Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1827-12-12

f~nuessoc vivcrs npd for a route for n contefn-
Yafsd commup,caiion ~Leiween the liiwassce
sndE ooss rivers. ID tho St><o Of Alabams.
Other repsrts.o OF surveys, upon objects point
rd'o1t BY the several sc:s of Congress, Of the
last and pro ceding scssioas, arc in the progress
OF preparaiiosan most Of them may ba coH-
pleted before he Glove of this session. All tho
officers Of Both Corps Of Engineers, with sever
aloiher Pctsons du!y qualified, have been con-
/. SANITY employed upon these services, from the
pnssasc Of ihe Act Of the 30,h April, 1924, 10
tbs time. We're no. other advantage TO eccrue
40 tbs cotntry irouNiheir labors Than the fund
oftopogrophical knowledge which tlicy have
collected aud communicated, that alore would
have becr a profit TO fhc Union more than ade-
Yiatc 90 all The expenditures Which have been
devoted 10 the object; but tfbe appropriations
Tor the repair md CONTINUATION Of The Cumber-
lind Road, for the construction of various other
roads, for The removal Of distractions from the
Rivers and iiarbors, for the erection OF Light
houses, Beacons, Piers, and Buoys, and for the
completion of Canals, undertaken BY individual
associations, but needing tho assistance Of
Inc ans and resources moro conpreliensivc than
Individual enterprise can command may be con-
sdercd rather as treasures laid up from the con-
iribuiions o ftho present no., for the benefit c
p~usicriiy, than as unreqni.cd applications ofih-
accru'ng revenues OF Tie nation. To such OBJ
facts of permanent improvement 10 The cOndi-
ton OF the country, OF real addition TO the
wealth as well as 10 the comfort OF Inc people
by whose authority and resources they have
been effected, from three 10 four m lions of The
annual income Of tho nation have, by !awsen-
nc,ed NJ the three most recent sessions of Con-
gress, been applied, without inircnch;ng upon
the necessities of The Treasury; without adding
n dollar 10 the taxes or dob's Of the cominuni-
ty; without suspcnding even The steady and
s.-l~. ..t. - IL l.It. ,,g,n. -,
former days, which, wilhih the same three
years, have been dim:nisse by the amount OF
nearly sixteen millions of dollars.
The same observations arc, in n great de-
gree, applicable TO the appropriations made for
Notifications upon the coasts and barbors of the
" litcd States, for the maintenance oIthe Mill
larry Academy at West Point, and for the vari-
nus objects under the supcrirtendence Of the
Department Of tho Navy. The Report Of the
S~ecre'arJ OF The Navy, aa1 those from the snb.
ordilafe branches Of both tho Military Depart
racn:s, exhibit TO Congress, m minu. ,Jciail, the
present c1ndnion Of the public establishments
dependent a2on them; the execution of the acts
of Congress relating 10 them; aud The views Of
the Oil GERS engaged in the several branches OF
tho service, concerning the Improvements which
may tend to their perfection. The fortiicaiion
of the Corsts, and the gradual increase and I'M
lroycra.ni ofthe Navy, are parts of a grcat sys-
ten OF national dofcace, which has been up
wards Of ten years in progress, and which, for
a series Of years 10 como, will continue TO claim
The constant and perservering protection and
F. eupern.enddncc OF me Legislative authority
Among the measures which have cmanatcd from
iicsc principles, tho Act of the last Session Of
Congress, Cor the gradual Improvement of the
Navy, holds a conspicuous place. The collec-
ton Of timber for The future construction Owes
soils ofwar; the preservation and reproduction
of the species Of timber peculiarly adapted to
That purpose; the construction OF Dry Docks
for The use Of the Navy; Ine erection ola Ma
rine Railway for the repair Of the public ships,
and the improvement OF The Navy Yards for the
preservation ofihe public property deposited in
them; have all received from The Executive the
attention required by that Act, and will contin-
nc TO receive it, steadily proceeding towards
the execution Of all lis purposes. The cstnb-
iishnent ola Naval Academy, furnishing the
means Of ihcore,ic instruction TO tho youths
who devote their lives 10 the service OF their
couatry upon the ocean, still solicits the sane
ton Of the Legislature. Practical seamansliip,
and The art of navigation, may be acquired up
on the cruises of the squadrons, which, from
time TO time, are despatched 10 distant seas;
but q competent knowledge, even OF the art OF
ship building, the higher ma,hematic, ana as
tronomy; The literature which can place our OIL
iICcTo Oh u icNCl y u pc!ISlSu cuuCutioi ~ t"S
officers Of other maritime nations; the knowl-
edge Of the laws, municipal and national, which
in their Intercourse with foreign States and their
G~o?ernm1nis, are continually called into opeia-
ton; aud above all, that acquaintance with the
principles OF honor and Justice, with the higher
obligations Of morals, and of general laws, hu-
inan and divine, which constitute the great DIS
tinction between the warrior patriot, and the
licensed robbcr and pirate; these can DO sys,e-
matically taught and emincntly acquired only in
II pesmiacnt school, stationed upon the shore,
and provided with the teachers, the instruments
and the books, conversant with and adapted to
the communication of the principles of these
respective sciences to the youthful and INCUR
ing mind.
The report from The Postmaster General ex.
hibits the condition Of that Department, as
highly satisfactory for the present, and still
more promising for the future. Its receipts Tor tex
wear ending the first Of fully last amounted TO one
million four hundred and seyeniy-three thonsano
Eve hundred and ~fity-onc dollars, and exceeded
Us expenditures by upwards OF one hundrcI
thousand-dollars. II cannot he an oycr-sln
ei.ne estimate 10 predict ihat, in less than Ter
years, of which one-haIf have el1psed, the &c
eeipts will have been more than doubled. IL
the mean time, a reduced expenditure upon cs
tablishcd routes has kept pace with increased
facilities of public accommodation, and addition
al services have been obtained at reduced rate
of compensation. Within the last year th'
transportation Of the mail in stages has beer
c,eaily aug,ne lied. Tne number OF Post Oihce'
has been increased 10 seven thousand and !
moy be anticipated that, while the fac!litics o
intercourse between fellow-citizcns, in persts
or by correspondence, will soon be carried Il
The door ofevery yiHager in tho Union, aycGr
4, surplus OF revenue will accrue, which MAJ