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SYNOPSIS 0* NAVAL ACTIONS.
Ail Article, the first pnrt of which tho reader
will flnil below, linn lately made it* appearance
in the British Naval Chronicle. It appear* to
contain all thnt has hither-to been urged, as well
o- every tiling thnt can bo urucd in extenuation
of*the numerous disasters of Kngtaud during the
last war* on the ocean and tho lakes, together
with a garnishing of invention, sneering, and
sarcasm. Wc have all heard these excuses be
fore, but thero are souie admissions made by this
44 lliitish Naval Officer" in his zcnl to account
.for the almost miraculous disparity of loss in
thi'rio actions, which cannot be accounted for by
tho mere disparity of force, which we consider
as decisive_of the question of superiority. Wc
mean therefore, to t$ive tho whole of it td our rea
?ic'Vin our pwb?e/juent numbers, together with
Hoine accompanying remarks, in order that a fair
judgment may be formed. \Vc have preferred
giving the 44 Synopsis" entire, rather tluin ciuote
extracts from it, not only because wc consider
cd it tho fairest way, bui for the reason that if
on any occasion we deviated into severity of re
mark, our readers might refer to that article for
our justification. *
mow Tim mitTIM If AVAL CHROXICLK
.1 Synofuii of Atrtol .Itliont betisttnthc Stiff* //it /in
fantile MqjrtUt imtlqf the United Stntei, (luring the fatt
lVuv..../tyn Hritith mntil ojfctr in theJimeiicav nation.
" Mr. KiiiTon?l'crmit me to present to you a 11.story
of the encounters of British with American public and
private united ship* i it wo* my intention to narrate such
inuvj of national ships only as were, or by the rule# o
our service should have been preceded by resistance, how
ever alight or unavailing. I have ?into determined to
includeal| hM?e? of regular men-of-war sustained by e.
ther nation through the otlier'* means i nKo casual meet
ings of tho respective nat ional vessel?, in which the strong
or tlircjc hot merely declined engaging, but ranawav from
?n embay often more daring than discreet. American
accounts of these matters are drawn tip not more to am.
mate the c.itlxens, titan to acquire n name among the na
tiona of Europe at our expense. In these metaphysical
productions truth Is never aii obstacle. What Engl.sh'
man can tead them without fe&lingH of indignation f?A
former volume of yours dontains the translation of a let
t. r from the captain of Le tlencrcanx. 74, to tlio French
government, detailing his Capture of the|>eander 50 mn
*ihip. That, except for its brevitv, afford* a tolcrubl.
*pcoimett of the official correspondence of American na
val commander*. . The latf#f have on advantage however
in the talent of their mimevuuh commutators for i1rtw.
ing Inferencei and explaining amMtuitiea to suit the
wialte* of the writer and thelwte of the public. Much
?Jim been said.both in public and private about the cap'
'to re oi *o ninny of otur nat ional vessels by tho American*
our yidebc^ilinn and excureu?on the enemy's ex
j rerutlons Snd boastings have lieen itfvariably resorted
Hons fire sometimes fiudty, but lather for want of mi.
nuteneOt tlmntorsUidiedmMt<eyWi^|p^pn. Ourcmht
has suffered n?re by paintrafc and jcftMRfot* than by the
official sUtcift^nts orftritjan ofllcers.^p handsonie en
graving of the action betwfeu the fiharabn and Chesa
peake is turned from witNJIisgust bytfibse acquainted
with the real force of thefpini. laukiny shows flf.
t'een guns of aside oh her tfcain-dcck, when she had on.
ly four teenier bridal-nort beiffg as usual vacant. Hhould
that pass unobserved he that can read is at on*; inform,
ed below, that the Chesapeake mounted fony-nine, the
Shannon thirty -eight guns. Either Uie actual mounting
or the rate of both ship) should lie given, not the mount
ing of one Arid the rate of the other. This lay* us open
to an enemy who, we should recollect, speaks our own
language, and can therefore recriminate With double ef
fect. . lie*.<lc<?, did the Shannon's act ion need any embel
lishment t The period elapsed since most of ihc battles
were fought, has brought to light many particulars re*
npecting the armament of the Amer.can sli.ps that were
ut first (for purposes of exoltat.on no doubt) Industry
lonely concealed. Of thcte I shall lake advantage, and
any lemalning point of difference lictwcen British and
American statements I sh.il ende.<vorto reconcile. One
r*->*on for deferring this pnblicat .on to so late a period
is not only to collect all tlie iicr<M?ary facts, but to ob
tain a view of tlie adverse statement of audi ncti/wi. tinr?-l
ing l?y ttuit menus topresent the world Willi a fair and
impartial Kiuunviry o* naval occurrcncc* Itetwecn us and
America during die late war, and ?Inch may help ?<-de?
1rot r.nd refute wdk1 at leaat ??f the numerous falsehood*
hitherto *n undcv;at.ng a feature in the maritime record*
of the latter jxiwer. It i* now fully ascertained that the
Amonc.m forty-four* are ennal in length to our first cla#?
tevent)?four*,' and hn:lt with viuilur *cantling, having
their sides l?oth ahove and l?elr- > at least a fourth thick
er than our he;?v.c?t frigate*, 'lliey have 2 entiredeck*,
and carry \he.r lower deck hattery equally high and coin
manding' with llic new razee*. WIkni gosernmcnt re
r.olvcd to have ships able to meet frigate* like ihf* on
e pi.d term*, they ihould have fitted out n/ro with 2\
ixtuii'lerK on the lower deck?-reierving at the name tiit.e
few *h.ps armed like? c Majestic and Hatum (with long
.52%) to cope with thr new tli rty-two pounder fr.gatc*
now fitting fur mm in Philadelphia ?nd Baltimore Ship*
if the former kiwi, well manned and ap|K>'.nted, would
'*f,it more I kely to *ueeccd m a longchMe action with
;he Arner can f.irty-foor tlmu '.he "slight Irtiilt" fir fifty*.
I !ic Amer ? were manv ) car* ago fully sensible nf the
?el', antral * to lie der w:d from having tlieir *hi)>* of war
?.t't..r g,e.%trr force than the.r rate implied, and the mea
Mtrv ?as deliberately rou?:<lercd and resolved on by the
government How f.r the imposition thus wikmnlv re
Mtlw-dnpou, when ifterwards??rried intnefUct, benefit'
ted thi*cuiimng|?c<>p|e, i* now Jmt too well known. The
? apt'ire of our picket?? or of tlie ciiism)** ?evcnut-cut.
tcr* attfl gttr.-l*iat* will !?? cuhhlcd from the plan?a!
?hough upwards of twrnty of the latter baser l>ccn I ??
ken ordestfojed, ami tin- l??r>i.*r?'?*- the unparalleled ?le
tenren th'" hutemadr, r ,<d: <o the annaU of fame.
O n lirst iu.h to the Aincn .us was the' Whitir.g schoon*
? r of fi?tir gum. Hhr wits taken at anchor in \ nicr.mn
w tieri, ignorant of th*n War. The ne\" was the Alert
s xtien guns ami forty-four m?m She nu down up
? ?n a-i ! eii|(.itfril lor scleral tiiMite* tin- K .se*,t'apt |*i?r
ter, 01 le.ifly f.?ur time* her fn<e. I'.vcn lashnes* I k?
thi.???, |ii<'feralile to a surrender 1 ke that of the froluk 1
to the Orpheus and Hh'-lhutne. NVIien the Amer.can
i.ipudron first pro* ceiled to wu at tltc comment ciuent ot
the \?ur, their nfcn Were thoroughly drilled .i the guns,
iiiul the -everal situsfon* of bo:it*\t4in, gunner, captain
?if the guns, fee. on hoard every ship, were priwi pdl>
filled l?y Hntish ?ean.cn. At tins tiericd mir half-m inn
cd -Uips hiving no enemy, to dre.nl, (French ship* U-.ng
??eliloto out) were carelessly cruising .hout n eicry sc.t.
Thus whs met by the American th>|i CouviVtt on, on the
V'tli of August, 1812, the frig.ito li'ierrn re, returning
it.Vi port with sprung masts Mtcf a long ctu<;c. A lon?j
action ensued tad md burnt* .Tlie
AmcricMi captain omitted toSnen.
tton the foroc of I t* br then; The
furnvtr 1 hate obt 1< V- belonged <0/
her, and the Istte BcUl account of
tl* action. To ? or etch ship fo
guged in,thcd,fle ?tl, I ihrtll pre*
?c?t tho broad ?i*t y, and whet* a
shiftinggun is on oit. Tlic IWh
ritro bad a gun it tin deck, Includ
ing the bridal otv ring her. by <tlve
mm!, whlcli tvw m1 such bow.gun
could not be used cfore will bo c*
eluded from the cc'of the Coniti
tutkm In guns an rom an American
statement subieouim,, u \y? tw%? them, and agrees
within six pound* with that published incnptainDacnV
letter lo tho sdtoirulty. The following.tbett is ait ?sli
mate of the force engaged in that action.
Uiurritrt. C'cnttliutitn.
(Rating 38, m't'tng 44 gs.) (Rit mg44, mVmg 56 gs.J
Brnddde?Main deck, 1-1 JBnadtlUe?Lower deck }i
181k long guns. 252lhs..?< 12511* loitg gun* 3<501bi".
Quarter deck, 1 91b do. 0 Upper deck, i do. do. .34
Forecastle, 8 321b car. 356 Spur do. 12 321b
5ir 768
With probably one or two With howitters In all the
?mull boat gunt. tope, and nometaat gunsi
Men (It boys included) 263 Men "all picked." 47o
Measurement, 1084 ton*. Mcas'ment, (Kng.) 10301k.
Superiority on the JintrJcan Wtfc?In weight ol^metnl
n??three to two. In number of men a*?nine to live.
In sine of vetucl a??thrco to two. With Mich dWpuritjrt
of furcc no one ran Ikj Mirnrinvd at the result of thin w>
tion. Hut certainly had tlic (juvrricic'a men been liali
oa well "killed in tlic use of the great guns u? the Con*
Mtitution'a were, the proportion of killed ntul wounded
would nothavu been so great as fourteen to seventy-eight,
nor one ?hip made u complete wreck of, while the other
suffered no mitcrinl injury in hull or r.gging. Thcte
uro lamentable truthi that betrayed a laxity nt discipline
on board our ship*, ntul which in ihc eour?c of time would
lutve ruined bur navy. Thank* to the war with Atncr.ca,
?o fatal a catutrophe is not now likely to happen again."
A Cursory Jt.vamination of"A Synopsis, dj'c.M
Tho4* naval officer on tlic American station"
seta out with the assertion of the fact, that in
every action that occurred during the last war,
tho superiority eithar ill men, gun* or Hhips, was
on the aide of the Americans. Our ships arc all
great seventy-fours ; almost as large hb Ptole
my's great galley?our guns throw trice or
thrice as many pounds of nail, at a bioadside;
and our men are not only much inorc numerous
but much taller, stronger, braver, more active,
dexterous and |io\v?rfut than the poor little heel -
eating jack tars of 014 Etiglalid. The" Bri
tish naval officer,'* doubtless Intending that hi*
work should bea romance,has set otttin iltege
nuine tract of the writers of Sir Tristan, Don
Hclianis, and the peers of Charlemagne, whose
heroes never yieltled to any thing less than a
misbegotten uiant, a magic sworn, or an odds of
at least fifty to one. This is the true language
of fable, and no doubt the admiralty selected lor
its defender one of the most learned in the ro
mances of the middle ages. Such a writer was
well calculated to make the betft of a bad bar
gain, for though he couldjtot actually gain a vic
tory over us, lie could tell exactly why tve ought
i to nave been victorious, and it is always a mar
velous consolation to know the reason of any
thihg. The ingennity of the .English has been
exhausted to find excuses during the last war,
and had their officers and sailors been halfss
7.ealous in defending the honor of their flag, u?
their writers, these Fast had not been put to such
straits for excuse*, devices and inventions.
One of the arts resorted- to in England, fur
many years paBt, in all the official statements,
as well as that romantic Action," Steele's List."
has been, anil still is, that of stating the whole
number of guns, of a captured ship, and only
the number at wliieli the vessel capturing was
rated, thus always making it appear that they
had conquered a superior enemy. Hut the mo
ment tho captured vessel is nut on Steele's List,
as a government ship, you will find her frequent
ly rated below the vessel by which she was ta
ken. The (Juerriere at the time of her capture
from the French was called a large forty-four,
but in Steele's List, we find her transformed in
to a thirty-flight j utiy? even tho candid author
of tho Synopsis notwithstanding his affecting
lamentation* on account of tlio national credit
being injured by painter* and journalist*, him
kcII adopt* thin very practice, with an easy ef
frontery that would surpi iso u* in a writer of any
other nation. So far, however from agreeing
with him, that the reputation of the English na
vy has been tarnished by the painters and jour
nalihts, we aro of opinion that it i* principally
owing to the exertion* of these worthy gentle
mmi that it ha* now any reputation at all.-?
Were it not for the fine pictures of the one, and
the fine stories of the other, it would Imrdly now
Iks believed that the navy of Kngland was once
mistress of the ocean?that44 the rolling sea was
llritain's wide domain"?or that old Neptune
was once absolutely henpecked by llritannia.
The observation, however, which ihe 44 l)riti?h
officer on the American station" has coupled
with his charge against the painters and journal
ists, is not only just, but it netrays a curious se
cret, as well as a very diverting perplexity. It
seems lie is willing that these patriotic rogues
should continue tliis practice or overrating tlie
force of an enemy, and diminishing their own,
in respect tolhe French and Spaniards, because
they don't understAnd English?and therefore
can't turn his falsity against the inventor*?or
if they did, ItoncHt John Hull could not under
stand them, and no harm would be done, lint
~and 44 there's the rub"-?we Americans can
understand and read English, (though it seems
we can't write it,) and conscquentl) fan expose
these unblushing bravadoes and turu them hack
upon their authors. This is a great stumbling
block in the way of the modern writers of llri
tisli romances. e fear .St. Meurgc will ue\er
kill another dragon, and are really inclined to
feel a little sympathy with the poor 44 llritisli of
ficer on the American station."
The writer of the Synopsis has placed the cap
ture of the Chesapeake at the head of his lint,
although it did not occur until long after several
other engagements which had a different result.
"Whether tliis it to pat himielf in spirits fur his
herculean task, or merely t</piit John Bull jn a
good humor, we ar* unaftlo to My. But we c?h*
Hot forbear givii:g an opinion tf:at it is ill-judg
ad?haought tohave saved it for u Boime-boucln*,
at tye last, aim then Ids guests might possibly
have risen from his feast of Polonium, with more
satisfaction. Although* by the aid of a carpen
ter's rule to measurer?together with a reasona
ble assumption of British ingenuity, wo could
very easily account fm* thccanturo of this vet*
set, and prtAe how It ought ana should hnvc hap
pened \ yet, to m&k? short work of it, we will
give th* British officer the Cltesapcake and let
liiut make the most of her. She wan always con
sidered an unfortunate ship, and every one
ktyows tins influence of such an impression on
the mind ofSa. sailor. Hut we admit that the
Chesapeake was taken by an ?i)ual enemy, and
further that this exploit roquires no further em*
bellishmont. It certainly lias been already suf*
flciently embellished, by the painters und jour
nalists heretofore denounced ov the British of
ficer ; the gentlemen of Suffolk have presented
Cant. Broke with a piccc of plnte, and compar
cd liiin to Lord Wellington?and his royal mas
ter hoH einliellished his merit with the order of
kntahthood?assuredly then this exploit requires
no further embellishment, and if It (till we might
And it in Cant. Brake's official letter, wherein
he assure* Mr. Croker thut 44 both ships came
out of the action as if they Imd only been tiring
salutes." We never heard of such'pieasunt sa
lutes as these?they killed and wounded eighty
four tnen of the Shannon, und came very near
sending that vessel in search of tho (Jucnine
and Java. Hoe ever, we give them the credit
of this atVair, as well an that of tho Argus, altho1
in the former, the British had Ave, and in the
latter three more guns ; and having su done, we
require of thcin eijaal candor in their ackuowl
edgmllitH. It is really paltry to deny what all
the world kiityvs, and we cpicsttovi whether the
reputation of Kngland ban suffered as much even
by her defeats, as by her disingenuous and shuf
fling attempts to deny them.
For ourselves, wc freely admit tin ir claim to
the honour of capturing tho Chesapeake, and the
admission is no small proof of our magnanimity,
because it is conceding an honor such as they
have not been much accustomed to boast of in
their contest with tho people of tho United States.
It is this single solitary instance which is assu
med by the British officer ns the groundwork,
the proof of a claim to superiority which cannot
be disputed, although wc have sixteen or eigh
teen proofs to oppose to this modern miracle.
Before the " British officer"-?the unfortunate
British officer, we might say?begins his exami
nation of his special cases, lie attempts to esta
blish certain tcneral facts, which wc will also
admit without hesitation. lie insists upon it
thatour strips are better ships?that they arc bet
ter manneo?and that their guns arc better ma
naged than those of the British. Wc agree per
fectly with him in nil these positions, and here
we might leave the controversy to rest. What
19 it that constitutes the superiority which we
Claim, but these things?anil on what other twsis
can a superiority on the ocean be founded ? vVe
have better ships, better men?and wc fire bet
ter. Really if wc were Knglishmcu, wo should
not thank the admiralty for sucJi a defence?and
were we British naval ufficers, we. should fool
excessively mortified at. the service to which we
belonged being thus stripped of its laurels in this
insidious manner to give them to our adversary.
But it sceius that tlio British naval officers ne
ver before discovered this superiority in. our
ships, and men, and guns, and gunnery. Both
in the ports of th* United States, and in the
Mediterranean, during our war. with Tripoli,
they had various opportunities to become sc
ouaintcd with the foree and armament of our
snips. Several of our frigates were at Gibraltar
while sir James Baumarez' fleet lay in the bay.
Fre(|uent visits were exchanged between our
officer* and his, ami the latter had ample time
and opportunity to form a correct est imate of our
men anil ships. It was the same when thasqua
dron of admiral Keith lay there. Our frigates
were at Molta when the expedition came from
Egypt, and auo when the British fleet arrived
from the Dardanelles : so also when lord Nel
son mistimed the command of the flcotthat after
wards gained the battle of Trifalgar, as well a*
ivhe.it a Russian and English combined fleet
came to {Syracuse from the levant, destined to
net against Naples, we met them daily. In
short, in every part of the Mediterranean ves
sel* of either nation fell in with each ether sing
ly, and in squadrons, aitd prompted either liy
courtesy or curloftity, the ofheers almost invaria
Idy exchanged visit*. On these occasions they
were led through every part of the ship, and per
mit ted, nay invited, to examine every thing, for
it wan a matter of pride to show the high order III
which the vessels of the United States we tc Kent.
Yet with this intimate and perfect knowledge
of our slrip!* and our men, the British officers al
ways gave the preference to their own, and their
opinions gave me to various escelleut joke* that
were uttered in and out of the ftritisn l'arliu
ment-at the commencement of the war ; but
which gradually died away, and are now only
remembered by those at whose expense they first
came abroad. Shortly before the war, the Con
stitution, under captain Hull, was in an Eng
lish port, as waualso the Essex, captain Smiths
both were throned with British naval officers
during their stay t and we well remember that
on her departure, *lie w as called by these gentle
men?and the phrnsc went the rounds of tho
newsnancrs with treat applause?" a bunch of
1 bounf*' ?" a tir Iniilt ship w ith a bit of striped
hunting at Ikm tua *f-head . No doubt captain
Hull remciuhercd these pleasant jokes, in good
time, and poor captain Oacrcsptiid the pipci for
other people's daix ilig.
Thus the mutter stood wbmi ft* war began,
and it was discovered iu a little, time by these
same sagacious officers, that thu same 44 bunch
of pine boards" was unaccountably metauior*
phosod into a Moventv-fuur in disguise! What
excellent judges of ships of war mutt these offi
cers of the royal navy be, who always preferred
tlicir frigates to oyrs, aud nick-namca honest
Old iron tides4k a bunch of pine boards!" We
hardly know which mobt to rdmire. the pertina
city with which they at first denied the equality*
of our ships, or the obstinacy with which thoy
now insist ujk?? their superiority* Your new
con with, however, are vfcry opt* to so bevond
the mark, aud to it hat fared with John hull,
who has passed from a most exalted contempt,
ton most degrading admiration of our prowess,
which he demonstrate* every day by abusing uo
manfully, calling us *? bastards," aud devising
very imrenious excuse*, for wliat every body but
him tell icnows is the consequence of his owu
want of skill and courage, ami his senseless pre
sumption of n superiority, which, if lie ever pos
sessed, he has lost forever.
It was not until the capture of the Guorriere,
by 44 a bunch of pine boards,"?(poor John !)?
that the Dritish na\ ul officers discovered, to ti.eir
great astonishment, no doubt, that the American
forty-four-gun frigntcs w ere 1* in length coital to
our first class of seventy-folios, and built with
similar scantling $ having their sides, both above
and below, nt least a fourth thioker than our
heaviest frigate* so says 44 tlm Dritish ofll
cer on the American station/' Ye gods?what
n metamorphosis of44 a bunch of pine boards !**
Ovidcfc 'Trittibus is nothing to John Dull r/c Trif
tibua t but fear is a great magnifier as well a*
multiplier, and doubtless some of these valiant
officers, like Jack Falstaff, multiplied 44 ?cant
ling." aud 44 length," and44 grins," as that vali
ant knight did his 44 men in buckram." There
is little doubt that Shakespeare intended this Cat
knight for the representative of John Dull, and
it must he confessed that, with the exception of
his wit, there is a striking resemblance.
Captain Dacres had seen American frigates a
hundred times, yet tflis superiority iu sifce and
scantling, it seems, never struck him until tlip
Constitution guve him such a terrible drubbing ;
then, foi hootli. for the first time, his perception
w as quickened, as they quicken that of the lit
tle boys at school?by tho application of th?
birch. Defore that, this gallant commander
sorted the name of Ids ship on his top-sails in
defiance of the 4( bunches of pine boards." In
the heyday of imaginary superiority, ho endor
sed a formal challenge on the register of a mer
chant vessel. Nay, when he saw the Constitu
tion running down to him, he said to his men
there is a Yankee frigate > in forty-five minute*
she is ctrOtinly ours;?-take her iu fifteen and I
promise you four months nay." It is also cre
dibly reported that lie ? " u prepared a hogshead
of molasAcs and water to treat the Yankee pri
soners ; but we will not vouch for thin liberality,
sinco it happened unluckily for him that he had
no np|>?rtNiiity of puttinglus gejierous intentions
into operation. Whether he would have kept
his promise to his ship's crew, mast also forcvor
remain a matter of uncertainty.
Now it came to pass thut after the capture of
the Gucrriere, the Macedonian, the Java, and
some other of bis ships, John Dull called for hU
two-foot rule, and began to measure the length*
aud breadth, aud thickness of his unfortunate
vessels, and found that our frigates were a match
for his seventy-fours, a discovery which delight
ed the people of the United States beyond mea
sure, and gave tho last blow to theft apprchenew
ons of the British navy. He then got a nice
pair of seata*> and putting on his spectacles, be
gan weigh Romeofnurca'nnon balls that had
stuck itihjfs ribs, dud to calculate the w eight of
our iron metal, instead of looking to another
kind of mem for the true canse of his nume
rous and deplorable disasters. Some way or or
ther, with toe uid of measuring, and weighing.
and calculating, and putting on a little here, and
clipping away u little thcrejic managed to mako
nut a tolerable case, at leant ho managed to put
a good face on the matter, and Imving collected
all the forco of calculation, misreprcserouWion,
and abuse, lie has poured it upon our heads in
the form of a synopsis, the first part of which wo
have given to the reader* in our present number.
It will Iw perceived thnt the " British oflfcer
on the Americun station" takes up and examine*
separately each action, stating a sort of debtor
and creditor account* and striking the balance
with affected arithmetical precision. Thin me
thod might have had its effect upon us some llvo
or mix years ogo, when the reputation of Knglish
official statements for veracity stood somewhat
| higher than at present. At all events, it U n.
method exceedingly well calculatcd to deceive,
since we involuntarily pay a greater reuard to
these arithmetical statements, without relict ting
that a falsehood mav a* easily l>e cotiveved in fi
gures, as in uw|uaAfled assertions. We have
only to admit the premise* of the author of the
Synopsis, which are mere founded on assertion,
so far as they relate to our vessels, and all tlm
rest follows of course. It is only necessary, by
thi? modoof establishing facts, to assert that one
ship carrie* thirty-eight twenty-four's, ami ano
ther forty-nine thirty-two's ; and this being as
sumed, the calculation of the weight of bull fired
in every broadside respectively will bu undenia
ble. Autthis is no w ay of demonstrating facts,
for though it i* permitted a reasonor to prove tho
truth of a hypothetical axiom by the assumption
of his premises, another and a more solid badi
is necessary in establishing fact*.
A writer whose professed pbject was to give
'* a fair and iinpurtiul summary of naval concur
rencesbetween Kixjlaml and America during the
late war, and to detect and refute some at least
of the numcrnuH falsehoods hitherto so undevia
ting a feature iu the maritime records of the lat
ter power," ou^lit certainly to Itave had tho
courtesy to inform 'iv how he came by the bsuis