New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-01-24
ARISES IN THE NAVY.
Gaze CT Lieutenant FiaEs-LsHer 70 Secretary
Graham.

,,,,,, cation 10 Congress for an additional
bureau IN your Department, anc the creation o'
the office Of udge-Ad'ocaie'Uenerai 81 'he
NAVY. TO enable Won more efficiently to dispense
Justice and preserve discipline Congratulate
Won On having at length become aware o. the
sadly bad working Of your present machinery
for administering Justice. approve o. your
application. and propose 20 aid you IN il oy ths
brief detail am about to give OF the case OF my
brother. Lieutenant Henry c. tlagg, which VIII
Illustrate better than Sgy proof You VIII venture "
exhibit that there is crying need OF re'eEm some
where FOX II Will show that very lately a secfeVHy
Of the Navy has had the hardihood 10 puohcly cen
sure and severely punish an officer OF hitherto un-
blenshed starding without any single form or pre-
tense OF accusation, proof, trial or hearlHg IRIS
gross outrage on the simplest notions OF nght ana
Wong has been committed by You, Slr and the case
in question, though far worse than any before
known is, | am assured, only the GROWING IN
stance Of long practiced abuses which have es-
cared the brand of outraged public sentiment, only
for the resfon that the scenes Of their Occurrences
were the distant seas, where newspapers pub
nsbed and because the classes who have been VIC
Aims have possessed little political influence Bat
though our people have hitherto known ll!t.e and
cared less about the condition of their Navy, yet the
times are knocking az the door when that Navy may
be their chief reliance when the hardy breasts OF
those whose backs we have so bloodiy seourged
NAV rrove our only bulwaI Of certain defense and
WHEN the glory Will be gained If gained Al all under
the command OF those younger officers who, though
| as ola as Perry and hcDonoueh ~hen they hung
or sea flag with its earliest laures, are. neverhe
less nov required to rise IN their boat and remain
saHciI wh..e CommOdore's barge passes by, bear
ecne a. those elderly females odespises Llenten-
an as much as they dread Ayaradcs Congress
must be required to attend better to what Is gong
on IN the Navy other reforms than retiring
lis. are neecoc yet heartily commend your plan
for providing 4 way by which those who would be
NEST Ikeiy L. retire, n face OF an enemy, may do
20 now Yet Why DO | mention young officers
| The service is full OF eray-headed Lieutenants.
whose gray hairs cannot shield them from infamous
insult and AZURE such as on shore boy Of sixteen
/ would be required 20 endure.
! To lie short in the details, about the month 81
/ August ls49, The good frgate Cumberland saiei
| ron Now.YoIk On her Mediterranean cruise, vita
! . complement 81 officers, whose names excepting the
Captains we're rec from blemlsh, and as fine ere"
as ever tod n deck. well remember converting
with her Chaplain and FnstLieutenant respecting
| the pleasant prospects Of their cruise, aud how
yleased was to hear them both declare their opin
! ions to be that the lash was wholly useless, and
oul mt 70 he abolished.
The Commander of the Cumberland was William
X Lat,mer, once contaminated and dismissed
rom the service for very bad conduct-suosequeAtly
reiDsated by the rather plable PIesdent-from thai
TIME, however. not allowed sea command oat
| alstly kent Unemployed or engaged on home duty,
tn, IN The confusion attending change OF admin
/ is,iation, tour means to get appointed to me
ship on the most desirable OF the or.Isn stations
l.. ri. EeaV .rrfff I'M ar hf M
CCsSoIs acted Nllcly. and nCty outstanding our Sec
! retaIies commonly have small kno6ledee OF marine
affairs, these seem al least to know that sharh,
though terrible m the water Is quite harmless nsh
Within af,w weeks ont ofport the expectations
| Of pleasant cruise were painfully disappointed
Bare bctN captain and oihcefs vas destroyed
| his ftful and violent temper superseded even the
| sufficiently arbitrary rules % the service, ana be
carns the supreme law OF the ship, the Grew De
| came badly demOralZed, ana the whole ships com
pony fell into "a condition which defeated every use
| iul end Of the voyage And all this notwtthstand-
! ing the - cat and "cOg were freely used on the
mems backs seyerally, collectively and promlsc'F
Ously 10 was on one occasion, after severely fog
Lug several o. them that this captain, IN spirit 81
worse lhan Asauc cruelty, ordered the instrument
" tnor puI lshmCLt 20 be publicly hung az the main
mast, tCrrOrtm, and there flying beneath the ma
! uonal flag, II DID duty as sort OF Captains broad
| reIIaLt," furnishing striking commentary on our
republican maxins, highly eJyiBg 10 the officers o!
monaIchcal nations, who daily yised the ship, and
suggesting, BY It's moral ehect on the sore-oacsed
crew lent substitute for the actual use of the
! cat" n thing you now, ask congress 20 proyide
for.
Anorwitnessing al this with disgust, and endur-
| lnglt with patience, for over year. Lieutenant
| lagg became sufficiently aroused 10 the calls OF
| humanity, ard OF his duty as an cfhceT OF the ship
to report to you q c Captains proceedings and IN
| PLAN way. and as well "a he knew how, he stated
| on paper az acls Of misconduct On the Captains
! paTt, including well those instances happening
| under HIS own observation, rs those OF which he
| had credible information, and submitting the whole
10 you, for such action as You nig1t deem the case
TO merit, and leaving II 70 you, IN case you should
think any OF The charges required judicial invest
CATION to have such iedTaited by tue proper officer,
| II proper formal shape, or II you conceived any
al Of them to be TOO trivial for aly cOgnizance, 10
! cRm'ss hem nom your attention.
After good long while you ordered a Court OF
! Inquiry 10 investigate the charges which Court,
beng convened al the pleasant harD0r Of Nessna sat
ioT another good long While, rose and made report
] 20 you. Since then, all the acton that has been
taEen Is he making OF your general order OF July
! !. 1881, wherein you Infct on CAPTAIN Latmer the
extraordinarily light punishment Of censure detach-
ueut from his command and twelve months fur
laush with haltpayJ anc tgdet precisely the
! ylDitShDltnt Lieutenant FsGgg, ms accuser,
| II ls Of this complain.
The Captain was accused OF the serious ofeDses
| specified below, tried by Court composed IN
major part OF Captains and VINO, knowing what do
II the DTeutices and blases which rule with Naval
tribunals, yet lmpuing nothing agalnstlhe personal
e araeter Of the gentlemen composing this,) can
not suspect Of beng any more far toward the Lieu
itnsItor severe aeaps. the Captain than they could
possibly help-uGS alfed by uiDkssss under his
DGnd az me fiENe AZ me heGrHE-4a as even oy such
Count found gully Of the serious matters appearing
below, and thefeupOn punished by You a. stated
while the Lieutenant, whose efforts had brought an
offender TO Justice IS accused Of nothing, tried for
noting, found guilty OF IothIg, and punished with
Tie very same measure as the Capssin-for nothing
| II rs Of this beg leave LOUDLY 10 complain
You have tired unaccused, and condemned IN
heard. Of Ger whose name was never before tar
nished with even much "A reprimand.
That u may be seen what Lieutenant. Flagg had
Gone, ard also what you have done here recte the
whole OF his charges against the Captain interlaid
tn the hDc'l and report Of the COurt Of Inquiry
upon each specific on the later necessarily being
gwen IN a condensed form where the language In
ilLl Is too proliY
s. SHIP CUMBERLAND, sPEzZIA, Sept %, 1850.
SIR / regret 10 have the disagree cable duty OF
reporting to you Capt Nm X. LaiIn.er, now CON-
-rann-La IL. .n-n WI ch the LIE.