gain; not an alternative of chance, but of duty. It is the death of the body, that the soul of man may live in still greater freedom. It is not without good reason that the death of a soldier in the service of his country has always been regarded as an event of honorable notice. His acts have helped a nation's progress, and his lot has made more precious a nation's rights.

It is a thoughtless and cruel sympathy that would raise no stone to mark the soldier's grave, or to seek to deck its mound with nought but withered flowers; to be willing to forget the form that perished at the post of duty, and to sadden the hearts of those who clung to it in affection while in life, by the irreverent reflections that a soldier's death has no place in the great book of Providence! that it is wrong, a meanless event of sin, a loss, a blank, forbidden by God, and sanctioned by no good man. We can see in this no light of wisdom, no act of piety. It is a cheerless view of man to look only on the objects of life, without regarding the painful sacrifices which lead to their attainment; to seem to be ignorant of the truth that death is a law of our nature, a condition of progress.

THEN LET THE SOLDIER'S GRAVE BE HONORED!

Let his deeds be cherished. It is not for the selfish looker-on, surrounded by all his comforts and studying no good but his own, to measure the glory of those who give up home and all that is near and dear, to serve their country on the field of danger. The former dies in his cot, and his end is from disThe latter dies on the field, and his end is a sacrifice on the altar of patriotism. 13*

ease.

THE JUSTICE OF THE WAR, AND ITS RESULTS.

Whatever is just, is right. Justice is a principle that It is an element that seeks and is the law of harmony

JUSTICE is the standard of right. Whatever is right, must be just. gives moral condition to existence. equality in all the relations of life, in the moral being. It saves the individual from the hardships of transgression, and preserves the nation from decay and downfall. It is the result of a world's integrity. It is the condition of continued existence.

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It is not a matter of chance. It is not to be perverted or avoided. It is self-protective. It can neither be tempted or bribed. Neither can it be impaired or destroyed. It is an attribute of Deity, an indestructible element of all created being. It is true to its source, and yields not to power, nor to the events of time or eternity. Without justice, man would cease to be a moral being; and without justice, nations would cease to exist upon the face of the earth, and truth would be at war with itself.

Properly to discuss, therefore, the justice of the war, we are led to inquire into the principles of national existence. These principles involve national duties. The duties of a nation are

of a two-fold character.

1st. Self-preservation, in the most enlarged sense of the term; and,

2d. A just regard for the rights of all men and of all nations. Or, in other words, justice to itself and justice to others. The duties of self-preservation are those to be found in a just and comprehensive legislation; in the impartial administration of the laws; in the strict observance of treaties; in the means of education and improvement; in the protection of life, liberty, and property of all the citizens of a nation throughout the world.

The second class of duties are embraced in this, that, in

what we claim for ourselves as necessary to our protection, we will not deny as necessary to all others placed in the same responsible relations of national existence.

We have seen what the relations have been between the United States and Mexico during an entire generation. On the one hand, a series of aggressions on life, liberty, and property have been committed, without manifesting any disposition to lessen the causes of wrong in future, or to give redress for wrongs of the past. To these have been added the petty acts of arrogance, and bold assumptions, having no truth to redeem them. On the other hand, a nation of greater power, the subject of these wrongs, has resorted to no measures of retaliation, to no decisive means of redress, but has exhausted all the sources of favor and forbearance.

The weakness of Mexico has been the condition of her exemption from a just accountability. This has been her misfortune; and if the government of the United States has any error to redeem, it is that of indulgence to Mexico, permitting the acts of outrage and wrong, without insisting upon prompt reparation. The weakness of a nation furnishes no good reason why she should be excused for the violation and neglect of sacred duties. All will agree that it is a reason for an opposite course. National strength cannot come from neglect; national prosperity cannot come from indolence; national glory cannot come from national wrongs. All these elements of national existence can come only from conscience and from duty.

Not content to be left to herself to reform during the seasons of indulgence, she adds new insults to the wrongs of the past, and, in the utter folly of her condition, commences a war with the United States; thus inviting the infliction of those accumulated penalties, which a Providence may suspend, but never remit.*

* We find the following paragraph in one of the public journals, embraced in a letter from St. Petersburgh, with regard to the cholera now prevailing in that city :

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'During the week, and particularly on Sunday last, processions

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