these things
better than I do, but I believe this is very nearly the fact. Now all
these troops are regularly officered; there is no deficiency, in the
line or in the staff, of officers. They are all full. Where there is any
deficiency it consists of men.

Now, Sir, there may be a plausible reason for saying that there is
difficulty in recruiting at home for the supply of deficiency in the
volunteer regiments. It may be said that volunteers choose to enlist
under officers of their own knowledge and selection; they do not incline
to enlist as individual volunteers, to join regiments abroad, under
officers of whom they know nothing. There may be something in that; but
pray what conclusion does it lead to, if not to this, that all these
regiments must moulder away, by casualties or disease, until the
privates are less in number than the officers themselves.

But however that may be with respect to volunteers, in regard to
recruiting for the regular service, in filling up the regiments by pay
and bounties according to existing laws, or new laws, if new ones are
necessary, there is no reason on earth why we should now create five
hundred new officers, for the purpose of getting ten thousand more men.
The officers are already there; in that respect there is no deficiency.
All that is wanted is men, and there is place for the men; and I suppose
no gentleman, here or elsewhere, thinks that recruiting will go on
faster than would be necessary to obtain men to fill up the deficiencies
in the regiments abroad.

But now, Sir, what do we want of a greater force than we have in Mexico?
I am not saying, What do we want of a force greater than we can supply?
but, What is the object of bringing these new regiments into the field?
What do we propose? There is no army to fight. I suppose there are not
five hundred men under arms in any part of Mexico; probably not half
that number, except in one place. Mexico is prostrate. It is not the
government that resists us. Why, it is notorious that the government of
Mexico is on our side, that it is an instrument by which we hope to
establish such a peace, and accomplish such a treaty, as we like. As far
as I understand the matter, the government of Mexico owes its life and
breath and being to the support of our arms, and to the hope, I do not
say how inspired, that somehow or other, and at no distant period, she
will have the pecuniary means of carrying it on, from our three
millions, or our