Part 22

"It is not probable that the enemy might venture to pass Isle aux Noix entirely, and move down the Richlieu at once upon this place; which might perhaps be the case, if collecting a sufficient force, he should meditate the invasion of the Lower Province. Under such circumstances, the posts on the La Colle might be greatly exposed. It would then be for you to act powerfully on his line of operations; and as most likely, in such a case, your communications with the advanced posts might be attempted to be cut off, it would therefore be advisable, after destroying the road from the Mill to La Colle bridge, to withdraw the troops from the former and Ash Island (after destroying the works) to Isle aux Noix, which would place at your disposal sufficient means to annoy an invading army. Of course the Burtonville road from the bridge would be disputed to the utmost.

"3rd. The enemy appearing in force in Odletown.

"This is not likely to happen until the frost sets in; and could only have in view the occupation of the posts of the La Colle and Ash Island; objects of the first importance to us to prevent; and an attack on that side in force must distract us much more than in the direction of Caldwell's Manor, and in this case it would be reasonable to expect a diversion on the right bank of the river, or even if the enemy has sufficient force, a dash down the South river upon the Isle aux Noix, which would make it hazardous to detach much from it for the support of the advance before the troops from this can arrive; yet a force could be easily, at this season, brought up to support the bridge of La Colle, which is in itself no position to be held against cannon; but the entrance of the Burtonville road is very favourable for light troops and if they are judiciously posted there, it would be next to impossible for the enemy to force a passage in that direction, and it is not very likely such an attempt would be made; the danger rests in La Colle Mill being taken, by which means we might be forced to retire back on the road to L'Acadie, whereby the troops intrusted with the defence of that entrance would be totally deprived of cover.

"Lastly. Any advance of the enemy upon us could deviate but little from what has been stated in numbers one, two, and three, with any chance of success; it must, therefore, be evident throughout the whole, that the arrival of reinforcements from the rear is the primary object; it, upon this account, becomes essential, that the Major-General should receive the earliest possible intelligence of the appearance of the enemy in any direction, and he, therefore, desires me to request, that in any instructions you may give to the officers in command of the advanced posts, _sending immediate information_ of suspicious movements in their front may be held up to them as of the first importance.

"I am also to acquaint you, that we do not, at present, possess, at St. John's, more means than would enable us to move one regiment at a time up the river Richlieu to your assistance."

No doubt, since 1814, the number of roads from the States into the Canadas have been considerably increased, which must render it still more difficult, without the redoubts I speak of, to make arrangements for the protection of the country; I hope, however, that what has been said, and what are shown to be the difficulties to be met with and overcome, together with the anxiety evinced on the part of the American Government, as to any preparations we may have made in case of a war, to which they evidently look forward, will receive timely and serious consideration, but in any future contest with the United States, the command of Lake Champlain ought instantly to be acquired; and our superiority in war steamers upon all the Lakes cannot possibly be dispensed with, if these fine and valuable provinces of the empire are to be protected from inroads, and consequent devastation; and such is my opinion of the loyalty of the people in general of the Canadas, and even of the Canadians of the French extraction in the Lower Province, if not allowed to be misled by designing men, that, I am convinced, they would readily contribute towards their own defence, rather than be brought under the democratical rule of the United States.

If the whole of our North American territories had arrived at a certain point, when an increased, educated, and intelligent population, and improved resources, had made it safe for them as one nation, to be allowed entirely to manage their own affairs without any interference on the part of the mother country, and that they really desired to do so, Great Britain ought readily to comply with their wishes, yet still remaining their friend and protector, and receiving, in return, every commercial advantage; but to abandon them in their present weak and distracted state, as some men have ignorantly talked of, and even recommended, would only be throwing them into the power of our _friendly_ neighbours, who, thus strengthened, and we proportionally weakened, might, to a certain degree, become more formidable.

I beg, however, to ask, why is Great Britain become, as it were, timid, or reluctant to declare, that no act nor pretensions on the part of the United States can give them a right to incorporate British subjects into their Union without the consent of our Government; and why is it not made known, by proclamation, or otherwise, all over the world, that British-born subjects have no right to renounce, and that they can never be looked upon as having renounced, in whatever part of the world they may think fit to reside, their allegiance to their Queen; and that if any of them are taken in arms on land, or upon the seas, fighting against their countrymen, they shall be tried and condemned as traitors, and become liable to be punished as such. It may probably be said, that in case of a war, this would render desperate many thousands of our seamen now navigating the United States' ships at high rates of wages, and would cause those in their ships of war to fight with a halter about their necks. This might, perhaps, be the case at first with a few of the worthless; but let our seamen be offered the same, or even higher wages than they can receive in the ships of war of the States, or in those of any other country, and I cannot, for a moment believe, that brave men, the descendants of many of those who fought with Nelson, and our other renowned naval chiefs, will abandon their country, though it may have shown itself, perhaps, ungrateful to them or their fathers for former services.

But surely it ought to be high time for us to consider the effects produced by our now rather too long tried _reciprocal system of trade_ with other nations, in which I have never heard, that we had been fairly met, nor do I believe we ever will be met by any of them. Let us, therefore, lay aside for the moment, the wild, and to the generality of men, incomprehensible theories, clothed in the mystical jargon of political economists; and permit me to ask any man of common sense, where reciprocity is to be found in the commercial intercourse between Great Britain and the United States? I suppose reciprocity to mean, in this instance, mutual benefits conferred and received.

A few years ago--and I am not aware of any important change having since taken place--Great Britain professed her principles as regarded reciprocity to be,--"To abolish all discriminating duties affecting the like productions of foreign countries, and in lieu thereof to establish one uniform Tariff for the whole.

"To reduce that Tariff to the lowest degree, consistent, in each particular country, with the two legitimate objects of all duties--either the collection of the revenue, or the protection absolutely requisite for the maintenance of our own internal industry.

"To abolish all discriminating duties upon the navigation of other countries, so that the products and merchandize of these nations, when imported in their own ships, shall be subject to the same rates only as when imported in British ships."

Such principles are certainly most liberal; but in what did the wisdom of those who professed them consist? certainly not in that of this world; if the lofty position of Great Britain was considered at the period when such regulations were framed, and when the then state of our commerce with other nations were taken into account. But let us see how this system has worked. Suppose we speak of cotton, (but we might take, with almost equal advantage, other articles imported into the United Kingdom), as being the chief export from the United States. It is mostly brought to us in American ships, navigated, in a great measure, by British seamen, some of whom they pretend to have naturalized; but at present we shall say no more of this. Our merchants will not of course, employ, to any extent, British ships to bring cotton from the United States, because the Americans can afford, from various causes, not counteracted by us, to convey it cheaper to them. Where then can we find reciprocity in the shipping and seamen employed in this great branch of trade? To balance this fairly, we should surely, if it were only in self-defence, lay a tax upon cotton imported in American, or any other vessels, in order to compel British merchants to employ British ships and British seamen to bring it in its raw state from America, or from our East India possessions, or from any other country where we might think fit to encourage the growth of this article. It may be said that cotton, thus raised in price, would become too expensive for our manufacturers to be able to contend with foreigners in the continental and other markets; but this could not be long the case, for the American carrying trade being thus diminished, they could not afford to convey it at low prices to any country, or to pay their or rather our seamen such high wages; and are we not wisely improving the models of all new ships which are built; and consequently their rates of sailing, so that we shall soon be able to cope in this respect, with the United States ships also.

I may, however, be told that the United States can meet us in this way by laying taxes upon articles manufactured in the British dominions and imported into their Union; or, perhaps, upon the cotton itself, before it is exported to this country. Let them do so if they please, but they will not adhere very long to that plan. We can find cotton elsewhere or substitutes for most of it in flax and wool, to the great benefit of our own colonies, and the Americans would soon create for our advantage, by taxing our wares, a "pretty considerable" body of fair traders out of the present sympathizers all along their most extensive frontier. The last war did this, to my certain knowledge, to a great extent, and I even had a person connected in some manner with a high civil authority of the State of New York caught and brought to me when engaged in this kind of traffic. We had, at the time I allude to, excellent information of what was going forward in the adjoining States to Canada. I was told that a military man of rank was in the habit of crossing the boundary line, generally at night, and it was supposed, judging from some of those who met him, that he came as a spy. I had him therefore taken and marched into St. John's one morning.--I was surprised however to find that he was a very gentleman-like man, both in appearance and manners. He at once acquainted me with his object in venturing so imprudently into Canada: indeed the very unpleasant situation in which he stood as a spy made this quite necessary. He was soon able to convince me by mentioning mercantile houses with which he was connected in Montreal, &c. that though in a kind of military situation, about the high authority I have alluded to, he had no intention whatever of acting the part of a spy, but had only some commercial business of importance on his hands. I had, of course, to report the circumstance of his capture, through Sir Thomas Brisbane, who was then at Montreal upon duty, for the information of Government, and in the meantime I took this gentleman-like person into my own house, he having pledged his word of honour that he would not attempt to escape.

The answer I received to my letter respecting him rather alarmed me on his account, for what I had mentioned as the reasons for his coming into the Province were not deemed sufficiently satisfactory; and I saw they were more inclined to look upon him as a spy than in any other light. I therefore had to examine him again more minutely, and according to instructions sent me; when he gave references to so many respectable mercantile gentlemen as being well aware why he had come into Canada, that I at last received orders to permit him to go back to the States. But during the time I had the pleasure of his company I had also an opportunity of becoming acquainted with a highly-informed agreeable gentleman. But this, I conceive, will show clearly that the fair trade during the war, had fallen into very respectable hands; and from all I knew it was progressing in such a way as to hold out expectations of great improvement had it lasted. I have been induced to be thus minute in order to show how our manufactures are at any time, and under any circumstances, certain of finding their way into the States.

I shall most likely be told by the admirers of reciprocity, that the American ships carry back our wares in return for their raw cotton. This is not the case to any very great extent, and is chiefly done where British mercantile houses have establishments in both countries; for Jonathan will make what he can at home; and he would do much more in this way, if he did not find that he can purchase most articles cheaper ready made, than he can (owing to the great expense of labour, and of living in the States) manufacture them himself, or else he will send for what he wants to the cheapest markets, such as Hamburg, Holland, Belgium, &c. where, we are informed, things are sold at lower prices than what we can afford, even with the aid of science and improved machinery, to make them for; and thus I am again at a loss to understand where reciprocity in trade, carried on with all the advantages on one side, is to be found.

I shall not enter into other branches of commerce, for such matters would not suit this work, nor allude to what is practised by other countries; but the same principles would apply equally to them as to the United States. But it may not, perhaps, be improper here to ask, if it has ever entered into the calculations of our "Squires of the lofty Towers," which we see looking proudly down upon so many parts of the country, in what manner the multitudes they have congregated, like our chiefs of old, around their Baronial castles, are to be fed in case of even a temporary stagnation of trade? But it is beneath them to think of such matters, and they wisely leave subjects of this kind to be discussed hereafter by improvident landlords, who, in consideration of temporary advantages, have granted certain leases of parts of their estates to these _squires_, to enable them to create cities, towns, and villages, the enormous population of which, if it is to be kept in tranquillity, must constantly require the presence of such troops as I have in view.

I am afraid it may be found out before long, that we are rather too closely connected with the United States; and are sacrificing far too much, in a national point of view, and to our serious injury, in order to maintain this imprudent connexion. Has it not already thrown the greater part of the carrying trade into the hands of the Americans; and has it not been the means of seducing from Great Britain her best seamen? Let it, therefore, be made the interests of our merchants to employ our sailors at such rates of wages as they can receive in American or in any other ships. Let us meet countries fairly in commercial affairs, who will really meet us fairly, and let us look less to theories, and more to the essential object of practically promoting our maritime prosperity.

Naval and military men must hereafter be much more closely connected, than they have hitherto been, or I should not, in this work, presume to speak of them as acting together; but must not every contemplative mind foresee, that wonderful changes must soon be wrought by the power of steam, not only upon naval, but also upon military affairs.

We must, therefore, turn our thoughts to it, with the deepest interest, so as to ascertain, in time, what may be the best modes of bringing the vast resources of Great Britain, in this respect, into action; and also to the manner in which powerful armaments are to be conducted with skill and rapidity to points selected for sudden invasion, for that such must be the most prominent feature in all our future wars, will most assuredly be developed, and that too before many years have passed away.

Amongst the great and important changes to be brought about in war by steam, we must look forward to its facilitating, by the certainty and rapidity of the movements of those destined to accomplish the objects in view, the protection, or destruction of much property, both public and private; also to its occasioning, for the same reasons, vast suffering to the inhabitants of the countries fixed upon, for whatever cause, to become the theatres of these awful and devastating operations. I cannot exactly compare them, and their consequences, to the unlooked for descents of the sea-kings of old, yet they must greatly, I fear, resemble them in their destructive and other effects, and they must be felt ere long all over the world. We were, as a nation, allowed by Providence, no doubt for wise purposes, to live so long in, I fear, not duly valued tranquillity and security, under the protection of our splendid navy of former days, that those who remained at home really knew nothing of war, and its attendant trials and privations, but the name. Long may this be the case, and this happy state, when compared with that of other countries, may, in all human probability, be rendered more lasting, if we will only be wise enough to take timely lessons from the past. History tells us of the rapid fall of many once powerful nations--how they fell it is not for me to relate; but Spain, her former greatness, and the causes of her present debasement, should be constantly before our eyes. We are still a great and warlike people, but I trust that we may be enabled to act with judgment, and to take, at all events, such steps as will prevent any other nation from anticipating us in the use of steam for warlike purposes.

Those who have already deeply considered the subject, have come to the conclusion, that a comparatively small, but well constructed, and powerfully propelled steamer, alike overcoming wind and tide; capable of taking up and retaining a position within a certain distance of the largest sailing vessel, may be supposed able to destroy or capture her, however brave or excellent her officers and crew may be, and it is concluded, that this could probably be accomplished with but very little loss or damage, being sustained by the steamer, if judiciously manœuvred, and her commander would besides possess the great advantage, of going into action or not, as he might think most advisable. The old naval tactics, such as that of ships gaining what is termed the weather gage of each other, or any thing of that kind, in going into action, must be wholely abandoned whenever a steamer heaves in sight; for the sailing vessel is at once supposed to be, in a great measure, at her mercy.

But such reasoners also calculate upon what would happen in an engagement between two fleets, in which steam-ships of a large class would be more numerous on one side than the other; for they could at once act together, regardless of wind or weather, and thus concentrating their force, they could cut off or destroy a certain part of their opponent's fleet, before sailing vessels could possibly come to their assistance. They also calculate upon this manœuvre being repeated upon the remainder of the enemy's ships, which cannot escape from these powerful steamers.

These are points, however, for seamen to decide; yet suppose a steamer, calculated to carry only a few traversing guns of the longest range for shot or shells, with what are usually termed percussion locks, to insure good practice even when the vessel is in motion, to be well managed or manœuvred by a skilful naval officer; and should he occasionally use shot heated in the furnaces for the boilers, what a formidable opponent she must prove, especially in a calm, or even in a storm, to any sailing vessel. Many officers may remember what treatment our ships of war frequently met with in parts of the Mediterranean, from even a single Spanish gun-boat, carrying perhaps but one long gun; and when the facility and rapidity of movement of a steamer are considered, there can be no comparison whatever drawn between her and a common gun-boat, even when propelled by sweeps or oars, but which become useless in a rough sea. Such matters as these can, however, be brought by calculation to something very near to certainty as to results.

I am aware that the great difficulty which presents itself at present is how to protect from shot the chimneys, paddles, and machinery of war-steamers; but if, in these times, when science is daily performing such wonders amongst us, sufficient rewards were offered for the best plans for this purpose, I have no doubt but we should soon see much accomplished; but even until this may be effected, the position which can be taken up by the steamer will, it is thought, insure her being no great sufferer from the shot fired from a sailing vessel. But these, and many other points connected with steam, will be fully elucidated the very first war in which we may be seriously engaged; but in the mean time much can be immediately done, by merely making some useful experiments, whereby we may, to a considerable extent, be taught whether it be advisable or not for us to continue, at a great expense, building and equipping, at all events for what may be termed home service, the present description of sailing vessels, or whether it would not be prudent to direct more attention to war steamers, or to those ships which are propelled by both sails and steam; though I should fear that this combination of the two propelling powers must be found objectionable, as both would most likely be imperfect.