The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1862-03-22

a
Of this country can neversecept the rights
which they enjoy as the gift of any being
inferior TO their Creator.
do not lelieve that any body but the
public enemy has had anything to fear
from the numerous and well appointed ar
mics we have raised, yet no one Of US is
prepared to say that, with an army much
longer isolated from home scenes and
home ideas, concentrated in large bodies,
and taught the duty Of most implicit ODE
dience, danger to our free institutions
may not arise. No such danger can arise
from the existence of navy, however
large. or however commanded. Seamen
are cosmopolitans. Always employed
and generally afoat, they never become,
as armies sometimes do. as dangerous to
friends in time of peace as to cnemles in
time Of war. ~
| might go on and show that, situated
Is all Of our large cities are upon arms of
the sea or upon navigable rivers, the Navy
might be rnnde more efficient in suppress
sing domestic instructions. as well as in
repelling foreign invasion, than the Ar
my. / might show, ton, that, notwith-
standing what is said by protested statisti
clans, the support Of navy is less ex-
pensive, in comparison with the service it
renders to maritime nation, than that of
an army; but shall not detain the Senate
by attempting to enter upon such an ex-
position 1t this time.
As / said at the outset, Mr.. President,
my purpose in rising to address the Senate
at this time was to call the attention of
the country to the successful operations Of
the western fotilla; but ! cannot refrain
from abiding, for one moment before !
close, to the success Of our Navy elsewhere
in this war. The whole southwestern
Atlantic coast has been swept by the feet
of the gallan, Du Pont. and is now effect
ually held by both an inside aud outside
blockade. The enemy have bern driven
from the waters Of North Carolina by
Goldsborough, their whole navy in that
quarter destroyed, and their coast towns
occupied. Such progress has been made
in the Gulf of Mexico. that venture to
predict that in few days at furthest in
telligence will reach us that the forts at
the mouth Of the Mississippi river have
been captured, and that Farragut and
Porter are now or soon will be in posses
sion Of New Orleans. But the startling
events that have recently occurred in
Hampton Roads attract, as they ought. the
attention of all. 1t would be we'll for US
TO reflect upon what those events have
clearly demonstrated. They are - first,
that in modern naval warfare, wooden
sailing vessels of war are perfectly HARM
less and helpless; second, that the strong
est stone Notifications can be no obstrac-
ton to the entrance ofiron clad vessels OF
war into any of our harbors. and that one
or two such vessels, unopposed by vessels
Of similar character, can hold any CON-
mercial city on the continent ut their
mercy; third, that We can now commence
the creation of proper navy upon foot
ing of comparative equality with all of
the naval Powers of the world.
Mr.. President, no man sympathizes
with the relatives and friends of the gal.
liant dead who persisted on the Congress
and Cumberland more deeply than do.
Perhaps, however, their loss was neces-
sary to teach us our true path OF duty to
the country. Let us not suffer more valu-
able lives to be periled upon such worth
less vessels; and while we deplore the
less Of SO MANY brave men, let US rejoice
that SO many more are left to the service
who are willing to do and die for their
country. Especially let US give thanks for
the brilliant example Of courage, sea
manship, and patriotism furnished to the
country and to the world by that match
less officer, Lieutenant John l.. Worden,
and the officers and men under his com.
mand on board the Monitor. Inthat un-
exanpled engagement on Sunday last, af-
ter u terribly sutiocating and dangerous
passage from New York, without having
slept, with an undrilled crew and handling
an untried experiment, Lieut.. Worden
and his crew performed prodigics Of skill
and valor that will render all on board the
Monitor immortal. They will be i'm.
mortal not for their valor alone. Who
shall undertake to estimate the influence
that battle will exert upon ell Of the ma.
rhine powers Of the earth 7 Who shall
undertake to tell the number Of homes &c
which the news of its successful result
carried quiet on that eventful evening
which been fur hours disturbed b
the most distracting fears Is it too much
to say that it rescued our commerce and
our commercial cities from ravage, and il
one hour completely revolutionized 81
systems of naval architecture and naya
warfare Captain Ericsson, too, may vel
be proud Of the place his name will hence
forth occupy in the history Of nautica
science, and We may well be proud tha
the country Of our birth is the country o
his adoption.
But. Mr.. President, while ! would thu
honor the gallant living, I would bear m,