Page:Speech of Mr. Chas. Hudson, of Mass., on the Three Million Appropriation Bill - delivered in the House of Representatives of the U.S., Feb. 13, 1847 (IA speechofmrchashu00hudsrich).pdf/20

 danger, I should be recreant -to duty, did I not raise my feeble voice in her behalf, and in behalf of her free institutions. I have, I trust, a just sense of the honor of my country, and hence I wish to save her from dis grace. I believe that her fair fame has been tarnished by being plunged into an unjust war—a war of conquest and aggrandizement; and my regard for her honor induces me to do all in my power to rescue her from infamy. I desire the honor of her flag, and hence I deeply regret that it has been unfurled in any but a righteous cause. I hope that that proud banner may ever float " o'er the land of the free and the home of brave;" and hence I regret that it has been unfurled in a foreign land.

But some gentlemen speak of the honor of our flag, as though it could only be sustained by rushing madly into the very heart of Mexico. I would sustain the honor of our flag by bringing it within our own territory. I would plant it upon our own soil, and, as far as I have the power, I would there sustain it; I would suffer no foreign foe to trail it in the dust. I believe that the glory of the country and the honor of the flag require that our troops should be recalled from Mexico, and brought within our own borders. I fear no disgrace from such a course. I would have this great nation act worthy of herself. I would have her proclaim at once to Mexico, and through her to the world, that we are not actuated by ambition; that we have no designs upon the integrity of her territory; that we seek nothing but peace on just and honorable terms. I would, on such announcement, withdraw our army, and propose negotiation for peace, on the condition that, in case of disagreement, the subject should be submitted to arbitration. Would the honor of the country suffer by a course like this? Would it not, on the contrary, be the brightest page in our history, and do more than a thousand victories to elevate us among the nations of the earth? No nation would ascribe such a course to cowardice, but rather to magnanimity-to true greatness. Such an example would be worth more to this country, and to the world, than all the wealth of the mines of Mexico.

But I may be asked, whether I will desert my country in the hour of her peril; whether I feel indifferent to the glory of our country, and the honor of her flag? Mr. Chairman, I owe allegiance to my country; and, instead of deserting her in the hour of her peril, I cling to her the stronger as her dangers increase. A fond regard for my country has induced me at this time to speak in her behalf, and to utter sentiments which I know will not be approved by some of my personal and political friends. I see her in danger. Her Constitution has been assailed; its sacred principles have been violated by one who has been placed as their guardian. The Executive has invaded the sacred prerogative of Congress by exercising the war-making power. I see the Constitution in danger in another respect. We have been told on this floor, by several gentlemen, that the Executive is supreme in time of war, and that we are bound to give him whatever he may ask. Here, again, I believe that my country is in danger of having her fundamental law so interpreted as to convert her form of Government into a military despotism. And; in such an hour of danger, I should be recreant -to duty, did I not raise my feeble voice in her behalf, and in behalf of her free institutions. I have, I trust, a just sense of the honor of my country, and hence I wish to save her from dis grace. I believe that her fair fame has been tarnished by being plunged into an unjust war a war of conquest and aggrandizement; and my regard for her honor induces me to do all in my power to rescue her from infamy. I desire the honor of her flag, and hence I deeply regret that it has been unfurled in any but a righteous cause. I hope that that proud banner may ever float " o'er the land of the free and the home of brave;" and hence regret that it has been unfurled in a foreign land.

But gentlemen would have us understand that the honor of the country would be tarnished, and the glory of our arms dimmed by a recall of our troops. But what do these guardians of our nation's honor ask us to do? Why, to put three millions of dollars into the hands of the President, that he may buy a peace with Mexico; that he may bribe Santa Anna and some of his rival chiefs to give us a peace, so that we may safely bring our army within our own borders. This, then, is the glory to which some gentlemen aspire!—this the deathless renown they would procure for our arms! Away with this senseless declamation about the honor of our country and the glory of our flag. If our Democratic friends are so jealous of our country's honor, let them pass in review the conduct of their own President. Mr. Calhoun, as we have already seen, in his report recommending the war of 1812, places the sending of a British agent here in time of peace, to foment discontent and to produce disunion, among the greatest insults and grossest outrages of which a nation could be guilty. And yet the President of the United States virtually confesses that he has been guilty of a similar outrage against a sister republic. The President informs us that, on the thir teenth of May last the very day on which war was declared against Mexico-he gave orders to Commodore Conner to let Santa Anna pass through the fleet into Mexico, in the belief that he would produce discord and revolution, which might prove beneficial to us. But on what ground did he found these expectations? On intrigues entered into with Santa Anna in