Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1856-05-17

pacity to eviscerate subject and VIII 20 con'ro
and manage IL he will inevitably yield to tnelr ma
chinatons and will feel himself bound in the mesu
es by which he is surrounded. and at last mus
Weld himself victim to the designs OF packed con-
spiracies." All. horrible
picture drawn by the Senator. First as 10 tne
being family relatives: am informed that 1t Is rue
that one of the commanders actually, many years
ago, married the daughter of an uncle o. aho.ne'
commander: and that q brother OF one OF the cap
tains, who had been dead for many years. was Gu
nected BY marriage with another memoeF " .ns
hoard but with these exceptions. no other members
of the board were related to each other oy ties Oh
consaneuinity or affinity, so far as is KNOWN any
nearer than we are all related to our great
tor ADAM Now, what becomes OF the 'am"y ps'
ture? - tho
Senator and they have had great influence, IN us
estimation. in perpctrating the wrong OF wh:c1 nc
complains It turns out that there arc out zoo Navy
officers at the head of the bureaus III the Navy
partment; neither of them was on tne ooafu' al.
slists complaining. What becomes tnen' o. gus sn,s
imaginary packed conspiracy" OF Wncn the oe'-
re,ary "naust yield himself a victim!
Sir, the Senator only knows James y. Dooo'h a.
"a polite and elegant gentleman am sure tna' ~"
eminently EMIT ed to that appeation; but the SEN
ator does not know as do the incorrnptbe integrity
of the man the high motives OF his private or pup
lie conduct his great administrative talents his en-
ergy of will, or the perseverance which app''es WIZ
diligence all the powers Of his mind-not an oro'-
nary one-to the discharge OF his pubic duties, OF
he would not labor under the gross delusion that
the Secretary of the Navy was either consplrator
or " the victim of packed conspiracy"
But the Senator thinks it Every unfortunate that
the Navy has fallen within the control and Jurlsdic
ton of the Presiden, and Secretary" Why should
the Senator deplore this great misfortune? Does
he propose to amend the Constitution of the Unted
States? That provides that "the President shall
be commander-n.chicf Of the Army and Macy OF
the United States" In whom, then, would ne vest
the control and jurisdiction if he is dissatisfied
with the Constitution? Of course, not in the naVa!
| bureaus for they are regulated by e Vaccinations
| You must have intelligence and integrity to con-
! troll The Constitution making the President COM
| mandern-chief the law provided him an advisory
| cabinet, to be composed OF the Secretary OF the
NAVY and fifteen naval officers These officers we're
selected. as understand and believe. from the flow
err of the Navy officers of experience, of unblem-
ished integrity and standing high in their profess
sion The selection approved, and Landed in
the Navy and out of the Navy, from one end OF the
country to the other, as the Gerry best board that
could have been selected The Navy had, therefore,
the security afforded by board of their profession
al peers and unless the Navy differs from all other
professions, certain esprit du corps prec'udes the
idea Of the gross injustice charged upon this board
But the Senator stouty complains Of this control
and Jurisdiction" To whom shall we, them confde
the Navyg The President and Secretare are dis
qualified in the opinion of the Senator. for want of
experience; the bureaus are managed by improper
Vaccinations and fifteen of the most experienced
and able officers of the Navy made consprators
against their brother officers! The Navy, accord
ing to this PICTURE must be in bad way.
The Senator also attempts to put in conflict the
judgment Of the Secretary with the judgment Of the
board. He says less than fifty seven officers
stricken down by retirement or dropping. The Sec
rotary or the board he saws erred in Judgment as
to the efficiency of these officers. Represents "the
two horns Of the dilemma and says. gentlemen
may swing on either-I care not which; neither is
pleasant" The Senator, however, concludes Il dc
not think that Mr.. Dobbn would have detailed an
incompetent person for duty" Why should he
have come to that conclusion when he in another
place says that he thinks it livery unfortunate thai
the Navy has fallen within his control and jurisdic
tor and when he suppOses every Secretary OF thu
Navy, by the organization of the bureaus, " unes!
he has master will and experience of naval affairs
is placed in mesh:" The Secretary Of the Nav,
is indebted to the Senator for the admission that III
has intelligence and integrity enough not to detail
an incompetent person for duty! But what are thu
facts?
The result of my inquiry is that only twenty ON
Of those officers were on sea duty; the balance wer
merely doing duty on shore, but not at sea. Thes
officers were ordered, partly by the former. ant
partly by the present Secretary. Is it remarkable
in list Of several hundred officers, Secretary
few officers who, investigation, found to b
nefficient9 He could not know them ALL The
officers in the Navy. 1t was their time to G
to sea. 7ico hundred were found by the board to
inefficient. Some Of :hem necessarily had to he o
duty, and great object of the reform was to &C
rid of the necessity Of sending inefficient officers
sea. and Of supplying their places with etficent.-
And now because the Department sent such to duty
. the cry is, "Why did you send such men to duty
The answer is, 81 could not help it; told you tn
Navy had too many inefficient men in it, that tn
service was suffering, and that reform was needle
t which, when thoroughly made, would enable tn
Department to send efficient and not inefficient of
n GERS to sea-" The great object of the reform We
to relieve the Department of the necessity of sent
s ing to sea inefficient officers.
: The Secretary tells the board:
S 81 esteem it but proper to say to you that, no
' withstanding every effort to avoid them, both n,
d predecessors and myself may have committed mi
takes in issuing orders to officers who, in the judi
d ment of the board may not be competent accordin
J, to the spirit and meaning Of the law. You will NJ
IS allow such cases. if there be any, to cause you II
s. slightest embarrassment
If But come now to reply to more grave charge
d If possible made by the Senator from kentuck
" mr. CR1rrENDEN.1 The position assumed by the Sc
ator that the power of removal by the President
ID der the law was but statutory provision and tn
,r We were competent to annul the statute, and II
N proceedings under it, struck me with surprise;
ID that position was completely met and retuted
the Senator from Delaware, Mr.. CLAYTON that
,e only aude to it to bring to the attention Of t
ID Senate another position of the Senator as untenab
it and to say that when gentlemen are led away
Us this question by seductive and enchanting declan
to ton addressed to our kndest sympathes and sen
ID bites, in behalf of supposed wronged and injur
meritofous officers, they seem to launch into a S
of inconsistency and absurd conclusions.
hat hoord If