The southern press., 1851-07-09

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1alsn4 NJ a. pesaeeaA = hoAs - ! our ports and
hasheco. Bnk. IN tn eeesnee ~ ne navy, what
can "a hsnvs hsaxts and strong arms Of the army
NJ rnilitiA do against The euAIuy's lineof.batue
shin, md STEAMERS falling without notice upon
our coast? What will guard our cities from
tribute, our merchant vessels ar d our navy yards
from cou6ARration Here, again, we see a wise
forecast in the system Of defensive measures,
which, especially since the close of the war with
Crest Britain, has been steadily followed by our
government.
While the pers from which our great estab-
lishnents had just escaped were yet fresh in
remembrance, system of Notifications was be-
gun, which now, though not quite complete,
fences in our important points with impassable
strength. More than four thousand cannon may
at any moment within strong and speSnanent
works, arranged with all the advantages and APP
pliances that the art affords, be turned to the
protection of the sen coast and be served by
the men whose hearths they shelter. Happy
for us that 1t is so, since these means Of So
curity that time alone can supply; and since the
improvements of MARTINI warfare, by making
distant expeditions easy and speedy, have made
them more probable, and at the same time more
difficult to anticipate and provide against, The
cost of fortifyng all the important points on our
whole Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico frontier will
not exceed the amount expended on the fortiti-
cations Of Paris.
Ia this connexion one most important facility
in the defence Of the country is not to be oyef-
looked it is tho almost instantaneous rapidity
with which the soldiers of the army, and any
number of the militia corps, may be brought to
any point where hostile attack may ut any
time be made or threatened.
And this extension Of territory, embraced
within the United States; increase Of it's popula-
ton, commerce and manufactures; development
of its resources by canals and rail roads, and
pdity of nter-communication by innumerabe
steam boats and telegraphs, has been accomplish
ed without overthrow of or danger to the public
liberties, by any assumption of military power !;
and, indeed, without any permanent increase OF
the army, except for the purpose of frontier
defence, and of affording a slight guard to the
public property; or of the navy, any further
than to assure the navigator that, in whatsoever
sea he shall sail his ship, he is protected by the
stars and stripes of his country. All this has
been done without the shedding of a drop of
blood, for treason or rebellion. All this, while
systems of popular representation have regu-
lsrly been supported in the State governments
and in the general government; all this, while
laws, national and State, Of such character
have been passed, and have been so wisely adj
ministercd. that may stand up here to-day and
declare, as | now do declare, in the face of all
the intelligent of the age, that for the period
which has elapsed, from the day that Washing
ton laid the foundation of this Capitol to the
present time, there has been no country upon
earth in which life, liberty, and property have
been more amply and steadily secured, or more
freely enjoyed, than in these United States Of
America Who is there that will deny this :!
Who is there prepared with greater or a bet
(, hot ,oto md
the foundation of facts, acknow lodged or proved,
and assert that these our republican institutions
have not answered the true ends of government
beyond all precedent in human history?
There is yet another view. There are still
higher considerations Man is an intellectual
being, destined to Immortality. There is spirit
In him, and the breath of the Almighty hath
given him understanding. Then only is he
tending towards his own destiny, while he seeks
for knowledge or virtue, for the will of his
Maker, and for just conceptions of his own
duty. Of all important questions, therefore, let
this, the most important of all, be first asked and
first answered: i'm what country of the habitable
globe, of great extent and large population, are
the means of knowledge the most generally
diffused and enjoyed among the people! This
question admits of one, and only one, answer.
1t is here; it is here in these United States; it
is among the descendants of those who settled
at Jamestown; of those who were pilgrims
the shore of Plymouth ; and Of those other races
of men, who, in subsequent times, have become
joined in this great American family. Let one
fact, incapable Of doubt or dispute satisfy every
mind on this point The population of the
United States is 23O0O,0O0 Now, take the
map of the continent of Europe and spread il
out before you. Take your scale and your d.
viders, and lay off in one area, in any shape you
please, triangle, square, circle, paralelogram,
or trapezoid and of an extent that shall contain
l5O,0O0,000 Of people, and there will be found
within the United States more persons who do
habitually read and write than can be embraced
within the lines of your demarcation.
But there is something even more than this.
Man is not only an intellectual but he is also
religious being and his religious feelings and
habits require cultivation.
Let the religious element in mans nature be
neglected, let him be influenced by no higher
motives than low selfintcrest, and subjected to
no stronger restraint than the limits of civil
thority, and he becomes the creature of selfish
passions or blind fanaticism.
The spectacle of nation powerful and en-
lghtened. but without Christian faith, has been
presented almost within our own day, as
warning beacon for the nations.
On the other hand, the cultivation of the re-
to general benevolence. and the practical nc
knowedgement of the brotherhood of man, in
spires respect for law and order, and gives
strength to the whole social fabric, at the same
time that it conducts the human soul upward
to the Author of its being.
Now, / think it may be stated with TRUTH that
in no country, in proportion to its population,
are there many benevolent establishments
connected with religious instruction--Bibe,
Missionary, and Tract societies, supported by
public and private contributions as in our own.
There are also institutions for the education of
the blind, the deaf and dumb; of idiots for
the reception of orphan and destitute children;
for moral reform, designed for children and fe-
males, respectively; institutions for the reform.
alton of criminals, not to speak Of those numer-
Gus establishments in almost every county and
town in the United States for the reception of
the ared infirm and dnsiitnte moor mnnv of