Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1816-04-20

Wy ships, they are lost 10 your service
Sir, great deal might be said on this |
SUBJECT. Mr.. =. slid he had made notes
TO say much more, bat from the advanced
period of III se,si IL, not to mentrcu the
late hour CT the day, and believing the
public mind 70 be made up on this sub
ject, he ecu not consent to tax the pa
tence of the House, by progressing in
his remarks but would with pleasure
give any il f rmatien le might possess,
to any gentleman who r; quited it. or an
swcr, IS FIR as he ceUld, any Obi c'ion
which should be made to the details Cfthe
bill.
Mr.. Cl proposed that the bill be SO
amended AS t" vest in the President dis
cretonary power to cause the steam bat
t~iiss te Oe built As ,on as he shoul deem
necessary, without waiting any particular
emergency He fcrred to some cores
ponceuCe between the Governor of Lou
slana, the general government, and the
state of Kenturky, to shew the great
anxiety felt on the subject of creating at
once proper defence for the important
city of New Orleans. The erection Of the
batteries could not be executed at that
point, in case of any threatening circum-
stance. with as much prompuute, as in the
Chesapeake, which WAS il the vicinity If
all the great resources of the country &
it was impru.,ent therefore to delay the
buildings until an emergency should de-
mand them, &c.
The mot on was agreed TO.
Mr. Middleton moved to encrease the
number OF steam batteries from 5 to 4. with
the view fpiacing one Of them at Charles.
to-, S. G..
MIR. Peasants had no objection to the
amendment. The Commissioners oe the
Navy believed those batteries could be e
recIed at much less expense than the one
built at Newly ork and it was probable,
ne thought, that the appropriation would
defray the cost of four.
Mr.. Forsyth doubted the propriety of a.
doping t&is amendment, with the very lit
tie experience which had Been acquired on
the subject. a steam frigate could guard
but one point and if one was voted to
Charleston, every town on the sea board
~ Int ask the me and he was unwilling
TO increase the number before their utility
WIS better est ,biished.
MIR. Middleton added some remarks, to
shew the necessity OF one of the steam bat
teri-s at Chtrleston it beng kind of de-
fence particularly adapted to the waters of
tA1t CITY, and much preferable TO land
bat>erics.
Mr. Webster wished, instead of fixing
the stations IF tine steam frgates by law,
that the bill was so assembled as to allow
them to be moved from enc place to ano-
ther, IS the serve &C might require. He pre-
sumed they might be 50 made as to make
their removal on the coast practicable, and
hoped the bill would be modified as he
suggested.
Mr. LHwades said he had no further
interest Ill the motion than any other gen
t!eman in the House bat hoped the a
mendncnt would prevail, because he had
no doubt, in addit'en to giving defence to
the city of Charleston, it would tend to G.
conomlse the public money. The waters
OF Charleston, he said, we're peculiarly
favorable for defence of this kind, and
would there supercede the necessity of
additional defences, which were almost in
f-ctual as an ont post against a strong
naval forCs, as every one knew with how
little hazard ship of war may at certain
favorable moments, pass stationary fort.
y steam battery would save the public
money, because sone OF the works were
in RUNS, the repairing OF which would
De great expense MIR. l. had TO doubt
that the protection of Charleston as we'll
as OF other cities would receive all rea-
sonabie attention from government but
the alternative between repairing works
requiring six or seven hundred men to
defend them, and less expensive, yet
more eftctud defence, TIE latter ought
to be adopted. He agreed, however, with
Mr.. Webster, that the Secretary of the
Navy ought to be free to apply the public
naval force to any point deemed 10y him
most proper
My. Forsyth repeated, that if the re
port Of the committee were departed from
by adding Steam frigate fer Charleston,
any other maritime town might demand
the same. He was against adopting to
greater extent a; present the steam bate
~ system, in which we had no expert
cnce ard was averse to abandoning the
old system in which the experience was
ample. He understood that the steam
frigate at New York cost nearly as much
as seventy four, and he would prefer
"a until he was convinced of the superb.
ority Of the other engine. Mr.. T. said the
arguments Of the gentlemen who advoca-
It'd floating instead Of land defences, went
to support his opinions, as he preferred the
naval defence, but of that kind whose u
tlity and management we wera well &C
quanted with.
Mr.. aIildletou's motion to insert four
instead of three steam frigateS, was neg
atived by large majority.
Mr.. Webster then moved to amend
the bill by striking ont the words direct
ing two of the batteries 10 be stationed in
tue Chesapeake and the other at New
Orleans, so as to leave their application
to the DIRE ton of the President.
Mr.. Robertson could not consent to the