Grass Valley telegraph., 1856-02-12
The American Militia.

AS held in the estimation of ohm Bull, Esq,
No l, first floor, Anglo Terrace, next door to
La Belle France. John Bulls London Tele-
graph, of Oct. 10Th says:
''As to our being able to effect any mill
tary operations in war with the United
States, that is farce. We have now some
fifty thousand men in the Crimea, which con-
stitutes the larger portion of the rank and
file of the British army. The Americans, on
the contrary, possess the finest organized
militia in the world. Their rif1emen are fault
less. 1t is not too much to say that, within
month of declaration of hostilities, the
Americans could, and would, muster an ar
my of some five hundred thousand men on
the British frontiers. And, although hastily
summoned to arms, they would not be raw
recRaits, as ours, but we'll trained soldiers,
for each one, in the adventurings in the back
woods, has handled the rifle with unerrin
aim bivouacked, winter and summer, in tEe
forest and the prairie pioneers of the WI
derness men Injured to danger and hardship
trained with the long rifle in hand from
earliest boyhood their own commisaratand
engineers; at home in every position-wheth
er training the wild Indian or engagedin the
bear or moose hunt-on foot or on horseback
-on the log cob or in the canoe; Wild, de-
termined, fearless, wiry, up to every work;
each and every one of whom considers him
self to be President or Commander-in-C Chief
such woald form the rank and file of an army
of five hundred thousand down-Easters on our
frontiers and work we'll too The Ameri-
cans are peculiarly military nation. They
possess the qualifications for generalship, in
which we are previously deficient. There are
hundreds amongst them who could command
an army of invasion with the most brilliant
genius. They are fully up to their work as
soldiers and. as tacticians, they are not one
whit degenerated from their fathers who
drove us from the Union in 1776, and COM
battcd with us iu 1914. As to martial en-
thusiasm, there is no bound to it. We are
cold and phlegamatic the Americans fiery
and ambitious. The future of that people is
to be great military nation, which will
sweep the American continents from Hud-
sons Bay on the north, to Cape Horn on the
south, and no nation can stay their destiny.
An American army would advance from
Maine to New Brunswick, and st. John and
Fredericton would fall without blow. Ano-
ther army would simultaneously cross the St.
Lawrence, and invest Montreal and Quebec.
to would be summoned so surrender. The
lakes would swarm with American armed
steamers Bombard New York, and the cit
les of Canada would be razed to the ground.
The knowledge of this fact forms the strong
est fOrtifcations necessary to protect the At
lantic cities. No power we have in the Can
adas, with all their loyal inhabitants, could
preserve them to US. They would be invad-
ed at fifty points at once, and in one great
combined movement the Provinces would be
wrested forever from the mothsr country. So
much for the commencement of the war
what would be the prospect of its termina-
tion? The West India Islands and the Ber-
mudas, one by one, would fall to the Ameri-
cans. Thus our transatlantic possession
would be lost. During this time Australia
would improve upon our difficulties, and it is
not too much to add that Tasmania would
hoist the lone star OF independence. Our col
onies lost to US in the Atlantic and the Paci-
fic, England would, in truth, have achieved
a grand success to remunerate her for going
to war about Cuba We would impress this
fact upon our readers. The declaration of
hostilties with the United States would
sound the first knell to England's supremacy
as a nation. Not only should we be worsted
abroad, but at home-in the general commo-
tion of affairs which would follow-dynasties
might change, constitutions be overturned
that which is now below would rise upper
most. and. in tie frothing cauFdrOn OF our
hell broth things stranger might occur iu
the worlds history than the child assuming
the power and position once maintained by
the parent"