HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

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was of a navv, could venture an opposition to one, whose fleets were, bevond dis-pute, superior to those of every single nation on the face of the globe. It is in thepower of anv country whatever to declare war against another, and to sendforth the most powerful fleets in a determined state of hostility, but it remainswith the countrv attacked, provided its force be not central, or nearly so, to deter-mine whether it will refer the decision of the contest to that species of arbitration,or eke out its own inefficient means by such policy and arrangement as shall ap-pear most likelv to counterpoise the superior weight of its adversaries. Americapossessed not the shadow of a force entitled to the appellation of a mv\ ; thewhole of its state marine, even after the war had been continued for a consi-derable space of time, amounted to no more than ten or twelve frigates, in-cluding some vessels which were scarcely entitled to so high a rank : the resistanceof America was, however, far from ineffectual, or unprofitable, even in the firsthours of warfare. The prospect and hope of advantage encouraged a multi-tude of adventurers to equip vessels whose force, though trivial when comparedto a fri?ate, or even a sloop of war, was sufficiently able to cope with, and mas-ter, whatever merchant ships might fall in their way. On account of theconstructors’attention being directed almost solelv to one point, and owingto a certain portion of skill which they possessed and had derived from a longexperience in the art of building, with reference and regard to swiftness onlv, theheavy sailing vessels employed in the purposes of British commerce fell oeforethem an easv prey. Even the ships of war which were, in order to check thedepredations of these naval wasps, sent to protect the unarmed merchants, be-came not unfrequently foiled in their pursuit; and increasing success, as a naturalconsequence, created increasing exertions.

The American marine, however, soared not, but with very few exceptions,in its private capacity, beyond the classes of brigs or schooners ; tffose of the for-mer denomination proved particularly destructive. 'Their dimensions were farenlarged beyond those limits which it had been customarv to give vessels in thatclass, and their force, on many occasions, exceeded the greater part of the Britishsloops ot war, nearly equalling some of the minor frigates. In defiance of thecommon prejudice then entertained against long and narrow vessels, the Americanbuilders ventured their opposition, and the success which attended the princi-ples they introduced, materially differing from the practice of any countrv atthat time, proved their superior skill in the construction of corsairs.

Vol. III. F f

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