Morning journal and courier., 1880-12-03

that such laws be enacted as will enable the Secretary of the Navy through the disbursing officers of floating vessels to draw on com | mon fund for extraordinary expenses for loss or waste, and those in excess of the allow ances established by law and regulation for each ship to be made by one title and con- sisting of some certain percentage or propor- ton of all the appropriations for any gwen fiscal year.
 The Secretary next proceeds to a review of the reports of various bureau officers, all of which have been published excepting the fol- lowing relative to the bureau Of yards and
 docks Kittery yard-The estimates for this
 yard are for workshops and waterworks $21,- GOO. The former are much needed. The es-
 inmates are for water pipes, paving and grad
 ing, dry dock gate and repairs of ropeWalk
 $76. .883.75.
 Brooklyn yard-The estimate for repairs to
 the Cob dock and for dredging is $70, 900.
 This dock is in very dilapidated condition,
 and unless it is repaired will be liable to very serious injury Good economy requires that
 the work shall be done without further de-
 lay.
 League Island yard-The estimate for
 dredging and filling in the improvement of
 dikes and stable for fire engine, horses,
 wagon, etc., are $85, 900.
 Washington yard-The estimates for the
 purposes of land and dredging the channel Of the river are $32, ,6O4.70.
 New York yard-The estimate for water and water cisterns is $13, 822.6O.
 Mare Island yard-The estimate for a dry
 dock, the completion of an iron plating ship,
 constructing and repairing roads and pave ments and repairs of the floating stock,
 $250, GOO.
 New London yard-As there is no hospital at this yard, it is suggested that an appro- priation be made for building one. In refer ence to torpedoes, should war unfortunately
 break out, a body of officers would be found in the navy well prepared to superintend the construction, and another group to operate with judgment and skill this i'm portant wea- pon of war, and it may be said with perfect propriety that comparison of our own torpedo supplies and of the tech nical information of our torpedo officers With those of other countries furnishes the well grounded belief that we are in this branch fully up to the present standard of the world. The Secretary comments the training ship system in the highest terms. The impor- tance of coaling stations in Central and South American waters is fully set forth and at tention is called to the advisabihty of building up the commerce between the United States and the countries of that quarter of the globe
 In closing the Secretary refers to the fact that in his annual reports for 1977-8 special attention was called to the relations between our navy and commerce. What was then said has gained fresh importance by the con- stantly increasing surplus of our agricultural and manufacturing products now being sent
 by sea to all parts of the world. To this immense commerce the navy is necessary ally, and must at all times be prepared to furnish it protection It is impossible to do this effectually unless a sufficient num-
 Der of the right kind of vessels are constructed not for cruisers merely but for all the purposes Of war when the emerg ency shall require it. The cruisers we now have are constantly employed in various seas,
 and it is so much respected in all parts of the world that there are very few instances where
 our merchant vessels have been 1nterfered
 with But undoubtedly it is true that wheth-
 CT the navy be regarded as the protector of our commerce or as the essential means Of national defense the number of fvessels should be increased, and it is equally true that good policy requires the government to employ all it's legitimate powers to increase the strength of our mercantile marine so that 1t may be- come commensurate with all the wants and necessities of our commerce. The increase of one should be proportionate to that of the other. It is not in the province of Congress to build vessels for merchant service, nor IS it expedient or possible to allow commercial articles to be transported upon vessels of war But it is undoubtedly within the constitutional powers to give the nec- essary protection to our sh!p building interests so as to justify an increase of our mercantile marine to such an ex- tent as the necessities of our commerce shall require. It is entirely competent to arrange with ship builders with reference to the extension of our postal service upon the ocean. and to require that the vessels used for that purpose shall be so constructed that in the event of war they may be employed immediately for war purposes. Such vessels, built for strength and speed, would add most materially in case of necessity to our means of national defence and an increase of our own naval force by this means would soon enable us to compete up- on the ocean with the strongest navy in the world Whenever our own commerce shall be carried on in vessels owned and built by our own people, capable of being turned into ships of war when necessary, then we shall reach point of equality with England | and be prepared when the necessity shall come to test with her the question of superiority on the sea. Before the war we ! had nearly succeeded in running British yes sells from the ocean, and since then have con tented ourselves with uttering complaints ! against England for her agency in destroying | ours while the war was in progress. The time for active and energetic measures has now arrived and every future year of neglect ! will add to our inferiority.