<* Chapter XXII.

would dare to manifest in consigning to the penitentiary a man charged with petit larceny. Shocking as is such an assertion, its truth is still more so. The Message of the President was accompanied with manuscript copies of the correspondence between the Government and Mr. Slidell and General Taylor ; and this correspondence contained the evidence on which he rested his momentous charges a^inst Mexico ; the testimony on which alone Congress could pronounce on the truth or falsehood of the charges. We will let one of the members relate the proceedings of the House of Representatives on Monday the 11th May, 1846, on the receipt of the message. "It was proposed by a whig member (Mr. Winthrop), that the documents accompanying the Message be read. By a strict party vote this MOTION was rejected. The House went im- mediately into a committee of the whole. The Commit- tee rose in a very short time, and reported a bill according to the President's wishes. The previous question (preventing all debate), was called and carried, and the REVIEW OF THE MEXICAN WAR. IGl House brought to a vote, without one word of explanation, proof, or arg-ument on the amendment which asserts the existence of war by the * act of Mexico.' On this question the vote stood—ayes 123, to 67 noes. The amendments having been gone through, and the bill en- grossed, the question came, on its final passage. Again the previous question was moved and seconded ; and, after some ineffectual efforts on the part of vai-ious mem- bers to enter their protest against this very preamble, the vote was forced under the gag, and the bill carried by ayes 174, nays 14. The whole proceeding from beginning to end occupied but a small portion of a single day. The previous question was applied at every step and all debate, explanation, and every attempt to get information, was put down by party votes of the dominant party. "^In the Senate, the Message was referred to a Committee, which the next day, instead of reporting /acf^, contented themselves with reporting the bill from the House, and this was passed by a vote of 50 to 2. " We had not," said Mr. Calhoun, alluding to this precipitate action, " a particle of evidence that the