The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1856-03-21
SEACOAST DEFENCES, FORTIFICA
TIONS. &c.-GEN CASS'S SPEECH.

TIONS, &c.-GEN. CASS'S SPEECH.
tFrom the New York Herald
We publish two interesting reports in this
mornings paper: General Cass' speech, de.
livered in the Senate yesterday, and the report
Of the Secretary of War on the Notifications
and dcfences of New York harbor.
England's great modern historian and phil.
osopher has said that "parsimony in war was
the worst profusion," and the United States
mny well apply the ounce of suggestion which
the maxim contains to The present condition
OF their seacoast dcfrnccs, and TO the Engin.
Ger Department of the government. II is not
necessary to say how many thousand miles
Of seacoast we claim MS our own, nor are WE
called upon to consider in detail the amount
Of defensive material we possess; but this we
know that the Engineer corps Of the army is
constituted of about forty officers II we have
ten thousand miles of coast, this will give one
officer to every two hundred and fifty miles.
Considering the change from sailing to steam,
which has taken place within the last thirty
years, and that all our means of defence
against hostile fleets were projected under the
old system, it is doubtful indeed, if, judged
by Mr.. MacauIcy's maxim, we are not the
most proluse and extravagnnt people on the
globe.
The recent furry Of the London Cabinet
; and official press has finally, however, walked
up the sleeping, selfconfident elements Of
our politics, and now we are treated by re-
port from the War Department and the Chief
of the Engineer Department on the dangers
of the port of New York in the event of
hostilitcs with England. The application of
steam to navigation has converted the lower
bay into great harbor for hostile fleet, aud
opened up the East river in the direction of
Long Island Sound us one of the approaches
10 the city of New York. The Secretary and
the Chief of Engineers thus, in March of the
year that the President talks about resort to
war with the greatest naval Power in the
world, concede that the commercial metro
polls of the nation is in most defcncclcss
condition. Here is n confessed profuson,
indeed; and if we give due weight to General
Cass, there can be no earthly question hut
that it is the purpose of the British Cabinet
TO compel US to sacrifice our pretensons in
Central America and our position concerning
cnlistments, or put our commercial cities to
the hazard of devastation. The atmosphere
on the other side of the water is full of men,
nee and bravado. Troops are being sent to
Canada; fleets relieved frem service in the
Baltic are despatched to the Gulf of Mexico.
Nicaragua even is to be visited, and American
predominance there is to be spotted, or, as
Mr. Gushing nervously expressed it, "crushcd
OUT
Well, this looks like very vigorous pre-
paration on the part of Old England; but we
take it MS used as an argument, or rather as a
friendly advertisement of what might he done
in case of necessity. We Americans are so
stupid that, like the Jews Of old, we require
occular proofs, special provdences and mira.
cles. The London official press tells us, to
be sure, that the powerful fleets of her Males
ty can sweep our commerce from the seas
md devastate our heightened seaboard, but
there were ten chances to one that this ad.
monition would pass for stuff, and that, after
all, something mere tangible, expressive and
certain would be required to bring us to our
senses; and they were right, for the implaca.
BILE Pierce administration at once proposes to
put the country in n state OF defence.
There was pretty exact parallel to the
present condition Of things in 1884, when
General Jackson threatened reprisals upon
French commerce because ofthe non.payment
by Louis Philippe's government of certain in
IDENTITIES due to our people. The King OF
the French, like his valiant predecessor, who
with forty thousand men,
Marched up the hill and then marched down again,
sent to our waters a powerful fleet; but the
medicine did not take. Gen. Jackson was in
corrigible, and would have the money or n
brush. Louis Philippe backed down, paid his
debts, and withdrew his ships of war. The
Old Hero, however, is dead, and all traces of
his character have been obIiterated from the
White House. Franklin Pierce is his sue.
ccssor!
JNo NJ. BORIS FOR FILLMoRE.--John Minor
Bolts. who was an aspirant for the nomina-
ton, has written letter on the subject Of
Mr. Fillmore's nomination, from which we
take the following extract:
OF Mr.. Fllmore's qualifications need not
say much few men however have had bet
ter opportunity of forming on accurate esti-
mate Of him as public man, than has fallen
to my lot. served with him not only on the
Committee of Ways and Means during the
arduous Sessions Of Al and ~, but we were