On Mr. Thompson's appointment, an attempt was made in the House of Representatives, to defeat his mission by a motion to strike out from the supply bill the appropriation for a salary to the Minister to Mexico. In opposing this motion, Mr. Wise, of Virginia, the administration leader in the House delivered, 14th April, 1842, a characteristic speech, of which the following is an extract :
" Texas had but a sparse population, and neither men nor money of her own to raise and equip an army for her own defence ; but let her once raise the flag of foreign conquest—let her once proclaim a crusade against the rich states to the South of her, and in a moment volun- teers would flock to her standard in crowds from all the States in the great valley of the Mississippi—men of en- terprise and hardy valor before whom no Mexican troops could stand an hour. They would leave their own towns, arm themselves and travel at their own cost, and would come up in thousands to plant the lone star of the Texan banner on the Mexican capital. They would drive Santa Anna to the South, and the boundless wealth of cap- tured towns, and rifled churches, and a lazy, vicious, and luxurious priesthood, would soon enable Texas to p'ay her soldiers, and redeem her State debt, and push her victo- rious arms to the very shores of the Pacific, "And would not all this extend slavery? Yes, the result would be, that, before another quarter of a century, the extension of slavery would not stop short of the Western Ocean.
" To talk of restraining the people of the great valley from emigrating to join her armies, was all in vain. They had gone once already. It was they that conquered Santa Anna at San Jacinto ; and three-fourths of them after winning that glorious field, had peaceably returned to their homes. But once set before them the conquest of the rich Mexican provinces,