Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856.

238 ABRIDGMENT OF THE H. OF R.] Naval School. [JANUARY, 1825. case can occur, said he, in which it may not be marked distinction between those who are ensaid, that destruction of property by an enemy tering the two branches of our military service. was wanton, and could have occurred whether Those who enter the army are decidedly supethe property had been occupied for the use of rior in psrevious attainments. The want of a the Government or not? The allowance of this good system of elementary instruction for the objection would destroy, at once, the whole naval service, begins to be felt already. It may effect of the 9th section of the act of 1816, and be felt when it is too late. The future comit never could have entered into the minds of manders of our maritime force should be prethe framers of that act, that it could be so con- pared now, while we have opportunity and strued. I was here, said Mr. T., at the passage time for it. But, without a school, this can of the act of 1816, and the object of it, if I un- never be done. The actual service may make derstood any thing in regard to it, was to pay seamen, but it alone will never make officers. for all losses of private property occupied for Mr. FULLER gave the gentleman from Louisimilitary purposes, and destroyed according to ana much credit for his enlarged and statesmanthe rules of civilized warfare. Property so oc- like views on this subject. He commended his cupied, had become public, and the loss of it desire to place the education of our naval comought to fall on the public, to whose use it had manders on a broad and permanent basis; and been converted. he knew of no objection, at present, which I rose, said Mr. T., merely to say, that I am would prevent his voting for the gentleman's in favor of an extension of the principle of the resolution. But he must apprise the gentlea(C of 1816, and of giving to the 9th section man, that, before he was a member of Conthe only construction which, upon legal princi- gress, this same subject had been before them; pies, it appears to me possible to give to it. and the Committee on Naval Affairs had made We are led astray, in debating this subject, by great efforts for its accomplishment. They had going into a consideration of motives on the confined even their hopes to the education of part of the enemy. We lose sight of the facts warrant officers in service, and had used much of the occupation of the property by the ene- exertion to reconcile the minds of gentlemen my, and we go to the motive of the destruction who were opposed to the measure, but had not on the part of the enemy. In doing so, you been able to do it; and he would leave it to ask for what you cannot obtain. There may the candor of the gentleman from Louisiana to have been a variety of motives, and in that say, if those who refused to grant even the half case you must go into a metaphysical inquiry, of the plan he proposed, were likely to accede to ascertain which of them was the predomi- to the whole of it. Mr. F. disclaimed being nating motive. This, MIr. T. said, was the swayed by any feelings of pride, as a member cause of the error into which some gentlemen of the Naval Committee, which might be suphad fallen, which they would have avoided by posed to render him jealous of a similar attempt confining their attention to facts, &c. by the gentleman from Louisiana; his only obOn motion of Mr. Ross, of Ohio, the com- jection was, the difficulty of finding means. mittee then rose, reported progress, and ob- He would, however, withdraw his amendment. tained leave to sit again. Mr. MERCER then observed, that, as he heard it whispered by some gentlemen who sat near TUESDAY, January 4. him, that, under the resolution of the gentleman from Louisiana, there was concealed a sysNaval School. tem of burdensome expense, of great extent, The resolution of Mr. LIVINGSTON, proposing he thought it his duty to state that he was wara plan for the education of Officers of the Navy, ranted by the gentleman who presided over the being under consideration, some conversation Navy Department, in saying that the object took place between the mover and Mr. FULLER, might be accomplished at a very small expense. who offered an amendment to strike out the It had been even proposed to place such an inwhole of the resolution after the word Resolved, stitution, without any further grant from Conand to insert a provision instructing the Com- gress, in the barracks erecting at the fortificamittee on Naval Affairs to inquire into the pro- tion at the mouth of the Chesapeake. As the priety of establishing a school for the instruc- buildings were there already provided, all that tion of Midshipmen, and other warrant officers would have to be granted, would be an approof the Navy, when not at sea. priation for the salaries of two or three profesMr. LIVINGSTON objected to the substitute, as sors, which was a trifling expense in comparinot going so far as the system he wished to see son with the good to be attained. Midshipmen adopted. The substitute restricted the instruc- are now taken on board our vessels on trial only tion to midshipmen, but he wished a prepara- -they go one voyage to sea —and if, from that tory school, which should take up young men experiment, they appear to discover talents for before they entered the service. Mr. L. said, public usefulness, they receive a warrant, and it was owing to the want of an establishment regularly enter the service —just as young men of this kind, that the Navy was going down. are received as cadets at West Point. The Yes, sir, said he, the Navy, I repeat it, is going House was aware that the Government could down in point of the attainments of those who assemble the Midshipmen at any point it might are entering it. There is, in this respect, a judge proper and thus afford to the Navy some

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Title: Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856.
Author: United States. Congress.
Canvas: Page 238
Publication: New York, [etc.]: D. Appleton and company [etc.]; 1857-61.
Subject terms: United States -- Politics and government

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Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856.

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