The Portland daily press., 1870-06-06
leTms $500 per onnuna, Ia, adrooce.

aIito ~, ~ are required for all these duties
nrovisi99a .ne necessities OF the service and the
Pr nss 'rS'ols OF existing laws. Whether tbev
are engaged in active duty or yai,inr' Iui'y 10y
| justice ana sound policy concur in reon;r;n, -
wnat eXlstlng laws also reouire-tbat The ,7o,,
| OF naval officers shall to some extept cont;,pS paS
III this were not common Justice il wonld a.
least be common prudence. No maritime
and naval power has ever been or ever will
be guilty of the folly of turning its naval
officers adrift The moment their cruise is
ended.
Navy officers fit for important commands
require the training and experience OF years,
and cannot be obtained at moments no.
tice nor be called into existence by proclama-
ton any more than can ships, dOckyards, ar
senalS or ordnance, none of which can be
legislated Into being, even upon the spur of
rebellion or invasion.
1t must not be forgotten that a ship-ef-war,
armed, equipped, manned and officered for
eIhclent service, is the combined result of
much labor, skill, science, training, discipline
ana experience, produced by slow processes
and organized with care.
we are canning TO be great naval power,
and yet, While the necessity for a naval force
commensurate with our commerce and rapid
ly extending territory and trade becomes daily
more and more urgent, we are apparently ior-
getul OF, or Indifferent to the fac: that ships
and naval organizations cannot be extempo-
fized like regiments, but are, as L have said,
the growth and product of long continued
industry and skill
beg leave to remark, in this connection,
that merchant steamers, whether built of iron
or wood, built as they now are in this coun-
try,. CON be OF little voiue time of war, ex-
cept as privateeis. As such they would no
terrible foes to the enemy's commerce Rnt
they cannot encounter war ships, for tney are
are not built to carry heavy batteries nor TO
resist the action of heavy shot or shell.
While, therefore, they would for many pur-
poses, form valuable auxiliary of our force.
they cannot be relied upon as the main body
of the navy.
II we are to have navy, if our naval YES
sells are expected to encounter hostile ships,
we must, as formerly, have ships of cores
pondmg size and foice to meet them, as well
as officers and seamen equal i'm training and
skill with those OF the enemy.
Meanwhile, it would, undoubtedly. be a
wise economy in time of peace to use, as far
as possible, small vessels in the service. as
these may be employed with small crews and,
distributed more widely, would fulfill with the
small force allowed, more nearly the require
ments OF the naval service. But we have very
few small ships worth repairing, and thus the
force allowed is now concentrated, more than
should be the case in the larger ships and at
remote points. But assuredly this is not the
fault of the administration. Let the necdul
means and authority be given and proper
ships of each class will follow as soon as in
dustry and skill can produce them.
There is some suggestion that we have too
many navy yards along our coasts. But all
naval preparations must have regard to the
needs OF war as well as of peace. Should we
engage in maritime war, the folly of having
but one naval station on q long line OF ATTAIN
tic coast, would, l think, become evident to
the most careless observer. We should then
find the need of yards in favorable situations,
in order to multiply facilities in different lati-
tudes for the shelter ani Tor the building re.
pairing and fitting out of slips and for the
defence of our maritime town and harbors.
One OF the most pressing present needs is
for m Ie dry docks. If these be denied and
we are TO have no permanent Improvements
in our yards on the Atlantic and Gull coasts,
we should at least have the means and au-
thority to build floating dock, which could,
if need be, go to sea and be sent to Key West
or some other convenient point to save the
expense OF time and money consumed by
sending every ship that needs repair, however
sight, TO some Northern yard. Such dock
would save its cost in single year.
Building material should also be stored up,
particularly TIMBER Tor seasoning (of which
not a stick, nor knee, is now on band,) and
the building of powerful cruising ships should
be commenced as soon as the material can be
procured. We require also to be provided
with heavy ordnance-with guns equal to
any that can be found in European naval bat
teries.
Naval guns of large calibre-e. O., the elev-
en- or iifleen-inch guns, have been proved to
be among the best, if not the very best, yet
produced. Not one has ever burst in action
The muzzles OF two OF them were broken off
at the homhardment of-Eer Fisher-not,
mi
because they fitted too tightly in the port
holes, and could not stand the consequent vi
bration. They have always stood the ex-
treme test OF constant firing Guns of this
character are produced slowly, and should be
| cast and in readiness Tor use as rapidly as Cir
| cumstances will permit.
| The submarine torpedo was found during
| the late rebellion to be oil immense importance
l for both offensive and defensive purposes.
| Torpedoes and torpedo schools and practice
| have been already adopted into European ma
| val service, and We must keep pace with
| them, and be prepared to use, as well as to
| encounter, this new and formidable instru-
| ment of warfare. A wise economy requires
| that adequate means be provided Tor this pur-
! pose.
have made these brief suggestions, most
| of them already alluded to in my annual re-
port, and all OF them lying on the surface of
| the subject, for the purpose OF representing
| some of the necessities OF the naval service,
and of answering some of the most common
mistakes of those who are in the habit of
complaining of its administration and ex-
penses.
l do not expect to satisfy those, if any such
there be, who wish to be discomfort, but only
| those who desire that the power of our gov
| ernment shall be recognized abroad, and its
dignity maintained, and that the spirit OF our
institutions shall be elt Tor good on foreign
shores. Such 1 would respectfully remind
that, while our nation, proud and progressive
with long coast line, an enterpris;ng people
and large commercial interests, must constant
ly accept foreign relations, Obligations and du-
ties the most important and difficult, and
sometimes dangerous, We are yet without ad-
equate means OF illustrating our principles or
| of enforcing a foreign policy.