The State guard., 1848-05-16
Correspondence State Guard.
WAsHrNGToN CrrY, April 27, ls4s.

WAsHrNGToN CITY, April 27, ls4s.
 As on Tuesday the greater portion of yesterdays session of the House was de. voted to the consideration of Col. Benton's scheme for paying the Fremont claims in California. This has become anything but an interesting theme to we of the third estate. Much talking was expended over it. From present appearances, the bill will hardly pass, unless the federalists come up en masse to the ColonePs rescue. In the House, yesterday, the debate ofthe day was upon proposition to repeal the law of 1S46, by which, at the close of the war, the Executive will be compelled to do without the services of more or less of the general officers of the old regular army. The discussion turned upon the question whether there being no actual need of the services of such officers, their previous services entitled them to claim to be kept in service In the course of the debate, no advocate for their rsten. ton started the idea that similar claims on the part of the rank .and-file of the army, entitled it to demand to be retained in numbers beyond the actual wants of the military branch of the government Messrs. Bolts, Butler, King, Stanton, Burt and Holmes, were the advocates ofthe re. peal of the law of ls46, while Jones, of Tenn, Houston, of Ala, and General Mckay, contcnded against keeping lar ger army of officers, as well as rank-and file, than the requirements of the country demanded.
 The impression that we must soon send as large naval force to the Mediterra. mean sea as possible, is obtaining ground here. Current events in western Europe threaten more or less to jeopardize our commerce in that quarter, which, in i'm. portance, is second only to the American trade with Liverpool. It strikes me, that let the demand be ever so pressing, we can hardly spare from their present sta- tons, any vessels of war now in commis. sion. We have but four vessels carrying guns now in that sea the frigate United States, the sloop of war Marion, the steamer Princeton, and the schooner Fan cy. Commodore Reed commands this squadron, which is just now much larger than for year or two previous to the breaking out of the Mexican war. It will be remembered that an American merchant vessel was captured there by a pirate claiming the authority of is Mexi- can letters of marque, which stirred the government up to send there these vessels
 The House Naval Committee have in course of preparation. bills to increase the number of ships of war in the service, but an unfortunate difference of opinion is said to exist between the secretary and the chairman of the House Committee, which may lead to the total failure of these bills. The latter is said to insist on asking for brigs, which class of vessels the whole public condemns. We had very exci. ted debate in the House to-day, over the proposition to print all the documents sent in by the Secretary of War in answer 10 the very last call for "Scott's correspon- dence," except the Secretary of Wars reply to Scott's letter ofthe 24th of March last, recapitulating his querulous com plaints against the administration. Such futtering as was manifested by the feder- alists at the promulgation of this paper, never before witnessed in the Hall. The call was made with the view to crminate the administration-to render it odious in popular estimation, if possible. The re- ply to the call, instead of going to effect the purposes of federalism, is a triumphant vindication of the conduct of the Secretary and Executive towards Scott ; while it no less surely convicts the latter of malice toward them; ofjealousy not called forby the kind frankness with which they have conducted themselves towards him. It also brings to the door of his political am. bition and scheming, most of the difficult ties which ha 5e occurred in the service on his line of operations. The Mclean men, Gust beginning to dip their oar into the troubled federal nomination waters desiring to kill off Scott, voted with the democrats against garbling the papers, in spite of the urgent appeals of Messrs. Clingman, Stevens, Hilliard, ct. al. B.
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