34 efforts and at vast cost, they might ferry across the Atlantic from 240,- 000 to 275,000 soldiers, with all their armaments and supplies. This would, however, be doing far more than they were able to do in the Crimean war, though largely aided by American steam transport ships. At no time in the year can they in one voyage readily transport 100,000 soldiers, and the immense amount of necessary arms and supplies. Even if able to shelter their soldiers till the last detachment arrives, and all move together, some nine or ten mouths after hostilities should arise they would stand in the presence of disciplined troops twice as numerous as themselves in the presence of troops who have fought far more battles against resolute troops than themselves a few thousand French troops alone excepted. The American troops regiment for regiment six months from today, will be as well drilled, m better condition and practice, will have seen more active service and as many battles, and will be better armed, than the regiments to which they will stand opposed, and will be more than twice as numerous. Their next means of assault consists in vessels of war numerous and powerful and, in addition, the English have constructed canals from the St. Lawrence into the great chain of American lakes, to enable them to convey gun-boats into these waters. We have no such connection with the ocean. They can transport their gunboats among our commercial vessels, and in front of our interior cities, along a lake coast of more than two thousand miles, unopposed. We have nothing at this time absolutely nothing with which to oppose them on these great inland seas. But, per contra, we have to-day more armored vessels genuine iron-clad than both France and England. That much good has come out of this evil rebellion. In a few weeks not months we shall be able to teach the English, if they demand it of us, a new version of the naval lessons of 1812. Six or eight of our armored vessels can readily destroy the entire unarmored fleet of England. We shall soon have afloat iron-clad vessels, armed with carefully tested ordnance, carrying elongated projectiles with " punch points," of four hundred and eighty pounds, fully competent first, to resist the concentrated fire of the Warrior, aided by the La Gloire, A apoleon's largest iron-clad ship ; and second, by the use of shot alone to sink both of them, should they come within its range. We now have on hand the tested ordnance competent to speedily destroy any vessel yet armored by any nation. Our iron-clads are the most numerous at this time, and cannot be exceeded prior to January or February next. The English troops are dispersed all over the world to guard isolated colonies Her available troops cannot be massed to an amount of eighty thousand ; and one hundred and fifty thousand, if she had them, would not be troublesome to a powerful nation, possessing from 800,000 to 1,000,000 of troops already called to the field ; and the French army, once shut on shipboard, even if convoyed by the whole English and French fleet, could not in an ordinarily fair fight escape destruction. A single conflict between an English or a French iron-clad and one of our far more heavily armed iron-clads will settle that question. The result will be so decisive as to admit of no mistake, if there is any virtue in ordnance throwing projectiles four times heavier than any approved gun with which any English or French vessel is now armed. Let us examine our means of defence. Of course, before going into battle, a soldier puts on his armor ; when a
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