bore them does not prove the existence of a secret organization, here or elsewhere, hotile to the Government, that has for its object, upon its own responsibility, an attack upon the Capital, or any of the public property here, or an interruption of any of the functions of the Government." SECRETARY HOLT'S REPORT. under date of February 18th, 1861, made reOn this subject, the Secretary of War, port upon a resolution of inquiry passed by the House of Representatives: This resolution having been submitted to this Department for consideration and report, I have the honor to state, that the body of troops temporarily transferred to this city is not large, as is assumed by and admirably adapted for the preservation of the the resolution, though it is a well-appointed corps public peace. The reasons which led to their being The majority of the committee, however, state that certain organizations in the District and in Maryland, formerly political clubs have since become military and are drilling, expecting arms from State authorities or private sub-assembled here will now be briefly stated. scriptions; but that, while they sympathize strongly with secession, there is no proof that they intend to attack the Capital or the District, "unless the surrender should be demanded by a State to which they profess a higher degree of allegiance." "Some of these companies in Baltimore profess to be drilling for the sole purpose of preventing other military companies from passing through the State of Maryland." These clubs are, in no proper sense, secret, and hence not such as are contemplated in the resolution of the House. I shall make no comment upon the origin of the revolution which for the last three months has been in progress in several of the Southern States, nor shall I enumerate the causes which have hastened its advancement or exasperated its temper. The scope of the question submitted by the House will be sufficiently met by dealing with the facts as they exist, irrespective of the cause from which they have proceeded. That revolution has been distinguished by a boldness, and completeness of success, Its overthrow of the Federal authority has not only rarely equalled in the history of civil commotions. been sudden and wide-spread but has been marked of profound humiliation to a large portion of the by excesses which have alarmed all, and been sources American people. Its history is a history of sur prises and treacheries, and ruthless spoliations. The forts of the United States have been captured and garrisoned, and hostile flags unfurled upon their ramparts. Its arsenals have been seized, and the vast to the use of the captors: while more than half a amount of public arms they contained appropriated million dollars, found in the mint at New Orleans, has been unscrupulously applied to replenish the enue cutters of the United States have been prevailed Mr. BRANCH of North Carolina, added a brief minority report, chiefly to the point that Lieutenant-General Scott has seven companies of artillery, and one company of sappers and miners of the regular army ordered to and quartered in the City of Wash-on to violate their trusts and surrender the property ington, and closing with this resolution, which he offered: coffers of Louisiana. Officers in command of rev their crimes, they and the vessels they betrayed have in their charge; and instead of being branded for been cordially received into the service of the seceded States. These movements were attended by yet more discouraging indications of immorality. It was generally believed that this revolution was guided and urged on by men occupying the highest positions in the public service, and who, with the responsibilities of an oath to support the Constitution still resting upon their consciences, did not hesitate secretly to Resolved, That the quartering of troops of the regular army in this District and around the Capitol, when not necessary for their protection from a hostile enemy and during the session of Congress, is impolitic and offensive, and, if permitted, may be destruc-plan and openly to labor for the dismemberment of tive of civil liberty; and, in the opinion of this House, the regular troops now in this city ought to be forthwith removed therefrom. On motion of Mr. JOHN COCHRANE, this resolution was laid on the table-yeas 125, nays 35, as follows: the Republic whose honors they enjoyed, and upon schemes were set on foot, and forts and arms of the United States seized. The unchecked prevalence of YEAS-Messrs. Charles F. Adams, Green Adams, Aldrich, the revolution, and the intoxication which its triAllen, Alley, William C. Anderson, Ashley, Babbitt, Beale, umphs inspired, naturally suggested wilder and yet Bingham, Blair, Blake, Brayton, Briggs, Bristow, Buffinton, more desperate enterprises than the conquest of unBurlingame, Butterfield, Campbell, Carter, Case, Horace F. garrisoned forts or the plunder of an unguarded mint. Clark, Coburn, John Cochrane, Colfax, Conkling, Conway, At what time the armed occupation of Washington Covode, Cor, Curtis, H. Winter Davis, John G. Davis, city became a part of the revolutionary programme, Dawes, Duell, Dunn, Edgerton, Eliot, Ely, Etheridge, Farns- is not certainly known. More than six weeks ago worth, Fenton, Ferry, Foster, Pouke, Frank, French, Gilmer, the impression had already extensively obtained that Gooch, Graham, Grow, Hale, Hall, Haskin, Hatton, Helmick, a conspiracy for the accomplishment of this guilty Hrard, Holman, W.A.Howard, Humphrey, Hutchins, Irvine, purpose was in process of formation, if not fully maJankin, F. W. Kellogg, W. Kellogg, Kenyon, Kilgore, Larra- tured. The earnest endeavors made by men known b. De Witt C. Leach, Lee, Logan, Longnecker, Loomis, to be devoted to the revolution to hurry Virginia Lovejoy, Mallory, Marston, McClernand, McKean, Mc Kenty, and Maryland out of the Union, were regarded as McKnight, McPherson, Millson, Laban T. Moore, Moorhead, preparatory steps for the subjugation of Washington. Morrill Edward Joy Morris, Isaac N. Morris, Morse, Nel- This plan was in entire harmony with the aim and on, Niblack, Nixon, Palmer, Perry, Porter, Potter, Pottle, spirit of those seeking the subversion of the Govern Edwin R. Reynolds, Rice, Christopher Robinson, James C.ment, since no more fatal blow at its existence could Rao, Royce, Scranton, Sedgwick, Sherman, Sickles, be struck than the permanent and hostile possession Spaulding, Spinner, Stevens, William Stewart, Stokes, of the seat of its power. It was in harmony too with Stratton, Tappan, Theaker, Tompkins, Train, Vandever, the avowed designs of the revolutionists, which Van Wyck, Wade, Waldron, Walton, Cadwalader C. Wash- looked to the formation of a confederacy of all the bara, Ellihu B. Washburne, Webster, Wells, Wilson, Wood- slave States, and necessarily to the conquest of the ruff-125. capital within their limits. It seemed not very indistinctly prefigured in a proclamation made upon the floor of the Senate, without qualification, if not exultingly, that the Union was already dissolved-a proclamation which, however intended, was certainly calculated to invite, on the part of men of desperate fortunes, or of revolutionary States, a raid upon the capital. In view of the violence and turbulent disor NATS-Messra. Avery, Barr, Barrett, Bocock, Boteler, Bouligny, Brabson, Branch, Burch, Burnett, John B. Clark, Burton Craige, De Jarnette, English, Florence, Garnett, John T. Harris, Hindman, Hughes, Kunkel, Maclay, Elbert A Martin, Maynard, Peyton, Phelps, Pryor, Quarles, Rust, St, William N. H. Smith, Stevenson, Thomas, Whiteley, Winslow, Wright-35. ders already exhibited in the South, the public mind could not reject such a scheme as at all improbable. That a belief in its existence was entertained by multitudes, there can be no doubt, and this belief I fully shared. My conviction rested not only on the facts already alluded to, but upon information, some of which was of a most conclusive character, that reached the Government from many parts of the country, not merely expressing the prevalence of the opinion that such an organization had been formed, but also often furnishing the plausible grounds on which the opinion was based. Superadded to these proofs were the oft-repeated declarations of men in high political positions here, and who were known to have intimate affiliations with the revolution, if indeed they did not hold its reins in their hands-to the effect that Mr. Lincoln would not, or should not, be inaugurated at Washington. Such declarations from such men could not be treated as empty bluster. They were the solemn utterances of those who well understood the import of their words, and who, in the exultation of the temporary victories gained over their country's flag in the South, felt assured that events would soon give them the power to verify their predictions. Simultaneously with these prophetic warnings, a Southern journal of large circulation and influence, and which is published near the city of Washington, advocated its seizure as a possible political necessity. The nature and power of the testimony thus accumulated may be best estimated by the effect produced upon the popular mind. Apprehensions for the safety of the capital were communicated from points near and remote, by men unquestionably reliable and loyal. The resident population became disquieted, and the repose of many families in the city was known to be disturbed by painful anxieties. Members of Congress too, men of calm and comprehensive views and of undoubted fidelity to their country, frankly expressed their solicitude to the President and to this Department, and formally insisted that the defences of the capital should be strengthened. With such warnings, it could not be forgotten that, had the late Secretary of War heeded the anonymous letter which he received, the tragedy at Harper's Ferry would have been avoided; nor could I fail to remember that, had the early admonitions which reached here in regard to the designs of lawless men upon the forts of Charleston harbor been acted on by sending forward adequate reinforcements before the revolution began, the disastrous political complications that ensued might not have occurred. Impressed by these circumstances and considerations, I earnestly besought you to allow the concentration at this city of a sufficient military force to preserve the public peace from all the dangers that seemed to threaten it. An open manifestation on the part of the Administration of a determination, as well as of the ability, to maintain the laws, would. I was convinced, prove the surest, as also the most pacific means of baffling and dissolving any conspiracy that might have been organized. It was believed, too, that the highest and most solemn responsibility resting upon a President, withdrawing from the Government, was to secure to his successor a peaceful inauguration. So deeply in my judgment did this duty concern the whole country, and the fair fame of our institutions, that to guarantee its faithful discharge I was persuaded no preparation could be too determined or too complete. The presence of the troops alluded to in the resolution is the result of the conclusion arrived at by yourself and Cabinet, on the proposition submitted to you by this Department. Already this display of life and loyalty on the part of your Administration has produced the happiest effects. Public confidence has been restored, and the feverish apprehension which it was so mortifying to contemplate has been banished. Whatever may have been the machinations of deluded, lawless men, the execution of their purpose has been suspended, if not altogether abandoned, in view of preparations which announce, more impressively than words, that this Administration is alike able and resolved to transfer in peace, to the President elect, the authority that under the Constitution be longs to him. To those, if such there be, who desire the destruction of the Republic, the presence of these troops is necessarily offensive; but those who sincerely love our institutions cannot fail to rejoice that by this timely precaution they have possibly escaped the deep dishonor which they must have suffered had the capital, like the forts and arsenals of the South, fallen into the hands of the revolutionists, who have found this great Government weak only because in the exhaustless beneficence of its February 21st. Mr. DAWES from the committee made a report upon the fourth item of investigation, furnishing these statements: Dismantled ships 28, mounting 874 guns; none could be repaired under several weeks, and many would require six months. No orders have been issued to put any of them in readiness. The vessels in the East India, Brazil, Pacific, Mediterranean, African, and Home Squadrons are named, with those on special service, and on the way to stations, and the committee then say: That the entire naval force available for the defence of the whole Atlantic coast, at the time of the appointment of this committee, consisted of the steamer Brooklyn, twenty-five guns, and the storeship Relief, two guns; while the former was of too great draught to permit her to enter Charleston harbor with safety, except at spring tides, and the latter was under orders to the coast of Africa with stores for the African squadron. Thus the whole Atlantic seaboard has been to all intents and purposes without defence during all the period of civil commotion and lawless violence, to which the President has called our attention as "of such vast and alarming proportions" as to be beyond his power to check or control. It further appears that of the vessels which might have been available for protection or defence in case of any sudden emergency arising at home, now at stations in distant seas, or on the way thither, on the 13th of October last the Richmond left our coast to join the Mediterranean squadron; the Vandalia left on the 21st of December to join the East India squadron; and about the same time the Saratoga to join the African squadron, and others to join the Home squadron, then in the harbor of Vera Cruz supporting one of the revolutionary governments of Mexico. To the Committee, this disposition of the naval force at this critical time seems most extraordinary. The permitting of vessels to depart for distant seas after these unhappy difficulties had broken out at home; the omission to put in repair, and commission ready for orders, a single one of the twenty-eight ships dismantled and unfit for service in our own ports, and that too while $646,639.79 of the appropri ations for repairs in the Navy the present year remained unexpended, were in the opinion of the committee grave errors in the administration of the Navy Department-the consequences of which have been manifest in the many acts of lawless violence to which they have called attention. The Committee are of opinion that the Secretary had it in his power, with the present naval force of the country at his command, and without materially impairing the efficiency of the service abroad, at any time after the settled purpose of overthrowing the government had become manifest, and before that purpose had developed itself in overt acts of violence, to station at anchor, within reach of his own orders, a force equal to the protection of all the property and all the rights of the government and the citizen, as well as the flag of the country, from any outrage or insult, at any point on the entire Atlantic seaboard. The failure to do this is without justification or excuse. The committee proceed respecting the acceptance of resignations in the navy: The attention of the Committee was also drawn to the resignations which have taken place among the officers in the Navy, caused by the political troubles in which the country is now involved, and the course pursued by the Navy department in reference thereto. It will appear from a "List of resignations" furnished by the Department, and which accompanies this report, that since the election twenty-nine officers in the Navy, citizens of the southern dis affected States, have tendered their resignations to the Secretary, all of which have been forthwith and without inquiry accepted by him. The circumstances under which these resignations have been received and accepted, and the effect of that acceptance, deserves especial notice. That these officers have sought to resign and relieve themselves from the obligation to the government imposed by their commissions, because of disaffection, and a desire to join, and in many instances to lead insurgent forces against that government, is notorious. One of them, Lieut. J. R. Hamilton, a citizen of South Carolina, forwarded his resignation from on board the Wyoming, at Panama, dated December 1st, 1860. It did not reach the Department until the 15th of the same month, and without inquiry into his conduct, his purpose in resigning, his loyalty, or any circumstances connected with so unusual a proceeding at such a time, his resignation was accepted the same day. He immediately, from Charleston, South Carolina, issued a letter addressed to all the officers in the Navy from Southern States, urging them to resign and join a hostile force against the government, and that those of them in command should bring with them their vessels into Southern ports and surrender them to the traitors already in arms, taking new commissions under their authority, and then turning their guns upon their own flag. the Secretary until the 22d, when, like the others, it was, without inquiry or delay, accepted. The conduct of these officers plainly comes within the constitutional definition of treason against the United States, namely: "Levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort." And so long as their resignations were unaccepted by the Secretary, they could be tried and punished by a court-martial as traitors. From this they have been relieved by the Secretary himself. To have done this with a knowledge of their acts, would have been to have involved himself in their crime; would have been to have committed treason himself. To have done it without inquiry, and without reason to know that they have committed no offence, shows a want of that solicitude for the honor and efficiency of the service which is indispensable to its just administration. Yet the resignation of Farrand and Renshaw, and also those of the other officers resigning at the Pensacola navy-yard, were all received and accepted after the Secretary had already been offlcially informed that they had surrendered to a lawless band of insurgents, and he had detached them to await orders, having "neither approved nor disapproved of their conduct, and not proposing to do so, without full information touching their conduct in the surrender of the yard." Why, after having been thus warned, and having taken his position, the Secretary did not wait for this "information," the committee cannot understand. Some of Such conduct is nothing less than treason, and has no parallel since the attempt of Benedict Arnold to deliver over important military posts to the enemies Several other resignations of officers who do not of his country. Had the Secretary declined to accept appear to have engaged in actual war against the the resignation thus tendered, this man would have United States before tendering the same, were neverbeen subject to the trial and punishment of a court- theless accepted by the Secretary, with an unneces martial, according to the rules which govern the sary haste which neither the purpose of the resignaBervice, and would have met the fate of a traitor. tion nor the times would justify or excuse. This extraordinary letter was published throughout them were even accepted by telegraph, when it was the United States. After its circulation in the public perfectly apparent that the object in resigning was to prints in Washington, V. M. Randolph, a captain in relieve themselves, as early as possible, from embarthe Navy, a citizen of Alabama, who had been ex-rassment and the obligation of the oath of office, as eused from active service for two or three years, be- well as summary trial and punishment by a courteause of alleged ill-health, on the 10th of January, martial, previous to joining insurgent forces against 1861, forwarded from Montgomery, Alabama, his the constituted authorities of their country. These resignation to the Secretary. Before twelve o'clock resignations, thus accepted, have been followed by at noon of the 12th, and before his resignation had immediate engagement in a service hostile to the reached Washington, and while he was still a cap- Government. tain in the Navy, he appeared at the gates of the Pensacola navy-yard, in Florida, at the head of an insurgent force, and demanded its surrender. The yard, with whatever of force it had and the United States stores and other property to a vast amount therein, was unconditionally surrendered to him; and he is now its commandant, occupying the quarters of its late commandant, and granting paroles of honor to such of his prisoners of war as have desired to depart, and not serve under him. The despatch from the late commandant, then a prisoner of war, informing the Secretary of this ignominious surrender, was received at the Department on the evening of the 13th of January; and the resignation of Captain Randolph, who, on the 12th, was the leader of the insurgents, did not reach the Secretary till the 14th, when, without inquiry or delay, it was immediately accepted. E. Farrand, commander in the Navy, and also a citizen of Alabama, was the second in command at the Pensacola navy-yard, the executive officer of the yard, When the attack was made upon the yard, Farrand met the assailants at the gates by previous understanding, admitted them to the yard, and conducted their leader to the commanding officer, partieipated in the formal capitulation, and immediately engaged in service under the new commandant of the yard. This was done while he still held in his possession his commission as a commander in the Navy. On the 13th or 15th of January, (the Department does not know which,) Farrand forwarded his resignation to the Secretary, but it did not reach him till the 21st of the same month, seven days after official notice of the surrender had been received at the Department. Yet this resignation was immediately, and without inquiry, accepted. F. B. Renshaw, a lieutenant in the Navy, and a citizen of Florida, was the first lieutenant of the yard, and actively engaged in securing its surrender. It was by his order that the flag was hauled down amid the jeers and shouts of a drunken rabble. He immediately enrolled himself under the leader of the insurgents, and present commandant of the yard, and from the day of its surrender has continued under him to discharge the duties of first lieutenant, as before under the United States. Yet he continued to hold his commission as a lieutenant in the Navy till the 16th of January, and the resignation did not reach One man, holding the office of civil engineer in the Pensacola navy-yard at the time of its surrender, forwarded his resignation on that day to the Secre tary, inclosed in a letter to Senator Mallory, in which he expressly states the reason of his resignation to be because he is prevented from acting against the Government by the obligations of his commission. The letter of resignation, and the one inclosing it stating this reason, were both laid before the Secretary on the 24th of January; yet the Secretary not only accepted the resignation at once, and thus relieved him from the obligation imposed on him by his commission not to act against the Government, but caused the acceptance to take effect "from the 12th of January, the day of the surrender of the yard," twelve days anterior to the time of its date. The reason given for thus making this acceptance retroactive in its effect, namely, to stop his pay from that time, did not appear, under any extraordinary circumstances by which it was surrounded, at all satisfactory to the committee. The resignation of the officer in charge of the marine hospital at Pensacola was accepted by telegraph, and he was thereby enabled to take upon himself the same position under the insurgent force without any interruption. And that of Lieutenant R. T. Chapman, dated on board the Brooklyn, when about to sail under orders, was likewise accepted by telegraph, and he was thus relieved of any inconvenience he would otherwise have experienced in being carried to sea against his wishes. The course pursued by the Secretary, in thus accepting these resignations, appears, under the circumstances, to be most extraordinary. No custom of the Department, in ordinary times, could justify it. No want of confidence in the loyalty of these officers can excuse it; for, if their previous conduct had justified any such suspicion, it also demanded investigation beforehand, which would, as to some of them, have disclosed to the Secretary their complicity in treaBon, calling for court-martial rather than honorable discharge. A prudent regard for the public safety would no doubt have justified, if not imperiously demanded, that some of these officers should have been early removed from delicate and responsible posi tions of trust, by the substitution of others more reliable. But these very considerations appear to the committee to have forbidden the furnishing of any such facilities for engaging in hostilities against the Government, as the relief from the summary trial and punishment of a court-martial, secured by an acceptance of their resignations. ally large. If, however, it is unusually large, both the testimony and the records of the House furnish a sufficient reason for it. It is stated in the following extract from the paper already alluded to, dated 24th January: 2. All the vessels above named, except the Pawnee and the Constitution, are dismantled. Vessels of war are nearly always dismantled immediately after their arrival in port, at the termination of a cruise. It is also customary to commence repairing them as soon as possible after their return, if the appropriations and other work will permit. The appropriations were reduced $1,000,000 below the estimates of the Department; and of the whole sum appropriated ($1,523,000) for repairs, etc., for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1861, there remained on the 1st January, the close of the first half of the fiscal year, the sum of $646,639.79 for the remaining half." The course pursued by the Secretary has resulted in furnishing those engaged in an attempt to overthrow the Government, with the skill, experience, and discipline which education at the expense of the Government, and a long service in the Navy have conferred upon our own officers. The committee cannot understand how this course is consistent with a proper discharge of the duties of his office by the Secretary, in this critical juncture of affairs. It appears to them to have been attended with consequences the most serious to the service and the country. They can find no excuse or justification in the claim set up in behalf of the Secretary, that these resignations have been accepted in ignorance of any misconduct, for no resignation should at any time be accepted until there is reason to know at least that the officer tendering it had been guilty of no unofficerlike conduct deserving a court-propriation in half the year, he did not think it just to bis martial. But the circumstances connected with these resignations, the apparent purpose for which they were made, and the hostile attitude which the manner of their tender clearly disclosed, called upon the Secretary to refrain from that haste in their acceptance which permitted of neither delay nor inquiry. The committee cannot approve, but are compelled to condemn such a failure in the discharge of public duty, and they therefore recommend the adoption of the following resolution: Resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy, in accepting without delay or inquiry, the resignations of officers of the Navy, who were in arms against the Government when tendering the same, and of those who sought to resign, that they might be relieved from the restraint imposed by their commissions upon engaging in hostilities to the constituted authorities of the nation, has committed a grave error, highly prejudicial to the discipline of the service, and injurious to the honor and efficiency of the Navy, for which he deserves the censure of this House. The Secretary stated to the Committee that he deemed it his duty to conform to the action of Congress, and that in addition, having already expended more than half the apsuccessor that he should continue expenditures until 4th March on the same scale, much less to increase them. A large majority of the members of this House voted at the last session to reduce the appropriation; and of course those who thus voted will not unite with the committee in censuring the Secretary for the inevitable consequence of their own act. Another equally satisfactory reason for not placing more ships in commission, is found in the letter of 24th January, as follows: "The other vessels mentioned in the list have not been put in condition for immediate service within the last month, because the number of vessels in commission is governed by the numerical strength of the officers and seamen of the Navy." And again, in a communication from the Navy Department dated February 4th, 1861: "In reply to the second inquiry, there are enough captains, commanders, surgeons, chaplains. In the other grades there are not, nor is there a sufficient number of seamen." It will be remembered that the number of both officers and seamen to be employed is limited by law, and the Sec Mr. BRANCH made a minority report, as retary of the Navy cannot exceed that limit. follows: An examination of the table accompanying the report, marked "List of the vessels of the United States Navy in commission on the 16th of January, 1861," will disclose the fact that, so far from there being any ground to believe that the ships of the Navy have been purposely placed out of reach, the foreign squadrons are unusually weak, in proportion to the whole force of the Navy, and the home squadron unprecedentedly strong. In his annual report of 3d December, 1857, the Secretary of the Navy said: "The home squadron, under the command of its flagofficer, Hiram Paulding, has consisted of the steam-frigates Wabash and Roanoke, the sloops-of-war Saratoga and Cyane, and the war steamers Susquehanna and Fulton. The unsatisfactory state of affairs in New Grenada and portions of Central America required the increase of this squadron, and the almost constant presence of a considerable force in the neighborhood, both in the Atlantic and the Pacific." From which it will be seen that, at that time, six ships were considered so large a force for the home squadron as to call for an explanation from Congress. The same squadron, on the 16th of January, 1861, consisted of eleven ships, of which seven were steamers; of the eleven, eight were on the coast, or under orders for the coast, and have since arrived. It is difficult to perceive from what portion of the testimony the committee have reached the conclusion that the only ships available for the defence of the coast are the Brooklyn and one other. It is true, they were on the 16th of January the only vessels in our harbors; but the House need not be informed that vessels in commission are not allowed to lie idle in the harbors, but are required to cruise on their stations, coming in occasionally for supplies and for orders. The home squadron, as its name imports, is mainly intended to guard and protect our own coasts, and on comparatively short notice it could be concentrated for service at a given point. It will be seen from the abstract of orders issued from the Navy Department, furnished to the committee, and dated 24th January, that not a single ship has been ordered to any foreign station since the date of the Presidential election; every order since that date has been to increase the force at home. The second ground on which the committee condemn the action of the Secretary is, that a large number of ships are dismantled and not ready for immediate service. It is well known that, from the very nature of the service, only a portion of even the serviceable ships can be kept in commission. In the midst of a foreign war with a naval power, some of the vessels of the Navy will always be in ordinary. There is nothing in the testimony to show that the number in ordinary at the present time is unusu The Secretary deserves no censure; but should receive the highest commendation for inflexibly obeying the law in the administration of his Department. Every attempt at retrenchment and economy is defeated because heads of Departments will not themselves conform to the law and compel their subordinates to do the same. The facility with which Congress supplies deficiencies created by disregarding the law, has encouraged such practices; and it would be mournful indeed, if in the first well-authenticated case in which a head of Department has faithfully and sternly conformed his expenditures to so radical a reduction of his estimates, the officer should receive a vote of censure instead of a vote of thanks. The Navy seems to have been adequate for all the demands made upon it by the wise and peace-preserving policy of the President. If the President who goes into office on the 4th March desires to engage in civil war, he will have an ample naval force with which to begin, even so early as the 5th of March; and there will probably be abundant time for increasing it before the war closes. II. RESIGNATION OF OFFICERS. A list of all the officers of the Navy who have resigned, between the 11th of November and the 24th January, was furnished to the Committee, and the chief clerk of the Navy Department was fully examined as to the circumstances attending each resignation. The whole number was fifty-six, including eleven from the Naval Academy. It is known that in many, if not most of these cases, the officers, in resigning, have not only given up an honorable profession for which alone they were fitted by education and habits, but have reduced themselves and families to penury. Some powerful motive must have actuated them. If it was selfish, let any one point out a possible advantage they could promise themselves personally. It could not be that they aimed to recommend themselves to the favor and patronage of the southern confederacy, for that government does not possess a ship, and cannot, for a long time, provide itself with a navy. When it has done so, it cannot be expected that the officers will be in any better situation with reference to their personal interests than they would bave been if they had remained in the Navy of the United States. It is evident that in resigning they have been actuated by a high sense of duty to the States of which they were respectively citizens; and that, in the time and manner of tendering their resignations, they have consulted a nice sense of honor. In a few instances they have engaged in the military service of their States; but not until they had resigned their commissions in the Navy of the United States. In no instance does it appear that one of them has be trayed the trust reposed in him by this government, or engaged in any hostile service until he had discharged himself of all the responsibilities imposed by his commission. The testimony taken before the committee, partial and limited as it is on this point, is confidently appealed to for the correctness of this statement. The undersigned would gladly pursue this subject, grateful as it is to him to vindicate, against the very harsh aspersions cast upon them by the committee, the characters of the honorable body of men who have so long and so gallantly borne the flag of the Republic. But it is foreign to the inquiry the committee were instructed to make, and will for that reason be dismissed, except in so far as it is the basis of the resolution reported. The censure of the Secretary seems to be based principally, if not entirely, on his acceptance of the resignations of Captain Randolph and the two lieutenants on duty at the Pensacola navy-yard at the time of its surrender. ble confusion. No consideration of convenience, nor the maintenance of any mere system of business, should be allowed to interfere with the substantial demands of justice and public interest. But in the absence of any reason for deviating from the usual course (and the undersigned says confidently that in the present case no such reason existed), the head of an Executive Department is not censurable for requiring all its business to be regularly and promptly despatched. The undersigned can find in the testimony nothing to detract from the high reputation always borne by the present Secretary for integrity and patriotism; and therefore I cannot concur with the committee in recommending the passage of a resolution of censure. March 2d. The resolution appended to the majority report, was agreed to-yeas 95, Captain Randolph's resignation was dated at Montgomery, Hon. Isaac Foucey, Secretary of the Navy: Commissioners appointed by the Governor of Florida, with a regiment of armed men at the gate, demanded the surrender of this navy-yard, having previously taken possession of the magazines. I surrendered the place and struck my flag at half-past one o'clock this day. The store-ship Supply sailed for Vera Cruz the moment the yard flag was lowered. JAMES ARMSTRONG, Captain U. S. Navy, late Commandant Navy Yard. The testimony shows that this was the only information received by the Department previous to the 24th. It is evident, from this statement of facts and dates, that at the time Captain Randolph's resignation was accepted, and for at least ten days thereafter, the Department was totally ignorant of his participation in the Pensacola expedition. Even if we were at liberty to infer that the Secretary had seen his name connected with the expedition in the newspapers earlier than the 24th, we cannot suppose that it had been seen before the 14th, the day on which the resignation was accepted, for it would be impossible for even flying newspaper reports to reach this city from Pensacola in so short a time. Lieutenant Farrand, who was first lieutenant and executive officer of the navy-yard, resigned on the 13th January, and his resignation was accepted on the 21st. Lieutenant Renshaw resigned on the 16th, and it was accepted on the 22d. The testimony discloses nothing on which the Secretary could have refused to accept these resignations, if all the pos YEAS-Messrs. Charles F. Adams, Aldrich, Alley, Ashley, Beale, Bingham, Blair, Blake, Brayton, Buffinton, Burlin game, Butterfield, Campbell, Carey, Carter, Case, Coburn, Colfax, Conway, Covode, H. Winter Davis, Dawes, Delano, Duell, Edgerton, Edwards, Eliot, Ely, Farnsworth, Fenton, French, Gooch, Grow, Gurley, Hale, Haskin, Helmick, Wm. A. Howard, Humphrey, Hutchins, Irvine, Junkin, Francis W. Kellogg, Wm. Kellogg, Kenyon, Killinger, De Witt C. Leach, Lee, Longnecker, Lovejoy, Marston, McKean, McKnight, McPherson, Millward, Moorhead, Morrill, Edward Joy Morris, Isaac N. Morris, Nixon, Olin, Palmer, Perry, Pettit, Potter, Pottle, Edwin R. Reynolds, Rice, Christopher Robinson, Royce, Sedgwick, Sherman, Somies, Spaulding, Spinner, Stanton, Stevens, Wm. Stewart, Stratton, Tompkins, Train, Trimble, Vandever, Van Wyck, Verree, Wade, Waldron, Walton, Cadwalader C. Washburn, Ellihu B. Washburne, Wells, Wilson, Windom. Wood. Woodruff-95. NAYS-Messrs. Adrain, Wm. C. Anderson, Barr, Barrett, Boteler, Brabson, Branch, Brown, Burch, Burnett, John B. Clark, Clemens, John Cochrane, Cox, James Craig, Burton Craige, John G. Davis, De Jarnette, English, Ferry, Florence, Fouke, Garnett, Hamilton, John T. Harris, Hatton, Hindman, Holman, Wm. Howard, Hughes, Kilgore, Kunkel, Larrabee, James M. Leach, Leake, Charles D. Martin, Mc Kenty, Millson, Montgomery, Nelson, Niblack, Pendleton, Peyton, Phelps, Pryor, Quarles, Riggs, James C. Robinson, Ruffin, Sickles, Simms, William N. H. Smith, Stevenson, James A. Stewart, Stokes, Thomas, Vallandigham, Vance, Whiteley, Winslow, Woodson, Wright—62. January 30th. Mr. JOHN H. REYNOLDS made the majority report, and L. O'B. BRANCH the minority report, upon the bill to authortestimony taken before the committee had been in his session at the time he acted. But by a comparison of datesize the President to call out the militia, which it will be seen that they were received, and in due course of business acted on before he had any intelligence from was ordered to be printed and recommitted Pensacola except the telegraphic despatch already set forth. to the committee.* The undersigned would hold the Secretary, who should had been guilty of any conduct unbecoming an officer, accept the resignation of an officer who before resigning amenable to the severest censure. An acceptance of a resignation is an honorable discharge from service, which fidelity and honor, but one who has thus acquitted himself is entitled to be discharged without question as to what he The base man would hold his commission and seek an opportunity to betray his Government, so that the fruits of his treason might purchase for him favor and reward. should only be given to him who has acquitted himself with intends to do thereafter. Such was the conduct of Arnold. mittee presented a report reviewing the corFebruary 27th. The majority of the comrespondence, communicated by the Presi dent January 8th, between himself and Isaac W. Hayne, "Special Envoy" of South Caro lina, and concluding with a resolution that in the opinion of the House, "the President had no constitutional power to negotiate with the representatives of the State of South Carolina for the surrender of any public property within the limits of that State." Messrs. COCHRANE and BRANCH, as a minority, made a report of dissent. Both reports were ordered to be printed and recommitted, and the subject was not resumed. It has been the proud boast of the American Navy that it 28th. Mr. HOWARD of Michigan, made the has never contained a traitor in its ranks. Will it be cred-closing report, on the general subject of Seited that it has suddenly become a hot-bed from which has sprung such a bountiful crop of traitors? Such a supposition would discredit the whole body of its officers; for it could only consist with the existence of some poisonous and traitorous influence pervading all its ranks and corrupting all its members. The pure man, who, compelled to select between two claims to his allegiance, chooses that which promises least personal advantage, scrupulously discharges all existing obligations, then voluntarily and openly renounces a cherished commission from a sense of duty to his native State, ence to the dictates of honor. Such men cannot be regarded as traitors; and to call them so is to arraign manly virtue in the name of patriotism. gives the highest proof of devotion to principle and obedi The chief clerk of the Navy Department testified that there has been nothing unusual in the course recently pur sted in regard to resignations; and that the uniform course, from time immemorial, has been to act promptly on resig nations, unless some special reason existed for taking a case out of the routine of current business. The orderly conduct of business necessitates prompt action on each case in its turn; and in an ill-organized Department, or in one in which the force is insufficient, affairs will soon fall into inextrica cession. Mr. COCHRANE and Mr. BRANCH gave notice of their dissent, and obtained leave to make a minority report. WITHDRAWAL OF UNITED STATES TROOPS. January 2d, 1861. Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS of Mississippi offered this joint resolution, which was read and ordered to be printed: Mr. John Cochrane expressed his dissent from the measure "at this particular time."-Congressional Globe, Seond Session, 36th Congress, p. 646. |