Mr. GRIMES. Before. these‘ amendments are acted upon I desire to explain the provisions of this bill to the Senate; and I trust i shall have the attention of the Senate, because it is a bill of considerable importance, and establishes a new principle that has not heretofore been recognized or acted upon in the Navy of the U.S. It will be observed that this bill preposes to increase the number ofline officers of the Navy. The number now authorized by law is one vice admiral, 9 rear admirals, 18 commodores, 36 captains, 72 commanders, 144 lieutenant commanders, 144 lieutenants, 144 masters, and 144 ensigns. This bill, as amended by the committee, proposes to create one admiral, one vice admiral, ten rear admirals, 25 commodores, 50 captains, 90 commanders, 180 lieutenant commanders, 108 lieutenants, 160 commoners, and 160 ensigns. Gentlemen who have the Register before them, by a reference to it will observe that here is an increase of 145 officers. The number now embraced in these various grades is 712. The number, if this bill should pass and become a law, that would constitute the Navy would be 857. The committee had their attention called to this subject by the SecyNavy in a letter addressed to the chairman of the ComNavAffrs of the Senate, dated the 10th of April, 1866, inclosing in his letter the bill now under consideration, in which he says: "The 1st of the50fopo56dsubstitutes increases the number of line officers, but not to the extent of the regular number of volunteerswhich the bill addsto the service by the 2nd section; that section adds 150 officers but the substitute provides that the enumerated grades shall amountto no more than 857 officers. which is an increase of only 140 iflnvge. The number in those grades allowed by exist laws is 712. Theso numbers are hardly sufficient for the exigencies of the public service on a peace establishment, and for this reason provision is madein the 4th section of the bill which passed the House for rotaiiiinlr the volunteers which may he needed until their places can be “ lied by graduates from the Academy. be next featureof the proposed 1st section requires that this increase of positions in the gradesbelow roar admiral and above lieutenant shall be made by selection from those officers who have rendered the most efficient and faithful serviceduring the war." And it is to this new provision thatVI desire to call the attention of the Senate. Hereto fore, since the time of Decatur, who was promoted over the heads of other officersfor his distinguished merit, all promotions, Wllh the exception of 6, I believe, have been made by regular gradation. It is proposed in this instance that this increase in the grades shall be made from the grade next below of those persons who have most distinguished themselves during the war. Captain w orden, Commodore Rodgers, Lieutenant Cushing, Commo dore Rowan, Admiral Porter, perhaps one or 2 more, I think 6 was the whole number, were promoted over the heads of persons who stood before them during the war for distinished merit. This proposes to authorize a cw persons I do not know the exact numberto be promoted over the heads of those who have not thus distinguished themselves; and this is the new principle to which I call the attention of the Senate. The Secretary says further: "The law authorizing the advancementof officers for conspicuousconduct in battle has beencarried into effect by the promotion of such heroesas Far ragut, Rodgers, Rowan. Worden, Winslow, and cushing. The wisdomof the law which has carried for ward those officersfor distinguished servicebeyond their original position and rank I have neverheard co"ntrovcrted. There are, however many efficient and excellent officers in the Navy that have done good service dur l consequonce of the stringent terms of that law. It is important, indeed, that the exercise of the power of so cction should be carefully guarded.ant that selections should be iudiciously and carefully made. Under almost any circumstances they will beconsideredini'iilious bythosewho may be superseded and an extensive list of irregular promotions would not oply impair the value of such promotions to the recipients, but tend to cineralization of the service. the war having terminated, it is eminently proor that those most distinguislied should receive snitable professional reward. illiculty will. however, attend any selectionthat may bemade; for where there are discriminations dissatisfaction must follow. The rec ords of the Dept, however, apd the report of tchaeteo, fficers, asmil us the investigations made.indi ir most cases, the few men who should be selectedfor the moderateincreasewhich is mended. Although recomit will not be possible to give promoton to eachand all who are deserving, I cerely hope sin that Congresswill not, on that account or for any other cause, wholly ignore the claims of those who have acquired acknowledgeddistinction in hard fought victoriesfor the country." The purpose of that suggestion made by the SecyNavy is to recognize the valuable services of officers who during 4 years have been engaged, some of them, almost in constant battle, and to enable them to be promoted, even if it may be at the expense of others who have not seen any service during that time. Whether this suggestion of the SecyNavy should be acquiesced in is a matter for the Senate to determine. The ComNavAffrs have added at the end of the 1st section a clause which will allow an increase in the number of rear admirals on the retired list. The purpose of this is to allow certain men, having reached the age of 62 years or having performed 45 years of service for the country, and performed it well, to the acceptance of the country and with the ap irobation of the Dept, to go upon the retired list with the advanced rank of rear admiral. The amount of extra pay that will be allowed to each of them is $200, and it is a question for the Senate to determine whether or not a man who has been reared solely to that profession, who has never had any facilities for acquiring a for tune in any other pursuit, who has rendered valuable service, whose record stands fair at the Dept, shall be permitted, at the decline of life, to have the little pittance of an additional $200, with the additional rank of a rear admiral. It also authorizes the SecyNavy to put on this active list some gentlemen who have already been retired under the operation of the law passed in 1862as commodores, and who now stand on the Register as commodores, but who while they were post captains under the 0] condition of things were in the command of squadrons. The 2nd section of the bill, as it came from the Navy Dept, the Naval Committee have not seen fit to recommend the Senate to adopt. The 3rd section the committee have taken substantially, with the exception of the number, from a bill passed through the HoRep; and it allows 75 persons the House bill allowed 150 to be selected from the volunteer naval service; that is to say. from the persons who performed service as volunteer officers in the Navy during the rebellion. It allows 5 lieutenant commanders, ten lieutenants, 20 masters, and 40 ensigns to be appointed from that class. The committee thought that it was due to the gentlemen who performed valuable service to t ie country as volunteer naval officers that there should be this recognition of their services; and if the committee had believed that there would be a larger number who would be able to pass the necessary examination, I think Iam justified in saying that the committee u'0nld be willing to recommend that a larger number should be provided for. But there is one suggestion to be taken into consideration, and which, Iain free to confess, go'eriied my mind in a very great degree on that subject. If there be one thing more than another that is necessary to be done in ‘con nection with the Navy it is to nationalize it, to cause every man throughout the length and breadth of the land to feel, as we have not in: the rebellion who cannot bg legally reached in '1 been very "Well i“ “19 hub“ or feeling! that he was just as deeply interested in the Navy as a l man living along the coast. I am conscious that if we adopt a large number of these volunteer officers into the Navy they will be selected almost entirely from 3 or 4 States. A man who is employed on the Mississippi flotilla may know nothing about naviation. He may have done very good service; e may be an excellent and valuable man, but he might be utterly unable to pass the neccssary examination to enable him to enter the 1 regular naval service. So it would be with persons who have hitherto been employed upon the lakes, where their navigation is done prin eipally by the compass and running b head lands. That, I am free to confess, aithough it may not have influenced other members of the committee, had a considerable influence on my mind. Now, if this amendment be adopted there can be no injury done to the regular officers, because they will be promoted 145 numbers under the 1st section of the bill. We shall at the same time recognize the services of our volunteer officers by accepting, if they can pass the requisite examination, 75 of them into the regular service. The 4th section wholly refers to the question of examination as to the qualifications of volunteer officers. The 5th section authorizes the SecyNavy to retain such volunteer officers as are now in the service as may be necessary until the lower grades of the service shall be filled up by graduates of the Naval Academy. The law as it now stands upon the statute book authorized the SecyNavy to appoint certain persons as volunteer officers of the Navy, lint it provided that when the rebellion ceased their offices should exire. I suppose that when a proclamation shall be issued by the President to that effect the rebellion will cease. I do not know when that period is going to arrive or what criterion we are going finally to settle down upon as being the proper evidence of when the rebellion ceased; butit must be some time or other, and it may be any day. This is simply to authorize the Secretary to continue the officers in office who may be upon foreign stations at the time that that proclamation shall be issued or that it shall be understood that the rebellion has ceased. Section 6 provides that lieutenant commanders may be assigned to duty as navigation and watch officers on board of vesselsof war as well as lieutenants of naval stations and ships of war. There is a provision now in the law that seems to indicate that lieutenant commanders can only be used on shipboard, afloat, as executive officers orin command of vessels. This is simply to authorize the SecyNavy to detail them as watch officers; that is, in a subordinate position from that which they now claim that they are entitled wholly to perform. Section 7 provides thatthe annual compensation of the Admiral of the Navy shall be $10,000 a year, and that he shall be entitled to the services of a secretary, who shall receive the annual sea pay of a lieutenant. I need not say that that provision was intended for the benefit of Vice Admiral Farragut. I believe that these are all the provisions of the bill that it is necessary for me to explain. In fact I have stated what they all are substantially.