would be quite the same in substance--or rather, in utter
nothingness. I next consider the President's statement that Santa Anna in
his treaty with Texas recognized the Rio Grande as the western boundary
of Texas. Besides the position so often taken, that Santa Anna while a
prisoner of war, a captive, could not bind Mexico by a treaty, which I
deem conclusive--besides this, I wish to say something in relation to this
treaty, so called by the President, with Santa Anna. If any man would like
to be amused by a sight of that little thing which the President calls by
that big name, he can have it by turning to Niles's Register, vol. 1,
p. 336. And if any one should suppose that Niles's Register is a curious
repository of so mighty a document as a solemn treaty between nations, I
can only say that I learned to a tolerable degree of certainty, by inquiry
at the State Department, that the President himself never saw it anywhere
else. By the way, I believe I should not err if I were to declare that
during the first ten years of the existence of that document it was
never by anybody called a treaty--that it was never so called till the
President, in his extremity, attempted by so calling it to wring something
from it in justification of himself in connection with the Mexican War.
It has none of the distinguishing features of a treaty. It does not call
itself a treaty. Santa Anna does not therein assume to bind Mexico; he
assumes only to act as the President--Commander-in-Chief of the Mexican
army and navy; stipulates that the then present hostilities should cease,
and that he would not himself take up arms, nor influence the Mexican
people to take up arms, against Texas during the existence of the war of
independence. He did not recognize the independence of Texas; he did not
assume to put an end to the war, but clearly indicated his expectation
of its continuance; he did not say one word about boundary, and, most
probably, never thought of it. It is stipulated therein that the Mexican
forces should evacuate the territory of Texas, passing to the other
side of the Rio Grande; and in another article it is stipulated that, to
prevent collisions between the armies, the Texas army should not approach
nearer than within five leagues--of what is not said, but clearly, from
the object stated, it is of the Rio Grande. Now, if this is a treaty
recognizing the Rio Grande as the boundary of Texas, it contains the
singular feature of stipulati