Accordingly, a little below the middle of page twelve, in the Message last referred to, he enters upon that task; forming an issue and introducing testimony, extending the whole to a little below the middle of page fourteen. Now, I propose to try to show that the whole of this, issue and evidence, is, from beginning to end, the sheerest deception. The issue, as he presents it, is in these words: "But there are those who, conceding all this to be true, assume the ground that the true western boundary of Texas is the Nueces, instead of the Rio Grande; and that, therefore, in marching our army to the east bank of the latter river, we passed the Texan line, and invaded the Territory of Mexico." Now, this issue is made up of two affirmatives, and no negative. The main deception of it is, that it assumes as true, that one river or the other is necessarily the boundary, and cheats the superficial thinker entirely out of the idea that possibly the boundary is somewhere between the two, and not actually at either. A further deception is, that it will let in evidence which a true issue would exclude. A true issue made by the President would be about as follows: "I say the soil _was ours_ on which the first blood was shed; there are those who say it was not." I now proceed to examine the President's evidence, as applicable to such an issue. When that evidence is analyzed, it is all included in the following propositions:-- 1. That the Rio Grande was the western boundary of Louisiana, as we purchased it of France in 1803. 2. That the Republic of Texas always claimed the Rio Grande as her western boundary. 3. That, by various acts, she had claimed it on paper. 4. That Santa Anna, in his treaty with Texas, recognized the Rio Grande as her boundary. 5. That Texas _before_, and the United States _after_ annexation, had _exercised_ jurisdiction _beyond_ the Nueces, _between_ the two rivers. 6. That our Congress _understood_ the boundary of Texas to extend beyond the Nueces. Now for each of these in its turn:--