The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-12-12

b put Id commission, or not. II tho condt Of III.
Treasury will warrant 1t, (of which they arc thu
udgos,) have no hesitation in earnestly recommend
Ing the employment Of the largest force estimated
for. But in order that Congress may, without trou
Bile, apporton the appropriation to the force when
they willing 10 keep IN commission, nave
caused to be prepared table, showing the cost oil
shin of each class Thus the reduction in the esti-
mates may be made in exact proportion TO 'he reduc
ton of the vessels In commission
Whether il be the pleasure Of Congress TO author
ize large a small naval force, the necessity Will
he the same for placing il proper footing. The
Navy cannot bs reformed by merely reducin, its
size la my report Of last year, invited your aten-
ton to variety of points on which considered le-
,atioa necessary, in order to give due efficiency to
This Dsplrtm snt and t. correct the abuses existing
throughout the whole naval establishment In my
opinion, every reform necessary to place the Navy
UPON the most useful, and at the same time upon the
most economical footing, may b; easily effected.
With that view, respectfully Offer tbs following
suggestions;
So far as the mu,sris is concerned, nothing is re-
oure except flelity, vigilance, and industry the
part OF thoss u whom that matter is ntrusted and
such changes in the laws as will insure proper ac-
countab,iity. great deal has already been accom-
plishsd in this respect. 1t is confidently believed
that the expense OF building, repairing, and equip
ping our vessels of war; much less at this time than
il was at any previous period within the last twenty
years. This result is attributable not so much to
the head Of the Department, as to the steady and
jealous efforts of those officers Of the Navy who
have had charge Of the navy yards Little is now
required, except to establish rigid system of ac-
countabty in every branch OF expenditure. Much
has already been done to attain this object.
The law for the rganization OF this Department
has been carried out as far as has been found PraGt
cable. The advantages of this change, IN the IN
creased facilities OF rana ting business and IN the
concentration Of responsibilities, are manifest and
great regret to say, however, that the system Is
vet very imperfect II Is with extreme reluctance
III bring this subject again to your notice and |
should not do So if not convinced that it Is
,he wish of Congress to make the work OF reform,
which they have just commenced, as perfect as pos
sibs Tae bill, it passed the Senate, wo lid, 1t IS
believed have proved complete and effective in its
provisions as could be reasonably expected OF any
new measure running so much into detas but the
changes which were made in it by the House OF Re
representatives., have produced dithcuItes ana enoar-
EASEMENTS in practice which were not toreseen at the
time The uniting of two bureaus, whose duties are
wholly distinct and require wholly different order of
qualifications to discharge them has been found ex-
1r.mely iaconvenient and embarrassing The bu-
raau of construction and repairs, Tor example, Is
cb,rysd with duties of the bureau OF equip nent 1t
rsn,ir., a ship carpenter to build repair vessel
arwar: it requires naval officer TO eq lp her. In
like m m aer the providing of ordnance AMI ordnance
stores has no natural connexion with hydro5rlpi al
surveys and these two subjects are intrusted to the
same bureau. 1t would probably be impossible to
the duties of building, repairing, AMI equip3n5 ayes
sci of war AMI although 1t would not, perhaps, be
50 difficult to find competent to the duties OF the
two bureaux of ordnance and photography, yet 1t
would probably happen, in most instances, that he,
who was best qua.i6sd for the one, would be least
qualified for the other. Besides, great confusion
viii necess lrily exist in keeping by the same set OF
clerks the acc cunts of IN itters wholly distinct
The clerical force allowed to these t@o burealx Il
m ,ch too small Indeed this IS true though not to
thu nthp hlr aVsra
I,h,rs imoo,ed and the snail salaries allowed, are
positive disc ,ura yements 10 Jealous and energetic
discharge Of duty.
In nr3yidmr a chief of the blrelu Of construc-
ton, equipment and repair, the alternative was be-
tween naval captain qualified to equip, and naval
con,,ructor qualified t. build and repair. did not
hesitate to prefer the former and the place is died
by member of the late Board of Navy Con mission
ers But in uniting the two burelux, 1t was, pre-
sumo, not perceived that the salary, originally con-
tempated for the bureau of construction and repairs
was retained. Thus it happens that one OF the cap
tains al the head Of bureau receives hive hundred
dollars per annum less than his pay as captain in
command, and less by the same sum, than IS receiv-
ed by each of the captains holding correspondent
staff ,ns in the Department Tnis was doubtless not
intended, and will be corrected.
also res pectfully suggest that there is no good
reason for giving the chief Of the bureau Of meii
cine less salary than IS received oy others IN cores
ponding positions He ought to be, and it is presum-
ed ALWAYS will be, MN of high order OF profess
sonal attain nens, and general education, holding a
social position equal, in all respects, to that OF any
other man His expenses of course, will he as great,
and his sacrifices certainly will not be less. or the
inheritance and utility Of this bureau already have
the most satisfactory proof in the improved or5anl-
z,tio, of the medical department Of the SERVICE and
in the saving Of expense greatly beyond my cta-
TONS An expenditure twice as large as the bureau
now calls for, will be more than twice saved annual
Nv by its services. Its claims, therefore, to the III
crease of salary which | recommend, are OF the
strongest character in every respect
These defects in the law obvious Whenever
they shall be corrected it is conf IDENTIFY believed thai
system Of ad nnistration may be established in this
Department. prom IT. exact, and efficient as can b,
found in any other Depart nent OF the Government
The acts Of the last session, 'to establish and re5u
late the Navy ration" and "to regulate the pay OF
pnrser, and other officers Of the Navy" promise the
mos, beneficial results to the economy OF the services
and will probably remove many Of the di!fic ilcs
which would otherwise have existed. m accomplish
nr all the objects prop osed in the Reorganization OF
the Department.
Tn. personnel of the Navy is subject Of much
deeper interest although it presents no greater dh
cutes. That abuses exist, and that the public eye
is lsonaly offended with displays of direputable
behavior, is not surprising. Sach things might be
expected in any body of men equally M nerous; they
are seen every day in social circles on shore, with
ont aft king to those circles any individual or even
general eproach. The Navy is free fronsuch scan
das as any equal number of m;n 10 any order of So
ciey 1t is matter of just surprise that it should
be 50. Withdrawn, in great degree, by the very
nature OF their pursuits, from the immediate infiu
ence of that publ: opinion which Is the b'st correc
tive of manners aad with most imperfect system OF
laws and regulations substitute for it, what is
there but their OF prorrety, to prevent ma
val officers from falling into the worst excuses
For twenty years past the Navy has received from
the Government little more than step. mother's
C re- 1t was established without plan and has been
conducted ION no principle, fixed and regulated by
law. Left to get along as well as il could the won
der il, that it retains remnant of the charac
ter which it gloriously during the last war.
Reform, in this particular, must commence with
the midshipmen. After time, these boys become
men AMI these milshipnen become lieutenants, and
comn,niers AMI captains. Hence it is Of the ut