Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1856-01-02
co,r,run1cAr1oHs.

COMMUNICATIONS
-, Il ~ ~ 1ssss For the Standardf &
Copore.s and Speaker The Knov Nothings are
: . ron sns"-1etion Of Macy Retiring Board, etc.
MEssRs. EprroRs NO Speaker Of Congress yet,
and still the country is safe. A few months ago we
were-not taught exactly to beicve-but the eiiort
was srenuousy made to teach US to believe that tne
Know Nothines would have the Speaker on the frst
ballot and that If they did not elect one, the country
would be ,irretrievabY lost They have not elected
one and STILL strange to say, the rivers now on 70 Tue
ocean instead of running up stream, and the sun
continues to rise in the east What pretty nx
they have got themselves intol They now say, that
the rights of the South paramount to every oner
issue; that secresy, opposition to foreigners ana
Catholics and opposition to the ADMINISTRATION arr
nowhere in the calculation. Well, by their previous
insane adhesion to these, fortified and sanctifed by
mysterious and solemn oaths, they have maze
broad gulf between themselves and the Democracy;
and the latter does not feel itself Influenced by any
party admonton nor by any national impulse TO go
them upon the great issue while them
selves are afraid to plunge in and come over to the
Democracy although the shores on this side present
the only safe and reliable landing. For getting
themselves into this dilemma they have only them
selves to blame. Perhaps the Philadelphia Conven-
tiou will help them out
narcotic it has been. 1t sprung up in the North,
and there it Aour,shed for while upon free SOIL and
then by natural process known to physiological
botanists its polen having an affinity Tor that OF
abolitionism. they became lovingly intermIxed and
produced pretty variety OF the same genus k Rh
Republicansn few seeds were brought to the
South bv one Philadelphia hortculturst, L. Levin,
ESQ., and the result is seen. Office hunting bees
will not get much treasury honey out OF such
plant
about the action of the Naval Retiring Board. All
the fuss and fustian is mere newspaper gammon.-
Tbs-that ia to say Norfok-is the great head quar-
tiers of the naval officers, and the place where you
can hear more that really interests the Navy than
any other location in the Unlon ana YET you rarely
hear remark made here about the injustice and
the arbitrary decisions of said board; very rarely
The gentlemen who left this vicinity partly to COM
nose the "Board," viz: Capt Barron and Lieut.
Page, are men who could not be induced by any
consideration, personal or ambitious, to lntlct
known wrong upon brother officer. They are the
soul of honor and above any solicitation which envy
or prejudice may make. There may be few lndi-
viduai cases of hardship, which may be traced to
the action oftne Board" but these few were doubt
less unavoidable under the circumstances, and turn-
ish no apology for the numberless appeals that have
been made from the decision which placed them
aside The New York Herald urges the shallowest
objection have yet seen to the decisions referred
to- 1t divides the time employed, by the number OF
persons dismissed or RETIRED and arrives at some
eight or ten minutes given to the consideration OF
each persons case acted upon. This is infinitely
far from being either just correct view OF the
matter; for the conduct and the competency OF the
parties implicated, had been passing in review be-
fore the members of the Board year after year; and
decision regarding the individuals, as their names
would come up, was merely the echo OF a long-ago
formed opinion.
MANY were retired on account OF the honorable
incompetency the predestined dement, of old age;
but it is not from these you hear much complaint;
more of them quietly and pleasantly acknowledging
the Justice of the fat and affaby submitting to it
1t is chiefly the summariy dropped that make the
most noise, and if all of them are as vulnerable as
some few that wot Of; the quieter they keep, pos
sibly the better for them. My opportunities have
been tolerably fair and far as have observed thu
officers who have gone up on the list since the de-
termination of the Board, noble, unexceptiona
BILE set of men. need only name as most familiar
to this section Capts. Barron Page and Poore, and
Lieut.. North. Why have kept good and competent
men out, on account of those who had become inef
cient through age or unreliable account of some
moral delinquency?
have said more about this subject than l other
wise would because l see in it attacks made ind-
rectly against Mr. Dobbin, than whose purpose none
was ever purer, when he got Congress to authorize
the holding of the Board" Mr. D. did not wish
Navy to become like that of England in the time
of James the Second, when Commanders were eth
er worthless morally, so inexpert professionally
IS not to know IS mizen top" from spanker
ora boom y; and as be had gone so thoroughly
and intensely into Navy reform he did not wish to
leave out one of the chief heads and fronts of the
offence" He may have reused up the ire of some
perturbed individuals, but the country thanks him.
Yours, &C., 1856.
Norfolk, Va.