The native American., 1838-06-30

4
interruption to either, foreign or domestic, throws
many Of this class OF citizens out of their usual
employment, that the Navy would be manned
Immediately. This opinion is erroneous, and
most positively denied. Let those who have a
distinct recollection of previous events, produce
an instance, wherein at any period of the late war
| with Great Britain, sufficient number OF native
born sealnen could have bcen collected, 10 man
one half Of the ships which we now have The
ivery reverse of this opinion founded in specula-
ton only) is the fact.
It is melancholy truth, which can be sub
lstantiated by many respectable officers, that at
! this time very great proportion of the seamen
lemployed in our Navy, are foreigners; and large
majority Of our petty officers is composed of the
same Materials This circumstance appears TO
be one which calls loudly for the most serious
consideration and speedy remedy; for it will be
remembered that mntinous conduct, wherever it
has occurred on board Of our ships, has univer-
sally been traced to foreigners.
In suggesting remedy for the evils here COM
Ipiined Of, let us take for example, the great and
patriotic State Of Pennsylvania, and her maenifi-
cent emporium, Philadelphia they are certainly
too important to our Naval interest to be over
looked as they have been for many years past.
The total absence of ships of war from the port
of Philadelphia; is calculated to estrange from our
Navy the seamen of the three States bordering on
the Delaware bay, who arc in the constant habit
Of visiting that city. An American -of-war
is seldom seen or heard of in the waters of the
Delaware, and consequently few of them know
any thing more Of our Naval service than what
they learn from common report, which is often
exaggerated to It's prejudice. OF this class of
men, there arc in the three States of Pennsylva-
MIA, New Jersey, and Delaware, including wa
termen Of all descriptions, about eight thousand.
|lf, therefore, portion of our Navy made Phila-
|delphia place Of rendezvous taking care at the
same time, to enter and discharge their mon in
that port, there is doubt that it would have the
|ellect of rendering the service popular, not only
with the seamen Of those States, but with every
other class of citizens. AT present, the Navy is
heard OF, but seldom seen there and of course by
no means as popular as different state Of things
would make it. If, therefore, an appropriate
number of our men-of-war were attached to that
station, it would employ from six to eight hun
lred seamen, a large proportion of whom would
leave part Of their pay for the support Of their
aged parents, or wives and children, as the case
might be, and consequently produce an effect on
the minds Of the popuace favorable to the service
Do not these remarks apply to every Atlantic
State in the Union, where there is seaport Of
moderate importance?
A distinguished Naval officer of our Rcvolu-
ton frequently (and shortly before his dcath)
|dwelt much on the difficulties of manning our
|ships with Amcrcan-born seamen, and urged it
las consideration of the first magnitude; an opn
ion which, from the fact Of his experience during
our Revolutionary war, is entitled to great credit.
| Another object highly interesting to this coun-
| try, is the protection Of its sea coast. Cannot a
class of vessels be constructed which would pos
lsess the requisite qualities for that purpose? A
ship, that would carry twenty twenty-four poun-
dcrs, might be so formed as to enter many Of our
southern ports, and would doubtless make as good
way and weather as the nature of the service
would require. If class of vessels should be
built for the defence Of our coast, great breadth
lof beam will render them efficient in bearing the
heaviest metal, and prevent them from sinking too
deep in the water, to enter most of our southern
ports. / am decided advocate for the heaviest
metal that ships Of war can bear with safety, and
a proper extension of their beam, from end to
end, will allow of their being sufficiently sharp
below, and at the same time, present long side
above the water line, which will enable them to
stand up under the greatest pressure of canvass.
Such vessels would never lurch so low and dan
gerously as some of ours do. | have long thought
that there never has been vessel, having sufi-
cicnt extent of beam to render her equal to what
she would have been, had she possessed that adj
vantage. This idea has been long entertained,
but we may now expect to see the credit of it
claimed in another quarter, as it is said that the
British Government intends to build thirty-six
gun frigates, six feet wider than they have here
tofore been; and other ships in proportion.
A distinguished officer of our Navy, as is un-
derstood, has recommended the employment of a
coast squadron every year, during the summer
months; the object Of which would be, to perfect
the officers of our Navy in the practice of naval
tactics and the necessary application of the sig
nails. 1t may be objected to this disposition Of
our Naval force, that it will be necessary to form
a depot in every port visited; but would ask, is
this the practice with our squadrons on foreign
stations? Ordinary repairs and supplies may be
procured at almost any commercial port and YES
sells can return to the general rendezvous already
established, whenever it becomes necessary to
overhaul and reft. tits probable that another adj
vantage might arise from it. As the term Of SER
vice would be short, and the field Of action more
! at home, our native seamen would the more rea-
| dly engage in it, and consequently contribute to
the removal Of ono Of the most important difficult
ties, which has heretofore been experienced, and
which is still to be apprchended, viz: tho acant
/ n al