He also opposed the continued prosecution of the war, and, when it drew toward a close, was most earnest against the acquisition of new territory.

In the summer of 1847 he made an extended tour through the Southern States, and was received there, as he had been in the West, with every expression of interest and admiration.
The Mexican war, however, cost Mr.Webster far more than the anxiety and disappointment which it brought to him as a public man.

His second son, Major Edward Webster, died near the City of Mexico, from disease contracted by exposure on the march.

This melancholy news reached Mr.Webster when important matters which demanded his attention were pending in Congress.
Measures to continue the war were before the Senate even after they had ratified the peace.

These measures Mr.Webster strongly resisted, and he also opposed, in a speech of great power, the acquisition of new territories by conquest, as threatening the very existence of the nation, the principles of the Constitution, and the Constitution itself.