"That's been going on for three years now. It's either piracy or
war, and, in either case, it's our duty to fight."
"Jersey's dead against war," said a legislator from down the river.
"Jersey always was dead against everything that was for the
national good, sir," said a red-faced, puffy, military man, with
a husky voice, a rolling eye, and a way of ending every sentence
in "sir."
"So is Connecticut," said another; "they say, 'Look at all our
defenceless coasts and harbour towns.'"
"They're not risking as much as New York," answered the
governor," with her harbours all the way up the Hudson and her
back door open to invasion from Canada."
"Fortunately, sir, Pennyslvania, Maryland, and the West have not
forgotten the glories of the past. All I ask -- is a chance to
show what we can do, sir. I long for the smell of powder once
more, sir."
"I understand that President Madison has sent several protests,
and, in spite of Connecticut and New Jersey, will send an
ultimatum within three months. He believes that Britain has all
she can manage, with Napoleon and his allies battering at her
doors, and will not risk a war.
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