The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-04-08
TwENTY-NINTH CONGRESS,
First Session.
wrDsrsDAr, April 8, 1886.
IN SENATE.
The journal having been read,


der Wilson, Of Broome county, Illinois, praying q
pension for services Ia the late war with Great Bit
ain; which was referred To the COMMITTEES on Pen.
sions.
Mr. DIX presented two circumstances Of citizens
Of New York against the renewal Of a patent here
tofore granted TO Jethro Wood; which were laid on
the table.
Mr.. WEsTcoTr presented the petition Of the
administrator Of VIM. Toney, deceased, an Officer
IN the revolutionary war, praying be allowed COM
mutation payi which was referred to the Committee
on Revolutionary Claims.
Mr.. DICKINSON presented two remonsrances
OF citizens of the State Of New York against the
renewal Of patent heretofore granted TO Jethro
Wood; which were laid on the table,
Mr.. WESrC0rr presented memorial Of mer-
chants and others, citizens OF Key West, Florida,
praying the establishment Of United States district
court at that place; which laid ON the table and
ordered to be printed.
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.
Mr.. BREESE, from the Committee on Public
Lands, asked that said committee DO discharged
from the further consideration Of the memorial OF
eiuLsns Of Missouri, praying the removal Of the
land Office from Palmyra, in that State which was
agreed TO. ......
Mr.. JOHNSON, of Louisiana, from the Commit
tee on Pensions, submitted adverse reports upon the
petitions Of Reuben Mills, Abigail Reeves, and
DeliVeranee Slassini which reports were ordered to
be printed. ..-.
Mr.. rENNfBACkER, from the Committee OF
Claims, reported bill authorizing tho payment OF
sum Of money TO Robert Purkis; which was read,
and passed TO the second reading. The report was
ordered to be printed. ....
REsoLurios-RioHr>o o. SEARCH.
Mr.. DICKINSON submitted the following reso-
luton, which was agreed TO:
RsIolr,d That the President Of the United States be
requested TO communicates the any information in
have been made by any OF vessels OF having been
ssarehedty British cruisers the Wellington treaty
dates and places Of acts also copies Of any cor.
resPohdenes that may have passed between the gov.
eTnmsnts On the subject .a. ...
BILL TO CHANCE THE Distribution OF DUTIES AMONG
THE SEVERAL NAVAL BUREAUS.
The Senate resumed the consideration Of the bill
TO change the distribution Of duties among the
several naval bureaus, wh,n the ayes and noes were
ordered on the third reading Of the bill.
Mr.. FAIRFIELD called for the reading Of the
letter ofthe Secretary Of the Navy, accompanying
the report Of the committee; which was as follows:
"NAu Dr,isrnsr. March a, 1915
"sG The sudden death of the chief Of the Bureau Of
Ordnance and photography makes necessary to ask the
prompt action OF Congress to authorize different and
more 'ysenaue distribution Of the duties Of the several
bureaus
The Bureau Of Navy Yard. and Docks should also have
gnderi1 charge hydrogIsph Then all the shore sta
Ordnance being Of equipment the Bureau Of Ord
equipment Then the entire equipment Of vessels ssoSt
would deyove upon the sam. bureau.
would be great advantage to the public The sec.
Rotary ofthe Navy, by resolution similar the 9Th sec.
ed with authority make the requisite changes
"i Congress win repOse such discretion the peculiar
BUREAUS could be called into action
These changes involve no new expenditure.
Il am, very respectfully, your obsdient servant,
20 BANCROFT.
Chairman Of the Committee on Naval Affairs,
By this it viii be perceived, said Mr. F., that the
alarm which has been excited by this bill is alto
gether groundless. II neither proposes to multiply,
nor diminish, the number Of naval bureaus nor does
Propose to change the character Of the chiefs from
naval officers TO civilians or the reverse Ii simply
proposes to transfer the charge of class of duties
from one bureau to another-separating what is UNI
Ike and dlssimilar, and bringing together the duties
that were homogeneous. To proposition so sim
pie, and so obviously proper, he had not anticipated
the slightest objection, and he could not but believe
that on further reflection, the senator from Della.
ware would withdraw his objections and let the bill
pass. Nothing can be farther from the truth than
supposing that il has unfrendly aspect towards
the chief of the Bureau Of Construction Equipment
and Repair. 1t is thought that this distinguished
officer IL TO be made to give place to civilian or
is to be transferred to bureau where the duties
will be much more onerous than in his present
bureau, while the compensation will remain the
same. Now, exactly the reverse Of all this is the
fact, even supposing it. to be the intention of the
President or Secretary, to transfer Commander Nor
ris to the Bureau of Equipment and Ordnance, which
he was confident would not be done without his
consent. And he would add that, in his opinion,
knowing the views of the Secretary as he did, the
dispensing with the services of that distinguished
officer altogether had never been thought of for an
instant. No man appreciates his talents experience
skill, and faihfulness more than the Secretary,
would be less willing to SEQ those qualities lost to
the service Of the country And, as he had said be-
fore, he had no idea that the commodore would
be changed to any other bureau without his con-
sent But should he be transferred to the Bureau
of Equipment and Ordnance, is it true that lis du-
ties would be increased and that without any addi-
tional compensation Far from it. The fact is
that the duties attached to the bureau at the head of
which Commodore Morris now Isl are much more
onerous than those of any other bureau. The
transfer, then instead of increasing, would abso-
lutely diminish his duties 1t is true it was said
yesterday by the senator from Delaware [Mr
CLAYToN] that the duties of construction and repair
were not performed by him, but by naval con.
structor attached to that bureau. He could hardly
believe the senator from Delaware to be correct in
this. Commodore Morris is not the man to allow his
own duties to be performed by Others. q, But if it
were so, it would seem to present strong
argument in favor of the passage of this bill.
What propriety could there be, he would ask, in
permitting the charge of construction and repair to
remain attached to bureau, while the chief of that
bureau bad nothing to do with construction and re-
pair II shows that an unnatural classification will
not be adhered to in practice, however may stand
upon the statute book But, if the senator from
Delaware mistaken in regard to the compare.
tive duties Of the two bureaus named, he was no
less so in regard TO the compensation. The salary
of the chief of the Bureau of Construction and Re-
pair is $4,000, while the salary attached to the bu-
reau to which he would promote Commodore Nor
rls was $500 Instead, therefore, Of transferring
him to a bureau where the duties would be more
onerous, and the compensation less, he would be
promoted to higher bureau where the duties
would be less and the compensation more. He
trusted then that the imputaon Of having an UNI
friendly aspect towards Commodore Morris would
no longer rest upon this bill Certainly it should not
But again: it is thought that this is part of a plan
Of the Secretary TO reorganze these bureaus and
place civilians at the head Of them instead Of naval
officers. This supposition, he was persuaded, is
also unfounded, He was well informed of the
views of the Secretary upon this point, and he
knew that the Secretary in favor of leaving this
matter precisely where the law had len it, There
were five bureaus-for three of them the President