Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-12-02

the Secretary of War in urging that it be
granted.
THE BIG GUNS.
The War Department is proceeding with
the conversion OF l0-Inch smooth bore guns
into S-lnch rifles by lining the former with
| tubes of forged steel or OF coiled wrought
| IRON. FIFTY guns VIII be thus converted with
IN the year. This, however, does not obviate
the necessity Of providing means for the con-
| structl0n OF guns OF the highest power, both
| LOT me purpose OF coast defense and for the
! armsment of war vessels. The report OF the
/ gun foundry board appointed April ?, 1888, in
| pursuance OF the act of March 8, 1883, was
n5es''e OF Feb ISSng 1s IN NV sp @es
| sage Of March 2e, 1884, 1 called attention
to the recommendation of the board that the
| government should encourage the production
| at private steel works of the required mate
rial for heavy cannon, and that two govern
mfnt factories, one for the army and one Tor
! the navy, should be established for the fabri-
| cgtiOn of guns from such material. No action
| having been taken the board was subsequently
reconVened 10 determine more Iully tne
! plans and estimates necessary for carrying
/ out its recommendation. 1t has received in
| formation which indicates that there are re-
| spOnsibie steel manufacturers in this country
| who, although not provided at present with the
! nece- sary plsnt, are willing to construct the
/ same and to make bids for con racts with the
government for the supply OF the requisite
/ material for the heaviest guns adapted to !
modern warfare, ii a guaranteed order OF
! sufficient magnitude, accompanied by posi-,
/ tive Appropriation extending over series OF
] years shall be made By Congress. All doubts
as to the feasibility Of the plan being thus re
moved, renew my RECOMMENDATION
! Congress as will enable the government to
| construct its own ordnance upon its own ter
/ rtory, and so to provide the ornaments &c
/ manded by considerations Of national safety
! and honor.
NAVAL AFFAIRS.
| The report Of the Secretary of the Navy eX-
| hiblts the progress which has been made on
/ the new steel cruisers authorized by the acts
] Of <
vessels under contract one, the Chicago. OF
1890 tons, is more than half finished. The
cessfully launched, and her machinery is
is now filling. The Boston. also of 1900 tons,
is ready for launching, and the Dolphin, dis
patch steamer OF 900 tons, is ready for de-
livery. Certain criticisms upon the designs of
these cruisers are discussed by the Secretary,
who insists that the correctness OF the conclu-
sions reached by the Advisory Board and by
the department has been demonstrated by re-
cent developments in shipbuiding abroad
THE NEW MONITORS.
TIE machinery of the double
and Amphltrite, contracted for under
the act Of March 9, 1888, is in process of
construction. No work has been done during
the past year on their amor for lack of the
necessary appropriations. a fourth monitor,
the MOnadnOck. still remains unfinished at
the navy yard in California. 1t Is recon-
mended that early steps be taken to complete
these vessels ana to provide also an armament
for the monitor MianIOnomah. The recon-
mendations Of the Naval Advisory Board, ap-
proved by the department, comprise the con- !
strtucti0n of one steel cruiser Of 4500 tons, one
cruiser Of 5000 tons. two heavily armed
GunbOats. one light cruising gunbOat, one dis
patch vessel armed with HOtchkiss cannon. |
one armored ram and three torpedo boats. !
The general designs. all Of which are calcu-
lated to meet the existing wants Of the service, !
are now well advanced, and the construction :
OF the vessels can be undertaken as soon rs
you shall grant the necessary authority.
THE JEANNETTE'S DEAD.
The act of Congress approved Aug. Z, 1872,
authorized the removal to the United states
Of the bodies of Lieut.. Com. George
". DeLODg and his companions !
of the Jeanette expedition. This t
plished by Lieuts. HARDER and SchuetZe. The {
remains were taken from their grave in the
Lena Delta in March, 1883, and were retained ]
at acl5tus until the following winter, the {
season being too far advanced to admit of
their immediate transportation. They arrived !
at New Ork Feb. 20, 1881, where they were +
received with suitable hOnOrs. {
THE GREEDY EXPEDITION. |
In pursuance of the Joint resolution Of e
Congress approved Feb 49, 1884, naval eX-
pedltiOn was fitted out for the relief of Lieut.. y
army, and of the party who |
had been engaged under his command in sci
entide observations at Lady Franklin Bay C
The fleet consisted Of tue steam sealCr Ihetls z
purchased in England. the Bear. purchased C
at ST. Johns, \. + ana the Alert, winch s
was genera sly provided b. the Britt h Gov | q
ernment. Preparations for the expedition I
were promptly made by the Secretary of the q
Navy with the active cooperation Of the Il
secretary Of War c
THE COMMANDERS. c
Commander George W Coffin was placed in {
command Of the Alert and Lieut.. William ,
u; E TRy in command OF the Bear Bear t.
was assigned the superintendent of the en-
tire expedition. Immediately upon its arrival
at UpernaviI the 1i-et began the dangerous q
navigation OF Melville Bay, and in spite of h
every obstacle reached LittetOn Island on II
June %, a fortnight earlier than any vessel Y
had before attained that point. On the same c
aay it crossed owl to Cape Sabine, where v
Lieut.. Greeley and the ether survivors of his c
party were discovered. n
THE RETURN HOME. d
After taking on board the living and the {
bodies OF the dead, the relief ships
sailed for st. JOun's, where they arrived :
on July II. They were appropriately .
at New York on Aug. 8. One of the bodies .
was landed at the former place, the others
were put on shore at Governors Island, and Q
with the exception Of one which was inferred '
in the National Cemetery, were forwarded =
thence tOthe destinations Indicated by friends. ,
The organization and conduct of this relief /
expedition reflects great credit upon all who =
contributed o its success. In this, the last Of
the state messages that shall have the honor y
to transmit 10 the Congress OF the :
United States, | cannot too strongly =
urge upon its attention the duty of restoring
our navy as rapidly, as possible to the high .
, p
lied it. 4 the long peace that has lulled rs =
into sense Of fancied security may at any
time be disturbed it is plain that the UOIcy .
OF strengthening this arm of the service IS :
dictated by considerations Of wise economy, l
Of just regard for our future tranquility, and Of =
a true appreciation OF the dignity and honor :
Of the Republic.
THE POSTAL SERVICE.
The report Of the Postmaster General ac
quaints you with the present condition and
needs Of the postal service. Il disclOses the
q
the reduction in the rate of letter postage, re-
commended in my message or Dee. 1, 1882 and :
effected by the act of March 3 1858, has been
uuch less than was generally anticipated. ,
My recommendation of this reduction was
based upon the belief that the actual falling
of in receipts from letter hostages for the yesr
immediately succeeding the change would be
$4,000, 900. II has proved to be only $.,2I5O0O.
This is o Trustworthy Indication that the |
revenue wi soon be restored to its former
volume by the natural increase Of sealed cor
respondence.
DROP LETTER REDUCTION.
/ confidently repeat, therefore, the recon-
mendation OF my last annual message that the !
single rate postage upon drop letters be re-
duced to one cent wherever the payment of two |
cents is now required by law. The double
rate is now only eXacted at offices where the
carrier system is in operation, and it appears !
that at those Offices the increase in the tax
upon local letters defrays the cost not only Of !
its own collection and delivery. but of the
collection and delivery of al other mali mat
ter. This is an inequality that ought no lon
ger to exist.
TWO CENTS PER OUNCE.
/ approve the recommendation OF the Post
master General that the unit of weight in tie
rating f first class matter, should be an ounce
instead of one-half Oun'e as 1t now is In
view of the statistics furnished by the depart
ment, it may well be doubted whether the
change would result in any loss of revenue;
that It would greatly promote the convenience
Of the public is beyond dispute.
FREE DELIVERY.
.1,1;, laAa
piled to five cities and the total number of T
offices in which it is now operation is l5S. /
Experience shows that its adoption, under
proper conditions, is equally an accOmmoda- S
ton to the public and an advantage to the {
postal service. 1t IS more than sef-sustaining,
and for the reasons urged by the Postmaster /
General may properly be extended. In the 2
opinion Of that officer it is important to |
provide means, whereby exceptional
dispatch in dealing with letters
free delivery offices mav be secured
by the payment of extraordinary postage. t
This scheme might be made effective by the I
employment of a special stamp whose cost /
should be commensurate with the expense of c
10 service IN of the large cities | j