in his day.
And here let me express my zealous thanks for the spirit and beauty with
which you have pursued, through all its details, the course of martial
policy which you recommend. Too much praise cannot be given to this
which is the great body of your work. I hope that it will not be lost
upon your countrymen. But (as I said before) I rather wish to dwell upon
those points in which I am dissatisfied with your 'Essay.' Let me then
come at once to a fundamental principle. You maintain, that as the
military power of France is in progress, ours must be so also, or we
must perish. In this I agree with you. Yet you contend also, that this
increase or progress can only be brought about by conquests permanently
established upon the Continent; and, calling in the doctrines of the
writers upon the Law of Nations to your aid, you are for beginning with
the conquest of Sicily, and so on, through Italy, Switzerland, &c. &c.
Now it does not appear to me, though I should rejoice heartily to see a
British army march from Calabria, triumphantly, to the heart of the
Alps, and from Holland to the centre of Germany,--yet it does not appear
to me that the conquest and permanent possession of these countries is
necessary either to produce those resources of men or money which the
security and prosperity of our country requires. All that is absolutely
needful, for either the one or the other, is a large, experienced, and
seasoned _army_, which we cannot possess without a field to fight in,
and that field must be somewhere upon the Continent. Therefore, as far
as concerns ourselves and our security, I do not think that so wide a
space of conquered country is desirable; and, as a patriot, I have no
wish for it. If I desire it, it is not for our sakes directly, but for
the benefit of those unhappy nations whom we should rescue, and whose
prosperity would be reflected back upon ourselves. Holding these
notions, it is natural, highly as I rate the importance of military
power, and deeply as I feel its necessity for the protection of every
excellence and virtue, that I should rest my hopes with respect to the
emancipation of Europe more upon moral influence, and the wishes and
opinions of the people of the respective nations, than you appear to do.
As I have written in my pamphlet, 'on the moral qualities of a people
must its salvation ultimately depend. Something higher than military
excellence must be taught _as_ higher; something more fundamen