Mr. MYERS. In the 1st place, in case of a war, the vessels built or re tted at this station will not wait until the enemy shall come, but will steam down the river, which they can do in 6 hours, and be ready for attack or defense. I really do not know how the river could be obstructed except by ourselves. I think I have answered the gentleman’s question, and I think it was fully answered yesterday by m colleague from the 2nd district, [Mr. 0’ BILL] The canals that come into the Delaware are broad enough and deep enough to take vessels into NewYork harbor if they could not prevent or break through any obstructions. But the simple answer to the question is, that neither our vessels nor our land forces would wait till some convenient parties at down obstructions in the river. I am sure the gentfrom Illinois will regard that asasufficient reply. I will conclude by presenting the distinguishing advantage of the site we propose. Often mentioned, it cannot be touched on too fi equently. I have not disguised from the House that we need in Philadelphia more ample room for a Government ship yard, but while it would be wron not to acce tthis gift of the city of Phil adelp is, as urge by the President and Navy Dept ever since 1862, the reasons are national, not local ones; and what commends Dengue Island above everything, and would I will answer that question. render it of great value to the nation, is that it is always surrounded by fresh water. This its not pretended in favor of any of the places I named in the substitute. Gentlemen who have not looked carefully | at the subject may think that this is of small moment. It is of the 1st importance. At! the beginning of the war the SCarolina, i an iron blockading vessel, had her speed reduced from 12 to 6 knots an hour because of the barnacles that fastened upon her. On the other hand, the iron steamer I Michigan, the vessel that captured the Fenians the other day, built in 1844 and which has been upon the fresh water 0' our lakes ever since, has never needed any repairs to her hall. The great defect that has been found in England and France with iron and iron clad vessels is not only that f the corrode in salt water, but that the capacity. oft re crigines, the efficiency of the vessels, and their speed has been very greatly reduced, l almost 50%. at times, on account of their fouling in salt water and their lack of fresh water nav yards near which to cleanse them. Admit a Robinson, of England, speaks of “the ra idity with which an iron ship gets foul and the immense loss of all the ship’s qualities that follows from the adhesion of z“oophytes. No practical remedy, ” he adds, has been found for this serious disadvantage. Repeated decking and cleaning is the only pal liative.” Before I forget it, let me. sa here that the result of the examinations of ‘nglish arliamentary committees is that an iron vesse loses at least one month in the year, because it has, to be docked twice a year and it takes fully 2 weeks to scrape and paint and clean it. The acting officer at L’Orient gave as his only objection to iron ships their fouling. adding that docks, or scra rs and rubbers, would. cure that. If they ha the Delaware river in that locality they would have had a scraper somewhat more to their mind. The London Times continually contains advertisements, sometimes offering as much as 10,000 for the discovery of some effective means for keeping iron vessels as clean as co pernow keeps the bottoms of wooden ves sefd, upon the condition that no patent shall be granted for the process, but sha l be open for the use of the Government and the public. Mr. James Beazley, the chairman of the S“hi Owners‘ Association, of Liverpool, writes, ere is only the fouling against the iron ships, which none of the patents yet get over; for when they do claim to have done so, it was the action of the tides in fresh water that had cleaned their bottoms, ” as at Calcutta. For Calcutta trade iron ships answer best, and for that trade halfa dozen iron ships to one wooden one are used. One more reference. London, says: "Fouling is the dificultywith the Warrior: it is the incubus that is on themindsof usall; that ships going to foreign climcs.unles sthey can gostrain it from one port to anotherand into treshwater rivers. mustbecomefoul." Fresh water, then, for a station is 2nd only to defensibility, and Philadel hia was sought by the Government because 0 her fresh water stream, for in times of peace our iron clad navy, as well as our wooden navy, can lay there and be cleaned without any additional expense, and without the loss to which these ships would be subject at NewLondon or any eligible place thus far presented. There is aningenious suggestion in the modest NewLon don pamphlet, namely, by “ providing means for taking such vessels out 0 water when not required for immediate service.” Expensive as this would be, the notion is not an original one, as Admirals enccr, in England, stated it in April, 1864, in iiis evidence before the select committee on dock yards. He says that as the bottoms of iron ships not only corrode if not envered with a comosition, but get cov ered with barnacles an weeds 'even then, it“ would he a great advantage to place on pon toons all the iron ships not wanted for imme diateservicc; “for, ” saidhe, “aslongas ships’ John Grantham, of bottoms are of iron, and unprotected from foulin as they now are, iron ships can never be said to be ready for service.” Nowonder the advocates of NewLondon thought of pon toons, or proposed to bring fresh water from a reservoir "at an elevation of about one hnn dred feet” to fill docks with, for ironclada when not in service. One argument more, and then I shall be through. My friendfrom NewLondon [Mr. BRANDEGEE] speaks of the expense of iling that willbe necessary at League Island. glow, let me say to the gentleman that we have before us the testimony of naval officers; we have and have had for a century at least, 235 acres of fast land where there need be hardly any piling; an arealarger than that of all the navy yards of the U.S. that are now, in active operation. There is other land there almost as good as that; and therefore the objection made by him is that we offer twice as much as we need to offer. I inyite the attention of the House to this matter of the expense of filling a this ground to 3 feet above high water mar. There are houses now upon the land, with brick chimneys that have stood the storms of years, and have not settled or sunk any. There are large oaks there which show the character of the soil; tons on tons of hay are cut there yearly, and the people who live there do not fihd the place at all unhealthy. But suppose the expense of filling in should be, what the Gentfrom NewLondon sn poses it will be, about a million dollars. Wiien did we ever before stickle at expense, especially when the gift saves to the Government 3 times that sum? Sir, we have in this Congress loaned $6,000,00 Iam afraid we shall never get it back, then hIhope we shall to build aship canal aroundNia ara falls from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. The preamble to the bill sets forth that it is for war purposes, and to provide for that defense which we now ask this house to provide for. In the appropriations for this year I find that we have purchased Seavy's Island at Ports mouth for $110,000, and NewYork alone has obtained over $650,000 for her navy yard at Brooklyn, including dredging, the river wall extension, and other expenses of that kind. There was no objection made to these necessary outlays. And let me say here that the navy yard in Brooklyn was continued on Wall about bay, with a surface soil often feet of decomposed vegetable matter, with a quick saud below it. It cost $250,000 for piling, yet I have not heard any objections to this cost, and the improvements have made it an honor, not only to NewYork, but to the Union. There is another bill in this House which will come 11 shortly, and n on which I hope my friend [Illa Bumnnoss will be heard, as he was last year a bill appropriating $2, 200,000 to the contractors for constructing your iron clads, who, for lack of facilities, for lack of the means which a great national navy yard alone would have given, have had to come to congross and ask that we shall make u to them the losses which they could not avoid). If the gentleman had not, year after year, Bersistently opposed the views of the Navy dept, persistently prevented the government from adopting a location for a naval station, this bill would not now be before us, and we should not be asked to award to these gentlemen a sum which the SecyNavy almost tells us is incurred because year after year his recommendations have been negatived or passed by in silence. Time and again these men, with their insufficient accommodations and with the Government as their only employer, have been obliged to go behind hand and fail, or else to come to the Government for relief. This is what we would have saved if my friend (who I hope will be kept here for years by a grateful constituency) had not been in Congress at all. These expenses that are talked about as necessary to be incurred to put League Island in proper condition are but trifling. The sum of a million, if so much is necessary, as the gentleman alleges, to make League Island almost a rock like his own place, to put it in complete order, is, comparatively speaking, nothing when we consider the fact, to which I call the attention of gentlemen, that our present navy yard will probably be sold for one and a half to 2 million dollars. One million dollars of this sum can be appropriated to do whatever may be necessar in the way of prep aration of the surface of League Island, leaving $1,000,000 more for the erection of the proper work shops to make it at least almost as respectable as the navy yard here at this city a navy yard not now even a naval station. Now, Mr. Speaker, I have been somewhat discursive in these remarks. As I stated at the commencement, the ground was welltrod den; the arments were well nigh exhausted. But before close I must again impress upon the House what is upon my own mind and heart, that the bill now before the House asks for the acceptance of League Island, not for a roving commission. It simply provides that while the SecyNavy shall accept this location he must 1st be satisfied that the statements which have been made with reference to the unsuitableness of that location are unfounded in fact. We of Philadelphia know that they are unfounded, and hence we are not afraid of a full and impartial inquiry into the facts. The proposition is not fora roving commission, nor one to which an examination of other sites can be appropriately attached, and thus postpone, perhaps till another Congress, the demands of our avy. Other places have. heretofore been examined and found wanting., I beg gentlemen, then, to recollect that in voting for this bill they vote simply for the selection of this site, provided competent naval officers shall find that the charges against it are unfounded or unim ortant. Gentlemen have ha laid upon their desks documents which show that a large number of monitors have lain all winter in the back chan nel of League Island, and some of the largestin front of League Island, and the ice has not disturbed them. The ice does not ther thereas much as at. the Philadelphia yar, and the gentleman did not deiuur to the addition of 4. acres to that yard. Mudl Why, sir, we heard of mud along the Delaware front before our city was extended; but when wharves were built it was found that there were no mud accretions. Of course there may be mud in the river sometimes; and it is all the better for the vessels that float there. Draughtof water 1 Why, sir, vessels like the Cathedral, that could not get into NewYork in a storm, have come round and crossed the bar at Philadelphia, as the Wabash came in and went out, crossing the bar. It is contended in Europe that heavy draught vessels are almost useless. The Great Eastern has hardly one dock in England to which she can go. The vessels of our own Navy, the monitors of the Passaic class, draw only 11 and a half feet of water; the wooden iron clad coast steamers and blockading vessels only 12 feet. The NewIronsidcs, the great success of Philadel p‘hia, draws 16 feet of water, while the rench LaGloire draws 28, and the British Warrior 27, an they have 15 vessels drawing 26, 25, and 24 feet, respectively. These could not follow where our vessels can go, up the Delaware. Still another advantage. Mr. Speaker, as has been well said, Pennsylvania is rich in her mineral resources. I do not care to go into an examination of data or particulars, or to repeat what. has been so well Illustrated. She manufactures 50 millions’ worth of iron ayear. She sends to market, principally throu hPhiladelphia, almostuntold amounts of coaf Her forests abound. Her fresh water is there. Philadelphia has shown herself more worthy than to have a just and handsome offer thrust aside without cause. I would not speak of her services during the war, for all bore a noble part equally in it. It is no discredit that the l place from which my friend comes has only 12,000 population, while we have ncar 700,000, and sent 100,000 troops to the field. But there were good deeds done in Philadelphia. not yet for gotten by our soldiers who passed through it, which might well make gentlemen pause who contemplate a refusal or postponement of the request made by her for naval and national purposes. We have the iron, coal, wood, oil, fresh water, defensibility, skilled labor; all the requisites; more, we believe, than can ever be found combined elsewhere. At least let not these be a drawback to our success, nor bring a single regret if by this our act the city where liberty was 1st proclaimed to the nations shall become one oft ie chosen spots whence it may be defended in all coming time.