Besides, there are points in which we are bound by positive obligations, not by mere abstract morality. We are bound to maintain the right of Texas to the boundary of the Rio Grande, and we are bound to secure the amount of spoliations due by the Mexican Government to our own citizens. As we are now at war, (and it is not material as to this, whether by our act, or that of Mexico,) the payment of that debt must be secured by sequestration of California or other territory, and at the same time, there must be indemnity for the expenses of the war. As to the prospects ahead, that is, as to the results of the war, they do not appear to me encouraging, and as to the prospects of peace, they are still more gloomy. I believe there is no nation on the Globe more powerful for defence, than we are. But our power for warlike conquest, is an idea which ought not to be encouraged, and no people had ever less necessity for it. In order to be conquerors, we must have regular standing armies; we must have tributary provinces as Rome had, and, consequently, a system incompatible with our simple democratic republican institutions. Unoccupied countries, like California, may be conquered by our settlements, as Texas and some of our States were conquered. In the course of time, the whole of North America, and, perhaps South America, will gradually and imperceptibly, yield to this kind of conquest. But at present, the countries beyond the Rio Grande are inhabited by a different race of people, too numerous to be at once absorbed or displaced, and whose habits and character do not fit them to become integral portions of our confederacy. Mere dependencies and colonies do not suit the spirit of our free institutions.