The New York herald., 1871-02-11


Congress Yesterday-'A Naval Conflict IN the
House-Pensioninc the veterans--Thv Joius
International Commission.
The House got into regular sea lyht yes-
terday. Banks and Butler, with nguratiye
cutlass ID hand, and breathing direful denun-
Citations, led the boarding party in an attack
on the Admiral, while Farnsworth and Sar-
gent with equal fury resisted the assailants.
but were borne down by overpowering num-
bers 1t all came about over very innocent
looking Senate bill, which simply proposed to
permit former naval constructor in tho
Charlestown Navy Yard to withdraw his resig-
nation, accepted Eve years ago, and to be re-
stored to his position In the navy. The bill
was opposed on the ground that the resgna-
ton of the officer in question had been inspired
by the fear of meeting charge Of corrupt
practices, made against him In connection
with his official duties, and that, therefore, he
was an improper person to have in such
position. Mr.. Banks, in defending the
character of the person thus assailed, who
is constituent of his, was carried by his i'm
petuosity so far as to declare that that person
was in point OF reputation as far superior to
Admiral Porter as the Apostle John was to the
traitor Judas. The attack upon the Admiral,
thus suddenly opened, became general. It
was followed up 6y the assertion that even II
the charges against Mr.. Hanscom, the person
referred to, were true, his character would
still be better than that of the high naval
officials who prosecuted him; and then, sliit-
ing his point Of attack somewhat, the fate Of
the missing steamer Tennessee was alluded to,
in connection with the statement that scores OF
naval engineers had represented her to be un-
seaworthy, but had not warned the St. Do.
mingo Commissioners or any of the three
hundred people on board, because, under the
evil influence Of the Navy Department, they
were cowed and feared lest they should lose
favor and standing in TIE navy. Mr.. Butler
came to the support of Banks, aud opened
his batteries against the Admiral; whiY
Farnswortb, ever ready to break lance wiz.
Butler, quoted Mr.. Justice Dogberry's maxim,
that comparisons are odorous," against the
idea of placing the services Of Admiral Porter
in juxiaposition with those of the two Massa-
chusetts generals. Cox brought the funny
element into the dispute by proposing that, rs
Judas Iscariot was on the republican side Of
the House, he should have chance of getting
into the scrimmage. And thus this naval
fight went on for couple Of hours ending in
the complete discontinue of the gallant Ad-
miral and his allies, and in brilliant victory
for the ex-naval constructor OF the Charlestown
Navy Yard.
After the decks were cleared and the smoke
Of the battle had foated off the House went
to work and passed the Naval Appropriation
bill, which will allow the Admiral to
overhaul and repair. Subsequently the report
Of the conference committee on the bill to
pension the veterans of the war Of 1912 was
presented and agreed to. Under the bill, in
its present form, monthly pension Of eight
dollars is to be given to all surviving officers
and enlisted and drafted men and volunteers
who served for sixty days, in the land or naval
forces of the United States, during the Revo-
lutionary war or the war of 1912, or to their
surviving widows. The pensions are to COM
mence and be made payable, not from the
time Of application, but from the time of the
passage Of the act.
The Senate spent most of the afternoon in
executive session, in which the appointments
Of the commissioners on the joint international
commission were confirmed In the evening
there was session for legislative business.