WRITINGS OF SA:-.1 HovsTo;-;, 1857
420
as well as the feelings of individuals in this matter. I have no disposition to mortify the feelings of any man, or to wound his sensibilities; but if he assumes the responsibility of discharging certain duties to the country, he should be held responsible to and by the country for the discharge of those duties. If he be a delinquent, the crime consists, not in the exposure, but in the delinquency itself. He was aware that a responsibility devolved on him, and that he was amenable, not only to the laws of the land, but to public opinion. The laws do not always reach cases where public opinion holds individuals responsible for their conduct. To show that there is nothing impertinent in this inquiry with relation to a subordinate having been sent to supply the place of a superior, when we have on the naval list such a superabundance of captains as over ninety, I will read a notice from the National Intelligencer, of September 3, 1856: [We omit the quotations, which state the substance of this paragraph.] I desire to know the reason for this infraction of law and of the regulations of the Navy. I ask of the Department informa- tion on this point, which it is most competent to afford. This portion of my resolution, however, has been entirely stricken out by the amendment of the chairman of the Naval Committee. He does not wish the Senate to be informed of the reasons of that transaction. Why? The information would not expose Captain Hoff. He has only obeyed the mandate of the Navy Department, which detailed him for a duty not in consonance with his rank, according to the law and according to the regulations of the Navy. Is it unreasonable for me to desire an explanation of this extraor- dinary circumstance? If it had not been alleged, so importu- nately, that formerly we could not obtain the services of a sufficient number of captains in their appropriate commands, I might be less anxious to know the reasons for this extraordinary circumstance. I also desired information in regard to certain circumstances with which Commander Rowan was connected. It is now ob- jected that, since the introduction _of the resolution, Commander Rowan has been tried, convicted, and cashiered. At first, the chairman's objection was, that he was upon trial, and that it was improper to call for the information while the trial was going on. I wanted only the report which had induc~d his ar- raignment-not the facts which showed his culpability as an officer. It did not suit the chairman, the other day, that this
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