Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1856-02-19
zN.AvAI. BOARD AND LIEUT.

lnithe AnDals Of blunders aud the chronicles
of sbsurdities, there is found no parallel to the
proceedings Of the Naval Board appointed under
an act of the last Congress, entitled, san act to
promote the efficiency of the Navy" and which
assembled az Washington on the goth of June
aud terminated its labors on the 26th Of July
1t was composed of five captains, five cOmman-
ders and Eve lieutenants. selected by the Presi-
dent, and they were TO report TO the President
Ihe names of all navy officers ''found incapable
of performing the duties of their respective
ranks and grades The Board reported as in
capable, &c. one hundred and ninety-four off
cars who iran the gauntlet" before them. OF
this number of 'incompetents" 1873 graded
06ore the junior member of the Board and only
rs bslo,g him, and of his own grade; one-third
If those 4bOre him were found Incompetent,
while of the number Jtlo,s him only one-seteath.
This is rather remarkable result, and Of itself
tells its tale. The records of the Senate during
the present session, show the general diSsatis-
faction felt everywhere at the unheard of mode
of proceeding adopted by, ard the iniquitous re-
suits consequent upon the action of this Board.
bay sfler day do petitions pour in, signed by
the people, protesting against its proceedings and
asking to have the meritorious officers of the
Navy, its pride and its ornaments, restored to
their country S service and relieved from the
stigma which this Star Chamber proceeding has
affixed to their hitherto unspotted names.
Il In all the records of the Inquis,tion there is
found no instance of proceedings such as have
characterized the action of this Board. They sat
with closed doors, examined no witnesses, made
no charges kept no records, and simply present
to the President their conclusion that the best
officers in the Navy are incompetent. They
were not even sworn to do their duty major
ityi of one may have decided every case, and we
have thus one hundred and eighty.eiigdt officers
Of tho Nary elected iron. office, degraded, and
.torerer 6arred from promotion IN their prctSs-
sion, and this possibly, By the tote Of one Lieu-
tsnant, an4As not syea sscora! Was ever such
yap instance known in the history of tyrannya
Among the number who have been pronoun-
eed incompetent is Lieutenant NJ. T.; Maury
Oft the United States Observatory, and when the
public are Informed of this they will not be sur
prised at the violent justice Of the complaints
made OF the action of this Board
It seems froma letter Of Lieut.. Biddle, one of
this notorious Board, that Lieut. Maury was cut
OF because he met with an accident some 10
years since, while on duty, which was then very
serious. II does not appear that it is SO now.
But Lieut. Biddle goes on to say that whenever
eases presented themselves TO the Board of Off
GERS physically able, but morally unwilling to
Hb,tE l,,k,. (ro, a. II
they were bound to remove such persons from
the active list-no matter whether that unwill-
ingneSs arose from idlenesS, love of ease, love of
money, preference for other pursuits. or even
from an otherwise most lauiable lore OF scientific
Distinction" To be a sailor at the mast, to be
able to load and fire gun, ship the ruddeT, furl
the sails, and pilot the ship, seems to be the
acme Of navajo qualifications, in the opinion ofths
board-while the man Of science, of intellect, Of
naval knowledge, who has charted out the ocean,
and plainly marked the pathway of navies over
the deep, who has taught them how to avoid the
trade winds and shun the storm, who has con-
tributed more to promote the efficiency of ma.
vies and navigation, by single work, than this
Board could contribute in Millennium (were
they kept together that long, and with record
Of its proceedingS); is voted by this sapient as
sembly to be incompetent and necessary to be
SSAsorSi in order to promote the efficiency of
the navy! In the 18th century we have had
presented the old question ofthe ancients when
hand to hand the combatants contcndcd'' wheth-
or bodily strength or intellect was the better
O,,I 80 he 4
have deliberately "found for bodily strength"
Whata commentary upon the science of the 18th
century, The American people will hardly
submit to this. They will be slow to degrade
the man of science in their navy, whose name
ismore familiar, through his works, over christ
sadoua, than the combined names of all the aSpi-
rants for the place thus vacated, added to the
names of those who sanctioned their inquisitori-
al, unprecedented and tyrannical proceeding.
We look confidently to Congress to nullify
the whole proceedings of this board, VIC look to
Congress to uphold talent, service and science,
TO restore, and to promote the men who have
thus been stricken down by the s'power Of dark
ness," aud to say TO the world that the Ameri-
can Congress has yet to learn that it promotes
che efficiency of her navy" to strike down and
degrade hertried and noblcstoffcers, herbright-
est ornaments, aud cast slur upon science
and naval scientific attainment, but that on the
contrary ''naval efficiency can best be promo
ted by promoting merit aud attainment WHEREBY
er and whenever found in the. navy.
I-The Galena Advertiser states that on
Tuesday morning last the mercury in that place
stood at 20 deg. below zero, Sunday morning it
sunk to 50 in number of places. The above
paper sdds:-Monday morning We got the i'm
preston and so stated, that the mercury was no
lower than about 80, but Capt. Girdon, whose
meteorological observations we have generally
found to be accurate, informs US that the mer-
curry Of his instrument eoagsule,7 on that morn