The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-01-12

Gould save 10 the Government the salary oil eve
ny offlcer attached 10 the Station. A United
States steamer already manned and equipped, is
lying idle at Norfolk. Her officers and men
! would be glad OF any active employment. And
| six dollars head, for the transportation of sea-
men from Baltimore TO Norfolk, are paid to other
| steamboats, But these are mere worm holes,
which, though they indicate that the system is
faulty in detail are alluded TO for the purpose Of
showing thar the leakage under il, is by perco-
lation and by drops, as well as by steady jets
through open seams.
The delay in getting ships out upon their STA
tons, and in relieving them when there; the
practice oil keeping their crews abroad, at great
" increased wages, after their terms OF service
have expired; and the delays which sometimes
occurs in paying them of when they do return,
occasionally involving an expense Of FIVE hun
dred or six hundred dollars day, are fairly
chargeable upon the system. They are evils
and injuries TO the public service, which ought
not 10 exist, and which proper organization
would not fail TO correct. In 1893, q have no sta
tstics of a later date, the American trade with
Canton was valued at sixteen millions of dollars.
II has been nearly eighteen months since the
East India squadron left Canton for the United
States, and more since another squadron ought
TO have been in readiness TO relieve il. That
trade has been interrupted by an armed force,
and nothing has been done to protect il. This
delay shows that great difficulties must e, list, un-
der the present system, in getting ships ready
Tor sea. In this fact we have an apt illustration
oil The condition in which the Navy is at pre-
sent. No emergency can arise, short Of state
OF actual warfare, which calls, more urgently
than this, for despatch. In the spring il was an
nounced that a large squadron of ships was TO be
fitted out with all possible expedition for the
China seas. the fall, that squadron has dwin-
died away to o4e sloop of war, and longlegged,
crank, six-and-hirty -gun-ship--of all vessels in
the Navy, the one least suitable for such service
Blu! Notwithstanding these efforts at expedition,
and the urgency Of the case, these two ships can
scarce be said to be in state Of forwardness for
the time OF their sailing has not yet been APP
polnted.f Ii the Navy were under that system
of management, which the general veal requires
it should be- the timber since the order was is
sued for the fitting out of these ships, might have
been cut from the forest, and better ships than
they might have been built and sent TO sea long
before these will reach their station.
What further proof need we that the plan, BY
which the affairs Of the Navy are conducted, Is
defective in its details-that the whole system
requires amendment and reorganization? Is the
national peculiarly, which requires facts to pre-
cede opinion, SO strong among your readers that
it is necessary to multiply proof2 If SO, etthem
bear in mind the fact, that, during the present
year, but one ship only has been equipped and
got TO sea in time TO take her place on her sta
ton abroad. With this exception, every ship
that has returned from her three years Of foreign
service, has been compelled to leave her station
before another could be got ready to take her
place. The Columbia and John Adams, as be-
fore stated from the East-lndies-the Lexing-
ton, the Falmouth, and the Boxer, from the Paci-
fc-the independence from the Brazs, and the
Vandalia from the West-Indies, have all returned
under such circumstances. And though some
of these left their stations more than twelve
months ago-and none less than six-the Inde-
pendence and the Boxer are the only ones among
them whose places have been supplied. Does
this look like the workings Of well-regulated
system? Or does it not rather resemble the la
Dor OF machine, the cogs and wheels Of which
are rusted and broken?
A judicious reorganization would prevent the
recurrence Of such evils, and dry up the sources
Of much useless expense which now exists Be-
sides this saving, as an Offset and recommen-
daton. the balance-sheet would exhibit ten-fold
efficiency for the Navy, with an entire column
Of important national advantages in favor Of
increase and reorganization. An account OF the
savings effected in the first year after reorgani-
cation, might be stated roundly somewhat in the
form below
The grade, with the list of 200 passed
Midshipmen, abolished, 100000
do do. II passed Assistant Surgeons, $4,000
do do II Teachers and Professors 10000
Duties of Revenue Service transferred from
separate and distinct corps to Home
Squadron, 22JOoo
Repairing old ships at than their ORR
ginal cost putting new upper-works ON
rotten tlmbers, G. g. Frgate United
States, with many blunder and fool
ish notion besides, not known to the
public, $4,000
$,673OOO
A sum more than sufficient for the pay of the
additional officers required under the new sys-
tenn.
In explanation of the items mentioned above,
and to show that they are not overcharged,
further statement is necessary-and LIST. The
Frgate United States was repaired last fall Al
the cost OF $4,000. She was manned, equip
ped and got ready for sea, when the carpenter
reported that some of her tmbers were rotten.
She was accordingly surveyed and condemned
as unseaworhy. Besides the $4,000 thus
wasted, there ought to be taken into the account
the pay Of her crew of nearly 500 men and off
GERS, that were on board Of her for months--the
cost, with the wear and tear Of getting her from
Boston to New York, and from New York to
the pay of her crew while wait
ing for another ship to be got ready al Norfolk.
To which ought also TO be added the injury sus-
tanned by our fellow-citizens and the public, in
Of the delay in relieving an impor-
tant station. I'd. Many blunder and foolish
notion. Jidelicet. The steamer Fulton and
other failures in ship budng-t transporting guns
from the Lakes, where they are wanted, to New
York, where they are not wanted. You well
recollect the inconvenience suffered in the last
war, by the delay of getting guns TO the Lakes.
They were literally dragged there al an immense
cost Of labor and of money. And, as though
guns may be never wanted on the Lakes again,
they have been dragged back TO New York
The last tidngs Of them were given by the In
spector Of Ordnance, a few years ago, who found
Them placed within the reach Of salt water tides,
undergoing rapid process Of rust and destruc-