sacola by nature are, by rights ought to be, and by legislation should be, the centres of operations in the case.

"Panama, Nicaragua, and Tehuantepec, have, or are about to impose new obligations upon us. We must look to them, and in providing for the common defence take them into consideration. They are links in the chain which binds the most remote corners of the republic together. They are the gateways between distant parts of the Union, and they must therefore be cared for in peace, guarded and protected in war.

"The Amazonian basin, embracing an area more than twice the extent of our great Mississippi valley, fills too large a space in the world to escape attention from us, when we are in the very act of laying the foundations for a permanent system of national defence. With all the climates of India, with unheard of capacities of production, and the most boundless sources of wealth in the field, the forest, and the mine, that valley, so soon as it shall begin to feel the axe and the plough, will pour into our lap a commerce, the value of which is as limitless as are its own vast resources. Nature has placed us in the position to command that commerce. The great business of fetching and carrying there must be ours. For coming and for going the winds are fair for us; and we are the only nation for whose shipping they are so fair.

"That arm of the ocean which s vers the continent nearly in twain, to make between the 'Father of Waters,' at the north, and the 'King of Rivers,' at the south, a receptacle for their commerce, is receiving from the Mississippi valley alone an amount of produce that astonishes the world. Yet the Mississippi valley is not half peopled up. What, therefore, will this oceanic basin, this commercial receptacle for the surplus produce of the two grandest systems of river basins on the face of the earth, be, when the great Amazonian valley, of double area, with its everlasting summer, and its endless round of harvests, comes to be subdued and brought into cultivation? What the Gulf of Mexico is now, is as nothing to what it is to be. It abounds with commercial elements that cannot be comprehended for their magnitude; and in proportion as it becomes the seat of maritime wealth and greatness, so, too, must it become the centre of naval strength and power. As Columbus lay sick, it was upon the waters of this sea-basin that the angel visited him in a dream, and told him. that God had made his name great, and sent him to 'unbar the gates of ocean.' The keys to these gates are at Key West and the Tortugas, Memphis, and Pensacola. Nature has placed them among the wonderful resources of the great valley; and to stand as gatekeeper before them is the mission of those naval forces that naturally centre in the gulf."

Other important considerations irresistibly connect themselves with this subject. If it be indispensable to a wise system of public defence to connect the navy with the illimitable material resources of the great valley of the Mississippi, it is equally imperative to bring it into contact with the vast population of that teeming region, which is soon destined to be the seat of empire in our country. While the vessels engaged in our European commerce may be expected to furnish men

to fill our ships of war for the defence of the Atlantic coast-our whalers, those for the defence of California and Oregon-where else can we look for men to defend the Gulf of Mexico, but to the brave and hardy watermen who swarm the western rivers? Six years ago,

in one of those memorials which the legislature of Tennessee has repeatedly adopted, evincing its deep interest in this subject, this important aspect of the question was presented in the following language: "Similar public establishments on the banks of the Mississippi and its great tributaries will carry with it similar benefits and facilities to a great and growing community, proverbial for its patriotism, but hitherto almost wholly unaccustomed to any participation in the public disbursements. They would stimulate its enterprise by opening new and profitable markets to the labor and the productive energies of that community. They would in no small degree familiarize the public eye with the character and the application of the destructive engines of war, and thereby acquaint a remote but devoted people with the power and defensive force of the government.

The hardy waterman of the Mississippi, already more than half a sailor, trained thus in frequent intercourse with the war-ship, the child of his own boasted valley, would imbibe feelings which no recited lesson could inspire; and, with the first invitation of his couutry, he would eagerly walk her decks and peril his life in defence of her colors. This brave and patient class of our population already numbers some twenty thousand. They flourish in a growing and instructive school, and will, in all time to come, if properly nurtured, constitute a standing army of peaceful and unexpensive citizens, inured to toil and discipline, and ready, at a moment's warning, to man our navy; or, if need be, fill up and recruit our field battalions."

The committee are informed, upon the best authority, that it is now a matter of great difficulty, in the cities of our southern seaboard, to procure the sailors necessary for manning our commercial vessels. As it is to the commercial marine we must look for the means of manning an effective navy in time of war, and as the isolated and independent character of the Gulf of Mexico must be apparent from the facts already presented, we cannot entirely rely upon the Atlantic and Pacific seas for the men necessary to maintain our supremacy in that "mare clausum." The Mississippi valley offers a ready and sure resource the only sure resource for such an emergency; but it is necessary to provide the proper means for placing these immense resources of materials and men within our reach when the occasion shall require them. It is believed that no more economical or efficient means for this purpose can be adopted, than the completion and active. operations of a great naval establishment, in the centre of the Mississippi valley.

Recent improvements in artillery render it almost certain, that the armaments of all our public vessels will be wholly inefficient and unreliable in a future naval contest. At all events, a very great supply of guns of larger calibre will be indispensable to be added to the present armament, if this should not prove to be entirely obsolete. Where should the guns for the Gulf of Mexico be cast, if not in the grand valley of which it is the outlet? Where should the shot and

shells be manufactured? And what better, point for these purposes can be found than the site of the present naval establishment at Memphis?

In the report of the officers already referred to, a doubt is expressed as to the possibility of launching a large ship at Memphis. The committee can scarcely believe that there is any good ground for such a doubt. It is stated, throughout the report, that the foundations of some of the buildings are imperfectly prepared; but it is not stated that good foundations cannot be made. On the contrary, they present a plan for this purpose, which they believe will be sufficient. The committee will not undertake to determine the practicability of launching ships at Memphis, inasmuch as the commissioners aforesaid, in their report, have expressed a serious doubt on the subject. But such a conclusion would be so much against the decided convictions of the committee, and the judgment of practical men living in that section of the country, that it ought by no means to be acquiesced in, without a more thorough and accurate investigation of the facts upon which it is sought to be maintained. A practical test could be very easily applied; any number of responsible citizens could be found to contract, with good security, for building and launching at the Memphis navy yard a ship of any prescribed tonnage, notwithstanding the opinion of these learned commissioners that such a thing is of doubtful practicability.

The original design of this important establishment, upon which so large a sum of money has already been expended, and for the completion of which the State of Tennessee claims the faith of the government to have been pledged, ought not to be changed or abandoned upon the doubtful conjectures of three individuals, who prove themselves to be but little acquainted with the true capabilities of the position. The committee are informed that the present engineer in charge of the work, and Captain Nicholson, of the navy, now in command of the yard, are well satisfied that there can be no difficulty in establishing permanent foundations for building and launching ships. The opinions of these gentlemen are entitled to equal weight with the gentlemen to whose report reference has already been made.

For the reasons mentioned, therefore, the committee recommend the completion of the Memphis navy yard upon its original plan, and at the proper time they propose to ask the appropriations necessary for this purpose.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-January 4, 1855.

To the House of Representatives:

In response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th ultimo, requesting the President "to communicate to this House any proposition which may have been made to the government by the city authorities of Memphis, relative to the navy yard property recently ceded to that city, together with his views and those of the Navy

Department as to the propriety of accepting the proposed re-cession and of re-establishing a naval depot and yard of construction at Memphis," I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of the Navy, and have only to add my concurrence in the views by him presented. FRANKLIN PIERCE.

WASHINGTON, D. C., January 1, 1855.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, December 26, 1854. SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report in pursuance of the resolution passed by the House of Representatives on the 11th instant, in these words:

"Resolved, That the President be requested to communicate to this House any proposition which may have been made to the government by the city authorities of Memphis, relative to the navy yard property recently ceded to that city, together with his views and those of the Navy Department as to the propriety of accepting the proposed recession and of re-establishing a naval depot and yard of construction at Memphis."

Accompanying this report is a correct copy (marked A) of the proceedings of the board of mayor and aldermen of the city of Memphis, received on the 7th of November last. These proceedings present the only "propositions" which have been made through this department to the government, by the city authorities of Memphis, relative to the navy yard recently ceded to that city.

You will perceive that the city authorities do not propose an unconditional retrocession, but accompany it with certain specified terms, to which Congress must agree. They disclaim the design of holding it, "provided that Congress shall in its wisdom, in justice to the South and West, desire to reinstate said yard, not as a ropewalk alone, but as a depot of construction and equipment of government vessels for the navy. They further say that they will deem it their duty, "in consideration that Congress agree to carry out their original plan of keeping up and carrying on a navy yard of construction at Memphis," to retrocede the property.

Congress has the power to discontinue any of the navy yards, or to convert some of them into ropewalks, and to devote others to the manufacture of machinery or ordnance. But if the terms of the proposition under consideration be acceded to, Congress will have surrendered its discretion, and will be bound to keep up this as a yard for the "construction and equipment of government vessels for the navy,” although future experience may demonstrate that it would be economy and sound policy to abandon the undertaking to construct and equip vessels, and, instead thereof, to devote it exclusively to the manufacture of machinery for our steamships, and ordnance to supply them with armaments, or to convert it into a ropewalk for the manufacture of cordage, or to discontinue it entirely.

I cannot consider it wise policy in the government to own property involving large expenditures of money upon conditions to which in good faith it may be bound to adhere, although found by experience Rep. 61-2

to be impolitic. My views, therefore, are adverse to the propriety of accepting the retrocession on the terms proposed by the city authorities. This government now has eight navy yards, including that in progress of construction at San Francisco. They are located at Kittery, in Maine; Charlestown, Massachusetts; Brooklyn, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington, D. C.; Norfolk, Virginia; and Pensacola, Florida. In my opinion, these are amply sufficient for the present wants of the United States; and no other yards of "construction and equipment" of vessels are needed at this time.

Inquiry may be made, perhaps, as to the local advantages or disadvantages presented at Memphis, in regard to necessary depth of water and the practicability of securing the proper foundation to sustain building-slips and launching-ways and docks. There was a report made by a board of officers appointed by the Secretary of the Navy in 1844, September 16, which is to be found in Executive documents 2d session 28th Congress, volume 1; another by a board similarly appointed in 1851, June 11, to be found in Ex. Docs. 1st session 32d Congress, volume 2, part 2. An elaborate report was also made by the Senate Naval Committee, May 6, 1852, which is to be found in Senate Reports 1st session 32d Congress, volume 2. These several reports present the results of personal inspection, and discuss elaborately the question of the suitableness of this location for a navy yard. To them I take the liberty of referring you.

To institute additional inquiry, by the actual examination of another board, in order to present facts and views suggested by their action, would necessarily delay a response to the resolution until the session is far advanced.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. C. DOBBIN.

To the PRESIDENT.

A.

CITY HALL, MEMPHIS, October 23, 1854.

At a called meeting of the board of mayor and aldermen of the city of Memphis, on Monday, October 23, 1854-present his honor the mayor, Messrs. Neal, Hughes, Smithwick, Morgan, Milton, Junkins, Patrick-in the absence of the chairman, Mr. Douglass, Alderman Patrick was called on to preside. On taking the chair, he explained that the meeting was called for the purpose of requesting the Secretary of the Navy to suspend the sale of government property, now advertised to take place at the Memphis navy yard on the 1st day of November next, until after the meeting of Congress.

Alderman Hughes being seconded, offered the following preamble and resolutions:

Whereas we, the mayor and aldermen of the city of Memphis, view with deep regret what we conceive to have been hasty legislation in the late act of Congress ceding the Memphis navy yard and appurtenances to the city of Memphis, thereby depriving the citizens of the