WRITINGS OF 5AM HOUSTON, 1857
422
It is their duty to do so, and to inform themselves in relation to them. We are told that the Navy now works marvelously well. Not only are we so informed by the President, as I have before stated, but that statement is indorsed by the Secretary of the Navy. Both commend the workings of the magic, the charming action, of the naval board. If it all works so well, why close the doors against inquiry? We are told that officers have resigned and gone into private life. Was it for delinquency that they resigned? Does any dis- grace attach to their resignation? Yes, sir. Any officer who avoids the responsibility of a court of inquiry or a court-martial, by resigning, acknowledges that he deserves dismissal and is un- worthy of the service, and, therefore, he begs that his resigna- tion may be accepted. But, sir, we are also told that it is wrong to pursue them. There is sympathy for individuals who are delinquent; but was there any when gallant men of the Navy were sent adrift? In vain did they appeal to the Senate by petitions for redress. In vain have their families, in want at home, been in deep distress. In vain has every appeal been made to your justice. There is no sympathy for them. Their gallant, their useful, and their faith- ful service to the country has been unheeded. There was no generous sympathy to extend to them; but everything was done to bolster up the board and conceal the facts and circumstances connected with it. The honorable chairman said he had no doubt of the rectitude of the action of the board, because, out of one hundred officers whom he had doubted and marked, ninety-nine had been dropped, retired, or furloughed. Were the two gentle- men who have recently resigned among those whom he had in- dorsed as fit for service in the Navy? If he is the guarantor for these men and their good conduct, it is an ample reason why he should wish to repress inquiry and prevent their exposure. Sir, it was an indorsement to every man who was retained. There was a superabundance of worthy men dismissed. As worthy and gallant men as ever lived were dismissed and sent into want and beggary, because the improvident sailor gathers not treasure and stores it not away in garners. I desire to have this subject understood. The action of the naval board has been under the present Administration. If it is creditable to them, and beneficial in its consequences to the country, I want them to derive the full benefit of it. If it is not creditable, as a new regime is to begin, a new Administration
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