The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1885-07-24
THE DOLPHIN AGAIN.
Ex-Secretary Chandler .akes q Few Re-
marks .Auent the Recent Opinion of At.
torney- General Garland In the Dolphin

Ex-Secretary Chandler .akes q Few Re.
marks .Auent the Recent Opinion of At.
torney- General Garland In the Dolphin |
Case. -
BOSTON, MASS, July 15.-Ex-Secre-
tary Chandler has written to the journal
In reference to Attorney General Gar
lands decision, that the contract with
Mr.. Roach to build the Dolphin is void,
that payments to Mr.. Roach are illegal
and may be recovered and that the Gov
ernment should seize and hold the Dol
phin as security for repayment. Mr..
Chandler says:
"Mr. Garland's and Mr.. Whitney's as
sumed fundamental condition of the
statute is nowhere contained in its terms.
1t appropriates for four ships as recon-
mended by the Naval Advisory Board.
They find that the Board recommended
that the dispatch boat should have sea
speed of seventeen knots; and then they
say such speed is vital prerequisite to
be absolutely guaranteed in any contract
for construction which may be made, al
though by the express terms of the law
the designs of the ship, in de-
tail, were to be made by the
Department, and the contractor was to
have nothing to say or do about them.
with no foundation of law or sense to
support it. It would seem as If the
newspaper report of Mr.. Garland's opin-
ion must be incorrect. At first he is
made to say OF the clause in the contract
that the ship should be built in accord
ance with the provisions of the acts of
Congress:
81 am of opinion that this covenant
bound the contractor as effectively to
make ship of a sea speed of seventeen
knots as though he had agreed to do so
In express words"
But later he says of the clause which
provides that the contractor shall not be
responsible for failure to develop 260-
horse power, If it is not due to defective
workmanship or material:
'The obvious intention of this was to
| relieve the contractor of all responsibility
as to the speed and power of the ship,
| and therefore, he says it follows that the
| contract exists between Mr.. Roach and
| the United States,' and that he must pay
back all moneys received by him, and
hand over the Dolphin as security that ne
| will.n
This reasoning can not be the work of
| good lawyers. If Mr.. Roach did guar
antee speed as effectively as If he had
/ agreed to do SO in express words, the
/ contract can not be absolutely void be-
cause elsewhere is clause which re-
lieves him from a guarantee of horse.
/ power. Let it be noticed that this
wicked assault upon Mr.. Roach by
two newly fedged Cabinet Ministers
reyelling in misused power, is perpe
trated solely for the assumed reason that
the Dolphin has net fifteen knots
sea speed, when in fact, on every one o.
her several trial trips, she has reached
fifteen knots, and the last trip was made
at sea in pursuance of the orders of Mr.
Whitnsy, but Mr.. Whitney, enraged at tht
result, says the sea was not high enough
and fifteen knots sea speed means seven
teen and half knots, when there is no
q high sea, and upon this arbitrary as
sumption the whole fabric of outrag,
committed by him is built.