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with any degree of certainty the character of half the officers upon whom they acted? But what have they done? Mark you, they had prepared a register a year before. They had been figur- ing and engineering on this subject. Some of these gentlemen the year before had drawn deductions, relying confidently on the consummation of this work, and I have no doubt a work of most iniquitous character. It was stated by the honorable Senator from Florida that there was no harm in these gentlemen dotting the register, and that there was no harm in the congress that was held in Commodore Skinner's office, which I narrated in my former speech. It was before they were appointed members of the board, but not before they knew that they would be appointed and in- dorsed; and because they were unapproachable they were placed above all responsibility and all law! The selection of one of them was a guarantee to any act which they might endorse! They were appointed by the President and the Secretary of the Navy, and their conduct is not to be questioned! What does the honorable Senator himself say, who is the chair- man of the committee? He says he has no doubt that it was perfectly just and right that they should do-what? That they should retire, furlough, and drop, just as they did. From what do you suppose he deduces that fact? Why, he says that the year before he made a calculation himself-not being an officer of the navy, not being personally acquainted with the navy, living at Pensacola, where a few ships touched annually-and that out of one hundred whom he marked, ninety-nine were dropped or re- tired. Do you think there had never been any conclave sitting here, ordaining who should be dropped or retained, long before the bill was passed-dropping men, not because they were in- efficient, but because their places were supposed to be necessary either to members of the board, or to friends and relatives who were to be promoted by the removal, retiring, or dropping of these gentlemen? Is it fair that men should thus be stricken down with every evidence of interest on the part of those who did the act? Should the country be thus essentially injured without redress? Is there to be no justice, no sympathy, nothing but taunts and insolence to the unfortunate, and those who are stricken down without demerit? Sir, the honorable Senator, the chairman of the committee, spoke of officers who were dropped, and officers who were dis- rated, occupying a place in the gallery-audiences by prearrange- ment-when I spoke. I believe it was repeated by the Senator from Delaware [Mr. Clayton], though it is not to be found in
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