Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-07-27
The Minority Report OF the Committee
on Naval Affairs A Vain Attempt
TO Save Secretary RObeSOD.
Admissions OF Guilt Charged TO the In-
hereRt Weakness Of System Eos.
tered and Sustained BY the Re.
publican Party.
The Serious Question Of the Day. Is
President Grant Threatened with
InsaniIy?-Death Of Senator
CapertOn Etc.

| " "AS6lEGTONy y Il1 20 .-lub pNSlllDU
OF commissioner OF internal reverut
having been to-day formally declined
by Congressman M'Dougal it was Of.
fered to General Green b. Rsum, Of Hi.
nois, aud accepted by him this after
moon; wbeTeupon his nomination wss
cent to the senate. General Ralm is a
lawyer by profession, and about fifty
| years of age. He served throughout
the war in command Of brigade, in toe
army Of the Tennessee, and repTes ented
the Cairo, Illinois, district in the fortie'h
congress. His appointment is spoken
| of ss a highly creditable one by his old
congressional associates of both parties.
REPUBLICAN CAUCUS ON APPROPRIA-
TION BILLS.
The Republican snstors held a long
caucus this morning on the general sab
! ject OF appropriation bills. No formal
action was taken, bat lr)m the present
tenor of opinions interchanged by 8
large number of those IN attendance, il
| seems probable that the river and hsrb )r
appropriation bill will be drOpp or re.
| jscted by the senate, and that an agree
ment will be reached concerning the
other bills during the present week.
SUDDEN DEATH OF SENATOR CAPER-
Senator Allen T. Csperton, of West
Virginia, died suddenly at six o'clock
this evening, in this city, OF 0ugiad pee
tOris. He had been sick sin e Friday
last, though the physicians did not re-
| gard his symptoms as dangerous. When
they left him at one O'Clock to-day he
appeared to be much bstter, but about
six O'Clock was taken suddenly i'll and
died almost Immediately. His remains
will be taken to West Virginia to.mOr.
row.
TROOPS oRDERED TO HAM BURG, S c.
A letter from South Carolina says two
companies OF the regular garrison left
COlumb'a a for Aiken, opposite Hamburg,
on the tWenty-second, and will remain
there all summer. This is done in ote-
diencs to orders from the war depart
ment Two companies have been Or
dered to Hamburg.
THE CHARGE AGAINST JUSTICE HUMPH-
REYs.
A select committee Of the house has
been In session all day investigating the
numerous charges made by r. d. Mas
sey, member OF the Washington bar,
against Justice Humphreys, of the Su-
preme court Of the District of Columbia.
RESULT OF THE INvEsTIG ALTON OF THE
NAVY DEPARTMENT.
The views of the minority Of the com
mittee on naval affsiEs, signed by repre-
sentativts Harris, Dsrfor1h, and Hays,
ives presented to day in The house. The
minority severely critic;zs the msj witty
report, alleging that il is unfair IN It's
statements, fallscious in its cOnclu9ions,
aud is evidently promoted by psrtizan
spirit, and ignores entirely testimony
favorable to ths navy department, and
perverts other portions in such way as
to infitct gross injustice on the secretary
and other officers. In reply to the chair
man of the msjority Ss TO the alleged
deterioration of the navy under the pre-.
sent administration, the minority show
that the navy is to-day in 3 more eff
cient condition than it has been st any
time since 1859, Notwithstanding the
limited means placed at the disposal OF
the secretary. The policy of rebuilding
vessels that would nave soon become
useless, is defended by the minority as
economical, prudent. and iudiciou5, and
they say that instead Of censure for this,
as the maj )rity propose, the secretary
deserves the thanks Of the entire c0un-
try. With regard to contracts and pur-
c6sses, for which the minority severely
censure the secretary, and Implying cor
rupt action on his part, the testimony of
all the witnesses Is entirely concurrent,
nroTIug that in no single . instance
hiss the secretary ever erdeayored to in
fiuence any purchase or contract, either
directly or indirectly, by intimation or
otherwise. The charge By the majority
that the secretary had used government
materials for his own private benefit ls
pronounced by the minority as frivolous
and unsupported by testimony In re-
spect to the speculstions Of the secretary
and his levy Of percentage on contract
orr. the minority show VS. that these oper-
atoms were carried on without the
knowledge of the secretary, and that as
soon as he Yves advised OF such practices
ne interpoEsd vigorously TO check them.
Whatever abuses or frauds exist in con-
nection with the contracts for pUF Jhases
of the navy department are the resul OF
| defects inherent in the system long es-
| tabIishe6, and for which the laWsmsk-
| ing power, and not the department, is
responsible, and for which the ms )rity
i suggest no adequate remedy, although
| thew have been engaged in the inVesti-
| cation for six months. The minority
ssy. az to the polite ! influence exer-
| cised in the navy department, that the
| evil il one which originated under
| and Wss fostered by all previous Demo
| cratic ADMINISTRATIONS; that the only
Effort to check hes been made under the
nresent Republican administration, and
| that such political appointments are at
tributaa!e chiefly to the approximations
of members Of congreg9, and not to the
action of the secretary acd respective
| chiefs Of the bureaus. The minority
| enter fully into the examination Of the
| foreign navy account in London, show
| inc that the action Of the secrstsry was
entirely legal ana its results beneficial
! "a the government, as not doiiaT Of III h1
fund SSs been, or can be, lost. The mi
noritv reytaW generally the position
TAKEN by the msjCc.riiv, In order to show,
in many respects, the wrong conclusions
drawn from, il not peFseFslons, OF the
testimony of witnesses. Tne E2in0rsty
say that the proposal OF the msjority td
| refer the whole subject TO anothef COM
/ mitteo Of the house for final disposition
indicates either 2 disposition TO eva le
tha responsibility tmpO2et upon ths
nSvS.. committee by the ho4se, c. {
conscious i;assbiiity 10 dispose OF the sub
iect committed to thea IN g sstitfactory
! manner. I0e views OF tne LSiuoiby
conclude with a resolution declaring
that no evidence has been addnced our
ing this investigation tending to sho"
that Secretary RObeson has been guilty
OF any official misconduct or corruption
or any willful violation OF The law
The minority say; We find ourselVe
confronted with report agreed upoI
by a msjority of the committee ot on
hundred and sixty pages OF printed mat
ter, elaborately prepsred, and We ar
i compelled to submit 8 minority re9oI
--ithOat opportunity or time for tina
careful pI.anaratsop which this subjec
demands. This investigation has eT
tended over @ period On SIX mohtn'
i During the first four OF these the secrt
tary of the navy and the subordinate
of the department, the persons likely
= be- most affected by it, were CAREFUL
} excluded from the committee-roOm, an
= the seal Of seer sy was placed on th
lips Of the members OF the com mittsl
I Hundreds Of witnesses were examine
! | and discharged not only in Washing
y ton, but also at the,variOus navy-yards Q