Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1861-09-20
E11. tho En0uirer.
Ousht wo TO hnve IL Navy mo. 1.

McsSrs. Editors the tTile line oil poltcY Tor
US to pursue with regard to navy, 80 far from
having been publicly discussed, has scarcely
been alluded to hy the press.
The acts of Congress and the action Of The
Executive, UP to this time. Seem to Indicate a
policy for The young republic highly %anti.na-
val.
At the commencement Of our independence
we not only find ourselves without a Navy, but
in the midst Of war. with ports blOckaded, we
are shut out from the marine resources Of the
world nevertheless we have caught up such
water craft ms we could lay hands on ; We have
strengthened some Of them as best we could,
and, placing one or more guns upon each nc
cording to their strength, have commissioned
them into service as mcn-nf- war. These, how
ever, arc mere makc-Shifts to serve as expedi.
ents during an emergency. For the most part
they are fit only 10 contend against harmless
merchantmen they arc few in number. II
VIC are to have a Navy, surely no statesman
would attempt to build it up oil such mate.
rial.
Let lis consult the action Of the Government
and enquire, rs best We may, from the Navy
appropriation bills rs TO the degree of encour.
agement proposed TO be given to the Naval en-
ergies Of the Slate. The sums appropriated
for s'building and increase" will Indicate the
policy of the Government touching a Navy,
and show what, for the present, is proposed TO
be done.
Two Navy bills have passed since Virginia
seeded and Joined the Cunfedcracy. One was
passed in May, at Montgomery, and the other
IN Richmond, in August. They both were for
the support Of the Navy during the year end.
ing February 18th. 1862.
In the Montgomery bill there is not one
dime either for construction or increase. The
whole appropriation bill is S27S,500 of which
800, 600 is for equipment and repairs" Not
Il cent for building or increase. Now n Navy
without vessels is like lamps without oil.
The Richmond bill gives $4,000 (ifty thou.
sand) to buy and build steamers and gun.
boats for coast drfenccs," and $3.50, 600 for
1.-TWO iron clad gunboats for the defence OF the
Mississippi river and the city Of Memphis"
If it takes $4,000 apiece 10 build and equip
two gun boats for the Mississippi river, and
the defence Of a single city, We may safely
infer that $4,000 will neither purchase nor
build a great many steamers or gunboats, nor
enable US to provide very effectively for the
defence of all the rivers except the Mississippi,
and uf all the harbors. bays, creeks and
sounds of our coast all the way from Wash.
ing!on On the Potomac 10 Brownsville on the
Rio Grande.
But let US not lead or be led astray as to
these appropriation bills. There is in The
Richmond bill an item of 500, 600 for floating
'delenceS for New Orleans" and another of
$l0T,5 23 for fitting ont the Merrilnac at Nor
folk and raising the other sunkcn vessels there.
But the enemy holds Fortress Monroe, and so
long AZ he occupies that stronghold, it is
doubtful, to say the least, whether any Of those
the 800, 900 for New Orleans, we simply infer
from the object for which it is given floating
de(cnces," tina! no part of this sun, is applica.
BILE to the construction Of regular mcn.orwar
or armed cruisers Of any description.
Thus we perceive that since Virginia and
North Carolina, with their 1elcnceleSs. open
and inviting SEA rront seeded, the sum Of only
$50, 600 has been voted toward the purchase
or construction Of IL Navy for the defence Of
the entire sea. cost of the Con(cdcracy!
From this analysis of the appropriation
bills, and from all that we can see doing on the
water, it appears that The government has not
yet to say The least. decided 10 have a Navy.
On the contrary the signs are thai there is To
be no Navy.
Does the country want 4 Navy, and, if yea,
can it afford to have one? That il the question
which we propose ior discussion, and we hope
the thinkers and writer's, aI,,l press, with the
MEN Of the country will enter into il with us,
bringing into IL fair minds and the right sp;-
ritS.
frIn Sr-t tt,;pr Z Ia. dana T.. in rot riI nf
of all navy notions, borrowed iruln the old con.
Germ yoiIdrr ut Washington, is to what con-
~stitutes n Navy; to cast about us and see
what resources we have; and then, consider
ing the means and Appliances which, owing to
our peculiar situation, we can bring into play,
to decide whether the best interests Of the
country call fora Navy Or not. In this age,
when commerce is King, no nation, though it
have cotton and the staples Of the South
for its mobiles, can hope To command The re-
spec. Of its peers abroad. without n Navy; nor
can our citizens, with such Il ncighb6r as we
are bound to have, he secure Irurn Tally out
unless VIC have a Navy to protect them
in peace as well as in war.
That the county is in great need Of il Navy
now, is patent to the world, and that il will
want ono in the future, Is obvious to every
statesman. But can We afford t" build and
maintain one ? that's the question; and upon it,
vote, aye.
These, in briet, are tie reasons Tor our vuic:--ln
the first revolution va had y Navy; it did good
and experience approves it. This, our
second, is more holy than that, and The enemy
is close at hand. lie is marhuding in habits,
and far less chIvalrnis in disposition than the
enemy We then had. Moreover, cur senhoard
country now, while on the one hand it is far
more tempting TO. the robbcr, on the other it
is fnr less secure from his inroads. We cannot
now, as We did then, depend on distance and
Our faithful old allies, the winds and the waves,
to protect our citizens from insult and pillage.
Moreover, we are at the beginning Of a new
era in naval warfare. The epoch for big guns
and little ships is at hand; our enemy Is mol
prepared for tive are. Let US be up and
adding, and with craft no larger than steam
tugs, pongics and pilot boats, we may send to
the bottom or chase away from our bays and
ottings his tall lrigates-aIl the Minncsotas,
Wabashes, Pawnees, Savannahs nn1 the like
of Lincoln and his crew.
Ia the old war of revolution, none but stout
ships could be sent against us, for we were
separated from the enemy by the most stormy
ocean in the world.
Steam was then unknown to navigation. and
as for 'big guns" and hollow shot-the hca.
West in those times were l2's and ISIS, all OF
solid metal, and none Of long range; but no"
our ports and harbors are innculated with
those Of the enemy and his great guns carry,
not yards, but miles; they send for missiles.
not shot, but magazines Of powder, Armed
with them, he can AMI does Send against us
steam tugs and cutters, mere d~yteIiPpc's, and
We have nothing to chase them away.
The fact, that the mouth of our rivers should
be blockaded with III old steain.uIg; our
shores ravagcd. plantations piliagcd and homes
burned by Il fleet vi mere passenger bnats,
is neither gratifying to our pride at home, nor
will it be held abroad as indicative 81 any very
high degree Of national spirit IN our part.
There seems, then, to be every reason Of
patriotism and policy why we should set to
work right off the reel" ami with might and
main build up 4 Navy, ut least sufficient to