, Letter, , to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 26 Apr. 1844; handwriting of ; dockets in handwriting of Jonathan Grimshaw and unidentified scribes; seven pages; JS Collection, CHL.
west of the , there would be at once, a tremendous rush of emigration; but if government pass no act in relation to it, these men have not stamina or sufficient confidence in themselves and their own resources to hazard the enterprize. The <northern> Whig members are almost to a man against and ; but should the present administration succe[e]d in annexing , then all the whigs would turn round in favour of ; for if be admitted, slavery is extended to the south; then, free states must be ad[d]ed to the west to keep up a balance of power between the slave and the free states.
Should be admitted, war with is looked upon as inevitable. The senate have been in secret session on the ratification of the treaty of annexation; but what they did we cannot say: General [Edmund P.] Gaines, who was boarding at the same house with , was secretly ordered to repair to the Texian frontier 4 days ago, and left immediately. I asked if that did not speak loud for annexation. He says no! Santa Ana [Antonio López de Santa Anna] being a jealous hot headed pate, might be suspicious the treaty would be ratified by the senate; and upon mere suspicion might attempt some hostilities, and Gaines has been ordered there to be on the alert and ready for action if necessary: Probably our Navy will, in a few days, be mostly in the gulf of Mexica.
There are many powerful checks upon our Gov. preventing her from moving in any of these important matters, and for ought I know, these checks are permitted to prevent [p. 2]