Chapter 5 On North America’s Current Capabilities: Incidentally Talking about Some Miscellaneous Feelings

I have met no one, whether in England or North America, who has not frankly believed that sooner or later the two countries would separate.Yet less than at any other time have we expressed a well-considered opinion when attempting to describe what we say is a continent ready or ready to declare independence. Since everyone agrees on this plan, but differs only as to the timing of its implementation, let us, in order to avoid mistakes, take a general look at the situation and try, if possible, to find a suitable time.But there is no need for me to say more, the procedure of inquiry is immediately over, because time has found us.The overall improvisation, that is, the encouraging consistency of the various situations, testifies to this fact.

Our great strength lies in unity, not numbers.Yet our present numbers are sufficient to resist the force of the whole world.The continent of North America now possesses a greater armed and disciplined force than any other nation in the world, and happens to be of such strength that a single colony cannot stand on its own, but a united whole can. Anything can be done. Our land forces are more than sufficient, and as for the navy, we cannot fail to feel keenly that England will never allow North America to build a warship so long as the continent remains in her hands. Therefore, even after a hundred years, our sector will not be more advanced than it is now; but the actual situation may not be as good as it is today, because the timber in our country is decreasing every day, and the last remaining few are not far away. The place is not easy to get.

If the Continent were overcrowded, it would suffer unbearably in its present condition.The more harbor cities we have, the more we need to defend and abandon.Our present numbers are fortunately proportionate to our requirements, so that no one will be idle.The reduction of commerce produces an army, and the necessities of an army produce a new commerce. We have no debts, and what we owe on this account will be a glorious memorial of our virtue.As long as we can leave to future generations a fixed form of government, a distinct and independent form of government, it will be cheap at any price.However, if it is only to get rid of a few hateful laws and bring down the present cabinet, it is not worthwhile to spend millions of pounds, and this way of treating future generations is very cruel; because it means that we They are left with a difficult job to do and a debt from which they get no benefit.Self-respecting people shouldn't think like that, it's pretty typical of small-minded people and boring politicians.

As long as the business is successful, even a little debt is not worth our concern.No country should be debt free.A national debt is a national security; even if it pays no interest, it is by no means a great deal.Great Britain has debts of more than 140 million pounds, and the interest paid exceeds 4 million pounds.It has a great navy as compensation for its debts; North America has no debts and no navy; yet we can have a navy as great at the expense of one-twentieth the national debt of Great Britain.The British navy is at present worth less than three and a half million pounds. The first and second paragraphs of this pamphlet do not contain the following calculations, but they are listed here to justify the above estimate.See Entick, Naval History, Introduction, p.

The cost of a ship of each class, with its masts, yards, sails, and rigging, and eight months' provisions for sailors and shipwrights in proportion, is calculated by Mr. Porchett, Secretary of the Admiralty, as : The cost of a ship with 100 guns... 35,553 pounds The cost of a ship with 90 guns... 29,886 pounds The cost of a ship with 80 guns... 23,638 pounds The cost of a ship with 70 guns... 17,785 pounds The cost of a ship with 60 guns... 14,197 pounds The cost of a ship with 50 guns... 10,606 pounds The cost of a ship with 40 guns... 7,558 pounds The cost of a ship with 30 guns... 5,846 pounds

The cost of a ship with 20 guns... 3,710 pounds Thus we can easily add up the value or cost of the whole English navy, which at the height of its power had the following number of ships and guns: The number of ships, the number of artillery, the cost of each ship, the total cost ……………100…………35,553 pounds………213,318 pounds ……………90…………29,886 pounds………358,632 pounds ……………80…………23,638 pounds………283,656 pounds ……………70…………17,785 pounds………764,755 pounds ……………60…………14,197 pounds………496,895 pounds ……………50…………10,606 pounds………424,240 pounds ……………40…………7,558 pounds…………340.110 pounds ……………20…………3,710 pounds…………215,180 pounds

Sloops, demolition boats, and fireboats are joined together, pound ... ..., pound cost, pound balance for additional artillery, pound total, pound no country in the world is in such a proper position, nor is there A country can build a fleet from within like North America.Tar, wood, iron, and rope are some of its natural products.We don't need to buy anything from abroad.The Dutch rented their warships to the Spaniards and the Portuguese, thereby reaping huge profits, but they had to import most of their raw materials from abroad.Since the construction of a fleet has superior natural conditions in our country, we should regard this matter as a business.

This is the best investment we can make.A built naval fleet is worth more than its cost; and the good point of national policy consists in uniting commerce and defense.Let us build them; and if we have no need of them, we may sell them, thereby replacing our paper money with cash and silver. Concerning the manning of the fleet, there is a great deal of error in common thinking; it need not be that a quarter of the men should be sailors.The "terrible" privateer, Captain Reaper, which had fought the fiercest battle of any ship in the last war, had no more than twenty sailors on board, though the establishment numbered more than two hundred.With just a few capable and sociable sailors, many active novice sailors can be taught the ordinary work of a ship in no time.So now that our lumber is plentiful, our fishing grounds blocked, and our sailors and shipwrights out of work, there is a golden opportunity to start our sea business.A few ships of the seventy or eighty guns were built in New England forty years ago, why should not the same be done now?Shipbuilding is the proudest business of North America, and it will one day surpass all nations in this respect.Most of the great eastern empires were inland, so they could not rival North America.Africa is still barbarous; and no country in Europe has either such a penetrating coast, or such an internal supply of raw materials.Nature's gifts to human beings are often generous on the one hand and stingy on the other; only to North America, it is generous to the West.The vast Russian Empire had almost no access to the sea, so its inexhaustible forests, its tar, iron, and rope were mere commodities.

In terms of security, shouldn't we have no fleet?We are not the insignificant beings we were sixty years ago; then we may have kept our possessions in the streets, or rather in the fields, and slept soundly without locking our doors.Things are different now, and our means of self-defense should improve as our possessions increase.Twelve months ago, an ordinary pirate might have gone up the Delaware River to extort huge sums of money from the inhabitants of Philadelphia at will; similar accidents might have happened elsewhere. Nay, any savage fellow with a brig of fourteen or sixteen guns might be able to sack the whole Continent, and take off five or six hundred thousand pounds.These circumstances deserve our attention and also point out the necessity of coastal defense.

Some may say that when we make peace with England, it will protect us.Are they so ignorant that they think it keeps a navy in our harbors for our protection?Common sense tells us that the nation that consistently seeks to suppress us is the least worthy of all nations to defend us.In the name of friendship it can conquer; and we ourselves, after long a heroic resistance, are at last deceived and kept in slavery.How can she protect us if we should not allow her warships into our ports?A navy at a distance of three or four thousand miles is of little use, not at all in a sudden emergency.So if we have to practice self-defense in the future, why not do it ourselves?Why rely on others?

The list of British warships is long and numerous, but of which less than a tenth are at any one time in service, and many are now defunct; yet their names always remain as long as a plank remains of the ships. in the list.Among the ships that can be used, less than one-fifth can be parked in any military port at the same time.The East Indies, the West Indies, the Mediterranean, Africa, and other areas to which British power extended, all placed great demands on her navy.From a mixture of prejudices and negligence in our minds, we have a false idea of ​​the British navy, and talk as if we were up against all of her navies at once, and therefore think we must have an equally large navy. The Navy is good: this idea, which cannot be immediately implemented, has been used by a group of hidden Tories to try to defeat our preliminary plans for a navy.This idea is most erroneous; for North America could certainly be a formidable enemy of Great Britain if it possessed one-twentieth of the ships of the British Navy; Right, the whole of our navy could be employed on our own shores, where we would have double the advantage over the opponent, who would have to sail three or four thousand miles and pass the same route before he could attack us. The distance to go back is generally only to repair and replenish supplies.Though England with her fleet can cut off our trade with Europe, we can equally cut off her trade with the West Indies, which lie near the North American continent and are entirely under her control. If we should think it unnecessary to maintain a standing navy, we can conceive of a means of maintaining a navy in times of peace.If the merchants were rewarded for building ships with twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty guns (the size of the bonus being proportional to the merchant's loss in cargo capacity), then, as long as there were such books, only five Sixty ships, with a few constant watch-ships, will maintain a sufficient navy, and in this way save ourselves from the fate of which England is deeply troubled, and the fleet is at a standstill in times of peace. Rotted away in the dock.It is sound policy to combine the powers of commerce and national defense; for when our strength and wealth work together to our advantage, we need not fear foreign enemies. We are plentiful in just about every kind of defense item.Ramie is produced everywhere, so we have no shortage of rigging.The quality of our iron is better than that of other countries.Our small arms are no worse than any equivalent in the world.Cannons are what we can cast at will.We produce saltpeter and gunpowder every day. Our knowledge is increasing all the time.Fortitude is inherent in us, and courage has never left us.So what else do we need?Why do we hesitate?We can expect nothing from England but destruction.If it were again recognized as sovereign over North America, the continent would no longer be worth living in.Suspicions arose and riots continued. Who would stand up to put them down?Who would risk his life to compel his fellow-citizens to submit to foreign domination?The quarrel between Pennsylvania and Connecticut over some undetermined territories shows the insignificance of the British power, and fully proves that only the power of the North American continent can manage the affairs of the North American continent. Another reason enough to justify the opportunistic time is that the fewer we are, the more unoccupied lands will be available hereafter, if the king does not randomly give him to his wretched servants. Not only to pay off current debts, but also to maintain government spending at regular intervals.No country in the world has such favorable conditions. What we call the infantilism of the colonies is an argument in favor of, and by no means against, independence.Our number is already quite large, and if the number increases, we may be less united.It is a matter of note that the more populous a country is, the fewer armies they have. The ancients greatly outnumbered the present in the number of armies: the reason for this is obvious, for, since trade is the result of a large population, men are so absorbed in commerce that they neglect everything else.Commerce lessens the spirit of patriotism and military defense.History amply teaches us that the bravest deeds are always performed in the youth of a nation.With the growth of commerce, England has lost its spirit.The City of London, in spite of its population, endured insult after insult with a coward's self-restraint.The more things people have that they can lose, the less risk-averse they are. The rich are generally slaves to fear, submitting to the power of court with an air of trepidation like begging wags. Youth is the season for planting good habits, in individuals as in nations.It may be difficult, if not impossible, to organize the North American continent into a single government fifty years from now.The various interests arising from trade and increase of population would create confusion. One colony will be against another colony.The various colonies, being full of feathers, will despise each other's help: while the haughty and foolish complacently congratulate themselves on their limited successes, the wise will lament that they did not form an alliance sooner.Therefore, now is a great opportunity to build alliances. Friendships formed in childhood, and affections formed in adversity, are the most enduring and unshakable of all friendships.Our present union is marked by both: we are underage, and we have suffered misfortune; but our unity has resisted misfortune, and is ushering in an unforgettable century that posterity will be proud of. Moreover, the present period is a peculiar one which a nation can only meet once, that is, the period in which it forms itself into a government.Most nations missed this opportunity and had to accept the laws of their conquerors instead of making laws for themselves.First, they have a king, and second, a constitution; so the articles or charters of government are made first, and some men are later entrusted to enforce them: but we may as well learn from the mistakes of other countries, and seize the present opportunity. , dealt with the question of regime correctly from the outset. When William I conquered England, he forced them to accept the law; so, before we agree that the central government of North America should occupy a legal and powerful place, we shall be in danger of having the real power usurped by some lucky wretch, He may not treat us with the same attitude, where is our freedom then?Where is our property? As to religion, I consider it an essential duty of government to protect all who sincerely profess their religion, and I know of no other necessary measures of government in this respect.If you put aside that narrow mind and selfish principles which swindlers of all walks of life are loath to part with, you will at once be rid of every fear in this matter.Suspicion is the companion of small-mindedness, and the poison of all happy social life.For my part, I fully and sincerely believe that it is the will of God that there should be a variety of religious beliefs among us.This gives us Christians a wider field for the development of benevolence: if our ways of thinking are identical, our religious inclinations have no basis for testing; The children of the same family are average, but their so-called Christian names are different from each other. On pages 34-35 of this article, I briefly revealed some views on the characteristics of the Continental Charter (because I only think it is to provide clues rather than plans). I am not presumptuous here, and I bring up this issue again. I think a charter can be understood A covenant of sacred obligations to which all are bound, whereby the rights of individual parts to religion, freedom of profession, or property are upheld.Strong and reliable contracts and fair and reasonable treatment can make friendship lasting. I have also mentioned before that there is a need for broad and equal representation; no other political question deserves our attention more than this.A small electorate and a small number of representatives are equally dangerous. But the danger is even greater when the number of representatives is not only small but also uneven.I cite as an example the following incident; when the petition of the United Movement was presented to the House of Representatives of the Pennsylvania Legislature, there were only twenty-eight members present; eight Bucks County representatives voted unanimously against, and Seven Chester County senators followed in their footsteps, and the whole state is dominated by two counties; and such dangers are so often apt to arise.The audacity of that House, which threatened at its last meeting to do all it could to suppress the State's representatives, should call the attention of the whole people to the manner in which they themselves have delegated power.A set of instructions was assembled for their various representatives, which, in terms of common sense and business, would have shamed even a schoolboy, and they were brought to Parliament after the outside assent of a few, if not a very few. where the members of the state pass it on behalf of the whole state; on the other hand, if the people of the state know the evil intentions of this assembly in proceeding to formulate some necessary public measures, they will not hesitate to think that those members are Live up to such entrustment. Necessity gives expediency to many things, and these expediencies, if continued, would become misery.Expediency and proper conduct are two different things.When the calamities of North America called for consultation, it was easiest, or, so to speak, most appropriate at the time, to be appointed for the purpose by the Houses of Representatives of the several State Legislatures; His wisdom saved this continent from destruction.But since we cannot never be without a "Parliament," every man who has an ardent desire for good order must admit that the manner of electing its members is worth considering.I would like to pose this question to those who study human beings: The same people have representative and elective power; is this too great a power?As we plan for future generations, we should remember that virtue is not inherited. We often get useful proverbs from our enemies, are often surprised by their mistakes, and start to use reason to make reasonable judgments.Mr. Cornwall (one of the treasury commissioners) treated the petition of the House of Representatives of the New York State Legislature with contempt, for he said that the House of Representatives of that State Legislature had only twenty-six members, and he emphasized that such a number could not properly represent the all.We thank him for this unintentional honesty. ①①Readers wishing to fully understand how important broad and equal representation is to a state should read Pogue's "Political Studies". —The author generally says that it doesn't matter how strange some people think it is, whether they want to think it or not, but we can give many strong and eminent reasons to show that only openly and emphatically Only by declaring independence can we solve our problems quickly.Some of the reasons are: First, according to international practice, when any two countries are at war, some other countries that do not participate in the dispute come forward to mediate and propose preliminary terms for the conclusion of a peace treaty.But as long as the people of the North American Continent call themselves subjects of Great Britain, no country, however much it may regard us, can claim to be a mediator.So, in the present situation, we may be at loggerheads forever. Secondly, it is unreasonable to think that France or Spain will help us, if we intend only to use this help to mend the rift and strengthen the relationship between Britain and the North American continent, because the consequences will cause those countries to suffer. loss. Thirdly, as long as we profess to be British subjects, we must be regarded as "rebels" in the eyes of foreign countries.Many people rose up in the name of the subjects, and this precedent is somewhat dangerous to the security of foreign countries.We can resolve this contradiction at once; but to connect resistance and submission requires the use of far more subtle ideas than ordinary people can understand. Fourthly, If we issue a proclamation, and send it to foreign courts, stating our sufferings, and our peaceful remedies which we have failed; To live happily or securely, with which we have been compelled to sever all ties, while assuring all those courts of our peaceful will and desire to trade with them: such a Memorandum, for this As far as the mainland is concerned, it can produce better results than carrying ordinary petitions to England. We presently bear the name of English subjects, and are neither admitted nor recognized abroad: the practice of the courts is against us, and will always be so, till we are joined with other nations by independence. These actions may seem strange and difficult at first, but like all other steps we have gone through, they will soon become suitable, and there is nothing surprising about them.Before declaring independence, the North American Continent will feel like a man who is always putting off some unpleasant business, but he knows it must be done, but he just doesn't want to do it, hoping that it has been obtained. solution, while keeping in mind its necessity.