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SENATE.

Organization of the Navy Department.

cupants claiming by purchase from the United States; and the petition was read, and referred to the committee to whose consideration, on the 21st September, the memorial of the Legislature of the Indiana Territory was referred, to consider and report thereon by bill or otherwise.

The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the bill, entitled "An act to authorize the Commissioner of the Revenue to cause a clerk in his office to aid him in signing licenses."

Ordered, That the further consideration thereof be postponed until to-morrow.

The bill, entitled "An act for the relief of John Chalmers, junior," was read the second time, and referred to a select committee, to consider and report thereon. Messrs. SMITH, WORTHINGTON, and DANA were appointed the committee.

The bill, entitled "An act to authorize the publication of the laws of the United States within the Territories of the United States," was read the second time.

The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the bill to authorize the President of the United States to call upon the several States and Territories thereof for their respective quotas of thousand militia, for the frontiers of the United States, together with the amendment proposed by Mr. ANDERSON, to strike out "two years," the term of service.

On the question, Will the Senate agree to the proposed amendment? it was determined in the negative-yeas 15, nays 16, as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Anderson, Daggett, Dana, Gaillard, German, Gore, Horsey, Hunter, King, Lambert, Mason, Robinson, Thompson, Varnum, and Wharton.

NAYS Messrs. Bibb, Bledsoe, Brent, Brown, Chace, Condit, Fromentin, Giles, Lacock, Morrow, Smith, Tate, Taylor, Turner, Walker, and Worthington.

On motion, by Mr. GERMAN, to strike out, section 3, after the word "that," in the first line, to the word "act," inclusive, in the sixth line-on motion, the further consideration thereof was postponed until to-morrow.

TUESDAY, November 15.

Mr. SMITH, from the committee to whom was referred the bill, entitled "An act for the relief of John Chalmers, jun., reported it without amendment; and the bill was considered as in Committee of the Whole, and ordered to the third reading.

The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the bill, entitled "An act to authorize the publication of the laws of the United States within the Territories of the United States; and, no amendment having been proposed, it was ordered to the third reading.

The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the bill, entitled "An act to authorize the Commissioner of the Revenue to cause a clerk in his office to aid him in signing licenses; and no amendment having been proposed, it was ordered to the third reading.

On request, Mr. FROMENTIN had leave to with

NOVEMBER, 1814.

draw the motions submitted by him the 7th instant, in relation to the non-compliance with the resolutions passed by the Senate on the 18th March, 1814.

The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the bill to authorize the President of the United States to call upon the several States and Territories thereof, for their respective quotas of thousand militia, for the defence of the frontiers of the United States, together with the amendment proposed thereto by Mr. GERMAN; and, after debate, the Senate adjourned.

WEDNESDAY, November 16.

The bill, entitled "An act to authorize the publication of the laws of the United States within the Territories of the United States," was read a third time, and passed.

The bill, entitled "An act for the relief of John Chalmers, junior," was read a third time, and passed.

The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the bill, entitled "An act for the relief of John Castille, of the city of New Orleans."

On motion of Mr. FROMENTIN, the bill was referred to a select committee, to consider and report thereon; and Messrs. FROMENtin, Daggett, and ANDERSON, were appointed the committee.

The bill, entitled "An act to authorize the Commissioner of the Revenue to cause a clerk in his office to aid him in signing licenses," was read a third time.

On motion, by Mr. KING, it was referred to a select committee, to consider and report thereon; and Messrs. KING, GILES, and BLEDSOE, were ap-、 pointed the committee.

A message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate that the House have passed a resolution for furnishing the American Antiquarian Society with a copy of the Journals of Congress, and of the documents published under their order; in which they request the concurrence of the Senate.

ORGANIZATION OF NAVY DEPARTMENT.

The PRESIDENT communicated a report of the Secretary of the Navy, containing a system for the better organization of the Department of the Navy of the United States, made in obedience to a resolution of the Senate of the 18th March, 1814. The reading thereof was dispensed with; and it was ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate, and that it be referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs to consider and report thereon. The report is as follows:

NAVY DEPARTMENT, Nov. 15, 1814. SIR: In obedience to the resolution of the Senate,

passed on the 18th of March last, directing the Secretary of the Navy to devise and digest a system for the better organization of the Department of the Navy of the United States, I have now the honor to report the following system, with such prefatory observations as appear to me pertinent to the occasion.

It has been affirmed and cannot be denied, that im

NOVEMBER, 1814.

Organization of the Navy Department.

perfections exist in the civil administration of the Naval Establishment; hence it has been inferred that a radical change of system can alone remedy the evils. Legislative wisdom will readily discriminate between the constituent principles upon which the present establishment is predicated, and has thus far prospered, and the defects which result from the absence of an intelligent, practical, auxiliary agency, qualified to digest, arrange, and enforce a proper system of detailed regulations, calculated to insure the judicious and faithful application of public moneys; a strict accountability in the expenditures of supplies: and a rigid execution of the duties enjoined on all the officers and agents connected with the establishment. Profusion, waste, and abuse, are the inherent off spring of all extensive public institutions; and, if we occasionally perceive these evils, in some degree, in the Naval Establishment of the United States, we are not thence to infer their absence from similar establishments in other countries, where naval science and experience may be presumed to have provided greater safeguards, and more numerous, skilful, and vigilant agencies.

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obvious. Yet, under all these circumstances, it is demonstrable, that upon a comparison of an equal quantity of tonnage and number of guns and men, or in proportion to the number of men alone, our naval expenditure is considerably less than that for the Navy of Great Britain, in which "one hundred and fortyfive thousand men are employed, at an expense of more than twenty millions of pounds sterling, annually."

The local service is, from its scattered, irregular, and irresponsible nature, much more expensive and wasteful than that of the regular Navy; the more perfect organization of which, and responsibility of command, insure a more faithful superintendence and accountability. Hence the current expenditure of the service would be an extravagant criterion by which to estimate that of a regular establishment under a judicious system. The force employed in local service is extended throughout a line of stations from Louisiana to Maine, and from Champlain to Huron, consequently it is so weak as readily to be penetrated, at almost any point on our maritime frontier, by the concentration of a small hostile force; and it is expensive in proportion to its diffusion, Independently of the deleterious nature of this service upon the health and habits of those employed in it, we are, from the present necessity of this system, deprived of the services of a body of officers and seamen, sufficient to man thirteen ships ofthe-line, such as the Independence, Washington, and Franklin seventy-fours.

But regulations, however correct and adequate to the end, become nugatory, or worse, unless the authority and the means are co-extensive, and competent to enforce the execution, or punish the violation thereof. This may account for the non-existence of many wholesome regulations in the civil administration of the Navy of the United States; and for the imperfect execution of those which exist. Breaches of the lat- When we contemplate the effect which such a force ter too frequently escape with impunity, from the im- would have when acting in conjunction upon our own possibility of the head of the Department taking cog-coast and waters, or in squadron, pursuing the comnizance of all the multifarious concerns of the estab-mercial fleets of the enemy on the ocean, or in the lishment. It is problematical, however, whether the excess may not be more injurious than the deficiency of regulation; in the former case, responsibility may be lost in the maze and mass of detail and multiplied agency, while in the latter, general instruction, and sound discretion, not unfrequently insure greater success and responsibility.

That the duties enjoined, or which may necessarily devolve upon the Secretary of the Navy, particularly during a period of active and diversified hostility, are beyond the powers of any individual to discharge to the best advantage, cannot be doubted; although, by great labor and assiduity, with adequate professional qualifications, he may, possibly, execute the general and most essential branches of duty with tolerable

success.

In the progress of reform, while we pay due respect to that system, the establishment of which has attained the greatest celebrity, more, it is believed, from its magnitude and power, than from the excellence of its civil administration, we ought not to lose sight of its palpable and acknowledged defects, nor of those features in our own system, to which, in no trivial degree, the exalted reputation of our infant Navy may be attributed.

That our Navy is not excelled in anything which constitutes efficiency, perfect equipment, and general good qualities, it is believed, will be admitted. That our seamen are better paid, fed, and accommodated, is no less true. That all the imported, and many of the domestic articles of equipment, and of consumption in the service, are exceedingly enhanced; that the wages of mechanical labor is more than double that which is paid by Great Britain; that our expenditure is greatly increased by the interruption to navigable transportation, and the great extent of the local service, is equally

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harbors of his colonies, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion, that our waters would be freed from invasion; our coast from blockade; his military and naval resources intercepted to such a degree as to paralyze his efforts on this continent; supersede the necessity of a vast Military Establishment, coextensive with our maritime, Canadian, and Indian frontiers; and our citizens from those harassing, irregular, and inconvenient calls of militia, which the predatory enterprise of the enemy so frequently produce. In short, according to my conceptions, this cheap and efficient national defence should be adopted as soon as circumstances will admit, and cherished by a well digested, energetic, and liberal system, steadily progressing with the population, commerce, and resources of the nation.

The nature, construction, and equipment of the ships which constitute a navy, form the basis of its efficiency, durability, and economy, and the most important branch in the civil administration of its affairs. With a view to the reform and extension of the Naval Establishment of the United States, these objects ought to command the first place in our attention, combined with such an organization of the civil department as shall promise the best results.

The defects in this part of the British system have been the theme of criticism and reprehension for many years past. The most minute, laborious, and able investigation, has, from time to time, taken place, under the direction and scrutiny of the Parliament; yet nothing approximating to radical amendment has been adopted; and the advocates of reform, either from the subtle ramifications of the evil, or the agency of some sinister influence, appear to despair of success.

According to the most intelligent writers, supported by well established facts, the deterioration of the British navy, owing to the injudicious selection and com

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Organization of the Navy Department.

bination of incongruous materials in the construction, and the abortive method of preserving, is very alarming; and the diversity in the form, dimensions, and proportions, not only of the several rates, but of the numerous distinct classes of the same rate, as well in their hulls as in their masts, sails, and equipments, and in a still greater degree in their qualities for combined action, demonstrates the prevalence of caprice and prejudice, instead of science and system. "When Lord Nelson was off Cadiz, with seventeen or eighteen sail-of-the-line, he had no less than seven different classes of seventy-four gun ships, each requiring different masts, sails, yards, &c., so that if one ship was disabled, the others could not supply her with appropriate stores."

The consequences resulting from this defective organization and want of system are strongly illustrated in the fact, related by a recent professional writer of rank and talents, that "out of five hundred and thirtyeight ships, &c., in the British navy, now at sea, there are only sixty-nine which are in reality superior in the discharge of metal or force of blows, but inferior in sailing, to some of the American frigates; and that there are but eighteen which, unless in smooth water, are equal to contend with the United States, leaving four hundred and fifty-one, out of five hundred and thirty-eight, which are admitted to be incompetent to engage, single-handed, with an American frigate."

These facts are encouraging, and serve to show, that although the numerical force of the enemy in ships and men appears to be overwhelming; yet, if the aggregate number of officers, seamen, and marines, which the United States may, even now, engage for the public service, was concentrated in eighteen or twenty ships-of-the-line, such as have been recently built, it would place all the ships alluded to in the quotation just recited, except the eighteen, hors de combat, nor could our enemy protect his commerce and colonies, and combine such a force as would counteract the power and offensive enterprise of an American squadron so truly formidable. With such a force it will be perceived, that his host of frigates and smaller vessels would be struck out of the account, or added to the list of our Navy, if they came in contact. These views, it is true, are prospective, but with a stable, judicious, and liberal system, the result would be realized at no remote period.

Having noticed these exceptions to the civil administration of the British navy, it is but just to observe, that the organization of the military part of their system is much more perfect.

The regulations and instructions for the service at sea, adopted by order in Council, and published in one quarto volume, in 1808, are those which now prevail. They are excellent, and afford much matter worthy of incorporation into our system, with such modification as the peculiar circumstances of the service may require.

Of the French naval system, the Department of Construction is universally admitted to be the most perfect in existence, and is well worthy of imitation. The military part of the system, however, is less perfect in practice, and not so well adapted to the habits and usages of American seamen as that of the British.

The character of the navy of any nation will be determined by its commercial and navigating enterprise. That of America had surpassed every other, until the unexampled prosperity and rapid extension of its commerce, excited the envy, jealousy, and hostility, of those who could not meet it in fair, equal, and friendly

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competition. The same energy, skill, vigilance, and intrepidity, which distinguished the commercial navigators of the United States, characterize the officers and seamen of the Navy. The same superiority of construction which gave to its commercial marine the celerity and security for which it is distinguished, may be seen in the American Navy, which is truly indigenous and distinct from every other. The independent character of the nation is manifestly visible in the genius of its Navy. The classes of our ships, their form, construction, armament, and equipment, have been tested by experience, and found to have been happily adapted to our circumstances, compelling the enemy either to employ ships-of-the-line against frigates, or to construct a new class of ships. Their efficiency and perfection have extorted the praise of the enemy. The author, before quoted, says: "The carronades I saw on board the United States' brig Argus were better mounted, and the vessel more complete than those in the British navy; and she was uncommonly well manœuvred."

Our ships are excellent, and all in good condition. The classes are few, and so uniform that, without inconvenience, the masts, spars, and equipments, of any one of a class will serve, indifferently, for any other of the same class. All the new ships, of each rate, are of the same class, and are absolutely similar in all their equipments, and in the dimensions and proportions of their hulls, masts, spars, &c. This strict similarity should be carefully preserved, upon every principle of convenience, economy, and efficiency.

Timber, which forms an object of much solicitude in Great Britain, deserves the particular attention of the Department, the reorganization of which will doubtlessly be made to combine the necessary talents and means to provide for every branch of the service, by a seasonable, diligent, and judicious collection, in secure and convenient depots, of all the materials which enter into the construction and equipment of ships of war.

When it is considered that one seventy-four-gun ship requires two thousand large oak trees, equal to the estimated produce of fifty-seven acres, the importance of securing, for public use, all that valuable species of oak, which is found only on the Southern seaboard, is sufficiently obvious.

Dock yards, foundries, smitheries, and armories, in safe and eligible situations, are indispensable appendages of so important and growing an establishment. These always collect the best workmen, and as private interest cannot interfere with the execution, the materials and workmanship are better, and the work is performed with more certainty and regularity, than by contract with private individuals, whose works, in some cases, may be so remote from the seat of demand, that the transportation may cost more than the article.

There is another branch of the service which appears to me to merit the serious deliberation of the Legislature, with regard to the establishment of some regular system, by which the voluntary enlistments for the Navy may derive occasional reinforcement from the services of those seamen, who, pursuing their own private occupations, are exempt, by their itinerant habits, from public service of any kind. In my view there would be nothing incompatible with the free spirit of our institutions, or with the rights of individuals, if registers, with a particular descriptive record, were kept in the several districts, of all the seamen belonging to the United States, and provision made by law for classing and calling into the public service, in

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Organization of the Navy Department.

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succession, for reasonable stated periods, such portions | except as hereinafter modified, altered, or transferred

or classes, as the public service might require, and if any individual, so called, should be absent at the time, the next in succession should perform the tour of duty of the absentee, who should, on his return, be liable to serve his original tour, and his substitute be exempt from his succeeding regular tour of duty.

In the military service, should the ranks not be filled by recruits, the deficiency of regular force may be made up by draughts of militia, to assemble at a given time and place; not so in the naval service, it depends, exclusively, upon voluntary enlistments, upon which there is no reliance for any given object, at any time or place. Hence, the most important expeditions may utterly fail, though every possible exertion shall have been made to carry them into effect.

If we examine, with due attention, the nature, extent, and importance of the objects involved in the administration of naval affairs, and contemplate, in the history of ages past, the unsuccessful, though indefatigable labors of legislation, science, and genius, to perfect the system, we may learn to appreciate with more accuracy, and cherish with liberality, the life of study, observation and experience, required to arrive even at moderate attainments in a science, which, though familiar in the estimation of all, is the most complicated, critical, and interesting, that has ever engaged the attention or influenced the destinies of nations. My sole object is to invite the attention and liberality of the National Councils to the requisite talents and qualifications for the cherishing and rearing to maturity, the vigorous plant, around which are entwined the affections and confidence of the country.

to any other office or offices, created by this act.
SEC. 2. That the President of the United States be
and he is hereby authorized to designate three officers
of the Navy, and, with the advice and consent of the
Senate, to appoint two other judicious persons, skilled
in naval affairs, to be Inspectors of the Navy, who to-
gether shall constitute a Board of Inspectors of the
Navy, three members whereof shall be necessary to
form a quorum; and the business of the said board
shall be transacted in such central and convenient
place, for the superintendence of the affairs of the Na-
vy, as the President of the Uniied States shall direct;
who shall also have power to designate the presiding
member, and to appoint the secretary of the said board,
whose duty it shall be to keep regular and correct re-
cords of all the transactions of the board, and to trans-
mit attested copies of all such proceedings to the Sec-
retary of the Navy, for the inspection and revision of
the President of the United States, as soon as may be
after the adjournment of the meeting at which any
such proceedings shall have taken place; and the said
board shall have power to establish such rules and
regulations, for its own proceedings, and to employ
such number of clerks and assistants, as well for the
transacting of the business of the board, as for that
of the several inspectors, and to procure such books,
maps, charts, plans, drawings, models, and stationery
as the public interest may require, and the President
of the United States approve.

SEC. 3. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Navy to arrange and class, under distinct and appropriate heads, as equally as may be, all such duties and details as may be found impracticable for the All these objects appear to me to be intimately officers of the Department of the Navy, as now organconnected with the revision of the civil adminstra-ized, to execute with advantage to the public, and, tion of our naval affairs, the Executive branch of with the approbation of the President of the United which should be conducted by persons of enlarged States, to assign to each inspector of the Navy the views, collectively combining all the practical know- special charge and execution of one of the classes, so ledge and professional intelligence which these import-arranged; for the faithful performance of which trust, ant, diversified, and comprehensive subjects, obviously under the instruction and subject to the revision of the said inspectors shall severally be held responsible, require. the board of inspectors, to which a statement of all the transactions of each inspector shall be submitted for revision, at each stated meeting, and an abstract thereof transmitted monthly to the Secretary of the Navy, with such remarks thereon as the nature of the case may require; and it shall also be the duty of the Secretary of the Navy to prepare a system of general regulations, defining and prescribing the respective powers and duties of the board of inspectors of the Navy, and of the several inspectors, which rules, when approved by the President of the United States, shall be respected and obeyed, until altered or revoked by the same authority; and the same general regulations, thus prepared and approved, shall be laid before Congress at their next session.

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We have a good foundation upon which to raise a durable superstructure; and concluding that that tem cannot be radically wrong, which has produced such favorable results, I should be unwilling to hazard, by an entire innovation, the benefits we have derived, and may still derive, by retaining the present organization of the Navy Department, and providing, by law, for an intelligent, practical, and efficient auxiliary agency, such as experience has suggested.

SEC. 4. That the President of the United States be and he is hereby authorized alone to appoint a person, skilled in the science and practice of naval architecture, to the office of Naval Constructor; and also to appoint two naval constructors. And it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Navy to prepare such rules and

With this view, I have the honor to submit, with great deference, the following system for the organization of the Department of the Navy of the United States, distinguishing, for the sake of perspicuity, in the form of a bill, those objects which appear to require Legislative provision, from those for which Executive regulation may prescribe with more convenience and advantage; the outline of which only is given, as the ground-work may be filled up to greater benefit, when the collected experience and talents which it contemplates shall have deliberated upon the subject. An Act for the better organization of the Navy De-regulations for connecting the business of the Constructor's department, as shall appear necessary and proper; which, when approved by the President of the Be it enacted, &c., That the office, duties, and pow- United States, shall be respected and obeyed, until reers of the Secretary of the Navy, and of the Account-voked by the same authority. And the naval construcant, Agents, and other officers of the Department of tor shall be allowed one clerk, to assist in transacting the Navy, be and remain as now, by law, established; the business of his department.

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Organization of the Navy Department.

SEC. 5. That the President of the United States be and he is hereby authorized, with the consent and advice of the Senate, to appoint a Paymaster of the Navy, who shall perform the duties of his office agreeably to the directions of the President of the United States for the time being; and, before he enters upon the duties of the same, shall give bonds, with good and sufficient sureties, in such sums as the President of the United States shall direct, for the faithful discharge of his said office, and shall take an oath to execute the duties thereof with fidelity.

SEC. 6. That all letters and packets to and from the inspectors and paymaster of the navy, which relate to their official duties, shall be free from postage.

SEC. 7. That each inspector of the navy shall be entitled to the pay and rations of a captain commanding a squadron on separate service, and also to the sum of one thousand two hundred dollars per annum, in lieu of house-rent, fuel, forage, &c.; and the salary of the naval constructor shall be three thousand dollars per annum; each of the assistant constructors, one thousand five hundred dollars per annum; the paymaster of the navy, two thousand dollars per annum ; the secretary of the board of inspectors, two thousand dollars per annum; and the clerks and assistants, authorized by this act, shall receive such reasonable compensation for their services as the President of the United States shall direct.

I would also respectfully suggest the expediency of providing by law for the establishment of a Naval Academy, with suitable professors, for the instruction of the officers of the Navy, in those branches of the mathematics and experimental philosophy, and in the science and practice of gunnery, theory of naval architecture, and art of mechanical drawing, which are necessary to the accomplishment of the naval officer.

In order to illustrate the principles and operation of the proposed organization of the Navy Department, the following outline of the powers and duties which it is contemplated to assign to the board of inspectors, and to the several inspectors, is respectfully suggested:

Powers and duties of the Board.

The board shall have the general superintendence and direction of the affairs of the Navy, under the instructions from, and powers delegated by, the President of the United States, and authority over all the officers, agents, and persons, employed under the Navy Department; report to the Secretary of the Navy, from time to time, all such matters and things as may, in the opinion of the board, tend to promote the efficacy and economy of the establishment; and, upon the requisition of the Secretary of the Navy, furnish all the estimates of expenditure which the several branches of the service may require, and such other information and statements as he may deem necessary.

The board shall have the power of making contracts and purchases, either directly or through the navy agents, whose power, in this respect, should be limited to small sums, and to objects, the procuring of which may not admit of delay. In all other cases, the previous sanction, either of the Secretary of the Navy, of the board of inspectors, or of some officers authorized by the board, should be indispensable.

The naval stations within the United States should be designated by convenient boundaries; and an officer of rank, trust, and confidence, should reside in each, who should, under the instructions of the board, superintend and control the affairs of the Navy within his district, and report to the board from time to time.

NOVEMBER, 1814.

All requisitions of commanding officers, pursers, and other persons, upon the agents, should be checked, and receive the sanction of the board, or of the resident officer authorized by the board, before they are complied with.

Payments and advances should be made, as heretofore, through the navy agents, (except those for the pay or the Navy ;) and the sanction of the Secretary of the Navy, of the board, or of the officers authorized by the board, should precede all payments and advances, except for limited and urgent demands.

The board should establish general regulations for the conduct of its members, in the discharge of the special and important trusts severally assigned to them by the Secretary of the Navy; and should digest and report to the Department distinct regulations for the following objects:

1. Uniform regulations establishing the several classes of ships and vessels in the Navy of the United States; with tables of the dimensions, proportions, number, quantity, quality, nature, and description, of masts, spars, rigging, anchors, cables, armament, and equipments, of all kinds; and of the quantity, quality, and description, of provisions and stores, of every species, for a given period, for each class.

2. Regulations for receiving, preserving, issuing, and strictly accounting for, the expenditure of materials and stores of all kinds, and in every department of the service, within the United States.

3. Regulations for surveying and authenticating the actual state and condition of all the ships and vessels of the Navy, and of all materials and stores, of every species, reported to be decayed, damaged, or defective; and for directing the repair, conversion, sale, or other disposition of the same, as the nature of the case may require.

4. A more perfect system of general regulations for the naval service, at sea and on the Lakes.

5. General regulations for the flotilla or force employed in harbor defence, adapted to the peculiar nature of that service.

6. Uniform regulations for the navy yards, arsenals, and depots of stores and materials.

the Navy, while in port; for the recruiting service; 7. Regulations for the cruising ships and vessels of and for the officers of the Navy, while on shore, on duty, or on furlough; in order to ascertain the actual state and local situation of all the officers.

hospitals, and medical department of the Navy within 8. A system of detailed regulations for the naval the United States.

9. An entire and new system of regulations for the pursers in the Navy, accurately defining their duties, emoluments by a fixed and reasonable standard; and securing a more strict accountability; limiting their protecting the scamen of the Navy from the undue adthe present system. vantages which may be practised, with impunity, under

10. Regulations for ascertaining, by examination, the moral character and professional qualifications of all the officers of the Navy, below the grade of a master commandant, classing them in the scale of their several merits; and of the pretensions of those who may be selected for promotion, as well as of the candidates for warrant appointments in the Navy.

All which regulations, when approved by the President of the United States, should be established and obeyed, until revoked by the same authority.

The duties and details of the service, proposed to he

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