me says, one thing would certainly result—it would give the cholera to the Treasury of the United States. It may perhaps be owing to the fact that I have no very great fears of the cholera, having lived in a town with it three years, that I am not willing to break down all the barriers around the Treasury, which some gentlemen seem disposed to do. In my locality we are familiar with this disease. We know that it has no such terrors as it seems to have to gentlemen who are not familiar with it, and we do not want to have our liberty restrained, nor our privilege of locomotion, nor the Treasury afflicted, by any such bill. I trust that the time has gone by when we are going to be called on to legislate in the manner this bill proposes. During the war we drew to ourselves here, as the Federal Government, authority which had been considered doubtful by all, and denied by many of the statesmen of this country. That time, it seems to me, has ceased, and ought to cease. Let us go back to the original condition of things, and allow the States to take care of themselves, as they have been in the habit of taking care of themselves.

THE NAVAL ACADEMY.

Continuing to cherish a generous care for the Naval Academy, Mr. Grimes advocated Annapolis as its proper location, against proposals for removing it to Newport, Rhode Island, or to the vicinity of Newport News, James River, and secured appropriations for enlarging the grounds, for introducing water from the Annapolis water-works, for establishing a foundery and machine-shop, to afford instruction and practice in naval engineering, for a new chapel, and for tablets upon its walls, in memory of persons belonging to the naval service who have fallen in the defense of the country. He said, March 20th :

The Secretary of the Navy has proposed to take the Academy down to the waters of James River; to which I have told him that I was unalterably opposed. He has assigned various reasons why it ought not to be continued at the present place. I believe that nearly every one of those reasons is fallacious. I do not think that he has exhibited his usual good judgment in proposing to take the Academy from Annapolis, and carry it down to a country where there is nobody, remote from all civilization, where there is not a

village within thirty miles, I believe; and although I am in the habit, as a general thing, of concurring with him, for I think that his judgment on most things is correct, yet upon this subject I am convinced that he is decidedly in error. I have no sort of partiality for Annapolis. I think I am capable of looking at this question of the location of the Academy with great disinterestedness. I believe that it is now located where it ought to be; in the proper climate, in the right location, central to our country, and near the seat of Government. The grounds are not quite so capacious as they ought to be, but we have made provision to enlarge them. We have expended there more than nine hundred thousand dollars. I do not think it is the dictate of economy to throw away the money, and appoint a roving commission to travel over the country to see if they cannot find a place where they can expend a similar sum for the same purpose.

Mr. Grimes held that seventeen was the proper limit of age for boys to be admitted to the Academy, and said, May 24th:

There happened to be a likely boy who was a little over the age of seventeen, and could not be admitted. I believe it was purely through the influence exerted by the friends of that young man that we changed the period to eighteen years. He was admitted, went to the Academy, was there three months, and was unable to make any progress in his studies, had not any adaptation to the profession, and was dismissed; and we have now upon the statute-book a limit of eighteen in place of seventeen years, when every naval officer concurs in the opinion that the shorter number of years is the proper age for boys to go into the naval service.

THE MONITORS.

Of the progress of improvement in the construction of monitors, Mr. Grimes gave the following explanation, April 17, 1866:

Iron vessels have been built before, but no such vessels as we have built; and almost all of the attachments have been compelled to be of a different character from what was known before. In the first place, it required a good deal of time and ingenuity, and many experiments, to determine the best character of a rudder to apply

to these monitors. Then there were constant changes made, in order to obviate the defects which were found to exist in the original monitor, so as to prevent the great overhanging, which was doubtless the cause of the sinking of the original monitor. Then it was exceedingly difficult to arrange the compass; and many experiments were made, and considerable delay occasioned in consequence of the variation caused by the action of the iron on the deck of the vessel upon the compass. They finally devised a way of raising the compass on a high staff, and having a card on which it could be read down in front.

If the Senator (Mr. Guthrie) will go with me to the navy-yard, I will show him two monitors, one built in 1862, and another one built recently, the Tonawanda; and he would hardly suppose that the original monitor was the prototype and original of the perfect vessel that is now lying at the wharf. These changes have been going on gradually. Every battle that has been fought, every storm that they have encountered, every experienced and capable man who has commanded one of them, has made some suggestive changes; and when these changes have met the approval of the proper advisory officers of the Navy Department, although a vessel might be upon the stocks, availing themselves of the clause in the contracts which authorized them to change the specifications, they have done so. Manifestly it was the interest and the duty of the Government to make such changes. I am happy in being able to say, what is my own honest conviction, that we have to-day the most perfect iron vessels in the world; and they have all sprung out of a defective original vessel, and been perfected through those changes which have been gradually going on in the various shipyards, either private ship-yards or our own.

I rose not for the purpose of entering into a discussion, but simply not to let it be inferred that I believed there had been any improper blundering in regard to these iron-clads. I know that the Navy Department have made mistakes, egregious mistakes in regard to one class of vessels. I am not here to defend those mistakes, but I am here to defend every improvement and change that has been made toward making a perfect ship-of-war, which I think we have done.

Mr. Grimes made the following remarks with reference to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Hon. G. V. Fox, May 15th:

When the resolution congratulating the Emperor of Russia upon his escape from assassination was adopted by Congress, it was sug gested by the Secretary of State, and by some other persons connected with the Administration, that Mr. Fox should be deputed to carry the congratulatory resolution to Russia; it was also suggested to him that he should withdraw his resignation as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, for the reason that it would be more acceptable to the Russian Government if he went in his official capacity as second in authority in the Navy Department than if he went as a private individual. Mr. Fox proposes to start in the Miantonomoh, an iron-clad ship, a class of improved impregnable vessels, for which this country is indebted to him more than to any other person, except Mr. Ericsson; the best iron-clad ship, I believe, in the world, and which we hope, and he believes, will safely cross the Atlantic. I believe the appearance of that ship in European waters would have a greater tendency to promote peace between the nations of Europe and this country than all the diplomats we shall be likely to send to Europe during the next thirty years.

In explaining a bill to regulate the appointment of officers in the Navy, Mr. Grimes said, June 14th:

Heretofore, since the time of Decatur, who was promoted over the heads of other officers for his distinguished merit, all promotions, with the exception of six, I believe, have been made by regular gradation. Captain Worden, Commodore Rodgers, Lieutenant Cushing, Commodore Rowan, Admiral Porter, perhaps one or two more, were promoted over the heads of persons who stood before them, for distinguished merit. This bill proposes to authorize a few persons to be promoted over the heads of those who have not distinguished themselves. The purpose is to recognize the valuable services of officers who during four years have been engaged, some of them, almost in constant battle, and to enable them to be promoted, even at the expense of others who have not seen any service during that time.

Section seven provides that the annual compensation of the admiral shall be ten thousand dollars a year. I need not say that that provision was intended for Admiral Farragut, to give him a corresponding rank to that which is contemplated to be bestowed upon General Grant. These ranks are relative. A bill has been

passed by the House of Representatives, making General Grant a full general; and then it was proposed that Admiral Farragut should be made a full admiral. He is now on leave, and gets five thousand dollars a year. The officer in the Army of corresponding rank gets between seventeen and eighteen thousand dollars. It is proposed by this bill to make an admiral, and give him all the time a salary of ten thousand dollars. I think the country will say that if there be any man who is really entitled to ten thousand dollars a year salary it is Admiral Farragut.

102.-To Mrs. Grimes.

WASHINGTON, May 11, 1866.

The House has passed the constitutional amendment by an unprecedented majority. We take the matter up in the Senate next week, will have a long debate, possibly make an amendment, and I think finally pass the measure by the constitutional majority of two-thirds. Debate rages in the Senate on the same old subjects, rehashed to us by the same orators.

May 23d.-Mr. Fox and wife left the city this morning. He expects to sail for Europe in a few days in the Miantonomoh. The selection of him, by a unanimous vote of the Senate, and by a large majority in the House of Representatives, to carry the congratulatory resolutions of Congress to the Emperor of Russia, was a fine culmination of his public services, and ought to be regarded by him as very complimentary.

LETTER OF HON. G. V. FOX, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, TO MRS. GRIMES.

BOSTON, MASS., May 27, 1866.

I have left Washington forever as a residence, and only await the cessation of a storm to cross the Atlantic in a monitor. There is no tie severed which causes me more regret than that which has existed between Mr. Grimes and myself. Besides the esteem which every one has for him, I have felt confidence and courage, leaning upon him, and not only have defied the public enemies, but by his aid have triumphed over them. He has known, better than any other person, my thoughts, feelings, and actions, and his good opinion and yours are the result of such knowledge. It is to be esteemed by such friends, that I find more solace than any reward