Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1813-08-25


litary district as includes the district oil
Columbia and Maryland. Wat. Intel.
Navy The National Intelligencer,
received yesterday, contains an article in
collation. to the efforts now making BY the
general government to increase our ma.
Wy, concluding with the following para.
graph:
"Witb regard to the cannon party
slang of democratic hostility to nary
We will just observe, that the hostility
of the republican party to a navy, in the
reign OF terror, arose from the occasion
on which it was to have been erected, &
the purpose for which the party design
ed it, during the quasi war with France
1t was then unnecessary it was squan.
dering public money to force hot-bed
navy; and the .ffderaiists Themselves
haze acknowledged M-;r,error by order
ing the tu6tic sale Of a hart ofthis very
navy, before they guent OF IF office II
the republicans had been SO very hos
tile to navy, why did not they sell the
remnant of the navy which the federal
administration handed over to- them at
the expiration OF its term Of service E
No; they cherished what they received
from their predecessors as the leaven of
a navy, to be. created wben'the public
exigsncy should require it. That time
has arrived; and in single year, now II
has become necessary, more has been
done by tie republican administrator TO
build up a navy, than was d"nc in fzOetpe
years by the party who now claim pa
tent right to the naval establishments"
This paragraph contains falsehocd
which we have had frequent occasions 10
refute. We will refate it once more, as
it assumes some Importance from beWg
published in paper issued under the
eve of the President and his Secretaries.
Did, then, the fcdcralists ordrr the
public sale of a part of the navy, before
they went out Of Office Z Let facts
give the reply 1t is true that, on the
Sd of March 1901, the day before Jefier-
son entered on his baAetut career, a law
was passed authorizing the President
7pheneper tie situation Of Public aBaira
shoaid in ms otinion render it e1hedient,
, 70 sell all or any of the ships and vessels
belonging to the navy, except thirteen
.triga,es, designated by name. This law
was passed for the purpose OF disp"slng
Of those vessels, WHICH were hastily Com
missioned TO retaiate French spoliahons.
These vessels were principally mer-
chant ships, purchased for temporary
purpose, aud were not considered worth
retaining a. parts of a permanent navy
But what did these same !ederalists do
besides ? Instead of acknowledging
their error" in building navy, law
was passed on the same day in which
the sale Of these Insufficient vessels was
authorised, ahhrahrmfiag jfOe hundred
thousand dolls towards finishing "s'a Sc
penfy.tour gun ships" which we're before
ordered to b. built, * for con- piet!ng ma
w Yards. docks and wharves- DID thus
show disposition 10 reduce tie Eavy
What was the fruit eftbe fl st law! AS
soon as Jefferson assembled tue throne,
ne sold all the vessels which he was su
thorised to dispose OF, and laid up IN.
Others In dry docks Wbat did he d.
under the second where are the six
seventy.iours ordered To be Quit AID
which, with the thirteen t,1gaffs saved
from his grasp, by the prudence oil te
dersl Congress, (if their number had
been kept complete) would have been
bic, Qnder our naval heroes, to have
COPIED successfully with airy force
which Great. Britain has bad on our
coasts, at any one time during this
disastrous war I Their kecls, il is
true, were laid in federal times, and
are still lying in our navy yards as
the federalists left them, but now rotsing
from exposure the sad R,cmeBt0 10 our
naval officers IF the hostility of Jefferson
and Madison to navy. Instead of build
ing these sevenly.tours, Jefferson, as it
were to humble the pride al our naval
officers, and to cast contempt upon our
navy, devoted all his energies to raising
an Immense brood Of gun. boats, which,
though useful in their place, are INST to
be depended on for the defence OF our
commerce and our coasts. Who then
are the friends of navy, federalists or
democrats not the latter truly. They
did nothing for it, until public opinion,
excited to the highest pitch by the glo-
ries achieved by Hull, Decatur, Jones,
cambridge and Lawrence, compelled
them to do something to meet the pub
lie demand and save Their own popularity.
IF the administration were the friends OF
a navy, why did Mr. Gallatin, one OF Its
leading members remark, that the best
use to which Mr.. Fu,ton's totpedoes