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the peace and friendship of every nation, even of that 

 which has injured us most, when we shall have carried 

 our point against her. Onr interest will be to throw 

 open the doors of commerce, and to knock off all its 

 shackles, giving perfect freedom to all persons for the 

 vent of whatever they may choose to bring into our 

 ports, and asking the same in their's. Never was so 

 much false arithmetic employed on any subject, as that 

 which has been employed to persuade nations that it is 

 their interest to go to war. Were the money which it 

 has cost to gain, at the close of a long war, a little 

 town, or a little territory, the right to cut wood here, 

 or to catch fish there, ex[)ended in improving what they 

 already possess, in making roads, opening rivers, build- 

 ing ports, improving the arts, and finding employment 

 for their idle poor, it would render them much strong- 

 er, much wealthier and happier. This I hope will be 

 our wisdom. And, perhaps, to remove as much as pos- 

 sible the occasions of making war, it might be better 

 for us to abandon the ocean altogether, that being the 

 element whereon we shall be principally exposed to 

 jostle with otlier nations : to leave to others to bring 

 what we shall want, and to carry what we can spare. 

 This would make us invulnerable to Europe, by offering 

 none of our property to their prize, and would turn all 

 our citizens to the cultivation of the earth ; and, I re- 

 peat it again, cultivators of the earth are the most vir- 

 tuous and independent citizens. It might be time 

 enough to seek employment for them at sea, when the 

 hmd no longer offers it. Jjut the actual habits of our 

 countrymen attach them to conurierce. They will ex- 

 ercise it for themselves. W^ars then must sometimes 

 be our lot ; and all the wise can do, will be to avoid 

 that half of them which would be produced by our own 

 follies and our own acts of injustice ; and to make for 

 the other half the best preparations we can. Of what 

 nature should these be ? A land armv would be use- 

 less for offence, and not the best nor safest instrument 

 of defence. For either of these purposes, the sea is the 

 field on which we should meet an European enemy. 



