t of steamships the like of which the world cannot
equal. Whenever an American citizen takes his passage in a foreign
steamer, and an American one is at hand, he tacitly confesses the
superiority of other lands, in ocean navigation, to his own country, and
he contributes his full share to depress American enterprise, and aids
so far as he can to insure its failure. The eyes of the English nation
are upon our ships; and if we desire the spread of our national fame, we
should, every man of us, labor to sustain our own steamers and
propellers. And the government of our country should strenuously guard
the interests of this available arm of national defence; and the country
at large, would certainly sustain Congress in liberal support of this
truly American enterprise.

Perhaps, Charley, you are ready to say to us, "Well, what do you think,
after all you have been seeing in other lands?". I reply: We think that
we return home with all our hearts more warmly attached to our beloved
land than when we left her shores. We have seen lands, as fair, and
fields as fertile, as our own. We have seen monarchies and republics;
but nowhere have we seen man as erect and self-respecting as at home.
Here we have equal laws, civil and religious liberty, no bishop to
intimidate a day laborer who prefers to pass by his cathedral gates and
worship his Maker in a humbler temple. Here our streets are not labelled
with "_Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite_," but the things signified are
_known_ and _felt_ by every man that traverses these avenues of
business. Here we have not thousands of armed men in this great city to
preserve liberty; but every man enjoys it, and sees nothing of the
government, which, though unseen, is all-powerful in the affections of
the country.

We come home grateful that we have such a country; and though we love
and admire much, very much, in England, yet we rejoice that we can call
the United States our land. We hope we are better prepared than before
we started to do her service. I am quite satisfied, Charley, that God
has not done for any other people what he has for us. We know nothing of
the restless anxiety which depresses men in England as to the means of
procuring the necessaries of life. We have our chief anxieties called
out in reference to the obtaining the _luxuries_ and _embellishments_ of
life; the _necessaries_ are almost certain to every man who has health
and character. But in England, toil is poorly requite