Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1858-06-04

dom with a freeman arm, In every battl,
that was fought upon the ocean and upon tn.
lakes they manned your ships they constitut
Cd your crews. They shed all the lustre and
renown upon your little Navy, with tho aid
OF gallant officers, that was shed upon it: and
now, at this late day, because they happen
to be located in particular locality, and
lear, In obodiancc to provincial, scctional
southern press, they arc to be stricken down
will read single authority moro in rela-
ton to the service which these nen PERFORM
cd, because it il from a man convcrs.lnt with
That service, who lived amid these seamen.-
Daniel Webster said in 1852, that il histori-
cally true, in addressing some of them:
There are among you who, perhaps, have
been on the Grand Bank for forty successive years
There they have hung to the ropos, in storm
ana wreck. Tbe most important consequences are
involved in this matter. Our fisheries have been
the very nurseries of our Navy. il our flag ships
nave mot and conquered tho enemy on the sea- the
fisheries are at tho bottom of it. Tho fisheries
were tho seeds from which these glorious triumphs
wcrc born and sprung.
During the war of 1912 we captured from
tho British more shan two thousand three
hundred sail of vessels, mounting moro than
oisht thousand guns; fifty-six men-ol.war.-
mounting nearly nine hundred guns, and
took in all about thirty thousand prisoners
OF war. OF tho captures in tito Privateer
service, the greatest number was by these
fishermen.
! Now, sir want to invite the attention of
the Senate to the manner in which other ma
tions (because we may draw some light from
their practjce) have regarded the fisheries as
auxilllaries to commercial and naval power.
The Senatou from Alabami tells us that tho
oountlcs which have been conferred by Hol-
land, by England, and by France, upon their
fisheries, have proved a failure | do not
quote his language, but think / state his
idea. understand no such thing; and [
think the history of the matter proves no
8 ich thing.
From the days Of th, commercial prosperi-
ty of Venice down to the present time, every
nation which has been distinguished for it's
commerce and naval power, it will be found
has not only devoted its energies to this
branch of industry, but it has relied implicit
ly upon 1t as great source from which its
navy and its Commerce were to b. sustained.
W hen Venice was mistress Of the Adriatic;
when she commanded abs ,lutely the NIediter-
ranean, and almost the who'll. of Europe;
when she was indeed the first commercial
Power in all Europe, and it is said by somo
writers, equal to all Europe, she had i. corps
OF fishermen, with which to supply her com
merce and her navy along her coasts and bays.
They covered the lagoons; they swarlned the
Mediterranean; and the argoscs were found
IN every port along the British coast Her
vessels visited every port in the Medcterrane-
an,and every coast in Europe. Her maritime
commerce was probably not much inferior to
to all the rest Of Christendom. Such was
Venice in the day of her greatest commercial
prosperity; and that Prosperity was, in a
great degree, attributable to the enterprise
OF her seamen, who had been tr lined and
educated III the school of her fisheries. They
were hardy, Industrious, and energetic, aud
they went wherever commerce could find an
avenue.
Holland, also, furnished remarkable il.
iustration OF the Importance OF the fisheries
III connection with commerce. 1t is on old
mtxim-for 1t has grown into Il maxim
that Amsterdam was built on fish s' bones ;
and when Van Tromp SWEET the British seas
with u broom at his mast head he supplied his
vess lis with corps of those herring fishermen.
\ dispatch on the causcof itscoInncrcial prm
perity, prepared with great c;lrehy the dircc-
ton Of the Stldtlloldcr places the fisheries in
the first class OF causes lis contributing to the
advancement of the Republic in it unexam
pl"i prosperity. Such was beyond all doubt
the lict Go to Spain sir and, in the da V
OF her prosperity. when she fitted out her
Armada, and when she had colonial possess
Ions that employed her fisheries, she was
greatest in commerce, she was greatest in
her nav power Go to France; and what do
you ind! | VIII show that they regard this
,,,I.,r. ..1- & fi..l,.
ton Of the naval service. In 1851. NJ Aucet
III relation to the tisheres, made the follow
ing report to the National Assembly in
France:
1T Is not, therefore a commercial law that wo
nave the honor to propose to the Assembly, but
rather amaritiinc lava law conceived for the
advancement Of onr naval power of tii. country.
NO other school can compare with this in pre-
parins them (seamen) So well, and in numbers So
! Important for the service of the navy
Itmiy be said of this fishery that it it prepares
tcwcr men for the sca, it furmJs b.tter sAors-tho
elite of the navy.
TAc preservation Of the great fisheries assume
degree of Importance more se,iols when tho Y
are viewed as balm; i'll fact til, nursery of our
IN litt,y MARINE
The Senator from Altham. Objects to tho
fishing bounty law as Unequal. Why, sir,
it is Il general law; it is It's broad as the
Union The Senator from Alabama NAV
tell me truly that his State does not partici-
pate in it. Granted; but how does that
effect the point The law which regulates
the rates of p,stato and collects the re ,enue,
for the purpose of paying for the transmits
sion Of mails, is no more and no less gener-
al law than this in relation to fisheries; and
: - 1, -
while it may not apply in as strong degree,
in point Of facts it applies precisely with the
same force to tho Post Uiicc laws. The
Of their mails. ana contronta % @ ... 'akReses .k.a.
to the support Of mails in the South. lr
1850 the total postage collect d in the south.
ern States was 81 ,0t2.S09 "a. and the ex
panse OF transportation, $ ,390 so; while
in the northern Stat s, the postage collected
was, S2,97j, $50 10, and the expense OF
transportation, $ ,l21 SO 50. In 1855 the
total postage collected in the southern States
was 81. $50 los; the cost of Transportation
So ,2S5 ,953; while in the northern States the
postage was s / go, ,125 and the transporta
ton. 81 COS ,295 In 1871 the receipts were a
the South 81 .672,S56 7S, and the cost o
the service, S2,329 ,239; while in the Nortl
the receipts were SJ,t1S ,303 ~, and tht
cost of service, 81 4,O25 ,261. In 1855 Maine
contributed Slil $50 to the Post Oiic'
revenues, and cost $S2,2lS; while Alabama
cost 500, G,Sl6, and contributed SlO4.5l4.
make no complaint of this; but | onl,
use it as an illustration, for the purpose d
showing that any general law, in its appli
cation, may draw from one section Of th'
country portion of tho revenue to carr.
out the system in another. The senator