, 1865-01-18
THE LONDON TIMES on OUR
NAVY.
L Compliment to the Energy, En-
cheney and Economy Of the NAVY
Department..

Cleufy ana ECouo1uJ u sAe Nus1
Department..
It has been frequent remark Of our most
experienced nary officers who are In corrcs-
pondence with foreign officers that Europe
would be the first to recognize The cxttaordl-
naIyaincrtase Of our navy, as well as the cfii-
citnt and economical administration Of its
affairs. The London Tines In the following
finding and bcgrudgingly, where condemna-
tion and abuse Of our country has been the
,ule.
bIr. Gideon Wcl1ea, the Secretary Of the
Federal Navy, is undoubtedly entitled to
claim credit for the exer,ions Of his depart
ment during the great civil war. He falls
into the cxnsgc1atiuu characteristic Of his
countrymen, when he ascribes to the Ameri-
can marine achievements without purallcl or
precedent in qny nnsy history; for s99d sda.h AZ,
they did not 60 into battle with tron~csads,
and great naval expeditions have been under
taken, though the means were adapted to the
age ind the occasion. But Il we louk impar-
TALLY at the work which deyolyed suddenly
upon the American admiralty four years ago,
at the resources which then existed for Its
performance, aud at the manner in which 1t
! bas been actually performed, We must admit
That the tone Of congratulation pelvading the
sec1etary's report is 6y no means without
In the month Of March, 1861, when Mr.
Wel1es entered upon bis duties Us head Of the
Navy Department, the navy Of the United
States contained but 70 vessels of all descrip-
tions available for service. Il now contains
Gil, q large proportion Of which are vessels
newly constructed, on the principles suggest
| I'd By modern warfare. In this powerful fleet
there ore no fewer than II iron-c1ads, and $50
ships out Of the Gil arc propelled By. steam.
Al the commencement Of the war the Gov
Of these only 207 we're in the home ports. In
the present month the number Of men borne
on the estimates is 81, 600, while during tM
present year, though 20 ycssels hare been
lost to the Federals by shipwreck, battle, or
capture, .he Navy List still shows IN increase
Ut IS vessels over the fleet Of 1868. Nor has
this provision for the exiSencies Of the war
been upon any excessive scale. The blockade
maintained ty the Federals extends over
coast line of SOY miles, and this service, at
any late, is really unprecedented in magni-
several s Stations Occupied By II eet deserve a I've
the cpitbet Of ''immense." which Mr. Lincoln
gave them.
The Mississippi Itself Is divided into ten
nnydt districts, each under d separate COM
taught us how Ekill1ully and sesyiccably the
navy has co-opcrated with the army even In
the interior Of the continent. The whole war,
in fact, on the Federal side has been half
naval war, and the gunboats Of the Union
have enabled its land forces to attempt and
|
practicable enterprises. In the face Of 20
much success 1t would be inyidious to insist
upon failures; but We cannot forget that all
the clict seapo1ts OF the tonlcderacy, with
the exception Of New Orleans, are stil1 in
Confederate hands, that tie Formidable payy
CT the Fcdcrals had no enemy to deal with,
and that the dcpredatIons on American com.
merce, which Mr. Wclles charges 80 bitterly
to the account Of British maiice, were due
enly to The Temporary inability Of the North
| If Mr. Lincoln's statistics are correctly re-
ported We may say something more Of the
Federal navy, and admit that it has been eco
nomically raised md thrjftily maintained.
cost Of the navy, from the beginning Of the
war to the present time, as less than ESQ, Co., :
000, which would represent an annual expen-
dituIe Of some 912 coz, 600 only-a charge
ha. dly exceeding our own. But there Is ei-
ther some mistake in these figures, Or the
an enormous rate, for Mr. We1lcs now informs
| us particularly that the charge for the ap-
proachlng year will be upwards Of GO ,0oo, ,000,
Or nearly double the average Of former years-
Still, even that sum appears moderate in com.
'hc army, especially il We recoilect that tie
American estima,c includes the cost OF the
ordnance stores, which In our own estimates
are separately provided for. Mr.. We1les, ,how-
ever, contcmplates spending 10 less than
| @l4,VV,OtN II tne c'lLstlacttunf EeIlr+ ana
equipment Of vessels during the coming year.
It will not have escaped the notice Of at-
tcntise readers that at The moment when ne
} are urged in this country to abandon Or cur
tail our Government establishments for the
; maintenance Of the navy, the head Of tle
Nary Department in America Is stfenuously
insisting un the absolute necessity of such
+ establishments. What Mr. Gideon Weiles
| said IN previous years he says over again n0W,
: and retteiates more eagerly than ever his con
viction TINT the Federa1s must have such
. / yards and arsenals as would place the Goy-
3 | e1n1nent above the necessity Of depending on
contracts with private builders. He has ar.
Score Of exigency, but on that Of economy
| ascertaining that It would be cheaper as well
: | as better for the country to manufacture for
t ! itself the ressels and machinery which it il
now compelled to buy. We have remarked
on former occasions that these opinions arc
: to be received, perhaps. with soml qualities
cIal; but it was Impossible not to perceive,
from the more detailed statements given ii
:. some Of his previous reports, that the service
:. aud the Treasury were really suffering t.
: ,ecther from the system which has been
A recommended for our own adoption.
4 The instructions which We might otherWiIe
= in marine a1mor md pro1cctiles is materially
i diminished BY the circumstances under With
a the chief reports have been made. The great
= | tr,aI of The Federal iron clads took pace in
e tle attack upon Charleston, aud the Eli:are
i. Of that attack was attended with SO much
/ | o1,arreling and 1ecriminatien among The oil
4 GERS concerned as almost to inyalidate the n:'
mira} In command reported disparagingly, o
Il | the monitors and their performer FINANCES
n / other officers differed entirely from him II
r. their estimates Of the facts, and the Fedea