would not plunge the country into a war for the acquisition of Texas. Another objection to the annexation of Texas he found in the decided opposition it met with in a large part of the Union. He thought it wise rather to harmonize the confederacy as it existed than to introduce into it a new element of discord and distraction. Neither did he favor the acquisition of new territory for the purpose of maintaining the balance of power between the two great sections of the Union. If Texas were acquired to strengthen the South, Canada would be acquired to strengthen the North, and finally the weaker section would be the loser. If British North America should separate from England, the happiness of all parties would be best promoted by the existence of three separate and independent republics — Canada, the United States, and Texas — natural allies. Finally, he considered the annexation of Texas without the assent of Mexico as a measure compromising the national character, involving the country certainly in a war with Mexico, probably with other powers, dangerous to the integrity of the Union, and not called for by any general expression of public opinion.
This letter naturally displeased the annexationists of the South, who clamored for Texas at any cost. Neither was it satisfactory to the extreme anti-slavery men at the North, because it did not put forward slavery as the main reason for repelling Texas. It would have pleased them better had he repeated in his public manifesto what he
