The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1861-04-12
Army and Navy Items.

BUSINESS at the Charleston, Massachu-
sets, navy yard is pretty brisk just now.
There are over eight hundred men on the
pay roll and the monthly disbursements
average about $4,000. Thesteam frigates
Mississippi and Colorado, having been put
last fall in the naval ready trim, could be
fitted out for sea at short notice. The
last flag ship Of the China squadron, the
splendid steam frigate Minnesota, which
went out new and came home rotten, is
housed, waiting commission orders. She
was thoroughly overhauled before being let
out of the constructors hands. The Frank.
lin, the first American man.of.war on which
the novel process of conversion was tried,
is lying in statu quo: and there is no know
ing whether she will be ever finished or not.
The liners Ohio and Vermont look as they
have looked for years, and the Virginia re-
mains upon the stocks, where she was placed
when John Quincy Adams, who expected to
see her launched, was President.
The new Secretary of tho Navy will have
plenty of squadron duty to provide ships
for, as soon as he gets his department to
rights. The following vessels are now
nearly, or quite, their full time in commits.
sion: The Sabine and st. Louis, of the
Home Squadron the Congress, in Brazil |;
the Mohican, Mystic, Sumpter, Portsmouth,
and San Jacinto, of the African Squadron !;
the Lancaster, Soranao, Wyoming, and
Narragansett, on the Pacific station the
Hartford, John Adams, and Saginaw, in the
Chinese seas. The successors of even such
of these vessels as have not been the speci-
fed two years in active service should be
receiving their crews now at our navy
yards.
The United States sloop-ofwar Wyo>
ming arrived at Honolulu on the 10th ult.,
in search of the missing sloop.of-war Levant.
The Honolulu advertiser of the l4th says
it was believed, from Capt. Hunts (of the
Levant) intention as to his course, and the
severe gales of October Sd to 18th or Goth,
in which whaling banks, ships, and the brig
Consort suffered more or less demages that
the Levant had met with serious disasters,
which had proved fatal to the ship and all
on board.
THE object OF sending orders to meet the
Vandala on her arrival at Hong Kong, for
her to proceed to Panama via Japan and
San Francisco, is for the purpose of bring
ing home Commander Lee, son-in-law of
Francis P. Blair. Commander Lee will
probably relieve Commodore Stringham in
the Bureau of Detail, which has recently
been established by Secretary Wells, not
withstanding such Bureau was voted down
in the last Congress three several times.
The court martial in the case of Com
modore Armstrong has been adjourned from
day to day, in the vain hope of obtaining
the most important witness, Lieut.. Gilman,
who is in Fort Pickens. The War De-
partment has notified the court that it is
quite impossible for summons for this
witness to be executed, and it would most
probably adjourn on Thursday, when the
decision would be made and sent to the de-
partment.
A COURT MARTIAL is to be ordered on
First Lieutenant Reynolds, of the Marine
Corps, attached to the Pawnee, now at
Washington. The charge is disrespect to
his superior.
IT is understood that the Secretary of the
Navy intends to make general sweep of
master workmen in the different navy yards.