General Taylor And The Whigs

The old hero of Buena Vista hns written yet another letter respecting liis nomInation to the Presidency; and we are free to conffs; thnf he ma:;-taiiis his previous positii-n on this subject witb as much dogg-d olistinncy as he ciisplayed in combatrng the Mexicana n that blooöy field. AstHs I' Her is ritten by "O!d '.ruk" hinitelf, om! vvns n ennt to bfc most f nijih.-itic, and "ill be imnmtant in ha cnsequenees, we give il enli'e. - jt is addrersed to "nn out-and-out Domocr.-.t," and fiiv. . ppeared in : lie '-Clinton Ftoridmu." Camp near Montkrey, Mexico, } June 9th, 1847. $ Bear Sir; - Your letter of the 15ih uit., from Clinton, Louisiana, has j-jst reached me, in which you are plentei to say 'the signs of the times in relation o the next Presidency and the prominent posiiion of your name in connei tien with it, isa sufficient excuse (or thisletier." - That 'it is a happy feature in our Government that official functionaries Lnder it, t'rom the lowest to the highest station, is not beyond the reach and pariial supervisión of the huinblet citizen, and thut il is a right in every freeman 10 possen iiitnself o'" the politica! principies and opimons of ihoae inio whosa hands the administraron of the Government may be placed," &c, to all of which l fuliy coincide wi;h you in opinión. Asking my views on several subjectj, "First - As lü the justice and necessity of this war with Mexico, on our put Seccnd - As to the necessity of a national bnnk, and the power of Congress for creating such an institution. Third - As to tie effects of n high protective tarifF, and the right of Congress, under the Constitution, to crente such a sysiein of revenue."' As regards the tirst interrogatory, my duiies and the position I occupy, I do not consider it would be proper in me to give any opinión in regard to the same ; as a citizen, and particularly as a soldier, it is suiïicient for me to know that our country is in war wilh a foreign nalion.to do all in my power to bring it to aspeedy and honorable terminalion, by the most vigurous and energelic operaüons, without inquiring about its justic?, or anytliing olse connected with it : believing, as 1 d", it is our wisfst policy to be at peace with nll ihe world, as long as it can be done without endangering the honor and interests of the country. As regards the seconcf and third inqnirie, 1 am not prepared to answer them; I could only do so after investigating those subjeets, which 1 cannot now do ; my whole time being fullv occupied in attention to my proper offi ial duties, which must not be neglected under any circumstances; and I mut sav to you in subtance what 1 h:ive said to others in regard to similar mat ers, that l nin no po itician. Near fcirtv jeirs of my life have been pnssed in the puolicservic, in the army, mosl (f which in the field, the cn.np, "on our western fron'ier, br in the lndinn coun-' tryjandfor learly th two lost inthis i or Texas, dm ing wliich time l have , nol passed one night under llie ruufot n house. As regnrds being a candidate for the Presidency at the cuming e!cclion,l hnve no a-pirations in thnt wny, and regret ihf su'ije -t has beenagitated at tlrs rarly day, and that t had nol been deferrcd umi1 the clo e of this wár. or until the enH "f the next session ol' Congres, espeninlly, f lam o be mixd up with it, as it i possibleit may lead to the injury ot' the publ:c service in lliis qunrter, by my ojjeraüons beii g e:nbarrassed, ns well as to produce much excitement in tlie country growing out of the discussion of the nerits, &c, of the dillerent as;irnuts for hat high office, which might have been verv much allaved, if not pievented, had the sul'jectbcen deferred as suggested; jeside', vtry mnny changes may take lace between now and 1848, so much o as to make it desinible for tlie interest of the counlry,that soms o'lier individual than mysell', lielter qunlifu'd for the situation houíd be se!ec!ed; nnd could he ba e'ected, I would not only ncquiesce in such an arrangement, but vvould rejoiie that the republio liad one citizen, Mild no doubt there are ihousands, more dfserving than 1 arn, and bttter (ualified to discharge the duties of snid office. If I have Leen named by others nnd considered a candidate for the Presidency, it has been by no ngencv of mine in the matter - and if the gnod people think my services important in that station, and eloct me, 1 will feeï bound to serve them, and all the pledges and explnnalions 1 can enter nto and make, as reg-mis thisor that policy, is, that I will do so honestly and fait hl'ully to the best of my nbililies, slrictly in compliance with the Constitutjon. Should I ever occqpy the White House, it must be by the spontaneous move of the people, and by no act of mine, so that I could go into the office unirammeled, and be the chief magistrate of tlie nation and not of a party. But shDuld they, the people chonge their views and opinions between this nnd the time of holding the election, and casi their votes for the Presidency for some one ejse, I will not complain. - With cnsiderations of respect, I remain Your ob't servant, Z. TAYLOR. Mr. Edward Dei.ont. P. S. - I write in great haste,and under constant interruption. The letter bears on its face conclusive evidence of having been writlen in haste. But its posilioiis are raost unmistakable. In regnrd to "thejustice or necessity of the war on our part," he, as a citizen and a soldier, is not concerned with " inquiring about its justicr, or any tring ehe connected with il." O no ! He labors to bring it to a close by "the most vigorous and ennrgeiic operations." Of' course, he adoptsMr. Polk's principie of "conquermga peace." VVhat busines has a soldier to inquire about the jtistice of a war! His business is to fight where he is bid. As lo tlie necessity or proprieiy of a Higli Prolective Tariff, or a National F?ank, he can't tell because he has not time to think upon the subjects; and if he had time to make up his mind, he would nol teil what it was. He again reitérales bis determinatiou to adhere to the non-committal policy : " All the pledges and explanations lean enter inlo and make, üs regards this or thnt policy, is, that I will do so [Verve as President] honeslly and faithfully to the best. of my abilities,slriclly in comyliance with the Constitution." "Boys, do you hear that?" Ilere is the beginning, end, and sum total of all the "pledges or explnnations" the VV'higs are ever to have from Gen. Taylor. - What do they think of them? Are they sufficiently satisfactory to make him a Whig candidate? Unless the General relaxes from Ihis position, he will be entirely out of ihe question as the nominee of a National Whig Coiivention. - The zeal for Taylor at the North, as a Whig, has been slacking ever since he begun to write letters, and this wil make an end of t. And now it will be very curious and inslructive, lo walch the developments in the Whig camp. Six months ogo the party was in a favorable condition to avow nntislavery sentirnents.in a rnodified form,and by cutling loose from the South, they might have carried nearlyor quite every F ree State, and thereby have elected tbeir President. But Iheir half years glorification of Slaveholder Taylur has comitted them in favor of the continueii election of Slaveholders, and thereby proved their servility nnd dougli fucedness as a party. Now they will find themselves na bad fix for a candidnte. Mr. Clay was the only natinnal man they had in their ranks. He could command the support of the paily in all parts of the country. But it s now certain that he cannot be elecled by the peop!e, and it is not at all probable that he will suffer his name to be uscd. If McLean or any similar Northern man, be selec'ed, he willbe cut ofFby the entire South tosuch an extent as to lose the slave States generally, and, not getling all in the North, his defeat would be probable. On the other hand, a slaveholding Whig like Crit'enden, who couldcarry tlie South by opposition to the VVilmot Proviso and nntislavery generally, would be cut off so largely at the North as to render his election, to say the least, exlremely doubt ful. Nor will any altempts at non-cotnmittulism, however ingenious, answer the purpose. Sitting as'.ride the fence on the Slavery qieslion mny yet do for Demo. crats : bui we do not beliffvo a Whig cnnrfid.itn in that position can be carried inlo the Presidency.