display the revered stripes, which record the original size of our
political family, and shall shed its benign light over all mankind, to
point them to the paths of self-government and constitutional liberty.

He here referred to the history of the Democratic party, and numbered
among its glories the various acts of territorial acquisition and
triumphs through its foreign intercourse in the march of civilization
and National amity, as well as in the glories which from time to time
had been shed by the success of our arms upon the name and character
of the American people. He alluded to the recent attempt by some of
the governments of Europe, to engraft upon National law a prohibition
against privateering. He said whenever other governments were willing
to declare that private property should be exempt from the rigors of
war, on sea as it is on land, our government might meet them more than
half way, but to a proposition which would leave private property the
prey of national vessels and thus give the whole privateering to those
governments which maintained a large naval establishment in time of
peace, he would unhesitatingly answer no. Our merchant marine
constituted the militia of the sea--how effective it had been in our
last struggle with a maritime power, he need not say to the sons of
those who had figured so conspicuously in that species of warfare. The
policy of our government was peace. We could not consent to bear the
useless expense of a naval establishment larger than was necessary for
its proper uses in a time of peace. Relying as we had and must
hereafter upon the merchant marine to man whatever additional vessels
we should require, and upon the bold and hardy Yankee sailor, when he
could no longer get freight for his craft, to receive a proper
armament, and go forth like a knight errant of the sea in quest of
adventure against the enemies of his country's flag.