Evening star., 1869-12-07
REPORT OF THE SEsRersRY OF
THE NAVY

monitors. OF the wooden ShipS 3. were sailing
vessels; 53 were steamers. with some auxiliary
sai!-power; - were steamers. without any Ell
clt MT sall-power. and - were without Sail-powor
OF any kind. The iron-Clads ar all steamers.
reiyIng Nholly ON steam under all circumstance.
'f all these CLASSES only - vessels, including
StoTe-ShirS, mounting SIT guns OF every calibrr.
were ATTACHED To fleets or returning tkcrefrlil.
SN moe. mounting 70 guns. were in commits
son Tor special service; and others az the yasi-
ous stations a. receiving ships. These. together
with u Tugs and small vessels, attached to she
various navy yards and stations. con>tii gted TIE
Whole force oi the navy at Jhat time effective
for immediate service. It has since been fauul
necessary TO Offer for sale, on foreign, stations :
of these vessels, which were condemned IS un.it
for service and unsafe tO send home: anl > more
OF them have been ordered home To the vario.ts
navy yards tor &c pair and alteration. or sale.
The remainder OF the navy not la commission
consisted Of 10 IRON cladS and monitors oi every
class, laid up at yaTOJs stations. none Of which
could 5e got ready ior service without thorough
oNerhaulng and expensive repairs to halls. tor
rets, and machinery. y OF which have been Goa
domned and ordered to be sold. as not adapted
To- our service; - Of them never having been in
commission; y vessels OF every class yet on the
stocks, and on which work had been suspended
and 10 vessels laid mp in ordinary or unut for
active service IN the future.
our i've cruising stations, known respectively
n the North and South Atlantic, the Pacific
the European, and the Asiatic. comprise within
their limits most of the ports and sea-coasts Of
the known world; and, in establishing them.
our Government has attempted 10 extend ItS
influence and protection over every field into
which. allurod by trade or science or inspired
10y religion. am American citizen has been able
20 penetrate. But il Is apparent that the means
employed were utterly Inadequate 10 the ends
TO he attained. and that our ,mall fleet on these
stations, consisting of forty-three vessels.
mounting $50 guns, with a tonnage of 40.a51
tons. was toe small i'm number and too weak i'm
character, force, and condition TO perform the
service required by the ideas OF the government
and the expectations of our people. Cruising
on the same seas, and with duties not more
rious and extended France has over 10 ships
in commission. of a tonnage OF 2Jn0ea tons;
while England has, crowded into the same area.
no less than l9l ships, with tonnage OF 80. 400
tons, with her dying squadron ready 10 reinforce
her power whenever occasion may require.
our effective force was still further reduced
by the fact that our monitors and iron clads.
lald up since the war. had received in the IN an
time little care. They were found. when the
attention Of the Department was directed to
them, in a state of rapid deterioration. These
statements, the Secretary saws, without im-
| ruting blame TO any one. exhibit our Navy al
low obb; condition the cause of which NAV
doubtless be found in the vast expenditure OF
material during the great war; in the eNhaus-
ton which followed il, and in a sense OF the
burdens it had imposed, affecting alike the DE
partmcnt. Congress. and the people,
TUrestOrc our small force TO am effective con
dition, and TO make it available I'm the best man
n,r IN its large and growing field Of operations,
IN the shortest possible time. with the material
at hand, and without addition to the national
expenses, was the first duty winch presented IL
self, and To its accomplishment all the energies
VI ldTtffltit nave bCtlt benz. ana under
took the task OF reOT ganiznS the material OF the
navy, a. far was consistent with existing laws
and the state Of the naval appropriations. Work
was renewed vigorously at all the navy wards,
and fast as possible our ships i'm ordinary were
put in condition for service. Those i'm commits
SION have undergone the same process a. FAST a
they could be spared from their stations.
40 secnre tlle greatest amount efficiency, ,
| with greater economy at the same time. all the
st' aners susceptible Of ii, which have been re-
/ paired or fitted out, have been given fuil sail
power and re-rigged, 50 that without interfering
WITH Their speed or effectiveness under steam.
they are ROW entirely independent OF il. The
result has already been a large saving. Several
cf our most effective cruisers have consumed uo
coal since the receipt OF the order. making. in
the Ite IN OF coal alone. - consumed under thg
ola system. saving of more than two millions
OF dollars per annum.
Our monitors and iron-cladS were also placed
in the hands Of the mechanics and put im thor
ough repair -Four of the largest have gone into
commission, as part of our available cruising
force, and the rest are kept, at small expense.
in complete order. that the whole fleet can To-.
ready for service in a weeks time Since the LIT
OF March, lst9, no less than 81 vessels Of every
class have been repaired or altered. or put in
process of repair at the various nayy-var,ls W,
| the books of the Treasury will show a decre,ss
/ in the expenditures OF the department for that
| time, as compared with the corresponding period
/ OF 1s6S, of :. .i2l ,S:22.93.
The Secretary then gives a statement of the
present force and it, empOy yments the various
stations; and SAYS: The present commander of
the North Atlantic squadron has been directed
While preserving strict neutrality between the
contending powers in Cuba. TO permit nO inilis-
tice TO citizens of the United States 10 prevent
interference with our commerce, ana at once 10
repel and punish any disrespect or violation of
our nag. The department desires 10 send 10
South America, as soon ar practicable. vessels
OF light draught, which will be able TO ascend
the flNels Of the Argentine Confederation and
Paraguay. A ship OF war has been stationed on
the coast of Alaska since that country was ced.d
TO us; and the sloOpOf war Cyane with a proI,-
erlI equipped steam launch. has also been sent
there as additional force during the c0nling
winter. The completion OF the Pacific railroad
must largely increase our intercourse with the
Last ana a. the presence of strong naval force
constitutes our most powerful appeal 10 Asiatic
respect; ii is deemed advisable 10 keen on tl,is
station as large squadron a. possible.
In closing this part OF his report the Secretary
says; such L. the condition and emplovma Mt of
our navy AT the Present time, differing from
what II Was at the commencement of this admin
lsuatlon, only in the advance OF the ships and
material on hand from a state of deterioration TO
a condition OF efficiency and Improvement
This, while il was all that the department could
30 under the present authority and appropria-
uOns, Is by no means all that / conceive 10 be
necessary for the safety of the great Interests
involved, or even FOR national defense in time of
danger. The service needs, and the position OF
our country requires, great increase i'm the
effective force of the navy: not so much in the
number of the ships that constitute il as i'm the
number and character Of those employed
We have already opened steam communion
ton between Europe and the East across our
continent and through our ports en- either
ocean. As our trade in this direction increases
we should gradully prepare to protect il on the
waters of both oceans; and our responsibility will
be largely increased, il we shall be able to OPEN
under the auspices and protection ofour govern
ment, (and We cannot commit il To anv other)
ship communication across the great lsthnus
To afford reasonable protection for our COM
merce We must have some ships able To cope
with those of other maritime nations Yet we
have not, at this time, on any foreign station. a
squadron whose combined force would avail for
a day against the powerful sea-going iron-clads
which both France and England have on the
same stations. These are not agreeable facts 10
contemplate, or to state, but, after giving the
subject much investigation and reflection i
have felt il TO be my duty TO state the truth
frankly, through you, TO the represe entatiyes of
the people, that they NAV determine how much
and how prompt action the situation requires
1t is true our best monitors would IL brought
into action, be powerful against anything that
floats, but these are steam batteries, not sea-
going cruisers. They are valuable for auxiliary
defence OF our own shores, but should not be re-
lied upon beyond them.
The report earnestly urges the propriety of
commencing at once the building Of sea-eoing
iron-clads, suitable to cruise foreign stations
and able to protect our commerce and vindi-
cate our principles in any emergency. We
should aim TO have one or more Of these ships on
each foreign station, and to be prepared with
the necessary reliefs. This will ultimately re-
quire no less than ten i'm all, four Of which he
recommends should be built at once. These.
with some additions to our wooden vessels, and
the the reftting on the plan adopted, and the