New Hampshire Statesman And State Journal

There was a part of Mr. Preston's speech of Tuesday evening, which as coming from him possessed a peculiar interest, but which, in the brief synopsis given in yesterday's Patriot, was necessarily omitted, or little more than alluded to. We refer to that portion which related to the subject of Texas.—Baltimore Patriot.

Mr. Preston said that upon that subject he had a peculiar right to speak. He had been one of the earliest friends of that infant Republic, and had sought to secure her early recognition among the family of nations. Indeed, for some supposed services, he had been made a citizen by special act of her Legislature. He had been the first to introduce into the Senate of the United States a resolution intended to secure the annexation of Texas to our Union. His predilections upon the subject being known, he had been applied to to sustain the recent attempt to accomplish that object. But the annexation which he had advocated, was annexation without a violation of our national faith, without foreign war or domestic convulsion.— In his resolution, he had expressly provided for the consent of Mexico as a necessary condition. What right had we to go to war for the acquisition of territory? It was utterly at variance with the spirit and intention of our institutions. As a gentleman, he would scorn to encroach upon the rights of a weaker neighbor, and as a citizen of this Union he could never lend his hand to any encroachment upon the rights of a sister Republic, weaker than our own. He also alluded to the subject of Slavery, and its bearing upon the question of annexation. Annexation was desired for the purpose of sustaining and extending the institution of slavery—a motive by which he could not be governed. The institution of slavery was one which belonged exclusively to us of the South—it was our own domestic affair—we were to take care of it for ourselves without any extraneous interference, and he would be among the first to resist any such interference. But when we attempted to acquire territory with a view and for the purpose of extending slavery beyond its existing limits, the case was altered—we changed our position from the defensive to the aggressive. Were we, who boast of our free principles, to raise the black flag, and go to war with a sister Republic, to extend the institution of Slavery?