Washington sentinel., 1854-02-08
O. D m m nnitate6.
TO the Editors ofthe Sentinel:

10 the Editors Of the Sentinel:
There was a time when England, being at
war with most of the continent of Europe, if
not with all the world, impressed her seamen
and detained them 80 long within her wooden
walls, that life became intolerable beneath the
iron despotism. Mutiny, desertion, and the
murder of the officers whenever an opportunity
for escape was afforded, were the consequence; |;
and although in the abstract the English sea-
man is the most loyal of all Of his calling, un-
less it be our own Yankee tar when the flag Of
our country was arrayed against the red-cross
banner, a feeling of vengeance for outraged
humanity found the seamen of Albion planted
on our decks to revenge the wrongs they had
received at the hands of their ungenerous
countrymen. They had been imprisoned in
their ships of war, and tortured by the lash to
unwilling submission; and revenge was dearer
to the heart of the infuriate Briton than all the
recollections Of childhood, home, and country.
The consequence was as have stated; and
claim the remembrance of the old officers of
the war of 1872 to support me in the assertion,
that the English seamen stood side by side and
shoulder to shoulder with our own gallant sea-
men, at their guns, in the memorable events Of
that period.
England derided our victories, as the prowess
of her own sons; and, in reply, we simply
claimed the superior skill of our officers Since
those days change has come over us, and q
peace of thirty years, in which new generation
has come upon the stage, finds the British sea
man reconciled to his flag and country, his
heart swelling with the patriotic sentiment as
some shipmate sings the song
Britannia needs no bulwark,
No towers, along the steep;
Her march is on the mountain wave,
Her home is on the Deep"
This he believes and is made to feel; and it
matters not where his wanderings may be over
the wide world, or under whatsoever flag his
reckless life has placed him for time, he sings
the songs of his boyhood, and remembers with
undying enthusiasm that little fast-anchored
isle, invincible in the love Of her gallant and
enduring sons of the sea. Wise counsels,
prompted by the quick sense of selfpreserva-
ton, has made and preserved England what
she is, the mistress of the seas and the laws
regulating her commerce, enforcing the neces-
sity Of each ships carrying certain number
of boys, has scattered the British seamen over
the world, until you find them everywhere on
land and at sea.
This is veritably the philosophy Of history
taught by example" and by this we may see
limited empire capable at all times Of de-
fence or aggression, to degree that even her
own antecedents, pre-eminent in the past have
no parallel To any and every man it must be
palpable that we have been for years, and are
now, fostering and sustaining this colossal
power, to be turned against us with irresistible
effect if the occasion should arise from policy
or accident And at what time may not this
come upon us? Politically and socially we
have but little sympathy with the old world.
It has none with us. Our aspirations are at
variance with its policy; and rich without
the means Of defence, and withal somewhat
staggering in our bearing we may one day
find ourselves somewhat in the condition Of
Gil Bias on his mule, when the old soldier
pointed his musket, begging in the name of the
Virgin the little he had to give; or, with less
ceremony, perhaps, we may find ourselves,
when we least expect it, at the mercy of the
great highway robber of the world. Times
change, but men, with the notifications of
science and the arts, are the same from the
beginning of time. To me the moral Of all
this is, that tits objectionable to neglect the
art of selfdefence when it is SO easy to have
the game in our own hands. If be necessary,
let us give bounty to our merchants for carry
ing boys in their ships according to the ton
mage, and with that legislation let Congress
enact strict obedience to the condition. The
revenue will afford it. 1t is no expense to the
country. Let Congress take this step, and re.
establish the rule by which our own country
men are substituted for strangers. In the one
case, we have boys who have had American or
adopted American mothers, and some moral
training; in the other we have strangers at
least, or perhaps the refuse of society from
abroad. Is not choice between the two, /
would ask, worth consideration of money, if
that even should be necessary? Of all the
bounties ever yet bestowed for a great national
purpose, in my opinion, bounty, equal to
years support for boy before the mast for
each hundred or two hundred tons of our mer-
chant shipping, would yield the largest contri-
button to the national prosperity. Ina few years
we should have body Of American seamen
equal to the commercial and national wants,
competent to conduct our vast and increasing
navigation, and able to beat the world in bat
tie on the high seas. 1t is both good economy
and sound policy to fight your battles abroad,
instead of bringing war home to our own fire.
sides. NAVY.
For the Washington Sentinel