Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1873-12-18
Congressional Matters.
W ARLINGTON. Dec.

WAsilINGToN, Dee. IL.
The House went into committee of the
whole ON the bill appropriating 81 900 900.
| for the navy. Mr.. Cox said there was NOT
! fight enough In the House to Kill a mouse.
as roven the other day 10y its action on the
| 0elliScrent resolution. Our diplomacy had
drasgled our Nag IN the dust, our navy
should be in better condition than 1t Is. and
the city Of New York is now ut the mercy
Of European iron-olads.
Dir. Kellogg OF Conn, asked il 1t was a
| good time In go to war?
Mr.. Cox said he was not speaking" Of 20
Ing 10 war The administration is not up
/ to the sentiment of the people and the
+ House j. pu>ilanimous before all tue
I world.
I Mr.. Hale Of Maine. said It was crafty
I in@ 20 witness the conversion OF the gentle
man from New York. Mr.. Cox lie had
! ~ his memory the constant attacks made
/ by that gentleman hitherto on all the Naval
! Appropriation bills. lie congratulated the
/ House and the country that that gentleman
"a- to-day In favor OF good aud fair. lib
crai and noble appropriations, but there
Z was mon>trOu. Inconsistency ia The gen
/ tleman's cry for war. lie had started out
7 by declaring that the House was pu>illaII-
/ nous, that the Administration was lacking
/ ia proper sentiment, aud that IL IL had been
| guided by better spirit, it would have pro-
! ceeded to take the Nirginiu> out Of the har-
Dor of Santiago de Cuba aud bring her IN
/ to American waters. At the same time
| that he (Cox) va, thus ur.in. and hound
! ing on To war. he had said what was not
| borne out by the facts, but which was all
| the more inconsistent in him lie saws
| (Mr. Hale contimted) that single spanish
irlSate can blockade our ports, eau bonn
mons aud millions or property II that is
| 80 Wiiat i the sense OF has Infatuated cry
7 Tor war: Sir. the best thing about In, An
P1oprat!on bill and the conduct of the Sec
retary OF the Navy in this emergency l.,
That all his naval preparation i, an arga-
inent, not f"r war, but for peace 70 be /
Well prepared In an emergency, and 10 /
show to the world that we will not bear I
insult, II such j, put upon u. Is the best
protection against insult The Secretary |
OF the Navy found the battered ~hips of the |
American Navy i'll the distant waters ofthe
globe, old and broken, rotten and hardly
>ea"orthy, and, in a time compaS,cd by |
I'VE or SIX weeks. he has put respectable
navy ahoat, which Is on it, way la the Cu-
ban waters. He did that IN the best inter.
est OF diplomacy: he did il in the best IN
tere>: OF humanity. Ii was not to precipi-
tate war upon this country. when to-day
we are biz with the memory of war
which, unless 1t be forced upon Us no sane
lllail wants u see again in this generation
lie ala IL IN the interest of peace and
venture 10 say now. that peace i, loonIu,,
III The sky, and tie spcck Of the war-cloud
has passed away. That i more owing 10
the GOOD Conduct, the vigilance. and the
enterprise OF the Secretary OF the Navy in
putting, in this short time. a GOOD navy Ia
the waters ready for an emergency, Than
TO any other cause. He has not been. and
the Administration has not been bounded
on 70 war IN TINS matter by those like the
gentleman from New York. and. for npe I
thank them for it,
Mr.. Hawley of Conn, said he had lis.
tened with an indignant start to the re-
marks from the gentleman from n v.
who had dared to tell the House that il
was puslllanimous, and had not energy
enough 10 Kill mouse. and that the fla. Of
the country had been dragged in the dust. {
lie had no admiration for that cheap sort ,
OF bravery, but he would not retort by any
remarks that would be equally cheap Tie
would not ask that gentleman why, when a
thtre was grand opportunity few year, l
back, to plunge into light on one side or ,
the other and it was not material on which
sIde. he had gone In. Did that gentlemen I
Know What it was! Had he ever seen can |
non balls go through men by his side. and
had ne seen men moved down BY hundreds
around nun: Did he know what war was?
ii ne uiu, why had he got up here and d
ranted rs he had done? 81 saw" continued q
Mr. Hawley. that man is guilty before :
Tod and his country. who dares stand here
and tribe with this great question. He does
not know what war is, or. if he does, then n
DC is twice the more guilty. knew man u
)Dce, who was extremely anxious to get 6
INTO one OF these little fights. The war .
1ad been progressing about a year and '
lalf. ana he had been assigned to some 81
ancy duty, at some distant post. and conn n
blamed that he never saw a fight We =
started an expedition. and gave this gal G.
ant colonel the command OF it. He came e
suddenly upon the enemy, and the Confed- :
rate opened terrible fire upon him. In
hree minutes time he came out of il. and
.ame out handsomely. but left about eighty
men behind him. l asked him the same
evening how he liked it. We'll" said he,
Il am satisfied; but when l was i'm the .
light minute or two, and saw men falling
Town all around me. thought to myself.
ant this COMPOUNDED thing be c0mprOinis-
a in same way Uaughter.) | wish to is
i'd an emphatic commentator of the IN 10
resident and Secretary Of State for their Al
aim self-respect, good sense, and may b,
'enturc to say. Christian temper and Chris %
ian craftsmanship, unpopular as that ex-
'ression has become, which they have ex- =
libited in this matter. 1t would have been
asy to have plunged the whole country
ntO war, unprepared as we were. But =.
ven il we had had the grandest navy in IN
he world. should have demanded of the be
administration the same reticence aud self sa
aspect which it has shown. The time has t :.
assed when the American nation can 90 re
ound the globe with chip on her shout g
er trying to get up fight with every IN =,
owdy it meets. We can be patient, tenn III
crate and dignifed with all the world er
,othing that Gen. Grant ever did, from the "a "a
me he left Galena. till he passed through.a Of
ne wilderness. and came into the White pc
louise, does him more honor than the pa :.
ent firmness with which he has faced the
panish difficulty. and settled it to the sat "
faction Of all.
Mr.: Myers Of Pennsylvania. believed the on o.;
is demanded, not only for the Ia.
resen. emergency. but by the ordinary re- te;
uirements VI the navy. r.
He claimed that the administration had ~ ~
obly vindicated our honor. Castsls, the sis