Fortify the river.
At the risk of being considered alarmists, we shall never cease to invoke the military and civil authorities of Richmond to avail themselves of the uniform experience of this war, which is that no city can be considered safe which is exposed to an attack of the enemy's gunboats, and has not adopted the most thorough and complete system of defence against such attacks. New Orleans, a city of five times the population and wealth of Richmond, has added another and disastrous illustration of the truth. And yet, it seems as if some stupefying draught had been drained to the dregs by those having this matter in hand, or that what is everybody's business being nobody's business, the public had determined to content themselves with an expression of amusement at the apathy of the authorities, and resign themselves to their fate as to a thing that is inevitable. It is useless to talk of creating fortifications on a river, when places of such strength as Fort Jackson, and the other defences of the Mississippi, are easily evaded by these powerful vessels. It is perfectly practicable so to obstruct and defend the channels as to keep the enemy fromascending the stream. But these obstructions must not be of the ordinary character. What has been done? What is doing? Is it proposed to rely upon the single strand of the Virginia, which any accident may destroy and which, at best, will be neutralized in a few weeks by a dozen Yankee vessels of a similar class? Our authorities ought to act as if there were no such vessels as the Virginia in existence. We call the attention of the City Council of Richmond to this subject, and especially of those members of this body who are practical business men, and have some brains, and know enough of arithmetic to calculate the effect upon the city finances a Federal ascent of James river.
