BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 o- 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
SPEECH 
 
 ^ A V 
 
 OP 
 
 MR. CLARKE, OF RHODE ISLAND* 
 
 ON 
 
 THE CALIFORNIA CLAIMS. 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, APRIL 25, 1848. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 PRINTED BY JOHN T. TOWERS. 
 
 1848. 
 
SPEECH. 
 
 Mr. PRESIDENT : The course of the debate upon the California 
 claims, has, for the two days past, been restricted by Senators to 
 the constitutional power of Congress to appoint the commissioners 
 to adjust them. In the whole of the discussion no doubt has been 
 expressed, either as to their validity, or to the propriety of their just 
 and speedy liquidation. In the opening of the debate the honorable 
 Senator from Virginia, (Mr. MASON;) took a much wider range and 
 after a brief and lucid exposition of the events that transpired in Cali 
 fornia, he came to conclusions entirely different from those to which 
 I have arrived from an examination of the same facts, and the whole 
 evidence reported by the Committee on Mi itary Affairs. In differ 
 ing from the honorable Senator in his conclusion, so distinctly stated 
 by himself I shall do it with a deference becoming myself, and a 
 courtesy not unacceptable to him. I will read from his reported 
 speech the positions to which I refer I presume the report is cor 
 rect. The Senator after speaking of these claims as wholly unau 
 thorized by law, says : 
 
 " They are expenditures for military operations, which were conducted without the 
 authority of the Government. It becomes important then to the character of our 
 country, that these claims, which we propose by this bill to recognize and pay, should 
 be properly and distinctly understood, and their proper place assigned them in the 
 legislative history of the country. If this be not done, future history may refer to 
 them also in evidence of the general charge, that the war originating in a spirit 
 of rapine and conquest, an insurrection was covertly fomented, in the remote pro 
 vince of California, as part of the general scheme of extended dominion." 
 
 Sir, the foregoing shows forth one of the deductions of the honor 
 able Senator, from the report upon these claims, from which I totally 
 dissent. 
 
 Again, the Senator says : 
 
 " My object is to disconnect the authorities at home from this outbreak in Cali 
 fornia, and to prove by testimony, which cannot be controverted, that the Govern 
 ment at home hid no part in the insurrection; that the probability of such an 
 occurrence was unknown to the Government, and, in truth, that it was no party 
 to it, either directly or indirectly" 
 
I have read, sir, with much attention the published evidence in 
 relation to these claims, and I will endeavor to show not only that the 
 insurrection in California was directed by the " Government at 
 home," but that the events, which transpired there, even to its sub- 
 jugation, originated with the Executive Department of the Govern 
 ment, and were consequent upon its orders conveyed to Col. Fremont, 
 and also to the commanding officer of the naval forces upon that station. 
 
 Mr. President, after the eloquent and graphic description given by 
 the distinguished Senator from Missouri, (Mr. BENTON,) of the ex 
 plorations of Colonel Fremont, from the United States to the shores 
 of the Pacific, in California, and his subsequent departure from that 
 country into the territory of Oregon of his return to the valley of 
 the Sacramento, and the stirring events which followed that return, 
 even unto the entire conquest and occupation of that whole province 
 of Upper California, it is unnecessary for me to attempt to give a 
 further delineation. I can add nothing to the narrative, and I would 
 not mutilate its beauty. I will only briefly recite them, just so far 
 as is necessary to elucidate the occurrences, and show the facts, 
 from which my inferences and conclusions are drawn. 
 
 In the month of May, 1845, in pursuance of orders from this Gov 
 ernment to him as an officer of the Corps of Topographical Engi 
 neers, Colonel Fremont (then a brevet captain) left the United States, 
 with a small, but well appointed body of men, on his third scientific 
 exploration of the West, aiming to seek the shortest and most prac 
 ticable route from this country to the Pacific ocean. His course led 
 him through a portion of Upper California, then a State of the Mexi 
 can republic, and with which the United Slates was at peace. He 
 traversed the arid plains, and the lofty mountains of that region, 
 hitherto untrodden by the foot of civilized man, and, after great toil 
 and excessive privations, on the twenty-seventh of January, 1846, he 
 reached the neighborhood of Monterey, a port on the Pacific, in the 
 State of California. We get this from a letter from Thomas O. 
 Larkin, consul of the United States at Monterey, to the Secretary of 
 
 State, dated 
 
 MONTEREY, March 27, 1846. 
 
 " SIB : Captain J. C. Fremont of the United States army, arrived at this United 
 States consular house on the 27th day of January, 1846. * * * He remained 
 but two days, in which time, with myself, he visited the commandant Prefecto 
 Alcade, and Col. Alvarado, informing them that he was surveying the nearest route 
 from the United States to the Pacific ocean. This information, and that his men 
 were not United States soldiers, was also, by myself, OFFICIALLY, given to the Pre 
 fecto. Having obtained funds and supplies, he returned to his camp ; it being well 
 known in Monterey, that he v as to return, when he collected his men. 
 
" On the 3d of March he encamped on the rancho of W. E. P. Hartwell, where 
 he received letters from the General and Prefecto, ordering him out of the country, 
 &c. This not corresponding with assurances received at Monterey, he gave orders 
 to hoist the United States flag the next morning, as the only protection his men 
 was to look to." 
 
 " The General informed the Alcade, on the night of the 10th, that Captain Fre 
 mont had left his encampment," &c. 
 
 In offering the foregoing, and other letters, from Mr. Larkin to the 
 committee, Col. Fremont says : 
 
 " Showing the great care which he took to avoid giving offence to the said au 
 thorities, when he entered California in the winter of 1845 and 1846, and the ne 
 cessity of the defensive measures which he then took, and his departure from the 
 country to avoid compromising either his Government, or the American settlers." 
 
 Thus, sir, it seems that in pursuance of his researches in science 
 and topography, and with no motives of hostility, open or concealed, 
 he entered California in January, 1846, and in obedience to the 
 comity due to the civil and military authorities, reported himself to 
 them, and asked their permission to remain to recruit his men and 
 animals, to fit them for the further progress of his journey of peace 
 and exploration. The Mexican authorities, jealous of these incur 
 sions, and incited by the increasing difficulties between them and the 
 United States, in March, 1846, in consequence of directions from the 
 General Government in Mexico, ordered Captain Fremont from the 
 country, which they had an undoubted right, if not justifiable cause, for 
 doing. The order was sudden and unexpected. He obeyed it, but 
 not in fear for he wrapped himself in the folds of the flag of his 
 country, and cautiously, prudently, and judiciously, took his own good 
 time for his departure from the country, whose hospitality had been 
 withdrawn. He left the country of California, by slow, but cautious 
 marches, avoiding all collision with its authorities, and after a tedious 
 and hazardous journey, amidst hostile and excited savages, we find 
 him early in the succeeding month of May, encamped in Oregon, on 
 the border of the Tlamath lake. His position there is so beautifully 
 described by the Senator from Missouri. (Mr. BENTON,) that he will 
 excuse me for reading and adopting it. He says : 
 
 " It was in the midst of such dangers as these, that science was pursued by Mr. 
 Fremont, that the telescope was carried to read the heaven the barometer to mea 
 sure the elevations of the earth the thermometer to measure the temperature of 
 the air the pencil to sketch the grandeur of mountains, and to pencil the beauty 
 of flowers the pen to write down whatever was new or strange, or useful in the 
 works of nature. It was in the midst of such dangers as these, and in the wildest 
 regions of the farthest West, that Mr. Fremont was pursuing science, and shunning 
 war, when the arrival of Lieut. Gillespie turned him back into California, and en-- 
 
gaged him in the operations which gave rise to the bill which now claims the at 
 tention of the Senate." 
 
 Thus, sir, we see this gallant and accomplished young officer, with 
 a discretion far beyond his years, and a prudence which has never 
 left him uninformed ol the stirring events;, which day by day were 
 transpiring between his country and Mexico calmly, but without 
 fear, yielding up the hospitality that had been accorded to him in 
 California avoiding every collision with her authorities " shunning 
 war," seeking the undisputed territory of Oregon, and resting him- 
 self and his men, amidst its wild and almost unexplored regions. 
 
 What, sir, turned Col. Fremont back from his peaceful track, into 
 the country he had so recently left, to lend himself to purposes so 
 different from those he had steadily entertained ? What turned him 
 from pursuing science to seeking war? It was the meeting on the 
 9lh of May, with Lieut. Gillespie, who came charged to him with 
 despatches and instructions from the Executive of the United States, 
 which turned him back into California, and induced the insurrection 
 and revolution in that country, which ended in its subjugation. 
 
 In Lieut. Gillespie's deposition, reported by the committee, at page 
 30, he says : 
 
 " In reply to the inquiry of the honorable committee, whether I was charged 
 with any message or mission from the Government to Captain Fremont, when I 
 joined him on the Tlamath lake, in May, 1846, I beg leave to state, that early in 
 November, 1845, I received orders from the President and Secretary of the Navy, 
 Mr. Bancroft, to proceed to California, by way of Vera Cruz, and the shortest route 
 through Mexico to Mazatlan, &c. I was the bearer of a duplicate of the despatch 
 to the United States consul at Monterey, as also a packet for /. C. Fremont, Esq., 
 and a letter of introduction to the latter gentleman, from the Hon. James Buchan 
 an. The former, (viz: the letter to Larkin,) I destroyed before entering the port 
 of Vera Cruz, having committed it to memory. The packet jand letter of introduc 
 tion I delivered to Capt. Fremont, on the 9th of May, in the mountains of Oregon." 
 
 Mr. President, the letter from the Secretary of State, a duplicate 
 of which, from memory, was given to Captain Fremont, is hidden 
 from our and the public view. A copy was called for by the Senate, 
 and was received and marked " confidential," and reposes as quietly 
 in your Executive archives, as it would have done if it had remained 
 uncalled for, in the archives of the Department of State. I can only 
 speak of it as it comes to us in this report, and to infer its character 
 and import from the fact that it was deemed unsafe to take it info 
 'Mexico, and hazard its discovery by the authorities of that country, 
 and that Lieut. Gillespie, after committing it to memory, tore it up 
 and buried it in the deep waters of the Gulf. Its substance was miide 
 
known to Capt. Fremont, and it bore date in October, 1845. Again, 
 sir, he had a package for Mr. Fremont, from Senator Benton and his 
 family* What were the contents of this package it is not our busi 
 ness to inquire. But, sir, I will venture the assertion, that the wrs- 
 dom and prudence of the father never urged the son from the pursuit 
 of science to scenes of insurrection and revolution; nor did the fond 
 affection of the wife turn the husband of her love from the path of 
 peace, into hazard and dangers, of bloodshed and strife. There was 
 also a letter from Mr. Buchanan, which, as a new and singular speci 
 men of diplomacy, 1 beg leave to read. It is as follows : 
 
 WASHINGTON, November 3, 1845. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR: The bearer hereof, Mr. Archibald H. Gillespie, is about to visit 
 the northwest coast of America on business, and has requested me to give him a 
 letter of introduction to you. This I do with pleasure, because he is a gentleman 
 of worth and respectability, and is worthy of your regard. I do not deem ft pro 
 bable that he will fall in with you ; but if he should, allow me to bespeak for him 
 your friendly attention. He will be able to communicate to you information of the 
 health of Mrs. Fremont, and of Col. Benton and his family. 
 From your friend, very respectfully, 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 J. C. FREMONT, Esq., Oregon. 
 
 What means this cautious and guarded letter from the Secretary of 
 State ? It was forwarded by Mr. Gillespie, who passed through 
 Mexico in the guise of a merchant, and accredited him for all official 
 purposes. It says : " I do not deem it probable that he will fall in 
 with you." Was it so ? Was he not sent with a direct purpose of 
 finding Capt. Fremont ; and was he not accredited to him by this 
 letter, no matter how equivocal, as an authorized agent of the Govern 
 ment, and was not the letter to Larkin an exposition of the wishes, 
 if not the command of the Government ? Sir, the wishes of the 
 President are commands to the military officers of the Government, 
 and these wishes, so conveyed, authorized all the acts which were 
 performed by Col. Fremont and his men, prior to the knowledge that 
 war existed between this country and Mexico. To be sure General 
 Taylor had then passed to the Rio Grande, with orders to maintain him 
 self there, as being the western boundary of Texas ; but the events 
 in California took date from November, 1845, and all subsequent oc 
 currences were unknown to Col. Fremont, and he was governed 
 alone by the communications of Gillespie. How, then, can it be 
 said that he acted upon his own responsibility in aiding the revolution 
 in California, and that no portion of the responsibility rests upon the 
 " Government at home," when his return for the very purposes su'-*- 
 sequently developed was by the expressed orders or wishes of that 
 
8 
 
 Government, and the whole has been sanctioned and approved. Gil- 
 lespie's mission produced it and in all the successive acts he was 
 aiding and assisting Col. Fremont. 
 
 From such evidence, shadowed forth in these pages, I deny that 
 Col. Fremont acted without orders ; and I deny that these claims, an 
 tecedent to the knowledge of a war, are in any manner different from 
 those which succeeded that event. 
 
 Mr. President, in confirmation of a predetermined intention to take 
 possession of California, I refer the Senate to the letter of instruction 
 from the Secretary of the Navy, dated June 23, 1845, to Com. Sloat, 
 conveying to him the same directions which were given to Col. Fre 
 mont through Lieut. Gillespie, at a subsequent date, and all before 
 the existence, or a reasonable expectation of the existence, of a war 
 with Mexico. We find in the report of the committee, a letter of 
 apology from Com. Sloat, dated the Gth of June, 1846, to the Secre 
 tary of the Navy, in which he says : 
 
 " I have, upon more mature reflection, come to the conclusion that your instruc 
 tions of the 24th of June last, and every subsequent order, will not justify my taking 
 possession of any part of California, or any hostile measures against Mexico, as 
 neither party have declared war." 
 
 This was the construction put upon those orders by the too cautious 
 commander of the U. S. naval forces in the Pacific ; and for this 
 caution he was subsequently reprove 1 .! and dismissed from the com 
 mand, and charged by the Department with unwarrantable inactivity. 
 
 I beg leave to submit a letter from the Secretary of the Navy to 
 Com. Sloat, dated the 13th of August, 1846, which fully explains the 
 views of the Government, and severely reproves the Commodore for 
 his cautious delay : 
 
 " U. S. NAVY DEPARTMENT, 
 
 Washington, August 13, 1846. 
 
 'COMMODORE: The Department has received your letter, No. 51, of June 6, from 
 which it appears that, while you were aware of the existance of" actual war" be 
 tween the United States and Mexico, you remained in a state of inactivity, and 
 did not carry out the instructions of June 24, 1845, framed to be executed even in 
 the event of the mere declaration of war, much more in the event of actual hostili 
 ties. Those instructions you were ordered to carry out "at once." 
 
 "In my letter of August 5, 1845, the receipt of which you acknowledged on the 
 28th January, 1846, referring to them, I said : " In the event of war you will obey 
 the instructions recently addressed to you via Panama." In my letter of October 
 17, 1845, of which you acknowledge the receipt on the 17th of March, 1846, refer 
 ring to thece instructions once more, I said further : " In the event of actual hostili 
 ties between the Mexican Government and our own, you will so dispose of your 
 whole force, as to carry out most effectually, the objects specified in the instructions 
 forwarded to you from the Department, in view of such a contingency." And surely 
 there is no ambiguity in this language. 
 
"And in my letter of the 23d of February last, sent through Mexico, I remarked: 
 " This letter is sent to you overland, enclosed, as you suggest, to Messrs. Mott,Tal* 
 hot, & Co. Mazatlan, and you will readily understand the reserve with which it 
 written." 
 
 "The Department, on August 5, 1845, had also told you that " your force should 
 not be weakened, while hostilities are threatened in Mexico." Your course was 
 particularly approved in detaining the frigate Constitution. 
 
 "The Department will hope that a more urgent necessity than as yet appears,.ex- 
 isted for the otherwise premature return of that vessel. 
 
 "The Department willingly believes in the purity of your intentions. But your 
 anxiety not to do wrong has led yot into a most unfortunate and unwarrantable 
 inactivity. 
 
 Very respectfully, yours, 
 
 GEORGE BANCROFT." 
 
 Commodore JOHN D. SLOAT, 
 
 Commanding U. S. Naval Forces in the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 A most striking coincidence also demands attention. This letter 
 of censure and recall to Commodore Sloat bears date on the same 
 day that Commodore Siockton and Colonel Fremont had completed 
 the conquest of Upper California at Ciudad de los Angelos. In this 
 connection there is another singular coincidence, showing how the 
 wishes of the Government had been fulfilled by its active and efficient 
 officers in service in California, even before direct and open orders 
 were given for the conquest of that country. On the 1 1th July, 1846, 
 the flag of the United States was hoisted by Col. Frement at Sono 
 ma, (it having been hoisted on the 7th of the same month at Monte 
 rey by Com. Sloat,) both anticipating the order from the Navy De 
 partment, dated on the 12th of July, one day after more than one- 
 half of Upper California had been subjected by Col. Fremont and the 
 battalion under his command, to his undisputed military occupation. 
 In proof of this, I read the instructions given by the Navy Depart 
 ment to Com. Sloat, on the 12th of July, 1846 : Bancr fr f c k 
 
 " The object of the United States is, under its rights as a belligerant nation, to 
 possess itself entirely of Upper California. 
 
 " The object of the United States has reference to ultimate peace with Mexico j 
 and if, at that peace, the basis of the uti possidetis shall be established, the Gov 
 ernment expects, through your forces, to be found in actual possession of Upper 
 California. 
 
 " This will bring with it the necessity of a civil administration. Such a Govern 
 ment should be established under your protection ; and in selecting persons to hold 
 office, due respect should be had to the wishes of the people of California, as well 
 as to the actual possessors of authority in that province. It may be proper to require 
 an oath of allegiance to the United States from those who are intrusted with author 
 ity. You will also assure the people of California of the protection of the United 
 States. 
 
10 
 
 "After you shall have secured Upper California, if your force is sufficient, you 
 will take possession, and keep the harbors on the Gulf of California, as far down, 
 at least, as Guaymas. But this is. not to interfere with the permanent occupation 
 of Upper California." Doc. H. R. 19 2d sess. 29*A Congress pp. 81-2. 
 
 If he who does his master's bidding is entitled to commendation, 
 how much more is he entitled to it who anticipates that will, and 
 precedes its open expression by a full and perfect performance ? This 
 pre-existing determination for the military occupation of California 
 may also be seen fr.om a letter of instruction "From the Secretary of 
 War to Gen. Kearney, datei the 3d of June, 1846 just twenty. one 
 days after the war with Mexico existed : 
 
 " Should you conquer and take possession of New Mexico and Upper California, or 
 considerable places in either, you will establish temporary civil governments therein, 
 abolishing all arbitrary restrictions that may exist, so far as it may be done with 
 safety. In performing this duty, it would be wise and prudent, to continue in their 
 . employment, all such of the existing officers as are known to be friendly to the United 
 States, and will talv the oath of allegiance to them. The duties of the custom 
 houses ought, at once, to be reduced to such a rate as may be barely sufficient to 
 maintain the necessary officers without yielding any revenue to the Government. 
 You may assure the people of those provinces that it is the wish and design of the 
 United States to provide for them a free government, v?\(h the least possible delay, 
 similar to that which exists in our territories. They will then be called on to ex 
 ercise the rights of freeman in electing their own representatives to the territorial 
 legislature. It is forseen that what relates to the civil government will be a diffi 
 cult and unpleasant part ot your duty, and much must necessarily be left to your 
 own discretion." Doc. H. R. 19 2rf sess. 29^ Congress, p. 5. 
 
 One more evidence, if more is needed, to show the positive deter 
 mination of the Government to possess and hold California, is found 
 in the order from the Navy Department to Commodore Stockton, 
 dated the 13th of August, 1846, or to the commanding officer in the 
 Pacific : 
 
 " You will take immediate possession of Upper California, especially of the three 
 ports of San Francisco, Monterey, and San Diego, so that if the treaty of peace should 
 be made on the basis of the uti possidetis, it may LEAVE CALIFORNIA TO THE UNITED 
 STATES." 
 
 With this accumulated evidence of the views and intentions of the 
 Executive Government, can the Senator say that " these operations 
 were conducted without the authority of the Government." I agree 
 with him "that it becomes important to the character of our country 
 that these claims, which we propose by this bill to recognize and 
 pay, should be properly and distinctly understood." And, I think, 
 they present " a part of the general scheme of extended dominion." 
 
 Sir, let us return to Col. Fremont. Immediately after his inter 
 view with Lieut. Gillespie, on the borders of the Tlamath lake, in 
 
11 
 
 May, 1846, lie turned his course into California, and on the 24th of 
 that month reached the settlements in the valley of the Sacramento. 
 These settlers were, I suppose, expatriated citizens of the United 
 States, and how far international comity allows their protection, after 
 the act of expatriation, is a question of much importance. Under 
 some circumstances, it would be a question k of vital^ importance. 
 These settlements and the settlers, Col. Fremont protected. Under 
 his countenance insistence was made against the Mexican authorities' 
 The plans for throwing off the Mexican authority were laid, and the 
 revolution was encouraged, which separated California forever from 
 the Mexican power. Colonel Fremont says in his deposition : 
 
 " The letter from the Secretary of State accredited the bearer to me, and indi 
 cated a purpose in sending it, which was intelligibly explained, &c. This officer, 
 (Lieut. Gillespie,) informed me that he had been directed by the Secretary of State 
 to find me, and to acquaint me with his instructions, which had for their principal 
 objects to ascertain the disposition of the California people, to conciliate their feel 
 ings in favor of the United States," &c. 
 
 And this in a country with which we were at peace, and against 
 the Government of which every invective has been cast, and every 
 species of injustice, treachery, and bad faith has been charged. 
 
 Upon his arrival on the Sacramento, the settlers, as they are called, 
 desired protection a courier was sent to him from Sonoma asking 
 decisive action. On the 25th of June, he decided to march against 
 the forces of Mexico, under de la Torre. He set Gen. Castro at de 
 fiance, and quietly, under his protection, the flag of Californian inde 
 pendence was raised at Sonoma, on the 5th day of July. Immediately 
 Col. Fremont organised his battalion, to follow Castro to the south. 
 On the 7th, Com. Sloat raised the United States flag at Monterey. 
 News ot the existence of war reached Sonoma on the 10th of July. 
 On the llth, the flag of independence was hauled down, (having had 
 a brief existence of six days,) and the flag of the United States was 
 run up. Thus ended the insurrection and revolution, and all subse 
 quent acts were executed under the known existence of war. At once 
 Col. Fremont started for Monterey, to co-operate with the naval forces 
 there ; and the Mexican General, Castro, retreated before him, leav 
 ing the country an unresisting acquisition. Sir, he came, he saw, 
 he conquered. He drove before him the Mexican power in Califor 
 nia, and made a conquest of the country, and all, they say, without 
 authority or sanction of his Government. This is disproved by the 
 evidence. 
 
 Suppose no war had taken place with Mexico suppose the mission 
 of Mr. Slidell to the Republic had been successful, I ask what would 
 
12 . 
 
 have been the condition of Col. Fremont? In November, 1845, Mr,, 
 Slidell left this country for Mexico, on a mission of peace, with the 
 olive branch in his hand, and the assurance of friendship upon his lips. 
 He went to settle the boundary between Texas and Mexico, which 
 we claimed to be the Rio Grande ; and also to provide for the pay 
 ment of certain indemnities due to our citizens from that country. 
 That mission was unsuccessful, rather from its unfortunate inception, 
 and the instability of the Mexican Government, than from its true aim 
 and end. War ensued, and all preceding acts became merged in 
 that absorbing event. But suppose the demands of this Government 
 had been acquiesced in by the Mexican Republic, upon what could Col. 
 Fremont have relied for a justification of his acts of revolution and 
 conquest in California ? He had this anomalous and equivocal letter 
 from Mr. Buchanan, and the living memory of Lieut. Gillespie, alone 
 to sustain and justify him for these high handed operations in Cali 
 fornia. Suppose Mr. Gillespie had died in the course of events in that 
 country, the letter alone of Mr. Buchanan would have constituted the 
 whole justification of this accomplished and gallant officer, who peril- 
 led life and reputation upon a tenure so frail. Is his authority denied ? 
 When has the Government ever disavowed any act performed by Col. 
 Fremont, when has he been charged with fomenting insurrection and 
 revolution ; and when has his resistance to the Mexican authority, 
 ending as it did in the subjugation of the country, been reproved or 
 condemned ? Never, sir. All the acts of Col. Fremont, and their 
 consequences, have passed into the acquision of the country, and he 
 is not reproved ; but we are told his acts were without authority. 
 
 Mr. President, the former explorations of Col. Fremont through the 
 wilderness of the extreme West have given him an enviable reputation 
 in the world of science. His maturity of thought, and polished and 
 cultivated intellect, united to a firm resolution, and a courage that 
 never quailed all eminently fitted him for the mission he so well and 
 so readily undertook and performed. His energy of character quali 
 fied him for the position in which his Government had placed him. 
 
 If we condemn this invasion of the territory of a friendly power, I 
 would not be understood as reflecting upon the man, who in obedience 
 to the wishes of his Government, conducted that invasion, and carried 
 out those wishes to the entire subjugation of the country. I would 
 not, sir, take a feather from his plume, nor a sprig from the garland 
 that encircles his brow. Whatever may be the rigid rules of war, 
 or the technecalities of the service, under which this officer has suf 
 fered, his honor is untarnished. His high reputation as a soldier is un- 
 
spotted. The crowning act of his eventful life is fresh in our recol 
 lection. When the commission which he bore, and which he would 
 have yielded up only with his life, became tainted with censure, firm 
 ly he tendered it back to the Executive whom he had obeyed, and to 
 the country which he had served so faithfully. He is now a citizen 
 amongst us, and deserves all our confidence. He is identified with the 
 events in California, and who so fitting as him to bring these claims 
 to a just and proper conclusion. 
 
 The honorable Senator from Virginia, (Mr. MASON,) says "future 
 history may refer to these events, if not contradicted, as evidence of 
 the general charge that the war, originating in a spirit of rapine and 
 conquest, was part of the general scheme of extended dominion." 
 And is it not so? 
 
 When the historian shall take his pen to write down for posterity 
 the origin and the causes of this war, he will say that in the year 
 1845, the State of Texas, once a State of the Mexican Republic, was 
 forever severed from her by annexation to the United States. That 
 the western boundary of the State had been the Nueces, but that 
 Texas had by some act asserted a claim to the Rio Grande. That 
 in the month of November, 1845, in pursuance of the purposes of 
 peace, which the United State? proposed we sent a special mission to 
 Mexico to adjust all differences between us professing for Mexico 
 the utmost friendship, and proffering to her a cordial feeling of amity. 
 The historian will seek your archives, and he will see the President's 
 message of December, 1845, full of the spirit of peace and depreca 
 ting war. That nothing is desired from Mexico but a fair adjustment 
 of our boundary, and a suitable provision for the claims of our citi 
 zens. He will see in your archives the act that " war existed by the 
 act of Mexico" by an invasion of the country east of the Rio Grande, 
 and " shedding American blood upon American soil." He will read 
 our official documents, that the war was unprovoked. Such is the pic. 
 ture which may command his attention Jiere, and is claimed by the 
 Administration to be just. But when he turns his eyes to the acqui 
 sition of California and New Mexico, resulting from this war, he will 
 take up this volume of evidence of eighty pages, and will say : yet, 
 whilst the United States were professing to be governed by a spirit of 
 justice, and love of peace upon the eastern border of Mexico, differ 
 ent indeed was her course in regard to those States of Mexico in the 
 west. Early in November, 1845, she sent an officer in her service, 
 with secret and unavowed instructions to her consular agent in Cali 
 fornia and called from his pursuits of scientific and topogrophical 
 
14 
 
 surrey a gallant officer and his attendants, to foment rebellion, and 
 aid in revolutionizing the Government of California. He will point 
 to the mission and the evidence of Lieut. Gillespie, and to the letter of 
 Mr. Buchanan, which even then will have lost none of its true char 
 acter, and to the sudden advent of Colonel Fremont into that country, 
 and to the celerity with which it was subdued. And from these will 
 his conclusions be drawn. Will he exempt us from the charge " that 
 the war originating in a spirit of rapine and conqaest, an insurrec 
 tion was covertly fomented, as part of the general scheme of extend 
 ed dominion. 
 
 Let us not hasten to invoke the justice of history. Her judgment 
 will not exempt us from the charge of a desire for conquest and ac 
 quisition. Let us " not lay that flattering unction to our souls." 
 
 One word more, Mr. President, and I have done. California is 
 now a portion of our country beyond the power of reclamation. It 
 is ours, says the President, by conquest. It is now ours by a treaty 
 of cession ; a treaty which I hope may be confirmed. That country 
 has created much interest in the public mind, and I apprehend, is much 
 misunderstood. Public attention is directed to its soil, its climate, 
 its resources, and its wealth. About those I fear there is little know 
 ledge and much prejudice. It has been represented as an emblem 
 of desolation mostly a desert waste, destitute of herbage, and un 
 fitted for cultivation. A narrow strip upon the Pacific, between the 
 mountains and the sea, susceptible, indeed, of culture, but offering na 
 inducements for us, except the fine harbors indented upon the coast. 
 The harbor of San Francisco perhaps the finest in the world 
 embraces all that is essential for commerce ; and beyond this advan 
 tage, nothing was to be gained by the acquisition of California. I 
 do not so understand the country, of extent sufficient for an empire, 
 nor do I believe that a just appreciation of its value has been enter 
 tained. Its conformation, its resources, and its capacity tor improve 
 ment, are as yet little known. An immense basin in its centre, into 
 which flows innumerable streams from the mountains surrounding it, 
 is yet a mystery unsolved a wonder unexplored. Crossing the di 
 viding ridge between this basin and the Pacific you have the rich- 
 valley of the Sacramento and the St. Joaquin a line upon the coast 
 of nine degrees of latitude, of surpassing fertility mines of quicksil 
 ver of great value with a climate mild and genial, and offering every 
 inducement for enterprize, and culture, and improvement. Within 
 this space we have the harbors of San Francisco, of Monterey, and 
 of St. Diego, giving to our commerce free access to the finest ports 
 
15 
 
 of that sea and affording a ready and direct communication with 
 the islands in the Pacific, and the ports of China and of India. With- 
 the enterprize and progress of the present age, how long may it be 
 before much of our trade with India will centre in the ports of ^Cali 
 fornia, and control, advantageously, the commerce upon the whole wes 
 tern coast ? Our hardy whalemen will also use these ports for refit 
 ting and supplying their ships. Such is my estimation of that coun 
 try, now irrevocably ours. It has not proved " a bloodless acquisi 
 tion ;" and I fear not a just one ; but the price of that acquisition must 
 be paid, and the bill now under consideration provides for that result-