The national Republican., 1861-04-18
control of the navigation of The Lower Mis,is.

Navigation Oh the river. VI these, Louisiana
and Mississippi contain only some seven hun
dred thousand. Will the ten million permit the
seven hundred thousand to give the law 10 them
on this great subject? Our statesmen have al
ways taught us that they will not. Reason
subject, in 1880, said: my life upon Il, sir,
that vast population, which has already con.
centrated, and will continue to concentrate,
upon the head.waters and tributaries of the
Mississippi, will never consent that the mouth
Of that river shall be held subject to the power
Of any foreign State whatever"
Suppose Louisiana to fall into the posses
sion Of England or France, would not the peo.
pie Of the West compel the National Govern.
ment to prosecute ten years war for its recon-
quest; or without and in despite the Govern.
ment, would they not reconquer 1t themselves?
This Southern Conlederacy, having signalized
its advent by robbing and stealing, why should
it be trusted with the control of the mouth of
the river sooner than any other Power? A
Government headed by repudator. which, be.
sides appropriating robbed property and stolen
money, is guilty OF the intamy of what, so far
as regards the creditors, is equivalent to a con.
fscation Of private debts, is capable Of selling
Louisiana to France as the price Of protection.
"The Confederacy is too feeble to prevent
Louisiana from being forcibly seized by either
France or England. As a commercial aud
military position, Louisiana has been always.
esteemed all indispensable national possession,
inestimably valuable to the people Of the great
valley. In twenty years, those people will mum.
Der near thirty millions, and their trade will be
quadrupled. How preposterous the idea that
they will ever permit the navigation Of the
river to be controlled by any Government but
that under which they themselves live Hence
Mr.. Clay was perfectly correct when he said,
that if the Union is ever broken up into differ.
ent confederaces, one of those confederacies is
bound to be the Mississippi Valley Confed.
eracy.' The seven million of people in the
free States of the valley are abundantly able,
with their own unaided strength, to vindcate,
with the sword, their right to the free naviga.
ton of the river. Would Kentucky, Tennes.
see, or Missouri, attempt to hinder them? On
the contrary, our sympathies would all he with
them, and we should be much more apt to aid
them in so just an enterprise.
" 1t would be the excess of absurd folly for
US to do anything, or countenance the doing of
anything, which will allow the permanent Sc.
cession Of Louisiana. Having her now in law.
full possession, and having upon every princi.
pie Of justice and national necessity the ndis.
putable right to hold on to our possession, it
up whilst knowing that we must regain it by
military conquest, which every dictate of sell
inte est would compel us to do.
"The obvious policy of Kentucky, Tennes
see, and Missouri, towards Louisiana, is so to
act and advise the action of the Government
that she will be induced at an early day to
abandon her attempt at permanent secession.
To that one, no facilities should be afforded for
her prosperlng under secession Her people
must feel its evils in full measure before they
can be relied on to take power from the hands
Of those traitor leaders who have led her
into secession.
with these preliminary remarks, we can
proceed to consider the doctrine of
COERCION.
coercion by an invading army is what no
intelligent person does or even did contemp plate.
The evils would be infinite, with no com pen.
ssting benefits from such course. But there
is a greater coercion, which it would be expe.
dent to apply, and which, in u short time-less
than year-would prove adequate for restoring
a majority of the people of the seeding states
to their senses That mode of coercion will
soon be found to be thing Of necessity. II not
adopted, the seeding States will coerce the
nation. They will soon see that their true
financial policy is to have rate of duties very
much lower than ours, that they can collect
more revenue with a duty ut ten than with one
Of twenty per cent. With duty of only ten
per cent, they will do the importing of many
articles for the whole nation. The facilities OF
smuggling upon such an extended frontier
would render the cost of prevention too great
to be even seriously attempted. Thus the ma.
tional treasury will be nearly dried up, the ma.
tional credit destroyed, no power to borrow
money left, and no adequate means for carry.
ing on the Government
To prevent this, there will probably be an
early call Of Congress, to obtain power to col.
lect the duties on board ship, as was given in
the days Of President Jackson. The talk
about acknowledging the independence of the
is an idle talk. The Government has no power
to do either. Such power can only come from
an amendment Of the Constitution, which there
is no probability of being made.
"But it will be said such course will great.
ly incense the seceders, and so it will that they
will attempt TO drive of our blockading frigates,
and SO they would if they could that they will
declare war and invade our territory, but this
last they will have neither the folly nor temeri.
ty to attempt; or if they do, the only result will
be most disgraceful and salutary defeat.
"a single irigate of each OF their principal
ports will sufficiently accomplish the object.
The cost of our land transportation from minor
points on the coast will prevent any system of
extensive smuggling. That mode Of smuggling
would also deprive them of nearly all revenue
from duties. They have no power to relieve
themselves from such blockade, nor can they
create it. A irigate cannot be built in less than
year, and the Government could add to the
blockading force much faster than they could
build or buy. They would be fast bound by,
to them, an unapproaehable power. There
would be no splling OF blood. They would
The inability to relieve the blockade Of a sin.
gle frigate, would fully expose the despicable
impotency of their vaunted conlederacy. 1t
would be hrnu nht inIn cnutemnt eyen with hor