The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-16 00:00:00

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

In this branch of the. United States Congress nothing
of importance has tranip'red. Members seem to be-
waiting the action of toe tFena'e upon the Oregon ques-
tion. Their action has been confined exclusively to do-
mestic affairs. It would -be useless to recapitulate their
proceedings.
It si ems that early in the session the Senate Com-
mittee on Naval Affairs addressed the Secretary of the'
Navy to know what increase the naval force of the coun-
try required. This letter was dated December 22. The
eply of the Secretary is dated Januiry 8. A little more
than a month previous annual report called for esti-
mates, to ,ustain a peace establishment, but, without any
reason, his opinion is now stated to be, that an accumu-
lation of naval materials and stores is requisite. He re-
commends the repair and equipment of all the vessels in
ordinary, and of the frigates and sloops on the stocks, a
suspension, for a definite period, of the limitation of
seamen in the service to 7,500, so that further enlist-
ments might be provided for and the construction of
three steam frigates, five steam sloops, and two steamers
of a smaller class.
He also sent to the Committee the suggestions on the
subject of the heads of bureaus in the Navy Depart-
ment, signed by Commodores Morris, Warrington,
Crane, and Shubrick, without any expressed approval or
disapproval of the same.
These heads of bureaus, after speaking of the re'ative
naval forces of the United States and Great Britain, and
giving their united opinion of what one nation could or
could not do against the other, were hostilities to ensue,
proCeeded to recommend first, the construction of two
classes of war-steamers, particularising as follows
One of the larger classes for Lakes Michigan and Huron,
and 27 fore the Atlantic coast, and 12 of the smaller
class, for the southern coast, besides those which are
now available : that supplies. of ordnance and ordnance
stores be lodged at different points on the lakes ready
for private steamers to be speedily armed in case of
need ; that the number of sea steamers, like the Mis-
sissippi, but rather enlarged, should be increased to 5 ;
that our frigates should bo increased to 30 ; our sloops
of war to 40 ; that 5 of the frigates and 6 of the sloops
should be fitted with such steam arrangements as may
. be best adapted to use in aid of sails, without materially
affecting their qualities as sailing vessels ; and that a
force, besides the officers and marines, of about 28,630
men, will be required to properly man so many vessels.
Neither of these documents contained any estimates as
to the cost of this great number of vessels of war, and of
the ordnance and other supplies necessary to fit out and
subsist them. On account of the absence of this very
important and most essential requisite, Mr. T. Butler
King, a tnembe,r of the -Committee, and a devoted friend
to the: navy, paid a visit t.e the Secretary of the Navy,
and requested that the preper estimates should be made
out and furnished the Committee as data upon which
they could frame such Bill as might be deemed expedient.
Some time after this, the Se;retary furnished to the
House Commit ee the desired estimates of the heads of
bureaus of the department hefore-named, which.had pre-
viously been sent to the- Senate's Committee. .
These estin ates put down the present force at sea,
ready for see, or in ordinary, to be made ready, some in-
three, some in six, and ome in twelve months, as fol-
low :--Five chips of the line, one ea,zoe, nine frigates

f:''

twenty-ihree sloops, two sea steamers, eight brigs and
schooners ,two harbour steamers, and four store ships.
The cost of preparing this fore° is estimated at 625,000
dollars.

On the stocks there are four ships of the line; three
frigates and two sloops of war; one ship of the line par-
tially finished at Sackett's Harbour and Lake Ontario;
one steamer is building at Pittsburg, and anoth€r has
been contracted tor with Mr. Stevens, of New York. The
cost of c )mpleting such of these as can be finished, is
estimated at 2,955,000 dollars.

The heads of bureaus specified certain additional sup-
plies that would be necessary to the fitting out of the
vessels in question, and estimated the aggregate cost of
the same at 10,600,000 dollars.
They stated that the augmentation which it was be-
lieved the proposed objects imperatively required, would
be the addition of three sea steamers of the class of the
Mississippi ; of five frigates, and six sloops with steam
propellers in aid of their sails; 28 coast steamers, of
about 600 tons, with arrangements for moving along the
coast with safety, to carry two heavy guns and eight or
ten days' fuel; 12 smaller coast steamers, calculated to
carry one heavy gun, for the navigation and protection
of the sounds and passages which skirt the Southern
Atlantic States, and those of the States bordering on
the Gulf of Mexico; that one steamer be provided for
the protection of the Lakes Michigan and Huron; and
13 new sloops, to be fitted with sails only, or with sails
and steam combined.
The probable expense of this proposed additional force
was estimated as follows :

- Dollar=. Dollars.
3 sea steamers at
28 coast and lake ditto
12 small coast ditto 60,000 ++720,000
5 frigates with steam 530,000 ++2,650,000
6 sloops with steam
12 frigates, if with sails only 340,000 „ 4,080,000
9 sloops

Making a total of 16,190,000
To which add for ordnance and other stores 1,030,000

Gives _ 17,220,000
_ _

Such, in substance, was the character of the recom-
mendations and estimates furnished the Committees of
Congress by the Secretary of the Navy—and which the
President says, in his message, in reply to Mr. Dayton's
resolution, met with his sanction.
Now, the question is which of the two sets of proposi-
tions and recommendations met with the President's
sanction ? The recommendation of the Secretary for 10
steamers, or that of the heads of bureaus for-40 ?