The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-07-09

that manufacture, If she were deprived of our raw
materal--if that material were absorbed by other
countries or by ourselves What if our southern
planters were compelled 70 become themselves man
uacturers and exporters of the manufactured article
instead of the raw material What, in fine, would
become of the manufacturing population Of England
I--of the thousands upon thousands that live from
hand to mouth, who, deprived Of their employment,
would be unable to provide bread for their families
by any other trade or occupation Sir Robert Peel,
no doubt, understands these questions thoroughly,
for he is, himself, the Of cotton-spnner. He
knows that the cotton industry of England once de-
sroyed, every other species of industry would
follow in the same path. He knows that the vacuum
thus created in the trade of the world would not
main until England has the means of filling up
again. II would be instantly filled up by Englands
continental rivals; il would be filled up by New
England, whose manufactures would at once be
'protectedn-not by duty ad valorem, but by a
prohibtive one. Is England prepared for such cr
ssi-a crisis which would change her whole econo-
my of state the relations of the different classes Of
society to the world and to each other--her church,
her nobility, and her constitution is she prepared
at this moment of extreme commercial and manufac-
turing competition for another outlay of capital for
an increased public debt, for increased duties, and
an increased income taxi Is she capable of sustain
ing without permanent injury to her greatness, an
other emigration of capital to the continent of Eu-
rope, already commenced account of its taxation
at home? And is the highly artificial machine of the
British government capable Of sustaining all these
shocks, without getting out of order, or coming to
complete stopi
And what would be the comparative situation Of
the United States, in case Of war; Would war
not unite us more firmly than we now unitedi
Would it not alay the spirit of faction? Would
our patriotic population not rise as man, to fight
the third war of independence Would not the
sympathy of the world do not mean the crowned
heads, but the millions aspiring to liberty-be
listed on our slider Have we not immense terri
tory, which no European power--nay, not all COM
bned-could overrun, as long as we united in re-
slstlng them? True, our seaports would be desert
ed; but could war stop the progress of the West
Would we not gain in one part of the Union, what
we might lose in the other and would the equib-
rum not instantly be established at the conclusion
of peace Suppose we produce less cotton:
not substitute some other produce for III and would
the diminished cotton production not enhance its
value, and thereby remunerate the planter Would
manufactures not increase all over the Union! Would
the spirit and enterprise of people not discover
new means of defence and aggression We have
no starving population in America. We produce
twenty times much wheat, rye, and potatoes, as
we consume; and we manufacture cotton and WOOL
len cloth enough to clothe ourselves Our diversi-
fled climate renders us, like China independent of
the rest of the world; and our internal commerce
would keep up the spirit of enterprise and industry
for which we are distinguished among nations.
England has larger population than she can sup
port without exchanging her commodities for the
produce of other countries. She depends entirely
on her foreign commerce, not only for her greatness
but for her existence. Our aboring population have
a whole continent before them, and, from the known
facility with which our people change their avoca.
ton to suit circumstances, may easily substitute
employment for another. The laboring classes of
Great Britain are crowded together in small places,
and have no alternative except between particular
kind Of industry, to which they are reared, and the
work-house. They cannot exchange situations
They have not even the means to change localities.
Their physical and moral condition is degraded be-
yond the conception Of our American people. They
cannot move step. forward they have reached
their terminus. Such the moral and physical
elements which would be arrayed against each other
in such national calamity as war. Let us now
consider the relative position of our army and
navy.
The standing army Of England is very little more
than one hundred and ten thousand strong; and Isl
in proportion to her dominion, the smallest of any
Christian power. For, with these one hundred and
ten thousand troops, she must garrison Ireland
Gibraltar, the Ionian islands, Malta, the Cape Of
Good Hope, Mauritius, her possessions in India,
her acquisitions in China, her West India islands,
Canada, and Nova Scotia. Query: how much could
England spare Of these one hundred and ten thou
sand men, in with American Certainly not
ten thousand men, without weakening herself in
another quarter. And what would that force be,
compared to our volunteers and militia, alone' That
force we would certainly beat off with sticks and
had been men, and skilled in European warfare
England, therefore, to make anything like an i'm.
precision on America, must raise an army, each man
costing her, in all probability, not less than hun
dred pounds sterling. But war in America is
very different from one in Europe whole male
population, between the ages Of twenty and fifty, is
armed; every hamlet could send forth its defenders
and our militia, beaten in front, would rally in the
enemys TANKS and rear. years. service would
make them, technically, equal to the best European
fprl,Id that thor,
morally and intellectually to the disciplined mob Of
England For every man that England could send
to America, at the rate Of one hundred pounds, we
could muster fve and, if necessary, volunteers
that would not cost the government farthng; and
for the payment of our regular troops, we may
pledge our boundlcss national domain. AS to
bravery, the English themselves admit that we are
not inferior to them and the history of our country
proves it. England, therefore, has no hope of OBJ
tanning signal advantages on Shores let US see what
may be her chances on the ocean.
England, it is said, has ten ships of war to
our one. Granted But does it follow from
this, that England is ten times as strong at
sea as we are Certainly not England is
obliged to divide her navy she does her troops.
She cannot ungarnish her coast, without inviting
France to take advantage of it, We require no
force in the British channel the North Sea, or the
Baltic. England must keep up "a respectable force
IN the Mediterranean, or ahe loses cast and intiu-
ence in Spain, in Greece, in Turkey, and in Egypt
may call our feet in the Mediterranean home to pro-
tect our coast. England is now, by the lately con-
cluded convention with France, obliged to keep a
very considerable force on the coast Of Africa ours
may be recalled, to fortify us at home. England
must maintain large force in India and China,
where our interests require none Finally, England
must keep competent force in the West Indies and
South America, while our whole disposable force
could be employed in defending our coast and har
bors. Deducting the force thus scattered over a
number Of highly important naval stations, we shall
find that England has not yet three vessels which
she could safely employ against of ours; but,
surprising she has, the question would still be, what
opportunity has she Of employing them successfully
England must again come and attack us. We re-
qulre but to be acting on the defensive We need
not challenge England to pitched naval battle, nor
accept snch challenge We are not situated as
France and Holland are with regard to England,
separated only by the British channel The loss of
a naval battle does not destroy our means of COM