matters pertaining to the objects of its institution; the Captain-General, Intendant-General, Archbishop, and other high functionaries, together with a few of the principal merchants and planters, being the officers and members thereof. The islands, which form an extensive archipelago, are of great fertility, producing sugar, tobacco, hemp, cotton, indigo, coffee, rice, and most of the productions of the tropics, in great abundance. Manilla, the principal port, has an extensive and increasing commerce with China, British India, Australia, Europe, and the United States. In 1843, Mr. Palmer sent out to the society, by its order, a considerable quantity of the best American cotton-seed, the culture of which they are desirous of introducing into those islands, chiefly for the China market; he also sent several parcels of Havana, Varinas, and American tobacco-seeds, of the best qualities. The Philippines, including their dependencies, the Marian Islands, are divided into thirty-two Provinces, under the local administration of Governors, or Deputy-Governors. Most of the native Tagalos and Horaforos, have been converted to the Catholic faith. Manilla is the metropolitan See of an Archbishop, and there are three Suffragan Bishops in the Provinces. One of the number, Bishop of New Segovia, Island of Luzon, wrote to Mr. Palmer in 1837, "that his diocese consisted of upwards of six hundred thousand Christian souls.' The government has contracted for three armed steamers for naval defence, to be completed in 1847; and a company of merchants of Manilla are in treaty to procure two steamers, to accelerate communications between that port and the Provinces. The colony is in a very flourishing condition, and yields a large annual surplus to the mother country. Its seas had long been subject to the piratical depredations of the natives of the Sooloo Groupe, and the Illanuns of Majindano, until last year, when they were effectually suppressed, and possession taken of those islands, by a naval armament sent against them by the present energetic Captain-General. The entire population is about 4,200,000. Mons. Isidore Hedde, an attachée of the late French mission to China, who was sent out to make researches in the silk department regarding mulberries, silk-worms, and the manufacture of silks, has attentively observed the mode of cultivation, seeding, planting and grafting those interesting trees; and last autumn examined at the different establishments the ingenious apparatus for avoiding double cocoons; the simple process for reeling the peculiar fine white silk, and the well-known seven cocoon thread; and the several processes of dyeing silk, and weaving, painting, embroidery and sewing of the singularly woven figured silk, exhibiting fig. ures of men, flowers, gardens, &c., peculiar to Suchau, the Lyons of Eastern China. Mons. Hedde has also made a collection of silk-worm-seeds, mulberry-trees, and the ma plant, from which the fine grass-cloth is made, together with drawings and pictures, apparatus and looms. He intends to publish an account of his interesting excursion, and give translations of the different Chinese works on mulberry.trees, the rearing of silk-worms, and weaving of silk, on his return to France. The suggestions of Mr. Palmer are of great importance to the interests of American commerce, and deserve the consideration of the government of the United States. Aside from the commercial value of new openings for the enterprise of our people, the moral and social advantages to be de VOL. XV.-NO. II. 10 rived from free intercourse with these countries, can scarcely be too highly estimated. Let our government, then, by a liberal policy, diffuse abroad its products and the blessings of its free institutions, and reap a golden harvest, in the returns of a lucrative trade, and in the consciousness of having done something for the advancement of the race. Art. III. THE NAVAL FORCE AND COMMERCE OF THE WORLD. THE Comparative naval force and commerce of the principal nations of the earth, is a subject of especial interest, as well as value, in estimating the actual position of those nations with respect to their most prominent interests. Constituting, as it does, a topic which exercises a direct bearing upon national prosperity, whether it is regarded as a branch of enterprise, or a means of defence, we propose to consider it in a very brief form, using those materials which are furnished by recent public documents. The principal of these is a report of the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Bancroft, communicated to the Senate during the month of March last, with accompanying documents, in answer to a resolution which had been passed by that body, calling for such information. We shall first describe the forces of the respective countries, in the order involving the strength of their naval armaments, and then proceed to the consideration of their proportionate commerce in the same order. Pursuing this plan, we of course commence with that of Great Britain. In the strength of her navy, as well as in the amount of her commerce, the British empire stands at the head of the list of nations. With a commerce encircling the globe, and with colonies planted in almost every clime, requiring, perhaps, in the present state of society, a strong navy for their defence, that nation has, in commission, building, and in ordinary, six hundred and thirty-six vessels, mounting, when armed, seventeen thousand six hundred and eighty-one guns, and employing a force of forty thousand men. There are likewise seventy-two revenue vessels, commanded by officers of the royal navy, belonging to that government, thirty-six vessels belonging to the Indian navy, and one hundred and ninety-nine vessels constituting the effective steam navy of the empire. Besides these, are nine East India mail steamers, employing the total number of nine hundred and twenty-two, officers and men. The entire number of vessels in the French naval establishment is three hundred and forty-six; the total number of guns, when all are armed, being eight thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight; and the total number of persons employed in 1845, was twenty-seven thousand five hundred and fifty-four. It has been recently proposed by the French minister of marine, to increase this force to the amount of two hundred and seventy vessels, of which two hundred are to be kept ready for sea, and seventy on the stocks, and of that number one hundred are to compose the steam navy alone. Next in force is the navy of the Russian empire. The Emperor Nicholas, it appears, has recently directed his particular attention to that subject, having, in about fifteen years, remodelled and created two large fleets, one of which is in the Baltic, and the other in the Black sea. The fleet of Constadt now consists of thirty sail of the line, besides those laid up, twenty frigates, about forty sloops, brigs and gun-boats, and several very powerful armed steamers. Russia has also a large force in the Black sea, and the Baltic fleet has a complement of thirty-five thousand men, and costs the government more than twenty-eight millions of silver rubles. This nation has, moreover, a large force in the Caspian sea. The total naval force of Russia is comprised of one hundred and seventy-nine vessels, mounting five thousand eight hundred and ninety-six guns, and it employs an entire force of fifty-nine thousand men, exclusive of the naval force upon the Caspian sea. The naval force of Turkey, during the year 1844, comprised sixty-six vessels, mounting two thousand six hundred and sixty guns, and employing twenty-six thousand eight hundred and twenty men. The navy of our own Union is a subject which perhaps calls for a more particular description than that which we have devoted to the other powers. To its patriotic spirit we are indebted for much of the reputation of the country in war, for its devotion to the public service, and for its tried courage in frequent engagements upon the ocean and the lakes. Its origin may be traced to the period when the command of the army had devolved upon Washington, and to that important juncture of the war of the revolution, in which supplies were transported from England, Nova Scotia, and the West Indies, as well as other places, for the British troops in Boston, who, from their insulated position, were dependent upon transportation by sea for their materials of war as well as for their provisions. During the year 1775, and on the 1st of March, he ordered two schooners to be equipped in Beverly, in the state of Massachusetts, for that object, and other vessels were soon fitted out. The small naval force thus created by Washington was soon organized into a squadron of four schooners. On the 10th of October, 1775, a committee was appointed by the Continental Congress, to equip two swift sailing vessels of ten and fourteen guns, and during the same month two more vessels were ordered to be fitted out for the defence of the American colonies. Thirteen vessels were subsequently directed to be built; and after the independence of the country had been acknowledged, and especially since the constitution has been established, the increase of the navy has been encouraged, not only by the construction of vessels on the part of the government, but by reserving a portion of the timber upon the public lands for the purpose of supplying the materials for naval ships. The naval establishment of the United States is now composed of the following force : The total number of the vessels of the government, of all classes, is seventy-seven, mounting, when armed, two thousand three hundred and forty-five guns, and employing a force of eight thousand seven hundred and twentyfour men. Although this branch of the public service has not increased in the same proportion as the naval forces of other countries, yet it has gradually advanced with the growing commerce of the Union, although it now sustains a greater disproportion to the actual amount of this commerce than that of any other nation.* In order to exhibit the present state of the American navy, we subjoin the following table, for which we are indebted to the Navy Register for 1846, showing the various classes of vessels in the service, as well as their present condition, etc. For many of the facts upon the subject of the navy and commercial strength of the various maritime powers, we are indebted not only to the documents accompanying Mr. Bancroft's report, but also to the United States Nautical Magazine. + Launched at Brooklyn, June 27th, 1846. NAVY-CONTINUED. VESSELS OF WAR OF THE UNITED STATES Name. Rate. Where built. When built. Decatur,..... 16 New York,. 1839, Situation. In ordinary. Preble, 16 Portsmouth, N. H.... 1839, do. Yorktown,.... 16 Norfolk,.. 1839, In commission. Marion,. 16 Boston,....... 1839, do. Dale,........ 16 Philadelphia,. 1839, In ordinary. In commission. Dolphin,..... 10 New York,.... 1836, do. Porpoise, 10 Boston,...... 1836, do. Somers,.. 10 New York,... 1842, do. Truxtun, 10 Norfolk,.. 1842, do. Bainbridge, 10 Boston,.... 1842, do. Perry,... 10 Norfolk,.. 1843, In ordinary. Lawrence,........ 10 Baltimore,.... 1843, In commission. Schooners. Shark,..... Experiment, Washington,........ 1831, do. Flirt,. Tr'd from War Dep. In ordinary. Wave,...... do. Phenix, do. On-ka-hy-e,....... Steamers. Mississippi,.. Fulton,. Union,... Princeton,. Michigan,..... Alleghany,...... General Taylor,... Water Witch,.. Purchased,........ In commission. do. In ordinary. Engineer,.. Store Ships and Brigs. Relief,. Erie,. Lexington,........ Southampton,. Baltimore,...... New York,..... Egypt, although we are accustomed to regard it as a country sunk in barbarism,t possesses a navy consisting of thirty-eight vessels of war, when in commission, mounting one thousand seven hundred and sixty guns. The number of government vessels, besides sloops and brigs of war, are twenty, mounting, when armed, one thousand four hundred and sixty guns. The naval force of Holland, at the present time, consists of forty-eight ships in commission, mounting three hundred and two guns, the total number of government vessels, besides sloops and brigs of war, being one hundred and thirty-four, mounting, when armed, one thousand six hundred and forty-six guns. Sweden has a naval force consisting of three hundred and thirty gun-boats, carrying six hundred and sixty guns, and the number of its government vessels, besides sloops and brigs of war, is three hundred and eighty, mounting one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six guns. Denmark possesses one hundred and eight government vessels of all classes, carrying, when armed, the total number of one thousand and seventy-six guns. Austria has a naval force consisting of four ships of the line, nine frigates, and sixty-one smaller vessels, com Paixhan guns. + We do not think that a navy is any very decisive indication of a high state of true Christian civilization.-ED. MER. MAG. |