Report Of The Secretary Of The Navy--war With England

Time was, and in a great measure still isf when he who seeks to discues (he queetion of slavery, is met with the bold estoppel, that (he insthution finds inviolable shelter io the U. S. Couatitution, and with the cor.fident deinand - what have we of the nortli io do with slavery? Within the "bulwark of stich out-woik, the pro-slavery advocate would rest, and skirmishing behirid theirdofencee, avuid, if he could, all approach to the main citadel: He would fly from point to point in an extended fiuhï, and hy rapidity of movernent and cunuingevolution9 seek to 8hun .hat face to face encounter, wliere the might of truth mu3t prevail.and frotn which error would flee, as the morning mist before the boams of the eun. But the proshvery man finds a meet opponent. No mawkish squemishnessa stops him from deliberately examining even eo reveared an instrument, as the charter of our liberties, nor dread of ofiiciousness precludes his free enqniry. - Undeterred by any inaputaüon of irreverence and but smiline at the childish ouicry of "mind your own business," he is prompt to folio w his evaaive foe,ithrough all his shifts, until he coerces a fair encounter. Note the inconaistency of the nbove arguments, aud how completely the one answers the other. If the const.tJtion does nurlure slavery, does it not thereby mako slavery the proper subject of consideration for every freemen in tha Uaited Statea? We are to understaud that the constitution conlains provisions of political application, adapted to particular localities.embracing the entire union, that those locahties alone have theer or right to deal witb theae exclusive provisions, andthatthere ia ono provisión especially which He open to free acceaa for a Southerner, yet containa forbiddcn ground, on which a Northerner must not enter. Does the constitution indeed contain such Btrange prDvisionsi And yet this must bo the unavoidable a9sertion of those, who, claiming for slavery the protection of conetitulional provisions, still tells the Northern?i tliai he had nuthing to do with the sulyect. This is but one of ihe many dilemmas, into which the unnatural warfar e against truth and right force3 its advocates; no Eiich perplexity cloud3 the reasonofhim, whose weapons truth and right are. Il is 6ufficieot for him that slavery is found in any shape In the venerated conetitution: that alone renders il his business, and tells him thai he has to do with it, or be recreant in duty to his country. Bul ihe constitution bestows only an admoniíion on this subject; it throws up the matter fur consideration, and tells us ihat n it thcir is that which requires looking, after, and if wo heed not. its paternal hint, one neglect will engender a disease, which like those of the human frame, will assume a growth so formidable, as to coerce attentton, when the system Í3 prostrated, and deranged. We are rupidly approaching a crisis in ournational iiffarrs, whcn the nelected admoni'ion of our consliluliun is Itkely to receive a serious quickening in practical resulta. Wliat have we of theNoith lo do with sluvery? It were enough tosrty,that the constitution gives us.to do with it, hut pass ihat by ' and let us see what the Secretary of the Navy says on this sulject. In his late [ report is the following passage."A war benveen the United Staies and ny considerable mariimc power woulcl ot be conductel Ht ihis day, as il would ave been even 20 years ago: it would oe a war of incursión?, aiming 'at revoluions. The first blow would he struck ;t js, throujih our institution3. No nation it 3 presurned, would expcctto be success ui over U8, for any length of time, in a fair conte3t of arms, up.n our own soil, and no wise naiion wuuld atlempt it. A more promisinu; expedicni would be sought ri arraying what ure supposed to be the los'ile elements of our social system agaitj-t 6ne anoiher. An enemy so disposed anti freo lá land upon nny part of our soil, which mighl promise success to hisentevprise, would be armed witha"fourfold power of annoyance ; of the ultímate resuH of such incursions, we have no reason to he afraid,but even in the best evcnt, war, upon our own soil, would be more expensive, the more ernbrunssing and themore horrible in in ts effecle, by compelí ing us at the same time, to oppose nn enomy ín ihe field, and to guard agninat attempts to subvert our social system." Divested of diplomatic pomposity and of official disjuise, ihe plain English of thia pussnge is: In a fair contest we are invi heiblo: 'out wc have alreody within usjin tlie iiifititutions of sluvcry, hostilO elements. An enemy who cnn Iftn'il on our extended southcrn scaboard, is mmecüaloty armcd with fourfold power of annoynce, by the aid whicli the slayes would foestow in effrts fo secure iheir fraedom. At the North we laugh nt invasión, but in the South the resulls would be fearfiil, un der tho best circumstaneot!, and with the liaúpiost issue, it would be expensive,embarrassinf and horrible in its effbcts. and compel us to a doublé contest, to oppose invasions frum ahroad and insurreclion within. Mero is a southerner - ny, even a southern secretary of the navy, popsessing the amplest personal and cflicial knowledge ihe, bringing before the nation our do inesiicslavery, as.a quesiion ofserious mo men% and presenting it as worthy the graye cnsiderntion of Congress. John Q. Adam?, whom we cali the statesmenseer, long since foresaw lilis weak spot in our naiírtJlal defrnces, and portr.iyed its lorrible consequences. He sent forth his imely warning to the North, as he depicted their being led to1 sacrifice life and property, in the unholy struggle to perpetúate slavery, and crush the cffurts of liberty, on a soit won, in a very opposite contest. But untii now, the nation has blinked ihe quesiion; now when the chances of cunte8l with England are accumulating with fearfuU rapidity,'. when the political horizon, uil aroutul, is buricd wilh the presrtge of coming troublef, when the north west and norlh east bouudaries - the Caroline üfFiir wi'hin, und the Creóle and right of scarch without, have niultiplierf, wilh wondrous rapidity, questions, each of great magnitude, and at a time when rumors of war have lung becotne familiar - in such a juncture, we have, for the first time, official warning of the great dangerofthis institution, with a view if we can, to ward it off. It is certain that a topic so long shunned, a topic dreaded,as of so incendiary a character, and one so hateful to souihern feclings and lo lead to the violation of ihe conJiitution, iñ p!acing a perpetual gng on ihe liberiy of -peech, wóuld not be presenied frotn so high a quarter, did not the moving cause uggest consi('eraton3 higher even tlian 'hf).e which induced past silence. We may learn then how formidable ihe crisis is, tn which we are placed asa nation,and ahall any presume to eay, that the north has nothing to do with slaver) ? Away with stich ari díe pretext. May wo never receive the refuia'.ion of this idle evasión at the poiiU of ihe bayonet. Hut ii may bo thqugUl ihnt this matter is confined to ouiselves, and ihai the sugge8tion arises fnm tho prudent foresighl of ihe sccrctary of the unvy, desirous to uard a vulnerable puint, rather than in serious ísnlicipation of u present danger frosn uhroad . Let us see how ihis is. It s notorious thal all our ofñcial documents are republisheil in England and our Secret;ry .ould not thus promúlgate t0 an ene.ny our weakness, vvere he not assured that this enerny was aíready aware of it. But Englanu does not need such instruction, her leadingj nirnuls and periodicals have long since diseussed ihe queslion of invading us, and I make some cxtracls from Fraser1á Magazine, contaitied a number sometime ago, entitled "War with América a blessing to mankind," It discusse?, ''the mode of altack to he adopted, by Eugland, in her efforts to bring America to her senses," alledges that "Englund cannot afford to stand on the defeusive," "he must bring m.itlers lo apoint very quickly." it then says, "And irst Iet us conaider the ordinary notions, which we are daily hearing, of levymg war in the old fashioned style; getting up expeditions; embarking 10,000 men.supported hy lö sail of the line, and affecting ; landing nenr New Yurk; in short, just a repetition of the last war, its unsuccessful atteimpi on Baltimore, and its general fáií ure to do more than to excite a lasting hatred to England, throughout the Union. - Now, the inehion at present seems to be, lo speak of the power of England, and the weukaess of America; of our artnaments, and their unpreparedness, in a vaunting and exulting tone, which to ua is absolutely ülarnung. But it is more; it is absolulely fooli&h'. - í The men who talk of our tnaking war upon a nation of 14,000,000 of freemen, unencumbered with a debt or taxation: well accustomed to the use of arms; and to be attacked on thoirown ground, and by Iheir uw!) firesides - the men, we say, whothink it is f;n easy ihing for u?, by sending om an expedition and burning a few sea coasttowns, to bring such a nation upon it'sj kneep, are justabout the wildest, the niosti irratiorial calculations of the chances of! war that ever helped a nalion nto an inextricable difficulty. We re this, indeed, the ■ prospect before us, were the only course : open to us, the makiogofa naval and military war, with hors e and foot. nnd ships and sieamboats, upon one of the most ! erful nalions upon earth, then sad'indeed, j would be our prognostics for the future - ! melancholy, in the utmost degreo, wou ld be our anticipalions of the ultímate terminalion of such a contest. "Bat is this the only view that can be taken of the probable issue of a contest! iih America ? Far from it - on ihe j trary, while we contémplate a slruggle lie-' tween Engüshmen and Amerienns, whcther on land or water, with the deepest ap-: prehensions, aad with the certointy of sume ! evil resulting; we see in anoiher quarter and by conducling the contesl in a totally different vny,a probability, na)7, almostj to a cerlainty, of arriving at a short andj easy conclusión of a struggle - a conelu-' siun in every way honorable and advan-l lageous to England, and in the higheat de. gree desirable lo the u-hole human race, j "America in one respect, iá the most sinful nation in the world, and in her sin,; as divine and retributivo justice ordinariy provtdes, she finds her weakne?sand; her punishment. She holds nearly three milliona of unoffenditig human creatures in the most cruel bondage." "It followp, however, that to hoid in her graíp threo mi!lion3ofsUvüS, aad to treat those slavcs wiih crüelty, is to relain wi-.hin her border?, three milüons of foes, who cannot but long for the moment wheö resistanre might be attemptcd without the certainty of defeut ." M But what possible doubt can exist as tolhe propriety - ihe expediency, - nay, the absolute duly of niaking a war subservient to the greal and eminent object of freeing these three millions of cruelly oppressed human beings?"Poliey, loo, not Icss than phüanthropy, , prescribes such a course of warfare. By i this mode, and ihis only, a war with Ame. rica, might be brought to a speedy and incvitably triumphant close. As we have already observad, a struggle between the people of England nnd the descendente in' America, must be fekrful, a protracted and a lamentable one. Bul if assailcd in this quarter, a vital part is instantly and surely reacheil - the union is dissolved, and the war is ut an end. "Arnong the three mi'.iions of slaves, we ma y lairly calcúlale the'adult males at one million. Every man of all this multitude would eagerly rush to embrace an erttancjpating invader, and within a few days s;iii of thoir coast, repose the free and happy blacks of Jamaica. In one mprning u force of ten thousand men, might be raiscd in thiá quarter, for the enfranchisementof their brethren in America. Such a forcé suppurted, by two bats tulions of Engliöhmen, and supplied with 20,000 niuskèts, would establish tiiemselves in Caroün never to be removed. - In three wecUs trom iheir oppearancc, the entiré south would be inone cunflagraiiou. The claims of a miilionof rncn,wouid be broken and by what power could they ever be ágain riveted? "We say that this course isdictatcd aÜko by policy, by self-preservation, and by phüanthropy. By policy, for nothing would I r.ender our mvn po3sessions in A nietïca so secure, as the dissolution of the Union - an inevitable reáúlt of this line of ai:lion. - By seif-preíerva!on, for England must not venture, amidst !ier olher difficulties, to involve herseü'in a protracted contení iu a distant quarter of the globe. By philanthropy; which tells us that if, coutrary to ourown inciinations, we are dragged ioto this unnaturnl war, it our is duty atieast toendeavor to bnng -good out ot evil. In whatever way, then, wc contémplala the subject, we come to this conclusión, lf we tnust have a war with America, lot us' tnake it a war for ihc cmancip:ition ot the; slá ves; so ahallour success be certain.andi our triumph, the triumph of humaniiy-1" - j "Such ia the pourse very plainly niarked out, and it wiü be sedulously followed. - ! In a content with America any oihcrj course migbi luad to an interminable! struggle. Bv iliis course - a quick, effeclua!, and utierly confminding blow in the South - would end the war in a few weeks." Such are English sentimenfs and views - place ihem beside thuse of our own Secreta ry of the Navy, and let those who have heretofore doubted the warnings of aboütioniats and patriots, cease to be longer skeptical. Says ihe Secretary, "no wise nntion would attempta fairconte3t of arms upon our own soü." The Jou mal adds - "The men, who talk of making war upon a nation of fourteen millions of freemen on their own ground, and by their own firesules, &c, are about the wildest and must irraiional calc.ulations of ihe chances of war." S.iys the Secretary, "u more proinising expedient would be sought in arrangin tho hostile elementa of our so cial systein aguinst one uno'.her, nnmy so disposed and free toland upon an partofour soil, would bearmed wiih foir foid power of annoyancc," and the Jour" nal adds- "We see ia nnother quarter" and by conducling ihe contest in a totaílv different way, a prohability, nay almosia certninty ofarrivingat an easy conclusión of ihe struggle," "To hold slaves, &c is to retain within hor border thrce mil ' liüria of Toes." "If assaited in this qua,. ter, a vital part is instantly reached--illa Union is dissolved, and the war is atan end." "In one morning 10,000 men miaht be raised in this quarter (Jamaica) ann ported by two batiaüons of Englishmen and supplied wih 20,000 mnskets, they would efatablish themselves in Carolina never lo be removed and in less iban' three weeks theentire Sou'.h would be in conflugrudon." Such thenare the "hostile elemen:s of our social sysUem,' adverted lo by ihe Scoretarv, fpcculaled on by our'fprei&tj foes, dreadcd hy om' domestic rulersa canker in our midat, feslerinp daüv, ujtil now ready to buist. Cnn Norlhernera longer shut their cyes lo the fearful haz, ard cntaÜed upon us by this evil? l)a they value the liberties we enjoy, or revere ihe memories of those whuse Uood nnd pioperty flowed free us the cataracU current, that we might enjoy an inhcriiance.so dearly purchased? Yet willthev supinely rest, until all are lost by that which is an appendage, nut to us, for our instituttons are consistent, hut to ihose wlia form part of our Union ? Do thpy feel that the Bntish line, which engirdles our frontier, brings into clise contact with us ihe hcutedsymbois ofkingly crowns, and lordly aristocracy, ufh) et are they willing that the standard of Kings and Lords shall be unfurled on the southern border of Ohio, and the south west of the Potomac? If not, let them look this suliject in the fnce, whüe time permits. England's trumpbas procla'uned its danger to the world, and our own navy Secretary has re..e,choed tg sound. We wish, hnwever, not to be misunder1 stood. Ni hostile fceling to the South : prompts this warninf;. For the Southern , ers, we feel as brethren. Children of a common parent, we would expend our biood and treasure in defence of his rights as freely asour own : all that the consiuu tion gives him, we would let hun retain, j and wc would support that instrument by a ■ freo and liberal construction. But we:annoi, nouviuisianaing, snut. our ejes lo he danger of one commou posHion and br our brethren's sake, no less than our )vn, cry out, beware ! Nor can we suc:umb to the fiat which would seal our ips from the consideration of our danser, by ihe childish allegation, il ihat we have nothirg to do1' with that which mr Secretary makes national. Wo of the Niorth have been dceply guilty. We have Jone for the support of a confossed evil, slavery, ir.uch more than any obligatioD, legal or honorable, required. We havo stained our federal legislation with foul enactments - voluntory and uncallcd for, save by a pro-slavery crusade of the most Algenne severily, repugnant ahko to liberty md to humanity. We have denied the rightof Jury trial - vioiated the sanclified principie of taxation and represea lation - gagged the liberty of speech- turnecl pur citizens into negro catchers- robbed the post office - fiüed our councils Bt home and nbroad with slavcry advocates, Sücrificed to that of unpaid slave la bor at the South, the produce of freè labor at theNorth - fostered the southern producís in foreign markets, by sacrificing thoseof the North, making the exrlusion of the lalfer from fureign ports, ihe prico of free admission to the Union. And vvhile all the enristran and civilized world has unitcd in a mutual league toabolish the slave trade, we alone stand aloof, and suffer our flag, emblazoned wilh the stars and stripea of vaunting liberty, to wave it8 folds over ships crowded with miserable wretehes, torn from their home, their country, and their families; destined to perpetual slavery, and when brightest hope iá to exchange the miseries of famino and fever in their pent up cages of oviTcrowded prison ships, fora lifeofhopI'íss servitud, and once more to straighten, to natures positiun, their chafed and bent limba. Ycs, these are some of the crime3 for which the North has vet to suffer her punishments, and thut we are on itsevc, the signs of the times forbid us to doubt. Aiready the prelimanaries, to war and ra. pme, are discussing with diplomatic coldnesá between ihe Bntisli and American Governmenls on questions arising from the sluve trade, under the American flag, and involving the right of search.Befure 1 leave this report oí the oecretary of the Navy, let me cali attention to the effectual refuiation, it gives, to the si.ly, but loudly reiterated alleation.thal the slave3 do not desire frefidom, and are more happy in thüir present condition, wliere tlieir wants are provided for, than they would be uinler circumstancesrequiring suppor:, This has long been a favor ite argument of proslavery men, and i yet gravely maintained,but the factisnow avowed officially and with fuil southero knowledge and sentiments, that tbe slavea are ready not toresist invasión in proiecting their happy state, but to brave all the horrors of war in the worst forms, toburst the manacles of a hated servitude. justicí:. The Legialature of South Carolina, have lately passed an act to prevent the emaampatioQ of alavés.