The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-06-14

ing the motion oil MI MerlWetner 70 aHenu inc
clause for pay of commission, warrant and petty Off
GERS asd seamen, by striking out s3 1885, 432 %" and
inserting ~, 335,000-
Mr. c. apologized to the Committee for occupying
their attention with these dry details He then passed
to derent topic, namely, the comparative expense
of building, equipplng manning, and sailing vessels
in the American and British Navy. This subject he
should not go into unless other gentlemen should rem
der this necessary-but on one item oil comparative
expense he would say few words.
From document submitted TO the Senate il would
appear that the pay of the lower grades of officers
and also of the sailors in our Navy higher than
in that Of England
As to the officers il must be considered that the
American officer had splendid career Of successive
honors presented to his ambition, as was the case In
the British navy, After forty or nifty years expo
sure storms and to battles he found himself, with
his gray locks upon him, post captain higher he
could not rise and this grade was seldom at
tanned till late in life, Gin illustration of which he
cited the of Captain Perciva who had now just
attained to be such) But in the navy Of Great Bri-
tain there were stars, carriers, peerages, which, how
ever might smile at such distinctions were under
that form of Government and of national sentiment,
substantial and most desired honors and every one
knew that especially in military life whether in the
naval land service, the love Of honor was the ami
mating soul Of whatever valuable and burnt with
inextngushable ardor in the breast of the bravcst
men.
Lord Nelson lost his life because he insisted on
wearing his orders his breast in the heat of action
which rendered him conspicuous mark to the sharp
shooters Of the enemy.
But besides the prospect of additional honors which
the English officer might look forward to, he had
further prospect OF additional money, While the pay
of their lower grade Of officers was inferior to ours
that of their higher grades was far greater Bril-
fish naval officer who had distinguished himself in
the service, had the prospect, when he was old and
nfrm and had his body perhaps ddled by the shot of
many hard engagement, OF retiring on pension for
life, or enjoying an admiral the honor Of service
with all the actual ease of retirement The expec-
aton of these honors and emolumens was before the
eyes of younger officers, and reconced them to their
slender pay Besides, their occupation for life,
and to judge of their reward, average must be run
through all the grades of service.
As to the pay Of sailors being twelve dollars
per month, it was undoubtedly better than in the
British navy and who complained of this the rea-
sons for it were obvious. Labor is dearer in the
United Staes-w did not get our sailors by impress
ment as England did large portion of hers--we OBJ
tain them by voluntary enlistment-and as the mer-
chant service open to them the pay of the latter
70 the standard by which the former is regulated.
In addition to grt at foreign tonnage, have
fourshng coasting trade which is alone sufficient to
keep up wages in our commercial marine-our mill
tary marine must follow, or get no men--then, to
crown all, in the English navy the sailor knew that,
if disabled In the service, he retired for the rest Of
his days to magnificent palace built by the graft
tude of the nation, there to be honored and cherished
in his declining age as one of the defenders of his
country.
MIR. G. said there number of other points
belonging to the subject which he could have desired
TO discuss but he would spare the time and patience
of the committee and now resume his seat.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, May 20, 1912
The House being in the Committee of the Whole
the Naval Appropriation BILL and the question be-
ing on the motion of Mr.. Mcclellan, of New York to
reduce the number of officers in the navy to the num-
Der in service on the lst Of January, lS4l;
Mr. CUSHING said that the committee had stricken
off 100000 from the amount appropriated for the
pay of officers and after five months service
had already been rendered. Now it was proposed,
in addition to this reduction to provide for reducing
the number Of officers to be employed, not by sum
mary act of dismisson, but by refusing to fill the
cances that might be occasioned by their dismissal,
resignation, or death These were but different parts
of the Isame general policythe policy Of the reduc
ton of The nary That was the meaning of these mea-
sures. The policy was reduction. 1t contemplated
not merely that there should be no gradual increase
of the navy, provided by existing law, but that
there should be sudden reduction of the navy.
Mr. c. felt it his duty to oppose this policy and he
should now proceed to present some views on the
other side. He should do this without entering at all
into any party views or feelings He spoke in sor
row, rather than in anger, in contemplation Of the
feeling which seemed to have taken possession of the
body.
MIR. c., in replying to the argument of Mr. Nc
KAY took up in the first place, the charge advanced
by him against the late Secretary Of the Navy ofhav
ing deceived Congress in his estimates for the expen
ses Of home squadron This question: indeed
which did otappertan to the present Administrations
but still lanaon was due in justice to gentleman
Of whom all the personal recullectlons he retained
were iecoIectons of respect and esteem; plrticu-
lar specification Of unaIrness charged by the gentle
man from North Carolina, consisted in the race
Independence having being employed in the Home
Squadron. 1t is said that Mr. Badger having en-
ployed fgate and when authorized BY the
act of Congress to employ two fngates, has violated
the law, and not acted in good faith towards Con-
gress This Mr.. G. denied. What a razee2 1t is
defined TO be ship, which TO remedy some defect in
the construction, or to improve her sailing qualities
by taking of the upper deck In others words it is a
vessel cut down raZeP a larger vessel reduced to
smaller size now this process might produce vessels Of
differ mt sizes and different classes. II IA raced
by the removal of her upper deck she might become
frigate; if frlgae was raced in like manner, she
might become corvette, IA sloop of wal. In proof
of this xpanaton of the application of the word ra
zee to trgate, Mr. Z. quoted from Miles Epllome of
the Naval Service OF England, the following words
On the same principle as the conversion of the IA to
razee frigae, is the corvette obtained from
fripate reduced In illustration of the indeniteness
of the word razee, and that it might well imply
vessel smaller than frigae, Mr. G. referred to the
razee John Adams of the American Navy, which had
been reduced from frigate, and to the Cuiracean
mounting "a guns only in the British Navy. And
though the Independence carried fifty odd guns yet he
doubted whether she was superior ship to some fri
gates in our Navy. MIR. G. had heard it said, that
the frgae Congress full match fol the Indepen
dence.
Mr. KcKAY inquired of Mr.. c. whether in the
official lists of the of different vessels there was
no difference recognized between razee and fri
gatel
Mr. CUSHING seemed TO admit this but reminded
Mr.. NICK. that in our Navy there vessels of all
sorts and sizes, and there which fri
gates, and others which only soops.
But the real question had not so much to do with
the technical rate of the vessel employed by Mr.. Bad
ger as with the expense involved 1t was true that
the Independence rated higher than frgate of the
first class, and carried more men. She had 600
men on board of her, while figate of the highest