On the twenty-second of the same month, the committee to whom that portion of the president’s message was referred that contemplated a naval establishment, reported a bill in favor of its increase. To this also Mr. Clay gave his most vigorous support, advocating the construction of several warlike vessels, combating the many specious objections of those opposed to its increase, and showed clearly their fallacy. He described three degrees of naval power. The first was one of sufficient magnitude and strength as would enable us to go forth and successfully cope with that of any belligerent nation on the globe. But such a force, he contended, it was out of the power of the American nation to raise, neither under her present circumstances was it particularly desirable. The second, was one by which we should be able to beat off any naval force or armament which Great Britain, or any other nation, might be able to send to and permanently station on our coasts. The force requisite would be about one third of that despatched by the foreign nation, according to nautical experience. He estimated that twelve line-of-battle ships and fifteen or twenty frigates would be sufficient to keep at bay the most formidable fleet England could send against us and maintain in American waters, during her conflict with European powers. A naval force like that, however, he admitted could not be raised then, but he urged congress to take such measures as should secure its construction as soon as possible, and estimated that its completion might be confidently expected in a few years. To him there was nothing in the vast extent of Great Britain’s naval resources intimidating. He maintained that her great distance from us, the perils which would environ a squadron on a foreign shore, and the ease with which, from the extent of our sea-coast, we could harass or escape an enemy, furnished proof sufficient to convince any unprejudiced mind, that we should be able very soon to assemble a navy capable of maintaining all our maritime rights and interests. The correctness of Mr. Clay’s views has since been amply verified, and the accuracy with which he foresaw and foretold future events shows him to have been gifted with no ordinary degree of prescience.