Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-03-01

VIVA. are the responsibilities Of these officers |!
on board ship? Who can supply their places !
Not the commissioned of6ceIs. They have not
spent years in acquiring practical knowiedge
in cutting and fitting rigging, in preparing
ders, and building up the wreck, or making
suit Of sails after the gale has torn away those
in use. No. they have their professions, as
sailors and n4si gators, to engross their minds,
leaving il to the warrant officers to execute
these arduous and responsible duties. Those
are the men who are called upon, after the bat
tie or the storm, to repair the damages sustain.
cd. These men who have no promotion or in
crease Of pay for long and faithful servitude,
and who are more than half of their lives
separated from all the comforts at home. with
no prospects of being able to save one cent to
meet the increasing expenses of a growing
family. Their pay should be sufficient to make
them comfortable, and enable them to leave
their families at least common support while
they are absent in the service of their country,
and should also be proportionate to their re-
sponsibilities. But 1t is not so; for ON their
knowledge depends very much the mechanical
condition of our own men-of-war. The coz
dition of the rigging, and, consequently, the
safety Of the ship, rest in a very great degree
upon the boatswain. The condition of the
magazine, its efficiency and management in
the important hour of battle. is alone depend
ent upon the gunner. Let him be faithless or
inefficient, and the battle is lost, we care not
who may command the deck or fight the guns
in his hands rests the safety of the ship, and
the lives Of every soul on board. Upon the
carpenter depends the condition of the hull
spars, pumps, and fire-engines of the ship. IT'S
he alone who is called upon to repair the in
nf fhn has l<,fL nI,
| the battle; and upon the sailmaker depends the
replacing of the sails, necessary to save the
| ship from a lee shore.
With these facts staring the members of
Congress in the face, will they not, as an act
of justice, grant the prayer of these petitioners
| when they ask for what is only their due, and
| what is necessary to their actual wants? Let
not this valuable class of officers be any longer
neglected with no promotion, no increase Of
pay for long servitude to encourage them,
while every other grade of officers in the ser
| vice have either one or both Of these to cheer
| them on, as years and service increase upon
| them. We, therefore, hope that the present
Democratic Congress will not overlook these
petitioners, but that the Naval Committee will
introduce such bill as their petition calls for
All papers favorable to this class of officers,
would confer an act of justice by giving place
| to those views in their behalf H.
The Prospect TOR the Election.-As our large
edition compels US imperatively to go to press
at the hour fixed for the election of House
printer, we will not be able to announce the
result. We may, however, not inappropri
ately say that in addition to the seventy
FIVE members in the caucus last night, and
more or less Of those who were present but did
not vote, We have counted up thirty-6ve orig
inal Democratic friends of the election of
Judge Nicholson, who were absent throughout
the evening Under these circumstances we
conceive his election to be quite sure, as we
presume that no member proposing to continue
to claim affilia!ion with the Democratic party
will try the experiment upon his own right Ia
such position, involved in voting against q
regular Democratic nominee, so sustained by
the party at large.
| Court Costume.-It seems to us that the
Richmond Enquirer is in error in saying, in
its defence of that estimable gentleman, Mr.
John Y. Mason, that it is the privilege of any
| Court to dictate the costume in which represen.
tatives Of other governments shall presen,
| themselves in it's presence. The rule, on the
contrary, unless we arc much in error is that
the sovereign or executive, sending the minis.
ter. may of right say, in all things how thai
functionary shall appear. Messrs. Buchanan
Seibeils, Belmont and Daniels are known Ia
have succeeded in carrying out the instructions
| of the State Department, in this matter to the
letter, and it is believed in Washington that
Mr. Jackson may also be counted in the same
list. We are very sure that the failure of Mr.
Mason to consult his own taste and that of his
government, only in the matter of his dress, on
the occasion of the late imperial fete, which he
attended in full Court dress, has disgruntled
many fat-footed Democrats of both Houses Of
| Congress, amazingly.
Fillibustering.-Of all silly roorbacks Ben.
nett's last, attributing to the Administration an
indispositiOn to put down the Walker foray in
Lower California, is the most shameless. II
has been we'll known for a month past to every
one in Washington disposed to inquire at the
departments, or Of persons who are acquainted
with official military and naval orders sen,
from the Government here, that every possible
element of the Executives preventive means
on the California side, have been directed 80 as
to insure that no reinforcements shall join
Walker from United States territory; and also
to aid in Kidding Lower California of his pres.
ence.
Items Concerning the Contest for Public
| Printer.-We understand that Mr.. J. W. For
| ney instructed his friends to withdraw his
name from the contest for House printer at
about p. IN yesterday, being indisposed to
stand in the way Of the election of Judge
Nicholson, after he had purchased and thus
obtained the entire control of the Union news.
paper.
We learn, further, that Mr.. W. w. Curran
proposes to run against the caucus nomination.
Pay Of Officers Servants. 1t has been de-
cided at the Treasury Department that the
additional pay granted by the acts of Septem-
Der 49, 1850, and March 3, 1852, to the officers
and enlisted men serving in California and
Oregon, does not extend to the pay of officers
servants, which is regulated by former laws
prescribing the allowance.