Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-06-22
1,-.-, =. our Navy fOrs---Its Increase


An sorts of projects have been broached IN
Congress to provide for an expenditure Of mil
inns of borrowed capital to increase the navy
tbe propositions running from fleets Of steam
,,rn boats M TO sauadrons of steam war frigates-
The numbers proposed thermOmeterl1ed 'he
6phtinp zeal of the movers, and the range was
from zero to the boiling heat Ofthe fiery Toonos
of Georgia, who has been spOiling for chance
to swallow up England ior ten years past We
observe, however, that most Ofthe war speeches
are cbary of auusiOn to the past and present
smnlovmept of our Navy under Democratic
| Administrations, Mr.. Toombs alone saying, and
"s,yine it boldly" that the best ship Of our
Navy is now engaged in wiring England to
America, when the Niagara should be sinking
the British cruisers Cutraging our h'g and
merchantmen in the Gulf!
In view Of these Outrages, the St. Louis
Ne,rs says the question suggests itself, WHAT is
our Navy for and fOreiby odds;
Isit intended purely as a machine for trans
norting broken down ex-Presdents on pleasure
trips 10 the Madeiras, and relieving esnuyeed
officers Of the tedium of shore lille by yoya-
ges 10 the aniipodes in search Of novelties =
We have Mediterranean Squadron, China
SQUADRON, an African squadron, and Fejee and
Kan,stschatka Squadron for all we know but
we have no Home Squadron capable Of doing
more than knocking to pieces the thstehed
sheds of town in Central America.
The China Squadron sails from Hong Kong
TO Shanghai, and from Shanghai back to Hong
Kong TO proteet q commerce that does not ex-
lat The Mediterranean Squadron cruises leis-
uralv along the coast of Southern Europe,
touching 1t Spezzia and Palermo, and stopping
long enough az Smyrna to give the Naval OH
, cerS time To visit Jerusalem, but never doing
ANYTHING to punish the Arabs who massacred
an American family at Jafa The African
, SQUADRON we never hear of.
; Meanwhile, during the absence Of our ships oi
: war. mob at Panama butchers our citizens, a
) Paraguayan war steamer fires into an American
ship. killing several of her crew, and British
cruisers within sight of the Florida coast, IRE at
arrest and search our merchantmen by dozens
The Administration is affecting great valOr anC
E determination in its pretended design to pgt 4
stop "a the outrages IN the Cult, but its prepa
rations will end in nothing but long-windeC
b correspondence by pFosy old Gen. Cass with tn
t British Foreign Minister. Democratic Admin
!. istrations can bomhard GreytOwn, but dare no
show pOrihols in the presence Of an equal en-
, emy.
If the Government will recall the Mediterra
e mean and China Squadrons, and place them IL
c the Gulf with orders 10 cruise in the neighbor
+ hood Of Cuba, and along the coast of Mexico
Central America and South America, such out
RACES as those lately committed by the British
o men-ofwar, by the Mexicans at TamPico. b.
: the Paraguayans, and by the mob at Panama
= will be prevented in future. But how can W
expect our flag TO be respected, even by tn
( negroes of Central America, when the Gul
swarms with British and Spanish cruisers, an
i an American man. of-war is not seen in that 10
/ c1ity once in year