The New York herald., 1871-12-18
tn NAVY.

by One Who Has Devoted Series Of
Years to this Branch Of Oar COuntry's
Service.
UNITED STATES Receiving SHIP vEaMoNr.l
Dec. IL, 1871. i
To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD:-
7emit me through the medium or your widely cir
culated and valuable journal to call the attention
Of the public and OF the federal legislature NJ It's
present session to the growing evils consequent
upon the manner In which business Is transacted
on board our naval ships, as well as to offer lew
practical suggestions, pregnant and to the point,
which, II taken up and adopted by the proper
authorities, would 60 far, In my humble opinion,
not only to ameliorate the condition Of Us tseamen)
as Glass; but also to elevate and exa't the service
In their estimation, and thus oring the navy up to
its former high standard OF excellence and efficiency,
as 1t existed for some time previous to and during
our late tntcrnecine strife.
In the nrst place, the navy Is unpopular with
q very large percentage Of the men formerly
engaged in it's service and which went far to-
wards making up Its efficiency. TO say thatl Is as
ericieht now as formerly woula be much the same
as endeavortng to convince one familiar with its
for years against the evidence Of his own
senses Aud why Is thisl Is the query which naturally
suggests ITSELF 1t is this: The men, those OF them
who are familiar with naval matters and usages,
no longer see the navy OF bygone tmes It's personnel
privileges are fewer, while the exactions are
greater. Ships are now frequently placed IN com-
mission and sent to with but one 10 two scaulen
In each part OF the shtp the remainder OF the crew
being raw and inexperienced; ncnce UNNECESSARILY
Snlrequent to hear nowadays OF q mal-of- wars
crew resolving themselves into q merchants sn1p
crew for the safety OF the vessel IN anything ike
heavy weather at sea- Why Should this be so 1t
iH only q day or two since tnat seveial good men,
navy ana were known to be good seamen ana good
men, were rejected by the medical board OF Inns
Ship Notwithstanding they were armed with
dences OF falthiulness from their late command
or executive oticers. wnIe tue door was thrown
wide open for all canallers and others offer
Ing themselves We cannot hope or expect TO
keep up the efficiency OF tue navy IN this way,
rejecting the good and encouraging the bad, while
we also endaRger the safety OF our ships oy sending
then to sea poorly manned. Tnen, again, the re-
liberty and the privilege OF drawing money when
due 70 US ON the BOOKS, are the groundwork OF Just
an entire absence OF system in this connection which
cannot be too severely inveghed against since there
this 'IMs partcuar Iaese tae are few oi the
grievances which we as seainen have TO complain
naa a ~ nd ~ l cnorr a taev
be removed, as well for the bcnent OF our country's
navy as Tor ourselves. With regard 70 ON me sugges
many good seamen are Kept out OF The navy ny rea-
son OF two causes. me lrst is the en;ire want OF
availability so far as their honorable discharges are
concerned. 1t said In this connection that there
are now upwards OF two thousand Of THESE DIS.
charges unheard from since the late war; Cannot
the government, l ask. extend the time OF avail
ability OF these discharges from Que 10 TWO years,
commencing from the assembling OF the present
session OF Congress- Keeping in view only the three
months pay which originally taches TO them ana
noldersi This would seem to me necessary as wei
as polite, as some SUCH incentive Will nave to be
eventually offered for the proper material The
the ration In september, 1862. This obnoxious
enactment Is and has been source OF much disalec-
ton among seamen IN the navy, and Will ever re.
main SO. God grant that 1t may pc repealed at the
present session, and that our navy heretofore never
Tnoly 70
hess. may again be manned as formerly II was
with the best sailors IN the world.
A movement Is now on foot with the cOrdsG! ana
earn 81 support or the majority OF the officers OF the
navy, having IN view the presentation OF memorial
to Congress at It's present session. 70 De signed oy
to 200; all seamen therefore, OF the navy anu mer-
chant service are requested 60 ooperalc, ~ ths
their condition be ameiOrated. q. TRANEitS
Naval Orders.
WASHINGTON, ID. G., Dec. 10, isT.
Commander Orossman Is orderca to the tempo
rary command Of the Marion; First Assistant En-.
gineer George W. Stevens is ordered to the New
York Navy Ys.ai Yss.a; surgeon Thomas n. penrosc is
detached rom the swatara and granted three
months leave; Surgeon II. M. Wall from the Wyo-
ming and ordered to the Canandaigua; Surgeon
Thomas Hiland from the lroQu0is anu oroereu ~ ~
the WyOming; Passed Assistant Engineer y. ni.
dearborn from the Wasp ana ordered TO return 10
the United States; Second Assistant Enyinee ~ W.
brennan from the Naval ACADEMY anu 49, ."r, fror,
the Wasp; Assistant Surgeon Henry StsWar' 'f'u
the severn and ordered to the Cauahaa'g"a -
The Proposed Navy Yard. ~
CUSTOM HOUSE, NEW LONDON Conn.,
COLLECTORS OFFICE, Des. IL, 1871. }
To TIE EDITOR OF THE HEHALD:--
l notice In your paper OF the lltn ins para.
graph In which q strange blunder occurs While
sncak,ns OF the arrival OF the Monitors now
ian up az the Navy. Yard on the ThamoG
River you say "the vessels were pre-
vented from entering the river Thursday !,
i,y tie heavy Ice between New London an,Y
Norwich.u l beg leave most respectfully 70 be