, 1841-10-30

11io"'s s"ou'u give sOtaTSe b vote IOra mea
sure above all others the most calculated t,
withdraw protection from both, and so small
a vote against M best calculated 10 affort
them Protection!. But strange as, that MAJ
be, It rs still more strange that the stapl,
States,-the States that will receive so little
from distribution, and which must pay 81
much to make up the deficiency il wilfcaus,
Estates SO defencelesss oh their maratim.
trontier-should cast so large a vote for thei
own oppression. and against their own de
fence! Gan folly. can rortr irfatuation, b.
the canse one both, 60 farthert
Let me say TO the Senators from the com
mercial and navigating States, in all sober.
ness. that there is now.a warm and gener.
Gus feeling dlfused throughout the entire
Union in favor Of the ann of defence with
which your interest and glory are so closely
identified. Is it wise, by any act of yours,
to weaken or ALLEVIATE such f~eelinss! And
could you do an act more directly calculated
10 d" so? Remember, it is a deep principle
Of our nature not TO regard the safety oil
those who do moi regard their own. II you
are Indifferent 10 y"ur own safety, you must
not be surprised it those less interested
should become Sill more so.
But as much as the defences of the coun-
try would he weakened directly by the with
drAwu of so large Il fund, the blow would be
b, u" means 81 heavy as that which in its
consequences. would fall on them. That
wuaid p4":ivzA Tie right arm of our 20 wer.
r. understand fully how it would have that
eft, we must look not only to the amount
of the sum t. he withdrawn, but also on
what the burden would fall TO make up the
d~-iciencv-I, would fall on the commerce
of the country, exactly where it would do
most 10 cripple the means of defence. To
iItr s,rale the truth Of what | state. il will be
necessary 10 enquire what would be our best
system of defence. And that would involve
the prior question.-from what quarter are
we most exposed to danger? With that, |
shall accordingly begin.
There IS but one nation on the globe from
which we have any thing serious to appre-
bend; but that is the most powerful that now
exists. or ever did exist. refer to Great
Britain. she IS in effect orr near ~peiyhhor
,l,oagh- the wide Atlantic divides Us. Her
colonial possessions stretch along the whole
extent Of our eastern and nor,hrrn borders.
from the Atlantic to the Piriic ocean. Her
power and influence extend over the nnner.
Gus Indian tribes scattered along our western
border from our northern boundary to the
infant republic Of Texas. But ii is on our
maraiime frontier. extending from the mouth
Of the Sabine to that of St Croix-a distance.
with the undulations. Of the coast of thou.
sands of miles deeply indented with bays and
navigable rivers, and studded with our great
commercial emporiums;-it is there, on that
long line Of frontier, that she is the most
powerful, and we the weakest and most vul.
nerab!e. Il is there she stands ready, with
her powarful navy, sheltered 10 the comman.
ding positions Of Halifax Bermuda, and the
Bahamas. TO strike a blow at any point she
may select on this long line of coast. Such
is the quarter from which only we have dan.
ger to appr'hend; and the important inquiry
which next presents itself is, how can We
best defend ourselves against a power SO for
midable, thus touching us on all points, ex-
cepting the small portion of our boundary
along which Texas Joins US?
Every portion of our extended frontier de-
mands attention, inland as wellas MARTINEZ?
but with this striking diferenee:-that on
tne lnrfner, OUT power is Hucn greater tnan
hers is greater than ours on the MARTINEZ
There we would he the assailan,; and what.
ever works may be erected there ought to
have reference to that fact, and look mainly
TO projecting important points from sudden
seizure and devastation, rather than to guard
against any permanent lodgment Of a force
within orr hrders.
The dificIlt problem is the defence Of our
maritime frontier. That of course, must
consist Of notifications and navy; but the
question is. which ought to be mainly relied
on. and to whit extent the one may be con-
sidered as suprseding the other. On both
these points propose to make a few re.
marks.
p Fnrtification, as the means of defence, are
lishle to two formidable ELECTIONS, either Of
which is decisive against them as an exclusive
system of defeIce. The first is, that they
are purely defensive. Let the system be
ever SO perfectthe works located to the
greatest advantage, and planned and con.
structed in the bsst manner, and all they can
d" is to repel attack. They cannot assaiI.-
They are like a SHIELD without a sword. If
they should be regarded as sufficient to de-
tend our maritime cities, still they cannot
command respect, or give security TO our