The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-23 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the Navy
for the present condition of that branch of the national
defence; and for grave suggestions, having for their ob-
ject the increase of its efficiency and a greater economy
in its management. The orders which have been given
have been executed with promptness and fidelity. A
larger force than has often formed one squadron under
our flag was readily concentrated in the Gulf of Mexico,
and apparently without unusual effort. It is especially
to be observed, that, notwithstanding the union of so
considerable a force, no act was committed that even
the jealousy of an irritated power could construe as an
act of aggression ; and that the commander of the
squadron and'his officers, in strict conformity with their
instructions, holding:themselves ever ready for the most
active duty, have achieved the still purer glory of con-
tributing to the preservation of peace. It is believed
that at all our foreign stations the honour of our flag has
been maintained, and that, generally, omit ships of war
have been distinguished for their good discipline and
order. lam happy to add, that the display of maritime
force which was required by the events of the summer
has been made wholly within the usual appropriations
for the service of the year, so that no additional appro-
priations are required.
The commerce of the United States, and with it the
navigating interest, have steadily and rapidly increased
since the organisation of our Government, until it is
believed we are now second to but one in power in the
world, and at no distant day we shall probably be in-
ferior to none. Exposed as they must be, it has been a
wise policy to afford to these important interests pro-
tection with our ships of war, distributed in the great
highways of trade throughout the world. For more than
thirty years appropriations have been made, and annually
expended, for the gradual increase of our naval forces.
In peace, our navy performs the important duty of pro-
tecting our commerce; and, in the event of war, will be,
as it has been, a most efficient means of defence.

The successful use of steam navigation on the ocean
has been followed by the introduction of war steamers
in great and increasing numbers into the navies of the
principal maritime powers of the world. A due regard
to our own safety and to an efficient protection to
our large and increasing commerce demands a cor-
responding increase on our part. No country has
greater facilities for the construction of vessels of this
description than ours, or can promise itself greater ad•
vantages from their employment. They are admirably
adapted to the protection of our commerce, to the
rapid transmission of intelligence, and to the coast de-
fence. In pursuance of the wise policy of a gradual in-
crease of our navy, large supplies of live oak timber and
other materials for ship-building have been collected,
and are now under shelter, and in a state of good pre-
servation, while iron steamers can be bailt with great
facility in various parts of the Union. The use of iron
as a material, especially in the construction of steamers,
which can enter with safety many of the harbours along
our coast now inaccessible to vessels of greater draught,
and the practicability of constructing them in the inte-
rior, ttrongly recommends that liberal appropriations
should be made for this important object. Whatever
may have been our policy in the earlier stages of the
government, when the nation was in its infancy, our
shipping interests and commerce comparatively small,
our resources limited, our population spare, and scarcely
extending beyond the limits of the original thirteen
States, that policy must be essentially different now that
we have grown froni three to more than twenty
millions of people ; that our commerce, carried in our
own ships, is found in every sea, and that our ter-
ritorial boundaries and settlements have been so
greatly expanded. Neither our commerce, nor our
long line of coast on the ocean and on the lakes,
can be successfully defended against foreign ag-
gression by means of fortifications alone. These are
essential at important commercial and military points,
but our chief reliance for this object must be a well
organised and efficient navy. The benefits resulting
from such a navy are not confined to the Atlantic states.
The productions of the interior, or which seek a market
abroad, are directly dependent on the safety and freedom
of our commerc. The occupation of the Belize below
New Orleans by a hostile force would embarrass, if not
stagnate, the whole export trade of the Mississippi, and
affect the value of the agricultural products of the entire
valley of that mighty river and its tributaries.
It has never been our policy to maintain large stand-
ing armies in time of peace. They are contrary to the
genius of free institutions, would impose heavy burdens
on the people, and be dangerous to public liberty. Our
reliance for protection and defence on the land must be
mainly on our citizen soldiers, who will be ever ready,
as they have ever been ready in times past, to rush with
alacrity, at the call of their country, to her defence.
This description of force, however, cannot defend our
coasts, harbours, and inland seas, nor protect our com-
merce on the ocean or the lakes. These must be pro-
tected by our navy.
Considering an increased naval force, and especially
of steam-vessels, corresponding with our growth and
importance as a nation, and proportioned to the in-
creased and increasing naval power of other nations, of
vast importance as regards our safety, and the great
and growing interests to be protected by it, I recom-
mend the subject to the favourable consideration of
Congress.