Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1863-04-17
The Failure At ChevIe.soa in its B'arlns1

undoubtedly viii be hailed with great sat
isfaction by the ruling classes Of England
as q serious damage to the National cause.
This will be q mistake. It is no damage
in a positive sense, for little or no actual
loss has been sustained. We have only
failed to gain; and are simply as we were
before, Just as was the case with England
in her Russian war, after the unsuccessful
attack upon the Sebsstopol forts by Admi-
raj Lyons, and the unsuccessful demon
stratiOn upon SWeabOrg by Admiral Ma
pier.
But this failure has practical bearing,
upon which the English Government will
have no reason to congratulate itself. We
mean the virtual demonstration Of the fact
that any American h4 Dor may be put in such
a state of defense as TO absolutely dety The
combined fleets Of Europe. 1t has been a
problem whether iron-mailed vessels can
| out-match forts. We consider it to be now
proved that they cannot, if the forts have
proper su5aqueous outworks for the pur-
pose of obstruction and destruction. The
Monitors are the most effective iron-mailed
vessels that have been built; and what
they failed to do, it is very certain that
any European vessels would fail to do.
What has been done in Charleston may, on
occasion, be done in other American har-
bors; and in fact, more easily than there,
| for the principal forts of almost every
other harbor are newer snd stronger
Therefore, it is practically demonstrated
that in case of foreign war we can make
cities on the seabOard perfectly secure from
damage.
This is a fact of the highest moment.
We're we to have a war with England, it
would be almost entirely defensive, save
in two particulars: we should invade Can
ada, and should lauzeh hundreds Of priv
ateers against British commerce on the
high seas. Our defensive invincibility on
the seaboard established, as it now is by
| the developments at Charleston, there is
| left no room for doubt but that England
would get the worst of it in the struggle.
As for Canada, il is admitted that 1t
cannot protect itself The population o
all the British Provinces is but about three
millions, extending over q breadth Of
more than a thousand miles. They are
unaccustomed to the use Of arms, and
/ have little or no military spirit as the
ridiculous failure Of the volunteer move
ment, in every Province, abundantly
shows. A detachment of seventy thou
sand Of our veterans might march through
the whole heart Of the country without Sc
rious impediment The mother country
would be poWerless 10 prevent it. Lord
PalmerstOn, in his speech on the defence
of Canada, at the time Of the Trent diff
Guilty, avowed plainly that the twelve
thousand sent to that colony was the most
that could possibly be spared. The Brit
ish army is one Of the smallest of Europe,
and what there is of it is mainly engross-
ed in the protection of possessions the
other side Of the globe. Whatever the
pressure, it cannot be materially enlarged.
The difficulty which England had in sup
plying her rank and file in the Crimes,
and which prompted her to try foreign en-
/ listments at the risk even of war with
the United States, is fresh in the memory
Of all. From all time she has felt that diff
Guilty. She hired Hessians to fghtus in the
| Revolution, aud her wars with Bonapsrte
were carried on mainly through the SOL
diers of subsidized allies. She had not
the resources the Continental ma ions have
! in their systems of conscription, which
enable them to increase their standing ar
mics, on short notice, to any required fig
ures. She cannot enlist troops in other
lands, as every European nation now has
its laws against foreign enlistments. The
result Of all is that there is no Power on
earth, Of any pretensien, that is weaker,
IN military sense, than England; and
that it would be utterly impossible for her
to hold Canada against an invasion from
our Northern States. .
England could no better protect her
commerce. There is probably full six hun
dred millions worth Of British merchan-
disc now afost. We have the swiftest
clipper ships ever known, and multitude
of them; all of which would require but
a trihing operation to be converted into
the most effective privateers the world ever
saw. The rebel privateers Alabama and
Florida, furnished by sEnglsnd, have
in their brief career despOiled Amer
icsn commerce to the extent of at least
one hundred millions. This furnishes ex-
| oellent data for reckoning the length of
time which British commerce could hold
out against hundred equally effective
vessels. 1t can be safely put down that
within six months Of the commencement
Of war with England, every commercial
keel of that natien would be swept from
the two oceans.
Therefore, if we should be forced into
war with England, which we do not antic-
ipate-for she we'll understands her inter
ests-sll the prime elements would be in
our favor. What she needs to protect
- namely, her colonies and her
commeree-she could not protect
What we need to prOteet-namely,
our seaboard cities-Ige noto knoV that Ggs
can protect. As to outlying provinces, we
have none. As to our commerce, that is
already suffering about as much as it can
suffer, because Of the Anglo-rebel priva-
teers, all of which injury works CORES
ponding benefit to English commerce. In
the present condition Of things, England
must lose immensely by war; we cOmpar-
stively nothing.
England could give no material aid to
the rebels she is not now giving. She
could not send troops to the Confederacy,
for she neither has them nor can get them.
She could not break our blockade to any
serious extent for our blockading vessels
could be protected by our iron-clads,
of which we have already five to Englands
one, and can multiply in the same proper
ton. She can lend money, to be sure, and
supply credit; but that she is doing al
ready, as the lately negotiated Confederate
loan attests. There is, positively, no par
ticular in which war with England would
materially help the rebels, save in the di-
version Of sixty or seventy Thousand SOL
diers which would be employed in seizing
Canada. But this could easily be made
up by fresh levy.
In our judgment, when the ruling classes
Of England calmly examine this Charles
ton affair, as demonstrating the complete
defensibiity OF American hsrbors against
any force that may assail them, and shall
calmly estimate the bearings of this dem
Onstration upon q war between England
and the United States, they will find in it
precious little matter for rejoicing. 1t