The Life of Abraham Lincoln, from His Birth to His Inauguration as PresidentLamon, Ward Hill
History
The Life of Abraham Lincoln, from His Birth to His Inauguration as President
Lamon, Ward Hill
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
has nothing whatever that we can get but territory; at another, showing
us how we can support the war by levying contributions on Mexico. At
one time urging the national honor, the security of the future, the
prevention of foreign interference, and even the good of Mexico herself,
as among the objects of the war; at another, telling us that, "to reject
indemnity by refusing to accept a cession of territory, would be to
abandon all our just demands, and to wage the war, bearing all its
expenses, without a purpose or definite object." So, then, the
national honor, security of the future, and every thing but territorial
indemnity, may be considered the no purposes and indefinite objects of
the war! But having it now settled that territorial indemnity is the
only object, we are urged to seize, by legislation here, all that he
was content to take a few months ago, and the whole province of Lower
California to boot, and to still carry on the war,--to take all we are
fighting for, and still fight on. Again, the President is resolved,
under all circumstances, to have full territorial indemnity for the
expenses of the war; but he forgets to tell us how we are to get the
excess after those expenses shall have surpassed the value of the
whole of the Mexican territory. So, again, he insists that the separate
national existence of Mexico shall be maintained; but he does not tell
us how this can be done after we shall have taken all her territory.
Lest the questions I here suggest be considered speculative merely, let
me be indulged a moment in trying to show they are not.
The war has gone on some twenty months; for the expenses of which,
together with an inconsiderable old score, the President now claims
about one-half of the Mexican territory, and that by far the better
half, so far as concerns our ability to make any thing out of it. It is
comparatively uninhabited; so that we could establish land-offices in
it, and raise some money in that way. But the other half is already
inhabited, as I understand it, tolerably densely for the nature of
the country; and all its lands, or all that are valuable, already
appropriated as private property. How, then, are we to make any thing
out of these lands with this encumbrance on them, or how remove the
encumbrance? I suppose no one will say we should kill the people,
or drive them out, or make slaves of them, or even confiscate their
property? How, then, can we make much out of this part of the territory?
If the prosecution of the war has, in expenses, already equalled the
better half of the country, how long its future prosecution will be in
equalling the less valuable half is not a speculative but a practical
question, pressing closely upon us; and yet it is a question which the
President seems never to have thought of.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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