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all ages, as to suppose any one man's mind equal to such discordant excellencies.

Feb. 7th, 1815, a "Board of Commissioners," consisting of three Captains in the Navy, was attached to the office of the Secretary, in order to discharge the ministerial duties" the procurement of naval stores and materials, construction, armament, equipment and employment of vessels of war, as well as other matters connected with the naval establishment," &c. The appointment of this Board accomplished something towards systematic duty, but three persons of the same avocation and proclivities were not qualified to accomplish the end sought in their appointment. The duty of naval officers proper, is but one of the essentials necessary to an efficient navy; this the Commissioners may be supposed to have perfectly understood. To judge of and contract for, all things necessary for the armament, equipment and provisioning of ships and to superintend their construction and repair; and to do all this in the cheapest and best manner, requires such knowledge as Captains in the Navy could make no pretensions to; therefore it was not surprising that in the end they proved unequal to the task.

In the place of the Board of Commissioners, a law of Aug. 31st, 1842, established the Bureau System which now continues.

1. A Bureau of Yards and Docks.

2. A Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repair.

3. A Bureau of Provision and Clothing.

4. A Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography.

5. A Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

For the Chiefs of these, the law specified that Captains in the navy should be appointed to the 1st and 4th. For the 2d, "a skilful naval constructor;" a Surgeon in the navy to the 4th, and the 3d was left open.

In the first appointment to the second bureau, the Secretary, (Mr. Upshur,) remarks: "In providing a Chief for the Bureaus of Construction, Equipment, and Repair, the alternative was between a naval Captain qualified to equip, and a naval Constructor qualified to build and repair. I did not hesitate to prefer the former, and the place is filled by a member of the late Board of Navy Commissioners." A Captain in the navy continued at the head of this Bureau, with a Naval Constructor and Chief Engineer attached to the same, until the 1st of July, 1853, when a subsequent law took effect, disqualifying a Captain for this position, and leaving it open for the Secretary of the Navy again to select from any other grade or position, "a skillful Naval Constructor." The result has been the appointment of a Naval constructor with a Chief Engineer in the navy attached to the same Bureau.

The Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing, after changing from

a Captain in the navy to a citizen, is now rightly filled by a Purser in the

navy.

The Navy Department, as now organized, is peculiarly adapted to good government. The Hon. Secretary being the head of its several Chiefs, all subject to him, as he is one of several in like manner subject to the Executive, constitute it, in a remarkable manner, a systematic miniature of the beautiful organization of the government itself. And this system is perfectly applicable, in all its detail Every station is capable of being made a subdivision of the various Bureaus. A good Administrator at its head, therefore, is the essential quality to a harmonious performance of every function.

But notwithstanding this apparent symmetry, the office of Secretary of the Navy is beset with numerous obstacles to its faithful discharge.

Each and every officer in the navy cherishes a certain amount of political influence, which is continually being brought to bear on the Secretary, frequently from the most unsuspected quarters. Preference for agreeable occupation is natural to all. But the persuasive eloquence of a friend at the Capital, who is on social intercourse with the source of orders, has frequently led to the surprise of the Secretary himself at the succession of agreeable service of some officers, to the detriment of others less influentially represented.

The discipline which always distinguishes the good offcer seems not to have fortified him against calling in question the orders of the Department. If, for flagrant misconduct, an officer was tried by court martial, and sentenced to suspension, dismission, or to be cashiered-however just the decision-if the Secretary approved of it, his act was immediately called in question, and all the powers of a long cherished influence against the day of need were brought to bear against the execution of his office. The excess of this species of insubordination, and the yielding to it by a succession of Secretaries, has been the channel which eventually flooded the navy with every variety of inefficiency. To such a pass had the "customs of the service" come, that first orders from the Department were frequently regarded by those to whom they were sent as merely inquiring whether it was convenient for them to obey. And to enforce compliance -to the older officers especially-was deemed an unusual hardship. It was frequently the case that three times the number of officers necessary for a ship were ordered, in order to procure her complement, and so common was "getting off," that two were sometimes ordered simultaneously when only one was required; while there were some cases of open disobedience, for the object of obtaining a year's furlough! Shirking duty carried with it no ignominy, and how to weather most successfully became an object of study.

If duty was called in question, it was always surrounded by innumerable obstacles to its performance. A ship reported ready for sea by a Commandant would be found, on trial, unseaworthy. She was either ordered out of dock too soon, or because orders had not been given to effect certain repairs, or her ordnance equipments were not such as to admit of the greatest utility, her crew green-or a something, instead of any individual responsibility. An unharmonious performance of labor, because every one was unsatisfied with his own duty, leaving it half performed, to interfere with some other with which he knew nothing. For a ship to leave a sta tion perfect in her appointments became the exception, and not the rule. That selfishness, neglect, discord, and insubordination, backed by influ ences which make opposition dangerous for any one man, should at length reach such a point as to require a law of Congress to enforce discipline, was the only alternative of a conscientious Secretary.

The alacrity with which the Act of '55 was hailed by the navy and its every friend, was only exceeded by the universal favor of the knowledge and forethought of the President and the Secretary of the Navy, in their selection of officers to carry it into effect; and the public voice at that time would have almost ventured to retire the officer who would have dared to doubt the faith embodied in the selection. This law has virtually restored to the Secretary of the Navy the lost power of his office in en forcing discipline: and whatever may be the final result in the cases of the officers who have become subjects of the law, they serve to illustrate what we have above stated regarding the cherished influence of effective friends for objects ulterior to the powers of discipline. It is a remarkable feature of the discussion consequent on the effect of this law, that those members of Congress who have been foremost in proclaiming its injustice, are not those who, by their former acts, have shown any special interest in the good of the navy. Their conduct throughout has been only such as to show personal interest, friendship, and nepotism-precisely such interest as would, under other circumstahces, enlist their kind offices for agreeable duty or excuse from orders.

But the efficiency everywhere now manifest in the navy renders the benefit of the Act of '55 no longer a matter of doubt. However hard it may be for the inefficient to be overtaken in their inefficiency, no one can question the propriety of removing them when they become obstacles to the true principles of progress, and whatever the bonds of friendship, they should never stand in the way of discipline.

The habitual influence of friends has heretofore been so effectual and reliable to officers who would obtain agreeable duty, or consult their convenience before obeying orders, as not only to disarm the Secretaay of his power, but the same sort of influence has defied courts-martial, and at

last, in the power of their might, arrayed Congress against itself, and appointed a court on a court!

Secretaries of the Navy have usually entered upon their duties with a general survey, the nature, extent, and importance of which has involved them into a contemplation of not only our own beginnings, but into the naval history of other nations long passed, ere they become fully alive to the unsuccessful labors of their predecessors in office. They then earnestly enter upon the duty, invoke legislation, science, and genius, in order to perfect the system, or to carry some favorite reform-and alas! their time is up! the administration over, and another succeeds.

But not so is the present era. The commercial enterprise of the nation long since predetermined the character of our navy. And its celebrity for past service is much more owing to that which constituted it than to the administration of its affairs. When the enterprise which constituted the navy no longer found province in it, it did not, on that account, lie idle, but took its legitimate channel, Commerce, and in this the same enterprise has excelled all the nations of the earth. The same energy, skill, and intrepidity, are equal to a navy on the same footing.

A reform long and loudly called for has been efficiently begun, and the present Secretary comes into office in the full possession of its powers, where he can, with good faith, take up the service where his predecessor left it. Never since we had a navy was a period so propitious for the benefit of a proper administration of its affairs. A happy organization, which is capable of being extended to the details of every station and ship for an individual responsibility to every office, and a restored power for the fearless discharge of duty, and the strictest enforcements of discipline. Congressional provision to begin with for having new ships constructed suitable to the wants of the nation, and which should be at least equal to the best of their class in the world, independent of every "auxiliary." An ample supply of old material, in ten useless ships of the line, for the exercise of repairing genius, that they may be converted into "auxiliary" steamers, razeed into useful sloops, or disposed of a la Union. The perfection of an apprentice system with a way open to a mastership and meritorious promotion, and a due award of pensions, with an increased ratio of pay for all, are subjects of prime consideration.

Heretofore, with few exceptions, the Secretary of the Navy has yielded to the pressure for control and dictation from subordinates of the Department, though the responsibility has been his, and not theirs, of any acts which he may have directed. The evils of this course will not mark the administration of Secretary Toucey. The characteristic high-toned independence of the present Secretary, furnish a sure guarantee for a different

course.

No great measure will be undertaken, without due deliberation, and counsel from such reliable sources as are best calculated to furnish unprejudiced opinions, upon plans models and specifications first obtained, whether in or out of the navy.

The causes of failures and blunders in the navy have frequently arisen from confining the orbit of counsel to the inconsiderable stream of naval architectural knowledge and experience in this country. In this particular, Secretary Toucey will make his mark, and in doing so his enlarged views of patriotism will lead him to bring to his aid, the resources of mechanical genius throughout the Republic. We shall take pleasure in observing the reforms which will be instituted, and manifest equal pride in recording the signal success of his administration.

SCREW STEAMERS OF THE NAVY.

WE give place with pleasure to the following communication relative to the vexed question of the performances of the Merrimac frigate, from one whose opportunities have been ample for obtaining correct information.

It may be safely asserted that during no administration of late years has there been so much done for the efficiency of the navy as has been done by the one just retired. And more particularly is the country indebted to the Hon. J. C. Dobbin, Secretary of the Navy, to whose indefatigable exertions must, in a great measure, be attributed the addition of the six new screw steamships, viz.: Merrimac, Minnesota, Wabash, Colorado, Niagara, and Roanoke.

Of the above ships, two are now engaged in active cruising, while a third, the Minnesota, is ready for immediate service. The Merrimac, of which ship we propose speaking more particularly) had her trial trip during some of the most stormy weather of last winter, and resulted to the entire satisfaction of all concerned, her machinery having been kept in constant operation for seven consecutive days. Two circumstances, however, of an unfavorable nature, attended this trial, viz, the coals were of a most inferior quality, giving twenty-five per cent of dirt and ashes by weight, while the slacking up of the rigging prevented such sail being carried at times, as was necessary to steady the ship, which circumsta detracted much from more favorable events.

The following is an abstract from the steam log for the

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