620 On the Personnel, Materiel, and [JUNE, 



harbours, little was effected by it. Whenever the Americans were so 

 unmindful of the advantages which they had in the sailing of their ships 

 tvhich always enabled them to choose, as an antagonist, a vessel of infe- 

 rior force as voluntarily to join encounter with a ship of equal force, 

 the issue was of a different nature ; as may be seen by the Chesapeake 

 accepting the challenge of the Shannon, and by the surprise of the Essex in 

 a bay of South America. The capture of the President frigate by block- 

 ade, in which case ships were directed against her on all points, cannot be 

 adduced as proof of the inferiority of her sailing qualities. But even in 

 that case we are indebted to the French for the model of the Endymion 

 the Pomone, which was the chasing ship, and under whose fire she prin- 

 cipally suffered ; though, subsequently, the Majestic, a seventy-four gun 

 ship, cut down expressly for the occasion, and the rest of the squadron, 

 took part in the capture. Chiefly owing to the qualities of their vessels, 

 did seven or eight American frigates wage war successfully with the British 

 navy, and capture the Guerriere fifty-gun frigate ; Java and Macedonia 

 frigates ; and the smaller sloops of war, Avon, Peacock, and Frolic ; with 

 about twelve hundred larger and smaller ships of the merchants. With great 

 justice do the people of the United States attribute their success in part to 

 their ship-builders; while, on the same score, we deplore the deficiency of 

 ours. 



We know that it is the opinion of many inconsiderate persons that the 

 qualities of ships cannot influence the result of a naval war; but we can 

 acquaint them that the most cursory perusal of naval history will convince 

 them of their error. In how many actions, under Hughes, Rodney, Byng, 

 and Barrington, have our gallant sailors missed gaining the victory solely 

 by the miserable qualities of their vessels? the sailing of which ships may 

 properly be compared to the floating of a haystack before the wind. Our 

 best naval politicians affirm, that the adoption of coppered bottoms by the 

 French, previous to its introduction into our navy (which, by keeping the 

 bottom clean, improves the sailing), was a principal cause of their success 

 under Suffrein in the East-Indies. Our wars with Hyder Ally, at that 

 time, rendered the co-operation by sea doubly necessary. 



3. On the science with which the navy is conducted must depend its 

 efficiency in a great degree. There is a very foolish idea on this subject 

 generally adopted that practice is every thing, and that the study of the 

 subject may, therefore, be neglected. Now, few assertions can be more 

 childish than this ; because every act ought to be examined before it is 

 .performed. Inferences must be drawn from former experience: these 

 inferences must be compared ; and the more account we take of our pro- 

 ceedings, the more correct will be our results. To blunder on without 

 thought, is the worst of all modes. It is true that the greatest fool will 

 learn something in time ; hut, if he had had his senses, he might have 

 learnt a better mode of proceeding. We have before seen that our great 

 practice in ship-building, during our long wars, taught our master ship- 

 wrights little, because they were unable, for want of education, to calcu- 

 late arid bring their experience to account : they were " obliged to copy 

 foreign models, from riot cultivating the subject," as Mr. Knowles says. 

 The experience of an educated man in the art is not less than another's ; 

 but he brings his experience to better account. We must refer here to an 

 article on " Naval Architecture and Nautical Economy," in the last. 

 Journal of the Royal Institution: it is a review of a periodical work, 



