Every section of that statute contains a distinct
provision looking to the great object of the whole--the gradual
improvement of the Navy. Under its salutary sanction stores of ship
timber have been procured and are in process of seasoning and
preservation for the future uses of the Navy. Arrangements have been
made for the preservation of the live-oak timber growing on the lands of
the United States, and for its reproduction, to supply at future and
distant days the waste of that most valuable material for shipbuilding
by the great consumption of it yearly for the commercial as well as for
the military marine of our country. The construction of the two dry
docks at Charlestown and at Norfolk is making satisfactory progress
toward a durable establishment. The examinations and inquiries to
ascertain the practicability and expediency of a marine railway at
Pensacola, though not yet accomplished, have been postponed but to be
more effectually made. The navy-yards of the United States have been
examined, and plans for their improvement and the preservation of the
public property therein at Portsmouth, Charlestown, Philadelphia,
Washington, and Gosport, and to which two others are to be added, have
been prepared and received my sanction; and no other portion of my
public duties has been performed with a more intimate conviction of its
importance to the future welfare and security of the Union.
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