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PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, 
 
 RELATING TO THE 
 
 SilEWa^^iaiS OiiSJ^^Li 
 
 '9 
 
 WHICH ARE TO CONNECT 
 
 THE WESTERN AJYD NORTHERJV LAKES. 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 ATLANTIC OCEAN; 
 
 WITH AN 
 
 PRINTED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE NEW-YORK CORRES- 
 PONDING ASSOCIATION, FOR THE PROMOTION OF 
 INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 WILLIAM A. MERCEIN, PRINTER, 
 No. 93, Gold-Street 
 
 182L 
 
/I w 
 
 At a meeting of the New-York Corresponding Association for the 
 promotion of Internals Improvements. Resolved, that Charles 
 G. Haines, the Corresponding Secretary of this Society, collect 
 and publish, in a durable form, the Public Documents, relating 
 to the New- York Canals, and that he prepare a suitable Intro- 
 duction for the same 
 
 August 182L 
 
 DISTRICT OF NEW-YORK, ss. 
 
 BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the twentieth day of September, in the forfy-sixth 
 #^**#;* year of the Independence of the United States of America, William A. 
 ^L.S.iSMercein, of the said District, has deposited in this Office, the title of 
 <^^j~{;4jwj;^ a Book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words following 
 to wit : 
 
 " The Pubflic Documents relating to the New- York Canals which are to connect the 
 Western and Northern Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean ; with an Introduction. 
 
 In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, "An Act 
 for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, 
 to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the time therein mentioned." 
 And also to an Act, entitled " An Act, supplementary to an Act, «;ntitled an Act for the 
 encouragement of Learning, by securing tb*. copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to 
 the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and ex- 
 tending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching, historical 
 and other prints-" 
 
 JAMES DILL, 
 Clerk of the Southern District of New-York. 
 
 BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY 
 
 CHESTNUT HILL, MA 021 67 
 
 
The commencement, progress, and completion of 
 the New-York canals, will hereafter constitute a sub- 
 ject of deep and anxious inquiry. These vast and 
 magnificent undertakings will be contemplated by 
 future generations, among those monuments of public 
 policy, that mark the genius of an age, and distin- 
 guish the spirit, enterprise, and capacity of a power- 
 ful people. Nothing concerning them should be left 
 to conjecture. When the facilities to perpetuate the 
 memory of all important details, are so numerous as 
 they are at present, neglect would deserve reproach. 
 
 It is a lasting censure on the age of Louis XIV, 
 illustrious as it was for great writers, and when men 
 of letters and genius condescended to give the in- 
 trigues of his courtezans, and to describe the man- 
 ners and munificence of his court, that the most au- 
 thentic history of the canal of Languedoc, which 
 unites the two seas, was written in 1800, and that 
 even this work is destitute of many important de- 
 tails connected with its subject. As to the canals 
 of China, intersecting each other, over the face of 
 that immense empire, and opening communications 
 between the greatest cities in the world, nothing is 
 known of them which can essentially facilitate the 
 enterprise of other nations in similar works; and we 
 have no public documents that inform us of the be- 
 ginning, advancement, and completion of the canals 
 of Russia, uniting the Caspian and the Baltic, and 
 other waters of magnitude, although the story of 
 minor and unimportant events, in the civil history of 
 the north, has reached us in a circumstantial form. As 
 
IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to the histories of ancient improvements, for the ex- 
 tension of commerce, and the encouragement of agri- 
 culture, manufactures and the arts, they are lost 
 in the oblivion of a thousand ages, while the solemni- 
 ties of a feast, and the consecration of an idol, are 
 embellished by the taste of the historian, emblazoned 
 in the orations of the statesman, or breathed in the 
 glovv^ing numbers of epic song. 
 
 Public documents, like those now submitted in their 
 present form, are the best sources of history. They 
 come forth under the sanction of government. Their 
 basis is facts. The principles and details which they 
 exhibit are settled with caution, scrutiny, and with 
 every advantage which pertains to investigation. 
 Although the papers here published in a comprehen- 
 sive and durable shape, will be followed by some 
 others of a similar nature before the New-York canals 
 are entirely completed; yet the elements of these 
 works, the causes and reasons which induced their 
 Undertaking, and the poHcy upon which they rest, are 
 here exhibited. The future reports of the commis- 
 sioners can be added to the present volume. They 
 will only illustrate what has already been laid down. 
 The collection of facts now embodied, will afford 
 light and data to other states and other countries:— 
 they are facts too, which would ere long be scatter- 
 ed and lost, or only be preserved in the departments 
 of state, and be procured with difficulty by the states- 
 man, the political economist, the philosopher, and 
 the historian. 
 
 But we are influenced by another consideration. 
 When a single state in the American confederacy, 
 undertakes and is successfully accomphshing the 
 grandest works of the kind that ever appeared 
 in the policy of nations ; when a single member of 
 
INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 the union possesses resources and physical energies, 
 sufficient to unite the Atlantic ocean, and the lakes 
 of the north and the west, by more than 400 miles of 
 canal navigation,every thing connected with imp«'Ove- 
 ments'of such magnitude becomes interesting. Admira- 
 tion is created, not only on our own, but on the other 
 continent. During the last two years, repeated appli- 
 cations from different sections of the United States, as 
 well as orders from Europe, have been made to the 
 chief magistrate of New- York, and to other official 
 characters, for every document concerning our ca- 
 nals, and oftentimes without success. These requests 
 will continue to be made by distinguished indi- 
 viduals, scattered from London to Madrid, and from 
 Madrid to Paris, Vienna, and St. Petersburgh. The 
 means of rendering them effectual will now be fur- 
 nished. 
 
 We shall adduce another reason for the present 
 publication. We wish to encourage aud sustain, as 
 far as possible, a spirit for internal improvements 
 vitally essential to the growth, power, and happi- 
 ness of the American nation. We consider the great 
 western canal but a portion of that grand chain of 
 inland navigation, that is one day to r^der the Uni- 
 ted States an island, and present a line of towns^ 
 villages, and marts of trade and exchange, from New- 
 York to New-Orleans, from New-Orleans to Phila- 
 delphia ; from the mouth of the Hudson to those 
 of the Mississippi and the Delaware. The manifest 
 blessings of this undertaking, will never be fully rea- 
 lized, until the waters of the great lakes descend to 
 the east and to the west through the Hudson and Mis- 
 sissippi: until these two rivers become the arms of that 
 vast body of water included in the basins of our in- 
 land seas. That spirit of enterprise, and that bold 
 
VI INTROBUCTICN. 
 
 forecast which struck out the plan of uniting lake 
 Erie with the Atlantic ocean, and that firmness of 
 political conduct, that overawed weak minds, and has 
 carried forward the work to the present stage of its 
 execution, must be found beyond the Alleghany 
 mountains, before we shall see the great undertaking 
 consummated in all its consequences. How long will 
 our western brethren slumber ! Their moral and phy- 
 sical strength is sufficient to annihilate obstacles of 
 of every description. There are statesmen and finan- 
 ciers — there are civil engineers and labourers — there 
 is nothing wanting but resolution and perseverance. 
 
 It is unnecessary, in this introduction, to dwell with 
 any minuteness on those facts w^hich appear in the 
 reports that follow. Practical men will find them a 
 fertile source of the most useful information. The 
 whole length of canal-line, when lake Erie and 
 lake Champlain are united to the Hudson, will be 
 414 miles, the Erie canal making 353, and the North- 
 ern canal 61 miles. The expenses of both are esti- 
 mated at $5,371,814— the sum of $4,57 1,8 13, being 
 appropriated to the Western, and $800,000 to the 
 Northern canal. Their width at the surface is 40 feet, 
 and at the bottom, 28 feet. The length of a lock is 90 
 feet, and the width 14 feet. Boats of 100 tons bur- 
 then will be able to navigate on their waters. 
 
 The advantages to be derived from the Western 
 and Northern canals, by the State of New-York, 
 and by the nation at large will here command our 
 attention. Our view cannot be perfect. In estimat- 
 ing the benefits of those immense public works, that 
 will change the internal relations of a great country, 
 and create a new era in the history of her trade, 
 agriculture and manufactures, much must be left for 
 time and experience to reveal : but even their partial 
 
INTRODUCTION. Vll 
 
 summary is the surest pledge of zeal and celeritj in 
 the execution of what remains to be done. 
 
 Before we proceed further, we shall look at some 
 of the remote consequences of the Western canal. 
 The internal communications and the inland trade^ 
 which it will promote, naturally press upon our reflec- 
 tion. Let us admit the work to be completed, and 
 then look at the waters, and rivers which could be 
 connected with it, from the mouth of the Hudson to 
 the mouth of the Mississippi. By the Northern canal, 
 which will form a junction with the Western canal 
 at the mouth of the Mohawk, we acquire a com- 
 munication with lake Champlain and its tributary 
 streams. Passing on further to the west, on the right 
 or northern side of the canal-line, we find lake Onei- 
 da and the Oswego river, through which there can 
 be a direct and easy connexion with lake Ontario. 
 There is already a lateral canal to Onondaga lake. 
 Commencing at the banks of the Hudson, and pass- 
 ing along the left or southerly side of the canal-line, 
 we find the Skeneatalas, Owasco, Cayuga, Seneca, 
 and Canandaigua lakes, lying in a direction from 
 north to south, forming nearly right angles with the 
 canal-line, and in fact serving for so many lateral ca- 
 nals themselves. There is already a steam-boat niavi- 
 gation on the Cayuga lake, a project for a canal be- 
 tween Canandaigua and the canal-line, and by means 
 of the Seneca, the canal will be united with the 
 Susquehannah and the Delaware rivers, and of course 
 to the Delaware and Chesapeake bays. By the 
 Genesee river, an internal navigation of 40 miles 
 will be secured, and several advantages may be de- 
 rived by a junction with the Tonnawanta creek. 
 
 Pursuing ^ur course further west, and beyond the 
 borders of the State of New-York, we approach the 
 
VUl INTRODUCTION, 
 
 great valley of the Mississippi. The first point of 
 communication with those western waters, that 
 pour into the Mississippi river, is at the sources 
 of the Alleghany, which unites with the Mononga- 
 hela at Pittsburgh, and forms the Ohio. About six- 
 teen miles of canal would join the Western canal 
 and French creek, a branch of the Alleghany ; and 
 there could be another communication through Che- 
 tough lake. By these improvements, we might have 
 a direct connexion between New- York and Pitts- 
 burgh, the grand depot of the western states. 
 
 Extending our views beyond the head waters of the 
 Ohio, at Pittsburgh, other means and sources of con- 
 nexion with the Western canal present themselves 
 The first junction might be between the Cayahoga 
 that runs into lake Erie, and the Muskingum, which 
 passes into the Ohio, about 170 miles below Pitts- 
 burgh. Six miles of canal would create their union. 
 Further west, the Sandusky and Sciota rivers could 
 be joined. They have their head waters in the same 
 marsh or swamp ; the former discharging itself into 
 lake Erie, the latter into the Ohio river, below the 
 mouth of the Muskingum. Following the lake, 
 shore, we soon find that another channel of internal 
 trade might be opened, by means of the Miami which 
 swells the waters of the Ohio, and the Miami of lake 
 Erie; they have their rise on the same level. The 
 sources of the Maume of lake Erie, and the head 
 waters of the Wabasb, a noble stream, would inter- 
 mingle with very little labour. Between lake Erie 
 and lake Michigan, a navigation would be easy and 
 practicable, by uniting the Huron or Raisin of lake 
 Erie, with streams that run into the former lake. The 
 St. Joseph's and the Raisin are contiguous in their 
 head waters. Pursuing our course to the southerly 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 end, or head of lake Michigan, we find new facili- 
 ties to internal trade, opening upon our view. There 
 are four ways of connecting this lake, and of course, 
 the Western canal, with the Illinois river, which 
 pours its grand current into the bosom of the Missis- 
 sippi, a few miles above the mouth of the Missouri? 
 near the scite of St. Louis. First, it could be effect- 
 ed by joining a branch of the Chicago river, which 
 empties into lake Michigan, and a branch of the 
 river Plein, running in a direction from the north- 
 west, which approaches within ten and a half miles of 
 the lake, and then turning to the south-west, blends 
 its waters with the Theakiki, 50 miles from the 
 Illinois. These waters approximate within two 
 miles of each other, and when swelled by heavy 
 falls of rain, actually unite, so that boats of eight and 
 ten tons burden, pass and repass from the lakes to 
 the Mississippi, through this natural route. Second- 
 ly, it could be effected by opening a channel from a 
 point on lake Michigan, south of the Chicago, to 
 enter the plain below lake Du Page. Thirdly, by 
 uniting lake Michigan with the Theakiki, above its 
 junction with the Plein. And lastly, by joining the 
 Theakiki and the St. Joseph of the lake, by which 
 the French enjoyed a partial navigation, when the 
 Canadas were an appendage to their empire. These 
 several facilities have been recently pointed out, in a 
 very clear and interesting report to the secretary of 
 war. After recommending, in convincing terms, that 
 the national government immediately unite lake 
 Michigan and Illinois, by some of the above routes, 
 it concludes thus : " To conclude, the route by the 
 Chicago, as followed by the French, since the dis- 
 covery of the Illinois, presents, at one season of the 
 year, an uninterrupted water communication in boats 
 
 B 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of six to eight to ten tons, between the Mississippi 
 and the Michigan lake, at another season, a portage 
 of two miles ; at another, a portage of seven miles 
 from the head of the Plein to the arm of the lake ; 
 at another, a portage of fifty miles, from the mouth 
 of the Plein to the lake, over which, there is a well- 
 beaten waggon road, and boats and their loads are 
 drawn by oxen and vehicles kept for that purpose, by 
 the French settlers at Chicago."* Thus we perceive, 
 that after the great Western canal is completed, the 
 labour that would not cost New-York the effort of a 
 single month, would open a driect, safe, and cheap 
 communication between our commercial emporium 
 and New-Orleans. We should pursue the waters of 
 the Hudson, the line of the canal, the waters of lake 
 Erie to the mouth of the Raisin on the Huron, and 
 from thence into lake Michigan by the St. Joseph, 
 or some other stream to the Chicago., and through the 
 Plein to the Illinois and the Mississippi. 
 
 But we have neglected to mention one grand work,~ 
 a work worthy of the patriotic, enterprising and en- 
 lightened state, which will, we trust, ere long com- 
 mence it ; and one, which will cover its projectors 
 and patrons, with that fame and honour that fall to 
 the lot of great and liberal minds, when toiling in 
 splendid enterprises for the happiness of common- 
 wealths and nations. We refer to the Ohio canal, 
 which is to connect lake Erie with the Ohio river. 
 An allusion to it was omitted in the proper geogra- 
 phical place, because we cherish a wish to dwell on 
 it with details that would have broken the rapid view 
 in which we indulged. The Ohio canal will only 
 
 * Vide Report of Joseph Phillips and Richard Graham, Esqs. to 
 the Secretary of War. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 stand second to our own. It will in fact be the second 
 grand Western canal, and must cause the lakes and 
 the Atlantic to mingle their waters in a southern lati- 
 tude. On the 20th of January, 1820, his excellency 
 Governor Brown, laid before the general assembly 
 of the State of Ohio, a clear, luminous, and convin- 
 cing view of this stupendous work — an extension of 
 the Erie canal into the very heart of the western 
 world. Where it is to commence and terminate, is 
 not yet definitely settled. It will be perceived by the 
 message referred to, that several very eligible routes 
 offer themselves, and that no country can be more 
 favourable for artificial navigation than the rich and 
 beautiful region between lake Erie and the Ohio. Its 
 surface is so level on the dividing line of the waters 
 which pass into the lake on one hand, and the river 
 on the other, that the inclination seems almost insufiH- 
 cie'nt to decide their course. In contemplation of 
 this canal, the ground has been examined, and its 
 practicability fully ascertained and established. Its 
 length will be 200 miles, and its expense is estimated 
 at ;g2,400,000. The following calculation has been 
 made as to the lockage : from lake Erie to the sum- 
 mit-level, is 318 feet; from the summit-level to the 
 Ohio, 433 feet^ making in the whole, 7.51 feet * 
 
 This magnificent undertaking, which is to carry a 
 canal across the whole State of Ohio, is suitable 
 to the character of this powerful and growing mem- 
 ber of the confederacy. She is destined to sustain 
 an elevated rank in the union. The fertility of her 
 soil, the enterprise and industry of her people, the 
 healthy temperature of her climate, the great waters 
 that wash her boundaries, and the numerous streams 
 
 Vide Appendix. Mr. Steel's Letter. 
 
XJl INTRODUCTION, 
 
 which traverse her interior, and the intelligence and 
 talents which she combines, united to an energetic re- 
 publican spirit, mark her out as a state capable of 
 supporting a course of civil policy, equally distin» 
 g'uished for its boldness, wisdom, and success. A ca- 
 nal of 200 miles in length, may, at first sight,appear of 
 a magnitude incompatible with a state so young ; but 
 a community already consisting of six hundred thotiT 
 sand people, and which, in a few years, will exhibit 
 over a million, of a cast of mind and of a physical 
 vigour, capable of founding, rearing, and defending 
 an empire, will not be easily baffled in a design cal- 
 culated to produce vast wealth and power, and give 
 to agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, a sudden 
 spring, and a lasting prosperity. 
 
 The State of Ohio has resources adequate to open 
 this canal. Suppose that all other fiscal resorts fail^ 
 and that she follows the example of New-York, and 
 pledges her faith and credit for loans : two considera- 
 tions remove any thing appalling in this expedif.nt. 
 The money would be expended among her own citi- 
 zens, to reward their labour and enterprise, create a 
 home market for no inconsiderable portion of her 
 domestic produce; correct the vicious character of 
 her circulating medium, and retain in the state, what 
 might be borrowed for its service. The only money that 
 would necessarily travel out, would be the interest, 
 provided creditors were sought in distant sections of 
 the nation. In the second place, it would redeem 
 itself in a few years, by the tolls from the im- 
 mense trade which must pass through it, saying no- 
 thing of the millions that would be saved by a reduc- 
 tion in the price of transportation. A reference to 
 the pecuniary advantages of our own canal, which 
 we shall soon adduce, will cast some light on this 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xlll 
 
 point. Will the State of Ohio, shrink from this grand 
 plan so ably brought forward by a chief magistrate, 
 competent to lead the wny in its vigorous and suc- 
 cessful execution? Let her remember what New- 
 York has already accomplished, and the obstacles 
 that are rapidly falling before her. Let her re- 
 collect the early difficulties that frowned upon her la- 
 bours, and the strong and invincible arm which swept 
 them aside, and then fix her eyes upon her own re- 
 sources. We shall conclude this subject in the words 
 of Governor Brown. "It would too far transcend 
 the limits of the inquiry addressed to me, by the 
 house of representatives, to attempt an exposition of 
 instances in which the prosperity of the state would 
 be advanced, by persevering, with a steady eye, to 
 this grand branch of political economy. I cannot 
 expect that they would fail to be sufficiently per- 
 ceived and admitted ; nor can I presume it necessary 
 to appeal to your feelings of duty and patriotism, by 
 presenting in alluring colours the prospect of a ra- 
 pid increase, of the grandeur and prosperity of the 
 State of Ohio, that would be derived from the adop- 
 tion and pursuit of a policy, for which such grand re- 
 sources seem to be placed within your reach."* 
 
 Let the statesmen of any nation on the globe, be- 
 hold this picture. No matter whether he has con- 
 templated the capital and enterprise of England, the 
 patient industry of Holland, the genius and intrinsic 
 strength of France, or the extended face of the 
 Russian empire ; he must admit that the beneficent 
 hand of the Creator has never spread out a country 
 with grander characteristics, or with greater facili- 
 
 * Governor Brown's Message, Jan. 20, 1820. 
 
XIV Introduction. 
 
 ties to trade and inland exchange, than the one whose 
 destinies are embraced in the range of views, in which 
 we have indulged — a country capable of sustaining 
 a population of a hundred millions. 
 
 The future advantages of the New-York canals 
 will now fall under consideration. We will com- 
 mence by turning our attention to the Western canal, 
 and first enumerate its probable benefits to the State 
 of New-York; secondly, its commercial advantages 
 to the nation ; and thirdly, its importance to the fu- 
 ture security of the American union. 
 
 The advantages to be derived from the Western 
 canal to the State of New-York, may be considered 
 in a twofold view. First, we will attempt their enu- 
 meration upon the supposition that no canals are to 
 be made, to extend the benefits of the Western canal, 
 and to be connected with it, beyond the boundaries 
 of our own state ; and secondly we will make some 
 remarks in reference to its connection with the Ohio 
 canal, and the canal which might be opened between 
 lake Michigan and the Mississippi through the Illinois. 
 
 Debt and credit constitute the first and most ordi- 
 nary standard by which all great experiments are 
 tested. They are the most simple and the most tan- 
 gible. We will, therefore, as a primary step, make an 
 estimate of the revenue to be annnully received into 
 our state treasury from the Erie canal. Some years 
 ago it was calculated that 1 ,000,000 of tons were an- 
 nually transported between New- York and Albany, 
 including the passage each way. Upon a reference to 
 the Custom-house books of the New- York district, it 
 appears that 2000 vessels are employed in the North 
 River trade. Say each vessel carries forty-five tons 
 as an average ratio, and we then have a transporta- 
 tion of 90,000 tons at every passage which they per- 
 
mTRODUCTION*. XV 
 
 form. If a vessel, as a general rule, makes a passage 
 to and from New-York in fourteen days, for seven 
 months in the year, we should find an annual trans- 
 portation of 1,260,000 tons between these two cities. 
 Admit the Erie canal to be finished, and this trade 
 between New-York and Albany, to be between New- 
 York and Buffalo; what would be the annual reve- 
 nue derived from the State by the Erie canal ? Its 
 length is to be 353 miles ; the transportation, accord- 
 ing to the data of the canal commissioners, is to be 
 $S 53 per ton; the toll $5, and the actual expenses 
 of conveyance $3 53. The toll then, on 1,260,000 
 tons would give an annual revenue of $6,300,000, 
 nearly $2,000,000 more than the whole expenses of 
 the canal. But we will renounce this estimate as far 
 too high. We indeed know that many of the 2000 
 vessels taken into our estimate, do not navigate the 
 whole distance between New- York and Albany, they 
 navigate between New-York and intermediate points. 
 Letiis relinquish 260,000 tons, and say that 1,000,000 
 pass between New-York and Albany, and suppose 
 this to pass between New- York and Buffalo ; a toll 
 of $5 per ton, would give us an annual revenue of 
 $5,000,000. But rejecting this as extravagant, and 
 taking half the number of tons, then we derive a re-^ 
 venue of $2,500,000 annually. Deducting all contin- 
 gent expenses, and all the disbursements for repairs, 
 and there would be a yearly income of $2,000,000. 
 We will assume another data, to which we think n© 
 mind, however timid, can refuse assent. Let us ad- 
 mit the number of tons freighted between New-York 
 and Albany to be 450,000 tons. It was this aggre- 
 gate ten or fifteen years ago. Extending this trade 
 between New-York and Buffalo, and the state revenue 
 fi-omlhe Western canal would be $2,250,000 annual- 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ly ; more than three times as much as it takes to sus- 
 tain the whole civil lists of the twenty-one united 
 states. Half the trade that passed through the Hud- 
 son mixny years since would give p, 125,000 annually? 
 and thus the canal would pay for itself in less than 
 five years, after deducting all incidental expenses for 
 repairs and other charges. But when the destinies 
 of the western country are duly considered, and the 
 internal fertility and riches of our own state are duly 
 appreciated, it is no visionary calculation to say that 
 1,000,000 of tons will pass through the Western canal, 
 in the course of a few years. We must consider the 
 export as well as the import trade. The exports 
 will always exceed the imports, since the produce 
 of the country beyond Albany, will consist of 
 heavy articles. The salt and gypsum, however, with 
 which we shall in a great measure supply the valley 
 of the Mississippi, above the falls of Louisville, will 
 prove a considerable qualification to this position. 
 Let us say that 700,000 tons at a future day will pass 
 from Buffalo to Albany, and 300,000 from Albany to 
 Buffalo ; leaving out of view the great quantities of 
 produce and merchandise that will be landed along 
 the banks of the canal, and pass off on the great roads 
 or lateral canals connected with it in the state of New- 
 York, and then we have the transportation of 1,000,000 
 of tons, and a revenue of g; 1,000,000 annually. 
 And it will be clearly demonstrated, as we trust and 
 hope, before this article closes, that the city of New- 
 York must command the trade of all that vast portion 
 of country that lies along the borders of, lakes Erie, 
 Michigan, Huron, Superior, and the trade of the val- 
 ley of the Mississippi as far south as the falls of the 
 Ohio. 
 
 But let us take another position, and admit that a 
 
INTRODUCTION. XVll 
 
 million of tons be annually transported in the West- 
 ern canal, each way, but a portion of the distance, 
 180 miles, at a cent per ton per mile, which would 
 fall below the rate of toll fixed by the canal commis- 
 sioners ; here would be a state revenue of $ 1,800,000. 
 Deducting $300,000 for repairs, agents, overseers and 
 other contingencies, and $1,500,000 would remain. 
 In assuming these data, a respect is cherished for the 
 incredulity of popular opinion. We are aware that 
 many will denounce them as fictitious and fanciful ; 
 but there are many existing circumstances, which 
 even with the most skeptical will justify our esti- 
 mates. The great difficulty is, we cannot fully ap- 
 preciate the extent and value of that transporta- 
 tion which must take place between the Atlan- 
 tic seaboard, through the Hudson and the Western 
 canal, and the wide ranges of western population ; 
 but we must recollect, that in 1818, not less than 
 $ 1 8,2.50,000 worth of merchandise was transported 
 in waggons from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh; and 
 that the expense of conveyance was $750,000. Du- 
 ring the years 1817, 1818, and 1819, the expenses of 
 transportation to Pittsburgh, amounted to $1,560,000 
 each year ; making $4,680,000 for the transportation 
 of merchandise, distributed from a single depot in the 
 western country in three years. This was land trans- 
 portation, and therefore very expensive ; yet when 
 we consider, that in twenty years the population of 
 the western country will be nearly threefold, and 
 that we do not here take into consideration the pro- 
 duce sent to the seaboard from the western interior, 
 which is as ten to one in weight, our calculation of 
 1,000,000 of tons passing annually through the West- 
 ern canal loses its aspect of fiction and romance. 
 We must remember, that when our canals are com- 
 
 C 
 
XVlll INTRODUCTION, 
 
 pleted, land transportation to the western regions, 
 will almost totally cease, and then our artificial 
 channel of commerce will be the grand thorough- 
 fare. A few simple facts will fully corroborate this 
 assertion. 
 
 Pittsburgh is the first great depot for the western 
 country, as we pass from the northern and middle 
 states, west. We have seen, that during three years, 
 the transportation of merchandise to this place, 
 amounted to nearly ^5,000, 000. The former rate of 
 transportation across the mountains, was $120, but 
 from improvement in the roads and other causes, it 
 may be set down at the present time, at $70 per ton. 
 By way of the Western canal, we may consider the 
 average expense of transportation from New- York to 
 Pittsburgh, by the village of Erie, and the head wa- 
 ters of the Ohio, at $35 per ton. With a good road 
 from lake Erie to Pittsburgh, it would be reduced to 
 ^28 ; by the first method of conveyance, making a 
 saving of ^245,000 in ten thousand tons, and by the 
 latter, $336,000 in the same quantity. The effect of 
 such a disparity in the course of trade, requires no 
 illustration : New-York would take the place of Phi- 
 ladelphia and Baltimore as a source of supply. 
 
 We will now take several local points, where trade 
 and exchange will centre in the western country, and 
 show the great revolution which the Western canal 
 will create in the rate of transportation. 
 
 There is a portion of the state of Pennsylvania 
 west of the Alleghany mountains, and north of Pitts- 
 burgh, comprising about 8000 square miles, which 
 now receives its supplies of merchandise, from Phila- 
 delphia and Baltimore, through Pittsburgh. The 
 Western canal would create a difference of at least 
 $62 per ton, in goods transported to this section of 
 country. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xix 
 
 There is another tract of country in the north-east 
 part of the state of Ohio, including about 8000 square 
 miles. The average rate of transportation may be 
 estimated at ^90 per ton to this region, at present. 
 By waj of the western canal it will be $20, making a 
 difference of ^70 in each ton. 
 
 Taking a country comprising about 8000 square 
 miles, extending within 40 miles of the Ohio river, its 
 average expenses of conveyance may be put at $93 
 per ton. Considering Sandusky as the place of depot 
 for this section of territory, and including the charges 
 of land carriage from Sandusky to the various places 
 of consumption, and the canal would produce a sav- 
 ing of at least $i2 on a ton ; and even taking the coun- 
 try along the shores of the Ohio, or contiguous to it, 
 and taking into view a land transportation from lake 
 Erie to any position within the limits of this section, 
 and the saving would not materially differ from ^30 
 per ton. 
 
 The north-east part of the state of Ohio, embraces 
 about 16,000 square miles. This region will soon 
 contain a dense population. Conveyance of mer- 
 chandise to the central parts of this section, by way 
 of Pittsburgh, may be calculated at ^1 14 per ton. On 
 the completion of the Western canal, Sandusky may 
 be rendered the place of mercantile deposit, and the 
 rate of transportation be lowered to ^24 creating a 
 difference of ^90 per ton. These calculations made 
 on the different places here enumerated, will apply 
 in a greater or less degree, to those parts of Ken- 
 tucky and Virginia, whose population resort to the 
 Ohio river, as a medium of conveyance. 
 
 Passing into the state of Illinois, we shall find the 
 results of the Western canal still more palpable and 
 surprising. If Fort Harrison be considered a depot. 
 
XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 we may estimate the rate of transportation for this 
 section of country, at gl30 per ton, by way of the 
 Ohio river, from Philadelphia, or by the same route 
 from New-Orleans. On the completion of the canal, 
 and the construction of a road from the southern ex- 
 tremity of lake Michigan^ a dilFerence of $50 or $60 
 per ton will be effected in the expenses of convey, 
 ance. But as a considerable part of the state of In- 
 diana lies nearer the lakes than the section that would 
 be supplied from fort Harrison, the average diffe- 
 rence would be still greater.* 
 
 The fertile state of Illinois will be. still more direct- 
 ly affected in her trade and supplies by the Western 
 canal, than any other region of country already men- 
 tioned; and the commercial relations which must 
 exist between IN ew-York and St. Louis, will be here- 
 after alluded to. 
 
 Under these considerations, it seems difficult to 
 diminish the magnitude which we have attached 
 to the trade that must pass through the Western ca- 
 nal — the revenue which we have supposed it will 
 produce, — or the accuracy of our calculations, as to 
 the changes that will be wrought in the sources of 
 mercantile supply and exchange to Ohio, part of 
 Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and the whole 
 territory around the lakes. In addition to the mer- 
 chandise that must be conveyed into the western 
 states, our salt, gypsum, and hydraulic cement, will 
 command an extensive sale. These articles are heavy, 
 and will make an important addition to our revenue. 
 But we have only here spoken of the trade from east 
 to west. Through what channels are the agricul- 
 tural products, and raw materials for manufactures, of 
 
 * Vide Mr. Bowen's Letter in the Appendix. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXl 
 
 these wide-spread oad fertile dominions to be trans- 
 ported ? They must find their way to the ocean, after 
 domestic consumption is supphed. But three outlets 
 present themselves, — the St. Lawrence,the Mississip- 
 pi and the Hudson. The St. Lawrence will not he able 
 to maintain anything like a competition with the Hud- 
 son and the Mississippi: this export trade must 
 therefore be divided between New-Orleans and New- 
 York, The states of the west will necessarily seek 
 that trade which is founded on reciprocity; and if 
 New-York is the importing emporium, she will natu- 
 rally prove the mart that must command the exports. 
 The western traders and agriculturists will not be in- 
 clined to transport their wheat, flour, corn, butter, 
 cheese, beef, pork, pot and pearl ashes, hemp, flax 
 and wool, to New-Orleans, and look to New-York 
 for their merchandise. Besides, New-York with the 
 Hudson and Western canal, with her superior capi= 
 tal, her healthy climate, her extensive shipping inte= 
 rest, and her constant intercourse and correspon- 
 dence with the whole commercial world, will ever 
 offer a superior market to any other place on the 
 American continent. Have we not a right then, to 
 infer, that a trade beyond the grasp of present calcu- 
 lation, wdll pass through the grand Western canal, 
 and afford a revenue to the state of New- York that 
 must prove an inexhaustible source of wealth and 
 power .^^ Is iae transit duty on 1,000,000 of tons 
 a wild and chimerical estimate ? Let those who an. 
 swer in the affirmative, recall the days to their memo- 
 ry, when the Western canal itself was denounced as 
 the temporary auxiliary of ambition, as the captivat- 
 ing vision of romance and folly. 
 
 The second source of advantage to the state of 
 New- York, from this canal, is of a c^ifTerent descrip- 
 
 # 
 
XXll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tion, but of still more importance than the revenue 
 which has been pointed out — we mean the saving of 
 expense in transportation. It is laid down by a judi- 
 cious writer on inland navigation,* that one horse by 
 means of a canal, will perform the labour of thirty 
 horses by land, and that one man, by this method of 
 conveyance, can do more work than three men and 
 eighteen horses, in transporting by land. On the 
 turnpike roads, four and sometimes five horses are 
 requisite to transport three tons ; on the Western ca- 
 nal, one horse can draw 25 tons, and thus perform the 
 work of 40 horses. New- York will ever be one of 
 the first agricultural states. Independent of her 
 common agricultural resources, her salt, gypsum, 
 lime-cernent, and iron, will create a great and expen- 
 sive transportation. The price for conveying a ton 
 from Albany to Buffalo, will now average from ^85 to 
 100. The canal commissioners in their early reports, 
 allowed ^100. Ninety dollars per ton, would be a 
 fair general estimate. By the canal, a ton can be 
 transported from Albany to Buffalo, for $8 53, 
 making a clear gain of ;^ 8 1 47 on each ton. Tak- 
 ing a point on any part of the canal-line, and this 
 proportion will bear. If instead of transporting pro- 
 duce and merchandise, the whole distance between 
 Albany and Buffalo, they are transported but half the 
 distance, the gain is over ^40 per ton. We have re- 
 cently examined an interesting and convincing report 
 on the subject of a communication, between Canan- 
 daigua lake and the canal-line, by which the diffe- 
 rence between land and water carriage is powerfully 
 elucidated. This report presents the calculation, 
 that a ton could be carried the whole length of the 
 
 Philips in his History of Inland Navigation. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXlll 
 
 lateral canal for sixty cents, whereas, by land, it costs 
 %2 60. The lateral canal itself will cost ^60,000. It 
 is expected, that 18,000 tons will be conveyed 
 through it annually, and the annual saving in the cost 
 of transportation will amount to more than $30,000, — 
 a strong and striking fact to illustrate the advantages 
 of our larger works. If we should carry on the 
 Western and Northern canals, an aggregate quantity 
 equal to 300,000 tons from Albany to Buffalo, the 
 yearly difference in the expenses of land and water 
 conveyance, would be g24,44 1,000; on 500,000 tons, 
 it would be $40,735,000; on one million of tons, it 
 would be ^81,470,000. On the transportation of one 
 hundred thousand tons alone, between Albany and 
 Buffalo, it would be ^8,100,000. Should we take 
 the calculation of the canal commissioners, and 
 say that ^91 47 will be saved on each ton carried 
 the whole way between Albany and Buffalo, then 
 the saving annually, allowing a million of tons to be 
 transported, would be $95,470,000. The advanta- 
 ges here adduced, would affect the country west of 
 Buffalo, and at a distance from the lake shore, still 
 more materially, because they are compelled to pass 
 over the whole distance of the Western canal by land, 
 at the present moment, and pay more for land freight- 
 age. Thus do internal improvements, like our own 
 canals, not only prevent great delays and uncertain- 
 ties in the carrying of produce and merchandise, but 
 convert a great capital, employed inland transpor- 
 tation, to other productive purposes. The labour of 
 men and horses, the money invested in waggons and 
 horses, the sums paid for the subsistence of men and 
 horses, the charges incurred in repairing vehicles of 
 conveyance, and other necessary objects, are trans- 
 ferred to other ends, and go to increase the pro- 
 ductive industry of the whole community. 
 
' XXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 There are two other views that occur here. That 
 the Ohio canal, which is to connect lake Erie with 
 the Ohio river will be ere long commenced and 
 completed, cannot be doubted when we consider the 
 resources that can be applied to the undertaking. 
 Admit this work to be finished, what results will it pro- 
 duce to the state of New-York ? It will produce 
 a diversion of an immense trade from New-Or- 
 leans to the mouth of the Hudson. No reflect- 
 ing writer, and liberal minded statesman, can wish 
 to realize the gratification of his local partiali- 
 ties, to the detriment of any section of our common 
 country. Our union is safety, peace, arid gloryl What- 
 ever views of state aggrandizement maybe cherished, 
 let us adopt the words of the ancient civilian, de sacris 
 autem hac sit una sententia^ ut conserventur. Yet, where 
 bold and majestic discriminations have been drawn 
 by the hand of nature, and where it is from the force 
 of physical as well as moral necessity, that mighty 
 changes should be wrought, by the application of en- 
 terprise, foresight, and capital, no charge of impro- 
 priety can be incurred, by dwelling on their tenden- 
 cy, or anticipating their effects. Not only would the 
 Ohio canal give us the trade of the state of Ohio, but 
 half the products of the rich and fertile state of Ken- 
 tucky would be sent to market through the Hudson, 
 and supplies of merchandise be obtained in return. 
 
 The importance of such a commerce can be in 
 some degree appreciated, when we remember the to- 
 bacco, the flour, the hemp, and other articles of export 
 from the latter state. In 1818 it was supposed that 
 the single article of tobacco amounted to 25,000 
 hogsheads; and in 1819, it was calculated that be- 
 tween 40,000 and 50,000 tons of produce passed the 
 falls of Louisville for New-Orleans. Had the Ohio 
 
INTRODUCTION. xU 
 
 and New-York canals been completed, and the inte- 
 rest of the exporters been consulted, the whole o^ 
 this produce would have passed to the city of New- 
 York with a saving to the owners of between $300,000, 
 or ^400,000. But as this position may be rejected 
 as fallacious, we will adduce the following calcula- 
 tions, which have been once adopted by the public 
 journals and gazettes of the west, to contrast the fre- 
 quent results of conveyance to New-York and to 
 New-Orleans. 
 
 To New- York. Time. Freight per ton 
 
 From the Ohio river 10 days $6 65 
 
 Lake Erie to Buffalo 1 4 00 
 
 Buffalo to Albany 15 12 06 
 
 Albany to New-York 2. 4 00 
 
 Time in loading and 
 
 unloading, &c. 7 4 00 
 
 days 35 $26 65 
 
 To New-Orleans. Time Freight per ton 
 
 Voyage down the Ohio 
 
 and Mississippi, 25 ^15 00 
 
 Delay at New-Orleans, 7 
 Voyage to an eastern port 
 
 or to the West Indes 28 20 00 
 
 days 60 $Vo 00 
 
 Here is a difference of seven dollars per ton, be- 
 sides the loss of twenty -five days, and the sacrifice of 
 the interest on the capital invested in the transporta- 
 tion, in the shape of produce, which may be rated at 
 what it ultimately gives the owner on its final sale. 
 The above result in favour of New-York, rests upon 
 these reasons: corn, flour, pork, tobacco, and seve» 
 ral other products, of the western country, above the 
 
 D 
 
XXVi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 falls at Louisville, which now reach New-Orleans,pay 
 as much for transportation as they are intrinsically 
 worth when embarked upon the Ohio, for the place of 
 destination. The capital of New-Orleans is dispro- 
 portionate to the quantity of produce landed there. 
 The consumption of the place is trifling, and the ton- 
 nage will not compare with that of New-York, which 
 in this respect, stands alone second to London, among 
 the commercial cities of the globe. The markets of 
 New-Orleans are fluctuating, and the humidity of the 
 place, often proves severally detrimental to the 
 produce which is stored. From the diseases of the 
 climate, capitalists who are able to transact business 
 in large commercial places, are not inclined to estab- 
 lish themselves in this city. Hence many of the most 
 enterprising merchants go there to create fortunes, 
 and have not adequate means to be punctual and 
 maintain that credit which is found in old mercan- 
 tile cities. When a cargo descends the western 
 rivers to New-Orleans, it is either sold, stored, or 
 freighted. If vended, the character and profits of the 
 sale depend on the state of the market, whose de- 
 mands are limited and uncertain, when compared 
 with those of New- York, from the disparity in capital, 
 exports, consumption, and the opportunities of know- 
 ing the state of foreign markets. If stored, we have 
 noticed the exposure to which it is liable. Its being 
 freighted depends on the number of vessels in port, 
 which is often incompetent to the requisitions of the 
 exporter. Cargoes are frequently exported coastwise 
 from New-Orleans to some part on our eastern sea- 
 board, and then re-exported to foreign countries, 
 after the delays, hazards, and expenses of a coast- 
 wise voyage, the expenses and delay of unloading 
 and re-loading, and the charges of storage. It is 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXVH 
 
 scarcely here necessary to contrast the harbours of 
 New- York, and her southern rival. The reasons now 
 adduced, would be submitted with more delicacy 
 had they not been sanctioned by one of the most dis- 
 tinguished statesman of the western states. Should 
 the produce which now passes the falls of the Ohio, 
 ever find a market in New- York, consequences of 
 great magnitude must be realized by our own state, 
 as well as those interested in the branch of trade 
 which we would secure. In 100,000 tons the diffe- 
 rence in transportation cret^ted by the Western and * 
 Ohio canals, at seven dollars per ton, would be 
 $700,000. If 200,000 tons should be diverted from 
 the falls of the Ohio to the river Hudson, g; 1,400,000 
 would be saved by the agriculturists and planters of 
 Kentucky and Ohio. We would qualify our remarks 
 on this part of the subject by expressing a convic- 
 tion that New-Orleans is destined to be one of the 
 greatest commercial cities of this or any other coun= 
 try. She commands a greatest interior — she is the 
 natural key to the richest and most extensive inland 
 region of any mercantile capital in the world : and 
 yet we apprehend, that she cannot sustain a parallel 
 with New- York when physical and moral advantages 
 are candidly weighed and contrasted. 
 
 The contemplated canal between lake Michigan 
 and the head waters of the Illinois river, would create 
 another powerful current of trade towards the state 
 of New-York, which now passes down the Mississip- 
 pi. All the remarks relating to the different advan- 
 tages of New-York, and New-Orleans, will apply as 
 well to the territory on the borders of the Missouri 
 river, as to that above the falls of Louisville provided 
 the transportation from St. Louis to New- York should 
 be cheaper than the conveyance from St. Louis to 
 New-Orleans. On the opening of the Western canal, 
 
XXVlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and a communication with the Mississippi, through 
 the lakes, it will he cheaper for the people of Mis- 
 souri to resort to New- York than to New-Orleans, 
 notwithstanding the employment of steam-hoats in 
 the trade with the latter. The return voyage must 
 always he long, tedious and expensive, and require a 
 large investment of capital, the interest of which,must 
 be added to the rate of expenses in transporting pro- 
 duce and merchandise. The voyages up the whole 
 length of the Mississippi, with any thing but steam- 
 boats, must be attended with a delay and with dis- 
 bursements discouraging to the prosperity of the 
 western trade ; and even with steam-boats, formidable 
 draw-backs on profit will ever present themselves. 
 One fact deserves to be mentioned here : since the 
 establishment of steam-boat lines on the Mississippi, 
 large quantities of merchandise have constantly 
 passed through Pittsburgh to St. Louis. In 1820, no 
 loss than 1500 tons were sent to the country beyond 
 the Mississippi through these towns — a circumstance 
 that shows if the Western canal was finished, and the 
 Illinois and the lakes united, New-York would sustain 
 a direct trade with the Missouri in preference to New- 
 Orleans. The lead mines of Missouri would then 
 become ten times more important than they are at 
 present, although 3,000,000 of pounds are now manu- 
 factured and distributed into various quarters of the 
 union, by way of New-Orleans. 
 
 We will now return to the state of New-York and 
 take a view of the effect of the Western canal upon 
 her own intrinsic resources. 
 
 But few countries of the same extent, excel this 
 state in the richness, extent, and variety of internal 
 resources. Her local position is grand and com- 
 manding. On one side the ocean washes her coast, 
 <©» the other? her frontiers are embraced by the great 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXIX 
 
 lakes. Her climate is healthy, her soil is fertile, 
 her mineral treasures are nuinerous and valuable ; 
 her products, from her contiguity to the ocean, will 
 ever command a ready and profitable market, and 
 her people are industrious, enterprising, and capable 
 of converting every natural advantage to the most 
 profitable purposes. The Western canal will imme- 
 diately augmeut the profits of her agricultural la- 
 bour. Why IS an acre of land in the vicinity of 
 London^ worth more than an acre of land of equal 
 fertility in the county of Cornwall ? It is intrinsically 
 Tvorth no more; artificial causes have created the dif- 
 ference. All that is obtained from one is immediately 
 converted to cash; all that is acquired from the 
 other, is sold subject to a deduction of all the ex- 
 penses of transportation from Cornwall to the British 
 metropolis. Why is a bushel of grain worth more 
 in New- York than in Illinois? It is neither better in 
 flavour or quality of any kind; but the former is 
 covered with many heavy charges before it is placed 
 by the side of the quantity already in the market. In 
 proportion, therefore, as the Western canal places 
 our farms nearer the grand market to which the cul- 
 tivators of the soil send their productions ; in propor- 
 tion as all expenses, and of course all drawbacks 
 upon agricultural profit are diminished, its interests 
 are directly cherished, A ton of flour in the county 
 of Niagara, will be worth ^81 47 more to the owner, 
 when the canal is finished than it is now, because the 
 expenses of conveying it to market will be diminish- 
 ed to that extent. There will ever be a standard value 
 of agricultural products in market; — -that is, the com- 
 modities brought from St. Louis will command the 
 same price as those that are brought from Ontario 
 county, provided their quality be the same. The 
 favourable competition of the New -York agriculturist 
 
XXX INTRODUCTIdN. 
 
 is sufficiently perceptible by this simple fact. New- 
 York will still be the most profitable market for the 
 western states; yet her own productions with a far 
 less formidable drawback froai transportation, will 
 command the same price as the products from the 
 shores of the Erie, the Ohio, the Illinois, the Huron 
 and the Superior. Agriculture depends upon con- 
 sumption, and neither foreign nor domestic con- 
 sumption will be diminished by lessening the charges, 
 and increasing the facilities of traiisportation to 
 market. Under these circumstances, the tendency 
 of the Western canal upon our agricultural improve- 
 ment and prosperity is evident and striking. It will 
 create a new era in the history of this fundamental 
 science. Our canals and our Board of agriculture 
 will produce the most astonishing results in the 
 course of a few years, and distance all calculation. 
 It is not pretended that New-York for many ages is 
 to bear any thing like a comparison with England, 
 containing many millions of population, commanding 
 a greater capital than any other nation in the world, 
 and filled with all those creative agencies, that inge- 
 nuity and wealth can apply to the cultivation of the 
 soil — yet England and Wales, but little larger than 
 the state of New-York, show us what can be done oa 
 a theatre of a given extent. They have far more 
 waste and barren lands that our own state; yet from 
 agriculture alone Great Britain derives an annual in- 
 come of £210,817,624. 
 
 It is not intended, in this place, to agitate the ques- 
 tion relating to domestic manufactures, which has di- 
 vided the opinions of the nation, and occupied the 
 attention of its highest councils ; yet it will be con- 
 ceded by the opposers as well as the advocates of a 
 system of protecting duties, that sound principles of 
 
INTRODUCTION, XXXI 
 
 public policy demand that manufactures to a certain 
 extent should be cherished in the United States. 
 New-York has the raw materials for extensive and 
 profitable establishments. Her iron alone is worthy of 
 consideration,and the legislature of the state hasmade 
 liberal advances to encourage those who have em- 
 barked in its manufacture. New-York could feed 
 more sheep than the kingdom of Great Britain whose 
 wool is estimated to be worth more annually than 
 ^20,000,000 when in its raw state. It is thought, 
 that the ingredients of our hydraulic cement, might be 
 used for the manufacture of a superior kind of ware. 
 Water could be taken from the canal with ease and 
 used for the most extensive labour-saving machinery. 
 As the union of the Erie and the Hudson will increase 
 population, extend the divisions of labour, render 
 industry more productive, and call forth the faculties 
 of the whole community; as it will reduce the trans- 
 portaion of raw as well as manufactured materials^i 
 and promote inland exchange, it must have a direct in- 
 fluence in producing the cultivation of those domestic 
 manufactures that lessen our impolitic reliance on 
 the skill and ingenuity of foreign workmen, and sub- 
 serve the wants of people like our own. "In coun- 
 tries," says Mr. Philips, " which hav€ the advantage 
 of canals, old manufactories are rendered more flour- 
 ishing, and new ones established from day to day, 
 in situations where, before the land was of but little 
 value and thinly inhabited. Do the materials of a 
 manufacture lie dispersed ? canals unite them, and 
 at the same time supply the persons employed in it, 
 with every necessarj^ at the cheapest rate."* 
 
 The salt works of this state will be rendered a 
 
 * Intro. Hist. Inland Naviiration. 
 
XXXU INTRODnCTION. 
 
 source of great wealth by our canal navigation. The 
 western country is an immense grazing region, and 
 will demand a great quantity of salt. After we pass 
 the boundaries of our own state, it is supplied chiefly 
 from the Conemaugh w6rks in Pennsylvania, the 
 works on the great Kanhaway in Virginia, and from 
 those of Kentucky and Illinois. The price of this arti- 
 cle must bear a proportion to the strength or saline 
 qualities of .the water from which it is manufactured, 
 and the charges of transportation. The Conemaugh 
 salt is sold at Pittsburgh for $7 bO per barrel. The 
 Kanhaway salt which is of an inferior quality, cannot 
 be afforded at less than ^6 per barrel. The Ken- 
 tucky salt is not sold for much less than ^7 per barrel 
 to the surrounding country. The Illinois salt is 
 estimated at $4: per barrel, at the works. The New- 
 York salt can be vended to a profit, at the Salina 
 works at $2 per barrel, and when the Western canal 
 is opened to lake Erie, it can be sold at Pittsburgh 
 for ^5 31 per barrel, and for $5 50 at Louisville. We 
 could furnish salt for the whole valley of the Missis- 
 sippi at a much cheaper rate than it is now obtained 
 possessing qualities too, of the most superior kind. 
 Our means for manufacturing it are in exhaustible. 
 No water in the United States is equal to that at 
 Salina, and probably none in the world, if we except 
 certain waters in Poland. A single gallon will some- 
 times afford twenty- six ounces of salt. Notwithstand- 
 ing the present extent of land transportation, from 
 the Onondaga lake, to the various mercantile depots 
 west of Buffalo, traders from the state of Ohio,^and 
 other quarters of the western states, have been in 
 the habit of resorting to the Onondago springs for 
 their supplies, for two or three years past, and 
 from 20,0,)0 to 30,000 bushels have passed on the 
 
INTRODUCTION XXXlll 
 
 waters of lake Erie to the places of consumption. 
 Previous to our commercial restrictions, we imported 
 between three and four millions of bushels of salt 
 annually into the United States. We may now con- 
 sume 5,000,000 — 3,000,000 of bushels of which we 
 import. We could easily manufacture 2,000,000 of 
 bushels in this state. This quantity with the present 
 state duty of 12i cents on the bushel, would give an 
 annual revenue of ^300,000. Such is the value of 
 the salt works at Salina, that during the year 1619, 
 an association of individuals, who could have com- 
 manded a credit of several millions, offered to com- 
 plete the Western canal in a given time, if the state 
 government would lease them these works for 50 
 years — the salt to be vended at marketable prices. 
 We shall see a new extensive, and unchanging 
 market opened for this article of merchandise when 
 the union is effected between Salina and the western 
 lakes, and between Salina and the Hudson and lake 
 Champlain. We already derive a revenue of sixty 
 or seventy thousand dollars from the state duty col- 
 lected on the salt at the place of manufacture. 
 
 Our lake fisheries are not sufficiently valued. They 
 will yet be ranked among the greatest resources 
 of the state. The white fish and the lake herring are 
 taken in great abundance, and afford a cheap and 
 delicious food. Many thousand barrels are caught 
 and salted down every year by the inhabitants along 
 the lake shore. Nor is this all — the lake fish is already 
 an article of exportation from the state. We have sent 
 16,000 barrels during a single year into the states of 
 Pennsylvania andOhio,estimated to be worth ^40,000. 
 An hundred thousand barrels could be taken and 
 prepared for the markets of the interior, and sent to 
 the falls of Louisville or the banks of the Missouri. 
 
 E 
 
XXXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 As the facilities of conveyance for heavy materials 
 are increased, these fisheries will prosper and be 
 numbered among our primary sources of wealth. 
 
 No extensive coal mines have yet been discovered 
 in this state; but at Pittsburgh and on Rocky river, 
 this mineral is found in great abundance. When the 
 country is properly explored, no doubt remains in 
 the minds of competent judges, of its being obtain- 
 ed within our own borders. But suppose we find it 
 necessary to resort to Pittsburgh for a supply : when 
 the canal is finished, it will be much cheaper to im- 
 port our fuel from the head of the Ohio, than from 
 Liverpool. The fuel consumed annually in the city 
 of New-York, is equal to 2,400,000 bushels of coal, 
 A difference of ten cents on the bushel, would 
 save to our metropolis, ^240,000 per year. Should 
 this valuable mineral be found in our soil, to any great 
 extent, the gain by the canal in this item would be im- 
 portant. The article of fuel will be rendered scarce 
 as the country becomes populous and tillage is ex- 
 tended. All our western towns and villages, from 
 lake Erie to Albany, would consume coal in prefe- 
 rence to wood, could it be purchased at a low rate. 
 It may not be improper to mention here, that the tim- 
 ber and lumber of the western district will find a 
 ready market by means of the canal. 
 
 Gypsum is an article of the first importance to 
 our agricultural prosperity. Hitherto, it has been 
 imported, to a great extent into the United States 
 Our mines on the canal-line are inexhaustible. The 
 bed discovered in Onondago county by the excava- 
 tion of the canal, is 40 feet deep. We can afford it 
 for a less price than it is imported, to all the states 
 south of New England, and even to some parts of 
 this section of the union. Its quality is unsurpassed 
 in purity. 
 
IMTRGDUCTION. XXXV 
 
 , We have yet scarcely spoken of the Northern ca- 
 nal. Ten years ago this work would have been 
 thought gigantic, and startled the timidity and ap- 
 prehensions of those who are accustomed to contem-* 
 plate our capacity and strength as a people, through 
 a false medium. Human strength is never known 
 until tested. The compass of national power is 
 proved when the hour of trial arrives. The calcula- 
 tions which are settled by an ordinary standard be- 
 come the subject of subsequent scorn and ridicule. 
 Since beyond the expectation of thousands, we have 
 found the state of New-York competent to make a 
 canal of more than 350 miles, we think nothing of one 
 that runs the distance of 60. Yet the canal of the 
 north is a great work of itself, and will be great in 
 its consequences. It connects lake Champlain to 
 the Hudson and thus to the Atlantic. It opens a 
 market for the lumber which is found in great abun- 
 dance on its borders, as well as on the shores of lake 
 George — lessens the transportation to and from the 
 north — gives us the trade of Vermont, especially on 
 the western side of the Green mountains, and opens a 
 direct passage to those marble quarries on the shores 
 of lake Champlain, that will supply New- York, Phi- 
 ladelphia, and our southern cities with important 
 materials in the ornamental part of building. On 
 the other hand, our salt and gypsum can be exchanged 
 with the farmers of Vermont for their beef, butter, 
 cheese, and other products. It will divert a conside- 
 rable branch of trade from Montreal to New- York, 
 now carried on between a portion of Vermont and the 
 former place, and in time of war, afford a channel of 
 communication of the utmost importance. The two 
 great advantages, however, of this work, will be the 
 facilities which it must afford to the lumber trade of 
 
XXXVl INTRODUCTION'. 
 
 the north, and to the distribution of our salt and plais- 
 ter. In point of revenue, it will produce enough to 
 pay the interest of the money expended in its exe- 
 cution, and forma sinking fund that will extinguish the 
 principal itself in the course of a few years, and 
 then afford a permanent income to the state govern- 
 ment. 
 
 These are some of the advantages of the New- 
 York canals, that must fall to our own state. What 
 character they will impart to our civil policy, and 
 what new relations they will produce in its future 
 compass, is not for any one to say, destitute of 
 prescience. They will place in the hands of our 
 state government, the means of fostering and exe- 
 cuting new and noble plans for the advancement 
 of our prosperity, and of enabling New-York to 
 sustain a parallel with any free state of the same ex- 
 tent and population that ever had existence. We 
 have taken a view of the canal revenues. If money 
 be the sinews of war its judicious and munificent 
 application, also has the power of rendering peace 
 illustrious and memorable. Why do we refer to the 
 reign of the Antonines when they guided the for- 
 tunes of the Roman empire, and to that of Henry IV^ 
 and Louis XIV of France, as glorious periods in the 
 annals of mankind ? Not for the fields that were con- 
 tested, or for the triumphal columns that were raised; 
 but for the cultivation of those arts and sciences that 
 produce refinement, that multiply the blessings, the 
 comforts, and the charms of civilization, that reveal 
 the powers and faculties of a state, in every depart- 
 ment of genius, enterprise and industry. Liberal 
 disbursements on the part of government are requi- 
 site to produce these results. Agriculture ^ is the 
 grand source of national wealth, and there is no sci- 
 
INTROSUCTION. XXSVn 
 
 ence that makes a greater return for patronage. 
 Our Board of agriculture, holding a supervision 
 over more than fifty country associations, which 
 combine the talents, wealth and respectability of the 
 state furnishes an evidence of what even a limited 
 appropriation of money, is capable of effecting. Could 
 the legislature set apart a permanent fund, from 
 w^hich three hundred thousand dollars could be an- 
 nually drawn for the next few years, to create patent 
 farms, institute public lectures, to apply all the 
 branches oi' natural science that can improve the 
 cultivation of the soil by the light w hich they afford, 
 and to perfect the breed of domestic animals by ex- 
 periment and by correspondence with different foreign 
 countries, as well as to distribute premiums after the 
 manner now practised ; we should see New- York a 
 model for her sisters of the confederacy, and a model 
 for distant countries and distant ages. The prosperi- 
 ty of the mechanic arts, depends on the aggregate of 
 inventive genius in a community, united to industry. 
 Much indeed has been accomplished within the few 
 last years for the extension of labour-saving machine- 
 ry ; but the field of discovery is still boundless. 
 Strong stimulants are however demanded to secure 
 those acquisitions of skill, that are not produced by 
 motives of pecuniary gain, in the ordinary course of 
 things. Napoleon showed the sense of a great ruler, 
 when he appealed to the ingenuity of all nations by 
 offering rewards for improvements in the manufacture 
 of useful articles. Letters patent, and the security 
 and sacredness of copj-rights, are founded on the 
 same policy. Could the government of this state 
 offer premiums to the amount of one hundred thou- 
 sand dollars annually, in prizes, for the most expedi- 
 tious and profitable method of manufacturing hemp, 
 
XXXVlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 flax, wool, cotton and other materials, and also, for 
 the most advantageous method of manufacturing the 
 different metals, and converting wood into utensils of 
 husbandry and of domestic use, and pursue the same 
 line of policy in all the different branches of the 
 useful arts, a new era would ensue in the history of 
 labour-saving machinery. When we speak of litera- 
 ture in this place, it is not expected that the legisla- 
 ture of the state, will be able to produce an Augustine 
 age; but with the distribution of three hundred 
 thousand dollars annually, united to our present 
 school fund, a system of elementary instruction could 
 be established that would not permit a child from 
 Montauk point to the falls of Niagara to grow 
 up in ignorance. Education would be universally 
 diffused, and a spectacle be presented to the phi- 
 lanthropist and the statesman, in which they would 
 see the future prevalence of mild and humane princi- 
 ples of government and the prospective security of civil 
 freedom — for in early habits and in early instruction 
 we perceive the stability of that political fabric, that 
 was reared in darkness and trouble, by those great pa- 
 triots,who have dropped their mantles upon their de- 
 scendents. As for seminaries of learning and learned 
 institutions, the state could do much. New professor- 
 ships and new requisitions could be introduced in the 
 one, and the means of making extensive and useful pub- 
 lications be given to the other. New roads and new 
 canals could be opened, our citizens be relieved from 
 all public burdens, and our public debts be extin- 
 guished. In fact, all that revenue, and its application 
 could do, might be effected, for the prosperity and 
 glory of the state. These observations may be deem- 
 ed visionary now : we ask but the lapse of twenty 
 years to find their full corroboration. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXX XI 
 
 The New-York canals may now be considered Hn 
 a national point of view. Great Britain keeps 3, 
 steady eye on her north American possessions, and 
 especially on the Canadas, which contain more square 
 miles than five of our most populous states. She 
 hopes to see in their growth and prosperity, a power- 
 ful restraint upon our commercial power. The Erie 
 canal will enable us to supplant the Canadas in 
 that extensive participation of the western and north- 
 western trade, which they have heretofore command- 
 ed, and which, in the progress of another generation, 
 would form an important drawback on our national 
 welfare. It will be seen by one of the reports of the 
 canal commissioners, found in the sequel, that even 
 if there was a canal cut round the falls of Niagara 
 by the British government it would be less expensive 
 to take produce to New-York through the medium of 
 the Western canal, from thp mouth of lake Erie, than 
 from any point on the Niagara river to the city of 
 Montreal. The facilities of returning from the re- 
 spective places to the lake country, will bear no 
 comparison. The Hudson and the canal will afford 
 a navigation that cannot be equalled by the St. Law- 
 rence, with its rapids, dangers, and obstructions. 
 Besides, the St. Lawrence is closed by the intensities 
 of climate, about seven months in the year. The 
 harbour of New-York is open at all seasons, and the 
 Hudson and the canals will be navigable two and 
 perhaps three months longer than the St. Lawrence, 
 and lead to a more extensive market. 
 
 In a country possessing a frontier like the United 
 States, — a frontier which extends along the ocean fif- 
 teen hundred miles, and along a chain of lakes seven- 
 teen hundred, and when too, this lake frontier pre- 
 sents a line of strong fortifications in the hands of a 
 
Xl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 jealous, vigilant, and powerful rival; every thing 
 \yhich increases the means of defence, is essential to 
 our national interests. On the side of the ocean, we 
 have nothing to fear. Our naval strength and prowess 
 are sufficient pledges of safety ; the resources of 
 defensive war are always at hand. On the side of 
 the lakes, there is more difficulty, under present cir- 
 cumstances. Every munition of war must be carried 
 from the seaboard, or places in its vicinity at an enor- 
 mous cost. Had the Western canal been completed 
 previous to the late war with England, we should have 
 saved to the nation more than sufficient to defray the 
 expenses of connecting the Hudson with lake Erie, 
 lake Erie with the Ohio, the Michigan with the Illi- 
 nois, the Delaware and Chesapeak bays, and the 
 Delaware and the Rariton. Pieces of ordnance 
 were purchased for ^000 art the foundaries, or at the 
 military stores, and cost the government in some in- 
 stances, $2000 when delivered on the frontiers. A 
 barrel of porkjor beef, often costthe government $126, 
 and other articles of consumption, were purchased 
 at a rate equally extravagant. The charges of trans- 
 portation went far to swell the war debt to ^1^0,000,000 
 and upwards. Every thing requisite for defence can 
 hereafter pass on our canals. In this point of view, 
 they will prove a wall of defence, — an arsenal fur- 
 nishing the weapons of effectual war, should it here- 
 after ensue. When Mr. Gallatin made his report on 
 roads and canals in 1807, he dwelt much on the ne- 
 cessity as a military safeguard. When the debate 
 took place, on the floor of congress in 1818, as to 
 the constitutional powers of congress to appro- 
 priate money for opening internal improvements, 
 even those politicians who narrowed down the con- 
 stitution in their arguments, until some of its grandest 
 
IlfTRODUCTION. xlv 
 
 ends and purposes were contravened, admitted, that 
 roads and canals were requisite to the nation in a 
 military sense, and therefore, might be opened and 
 constructed. Mr. Calhoun, the present secretary of 
 war, whose views of national policy have always 
 been liberal and enlightened, has more than once 
 urged upon the general government, the necessity of 
 new communications with our frontier settlements. 
 We may in fact say, that New-York, in connecting 
 the Hudson with the Northern and Western lakes, 
 has directly strengthened the protecting arm of the 
 nation. 
 
 Heretofore, the sale of public lands has been con- 
 sidered of importance to the general government. 
 Their settlement how^evcT-, is of much more conse- 
 quence than their mere purchase. It would prove 
 a serious detriment to the United States, if men of 
 large capital, should barely hold the fee of immense 
 tracts of territory in the western states, like the ba- 
 rons in feudal times, and keep them uncultivated, or 
 lease them out to tenants. " We want population," 
 were the constant words of Patrick Henry, when 
 speaking of our wild lands. Whatever disperses the 
 shades of the wilderness, and plants the monuments 
 of civilization and industry; whatever tends to fill 
 our regions with a bold, hardy, and enterprising popu- 
 lation, also increases national strength and augments 
 the products of labour. At present, the charges of 
 transportation prove a serious discouragement to 
 settlements in the new states, beyond Ohio. Emi- 
 grants can indeed live on the borders of the lakes and 
 on the banks of the western rivers with little diffi- 
 culty ; but they live, and that is all. The products of 
 their labour, beyond consumption, are of little value 
 without amarket, or the means of reaching a ?narket, 
 
 F 
 
Xlii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Canal navigation will place them by the side of the 
 seaboard. 
 
 When the Western canal was commenced, much 
 difficulty was experienced in obtaining civil engi- 
 neers. The defect was soon remedied by the ver- 
 satile ingenuity of our countrymen. For accuracy, 
 despatch, and science, we can now present a corps 
 of engineers equal to any in the world. Applications 
 for aid, in the line of their profession, have been 
 made to our canal commissioners, from different 
 states. The canal line is now one of the most excel- 
 lent schools that could be divised, to accomplish men 
 for this pursuit. The work of canal-making has but 
 just commenced in the United States. The profi- 
 ciency which has been made in our own undertaking 
 may be viewed as an acquisition to the union at large. 
 
 There are many other considerations worthy of 
 mentioning. New-York, by her canals, has awaken- 
 ed a noble spirit of enterprise and emulation in other 
 states, and convinced them of their latent strength. 
 Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, and the Carolinas, 
 are following her example. The promotion of civili- 
 zation among the Indian tribes; a greater participa- 
 tion in the fur trade of the north-west; the encourage- 
 ment to manufacture sugar from the maple ; the ex- 
 tension of our knowledge in geology, and mineralogy, 
 by the constant excavation along the canal-line, are 
 among the useful results to be anticipated. The On- 
 ondaga gypsum, and the lime-cement, were acciden- 
 tally discovered in the prosecution of our labours. 
 
 But paramount to all other considerations, is the 
 influence to be anticipated from the Western canal 
 in giving strength and durability to our national con- 
 federacy. This is a subject, around which, all our 
 social, all our political, and all our national feelings 
 
INTRODUCTION. xHii 
 
 should centre. All individual attachments, all views of 
 state aggrandizement should be subservient and se- 
 condary, to an unceasing anxiety for the stability of 
 our union. Every thing dear and sacred is involved 
 in the perpetuity of our compact. We possess a 
 government different from all others that ever existed. 
 It defies analogy in its relations, its checks, and its 
 balances. We have twenty-one distinct constitutions, 
 embracing different climates, different habits, diffe- 
 rent interests, and in some respects, different senti- 
 ments. Our national existence depends on their re- 
 conciliation. Whatever will amalgamate and assimilate 
 them ; whatever will harmonize and blend our sym- 
 pathies, views and thoughts, is deserving of the deep- 
 est attention. What will prove the most effectual 
 means of promoting these ends ? Constant communi- 
 cations between the different sections of the union 
 and the annihilation of all local barriers. We must 
 bring the north, and the south, and the east, and the 
 west, nearer each other, by the attractions of inte- 
 rest. This will destroy asperities, soften contrasts of 
 character, and create those moral ligaments which 
 will grow strong through time, and the occurrence of 
 events. New ties, new attachments, and new simili- 
 tudes, should act, and re-act, and pervade a nation 
 which God has made great, and which man, under his 
 protecting arm, can make greater. As we look from 
 the lakes to Florida, and from the sea shore to the 
 Missouri, we behold the seat of an empire, which no- 
 thing but internal discord can arrest in its natural 
 course to grand and eventual fortunes. The West 
 ern canal will unite the two most populous and pow- 
 erful sections of the nation, and form one of the 
 strongest safeguards of the union, that either state or 
 national policy is capable of devising. The AUegha- 
 
Xliv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ny mountains will no longer form a national line of 
 division. The people of the Atlantic and the people 
 of the western states will be connected by interest, 
 by habit, and by constant intercourse. These re- 
 flections recall the parting words of Washington to 
 his country : " The east, in an unrestrained inter- 
 course with the west, already finds, and in the pro- 
 gressive improvements of interior communications, 
 by land and water, will more and more find, a valua- 
 ble vent for the commodities which it brings from 
 abroad, or manufactures at home. The west derives 
 from the east, supplies requisite to its growth and 
 comfort, — and, what is perhaps of still greater conse- 
 quence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoy- 
 ment of indispensable outlets for its productions, to 
 the weight, influence, and the future maritime 
 strength of the Atlantic side of the union, directed 
 by an indissoluble community of interests, as on© 
 nation."* 
 
 No nation ever existed that was so well calculated 
 to reveal and multiply national resources, as the Uni- 
 ted States. The nature of our political institutions, 
 the equal distribution of property among our people, 
 the intelligence and industry that are every where 
 perceptible, the emulation that exists, and the sacred- 
 ness of property, are important auxiliaries to public 
 rulers. In a monarchy, not only are many of these 
 aids wanting, but much depends on the character of 
 the ruler who fills the throne. The measures of his 
 government may be wise, strong, and enlightened, or, 
 they may be narrow, feeble, and shortsighted. Great 
 conceptions may break out, and elevated hopes be 
 inspired; but caprice, death or revolution, may arrest 
 
 * Farewell Address. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xlv 
 
 the most auspicious projects. Charlemagne, who 
 seems to have lived too soon for the age in which he 
 flourished, had formed extensive plans to improve 
 the interior of his empire; Henry IV of France, 
 aided by the lofty genius of Sully, had contem- 
 plated the improvement of France, by magnifi- 
 cent public works, to impart celerity and exten- 
 sion to trade, manufactures, and internal intercourse; 
 Charles XII, cherished views that might have in- 
 creased the power and wealth of Sweden ; and Na- 
 poleon adopted a plan to open forty new canals with- 
 in the limits of his empire. These projects were con- 
 signed to the tomb of greatness, when their authors 
 ceased to hold the sceptre of power. But a repre- 
 sentative system, like our own, is a moral being, whose 
 temper, propensities, and policy, may wear the cha- 
 racter of uniformity for centuries. Great designs 
 move on, in their execution, with the existence of the 
 repubhc itself Master spirits arise, one after another, 
 to awake, to inspire, and to guide ; and their talents 
 become public property. Their labours are the la- 
 bours of the commonwealth. These principles are 
 breathed in the essence of our government. 
 
 The policy of this country is twofold — there is 
 the policy of the general government, and that of the 
 state governments. While the general government 
 exercises a superintending power over the confede- 
 racy, and can appropriate disbursements for public 
 works, the different states have their own internal 
 measures. Would they but unite their efforts for the 
 next twenty years, the face of the union would be 
 completely changed. If the national government 
 should execute such works as the junction of Chesa- 
 peak and Delaware bays, and the union of the Dela- 
 
Xlvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ware and the Rariton rivers,* and leave the different 
 states to make other improvements within the com- 
 pass of their respective means, we should be ena- 
 bled in peace and in war to maintain an inland trade 
 unequalled by any nation in existence, with the ex- 
 ception of China, and in time, even surpass her. We 
 Gould commence a voyage at the mouth of the Hud- 
 son, pass through the Western canal into the great 
 lakes, through these to the Mississippi by the Chicago 
 and the Illinois, and from thence to our ports on the 
 Yellow stone, eighteen hundred miles above St. Louis; 
 thence descending to the Mississippi, we could fall 
 down with her current to New-Orleans, pass from 
 this emporium through inland channels, along the 
 Florida frontier, and across its deep peninsula to 
 Savannah ; from thence along the coast, by a chain 
 of communications, through the waters of the Dela- 
 ware and Chesapeak bays, to the Delaware river, 
 and by that and the Rariton, again enter the spa- 
 cious bosom of our own harbour, — performing a cir- 
 cuit of more than seven thousand miles. Such limits, 
 when filled with population, will recall to mind, the 
 boundaries of the Roman empire, when, in the enthu- 
 siastic language of the historian, it was " confounded 
 with the globe of the earth ;" — when its length ex- 
 teaded from the Western ocean to the Euphrates, 
 and its breadth, from the wall of Antoninus, and the 
 regions of Dacia, to mount Atlas and the sources 
 of the Nile. 
 
 * It is to be regretted, that our national energie- . ave i een 
 much shackled by technical scruples in relation to the constitution- 
 al power of making appropriations in congress, for openiiag roads 
 and canals. The case of the Cumberland road, is, however, 
 conclusive. If money can be appropriated in one case, it surely 
 may be in another for objects of a similar nature. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xlvii 
 
 It might here be expected, that we should give 
 some historical sketch that would show the merits 
 of those public men who have been instrumental in 
 the origin and prosecution of our canal policy. It is 
 unnecessary. Already the eye of history is upon 
 them. Men and their acts will be connected. Co- 
 lumbus discovered a new world : who can extinguish 
 the lustre of his name ? Washington led our armies to 
 victory, Franklin drew the lightning from heaven- 
 Fulton applied the power of steam to navigation — 
 and fame is faithful to their memories. It will not be 
 less so to the statesmen, who leave behind them 
 those evidences of wisdom, which may be contem- 
 plated to the last verge of eternity, with wonder and 
 delight : siquidem gloria est illustris ac pervagata muU 
 torum efmagnorumvel in suos, vel ijipatriam, vel in omns 
 genus hominum fama meritorum. 
 
 We live at a period the most eventful in the annals 
 of time. The reign of Napoleon, the reign of George 
 III, and the reign of Alexander of Russia, present 
 the policy of nations on a broader scale, than any 
 other space in the occurrence of six thousand years: 
 and yei^ where is there a work of their hands which 
 will compare in grandeur and utility with the great 
 Western canal ? Let it be told in history, thafin fifty 
 years after the declaration of American independence, 
 the state of New-York,commenced and finished the 
 first work of the age BY UNITING THE WEST- 
 ERN AND NORTHERN LAKES WITH THE 
 ATLANTIC OCEAN ! ! ! 
 
NOTE. 
 
 [After the foregoing was put to press, the following remarks were 
 handed to Mr. Haines, by a highly respectable gentleman, with 
 a request that he would give them an insertion in this place. 
 The facts communicated can be placed beyond controversy, by 
 an appeal to Governor Clinton, Judge Piatt, Thomas Eddy, Esq. 
 Eind Gen. John Swartwout.] 
 
 As every thing thai relates to the rise and progress 
 of the Grand canal will be interesting to the public, 
 and may be more so to our posterity, the writer of 
 this communication submits the following remark 
 to Mr. Haines, relating to facts that came within 
 his own knowledge. 
 
 The Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, 
 incorporated in 1792, confined their views to the 
 improvement of the navigation of the Mohawk river, 
 the Oneida lake, and Seneca river, as far as the Se- 
 neca lake ; and to effect this, they engaged in their 
 service, William Weston Esq. an eminent canal engi- 
 neer, from England. — In 1795, the directors of the 
 company appointed their president, General Schuyler 
 and Thomas Eddy, Esq. to explore and examine 
 the country as far west as the Seneca lake, and to 
 be accompanied by their engineer, William Weston. 
 After performing this, they made a favourable report 
 as to the practicability of considerable improvements 
 being made in the navigation, by means of connect- 
 ing those waters. — The funds of the company, how- 
 ever, did not permit their doing more than making 
 improvements on the Mohawk river and Wood creek. 
 In this posture, the subject remained till 1808, at 
 which period, Joshua Forman, Esq. a member of 
 the legislature from Onondaga, made a motion in the 
 assembly for a survey to be made under the direc- 
 tion of the surveyor general of the county, between 
 
INTRODUCTION. x!ix 
 
 lake Erie and Hudson river, in order to ascertain the 
 practicability of connecting the ^^everal waters, Sgc. 
 The resolution moved by Mr. Forraan was adopted, 
 and resulted in nothing being done. 
 
 In March, 18J0, Thomas Eddj vras at Albany, and 
 being extremely desirous that the great work of im- 
 proving our interoal navigation should be undertaken, 
 he caited one evening on his friend Jonas Piatt, 
 Esq. who was then a member of the senate, and 
 suggested to him the propriety of appointing com- 
 missioners to examine and explore the western coun- 
 try, in order to ascertain the practicability of con- 
 necting, by canal navigation, the great lakes with 
 the Hudson river. After some discussion, it was 
 agreed that the effort should be made, and a joint 
 resolution be offered to both houses drafted by ge- 
 neral Piatt. It was then agreed that they would next 
 morning call on Dewitt Clinton, and hand it to him 
 for his perusal, in hopes that the proposed measure 
 would meet his countenance and support. The next 
 morning, Messrs. Piatt and Eddy, met Mr. Clinton at 
 the senate chamber, and handed him the draft of the 
 aforementioned resolution ; on reading it, Mr Clin- 
 ton expressed his warm approbation of the measure, 
 and declared himself much interested in its success. 
 At this moment, the senate was formed, when Mr. 
 Piatt offered the resolution, which was seconded by 
 Mr. Clinton, and passed unanimously.— The follow- 
 ing is a copy of the same : — 
 
 STATE OF NEW-YORK, 
 
 h Senate, March J 3, 1810. 
 
 Whereas, the agricultural and commercial inte- 
 rests of the state, require that the inland navigation 
 
1 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 from Hudson river to lake Ontario and lake Erie, be 
 improved and completed on a scale commensurate to 
 the great advantages derived from the accomplish- 
 ment of that important object : And whereas, it is 
 doubtful whether the resources of the Western In- 
 land Lock Navigation Company are adequate to 
 such improvements: 
 
 Therefore resolved, that if the honourable the as- 
 sembly consent herein, that Governeur Morris, Ste- 
 phen Van Rensselaer, Dewitt Clinton, Simeon Dewitt, 
 William North, Thomas Eddy, and Peter B. Porter, 
 be and they are hereby appointed commissioners for 
 exploring the whole route, examining the present 
 condition of the said navigation, and considering 
 what further improvements ought to be made therein; 
 and that they be authorized to direct and procure 
 such surveys as to them shall appear necessary and 
 proper in relation to these objects ; and that they re- 
 port thereon to the legislature, at their next session, 
 presenting a full view of the subjects referred to them, 
 with their estimates and opinions thereon. 
 
 And whereas, numerous inhabitants of the coun- 
 tries of Oneida, Madison, Onondaga, have by their 
 petitions, represented that by reason of the spring 
 freshets, the Oneida lake is usually raised so high as 
 to inundate large tracts of land adjacent thereto, 
 which are thereby rendered unfit for cultivation, and 
 highly injurious to the health of the neighbouring in- 
 habitants; and that the said evils may be easily reme- 
 died by removing a bar and deepening the channel 
 at the outlet of the said lake. 
 
 Therefore resolved, (if the honourable the assem- 
 bly concur herein) that the commissioners above- 
 named be, and they are hereby directed to examine 
 the subject of the said petitions, and to report to the 
 
INTRODUCTION. ll 
 
 legislature their opinion as to the practicability, the 
 expense, and the effect of removing the bar, and 
 deepening the channel at the outlet of said lake. 
 By order, 
 
 S. VisscHER, Clerk. 
 
 In the summer of 1810, the above-named commis- 
 sioners explored and examined the whole route from 
 the Hudson to lake Erie, and at the session of the 
 legislature following, presented their first report. 
 In 1811, several surveys were made, and in that 
 year, Robert R. Livingston, and Robert Fulton, 
 were added to the commission, and a second report 
 was presented to the legislature. An act was passed 
 in 1812, authorizing the commissioners to borrow on 
 the credit of the state, 1^5,000,000 in order to prose- 
 cute the canal. This part of the act was repealed in 
 1814. 
 
 In 1815, many of our citizens entertained great 
 doubts of the practicability of the proposed under- 
 taking, and many highly respectable men seriously 
 apprehended that the resources of the state were en- 
 tirely incompetent to secure its completion. Besides 
 the existence of these difficulties, the measure was 
 opposed with great warmth on party grounds. 
 
 In the autumn of 1816^ Judge Piatt was in the city 
 of New- York, holding court, and a consultation took 
 place betweenhim,Dewitt Clinton, and Thomas Eddy. 
 It was evident to them, that the public mind appeared 
 gloomy and discouraged.respecting the project of exe- 
 cuting the proposed canal. The gentleman mentioned 
 convened,however, and determined to make one more 
 effort to revive the subject, and to bring it again before 
 the legislature. With this view, they inserted an ad- 
 vertisement in the newspapers, requesting a meeting 
 ©f the citizens, at the City Hotel, in order to take in- 
 
iii INTRODUCTieN. 
 
 to consideration the propriety of an application to 
 the legislature, in favour of prosecuting the canal. 
 This meeting was large and respectable. William 
 Bayard was the chairman, and the business was open- 
 ed by judge Piatt, followed by Dewitt Clinton, John 
 Svvartwout, and others, — D. W. Clinton, I Swartwout, 
 and Thomas Eddy were appointed a committee, to 
 prepare a memorial to the legislature, — This memo- 
 rial was drafted by Mr. Clinton, and drawn in so mas- 
 terly a style, and embraced so lucid and compre- 
 hensive a view of the immense advantages that 
 would be produced to the state by the completion of 
 the canal, that copies were sent throughout the state 
 were eagerly signed by thousands, and carried full 
 conviction to every mind. The project immediately 
 became popular, and it was the means of rousing the 
 legislature, and produced the several successive laws 
 in prosecuting this great work. A system of finance 
 was drawn by De Witt Clinton which with some tri- 
 fling alterations, was adopted by the legislature, and 
 is now in successful operation. 
 
 Errata. 
 
 For folio seventeen of Report read iwenty-Jivef and so on- 
 Folio 32 of Introduction transposed 
 
ii®mff. 
 
 THE Ccmmissionen- appointed by joint resolutions of the 
 honovrahle Senate and Asiiemhiy of the State of JS^ew- 
 York, of the i3th and I 'Jh March, liJJ.O, to explore 
 the route of en inland navtgaion from Hudson"^ s River 
 to Lake Ontario and Lake Erie., beg leave to 
 
 REPORT, 
 
 TnAr tbej have examined th-a country as criti- 
 cally as time and circumstatices would permit, and 
 caused surveys tobe made for nheir better information. 
 
 Tiiey he^ leave to observe, on the present naviga- 
 tion of the Mohawk river, Wood Creek, Oneida Lake, 
 and the Oswego river, which extend from Schenec- 
 tady to lake Ontario^ (saving only a portage at the 
 Fails,within twelve rai'es of Oswego^) that experience 
 has long since exploded in E'urope the idea of using 
 the beds of rivers for internal navigation, where ca- 
 nals are practicable. The reasoning on that subject 
 applies with greater force, in America. For in the 
 navigation of rivers, reliance must be had princi- 
 pally on the labour of men ; whereas, alor.g canals, 
 the force employed is generally that of horses. But 
 the labour of men is dearer, and the subsistence of 
 horses cheaper in America than in Europe. Expe- 
 rience, moreover, has, in this country, declared 
 against foilowingthe course of rivers, more decided- 
 ly than in tiie old world; for there, notwithstanding 
 the excellence of the highways, transportation is per- 
 forraed(between Rouen and ?c".^^Sjfori'7stance)in bcvits 
 drawn up the river : but alosjg Ihe Mohawk, though 
 the road from Schenectady to Utica is hr from being 
 good, it is frequently preferred to the river. 
 
 By the aid of canals, a scood navigation (for boats) 
 can unquestionably be aiada from Scheriectady to 
 the Falls in the Oswego rirer, twelve miles south of 
 lake Ontario. From Schenectady to the Hudson, 
 
 2 
 
( 2 ) 
 
 and from the Falls just mentioned, to the lake On- 
 tario, a boat navigation is also practicable ; but whe- 
 ther it be advisable, may deserve consideration. 
 
 A preliminary point to decide, is, whether by this 
 route, vessels can be taken across, of size and form, 
 to navigate, with advantage, lake Ontario and Hud- 
 son's river ; such, for instance, as sloops and schoon- 
 ers of fifty or sixty tons. 
 
 The commissioners believe this to be impractica- 
 ble, from the want of water at the summit level. 
 Whether a sufficient supply even for boats can be ob- 
 tained in a dry season, should the whole trade of the 
 great lakes be turned that way, is a matter worthy 
 of consideration. 
 
 Admitting, however, that the boat navigation were 
 completed to the Falls, in Oswego river, and a suffi- 
 cient supply of water secured, it remains to inquire 
 whether it would be prudent to expend what may be 
 needful on the navigation between those Falls and 
 the lake. 
 
 It will be seen by the report of the surveyor here- 
 unto annexed, that in this distance there is a descent 
 of little less than one hundred feet, and that the cir- 
 cumstances are peculiarly unfavourable ; so much so, 
 that an intelligent practical man (Mr. Weston) for- 
 merly pronounced it impossible. That word, how- 
 ever, when used on occasions of this sort, must be 
 understood as standing in relation to the means which 
 can prudently be applied to the end. 
 
 In examining the amount of expenditure which 
 prudence may justify, it is to be noted, that if the 
 same boat which arrives at the upper end of the Falls, 
 could, after reaching Oswego, proceed on her voy- 
 age, it might be worth while to calculate whether 
 the saving of time and expense in lading and unla- 
 ding, would bear any rational proportion to the cost 
 of completing that navigation ; but that is not the 
 case, and therefore it would be more advisable, if the 
 communication be deemed of sufficient importance, 
 to construct a rail-way. 
 
( 3 ) 
 
 This, according to the estimate of an intelligent 
 and experienced man, (Mr. Latrobe,) annexed to 
 Mr. Secretary Gallatin's report on canals and roads, 
 would cost about 10,000 dollars per mile; and by 
 the aid of it, one horse could transport eight tons, 
 supposing the angle of ascent not to exceed one de- 
 gree. 
 
 But an angle of one degree will ascend in a mile 
 upwards of ninety-two feet, or nearly as much as the 
 difference of level in the whole twelve miles. If, 
 then, two dollars be allowed for a horse, wagon, and 
 driver's wages, (with such return load as he can pro- 
 cure for his profit,)and ten cents be allowed for the 
 use of the rail- way, and if it be supposed that only 
 five tons be taken, instead of eight, the cost will be 
 for each ton, the twelve miles, forty-two cents,or three 
 and a half cents per mile ; at which rate, one hun- 
 dred and forty miles (a greater distance than be- 
 tween Oswego and Lewiston, along lake Ontario) 
 would come to four dollars, ninety cents, being thirty- 
 five cents less than the freight now paid. 
 
 A question, however, of more importance presents 
 itself Admitting that it were easy to complete a 
 boat navigation from Rome to lake Ontario, and more 
 difficult and expensive (in comparison) to effect a 
 canal navigation to lake Erie, would it not be advisa- 
 ble to descend into lake Ontario, rather than encoun- 
 ter the difficulty and expense of the other course .? 
 
 The commissioners believe it would not ; and with- 
 out relying, as they might, for support of their opi- 
 nion, on the comparative expense of transportation, 
 (a topic which will find a better place elsewhere,) 
 it is sufficient to say, here, that articles for exporta- 
 tion, when once afloat on lake Ontario, will, gene- 
 rally speaking, go to Montreal, unless our British 
 neighbours are blind to their own interest; a charge 
 which ought not lightly to be made against a com- 
 mercial nation. 
 
 Freight from Niagara to Oswego will, from the diffi- 
 cult and dangerous access to that harbour, be as 
 
( i ) 
 
 high as to the head of the rap^ids in the river St. Law- 
 rence. The desce^it from thence to Montreal is less 
 than the ascent from Oswego to Some. 5t is true that 
 the lakeODtario is estimated at one hundred and nine- 
 ty six feet above tide water, and the Rome level only 
 one hundred riod eighty-four feet above the lake : 
 but there is a considerable descent in the river St. 
 Lawrence, in a distri.fee of about seventy miles, to 
 the lower end of the present sloop navigation, through 
 which the current is sometimes strong. There is 
 also a considerable descent from Montreal, in a dis- 
 tance, of about thirty miles to tide water in the lake 
 St. Peter's. Perhaps it will be found that an average 
 allowance of three inches per mile, (in the whole, 
 upwards of twenty feet) is not two much, and that 
 the river at Montreal is not one hundred and seventy 
 feet below the upper surface of the Gallot's rapids. 
 In the distance of one hundred miles between these 
 places, there are forty of still water, viz. about thirty 
 in lake St. Francis, between the foot of Long Saat 
 and the head of the Coteau du Lac rapid, and up- 
 wards of ten in the lake of the Two Mountains, be- 
 tween the foot of the cascade at the cedars, and the 
 La Chine rapid. 
 
 Thus there will remain but sixty miles of canal, 
 with an average fall of thirty-four inches per mile. 
 The land decends proportionately to the water, so 
 that there can be but little deep cutting; the soil is 
 easy to dig; there are no streams or ravines of any 
 consequence to cross ; and there is an inexhaustible 
 supply of pure water, which never varies much in its 
 height, for any canal whatever. 
 
 Under circumstances so propitious, it is probable 
 that a good sloop navigation from above the gallots, 
 to Montreal, would cost less than a good boat navi- 
 gation from Oswego to Ftome. The extent of this 
 last, deducting the Oneida lake, is fifty-six miles; 
 the fall is on an average near forty inches per mile ; 
 the supply of water is doubtful, and in twelve miles 
 of the distance, obstacles almost insurmountable pre- 
 sent themselves. 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 These are facts to which it would be in vain for 
 the citizens of the United States to shut their eyes. 
 The eyes of a rich enterprising commercial rival 
 are open ; and when it is considered that (if the 
 means of easy export be supplied to the inhabitants 
 who may settle near the great lakes) that country 
 will, in no distant period, furnish a more abundant 
 stock of commodities for foreign trade, than is now 
 sent from all the atlantic ports of the union — it would 
 be absurd to doubt, whether, in the competition for 
 that commerce, our neighbours will employ the 
 means in their power. Nor must it be forgotten, that 
 the revenue which, under present circumstances, is 
 raised from commerce, and which no probable 
 change will reduce below an ad valorum duty of ten 
 per cent, cannot but operate in favour of our rivals. 
 True it is, that as far as regards the pecuniary bene- 
 fit of those who may settle along the lakes, the route 
 by which their products are sent abroad, and their 
 supplies of foreign articles introduced, must be to 
 them a matter of little consequence. But the politi- 
 cal connexion which would probably result from a 
 commercial connexion, certainly deserves the con- 
 sideration of intelligent men. 
 
 The commissioners have no doubt, that obstruc- 
 tions at the mouth of Oneida Lake may be removed, 
 so as to lower the surface of that lake from eighteen 
 inches to two feet, at no great expense, and with lit- 
 tle, if any, injury to the navigation. But they have 
 not been able to satisfy themselves that the lands 
 contemplated in the petitions which the joint resolu- 
 tions refer to, would be in any wise affected by ope- 
 rations at the mouth of Oneida Lake. According to 
 the information they have obtained, these lands are 
 inundated by the waters of Butternut, Limestone, 
 Chitenengo, and Canaserago Creeks, obstructed be- 
 fore their enterance into the lake. 
 
 In respect to an inland navigation direct from Lake 
 Erie to Hudson's River, the Commissioners beg leave 
 to refer for information to the annexed reports and 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 maps of Mr. James Geddes, employed at their re- 
 quest by the surveyor-general From these it is evi- 
 dent that such navigation is practicable. Whether 
 the route he sketched out will hereafter be pursued ; 
 whether a better may not be found — and other ques- 
 tions subordinate to these, can only be resolved at a 
 future time, when an intelligent man, regularly bred 
 to this busiijess, shall, under the direction of those 
 on whom the public may think proper to devolve the 
 superintendence, have made a more extensive and 
 careful scrutiny than the time and means of the com- 
 missioners would permit. They conceive, however, 
 that it may not be improper to say a few words on 
 the topography of the country, which may be divided 
 into three parts, nearly equal. 
 
 The Mohawk River, as is well known, runs in a 
 deep ravine, and there is, generally speaking, along 
 its banks, a vale of rich soil. In different places, 
 however, spurs from the neighbouring hills project 
 themselves to the edge of the river. On the north 
 side, fall in sundry small streams, and two (the east 
 and west Canada Creeks) which are large and co- 
 pious, especially the latter. They are both rapid, 
 and run in deep ravines. On the right side, also, 
 there are several tributary streams. The most con- 
 siderable of these is the Schoharie, which, rising 
 among the Catskill mountains, has scooped out, with 
 its impetuous waters, a wide and deep ravine. 
 
 The stream next in importance, coming in from 
 the south, is the Oriskany, which is especially valua- 
 ble, because it enters the river not far from the sum- 
 mit level at Rome, and may, perhaps, become useful 
 as a feeder. This forms the first, eastern, or river 
 division, in which navigation, though defective, al- 
 ready exists. In this division, with proper manage- 
 ment, there will be no defect of water for a boat ca- 
 nal, unless, perhaps, in very dry seasons, at the sum- 
 mit level. 
 
 The second, middle, or lake division, extends from 
 the summit level westward to the outlet of the Canan- 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 darque Lake. In it lie four lakes, the Otisko, Ske- 
 neateles, Owasco, and Canandarque, higher than any 
 canal which may be extended from Lake Erie to the 
 Hudson, and furnishing a copious supply of Avater. 
 Of the two largest lakes, the Seneca, increased by a 
 stream from Crooked Lake, lies nearly on the same 
 level with Rome, but the Cayuga much lower. 
 
 In this division the turnpike road crosses high 
 hills, but they all terminate not far north of it, leav- 
 ing a large deep valley, upwards of eighty miles 
 long, from east to west, and about twenty wide from 
 north-west to south-east. If, indeed, the Cayuga lake, 
 embosomed in a ravine which opens to the north on 
 the valley, be considered as part of it, the breadth 
 will be fifty miles. In this valley lie the Onondaga, 
 Cross, and Oneida Lakes. It is bounded on the north, 
 by a dividing ridge of land, which stretches from 
 near the Gerundegat bay, eastwardly, to the neigh- 
 bourhood of Rome, where it joins the dividing ridge 
 north of the Mohawk, between the waters of the St. 
 Lawrence and those of the Hudson. 
 
 The third, western, or dry division, extends from 
 the western boundary of the lake Division to lake 
 Erie. In this, although the Genesee river runs through 
 it, a want of water is already felt, and will daily be- 
 come more sensible, as the country is cleared. The 
 Genesee river, itself, is a torrent, which, however 
 copious, or even superabundant it may be in the 
 spring, is in the autumn almost dry. This tract of 
 country, especially after passing the Flats of the 
 Genesee, may, with little violence to the propriety 
 of language, be called a plain : and here it may be 
 proper to notice a peculiarity in the shape of the 
 northern, and much of the western part of the state, 
 which distinguishes it widely from the country lying 
 south-east of the mountains. 
 
 The descent from the dividing ridge, northward, 
 is generally by a gradation of plains,* nearly hori- 
 
 ■ * The word plains might lead into error. It is therefore proper to state, that 
 hills are scattered about, which vary the surface to the eye. But on examina- 
 tion, it will be found that, generally speaking, their bases are all on the same 
 extended plain. 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 zontal. These, and the streams by which they are 
 watered, have a similar, and, as it were, a simulta- 
 neous descent. Thus the rivers are but a k,ind of lakes, 
 lying in plains, and communicating by talis and ra- 
 pids with each other. These gradations have some* 
 times a small rise, immediately before descent; at 
 other times, in ascending from one, we come imme- 
 diately to the other. In no case is the peculiarity 
 of shape more worthy of remark, than at the cata- 
 ract of Niagara. In coming from lake Erie, where 
 the sight cannot reach over the expanded surface, 
 proceeding along the level bank of the Niagara river, 
 to the head of the rapids immediately above the Falls, 
 and thence pursuing a northern course, the traveller 
 ascends but thirty-eight feet before he descends 
 three hundred and forty-five to the plain in which 
 lake Ontario is stretched out, from east to west, up- 
 wards of one hundred and sixty miles. The surface 
 of lake Erie is three hundred and twenty-nine feet 
 above that of lake Ontario, which being taken from 
 the whole descent just mentioned, leaves for the rise 
 of land between those two great reservoirs, but six- 
 teen feet. 
 
 This rise, and others similar to it, are called by the 
 inhabitants, the ridge, the ledge, the slope,' and the 
 hill. A more proper general appellation, perhaps, 
 IS, the steep, though occasionally, by the elevation 
 each way, it becomes truly a ridge, or from the hori- 
 zontal strata of stone, as truly a ledge. In some 
 places the descent is by a gentle slope ; in others, 
 more precipitous, and in some, almost perpendicular. 
 Two of these extend eastward from the shore of 
 Niagara river nearly parallel to, and distant from each 
 other about fourteen miles. The higher, or southern 
 steep, commences at Black Rock, where the river 
 issues from lake Erie. The northern commences at 
 the Falls, and after an eastern course of fifty or six- 
 ty niiles, bends towards, and approaches the south- 
 ern, after which they both take a southern direction 
 for thirty miles, but return again on the east side of 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 the Genesee : or to speak more correctly, that river, 
 after breaking through them by successive falls of 
 sixty and ninety feet, thirty miles south of the high 
 road, in the township of Leicester, runs in a ravine 
 to the northern part of that township; when the 
 steeps again diverge, the southern stretching east- 
 wardly to the west side of Seneca lake, and then 
 southerly, to the high grounds from whence flow the 
 waters of the Tioga ; while the other keeps an east- 
 ern direction, to the hills from whose southern declivi- 
 ties flow the Chenango and Unadilla. There is ano- 
 ther steep still more north, which branches out from 
 that last mentioned, near the eighteen mile run, (a 
 stream whose mouth is at that distance from that of 
 the Niagara river,) and diverging northward, is for 
 some distance in its eastern progress indistinct. It 
 extends, however, to the lower Falls of the Genesee, 
 and is there crossed by that river, as also beyond it 
 by streams, which fall into the Gerundegut bay; 
 after which it becomes properly a ridge, and extends 
 beyond the falls of Oswego river, as has been already 
 mentioned. Of these three steeps, ledges, or ridges, 
 the most southern is distinguished by limestone mix- 
 ed with flint. The middle, by the same stone mixed 
 with shells, and the most northern, by freestone 
 and slate. Over the southern steep, west of the 
 Genesee, fall Ellicot's brook and the Tanewanto, 
 (which enter Niagara river by the same mouth oppo- 
 site toGrand Island,) also Allen's brook, which makes 
 at its passage the Buttermilk Falls, and runs to the 
 Genesee. Over the middle steep, in the same divi- 
 sion, falls the Oak-orchard brook, which enters lake 
 Ontario, about thirty miles east of Niagara river. 
 The lower Falls of this brook, as well as those of 
 the Genesee, are over the northern steep. 
 
 The Canesus, the Hemlock, the Honeyoyo, the Ca- 
 nandarque, and the Crooked lakes, lie south of the 
 southern steep. The Seneca, the Owasco, the Skene- 
 ateles, and Otisco lakes, lie south of the middle steep. 
 
( TO ) 
 
 North of which, lie the Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, 
 and Cross lakes. 
 
 The Tonawanta falls over the southern steep twenty- 
 five feet, and passing the village of the same name, 
 runs in a level valley of brown clay upwards of twenty 
 miles to its mouth in Niagara river. 
 
 From the Tonawanta village, north-eastward, in less 
 than five miles, (chiefly through a swamp) the Oak- 
 orchard brook receives the waters of the swamp, and 
 falls, as has been already mentioned, into lake Ontario. 
 The Tonawanta brook, three feet higher than the 
 swamp, is separated from it by ground, whose eleva- 
 tion is not more than five feet ; the distance is short of 
 a mile, and the soil being clay, it will be easy (hj 
 turning its waters into Oak orchard brook) to convert 
 the Tonawanta from its mouth, upwards, into a canal. 
 It has above eleven miles from its mouth, a depth of 
 twelve, feet, interrupted, nevertheless, by five bars, 
 or shallows, composed of round stones, buried in clay. 
 During this space, the breadth is in general forty 
 yards, though in the narrowest part not more than 
 thirty. The first shallow, about three miles from the 
 mouth, is called Miller's Ford, and is not above 
 twelve yards wide ; the next, about a mile beyond it, 
 called Houses Shallow, extends east and west nearly 
 one hundred and twenty yards, the depth of water 
 from two and an half to three feet. Two miles further 
 up, is Christman's Rapid. This extends east and 
 west near two hundred and fifty yards, with a depth 
 of from fifteen to eighteen inches : at this rapid, the 
 fall is three inches, except when a westerly wind 
 brir^gs up the water of lake Erie. The breadth of 
 the Tonawanta is here forty-eight yards, and no where 
 below it less than forty. 
 
 The next bar, about a mile from the last, is called 
 "Van ^lyke's Shallow; it extends forty-two yards, the 
 depL- ii tii'o shortest place twenty inches, but in gene- 
 ral from two to three feet. The fifth and last bar, at 
 eleven miles from the mouth of the creek, extends 
 
( 11 ) 
 
 near one hundred and eighty yards, and has from one 
 to tv^^o and an half feet of water. 
 
 To convert this water-course into a canal twelve 
 feet deep, during the whole distance of eleven miles, 
 will require, at most, an excavation of eighty thousand 
 cubic yards. The surface here is four inches higher 
 than at the mouth, which is five feet lower than the 
 surface of lake Erie. At about five miles and a quar- 
 ter north from this place, in the middle steep, is the 
 source of one branch of the eighteen mile brook, at a 
 distance of about ten miles from lake Ontario, 
 and about three hundred feet above its surface; conse- 
 quently, near thirty feet below the surface of lake 
 Erie. The greatest elevation of ground between 
 them is twenty-one feet above that surface ; it is, 
 however, on an average, for the space of three miles, 
 twenty feet, and the remaining two miles and a 
 quarter, about seven feet. 
 
 For a more particular knowledge of the ground, re- 
 ference must be had to the profile made by Mr. Ged- 
 des, and which is hereunto annexed. It is self-evident, 
 that the cost of excavation per cubic yard, must 
 depend on the substance in which the excavation is 
 made ; it must depend, also, on some other circum- 
 stances. In deep cutting, for instance, not only must 
 there be wide cutting,to prevent the earth from falling 
 in, but there will be, generally speaking, more labour, 
 and consequently more expense in moving the earth 
 after it is dug. It may become, therefore, in many 
 cases, more advisable to pierce the earth by a tunnel, 
 than to take down the top of a hill. 
 
 In the present instance, by means of wooden rail- 
 ways, which may be constructed from the surrounding 
 forests for temporary purposes at a trifling expense, 
 the materials may, when dug, be made, as it were, to 
 transport themselves along by gentle declivities, to 
 fill that part of the ravine through which the canal is 
 to pass. 
 
 In the construction of canals, when recourse is had 
 (as must generally be the case) to rivers, for a supply 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 of water, it is found necessary to guard with scrupu- 
 lous care, and, not unfrequently, at enormous expense, 
 against those floods, which, pouring a torrent into a 
 canal, and tearing down its banks, might at once 
 destroy the navigation and inundate the country. 
 
 Moreover, it is found, that canals depending on ri- 
 vers, frequently, like the rivers themselves, want wa- 
 ter in the season when it is most necessary. Indeed, 
 to suppose the quantity of water In a river, when 
 turned into a canal, will remain the same, would lead 
 to serious disappointment. Much must be allowed 
 for evaporation, and, notwithstanding the utmost care, 
 more will filter through the sides and bottom of a ca- 
 nal, than those of a river, which are generally satu- 
 rated. 
 
 Thus, then, two prominent evils present themselves 
 in feeding from rivers, viz. In spring, they pour in 
 too much water, and can afford none in autumn, when 
 it is most wanted. There is still another evil, which, 
 though not so imminent, becomes eventually of 
 serious moment. When the country shall be cultiva- 
 ted, streams swoln by showers will bring down, 
 mixed with their waters, a proportion of mud, and 
 that, in the stillness of a level canal, will subside, 
 and choke it up. It is also to be noted, by those 
 who shall construct canals in this country, that the 
 true character of a river cannot now be known. 
 Large tracts, (for instance, west of the Genesee,) 
 which appear as swamps, and through which cause- 
 ways of logs are laid for roads, will become dry fields, 
 when no longer shaded (as at present) by forests 
 impervious to the sun. 
 
 In the progress of industry, swamps (the present 
 reservoirs of permanent springs that burst out on a 
 lower surface) will be drained, whereby many of 
 those springs will be dried. Of such as remain, a 
 part will be used to irrigate inclined plains. 
 
 Moreover, in every place tolerably convenient, 
 ponds will be collected for mills and other machine- 
 ry, from whose surface, as well as from that of the 
 soil, the sun will exhale an ample tribute of vapour. 
 
{ 13 ) 
 
 Thus the summer supply of rivers will be in part 
 destroyed, and in part consumed, whereby their pre- 
 sent autumnal penury must be still farther enhanced. 
 But in the spring the careful husbandman and miller 
 will open every ditch and sluice to get rid of that 
 water, which, though at other times a kind friend and 
 faithful servant, is then a dangerous enemy and im- 
 perious master. Of course, much of what is now 
 withheld for many days, will then be suddenly pour- 
 ed out. The torrents must therefore rage with great- 
 er fury hereafter than thej do in the present day. 
 
 Considerations like these, while they cast a shade 
 over many contemplated enterprises, give by contrast 
 a glowing hue to that which we have now to con- 
 sider. The canal from lake Erie to the Hudson, 
 may be fed by pure water from lakes, provided 
 mounds and aqueducts be made over intervening 
 valleys, or the canal be carried round them. In every 
 case the attending circumstances must decide. 
 
 In general, also, it is only after a more accute ex- 
 amination of the ground by a skilful engineer, well 
 practised in such business, that the best mode can 
 be adopted for the species of navigation which may 
 be ultimately determined on, viz. Whether for ves- 
 sels which navigate Hudson's river and lake Erie, or 
 for barges of from twenty to sixty tons. 
 
 If the passage were only of a few miles, the proprie- 
 ty of bringing vessels of eight feet draught of water 
 across (if practicable) would be readily admitted. 
 But it may well be questioned, whether, to save the 
 expense of lading and unlading at each end of a ca- 
 nal three hundred miles long, the expense of cutting 
 two yards deeper than would otherwise be necessary, 
 ought to be encountered. 
 
 It has generally been assumed, and perhaps too 
 lightly admitted.that canals should be made on a per- 
 fiectlevel. This axiom would not be questioned, if the 
 transportation, each way, were of equal burden ; if 
 the distance or the frequency of good feeding streams 
 were such as easily and constantly to supply, without 
 
( ^4 ) 
 
 danger of excess, the incessant waste of water by ab- 
 sorption, leakage, and evaporatioli, and if the waters 
 to be connected, were on the same level. But in a 
 case like the present, rational doubts may be enter- 
 tained. The difference of level being upwards of five 
 hundred feet, all the descent which can prudently be 
 obtained by an inclined plain, is so much saved in the 
 expense of lockage; and, in all human probability, 
 the transportation, for centuries to come, will be of 
 so much greater burden from the interior country, 
 than back from the sea, that a current from the lake 
 is more to be desired than avoided, more especially 
 as it v/ill in some degree counteract the effect of frost. 
 That inexhaustible stream of limpid water which flows 
 out of lake Erie, with little variation of height to en- 
 danger the canal, is a strong temptation to use it ex- 
 clusively, until auxiliary supplies can be drawn from 
 other reservoirs equally pure. Nor is it improper 
 in this case to remark, that it is impossible there 
 should ever be a considerable variation in the surface 
 of Niagara river, at the mouth of the Tanawanta. 
 No supposable fall of rain or melting of snow, even if 
 both were to take place at the same time, in the coun- 
 try which surrounds the great lakes, could raise, in 
 any considerable degree, their extended surface. In- 
 deed, we know, from experience, that a greater diffe- 
 rence of elevation at the mouth of lake Erie is occa- 
 sioned by a change of wind, than by any variation of 
 the seasons. Admitting, however, a considerable rise 
 of water, no matter from what cause, at the source of 
 Niagara river, it cannot suddenly, from the narrow- 
 ness and shoalness of the channel, produce a corres- 
 pondent rise at the foot of the Black Rock rapid; 
 and the elevation there must, in the nature of things, 
 exceed that which is occasioned by it fifteen miles 
 lower down ; more especially as the river, including 
 the two channels round Grand Island, has, for the 
 greater part of the way, nearly three times the 
 breadth which it has above. If, however, it were 
 only a deep bay, the water pressed forward by the 
 
( 15 ) 
 
 wind, would be piled up to a considerable height ; 
 but instead of that, the river here, with a breadth 
 fully double to what it has at Black-Rock, precipi- 
 tates itseitover the first ledge in its headlong course 
 to the cataract : so that an increase of height is in- 
 stantly counteracted by the increased rapidity with 
 which it rolls over the rock. 
 
 In all events, it would be advisable to use this water 
 exclusively for a great part of the way, even if the 
 country afforded other resources ; and to this ejQfect, 
 there must be some descent in the canal. What the 
 precise amount of that should be, in every mile, the 
 commissioners presume not to say. They do not 
 pretend to sufficient knowledge on the subject, and 
 with all proper deference, refer it to a practical 
 engineer. 
 
 Nevertheless, like other men possessed of common 
 discernment,they perceive not only that the quantity of 
 water which runs in a given time, must be proportion- 
 ate to the rapidity with which, and the aperture 
 through which it passes ; but also that the rapidity it- 
 self will depend not merely on the declivity, but also 
 on the mass ; because, in a deep and wide channel, 
 the friction must be less than in one that is narrow 
 and shoal. It will depend also on another circumstance, 
 whose effect (that single cause remaining the same) 
 will vary, according to such of the preceding circum- 
 stances as may be connected with it. Admitting, for 
 instance, a stream to be deep and wide in descending 
 an inclined plain, its velocity will be accelerated. 
 But if the inclination be not great, and the channel 
 shoal and narrow, the friction may so counteract the 
 descent as to retard the velocity. 
 
 From these considerations it is evident, that the sum 
 of descent must depend primarily on the quantity of 
 water required. This, in navigation ascending and 
 descending by locks, must be greater than when car- 
 ried along the plain. It must also be greater in a 
 loose, than in a stiff soil. Moreover, the quantum of 
 descent required, must, after the needful supply of 
 
( le ) 
 
 water is ascertained, depend on the length, the width, 
 the depth, and finally on the course of the canal, 
 whether direct or serpentine. And here the same 
 common sense presents another important considera- 
 tion. The amount of rapidity which may with safe- 
 ty be hazarded, will depend on the texture of the sub- 
 stance through which the current passes. No navi- 
 gable velocity can injure a rock of granite ; but a 
 gentle current will sweep off the substance of bog mea- 
 dow. In like manner, banks which resist when the 
 course is direct, may be. eaten away, and the current 
 itself be retarded, if propelled along a tortuous 
 course. 
 
 The commissioners cannot, therefore, too often re- 
 peat, that their report must be accepted as sugges- 
 tions proceeding from a superficial view, and not as 
 conclusions founded on sufficient and scientific inves- 
 tigation. After this preliminary caution, they assume 
 hypothetically that a canal were run in such manner, 
 as that the average descent were six inches in every 
 mile. Whence, taking the surface of lake Erie as 
 the standard level, they have in gross the following 
 results : 
 
 From lake Erie to 
 
 Miles. Descent. Total descent Actual descent. 
 
 The mouth of Tanawanta, 10 5 feet 5feet 5 feet 
 
 Genesee river, about 68 34 „ 39 
 
 Seneca lake, 46 23 ,,^62 
 
 Cayuga lake, 6 3 „ 65 
 
 Rome summit, 66 33 ^, 98 
 
 Little Falls of Mohawk, 88 J 9 „1I7 
 
 Schoharie, 38 19 ,,136 
 
 Height of land between ) 0410 iar 
 
 Schenectady & Albany, ) " 
 
 Hudson's river, 14 7 ,,155 
 
 65 „ 
 145 „ 
 195 „ 
 145 „ 
 
 r203 1-2 
 
 L245 1-2V 
 
 293 1-2,, 
 220 „ 
 525 „ 
 
 310 
 
 Casting an eye on the map, it will be seen, that 
 the first difficulty in the above course will be, to cross 
 
( 25 ) 
 
 the Genesee at an elevation of twenty-six feet above 
 its surface. But unless the canal be lowered down 
 to that river, the expense of an aqueduct cannot be 
 avoided ; because, from the upper falls, which are 
 too high, there is little descent to the lower falls ; and 
 if, from jny cause, it be advisable to cross it by an 
 aqueduct, the addition of a foot in height will not 
 much increase the expense : indeed, considering the 
 swell of the river in freshes, an elevation short of 
 twenty feet would scarcely leave sufficient space 
 under the arch. 
 
 The next difficulty will be in crossing the mouth of 
 Seneca Lake by an aqueduct eighty-three feet high. 
 But this also, if a convenient place can be found, will 
 not be important, because a moderate aperture will 
 suffice to void the equable stream from that lake. 
 
 The third difficulty is at the mouth of Cayuga, 
 where the elevation is one hundred and thirty feet. 
 Even ^his might be encountered without any unusual 
 hardihood, if the hills approached each other. But 
 the valley to be crossed is not much, if any thing, 
 short of a mile ; and to erect a mound of that length 
 and of the sufficient height and breadth, is an hercu- 
 lean labour. Whether it will be performed, must 
 depend on the arm that undertakes this task, respect- 
 ing which, a few words may find their proper place 
 hereafter. 
 
 Supposing, however, that difficulty to be surmount- 
 ed, it is believed that none will remain which cannot 
 be, in a considerable degree, avoided by bending oc- 
 casionally to the southward, and returning round the 
 northern points of the hills, till the canal is brought 
 opposite to Rome. Its elevation there above the 
 Mohawk, will be forty-seven feet, or less, by one foot 
 for every two miles that it may be lengthened. The 
 general face of the country here, leaves no room to 
 doubt that convenient ground can be discovered 
 south of Rome, at an elevation of forty feet above 
 the Mohawk. How far it may be practicable be- 
 
( 26 ) 
 
 tween that place and the hills east of the Schoharie, 
 must be decided by actual survey. 
 
 The elevation, if not in other respects injurious, 
 will be useful in passes that might otherwise ne- 
 cessitate a descent to the Mohawk. Thus, at the 
 Little Falls at that river, the canal, at an elevation of 
 eighty feet above its upper surface, may, it is be- 
 lieved, be brought through or round the hill at no 
 enormous expense. The still greater elevation of 
 one hundred and fifty feet at the Schoharie, will per- 
 mit of a considerable bend to find some narrow gorge, 
 and finally an elevation of seventy feet above the 
 height of ground between Schenectady and Albany, 
 will enable the engineer to choose, for the course of 
 his canal and the position of his locks, the most 
 suitable soil and convenient situations. In a word, 
 if, on due examination, any thing of this sort should 
 be found practicable, instead of depriving the coun- 
 try of water, every drop of which is needed by its 
 inhabitants, they will gain a great addition from the 
 canal ; and as to the navigation, singly considered, 
 there can be no doubt but it must in that way be su- 
 perior to a waving course ascending and decending 
 by locks. For, not to mention the expense of con- 
 structing and keeping them in repair, the time spent 
 and tolls paid in passing them, must considerably en- 
 hance the freight of goods. But if there be no lock- 
 age, and the toll be no more than is needful to keep 
 the canal in repair, it will amount to so little, as not to 
 merit notice in a calculation of freight. Rejecting 
 it, therefore, and allowing two horses and three men 
 to take a boat of fifty tons burden, twenty miles a day, 
 which is certainly within bounds, and putting the 
 whole expense at five dollars on the lading, down- 
 ward, (leaving the return load as profit,) or, which is 
 equivalent, reducing the distance one^half, we have 
 fifty tons transported ten miles for five dollars, being 
 one cent per ton pep mile. To speak, then, in round 
 numbers, it will cost three dollars to bring a ton from 
 Lake Erie to Hudson's river, being little more than 
 
( 27 ) 
 
 one half of what is now paid for freight on Lake On- 
 tario, between Oswego and Lewiston. Without en- 
 tering into calculations (which every person can easi- 
 ly make for himself) to enumerate the bulky articles 
 which will derive value from such facility of trans- 
 portation, it may be proper in this place to recur 
 again to the commercial competition with our British 
 neighbours. 
 
 A tolerable good navigation up and down the St. 
 Lawrence, already exists ; but the cheapest rate at 
 which transportation has been performed within the 
 last ten years between Kingston and Montreal, ac- 
 cording to the best information the commissioners 
 have been able to obtain, is one dollar per hundred, 
 ascending, and half as much descending the river. 
 But admitting the freight could be so reduced as to 
 be on a level with that between Albany and New- 
 York ; admitting, also, that the transportation across 
 Lake Ontario could be performed as cheaply as 
 through the proposed canal, and even admitting that 
 the risk on that lake, and, of course, the premium of 
 insurance, were nothing, still it would follow, that 
 transportation from the head of Lake Ontario to 
 Montreal, would cost as much as from the mouth of 
 Tonewanto to New-York, leaving a preference to the 
 latter of the cost of land carried from Chippeway to 
 Queenstown. Moreover, nature has given (other 
 things being equal) a decided preference to the port 
 of New-York. There are, generally speaking, six 
 weeks of navigation from Albany, in the spring, be- 
 fore vessels can with safety leave Montreal to de- 
 scend the River St. Lawrence, and as many more in 
 the autumn, after the mouth of that river closed. 
 
 The navigation from New-York is seldom obstruct- 
 ed ; so that produce deposited there, can be sent to 
 market during five months, in which, at Montreal, it 
 lies a dead weight on the hands of the owner. This 
 circumstance is of especial importance in regard to 
 wheat and flower, which can be sent from New-York 
 so as to be sold in the south of Europe, before those 
 
( 28 ) 
 
 articles can be brought from the Baltic, or gathered 
 in the country : whereas, if shipped from Montreal 
 in the month of May, they cannot reach Spain or 
 Portugal until after supplies are received from Dant- 
 zic, and but a short time before the harvest, which is 
 early in July. 
 
 Thus, it is evident that the canal will, if properly 
 effected, turn to the United States the commerce of 
 the upper lakes. Moreover, a side cut, of five or six 
 miles, would, by means of locks, connect it with 
 Lake Ontario, in the harbour of the Genesee; and in 
 like manner, a connexion would be established with 
 the Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, from the heads of 
 which, the short portage by good roads to Newtown 
 and Owego, opens a communication through the 
 Susquehannah to the Chesepeake. Nor is it improba- 
 ble, that by running up on the west side of the Cayu- 
 ga, means may be found to establish water communi- 
 cation with the Susquehannah; from the great bend 
 of which, a good and short road may be made to 
 the Delaware. 
 
 Thus a variety of markets may be opened to stimu- 
 late and reward the industry of those who are now, 
 or may be hereafter settled along the great lakes, 
 whose shores, exclusive of Lake Superior, are up- 
 wards of two thousand miles, surrounded at conve- 
 nient distance by more than fiftymillion acres of land. 
 
 To the question. What will the proposed canal 
 cost ? it is not possible to answer with any thing like 
 precision. Indeed, preliminary points are to be ad- 
 justed ; and of these, the first is, whether it is to be 
 made for sloops or barges. The expense of the 
 former will be, it is believed, at least double that of 
 the latter. Another question, whether it is to be car- 
 ried along an inclined plane, or by a line ascending 
 and descending, must be decided by a comparison 
 of the expense and of the utility each way. In gene- 
 ral, however, it may be satisfactory to the honourable 
 the senate and assembly, to receive the information 
 which the commissioners feel no hesitation in giving ; 
 
( 29 ) 
 
 that, as far as they have been able to extend their in- 
 quiry, there is no part of the civihzed world, in 
 which an object of such great magnitude can be 
 compassed at so small an expense. Generally speak- 
 ing, the course is through a tract of country, the ex- 
 cavation whereof will be easy, and there is at certain 
 convenient distances from the spots where it may be 
 wanted, a sufficiency of freestone as well as of lime- 
 stone, with a superabundance of fuel. The subsist- 
 ence of men, also, and of cattle, will be abundant 
 and cheap. The wages of the former are, as is well 
 known, high ; but measures may certainly be devised 
 to obtain the labour for so great a public work more 
 cheaply than is practicable in private operations on 
 a small scale. But the commissioners beg leave to 
 observe, that no supposable expense can bear an 
 undue proportion to the value of the work. Thus, 
 were it (by giving a loose to fancy) extended to fifty 
 millions of dollars, even that enormous sum does not 
 exceed half the value of what, in all human proba- 
 bility, and at no distant period, will annually be car- 
 ried along the canal. The more proper question, 
 perhaps, is, in what time can it be effected ; for if an 
 annual sum be appropriated, and secured on a solid 
 fund, it will be effected in time, and the greater the 
 sum, the shorter will be the period. 
 
 The Commissioners have no doubt but that good 
 bargains for the public may be made with those 
 through whose land the canal shall pass ; and they 
 have great pleasure in stating, that generous offers 
 have already been made, by many proprietors, the 
 acceptance of which must necessarily be deferred to 
 the moment when the business assuming a more sub- 
 stantial form, shall be committed to superintendents 
 duly authorized to treat. Enough has been said to 
 show that no accurate estimate of the expense can 
 as yet be made. To give some general notion, how- 
 ever, it may be assumed that, in common cases, 
 labourers ought to dig and remove, to a reasonable 
 distance, eight cubic yards per day. The excava- 
 
( 30 ) 
 
 tion may therefore be set at the eighth of a dollar 
 per cubic yard. An average breadth of fifteen yards, 
 and depth of one yard, which, by means of the mound 
 on each side, will be sufficient for four and a half to 
 five feet of water, giving for each yard in length fif- 
 teen cubic yards, may therefore be taken at two dol- 
 lars, and the mile at 3520 dollars : but allowing for 
 the obstructions of trees and roots, not less than 4000 
 dollars. This gives for three hundred miles, one 
 million two hundred thousand dollars. The excava- 
 tion needful to bring a column of water fifteen yards 
 wide, and two yards deep, with sufficient descent 
 from the Tonewanto, through the middle steep, will, 
 at the same rate, cost two hundred and fifty thousand 
 dollars. Thus, to speak in round numbers, the canal, 
 alone, might cost a million and a half, drawn through 
 a favourable soil, lying conveniently, without the op- 
 position of rocks or other impediments. Many of 
 these, however, must be expected, and will, perhaps, 
 double that sum. Another great expense is that of 
 locks and aqueducts. It is said that the former will 
 cost at the rate of one thousand dollars per foot of 
 ascent for a vessel of fifty tons. This is believed to 
 be a low estimate. At any rate, in a canal like the 
 present, there must be a double set; one for the as- 
 cending, and one for the descending navigation. Even 
 then it is to be feared there will be much of em- 
 barrassment and delay. Thus, the lockage being 
 taken at two thousand dollars per foot, for three hun- 
 dred and forty feet of descent and ascent, between 
 Lake Erie and Rome, will cost six hundred and 
 eighty thousand dollars, should that waving course 
 be deemed advisable. From Rome to Hudson's 
 river, a descent of three hundred and eighty feet, 
 will call for an addition of seven hundred and sixty 
 thousand dollars. 
 
 If, then, the locks be put at a million and a half, it 
 is the lowest rate which can prudently be supposed. 
 It would indeed be safer to set them at two millions. 
 There will still remain for aqueducts, embankments 
 and mounds, a considerable expenditure, which can- 
 
( 31 ) 
 
 not at present be ascertained. To estimate the ex- 
 pense of aqueducts, it may be advisable to put the 
 cubic yard of masonry at two dollars, and consider 
 the aqueduct as a solid mass. It is true, that not 
 more, perhaps, than one-third of the materials re- 
 quired for a solid mass will be used ; but the work- 
 manship on those materials will be much more costly. 
 Many of the stones must be hewn, and many clamp- 
 ed together with iron. Moreover, the expense, when 
 such buildings are raised to a great height, is pro- 
 portionately greater than when nearer the earth. An 
 aqueduct over the Genesee may perhaps be one hun- 
 dred and fifty yards long. But to avoid mistakes, it 
 will be more advisable to suppose two hundred. The 
 height above-mentioned is twenty-six feet. But, as 
 well to obviate mistakes, as for convenience of calcu- 
 lation, it may be taken as ten yards, and in order to 
 preserve the full breadth of the canal, the aqueduct 
 liiay be considered as twenty yards wide. Thus we 
 have a result of forty thousand cubic yards of ma- 
 sonry, which, at two dollars, will require an expendi- 
 ture of eighty thousand dollars. A remark which 
 will not escape the most cursory observer, is, that a 
 single set of locks to ascend and descend five and 
 twenty feet, will cost fifty thousand dollars, at the 
 lowest estimation ; and on the system of level canals, 
 the descent in this case is sixty -five feet. Excepting 
 the Genesee, no considerable aqueduct will be need- 
 ful ; because the streams from the lakes being equa- 
 ble, small arches may be turned over them, and the 
 canal be carried along a mound of earth. The ex- 
 pense of such mound must depend on the conve- 
 nience of obtaining materials. Where hills of suffi- 
 cient elevation in the neighbourhood give the advan- 
 tage of running along wooden rail-ways, or where 
 the transportation may be by boats, along the canal 
 itself, a mound will cost but little, compared to that 
 which is raised solely by the labour of men and cattle. 
 All estimates, therefore, which are not founded on 
 exact local knowledge, must be vague and uncertain. 
 
( 32 ) 
 
 Assuming, however, as a basis, the price of one dol- 
 lar for eight cubic yards ; to estimate the expense of 
 a mound over the Cayuga lake, one hundred and 
 thirty feet high, and sixty feet wide, on the top, with 
 an inclination of five and forty degrees, in the descent 
 of the side, we have at the base one hundred and 
 ninety feet, giving a mean width of one hundred and 
 twenty -five ; which, multiplied by the height one hun- 
 dred and thirty, is sixteen thousand two hundred and 
 fifty feet, or in round numbers, one thousand eight 
 hundred square yards. These, at the eighth of a 
 dollar each cubic yard, will cost for every yard of 
 the mound in length, two hundred and twenty-five 
 dollars. Allowing, therefore, two thousand yards 
 instead of a mile, so as to compensate for the expense 
 of an arch two hundred feet long, with a span of fifty 
 feet over the stream, and for other contingencies, the 
 whole cost might be four hundred and fifty thousand 
 dollars, perhaps half a million. 
 
 Under the impression resulting from these observa- 
 tions, it is believed that one million of dollars woiald 
 provide for every thing of this sort, so as to bring 
 the canal to a reservoir near Hudson's river, with- 
 out locks, for four millions of dollars: a descent 
 there, of from three to four hundred feet by locks, 
 would cost, perhaps, another million ; or if it should 
 be deemed more advisable to transport by rail-ways, 
 the water used for machinery would probably yield 
 a rent sufficient to keep the canal in repair. 
 
 But hitherto, this navigation has been contem- 
 plated no further than to the mouth of Tonewanta, in 
 Niagara river. From thence to Lake Erie, is ten 
 miles, and the* last mile, at the Black Rock rapid, 
 is said to have, through part of a fall which is, on the 
 whole, four feet, a rapidity of near seven miles an 
 hour ; so that vessels descending below it, may wait 
 a whole season for wind sufficiently strong to get up. 
 
 This obstacle, though great, doe^ not appear insur- 
 mountable. Perhaps two wharves, similar to those 
 which surround our cities, made impervious to the 
 water, and sunk parallel to each other during the 
 
( 3^ ) 
 
 distance of one mile, with two pair of gates similar 
 to those of dry docks, placed so as that the upper 
 one being shut, there shall be 'still water from below ; 
 and that the lower one shut, will make still water 
 above, may fully answer the end. The cost, where 
 wood and stone are so abundant, cannot be great ; 
 and as wood is not liable to rot under water, nor ex- 
 posed in fresh water to the ravages of worms, the 
 work may be sufficiently durable. On the whole, it 
 is conceived that the expense of this national work 
 may be five million of dollars ; a sum which does not, 
 it is presumed, exceed five per cent, of the value of 
 the commodities which, in less than a century, it will 
 annually transport, should it be now commenced, 
 so as duly to encourage population around the upper 
 lakes. 
 
 The commissioners'hope they shall be excused, if, 
 in this place, they advert to a question more impor- 
 tant, perhaps, than any other. By whom shall the 
 needful expense be supported ? 
 
 They take the liberty of entering their feeble pro- 
 test against a grant to private persons or companies. 
 Too great a national interest is at stake. It must not 
 become the subject of a job, or a fund for specula- 
 tion. Among many other objections, there is one in- 
 superable : That it would defeat the contemplated 
 cheapness of transportation. It should always on 
 occasions of this sort be recollected, that the reasons 
 adduced for grants to individuals in Europe apply in- 
 versely here. Few of our fellow citizens have more 
 money than they want, and of the many who want, 
 few find facility in obtaining it. But the public can 
 readily, at a fair interest, command any reasonable 
 sum. Moreover, such large expenditures can be 
 more economically made under public authority, 
 than by the care and vigilance of any company. 
 
 It remains therefore to determine, whether this ca- 
 nal should be at the cost of this state or%f the Union. 
 If the state were not bound by the federal band with 
 her sister states, she might fairly ask compensation 
 
 5 
 
( 34 ) 
 
 from those who own the soil along the great lakes for 
 the permission to cut this canal at their expense ; or 
 her statesmen might deem it still more advisable, to 
 make the canal at her own expense, and take for the 
 use of it, a transit duty ; raising or lowering the im- 
 post, as circumstances might direct for her own ad- 
 vantage. This might be the better course if the 
 state stood alone. But fortunately for the peace and 
 happiness of all, this is not the case ; we are con- 
 nected by a bond, which if the prayers of good men 
 are favourably heard, will be indissoluble. It be- 
 comes proper, therefore, to resort for the solution of 
 the present question, to principles of distributive jus- 
 tice. That which presents itself, is the trite adage 
 that those who participate in the benefit, should con- 
 tribute to the expense. 
 
 The commissioners presume not to go one step 
 farther. The offers of individuals, already alluded 
 to, show their conviction of that equity by which 
 the state is called on for her share. The wisdom 
 as well as justice of the national legislature, will, no 
 doubt, lead to the exercise on their part of prudent 
 munificenGCL; but the proportion, the conditions, the 
 compact in sliort, must be the result of treaty. Whe- 
 ther the honourable the senate and assembly will take 
 steps towards a negotiation, and what these steps 
 may be, it is in their wisdom to determine. 
 
 All which is respectfully submitted, 
 GOUV. MORRIS, 
 S. V. RENSSELAER, 
 W. NORTH, 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 THOMAS EDDY, 
 PETER B. PORTER, 
 SIMEON DE WITT. 
 February, 1811. 
 
&c. 
 
 Report of the Commissioners^ appointed by an act of the 
 Legislature of the State of JVew-York, entitled^ '''•An 
 Act to provide for the Improvement of the Internal 
 Navigation of the State,'''' passed April Sth, 1811, for 
 the consideration of all matters relating to the said inland 
 navigation. 
 
 REPORT, 
 
 That, in obedience to the directions of the said act, 
 they made application to Congress, and to the Legisla- 
 tures of the several states and territories, copies of 
 which are annexed in the papers marked No. 1 , and 
 No. 2. They conceived it proper also, to address 
 the President of the United States, on the subject of 
 their appointment, and annex a copy of their letter to 
 him, No. 3. 
 
 Moreover, considering the magnitude of the object, 
 they deemed it advisable to depute two of their 
 members to the general government, with their letter 
 to the President, and application to the Senate and 
 House of Representatives. A copy of the report 
 made by that deputation, on the 24th of last month, 
 is also annexed, marked No. 4. It appears from this 
 report, that although it be uncertain whether the 
 national government will do any thing, it is certain 
 they will do nothing from which immediate aid can 
 be derived. The deputation found itself obliged, by 
 prudential considerations, not only to blend the 
 navigation between Lake Erie and Hudson's river 
 with objects, some of which are subservient to local 
 interest, but to refrain from asking an advance or 
 even an appropriation of money. The utmost 
 they hoped to obtain was a grant of land ; a grant so 
 limited as not to take effect until after the canal should 
 be completed, at the expense of New- York. 
 
( 36 ) 
 
 It might have been expected that so moderate a 
 request, coupled with the offer that no toll should be 
 taken, would have been immediately granted. 
 
 The motives which led to doubt and delay, are 
 unknown to the commissioners ; and their profound 
 respect for those to whom is committed the conduct 
 of our national affairs, forbids them to hazard a 
 conjecture. But if the offer had been, or should be 
 accepted, still the canal is to be made by the state. 
 So that if the bounty of Congress had granted the 
 entreated boon, it would have been merely the 
 purchase, at less than its cost, of a most valuable 
 object; by paying for it a tract of unsaleable land. 
 
 The commissioners, in their first report, took the 
 liberty to express the opinion, that an offer of the 
 canal should be made to the national government; 
 and they saw, with pleasure and with pride, that 
 the Legislature (concurring in this opinion) adopted 
 the most honourable measures for inducing the United 
 States to acquire it. But, the offer made and not 
 accepted, the state is at liberty to consult and pur- 
 sue the maxims of policy. These seem imperatively 
 to demand that the canal be made by her, and for her 
 own account, as soon as circumstances will permit. 
 It is believed that a revenue may be derived from it, 
 far exceeding the interest of what it will cost ; and it 
 seems just that those of our citizens who have no 
 immediate interest in the work, should find retribution 
 for their share of the cost (if any) in a revenue which 
 will lessen their future contributions. Whether this 
 subject be considered with a view to commerce and 
 finance, or on the more extensive scale of policy, 
 there would be a want of wisdom, and almost of piety, 
 not to employ for public advantage those means which 
 Divine Providence has placed so completely within 
 our power. 
 
 The commissioners have received some replies to 
 the applications they made to the states and territo- 
 rie|.» 
 
 The Legislature of Tennessee, on the 16th of 
 November, resolved that their Senators and Represen- 
 
( 37 ) 
 
 tatives should be requested to support any laudable 
 attempt made to the Congress of the United States, 
 soliciting the aid of the general government in relation 
 to the canal navigation between Hudson's river and 
 the great lakes. 
 
 On the 4th of November the Legislature of New- 
 Jersej say, " Although we feel a deep interest in 
 promoting every attempt to open a communication, by 
 means of canal navigation, between the great lakes 
 and the navigable rivers running through the Atlantic 
 states ; and are fully sensible that such communica- 
 tion would tend to enrich,consolidate, and strengthen 
 the Union; yet as we have, not sufficient within this 
 state, already projected, and deemed of the first 
 importance to our immediate prosperity, it would not 
 be advisable at present, to lend assistance to im- 
 provements in other states. And although we antici- 
 pate with pleasure, judging from the enlightened 
 policy hitherto pursued in extending public improve- 
 ments by our national government.that the time is not 
 far distant, vrhen, from the rapidly increasing wealth 
 of our country, the vast plans of extending canal navi- 
 gation will be carried into effect, so as to form a chain 
 of communications from the waters of the Hudson 
 river to the great lakes,and from the lakes to the Missis- 
 sippi : Yet, as that period has not arrived, we see no- 
 thing to warrant us in giving instructions to our repre- 
 sentatives in Congress, as to the measures they shall 
 pursue, when this subject shall come before them." 
 
 The Legislature of Connecticut, at a general as- 
 sembly held at New-Haven, on the second Thursday 
 of G&tober, resolved, that it was inexpedient to take 
 any measures on the application of the commission- 
 ers appointed by the State of New-York, for opening 
 a communication by means of a canal navigation be- 
 tween the great Lakes and Hudson's river. The 
 reasons assigned by the committee on w^hose report 
 the resolution was made, were, that the state could 
 not supply money, and (having elected able men to 
 assist in the councils of the nation) confided national 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 interests to the unbiassed judgment of those whose 
 duty it was to attend to them, and whose means of 
 information are such as to enable them to perform 
 that duty in the best manner. 
 
 The Legislature of Vermont, on the 30th and 31st 
 of October, expressed the opinion that the object was 
 well worthy of consideration; but conceiving the 
 period when they received the communication to be 
 too late to decide on a subject of such importance, 
 they postponed the further consideration to their 
 next session. 
 
 On the 29th and 30th of January, the Legislature 
 of Massachusetts, with the impartial and dignified 
 wisdom of conscious greatness, resolved unanimous- 
 ly, that the Senators of that commonwealth should 
 be instructed, and their representatives requested, 
 to use their influence for promoting, by all reasona- 
 ble encouragement, (in such mode as Congress in 
 their wisdom might direct,) the opening of a commu- 
 nication, by means of a canal naWgation, between 
 the great lakes and Hudson's river : regard being 
 had to the special benefit which would accrue to the 
 State of New-York from the accomplishment of that 
 project. 
 
 The Legislature of Ohio, also, have, as will be 
 perceived by the message of his excellency the Go- 
 vernor, fully approved of the plan. 
 
 The commissioners have moreover received a pa- 
 per, signed Reuben Attwater, acting governor of 
 Michigan, A. B. Woodward, J. Witharell, and coun- 
 tersigned, Jos. Watson, secretary, which is of the 
 following purport : — " Whereas the commissioners 
 of internal navigation in the State of New-York have 
 addressed to the Governor and Judges of the Terri- 
 tory of Michigan, certain communications relative to 
 a canal in the State of New- York, which being con- 
 sidered, resolved unanimously, that in the opinion of 
 the undersigned, the canal contemplated by the com- 
 missioners of internal navigation in the State of 
 Ne\T-York, from Black Rock to Rome, would not be 
 
( 39 ) 
 
 SO desirable as a canal round the cataract of Niaga- 
 ra, and another by the falls of the Oswego. Passed 
 the tenth day of January, one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and twelve." 
 
 . The commissioners have too much respect for 
 these gentlemen to suppose they would have given 
 this opinion without information and consideration. 
 Wherefore, they must infer that the information re- 
 ceived was not founded in fact ; or that, not having 
 habitually turned their attention to objects of this 
 sort, they are not so well qualified to judge, as the 
 consciousness of intelligence respecting matters 
 more familiar to their minds may have led them to 
 suppose. The commissioners, previous to their 
 former report, viewed the country, caused surveys to 
 be made, obtained all the information in their power, 
 listened to the reasons on either side with impartial 
 attention ; and although they have not the vanity to 
 oppose their judgment to that of professional men, 
 persist in believing that the conclusions they drew 
 were not unfounded. They feel so much the more 
 confidence in their opinion, as it accords with that of 
 Mr. Weston, whose abilities as an engineer (in this 
 particular department) are unquestioned. To that 
 gentleman, their report was transmitted by one of his 
 friends ; and in reply (after treating of the means to 
 obtain sufl[icient water at the summit level of Rome) 
 he says. Supposing your fears on this subject to be re- 
 moved, you have no further obstacles to encounter 
 in your progress westward, until you arrive at Oswe- 
 go falls. From thence to Oswego is the great work. 
 1 know not whether I ever declared that it w^as im- 
 possible to conduct a canal by this route. I should 
 rather think it was the technical term unpracticable ; 
 of course restricted in the sense mentioned in the 
 report; and under those limitations, I still deem it 
 so; and such I am persuaded it will be declared by 
 every practical professional man. But supposing 
 your wishes accomplished, the question then occurs, 
 w'ould the trade of the lakes be directed into this 
 
( 40 ) 
 
 channel, from its natural one down the St. Lawrence, 
 On the superior facilities afforded by this river, for 
 the transportation of produce, I perfectly agree with 
 the commissioners, having traversed it twice between 
 Kingston and Montreal, and each time viewed it 
 very attentively. I can therefore assert with confi- 
 dence, that I know of no existing navigation, of such 
 extent, which can be rendered perfect at so small an 
 expense. However, should your noble plan, of 
 uniting lake Erie with the Hudson, be carried into 
 effect, you have to fear no rivalry. The commerce 
 of the enormous extent of country bordering on the 
 upper lakes, is yours for ever; and to such an in- 
 calculable amount, as would baffle all conjecture to 
 conceive." 
 
 If the Michigan gentlemen were alone in their opi- 
 nion, it might be useless to say any thing, seeing 
 there is little probability that any contribution will 
 be required from them. But there are, it is said, 
 men of influential character who preach the same 
 doctrine. To this effect they assume, what remains 
 to be proved, not only that lock navigation by the 
 falls of Oswego and cataract of Niagara is practica- 
 ble, but that it is both cheaper * nd better than a 
 canal direct from the Niagara to the Hudson river. 
 On the practicability it would be superfluous to add a 
 remark; for those who believe they can, from a cur- 
 sory view, or no view at all,' judge better than such 
 men as Mr. Weston, after critical examination of the 
 ground, will hardly expect to obtain the confidence 
 of others, however great their reliance on them- 
 selves. Nevertheless, these gentlemen are entreat- 
 ed seriously to consider whether it be prudent, or 
 even honest, to hazard misleading those who think 
 well of them, and thereby involving the state in 
 great and fruitless expense. And this must be the 
 consequence of undertaking the work they recom- 
 mend. That the cost will be great, is certified by all 
 who possess competent judgment and information. 
 That it will be fruitless, may be proved by facts visi- 
 
 '^' 
 
( 41 ) 
 
 ble to every one, who chooses to open his eyes. In 
 the Gazettes of this city are advertised the rates at 
 vrhich goods will be carried from the ports of 
 lake Ontario, to Ogdensburgh, and thence to Mon- 
 treal. The first are lower than have heretofore 
 prevailed between Lewistown and Oswego. The 
 second are fifty-five cents in scows, and eighty-eight 
 cents in boats for a barrel of flour. But to ascend 
 Oswego river by locks, and then, after crossing Onei- 
 da lake, to ascend Wood creek in boats, which, for a 
 great part of the way, must be rowed by men, would, 
 it is believed, cost not less than fifty cents per bar- 
 rel; because, if three men bring up thirty barrels in 
 five days, at fifty cents per barrel, they would earn 
 only one dollar per day each; allowing for toll no- 
 thing, for delay while waiting for freight, nothing, for 
 wear and tear of the boat, nothing, and nothing for 
 the return empty, if no freight should offer. 
 
 Thus it seems probable that produce could not be 
 taken from Oswego to Rome, for less than from Og- 
 densburgh to Montreal; so that the communication 
 which professional men, after due examination, con- 
 sider as impracticable, unless at an enormous ex- 
 pense, wholly disproportionate to the object, but 
 which some gentlemen assume, without examination, 
 to be very simple, would, if completed, be of no 
 avail. Instead of drawing to us the trade of our 
 neighbours, it would turn much of our trade to them. 
 Farmers who cannot send their produce by land, 
 from beyond Geneva to Albany, must carry it to one 
 of the few bad harbours on lake Ontario, thence to 
 wait the arrival of schooners from Ogdensburgh. 
 But, it is certain, even if a commerce with those vast 
 regions which surround the great lakes, be put out of 
 the question, that the inhabitants of our western 
 countries must be greatly benefited by a navigable 
 canal, dug at a distance from lake Ontario. Let 
 the mind be turned to a tract of country, fifty miles 
 wide, and stretched out east and west on the 
 south side of that lake. It cannot be denied that, if 
 
 6 
 
 i^'t^-i; 
 
( 42 ) 
 
 good harbours were abundant on its shores, and if 
 the adjacent country offered good roads, the ave- 
 rage distance of land carriage must be at least 
 twentj-five miles. But, inasmuch as the harbours 
 are few, it must be sixty or seventy from many parts 
 of the tract. Under these circumstances, let it be 
 supposed that a canal should be run east and west 
 through the middle. As that would be accessible in 
 every part, it is evident that the extreme distance of 
 land carriage would be less than the mean distance at 
 present. The conclusion is so clear, that to say 
 more would not show proper respect to the wisdom 
 of the Legislature. There is another part of the 
 subject, however, which stands in close connexion 
 with what has just been advanced, and which, 
 coming in support of Mr. Weston's opinion on the 
 effect of the canal in securing to this state the com- 
 merce of the western world, it would be unjust to 
 withhold. 
 
 The commissioners pray leave, then, to revert to, 
 and develope the basis of a calculation stated in their 
 first report. Two horses can, in still-water, draw a 
 boat laden with fifty tons at the rate of two miles and a 
 half in an hour; wherefore the progress in eight 
 hours will be twenty miles. — This, then, is the small- 
 est distance which can reasonably be expected in 
 one day. Now, as three men will be required to 
 manage and steer a boat, the daily allowance of five 
 dollars may be made for men and horses, being one 
 dollar each; and that is surely enough. But a fur- 
 ther allowance must be made for use of the boat, pro- 
 fit of the owner, and time unavoidably lost. It may 
 be well to appropriate to these objects all the return 
 freight, and charge the whole expense, to and fro, on 
 what may be called the export cargo. This will, of 
 course, double the amount, and bring it to ten dollars 
 for twenty miles, or fifty cents per mile. Wherefore 
 the extent of what it can cost to transport fifty tons 
 one mile, on a canal, being fifty cents, the rate is 
 one cent per ton per mile. To this, perhaps, it will 
 be objected, that experience in this state does by no 
 
( 43 ) 
 
 means justify SO low an estimate. But there is no 
 such experience, for there is no canal navigation in 
 the state: and the commissioners have ah-eady, in 
 their first report, stated the objections to following 
 rivers, creeks, brooks, and torrents, by the main 
 strength of men, instead of drawing boats by horses 
 along the tranquil surface of a canal. 
 
 Let it be supposed that the windings of a canal 
 will so far exceed those of the present road, as that 
 the length from lake Erie to Hudson's river shall be 
 three hundred and fifty miles; consequently, that 
 the transportation of a ton will cost three hundred 
 and fifty cents. To this let two hundred and fifty more 
 be added, for toll, the amount will then be six hun- 
 dred cents per ton ; and taking ten barrels of flour to 
 a ton, the transportation of each barrel will cost sixty 
 cents. If to this, twenty cents be added for freight 
 to New-York, the total will be but eighty cents, from 
 the port of discharge on lake Erie, to the commercial 
 emporium of New-York, and the risk of this route 
 is so trifling as not to merit notice. By the advertise- 
 ment already alluded to, it appears that the lowest 
 price of freight (and for part of the way in hazardous 
 craft) is ninety-three cents per barrel of flour, from 
 Lewistown to Montreal. Instead of adding for in- 
 surance, let something be taken away, and let it be 
 supposed, that hereafter, both freight and insurance 
 shall cost but ninety cents, even then, nine barrels of 
 flour will be taken from above the falls of Niagara 
 to New-York, for the same price that eight can be 
 taken now from below those falls to Montreal. The 
 expense of passing from lake Erie to lake Ontario 
 must be added. And here, let it be asked, what kind 
 of locks are those which gentlemen project round the 
 cataract of Niagara. Every expense which may be 
 needful to facilitate the navigation through the rapid 
 at Black Rock must be encountered, in the one case 
 as in the other. But when alarge vessel, from lake Erie, 
 shall have brought her cargo to within a small distance 
 of the cataract, it would be ridiculous to put it on 
 
( 44 ) 
 
 board of small boats merely to descend by locks, to 
 lake Ontario, and then put it again onboard of large 
 vessels to cross that lake. It would be equally ridicu- 
 lous to attempt the transportation, on either lake, in 
 small boats. The locks, then to be of use, must be such 
 as will take up and let down vessels which navigate the 
 lakes. These then are the locks which the state is de- 
 sired to make,in the expectation thatafter a vessel from 
 the upper lakes shall have descended into Ontario,she 
 will stop at the difficult and dangerous port of Oswego, 
 instead of going on easily and safely to Ogdensburgh. 
 The inventors and abettors of this project may have 
 the best and most patriotic intentions, but their 
 scheme, if carried into effect, would increase (by the 
 resources of New-York) the wealth of Canada and 
 the power of Great-Britain. Before this subject be 
 dismissed, it may not be improper to compare the ex- 
 pense of transportation on a canal with that on a 
 turnpike road. The cost of carriage from Albany 
 to Utica, by land, is seventy-five cents per hundred, 
 or fifteen dollars per ton. Were the distance one 
 hundred miles, (which it is not,) one-fifth of it, or 
 twenty miles, would cost three dollars, and forty 
 miles would cost six. The proposed canal will, 
 then, to every useful purpose, produce the same ef- 
 fect as if lake Erie were brought within forty miles 
 of Hudson's river. In other words, the great lakes, 
 those inland seas, admitting of a navigation with 
 vessels of the largest burden, and girt by shores ex- 
 ceeding two thousand miles, would be connected with 
 the Atlantic by a portage of only forty miles. The 
 country between Hudson's river and lake Erie, within 
 twenty miles of the canal, a country whose natural 
 advantages are not surpassed by any other of equal 
 extent on the globe, would, thus, be virtually con- 
 densed within a space whose medium distance from 
 the tide waters of the ocean would be but thirty 
 miles. Hence, the most important consequences to 
 the prosperity of our country would be produced. 
 Among these, as an item worth millions, may be 
 
( 4S ) 
 
 reckoned the saving of those articles which would 
 otherwise not be produced, or would be suffered to 
 perish from the impracticability or bringing them to 
 market. 
 
 It is impossible to ascertain, and is difficult to ima- 
 gine, how much toll would be collected. The amount 
 of transportation might be estimated by subjecting 
 probabilities to calculation. But, like our advance in 
 numbers and wealth, calculation outruns fancy. 
 Things which twenty years ago a man would have 
 been laughed at for believing, we now see. At that 
 time, the most ardent mind, proceeding on establish- 
 ed facts by the unerring rules of arithmetic, was 
 obliged to drop the pen at results which imagination 
 could not embrace. Under circumstances of this 
 sort, there can be no doubt that those microcosmic 
 minds which, habitually occupied in the considera- 
 tion of what is little, are incapable of discerning 
 what is great, and who already stigmatize the pro- 
 posed canal as a romantic scheme ; will, not un- 
 sparingly, distribute the epithets, absurd, ridiculous, 
 chimerical, on the estimate of what it may produce. 
 The commissioners must,nevertheless,have the hardi- 
 hood to brave the sneers and sarcasms of men, who, 
 with too much pride to study, and too much wit to 
 think, undervalue what they do not understand, and 
 condemn what they cannot comprehend. 
 
 Wise legislators will examine and reason upon 
 facts. Viewing the extent and fertility of the coun- 
 try with which this canal is to open a communica- 
 tion, it is not extravagant to suppose that, when set- 
 tled, its produce will equal the present export of the 
 atlantic states ; because it contains more land, and 
 that land of a superior quality. 
 
 Those who contemplate the rapid increase of 
 population, especially in that quarter, must be 
 convinced the period is not remote when those 
 regions will be cultivated. Indeed they already em- 
 brace an extensive tract, which has been subdued by 
 the arm of industry. The amount of articles trans- 
 
( 46 ) 
 
 ported on the canal which will be consumed at home, 
 must, if circumstances should preserve, here, the 
 proportions usual in similar cases, exceed that part 
 of them which is sent abroad. Nevertheless, with- 
 out extending our view to the commerce of other 
 ports, it is sufficient to take the simple facts, that 
 upwards of 250,000 tons of shipping belong to this 
 state, and the value of domestic produce exported is 
 upwards of ten million of dollars. Now 250,000 tons 
 of goods, at forty dollars per ton, make up that sum ; 
 and grain at 40 dollars per ton will not average less 
 than one dollar per bushel. Many of the exported 
 articles are unquestionably more valuable, but some 
 are less valuable than grain. Is it thenan extravagance 
 to suppose, that the present export of domestic pro- 
 duce is not far short of 250,000 tons ; and that it will 
 be doubled by means of the canal. But lest this as- 
 sumption should be a ground of cavil, let every arti- 
 cle of domestic consumption be added. Will it then 
 appear improbable that, twenty years hence, the canal 
 should annually bring down 250,000 tons ? It has al- 
 ready been assumed, that a toll of 250 cents per ton 
 should be taken, which, on boats going and returning, 
 will give five dollars per ton, and yield, therefore, one 
 million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. If this 
 sumbe too great, let one-fifth be struck off for expenses 
 and diminution of toll on bulky articles of little value. 
 A million remains. Is that million too much, take 
 away four hundred thousand ; still there will remain 
 six hundred thousand dollars ; the interest at six per 
 cent, of ten million. Should the canal, therefore, 
 cost even that large sum, it will soon pay the inte- 
 rest, and very soon afterwards, by natural and neces- 
 sary increase, discharge the principal. Standing on 
 such facts, is it extravagant to believe that New- York 
 may look forward to the receipt (at no distant period) 
 of one million dollars net revenue from this canal. 
 The life of an individual is short. The time is not 
 distant when those who make this report will have 
 passed away. But no term is fixed to the existence 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 of a state; and the first wish of a patriot's heart is that 
 his own may be immortal. But whatever limit may 
 have been assigned to the duration of New-York, by 
 those eternal decrees which established the heavens 
 and the earth, it is hardly to be expected that she will 
 be blotted from the list of political societies before 
 the effects here stated shall have been sensibly felt. 
 And even when, by the flow of that perpetual stream 
 which bears all human institutions away, our constitu- 
 tion shall be dissolved and our laws be lost, still the 
 descendants of our children's children will remain. 
 The same mountains w^ill stand, the same rivers run. 
 New moral combinations will be formed on the old 
 physical foundations, and the extended line of remote 
 posterity, after a lapse of two thousand years, and the 
 ravage of repeated revolutions, when the records of 
 history shall have been obliterated, and the tongue of 
 tradition have converted (as in China) the shadowy 
 remembrance of ancient events into childish tales of 
 miracle, this national work shall remain. It shall 
 bear testimony to the genius, the learning,the industry, 
 and intelligence of the present age. 
 
 The commissioners will not, as they might, dwell 
 on the advantages which the commerce of the state 
 must derive from opening a scene so vast to its inces- 
 sant activity. Neither will they hint at the political 
 influence which must result from holding a key to the 
 commerce of our western world. This subject, too 
 delicate for discussion, is appropriate to the high 
 consideration of legislative intelligence, and should 
 not, by subordinate agents, be approached but with 
 prudential respect. 
 
 The commissioners beg leave to advert to a ques- 
 tion which comes more properly within their sphere. 
 What will this canal cost ? An important question, 
 but one to which they cannot give a satisfactory 
 answer. They have taken pains to extend investiga- 
 tion, increased the number of surveys, and accumu- 
 lated the knowledge of facts. In proportion to the 
 
( 48 ) 
 
 information acquired is their conviction, that the plan 
 is practicable, and that the probable expense, com- 
 pared with the advantage, is moderate, very mode- 
 rate ; for they persist in believing that it may be ac- 
 complished for five or six million of dollars. But they 
 have neither the needful information on vv^hich to cal- 
 culate, nor have they the professional ability. Mr. 
 Weston, an engineer of great and acknowledged ta- 
 lents and experience, who has already been employed 
 in that capacity ,both in this state and in Pennsylvania, 
 (in the letter, a part of which has already been cited) 
 says, 
 
 " From the perspicuous topographical description, 
 and neat plan and profile of the route of the contem- 
 plated canal, I entertain little doubt of the practica- 
 bility of the measure. Perhaps this is the only ques- 
 tion which the legislature should be particularly 
 anxious to have resolved. The expense, be it what it 
 may, is no object when compared with the incalcula- 
 ble benefit ; though doubtless it will deserve atten- 
 tion that the money granted be wisely and economi- 
 cally expended. As the survey already made is only 
 what is technically called a running level, much 
 allowance ought to be made with respect to elegibi- 
 lity of the route, and amount of descent. Indeed, to 
 determine the proper line of canal will require the 
 utmost skill of the professional engineer. Its due 
 performance is of vital importance. A small mistake 
 therein, from whatever cause arising, may occasion 
 the needless waste of thousands. Too much care 
 cannot be taken, in the first instance, in exploring 
 the country in every practicable direction, that the 
 final decision may be founded on the result of a com- 
 parison of the different routes, as combining shortness 
 of distance with cheapness of execution. The ex- 
 traordinary regularity in the third or western divi- 
 sion, induces me to concur, without hesitation, in the 
 plan recommiended by the commissioners, of cutting 
 the canal with a uniform descent, in preference to the 
 usual mode of carrying it on a level. It is true that 
 
( 49 ) 
 
 the latter custom has, almost invariably, been adopt- 
 ed in Europe, but the inducements thereto have gene- 
 rally been the scanty supply of water on the respec- 
 tive summits, the shortness of the different levels, and 
 the tolerably equal amount of tonnage conveyed in 
 opposite directions. None of these circumstances 
 occur in the instance before us, for the supply of 
 water, as is justly observed, is pure and inexhausti- 
 ble. The length of line from the mouth of the Tone- 
 wanta to Cayuga river, is upwards of one hundred 
 and twenty miles ; an extent of canal without lock- 
 age, unequalled by any now in existence ; and the 
 chief amount of tonnage will be always downwards. 
 For these reasons I strongly recommend the adop- 
 tion of the plan." 
 
 Without taking up those hypothetical suggestions, 
 which present themselves on such an occasion, to 
 one whose experience of difficulties, whose knowledge 
 of means, and whose intellectual resources lead to 
 the notice of things which escape common observa- 
 tion, it is evident that the commissioners would be 
 unpardonably presumptuous should they pretend to 
 accuracy of calculation, before sufficient materials 
 are collected to decide the judgment of a profes- 
 sional man, such as Mr. Weston. In speaking of 
 what they hazarded in their first report, he says, 'the 
 allowance of twelve and a half cents per yard, for 
 common cutting, is ample, but the estimate of the 
 average quantity of earth to be excavated, is under- 
 rated.' He thinks, too, that the obstructions arising 
 from trees and roots, are greater than was apprehend- 
 ed. The estimate of one thousand dollars per foot, 
 for lockage, is, he says, sufficient, but two dollars 
 per cubic yard, for such masonry as would be re- 
 quired for aqueducts, is too low ; and he says, that 
 the expense of double locks, though great, will not, 
 as was supposed, be inceased in a twofold ratio. 
 The commissioners perceived that an error had been 
 made in their first report, respecting the cost of an 
 embankment over the outlet of the Cayuga lake; but 
 
( 50 ) 
 
 there is no need of correcting it ; because, from the 
 surveys of last season, it appears that the ground 
 between that and the Seneca lake, is too low for so 
 high a level. Unless, therefore, a more favourable 
 route can be discovered, the course by an inclined 
 plane cannot be pursued throughout, and it may 
 become necessary to descend eighty or ninety feet, 
 so as to cross the outlet of the Cayuga by an embank- 
 ment of moderate height. In this case, the commu- 
 nication from lake Erie will consist — 1st. Of an in- 
 clined plane to the Seneca outlet: 2d. Of a descent 
 by locks to a lower line : 3d. Of a level canal as far 
 east as the face of the country may indicate : 4th. Of 
 an elevation at the end of it, by locks to the Rome 
 summit : 5th. Of a level canal from thence to where 
 descent may become needful: And 6th. Of an inclined 
 plane from that place to a basin near the Hudson river. 
 In the course of so vast a work, which must depend on 
 the nature of the soil, it may sometimes be cheaper 
 to obtain that which is good,by extending the distance, 
 than to cure natural defects on a more direct course. 
 It may, in some cases, also be advisable to avoid deep 
 cutting, by a circuit, and in others, to cut deep for 
 a shorter line. It is evident that the commissioners 
 cannot make a correct estimate. It is nevertheless 
 their duty to present the best which their informa- 
 tion and abilities will permit, taking care that their 
 allowance be rather too high than too low. They 
 assume, then, that the distance may, for the reasons 
 assigned, be lengthened to three hundred and fifty, 
 instead of three hundred miles ; or that, to avoid the 
 additional distance and expense, equivalent to it may 
 be encountered. They moreover take the quantity to 
 be excavated, at twice what was mentioned in their 
 first report,viz. at thirty cubic yards, instead of fifteen, 
 and (to embrace the various contingencies which 
 may occur) assume the cost of digging at near twenty 
 cents per cubic yard, instead of twelve and an half, 
 which Mr. Weston (who founds his opinion on ex- 
 perience acquired by conducting such works, in this 
 country) considers as amply sufficient for common 
 
( 51 ) 
 
 cutting. This will give ten thousand dollars for every 
 mile ; a smaller sum than has been expended by 
 private companies in the United States on some turn- 
 pike roads ; but fully sufficient, it is believed, to 
 cover any expense which can attend that part of the 
 business. 
 
 Thus the cutting of the canal would cost three 
 millions and an half. A descent, by double locks, of 
 eighty or ninety feet, and the consequent ascent to 
 regain a proper level, may be put, in round numbers, 
 at half a million more. — Together, four millions. 
 The embankment over the Cayuga outlet, with the 
 needful culverts, may cost three or four hundred 
 thousand, but say half a million, and set the exca- 
 vation at the Tonewanta at three hundred thousand ; 
 the aqueduct over the Genesee, with many smaller 
 aqueducts and culverts, at two hundred thousand ; 
 making another million : to which one more may be 
 added, for works at Black Rock rapid, a basin near 
 the Hudson ; and those contingencies which neces- 
 sarily attend an undertaking of such magnitude ; in 
 the whole, six million dollars. The Commissioners 
 may be mistaken, but they have no reason to believe 
 it will cost so much. 
 
 They hasten to the examination of two other 
 points. Has the state sufficient resources ? Ought 
 the business to be undertaken now, or postponed to 
 a future day ? On the resources of the state they 
 would speak with caution, did the sum bear an 
 important proportion to her wealth. But it is almost 
 a contradiction in terms to suppose that an expen- 
 diture of five or six million, in ten or a dozen years, 
 can be a serious consideration to a million men 
 enjoying one of the richest soils and finest climates 
 under heaven. When, in addition to these leading 
 facts, it is considered that there is scarcely a spot on 
 the globe which possesses such advantages for com- 
 merce, and that the number of inhabitants doubles in 
 twenty years ; the facility of encountering the object 
 proposed by immediate taxation, is one of those 
 
( 52 ) 
 
 evident propositions which argument may rather 
 obscure than elucidate. If the facility of bearing 
 such a trifling weight required it, proof the most full 
 and complete might be found in every gazette. It 
 will not be pretended that the national revenue 
 (raised by indirect tax on the consumption of less 
 than six million of souls) was oppressive, though it 
 exceeded twelve million of dollars. No man has 
 been galled by, none has felt that burden, which 
 amounts (nevertheless) to two dollars a head. The 
 share paid by this state, therefore, supposing our 
 average consumption to be the same as that of our 
 neighbours, is two million ; four times what would be 
 required to make, in ten or a dozen years, the project- 
 ed canal. Or let the subject be examined in another 
 point of view. The increase of wealth, in this state, 
 has been (and for evident reasons must be) much 
 more rapid than the increase of inhabitants. The 
 value of property is at least quadrupled in the period 
 during which population is doubled. The present 
 amount of property has been estimated at five hundred 
 million. JPerhaps it is more. But should it be much 
 less, time will soon bring it up to, and immediately 
 push it beyond that sum ; which may therefore be 
 taken as the standard. Of consequence, it follows, 
 that an annual tax of half a million would be but one- 
 tenth per cent, on the value of real and personal 
 estate. Take the matter again in another point of 
 view, and, admitting that the rich pay the portion of 
 tax that would fall on the poor in a distribution by 
 poll, which (let the tax be laid as it may) must 
 happen, the average contribution will be that of a 
 family in medium circumstances. Wherefore, as a 
 population of one million embraces two hundred 
 thousand families, the average contribution, to raise 
 a revenue of five hundred thousand dollars, would be 
 five dollars from two families. Half of that, or two 
 hundred and fifty cents, is then the sum which the 
 head of a family in easy circumstances would be call- 
 ed to pay, if money were raised by direct tax to car- 
 
( 53 ) 
 
 r J on the work. In that case, there can be no doubt 
 that a wise Legislature would open sources from 
 which adequate revenue could be drawn, not only 
 without injury, but even with the advantage to the 
 community. But of this there is no necessity. The 
 credit of the state is sufficient. And if a calculation 
 were made on principles of compound interest, it 
 would appear that the sum to be expended, with in- 
 terest, until the canal shall yield sufficient revenue, 
 will not exceed what that income would discharge in 
 a reasonable time. If therefore the Legislature say, 
 let it be done — it will be done. 
 
 But shall they say so now ? Shall it be done now, 
 or shall it be postponed to a future day } Those who 
 wish to postpone are respectfully asked, whether 
 they suppose time will render the matter easier? 
 Will it alter the shape of the country } Will the land 
 to be used for the canal cost less when it shall be 
 planted as an orchard, tilled as a garden, or covered 
 by a house, than in its present condition ? Will tim- 
 ber and lime be cheaper when wood, now worth 
 nothing, shall have grown dear ? Is it certain that 
 the state of public affairs will be as favourable then 
 as now.'* Will not a fertile imagination invent as good 
 reasons for postponement then as now? And to what 
 day shall it be postponed ? Must it be to the day 
 when a Legislature shall have that patriotism which 
 the idea of postponement presupposes the present Le- 
 gislature to want? The commissioners reply with pain 
 to arguments which imply insult. Who is there so 
 base as not to repel the charge of selfishness ? what 
 man so cold as not to feel the dignified desire of im- 
 mortalizing his name, by contributing to a monument 
 of national magnificence, unequalled by any thing 
 on earth ? 
 
 A state, in its corporate capacity, is an invisible, 
 intellectual existence. If that to which we belong 
 could be reduced to personal identification, could it 
 become an individual, or (that being impossible) 
 could we suppose an individual to be owner of the 
 
( 64 ) 
 
 state, what should we think of his understanding did 
 he hesitate to double the value of his property, and 
 increase his revenue threefold, without labour, with- 
 out expense ! Yet such is the present case, unless it 
 can be called an expense to run in debt for an ob- 
 ject which will pay both principal and interest be- 
 fore the debt falls due. Or suppose this individual 
 to be an infant, would his guardians do their duty, 
 should they let slip the golden opportunity so to pro- 
 mote the interest of their ward? But the Legisla- 
 ture is guardian of the state. 
 
 The foregoing reflections lead to one of the duties 
 enjoined on the commissioners. They were direct- 
 ed to apply to the proprietors of land through which 
 the canal may be carried, for cessions to the people 
 of this state. Such applications have been made, 
 and they have no doubt that the proprietors will con- 
 tribute in just measure. Some grants would have 
 been already made, but for difficulties in the form 
 originally proposed, and from a desire that they should 
 be proportionate to the tracts the grantors respec- 
 tively hold. 
 
 The commissioners have also,in execution of the du- 
 ties imposed by the act, endeavoured to ascertain 
 whether loans for the object of it can be obtained 
 on the credit of this state. They find that, notwith- 
 standing the scarcity of money consequent on the 
 war which has so long raged in and ravaged Europe, 
 a loan of five million dollars can be obtained, there, 
 on the credit of the state, for a term of ten or fifteen 
 years, at an annual interest of six per cent. 
 
 The commissioners have inquired the terms on 
 which the western inland lock navigation company 
 will surrender their rights. They ask one hundred 
 and ninety thousand dollars for the shares held by 
 them, exclusive of three hundred and fifty shares 
 held by the state. This being thought too much, 
 they were urged to confine their demand within such 
 moderate bounds as might be acceptable. Copy of 
 their reply, of the 13th February, is in the paper 
 marked No. 5, hereunto annexed. 
 
( 55 ) 
 
 The commissioners have, in obedience to the di- 
 rections of the act, sought for, and will employ a ca- 
 pable engineer as soon as a suitable character can 
 be procured. None but a man of the first rate ta- 
 lents, tried integrity, and approved experience, can 
 be relied on for that previous investigation which is 
 indispensable. In the mean time, they have employ- 
 ed surveyors to continue their search of the best pro- 
 bable route. 
 
 It was not within the circle of their duty to ascer- 
 tain the conveniences presented by nature for an in- 
 ternal navigation northward ; wherefore, although 
 there can be no doubt that an examination of the 
 country ,with that view, might be useful, they forebore 
 the attempt. In that quarter lies a large and fertile 
 territory, peculiarly our own — moreover, it will be 
 seen by the bill annexed to the report of the depu- 
 tation sent to Washington, that a communication, by 
 means of a canal, between Lake Champlain and Hud- 
 son's river, is one of those things which are deemed 
 of national importance. It would certainly tend to 
 preserve brotherly affection in the great American 
 family ; and the reciprocal advantages which it would 
 procure to New-York and Vermont, would strength- 
 en the bands of our union with the eastern states, so 
 conducive to our mutual prosperity. 
 
 All which is humbly submitted, 
 
 GOUV. MORRIS, 
 S. V. RENSSELAER, 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 SIMEON DE WITT, 
 W, NORTH, 
 THOMAS EDDY, 
 ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON. 
 Albany^ Manh^ 1812. 
 
( 56 ) 
 
 DOCUMENTS ACCOMPANYING THE REPORT OF THE 
 COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 [No.l. ] 
 
 COPY OP THE APPLICATION MADE TO THE CONGRESS OF 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 To the Honourable the Senate and House of Represen- 
 tatives of the United States, in Congress : 
 
 The undersigned, Commissioners of the State of JVew- 
 Yo^k, respectfully represent: 
 
 That by a law, of which they have taken the 
 liberty to transmit an exemplified copy to the Presi- 
 dent, they are, among other things, directed to make 
 application to the Congress of the United States for 
 their co-operation and aid in making a canal naviga- 
 tion between the great lakes and Hudson's river ; 
 which, in the opinion of the Legislature of New- 
 York, will encourage agriculture, promote commerce 
 and manufactures, facilitate a free and general in- 
 tercourse between different parts of the United 
 States, tend to the aggrandizement and prosperity of 
 the country, and consolidate and strengthen the 
 Union. 
 
 To these powerful incentives, we feel it a duty to 
 add our conviction, that, in a fiscal point of view, 
 this object is not unworthy of public regard, seeing, 
 that by a good navigation from the lakes to the ocean, 
 and by that alone, the speedy sale of, and payment 
 for many million acres of the public lands, can be 
 effected. 
 
 We might add other considerations; but as doubts 
 may, in the course of the business, arise, and expla- 
 nations be required, we have deemed it advisable 
 to depute two of our members, Gouverneur Morris and 
 De Witt Clinton, to be the bearers of this application 
 
( 57 ) 
 
 to the seat of government, with instructions to enter, 
 from time to time, into all needful expositions. 
 
 We criave, on the part of the state of New-York, 
 the credence and favourable notice of their repre- 
 sentations. 
 
 And, as in duty bound, shall ever pray, &;c. 
 
 [No. 2.] 
 
 Copy of the Application made to the different States and 
 Territories. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 By a law of the state of New-York, of which we 
 do ourselves the honour to enclose to your Excellency 
 an exemplified copy, we are directed to apply to the 
 Congress of the United States, or to the Legislature 
 of any State or Territory, to co-operate and aid'in 
 opening a communication, by means of a canal navi- 
 gation, between the great lakes and Hudson's river. 
 
 The good sense of the state, over which you, sir, 
 preside, will readily perceive the benefit which must 
 result from such navigation. But whatever may be 
 the peculiar advantages which locality may give to 
 particular parts of the United States, we feel a con- 
 viction, that the general advantage to the whole nation 
 is of such preponderating influence, as to render the 
 present object of principal, if not exclusive, concern 
 to the national legislature. 
 
 The state of New-York is not ignorant of the special 
 benefit which she might secure to herself by holding 
 in her own hands the best communication between 
 the territory around the lakes and the Atlantic ocean ; 
 neither is she so devoid of enterprise or resource, 
 as not to open that abundant source of influence and 
 revenue. 
 
 But she is disposed rather to grant, than withhold 
 accommodation, and not only to enter into every 
 reasonable stipulation, but to give the aid of her 
 
 8 
 
( 58 ) 
 
 legislative authority to those measures which, in pro- 
 secution of the business, may be found needful. 
 
 There are two modes, Sir, by which your state may 
 contribute to this great work ; by pecuniary appro- 
 priations, and by that influence in the councils of the 
 Union, to which she is entitled. The former mode 
 will certainly not be unacceptable. Whether the 
 money granted, shall be in the form of a gift or a loan, 
 will, of course, depend on the ulterior consideration, 
 whether the canal is for ever to be free, or whether, 
 being made at the expense of New-York, it shall be 
 subject to such transit duties as, from a regard to her 
 special interest or convenience, she may, from time 
 to time, think proper to impose. In the former case 
 the bounty of your state will be patriotically offered 
 and frankly received. Loans may, in both cases, be 
 useful. 
 
 But what appears to us most suitable to the occa- 
 sion, and which, therefore, we most earnestly solicit, 
 is, the exercise of your state influence in the public 
 councils of our country, to provide for the whole 
 expense of this canal ; which, to use the pertinent 
 expressions of the law under which we act, will en- 
 courage agriculture, promote commerce and manu- 
 factures, facilitate a free and general intercourse 
 between different parts of the United States, tend to 
 the aggrandizement and prosperity of the country, 
 and consolidate and strengthen the Union. 
 
 We take the liberty to request that your Excel- 
 lency will have the goodness to communicate this 
 application to the legislature of your state, and give 
 it that aid which it may, in your opinion, deserve. 
 With perfect respect, 
 We have the honour to be, &c. 
 
( 59 ) 
 
 [ No. 3. ] 
 Coj^y of a Letter to the President of the United States. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The enclosed exemplification of a statute, passed 
 the eighth of last April, will show that we are em- 
 powered to make application, on behalf of the State 
 of New- York, to the Congress of the United States, 
 on the subject of a canal between the great lakes 
 and Hudson's river. 
 
 An object of such general concern seems to be 
 within the scope of that information which is to be 
 communicated to the National Legislature by the 
 President of the United States ; and, therefore, we 
 deem it our duty to place it in your hands. 
 
 We do not assign reasons in its support, because 
 they will not escape your penetration ; neither do we 
 solicit your patronage, because we rely on your pa- 
 triotism. It is submitted to your consideration in the 
 most simple form, and we have charged two of our 
 members, Gouverneur Morris and De Witt Clinton, 
 to give you, Sir, in presenting this letter, the personal 
 assurance of that respect, with which 
 
 We have the honour to be, 
 
 Your most Obedient Servants. 
 
 [ No. 4. ] 
 
 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO ATTEND 
 AT THE SEAT OF THE ©ENERAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Your Committee^ appointed to attend at the Seat of the 
 General Government^ for the purpose of forwardino- the 
 Memorial respecting the projected Canal, beg leave to 
 
 REPORT, 
 
 That they proceeded to the seat of the general 
 government, by the way of Lancaster, where they 
 
( 60 ) 
 
 took measures to obtain the concurrence of the 
 Legislature of Pennsylvania. 
 
 On the twenty-first of December, they waited on 
 the President of the United States, and found him, 
 although he expressed himself to be an enthusiast as 
 to the advantage of interior navigation, by means of 
 canals, embarrassed by scruples derived from his in- 
 terpretation of the constitution. At the close of 
 their visit, however, he was in a better disposition, 
 which is evidenced by his message to Congress, of 
 the twenty-third of Depember, a copy whereof is an- 
 nexed. 
 
 On the twenty-fourth they attended at the treasury 
 office, and found the Secretary desirous of perform- 
 ing this, and other works of a similar nature, con- 
 formably to the plan which he had reported at the 
 preceding session. 
 
 He was of opinion that, under present circum- 
 stances, pecuniary aid would not be given; but that 
 sufficient grants of land might be now made without 
 inconvenience to the fiscal concerns of the Union. 
 And these grants be afterwards redeemed by cash, 
 when the treasury should be in a more prosperous 
 condition. 
 
 Your committee found an idea prevailing with 
 some, and zealously inculcated on others, that it 
 would be wise so to amend the constitution, as ex- 
 pressly to authorize the general government to in- 
 corporate banks and make roads and canals without 
 consent of the states. 
 
 This suggestion arose, they believe, from a desire 
 to resuscitate the national bank; it being presumable 
 that gentlemen who had declared the old charter to 
 have been unconstitutional, could not be prevailed 
 on to grant a new one. It appeared, therefore, to 
 your committee, that the proposed amendment be- 
 ing intended to get clear of difficulty respecting the 
 bank, other objects were introduced rather as a con- 
 venient cover than as needful concomitants. 
 
 Whatever may be the case with respect to banks, 
 
( 61 ) 
 
 the proposed amendment, so far as regards roads and 
 canals, appeared to your committee worse than use- 
 less; because the power to apply national treasure 
 to such objects, with consent of the respective states, 
 is unquestionable, and so far as relates to roads, has 
 been sanctioned by frequent usage. On the subject 
 of banks and roads, nevertheless, they did not find 
 themselves called on to express their sentiments, but 
 felt a duty to declare, on all proper occasions, a de- 
 cided opinion that the states would not consent to 
 vest in the national government a power to cut up 
 their territory, for the purpose of digging canals. 
 
 Your committee found another idea operating with 
 baleful effect, though seldom and cautiously express- 
 ed. The population and resources of the State of 
 New-York, furnish no pleasant reflections to men, 
 whose minds are imbued with state jealousy; and 
 although the proposed canal must not only be of the 
 highest importance to the western states, as well as 
 to the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and 
 greatly promote the prosperity of the whole Union, 
 it was obvious that an opinion of its superior benefit 
 to this state was sedulously inculcated. An opinion, 
 which there is reason to fear, will have but too much 
 influence in every consideration of this subject. 
 
 Although the President's message, above-mention- 
 ed, together with the petition of the board of com- 
 missioners, was immediately referred to a large com- 
 mittee; it was not until after a lapse of sixteen days 
 (viz. on the eighth of January) that your committee 
 was summoned to attend. 
 
 Mark&t)f reluctance were perceptible, but in the 
 close of the conference, a disposition to consider 
 the subject more fully and more favourably prevail- 
 ed : still, however, it was evident that the object of 
 this state would not be separately attended to. 
 
 Your committee were desired to prepare a gene- 
 ral system; and they had already learned in the 
 course of their conversations with individuals, that 
 unless something was done for many of the states, 
 
( 62 ) 
 
 the consent of a majority of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives could not be obtained. 
 
 After the meeting just mentioned, your committed 
 proceeded to the Treasury office, conferred with the 
 Secretary, and conformably to his ideas, fixed on a 
 tract of land, to be appropriated to the objects in 
 contemplation. In the evening of the tenth, they 
 again met the committee of Congress, and submitted 
 to their consideration the draft of a bill, embracing 
 the principal object contained in the Secretary's re- 
 port, already referred to, of vrhich bill a copy is an- 
 nexed. 
 
 On the fifteenth of January, the committee of Con- 
 gress determined to report in favour of canals, and 
 appointed a sub-committee to prepare that report. 
 Thus the main difficulties seemed to be surmounted, 
 and there was good ground to believe,that,if the report 
 should be brought speedily before the House of Re- 
 presentatives, the assent of a majority would be ob- 
 tained. But the sub-committee, for reasons which, 
 though unknown, are presumed to have been weigh- 
 ty, delayed the report, notwithstanding the solicita- 
 tions of one of your committee, who remained until 
 the twenty-sixth, in the hope of being able to prevail 
 on them to accelerate their movements, and not to 
 adopt every amendment which might be proposed, in 
 order to conciliate the opinion of the proposer; a 
 dangerous course,which frequently loads a reasonable 
 system with so much objectionable matter, as finally to 
 sink it. Moreover, it was feared that the object might 
 be lost by delay; for there might be some who, though 
 they would not hazard reputation by voting against it, 
 would gladly avail themselves of pretexts to post- 
 pone a decision till the session should be brought to 
 a close. 
 
 Your committee have learnt, by letters from Wash- 
 ington, that the report of the sub-committee, after 
 being convassed in the general committee, received 
 but four out of thirteen votes, and that another sub= 
 
( 63 ) 
 
 committee was thereupon appointed, to state the rea- 
 sons why it is thought improper for Congress to act 
 upon the subject of canals this session. Your com- 
 mittee will not attempt to imagine the motives for so 
 great a change of conduct, if not of sentiment, in the 
 gentlemen who composed the general committee. 
 The board will judge on the face of facts above 
 stated. 
 
 The importance of the object to the United States, 
 is too manifest to admit of question, and the offer of 
 New-York too fair to admit of cavil. The reason 
 assigned for withholding, not only an immediate ad- 
 vance, but even an eventual appropriation, viz : That 
 the resources of the country may be required to sup- 
 port a war, although more plausible than solid, may 
 be admitted as sufficient with many well-meaning 
 men. 
 
 But this reason does not apply to a conditional 
 grant of land, which shall not take effect until the ca- 
 nal shall be completed. Such grant will not, it is 
 presumed, be expressly denied, and the reasons to be 
 assigned why it cannot be made now, will speak for 
 themselves. 
 
 Your committee have learnt that some speak slightly 
 of the canal, as a project too vast; while others are 
 so weak as to question the ability of the state to bear 
 the expense, as if an expense of five or even ten mil- 
 lion of dollars, payable in twenty years, would be a 
 serious, much less oppressive effort for a million of 
 men. Others again, who have too much understand- 
 ing to doubt the resources of the state, and too much 
 prudence to expose themselves to ridicule, by ex- 
 pressing such doubt triumphantly, declare, that her 
 Legislature has not the spirit and intelligence to 
 draw out and apply her resources to that great ob- 
 ject. 
 
 These men console themselves with a hope that 
 the envied state of New-York will continue a sup- 
 plicant for the favour and a dependant on the gene- 
 rosity of the Union, instead of making a manly and 
 dignified appeal to her own power. 
 
( 64 ) 
 
 It remains to be proved, whether they judge justly, 
 who judge so meanly of our councils. 
 
 All which is humbly submitted. 
 
 Message to the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States. 
 
 I communicate to Congress, copies of an act of the 
 Legislature of New-York, relating to a candl from 
 the great lakes to Hudson's river. In making the 
 communication, 1 consult the respect due to that 
 state, in whose behalf the commissioners appointed 
 by the act, have placed it in my hands for the purpose. 
 
 The utility of canal navigation is universally admit- 
 ted. It is not less certain, that scarcely any country 
 offers more extensive opportunities, for that branch 
 of improvements, than the United States ; and none, 
 perhaps, inducements equally persuasive, to make 
 the most of them. The particular undertaking con- 
 templated by the state of New- York, which marks 
 an honourable spirit of enterprise, and comprises ob- 
 jects of national, as well as more limited importance, 
 will recall the attention of Congress to the signal ad- 
 vantages to be derived to the United States, from a 
 general system of internal communication and con- 
 veyance ; and suggest to their consideration what- 
 ever steps may be proper on their part, towards its 
 introduction and accomplishment. As some of those 
 advantages have an intimate connexion with ar- 
 rangehients and exertions for the general security, 
 it is a period calling for these that the merits of such 
 a system will be seen in the strongest lights. 
 
 JAMES MADISON. 
 
 Washington, December 23d, 1812. 
 
 WHEREAS it is expedient to open inland naviga- 
 tion as soon as circumstances will permit, the various 
 communications which may be effected by the rivers, 
 sounds, bays, and lakes of the United States, between 
 
( 65 ) 
 
 the Northern and Southern, the Eastern and West- 
 ern parts of their territory, and especially a com- 
 munication along the sea coast, from Boston or Barn- 
 stable bay, to Naraganset or Buzzard bay, from 
 Raritonriver to Chesapeake bay,and from Chesapeake 
 bay to Albemarle sound ; also, a communication 
 from Lake Champlain to Hudson's river, from Lake 
 Erie to Hudson's river, the Susquehannah, the Mus- 
 kingum and the Wabash, from Lake Michigan to the 
 Illinois, from the Susqjuehannah to the Schuylkill and 
 the Delaware, from the Roanoke above its great 
 falls, to the Chowan or Mehevrin, from the Tennessee 
 to the Tombigbee, from the Cooper river and Black 
 river to the Santee, and from the Savannah to the 
 Tennessee ; also, to construct locks around the falls 
 of the Ohio, and to emeliorate the navigation of the 
 Potomac, above the falls. 
 
 Be it therefore enacted^ 8^c. That the lands, hitherto 
 unappropriated, in the Michigan territory, and that 
 part of the Indiana territory lying north of the fortieth 
 degree of latitude, be and they hereby are appropria- 
 ted to the said several objects, and to such others of 
 the same or a similar kind, as the wisdom of Congress 
 may hereafter designate. 
 
 II. j^nd be it further enacted, That one million acres 
 of land, part of the tracts above mentioned, shall vest 
 in and belong to the state of Massachusetts, so soon 
 as a canal navigable for vessels drawing six feet water, 
 shall be opened between the Boston and Naraganset 
 bays, or between the Barnstable and Buzzard bays, 
 on condition nevertheless, that no tax, toll, or impost, 
 shall be levied or taken for the passage of such vessels 
 on the same canal, other than what may be needful 
 to pay the annual expense of superintending and 
 keeping the same in repair. 
 
 III. j^nd be it further enacted, That five hundred thou- 
 sand acres of land, part of the tracts above mentioned, 
 shall vest in and belong to the state of New-Jersey, 
 so soon as a canal, navigable for vessels drawing six 
 feet water, shall be opened between the Rariton and 
 
 9 
 
( 66 ) 
 
 Delaware rivers, on condition, nevertheless, that no 
 tax, toll, or impost, shall be levied or taken for the 
 passage of such vessels on the same canal, other than 
 what may be needful to pay the annual expense of 
 superintending and keeping the same in repair. 
 
 IV. And be it further enacted^ That four hundred 
 thousand acres of land, part of the tracts above 
 mentioned, shall vest in and belong to the state of 
 Delaware, so soon as a canal, navigable for vessels 
 drawing six feet water, shall be opened between the 
 Delaware river and Chesapeake bay, on condition, 
 nevertheless, that not more than twenty cents per 
 ton shall be levied or taken for the passage of vessels 
 on the same canal. 
 
 V. And be it further enacted, That two hundred thou- 
 sand acres of land, part of the tracts above mentioned, 
 shall vest in and belong to the state of Virginia, so 
 soon as a canal, navigable for vessels drawing six 
 feet water, shall be opened between the Chesapeake 
 bay and Albemarle sound, on condition, nevertheless, 
 that no tax, toll, or impost, shall be levied or taken for 
 the passage of such vessels on the same canal, other 
 than what may be needful to pay the annual expense 
 of superintending and keeping the same in repair. 
 
 VI. And be it further enacted^ That four hundred 
 thousand acres of land, part of the tracts above 
 mentioned, shall vest in and belong to the state of 
 New York, so soon as a canal, navigable for flat-bot- 
 tomed boats of twenty tons burthen, shall be opened 
 between Lake Champlain and the tide waters of 
 Hudson's river, on condition, nevertheless, that no 
 tax, toll, or impost, shall be levied or taken for the 
 passage of such boats on the same canal, other than 
 what may be needful to pay the annual expense of 
 superintending and keeping the same in repair. 
 
 VII. And be it further enacted, That four million 
 acres of land, part ©f the tracts above mentioned, 
 shall vest in and belong to the said state of New- York, 
 so soon as a canal shall be opened from lake Erie to 
 Hudson's river, not less than sixty-three feet wide on 
 
( 67 ) 
 
 the top, forty five feet wide at the bottom, and five 
 feet deep, (and, if practicable, along an inclined 
 plane, descending not more than six inches in a mile,) 
 to Hudson's river, or a bason vv^ithin four miles thereof: 
 on condition, nevertheless, that no tax, toll, or impost, 
 shall be levied or taken for the passage of boats not 
 exceeding sixty feet long, eighteen feet wide or 
 drawing more than three feet of water on the same 
 canal, other than such as may be needful to pay the 
 annual expense of superintending and keeping the 
 same in repair. 
 
 VIII. j^nd be it further enacted, That one hundred 
 thousand acres of land, part of the tracts above men- 
 tioned, shall vest in and belong to the state of Penn- 
 sylvania, so soon as a canal, navigable for boats of 
 ten tons, shall be opened between the lake Erie and 
 the Susquehannah river. 
 
 IX. jlnd be it further enacted. That one hundred 
 thousand acres of land, part of the tracts above men- 
 tioned, shall vest in and belong to the state of Ohio, 
 so soon as a canal navigable for boats often tons, shall 
 be opened between the lake Erie and the Muskingum; 
 and that one hundred thousand acres of land, also 
 part of the tracts above mentioned, shall vest in, and 
 belong to the said state of Ohio, so soon as a canal 
 navigable for boats often tons, shall be opened from 
 the lake Erie to the Wabash ; on condition, neverthe- 
 less, that no tax, toll, or impost, shall be levied or 
 taken for the passage of such boats on the said canals, 
 or either of them, other than what may be needful to 
 pay the annual expense of superintending and keep- 
 ing them in repair respectively. 
 
 X. And be it further enacted, That one hundred 
 thousand acres of land, part of the tracts above 
 mentioned, shall vest in and belong to the state of 
 New-York, so soon as a canal, navigable for boats of 
 ten tons, shall be opened from the lake Michigan to 
 the Illinois river ; on condition, nevertheless, that no 
 tax, toll, or impost, shall be levied or taken for the 
 passage of such boats on the same canal, other than 
 
( 68 ) 
 
 what may be needful to pay the annual expense of 
 superintending and keeping the same in repair. 
 
 XI. And be it further enacted^ That eight hundred 
 thousand acres of land, part of the tracts above men- 
 tioned, shall vest in and belong to the state of Penn- 
 sylvania, so soon as a canal, navigable for boats of 
 ten tons, shall be opened from the Susquehannah to 
 the Schuylkill, and from the Schuylkill, to the Dela- 
 ware. 
 
 ^ll.And belt further enacted, That three hundred 
 thousand acres of land, part of the tracts above men- 
 tioned, shall vest in, and belong to the state of North 
 Carolina, so soon as a canal, navigable for boats of 
 ten tons, shall be opened from above the great falls 
 of the Roanoke river, to the Chowan or Mehevrin 
 rivers ; on condition, nevertheless, that no tax, toll, 
 or impost, shall be levied or taken for the passage 
 of such boats on the same canal, other than what 
 maybe needful to pay the annual expense of super- 
 intending and keeping the same in repair. 
 
 XIII. And be it further enacted. That two hundred 
 thousand acres of land, part of the tracts above men- 
 tioned, shall vest in, and belong to the state of Ten- 
 nessee, so soon as a canal, navigable for boats of ten 
 tons, shall be opened from the Tennessee river to the 
 Tombigbee river. 
 
 XIV. And be it further enacted, That two hundred 
 thousand acres of land, part of the tracts above men- 
 tioned, shall vest in and belong to the state of 
 South-Carolina,so soon as a canal,navigable for boats of 
 ten tons, shall be opened from the Cooper river and 
 the Black river to the Santee. 
 
 XV. And be it further enacted, That one million acres 
 of land, part of the tracts above mentioned, shall vest 
 in and belong to the state of Georgia, so soon as a 
 canal, navigable for boats of ten tons, shall be open- 
 ed from the Tennessee to the Savannah river; on 
 condition, nevertheless, that no tax, toll, or impost, 
 shall be levied or taken for the passage of such boats 
 ixi the same canal, other than what may be needful to 
 
( 69 ) 
 
 pay the annual expense of superintending and keep- 
 ing the same in repair. 
 
 XVI. Jind be it further enacted^ That three hundred 
 thousand acres of land, part of the tracts above men- 
 tioned, shall vest in and belong to the state of Ken- 
 tucky, so soon as proper locks shall be constructed 
 to take round the falls of the Ohio, vessels of tons ; 
 on condition, nevertheless, that no tax, toll, or impost, 
 shall be levied or taken for such vessels passing 
 through the said locks, other than what may be need- 
 ful to pay the annual expense of superintending and 
 keeping the same in repair. 
 
 XVII. And be it further enacted. That two hundred 
 thousand acres of land, part of the tracts above men- 
 tioned shall be and the same are hereby granted to the 
 company incorporated by the states of Maryland and 
 Virgima,for improving the navigation of the Potomac, 
 to be applied by the said company in ameliorating 
 the said navigation. 
 
 XVIII. And be it further enacted. That none of the 
 said land shall be sold or disposed of for a price 
 less than two dollars per acre ; neither shall any 
 settlement be made thereon until the Indian title 
 shall be regularly and fairly extinguished. But the 
 said several tracts may be severally and respectively 
 pledged as a security for loans, the amount whereof, 
 shall be employed for the purposes respectively de- 
 signated. 
 
 XIX. And be it further enacted, That the public faith 
 be, and the same hereby is pledged for the redemp- 
 tion of the capital of loans made equivalent to the 
 lands, (at the rate of two dollars per acre,) granted 
 in the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth, 
 tenth, twelfth, fifteenth and sixteenth sections of this 
 statute, at the end of twenty years from the period 
 when such several loans shall have been made. Pro- 
 vided, that the money borrowed, shall have been 
 justly applied to the objects respectively specified, 
 and that the tracts so granted, shall be respectively 
 retroceded to the United States. It is, nevertheless, 
 
( 70 ) 
 
 to be understood, and is hereby declared and enac- 
 ted, that if the state to which any such cession is 
 hereby made, shall, within ten years, declare the in- 
 tention to accept the grant of land finally, and relin- 
 quish the pledge of public faith hereby given, such 
 grant shall be final, and the pledge of faith .shall be 
 void. 
 
 XX. And he it further enacted^ That the President 
 of the U. S. for the time being, shall, on due applica- 
 tion to him made, designate, from time to time, by 
 metes and bounds, the several tracts contemplated 
 by the provisions of this statute, and which are not 
 herein designated; and the acceptance of any state or 
 any grant, shall be considered as an agreement to the 
 condition which is hereby annexed to such grant. 
 
 XXI. Arid be it further enacted^ That a tract contain- 
 ing four million, five hundred thousand acres, in a 
 parrallelogram, extending from east to west, across 
 the north end of the Indiana territory, shall be, and 
 hereby is appropriated to the conditional grants 
 herein before made to the state of New-York, which 
 parrallelogram shall be divided, by meridian lines 
 into three several tracts, of which the eastern tract, 
 containing four hundred thousand acres, shall apply to 
 the object specified in the sixth section ; the middle 
 tract, containing four million acres, shall apply to the 
 object specified in the seventh section : and the west- 
 ern tract, containing one hundred thousand acres, 
 shall apply to the object specified in the tenth section 
 of this statute. 
 
 [No. 5.] 
 
 Copy of a letter dated 1 3th Feb''y,l8l2,From Robert Boivne, 
 To the committee appointed to confer ivith the Western 
 Inland Lock JYavigation Company 
 
 New-York, 2dMo.Uth, 1812. 
 
 Respected Friends, 
 
 Your letter, of the 24th of August, has 
 been duly considered by the board of directors of 
 
( 71 ) 
 
 the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company ; 
 and they have directed me to say, that they cannot, 
 in justice to the stockholders, deviate from the terms 
 before communicated to the commisssioners. The 
 company was originally formed in consequence of an 
 act of incorporation, not asked for by themselves. 
 The Legislature conceived, very justly, that it vv^ould 
 promote the general interest of the state, if an im- 
 provement should be made in the Mohav^^k river, and 
 encouraged the citizens to unite in the undertaking. 
 It may very truly be observed, that most of the stock- 
 holders subscribed more from patriotic, than from 
 pecuniary motives, and the result has been, that the 
 state has been greatly benefitted and the stockholders 
 have received no advantage. 
 
 , The moneys expended, amount to near 450,000 
 dollars, and less than half that sum is now only de- 
 manded. This sacrifice is made on account of the 
 sincere desire the directors feel in promoting a further 
 and more extensive improvement of the Western 
 Inland Navigation, and they presume the commis- 
 sioners w^ill be satisfied that their present demand 
 is just and reasonable. 
 
 I am, with due respect, yours, &c. 
 i ROB. JBOWNE, Pres't. 
 
 To De Witt Clinton ^- R. Fulton, Esqs. 
 
 Report of the Commissioners, appointed by the Legislature 
 ofJ^ew- York, to provide for the Internal Improvement 
 of the State. — In Jtssembly March 8, ]8I4. 
 
 The Commissioners appointed in and by an act of the Legislature 
 of the State of New-York, to provide for the internal improve- 
 ment of the State, 
 
 Beg leave to report — 
 
 That in compliance with their official duty, having 
 made the fullest enquiries a-^-d investigations in their 
 power, they have appointed an engineer to trace out 
 the course, and estimate the expense of the proposed 
 
( "^2 ) 
 
 canal ; as, also, to superintend such portion of the 
 whole line as may be approved of by the Legislature, 
 He would have probably have arrived before the 
 present hour, had impediments to an intercourse with 
 Great Britain been removed. 
 
 They sought a proper character in that country, 
 preferably to any other, because from its extensive 
 interior communication by canals, railways, and other 
 expedients, they expect that a more intimate know- 
 ledge of useful facts can be obtained there than else- 
 where ; and because an Englishman speaking the 
 same language, and habituated to the same usages 
 and manners, will more easily acquire information 
 among us, and be less liable to imposition. 
 
 On the arrival of the engineer, the commissioners 
 will immediately direct such surveys to be made as 
 may be necessary, in order to ascertain the exact 
 line of the canal from lake Erie to the Hudson; and 
 when this work is completed, the estimates of the 
 engineer shall, as soon as possible, be laid before the 
 Legislature, who will then be able to form such a 
 decision as will best promote the prosperity of the 
 state. 
 
 The commissioners have, in the mean time, caused 
 further investigations to be made, and would not have 
 suspended the surveys, as they did, during the last 
 summer, but for military operations which are not fa- 
 vourable to internal improvement. They -have, how- 
 ever, the satisfaction to state, that every examination 
 tends to show, not only the practicability, but the fa- 
 cility of this enterprise ; so far as the term facility 
 can reasonably be applied to a work of such mag- 
 nitude. They add with much pleasure, that it will 
 not be difficult to extend this communication to the 
 fertile vales watered by the Susquehannah and its 
 wide spreading branches. Hence, they presume,that 
 the public spirit which has always characterized 
 Pennsylvania, will, at a proper time, induce her to 
 co-operate. It may, indeed, be objected, that, to 
 facilitate the intercourse of a commercial rival, may 
 
( 73 ) 
 
 be of more comparative loss, than positive advantage. 
 But far be such jealousies from the councils of New- 
 York. Marked by nature for greatness, and strong in 
 the consciousness of intrinsic strength,she will always 
 feel that nobjeness of soul which rather accelerate 
 than retard her neighbour's prosperity. 
 
 The commissioners cannot quit this branch of the 
 subject, without stepping a little out of the road in 
 which they ought strictly to walk, for the purpose of 
 expressing their belief, that the communication long 
 since contemplated, between Lake Champlain and 
 Hudson's River, may easily be effected ; and, thus, 
 another of those great avenues be opened, which 
 Providence has so well prepared, that little more is 
 left for the state, than merely to will the possession 
 of wealth and power. 
 
 The commissioners have, also, conformably to the 
 powers conferred on them, applied for and obtained 
 grants of land, a schedule whereof is annexed to this 
 report. It would be improper not to acknowledge 
 the liberality of the grantors ; but it would be doing 
 injustice to their intelligence, should it be doubted, 
 that a prudent regard to their own interest had its 
 proper share in their determinations. The clear- 
 sighted perception of mankind, respecting matters 
 which affect their property, opened to their view the 
 benefits which they must derive from this extensive 
 inland communication. They, as a part, see and feel 
 what the states as a whole, must acquire by it; and 
 the solidity of their opinion is the less to be question- 
 ed, as the light, in coming to their mental vision, ha& 
 neither been intercepted by the opacity of dull con- 
 ception, nor refracted by passing through mediums 
 of misrepresentation. 
 
 The value of these lands will increase by every 
 year of approaching settlement, and every avenue 
 of amended access, whether by improving old roads 
 or making new ones. We may, therefore, calculate, 
 that in the course of twenty or thirty years, the pro- 
 ceeds of these lands will reimburse to the state no 
 
 10 
 
( 74 ) 
 
 small portion of the expense it may incur by com- 
 pleting the whole line of the proposed canal ; and 
 here we must remind gentlemen, of what has fre- 
 quently occurred to their own reflection, that al- 
 though twenty or thirty years be a large portion of 
 individual existence, they form but a short period of 
 national duration. 
 
 The commissioners have also performed the duty 
 of attempting a loan in Europe, conformably to the 
 terms and within the limits prescribed. They have 
 reason to believe, that their efforts would have been 
 crowned with success, had not the declaration of war 
 been nearly simultaneous with the grant of authority 
 to make a loan. The attempt having failed, no far- 
 ther measures have been adopted in relation to this 
 object. 
 
 The commissioners havingthus rapidly recited facts 
 which it is their duty to communicate, would be 
 wanting to the public interest, did they not notice at- 
 tempts to excite opposition to the work committed to 
 their charge. They have examined in their prece- 
 ding reports the reasons advanced by its opposers, 
 and would endeavour to answer other reasons, if any 
 such ihey could hear of In the face of incontro- 
 vertible facts the supposed superiority of what is 
 called the natural communication, by Lake Ontario, 
 has been strongly insisted on, and of late the pro- 
 digious advantage of carrying on the internal trade 
 of America, through seaports of the ^t. Lawrence, 
 was ostentatiously displayed to prove, that a canal 
 through the Western District of New-York is an idle 
 project. 
 
 These gentlemen could not indeed deny, that there 
 is some risk in navigating the Lake, and some dif- 
 ficulty in descending the river ; but neither the risk 
 nor the difficulty, nor both combined, are considered 
 as serious obstacles. To men of such sanguine tern- 
 per, it is useless to observe, that this communication 
 would be much more expensive than the one contem- 
 plated, and that it is closed from November to May 
 
( 75 ) 
 
 by the rigid laws of Nature ; but what are the laws of 
 Nature to gentlemen enamoured with their own con- 
 ceptions. Disdaining to consider the actual state of 
 things ; whenever map-makers trace a stream, they 
 find a military and commercial highway. Should 
 there be a want of Avater, it is supplied by their depth 
 of intellect; should the surface be covered with ice, 
 it is thawed by their warmth of imagination. To con- 
 tend with such men is no easy task, for they make 
 facts as they go along, and reasons they disclaim ; 
 insisting, that whatsoever they think proper to approve 
 of is sublime ; whatsoever they think proper to dislike 
 is absurd. From these decrees, pronounced with an 
 air of censorial gravity and the contemptuous smile 
 of superior intelligence, they admit of no appeal. Far 
 from imitating them, the commissioners will not have 
 the hardihood to question their sagacity, neither will 
 they, after industriously applying the share of com- 
 mon sense allotted to them by the Divine Goodness, 
 to the object of their appointment, pretend, even on 
 that subject, to vie with gentlemen, whose privilege 
 it is to understand, and whose prerogative to decide, 
 according to the inverse proportion of their know-^ 
 ledge. With all due deference, nevertheless, to such 
 ethereal minds, they are constrained by stubborn 
 habit, to adhere to the opinion of intelligent profes- 
 sional men. And here the commissioners beg leave 
 to remark, that they are much misunderstood, when 
 it is supposed that they recommend, exclusively^ a ca- 
 nal descending according to the level of the country, 
 like an inclined plane. On the contrary, their pro- 
 ject embraces the system of locks as well as the 
 other, and their opinion is, that the operation must 
 be regulated by the nature of the country, taking 
 into view the diminution of expense and the shorten- 
 ing of distance. And they beg leave to call to the 
 recollection of the Legislature, the decided opi- 
 nion of Mr. William Weston, one of the most eminent 
 civil engineers in Europe, who was formerly employed 
 by the Inland Lock Navigation Company of this gtate? 
 
( 76 ) 
 
 and who is perfectly acquainted with the country. 
 In a letter to one of the commissioners, he says, 
 " Should your nohle^ but stupenduovs plan of uniting 
 Lake Erie with the Hudson, be carried into efFect,you 
 have to fear no rivalry. The commerce of the immense 
 extent of country, bordering on the upper lakes, is 
 your's for ever, and to such an incalculable amount as 
 would baffle all conjecture to conceive. Its execu- 
 tion would confer immortal honour on the projectors 
 and supporters, and would in its eventual consequen- 
 ces, render New-York the greatest commercial em- 
 porium in the world, with perhaps the exception, at 
 some distant day, of New-Orleans, or some other de- 
 pot at the mouth of the majestic Mississippi. From 
 your perspicuous topographical description, and neat 
 plan and profile of the route of the contemplated ca- 
 tal, I entertain little doubt of the practicability of the 
 measure. Perhaps this is the only question which 
 the Legislature should be particularly anxious to have 
 resolved. The expense., be 2V what it may, is no object 
 when compared with the incalculable benefits arising 
 therefrom, though,doubtless, it will deserve attention, 
 that the money granted liberally be wisely and eco- 
 nomically expended." 
 
 All which is humbly submitted. 
 GOUV. iMORRIS, 
 S. V. RENSSELAER, 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 SIMEON DE WITT, 
 PETER B. PORTER, 
 THOMAS EDDY, 
 ROBERT FULTON. 
 
 SCHEDULE 
 
 Of cessions of lands agreed to be made to the 
 people of this state, as a free ^ift for promoting the 
 execution of canal navigation from lake Erie to the 
 Hudson. 
 
( 77 ) 
 
 Paul Busti, Esq. agent for the Holland acres. 
 Company, in behalf of said company, 100,632 
 
 Le Roy, Bayard, and M'Evers, 2,500 
 
 John Greig, Esq. in behalf of Governor 
 Hornby, 3,500 
 
 Robert Troup, Esq. agent for the heirs of Sir 
 William Pulteney, will make a large grant in behalf 
 of the heirs, as soon as his powers as agent of that 
 estate, which have ceased by the death of his con- 
 stituent, shall be renewed. 
 
 And the commissioners have reason to expect 
 considerable grants from other sources. 
 
 As soon as the deeds making those cessions are per- 
 fected, copies will be transmitted to the legislature. 
 
 [ As this memorial was thefoundation of the statute of 1816, which 
 constituted the present Board of Canal Commissioners, and 
 established on a firm basis, the present system, it has been 
 deemed advisable to republish it. Governor Clinton was the 
 author of this memorial.] 
 
 JVLemorial of the citizens of JYew- York, in favour of a 
 CanalJYavigation between the great western Lakes andthe 
 tide-waters of the Hudson. 
 
 To the Legislature of the State of JYew- York, 
 
 The memorial of the subscribers, in favour of a 
 Canal Navigation between the great western lakes 
 and the tide-waters of the Hudson, most respectfully 
 represents : 
 
 That they approach the Legislature with a solici- 
 tude proportioned to the importance of this great 
 undertaking, and with a confidence founded on the 
 enlightened public spirit ofthe constituted authorities. 
 If, in presenting the various considerations which have 
 induced them to make this appeal, they should occupy 
 more time than is usual on common occasions, they 
 must standjustifiedby the importance of the object. 
 Connected as it is with the essential interest of our 
 country, and calculated in its commencement to 
 
( 78 ) 
 
 reflect honour on the state, and in its completion, to 
 exalt it to an elevation of unparallelled prosperity ; 
 your memorialists are fully persuaded, that centuries 
 may pass away before a subject is again presented 
 so worthy of all your attention, and so deserving of all 
 your patronage and support. 
 
 The improvement of the means of intercourse 
 between different parts of the same country, has 
 always been considered the first duty and the most 
 noble employment of government. If it be important 
 that the inhabitants of the same country should be 
 bound together by a community of interests, and a 
 reciprocation of benefits ; that agriculture should 
 find a sale for its productions ; manufactures a vent 
 for their fabrics ; and commerce a market for its 
 commodities ; it is your incumbent duty, to open, 
 facilitate, and improve internal navigation. The 
 pre-eminent advantages of canals have been establish- 
 ed by the unerring test of experience. They unite 
 cheapness, celerity, certainty, and safety, in the 
 transportation of commodities. It is calculated that 
 the expense of transporting on a canal, amounts to 
 one cent a ton per mile, or one dollar a ton for one 
 hundred miles ; while the usual cost by land convey- 
 ance, is one dollar and sixty cents per hundred weight 
 or thirty-two dollars a ton for the same distance. 
 The celerity and certainty of this mode of transpor- 
 tation are evident. A loaded boat can be towed by 
 one or two horses, at the rate of thirty miles a day. 
 Hence, the seller or buyer can calculate with suffi- 
 cient precision on his sales or purchases, the period 
 of their arrival, the amount of their avails, and the 
 extent of their value. A vessel on a canal is, inde- 
 pendent of winds, tides, and currents, and is not ex- 
 posed to the delays attending conveyances by land : 
 and with regard to safety, there can be no competi- 
 tion. The injuries to which comimodities are expo- 
 sed when transported by land, and the dangers to 
 which they are liable when conveyed by natural wa- 
 ters, are rarely experienced on canals. In the latter 
 
( 79 ) 
 
 way, comparatively speaking, no waste is incurred, 
 no risk is encountered, and no insurance is required. 
 Hence, it follows, that canals operate upon the gene- 
 ral interests of society, in the same way that machines 
 for saving labour do in manufactures ; they enable 
 the farmer, the mechanic, and the merchant, to con- 
 vey their commodities to market, and to receive a re- 
 turn at least thirty times cheaper than by roads. As 
 to all the purposes of beneficial communication, they 
 diminish the distance between places, and therefore 
 encourage the cultivation of the most extensive and 
 remote parts of the country. They create new 
 sources of internal trade, and augment the old chan- 
 nels,- for, the more cheap the transportation, the more 
 expanded will be its operation, and the greater the 
 mass of the products of the country for sale, the 
 greater will be the commercial exchange of return- 
 ing merchandise, and the greater the encouragement 
 to manufacturers, by the increased economy and 
 comfort of living, together with the cheapness and 
 abundance of raw materials ; and Canals are conse- 
 quently advantageous to towns and villages, by de- 
 stroying the monopoly of the adjacent country, and 
 advantageous to the whole country ; for though some 
 rival commodities may be introduced into the old 
 markets, yet many new markets will be opened by 
 increasing population, enlarging old and erecting new 
 towns, augmenting individual and aggregate wealth, 
 and extending foreign commerce. 
 
 The prosperity of ancient Egypt, and China, may 
 in a great degree be attributed to their inland navi- 
 gation. With little foreign commerce, the former of 
 those countries, by these means attained, and the 
 latter possesses, a population and opulence in pro- 
 portion to their extent, unequalled in any other. 
 And England and Holland, the most commercial na- 
 tions of modern times, deprived of their canaJs, 
 would lose the most prolific sources of their pros- 
 perity and greatness. Inland navigation is in fact to 
 the same community what exterior navigation is to 
 
( 80 ) 
 
 the great family of mankind. As the ocean connects 
 the nations of the earth, by the ties of commerce, 
 and the benefits of communication, so do lakes, rivers, 
 and canals operate upon the inhabitants of the same 
 country : and it has been well observed, that " were 
 we to make the supposition of two states, the one 
 having all its cities, towns, and villages upon naviga- 
 ble rivers and canals, and having an easy communi- 
 cation with each other; the other possessing the 
 common conveyance of land carriage, and supposing 
 both states to be equal as to soil, climate, and indus- 
 try , commodities and manufactures in the former 
 state might be furnished thirty per cent, cheaper than 
 in the latter : or in other words, the first state would 
 be a third richer, and more affluent than the other" 
 The general arguments in favour of inland navi- 
 gation, apply with peculiar force to the United 
 States, and most emphatically to this state. A geo- 
 graphical view of the country, will at once demon- 
 strate the unexampled prosperity that will arise from 
 our cultivating the advantages which Nature has dis- 
 pensed with so liberal a hand. A great chain of moun- 
 tains passes through the United States, and divides 
 them into eastern and western America. In various 
 places, rivers break through those mountains, and 
 are finally discharged into the ocean. To the west, 
 there is a collection of inland lakes exceeding in its 
 aggregate extent, some of the most celebrated seas 
 of the old world. Atlantic America, on account of 
 the priority of its settlement, its vicinity to the ocean, 
 and its favourable position for commerce, has many 
 advantages. The western country, however, has a 
 decided superiority in the fertility of its soil, the be- 
 nignity of its climate, and the extent of its territory. 
 To connect these great sections by inland naviga- 
 tion, to unite our Mediterranean seas with the ocean, 
 is evidently an object of the first importance to the 
 general prosperity Nature has effected this in some 
 measure; the St. Lawrence emanates from the lakes, 
 and discharges itself into the ocean in a foreign terri • 
 
( 81 ) 
 
 tory. Some of the streams which flow into the Mis- 
 sissippi, originate near the great lakes, and pass 
 round the chain of mountains. Some of the waters 
 of this state which pass into lake Ontario, approach 
 the Mohawk; but our Hudson has decided advan- 
 tages. It affords a tide navigation for vessels of 80 
 tons to Albany and Troy, 160 miles above New-York, 
 and this peculiarity distinguishes it from all the 
 other bays and rivers in the United States, viz. 
 
 The tide in no other ascends higher than the Gra- 
 nite Ridge, or within thirty miles of the Blue Ridge, 
 or eastern chain of mountains. In the Hudson it 
 breaks through the Blue Ridge, and ascends above 
 the eastern termination of the Catskill, or great west- 
 ern chain ; and there are no interposing mountains 
 to prevent a communication between it and the great 
 western lakes. 
 
 The importance of the Hudson River to the old 
 settled parts of the state, may be observed in the 
 immense wealth which is daily borne on its waters, 
 in the flourishing villages and cities on its banks, and 
 in the opulence and prosperity of all the country 
 connected with it, either remotely or immediately. 
 It may also be readily conceived, if we only sup- 
 pose that by some awful physical calamity, some 
 overwhelming convulsion of Nature, this great ri- 
 ver was exhausted of its waters : where then 
 would be the abundance of our markets, the pros- 
 perity of our farmers, the wealth of our merchants ? 
 Our villages would become deserted ; our flourish- 
 ing cities would be converted into masses of moul- 
 dering ruins, and this state would be precipitated 
 into poverty and insignificance. If a river or na- 
 tural canal, navigable about 170 miles, has been 
 productive of such signal benefits, what blessings 
 might not be expected, if it were extended 300 
 miles through the most fertile country in the uni- 
 verse, and united with the great seas of the west! 
 The contemplated canal would be this extension, 
 and viewed in reference only to the productions and 
 
 11 
 
( 82 ) 
 
 consumptions of the state, would perhaps convey 
 more riches on its waters, than any other canal in the 
 world. Connected with the Hudson, it might be 
 considered as a navigable stream that extends 45^ 
 miles through a fruitful country, embracing a great 
 population, and abounding with all the productions 
 of industry : if we were to suppose all the rivers and 
 canals in England and Wales, combined into one, 
 and discharged into the ocean at a great city, after 
 passing through the heart of that country, then we 
 can form a distinct idea of the importance of the 
 projected canal; but it indeed comprehends within 
 its influence a greater extent of territory, which will 
 in time embrace a greater population. If this work 
 be so important, when we confine our views to this 
 state alone, how unspeakably beneficial must it ap- 
 pear, when we extend our contemplations to the great 
 lakes, and the country affiliated with them ! Waters 
 extending two thousand miles from the beginning 
 of the canal, and a country containing more territo- 
 ry than all Great Britain and Ireland, and at least as 
 much as France. 
 
 While we do not pretend that all the trade of our 
 western world, will centre in any given place, (nor 
 indeed would it be desirable if it were practicable, 
 because we sincerely wish the prosperity of all the 
 states,) yet we contend that our natural advantages 
 are so transcendant, that it is in our power to obtain 
 the greater part, and put successful competition at 
 defiance. As all the other communications are im- 
 peded by mountains ; the only formidable rivals of 
 New-York, for this great prize, are New-Orleans and 
 Montreal, the former relying on the Mississippi, and 
 the latter on the St. Lawrence. 
 
 In considering this subject, we will suppose the 
 commencement of the canal somewhere near the 
 outlet of Lake Erie. 
 
 The inducements for preferring one market to ano- 
 ther, involve a variety of considerations : the princi- 
 pal are the cheapness and facility of transportation, 
 
( 83 ) 
 
 and the goodness of the market. If a cultivator or 
 manufacturer can convey his commodities with the 
 same ease and expedition to^New-York, and obtain a 
 higher price for them than at Montreal or New-Or- 
 leans, and at the same time supply himself at a 
 cheaper rate with such articles as he may want in 
 return, he will undoubtedly prefer New-i ork. It 
 ought also to be distinctly understood, that a differ- 
 ence in price may be equalized by a difference in 
 the expense of conveyance, and that the vicinity of 
 the market is at all times a consideration of great 
 importance. 
 
 From Buffalo, at or near the supposed commence- 
 ment of the canal, it is 450 miles to the city of New- 
 Yorif, and from that city to the ocean, 20 miles. From, 
 Buffalo to Montreal 350 miles ; from Montreal to the 
 Chops of the St. Lawrence, 450. From Buffalo to 
 New-Orleans by the great Lakes, and the Illinois 
 river, 2,250 miles ; from New-Orleans to the Gulf 
 of Mexico 100. Hence, the distance from Buffalo to 
 the ocean by the way of New-York, is 470 miles ; by 
 Montreal 800 : and by New-Orleans 2,350. 
 
 As the upper lakes have no important outlet but 
 into Lake Erie, we are warranted in saying, that all 
 their trade must be auxiliary to its trade, and that a 
 favourable communication by water from Buffalo, 
 will render New- York the great depot and warehouse 
 of the western world. 
 
 In order, however, to obviate all objections that 
 may be raised against the place of comparison, let us 
 take three other positions, C-^zm^o, near the southwest, 
 and of Lake Michigan, and a creek of that name, 
 which some times communicates with the Illinois, the 
 nearest river from the lakes to the Mississippi: Detroit^ 
 on the river of that name, between lakes St. Clair 
 and Erie ; and Pittsburgh^ at the confluence of the 
 Alleghany and Monongahela^rivers, forming the head 
 of the Ohio, and communicating with Le Beuf by wa- 
 ter, which is distant fifteen miles from Lake Erie. 
 
 The distance from Chicago to the ocean by New- 
 
( 84 ) 
 
 York, is about 1,200 miles. To the mouth of the 
 Mississippi, by New-Orleans, near 1,600 miles, and to 
 the mouth of the St. Lawrence, by Montreal, near 
 1,600 miles. 
 
 The distance from Detroit to the ocean by New- 
 York, is near 700 miles. From Detroit to the ocean 
 by Montreal, is 1,050 miles. From Detroit to the 
 ocean, pursuing the nearest route by Cleveland, and 
 down the Muskingum, 2,400 miles. The distance 
 from Pittsburgh to the ocean, by Le Beuf, Lake Buf- 
 falo, and New-York, is 700 miles. The same to the 
 ocean by Buffalo and Montreal, 1,050 miles. The 
 same to the ocean by the Ohio and Mississippi, 2,150 
 miles. 
 
 These different comparative views show that New- 
 York has,in every instance, a decided advantage over 
 her great rivals. In other essential respects the scale 
 preponderates equally in her favour. Supposing a 
 perfect equality of advantages as to the navigation of 
 the lakes, yet from Buffalo, as the point of departure, 
 there is no comparison of benefits. From that place 
 the voyager to Montreal has to encounter the incon- 
 veniences of a portage at the cataract of Niagara, to 
 load and unload at least three times, to brave the 
 tempests of Lake Ontario and the rapids of the St. 
 Lawrence. 
 
 In like manner the voyager to New-Orleans, has a 
 portage between the Chicago and Illinois, an incon- 
 venient navigation on the latter stream, besides the 
 well-known obstacles and hazards of the Mississippi. 
 And until the invention of Steam-Boats, an ascending 
 navigation was considered almost impracticable. 
 This inconvenience is, howei<§r, still forcibly expe- 
 rienced on that river, as well as on the St. Lawrence 
 between Montreal and Lake Ontario. 
 
 The navigation from Lake Erie to Albany, can be 
 completed in ten days with perfect sefetyon the canal; 
 and from Albany to New-York, there is the best 
 sloop navigation in the world. 
 
 From Buffalo to Albany, a ton of commodities coulcl 
 
( 85 ) 
 
 be conveyed on the intended canal, for three dollars, 
 and from Albany to New- York, according to the pre- 
 sent prices of sloop transportation, for $2-^-^-^, and the 
 return cargoes would be the same. 
 
 We have not sufficient data upon which to predi- 
 cate very accurate estimates with regard to Montreal 
 and New-Orleans ; but we have no hesitation in say- 
 ing, that the descending conveyance to the former, 
 would be four times the expense, and to the latter, at 
 least ten times, and that the cost of the ascending- 
 transportation would be greatly enhanced. 
 
 It has been stated by several of the most respecta- 
 ble citizens of Ohio, that the present expense of 
 transportation by water from the city of New-York 
 to Sandusky, including the carrying places, is ;^4 
 tW P^r hundred, and allowing it to cost two dollars 
 per hundred for transportation to Clinton, the geo- 
 graphical centre of the state, the whole expense would 
 be $6y^-^\, which is only fifty cents more than the trans- 
 portation from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, and at 
 least ^2-p5^%- less than the transportation by land and 
 water from these places, and that, in their opinion, 
 New-York is the natural emporium of that trade, and 
 that the whole commercial intercourse of the western 
 country north of the Ohio, will be secured to her 
 by the contemplated canal. 
 
 In addition to this, it may be stated, that the St. 
 Lawrence is generally locked up by ice seven months 
 in the year, during which time produce lies a dead 
 weight on the hands of the owner ; that the naviga- 
 tion from New-York to the ocean, is at all times easy, 
 and seldom obstructed by ice, and that the passage 
 from the Balize to New-Orleans is tedious ; that per- 
 haps oKe out of five of the western boatmen who de- 
 scend the Mississippi, become victims to disease; and 
 that many important articles of western production 
 are injured or destroyed by the climate. New- York 
 is, therefore, placed in a happy medium between the 
 insalubrious heat of the Mississippi, and the severe 
 eold of the St. Lawrence. She has also pre-eminent 
 
( 86 ) 
 
 advantages, as to the goodness and extensiveness of 
 her market. All the productions of the soil, and the 
 fabrics of art, can command an adequate price, and 
 foreign commodities can generally be procured at a 
 lower rate. The trade of the Mississippi is already 
 in the hands of her merchants,and although accidental 
 and transient causes may have concurred to give 
 Montreal an ascendency in some points, yet the su- 
 periority of New-York is founded in nature, and if 
 improved by the wisdom of government, must always 
 soar above competition. 
 
 Granting, however, that the rivals of New-York 
 will command a considerable portion of the western 
 trade, yet it must be obvious, from these united con- 
 siderations, that she will engross more than sufficient 
 to render her the greatest commercial city in the 
 world. The whole line of canal will exhibit boats 
 loaded with flour, pork, beef, pot and pearl ashes, 
 flaxseed, wheat, barley, corn, hemp, wool, flax, iron, 
 lead, copper, salt, gypsum, coal, tar, fur, peltry, ginseng, 
 bees-wax, cheese, butter, lard, staves, lumber, and 
 the other valuable productions of our country ; and 
 also, with merchandise from all parts of the world. 
 Great manufacturing establishments will spring up; 
 agriculture will establish its granaries, and commerce 
 its warehouses in all directions. Villages, towns, 
 and cities, will line the banks of the canal, and the 
 shores of the Hudson from Erie to New-York. ' The 
 wilderness and the solitary place will become glad, 
 and the desert will rejoice and blossom as the rose.' 
 
 While it is universally admitted that there ought 
 to be a water communication between the great lakes 
 and the tide-waters of the Hudson, a contrariety of 
 opinion (greatly to be deplored, as tending to injure 
 the whole undertaking) has arisen with respect to the 
 route that ought to be adopted. It is contended on 
 the one side, that the canal should commence in the 
 vicinity of the outlet of Lake Erie, and be carried in 
 the most eligible direction across the country to the 
 head-waters of the Mohawk river at Rome : from 
 
( 87 ) 
 
 whence it should be continued along the valley of 
 the Mohawk to the Hudson. It is, on the other side, 
 insisted, that it should be cut round the cataract of 
 Niagara ; that Lake Ontario should be navigated to 
 the mouth of the Oswego river ; that the navigation of 
 that river, and Wood Creek, should be improved and 
 pursued until the junction of the latter with the 
 Mohawk at Rome. As to the expediency of a canal 
 from Rome to the Hudson, there is no discrepance of 
 opinion : the route from Rome to the great Lakes 
 constitutes the subject t)f controversy. 
 
 If both plans were presented to the Legislature, as 
 worthy of patronage, and if the advocates of the route 
 by Lake Ontario did not insist that their schemes 
 should be exclusive, and of course, that its adoption 
 should prove fatal to the other project, this question 
 would not exhibit so serious an aspect. If two roads 
 are made, that which is most accommodating will be 
 preferred ; but if only one is established, whether 
 convenient or inconvenient to individuals, beneficial 
 or detrimental to the public, it must necessarily be 
 used. We are so fully persuaded of the superiority 
 of the Erie Canal, that although we should greatly 
 regret so useless an expenditure of public money as 
 making a canal round the cataract of Niagara, yet we 
 should not apprehend any danger from the competi- 
 tion of Montreal, if the former were established. 
 
 An invincible argument in favour of the Erie canal, 
 is, that it would diffuse the blessings of internal navi- 
 gation over the most fertile and populous parts of 
 the state, and supply the whole community with salt, 
 gypsum, and in all probability coal. Whereas, the 
 Ontario route would accommodate but an inconside- 
 rable part of our territory, and instead of being a 
 great highway, leading directly to the object, it would 
 be a circuitous by-road, inconvenient in all essential 
 respects. 
 
 The most serious objection against the Ontario 
 route, is, that it will inevitably enrich the territory of a 
 foreign power, at the expense of the United States. If 
 
( 88 ) 
 
 a canal is cut round the falls of Niagara, and no 
 countervailing nor counteracting system is adopted 
 in relation to lake Erie, the commerce of the west is 
 lost to us for ever. When a vessel once descends 
 into Ontario, she will pursue the course ordained by 
 Nature. The British government are fully aware of 
 this, and are now taking the most active measures to 
 facilitate the passage down the St. Lawrence. 
 
 It is not to be concealed, that a great portion of the 
 productions of our western country are now transport- 
 ed to Montreal, even with alHhe inconveniences at- 
 tending the navigation down the Seneca and Oswego 
 rivers ; but if this route is improved in the way pro- 
 posed, and the other not opened, the consequences 
 will be most prejudicial. A barrel of flour is now 
 transported from Cayuga lake toJMontreal for ^lyVV* 
 and it cannot be conveyed to Albany for less than 
 ^2y5_o_. This simple fact speaks a volume of ad- 
 monitory instruction. 
 
 But taking it for granted, that the Ontario route 
 will bring the commerce of the west to New-York, 
 yet the other ought to be preferred, on account of 
 the superior facilities it affords. 
 
 In the first place, it is nearer. The distance from 
 Buffalo to Rome, is less than 200 miles in the course 
 of the intended canal : by lake Ontario and Oswego, 
 it is 232. 
 
 2. A loaded boat could pass from Buffalo to Rome 
 by the Erie route, in less than seven days, and with 
 entire safety. By the Ontario route, it will be per- 
 fectly uncertain, and not a little hazardous. After 
 leaving the Niagara river, it would have to pass an 
 inland sea to the extent of 127 miles, as boisterous 
 and as dangerous as the Atlantic. And besides a 
 navigation of at least twenty miles over another lake, 
 it would have to ascend two difficult streams for 55 
 miles ; no calculation could then be made, either on 
 the certainty or safety of this complicated and incon- 
 venient navigation. 
 
 3. When a lake vessel would arrive at Buffalo, she 
 
( 89 ) 
 
 would have to unload her cargo, and when this cargo 
 arrived at Albany by the Erie canal, it would be shift- 
 ed on board of a river sloop, in order to be trans- 
 ported to New- York. From the time of the first 
 loading on the great lakes, to the last unloading at 
 the storehouses in New- York, there would be three 
 loadings and three unloadings on this route. 
 
 But when a lake vessel arrived with a view of pass- 
 ing the canal of Niagara, she would be obliged to shift 
 her lading for that purpose, for it would be almost 
 impracticable to use lake vessels on the Niagara 
 river, on account of the difficulty of the ascending 
 navigation. At Lewiston, or some other place on 
 the Niagara, another change of the cargo on board 
 of a lake vessel for Ontario would be necessary : 
 at Oswego another, and at Albany another ; so that 
 on this route, there would be five loadings and five 
 unloadings, before the commodities were stored in 
 New-York. 
 
 This difference is an object of great consequence, 
 and presents the most powerful objections against 
 the Ontario route ; for to the delay we must add the 
 accumulated expense of these changes of the cargo, 
 the storage, the waste and damage, especially by- 
 theft, (where the chances of depredation are increas- 
 ed by the merchandise passing through a multitude 
 of hands) and the additional lake vessels, boats and 
 men that will be required, thereby increasing in this 
 respect alone, the cost two thirds above that attend- 
 ing the other course. And in general it may be observed, 
 that the difference between a single and double freight 
 forms an immense saving. Goods are brought from 
 Europe for twenty cents per cubic foot ; whereas the 
 price from Philadelphia to Baltimore, is equal to ten 
 cents. This shews how far articles once embarked, 
 are conveyed with a very small addition of freight, 
 and if such is the difference between a single and a 
 a double freight, how much greater must it be in the 
 case under consideration ! 
 
 If the fall from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario be 450 
 
 12 
 
( 90 ) 
 
 feet, as stated in Mr. Secretary Gallatin's report on 
 canals, it will require at least 45 locks for a naviga- 
 tion round the cataract. Whether it would be prac- 
 ticable to accommodate all the vessels which the 
 population and opulence of future times will create 
 in those waters, with a passage through so many 
 locks accumulated within a short distance, is a ques- 
 tion well worthy of serious consideration. At all 
 events, the demurrage must be frequent, vexatious, 
 and expensive. 
 
 When we consider the immense expense which 
 would attend the canal proposed on the Niagara river; 
 a canal requiring so many locks, and passing through 
 such- difficult ground; when we view the Oswego 
 river from its outlet at Oswego to its origin in Oneida 
 Lake, encumbered with dangerous rapids and falls, 
 and flowing through a country almost impervious to 
 canal operations ; and when we contemplate the nu- 
 merous embarrassments which are combined with 
 the improvement of Wood Greek, we are prepared 
 to believe that the expense of this route will not 
 greatly fall short of the other. 
 
 It is however alleged, that it is not prac ticable 
 to make this canal ; and that if practicable, the ex- 
 pense will be enormous, and will far transcend the 
 faculties of the state. 
 
 Lake Erie is elevated 541 feet above the tide waters 
 at Troy. The only higher ground between it and 
 the Hudson is but a few miles from the Lake : and 
 this difficulty can be easily surmounted by deep cut- 
 ting; of course no tunnel will be required. The 
 rivers which cross the line of the canal, can be easily 
 passed by aqueducts ; on every summit level, plenty 
 of water can be obtained; whenever there is a 
 great rise or descent, locks can be erected, and the 
 whole line will not require more than sixty two ; 
 perhaps there is not an equal extent of country in 
 the world, which presents fewer obstacles to the es- 
 tablishment of a canal. The liberality of Nature 
 has created the great ducts and arteries, and the in- 
 
( 91 ) 
 
 genuity of art can easily provide the connecting 
 veins. The general physiognomy of the country is 
 champaign, and exhibits abundance of water: a 
 gentle rising from the Hudson to the lake ; a soil 
 vi^ell adapted for such operations : no impassible hills, 
 and no insurmountable waters. As to distance, it is 
 not to be considered in relation to practicability. If 
 a canal can be made for fifty miles, it can be made 
 for three hundred, provided there is no essential va- 
 riance in the face of the country ; the only difference 
 will be that in the latter case, it will take more time, 
 and consume more money. 
 
 But this opinion does not rest for its support upon 
 mere speculation. Canals have been successfully 
 cut through more embarrassing ground, in various 
 parts of the United States ; and even in part of the 
 intended route from Schenectady to Rome, locks have 
 been erected at the Little Falls, and at other places ; 
 and short canals have been made, and all these ope- 
 rations have taken place in the most difficult parts 
 of the whole course of the contemplated Erie naviga- 
 tion. Mr. William Weston, one of the most celebrated 
 civil engineers in Europe, who has superintended ca- 
 nals in this state and Pennsylvania, and who is perfect- 
 ly well acquainted with the country, has thus express- 
 ed his opinion on this subject : " Should your noble 
 but stupenduous plan of uniting Lake Erie with the 
 Hudson, be carried into effect, you have to fear no 
 rivalry. The commerce of the immense extent of 
 country, bordering on the upper lakes, is yours for 
 ever, and to such an incalculable amount as would 
 baffle all conjecture to conceive. Its execution 
 would confer immortal honour on the projectors and 
 supporters, and would in its eventual consequences, 
 render New- York the greatest commercial empori- 
 um in the world, with perhaps the exception at some 
 distant day of New-Orleans, or some other depot at 
 the mouth of the majestic Mississippi. From your 
 perspicuous topographical description and neat plan 
 and profile of the route of the contemplated canal, 
 
( 92 ) 
 
 I entertain little doubt of the practicability of the 
 measure." 
 
 With regard to the expense of this work, different 
 estimates will be formed. The commissioners ap- 
 pointed for that purpose, were of opinion that it 
 would not cost more than five millions of dollars. 
 On this subject we must be guided by the light which 
 experince affords in analogous cases. 
 
 The canal of Languedoc, or canal of the two seas 
 in France, connects the Mediterranean and the At- 
 lantic, and is 180 miles in length : it has 114 locks 
 and sluices, and a tunnel 720 feet long. The breadth 
 of the canal is 141 feet, and its depth six feet: it 
 was begun in 1666, and finished in 1681, and cost 
 £540,000 sterling, or £3,000 sterling a mile. 
 
 The Holstien canal, begun in 1777, and finished 
 i-n 1785, extends about fifty miles: is 100 fieet wide 
 at the top, and 54 at the bottom, and not less 
 than ten feet deep in any part. Ships drawing nine 
 feet four inches water, pass through it from the 
 German ocean, in the vicinity of Tonningen, into the 
 Baltic. From two to three thousand ships have 
 passed in one year. The expense of the whole work 
 was a little more than a million and a half of dollars, 
 which would be at the rate of 30,000 dollars a mile 
 for this ship navigation. 
 
 The extreme length of the canal from the Forth 
 to the Clyde in Scotland is 35 miles. It rises and 
 falls 160 feet by means of 39 locks. Vessels pass 
 drawing eight feet water, having 19 feet beam, and 
 73 feet length. The cost is calculated at £200,000 
 sterling, which is at the rate of about 23,000 dollars 
 a mile. But this was a canal for ships drawing eight 
 feet of water, with an extraordinary rise for its 
 length, and having more than one lock for every mile. 
 
 The following will give an idea of the money ex- 
 pended on such works in England : — 
 
 Cost. Miles. 
 
 The Rochdale Canal, £291,900 31i- 
 
 Ellesmere, 400,000 57 
 
( 93 ) 
 
 
 Cost. 
 
 Miles, 
 
 Kennet and Avon, 
 
 420,000 
 
 78 
 
 Grand Junction, 
 
 500,000 
 
 90 
 
 Leeds and Liverpool, 
 
 800,000 
 
 J29 
 
 The miles of canal are 385^, and the cost is 
 £2,1 11,900 sterling, or about 28,000 dollars per mile. 
 
 But in the estimation of the cost of these canals, 
 unquestionably the price of the land over which 
 they pass is included, and this is enormous. The 
 land alone for one canal of 16 miles, is said to have 
 cost £90,000 sterling. With us this would be but 
 small. 
 
 If we look at the history of the English canals, we 
 shall see how many objects of great expense are con- 
 nected with them, with which we should have no- 
 thing to do, and that most of them have encountered 
 and surmounted obstacles which we should not meet 
 with. For instance, the Grand Junction canal pass- 
 es more than once the great ridge which divides the 
 waters of England ; ours will pass over a country 
 w^hich in comparison is champaign. 
 
 But it is said that the price of labour in our country 
 is so much above what it is in England, that we must 
 add greatly to the cost of her canals in estimating the 
 expense of ours. But that is certainly a false conclu- 
 sion, for not only must the price of the land and the 
 adventitious objects which have been before referred 
 to, be deducted from the cost of the foreign canals, 
 but we must consider that there will be almost as 
 great a difference in our favour in the cost of materi- 
 als and brute labour, as there is in favour of England 
 as to human labour,and it is well krbwn that so much 
 human labour is not now required on canals as for- 
 merly. Machines for facilitating excavation have been 
 invented and used with great success. 
 
 Mr. Gallatin's report on canals contains several 
 estimates of the cost of contemplated ones. From 
 Weymouth to Taunton,in Massachusetts, the expense 
 of a canal of 26 miles, with a lockage of 260 feet, is 
 set down at 1,250,000 dollars. From Brunswick to 
 Trenton, 28 miles, with a lockage of 100 feet, 800,000 
 
( 94 ) 
 
 dollars. From Chistiana to Elk, 22 miles with a lock- 
 age of 148 feet, 750,000 dollars. From Elizabeth ri- 
 er to Pasquotank, 22 miles, with a lockage of 40 feet, 
 250,000 dollars. These estimates thus vary from 
 48,000 to less than 12,000 dollars a mile, and furnish 
 the medium of about 31,000 dollars a mile. But it 
 must be observed that they are for small distances,are 
 calculated to surmount particular obstacles, and con- 
 template an extraordinary number of locks, and that 
 they do not therefore furnish proper data from which 
 to form correct conclusions,with respect to the proba- 
 ble cost of an extensive canal, sometimes running over 
 a great number of miles upon a level without any 
 expense for lockage, or any other expense than the 
 mere earth work. 
 
 Mr.Weston,before mentioned,estimated the expense 
 of a canal from the tide waters at Troy to lake Onta- 
 rio, a distance of 100 miles, (exclusive of Lake Onei- 
 da,) going round the Cohoes, and embracing 55 locks 
 of eight feet lift each, at 2,200,000 dollars, a little 
 more than 13,000 dollars a mile. 
 
 Fortunately, however, we have more accurate in- 
 formation than mere estimates. 
 
 In the appendix to Mr. Gallatin's report, it is stated 
 by Mr. Joshua Gilpin, that " by actual measurement, 
 and the sums paid on the feeder, it was found that 
 one mile on the Delaware and Chesapeake canal, the 
 most difficult of all others, from its being nearly alto- 
 gether formed through hard rocky ground, cost 
 13,000 dollars, and one other mile perfectly level, 
 and without particular impediments, cost 2,300 dol- 
 lars; from hence, the general average would be re- 
 duced to 7,650 dollars per mile." 
 
 The Middlesex canal, in Massachusetts, runs over 
 twenty-eight miles of ground, presenting obstacles 
 much greater than can be expected on the route we 
 purpose. This canal cost 478,000 dollars, which 
 is about 17,000 dollars a mile. It contains 22 locks 
 of solid masonry and excellent workmanship, and to 
 accomplish this work, it was necessary to dig in some 
 places to the depth of 20 feet, to cut through ledges 
 
( 95 ) 
 
 of rocks, to fill some valleys and morasses, and to 
 throw several aqueducts across the intervening ri- 
 vers. One of these across the river Shawshine is 
 280 feet long, and 22 feet above the river. 
 From the Tonewanta Creek, to the Seneca 
 
 river, is a fall of, 195 feet 
 
 From thence to the Rome summit is a rise of 50 
 From thence to the Hudson river, is a fall of 380 
 
 The whole rise and fall, - - - 625 feet. 
 This will require 62 locks of ten feet lift each. The 
 expense of such locks as experimentally proved in 
 several instances in this state would be about 620,000 
 dollars. 
 
 We have seen that on the Middlesex canal, there 
 are 22 locks for 28 miles, which is a lock for some- 
 what more than every mile, whereas, 62 locks for 300 
 miles is but about one lock for every five miles ; 
 and the lockage of the Middlesex canal, would alone 
 cost 220,000 dollars. It would, therefore, appear to 
 be an allowance perhaps too liberal, to consider the 
 cost of it as a fair criterion of the expense of canals 
 in general in this country,and of this in particular. Re- 
 servoirs and tunnels, are the most expensive part of 
 the operation, and none will be necessary in our 
 whole route. The expense of the whole earth work 
 of excavating a mile of canal on level ground fifty 
 feet wide and five feet deep, at 1 8 cents per cubic 
 yard,and allowing for the cost of forming and trimming 
 the banks, puddling, &c. will not exceed 4000 dol- 
 lars per mile, and the only considerable aqueduct on 
 the whole line, will be over the Genesee river. 
 
 From a deliberate consideration of these differ- 
 ent estimates and actual expenditures, we are fully 
 persuaded that this great work will not cost more 
 than 20,000 dollars a mile, or six millions of dollars 
 in the whole ; but willing to make every possible al- 
 lowance, and even conceding that it will cost double 
 that sum, yet still we contend that there is nothing 
 which ought to retard its execution. This canal can- 
 
( 96 ) 
 
 not be made in a short time. It will be the work per- 
 haps of 10 or 15 years. 
 
 The money will not be wanted at once. The 
 expenditure, in order to be beneficial, ought not to 
 exceed .')00,000 dollars a year, and the work may be 
 accomplished in two ways ; either by companies, 
 incorporated for particular sections of the route, or 
 by the state. If the first is resorted to, pecuniary 
 sacrifices will still be necessary on the part of the 
 public, and great care ought to be taken to guard 
 against the high tolls, which will certainly injure, if 
 not ruin the whole enterprise. 
 
 If the state shall see fit to achieve this great work, 
 there can be no difficulty in providing funds. Stock 
 can be created and sold at an advanced price. The 
 ways and means of paying the interest will be only 
 required. After the first year, supposing an annual 
 expenditure of 500,000 dollars, thirty thousand dol- 
 lars must be raised to pay an interest of six per cent ; 
 after the second year 60,000, and so on. At this rate 
 interest they will regularly increase with beneficial 
 appropriation, and will be so little in amount that it 
 may be raised in many shapes without being bur- 
 densome to the community. In all human probability, 
 the augmented revenue proceeding from the public 
 salt works, and the increased price of the state lands, 
 in consequence of this undertaking, will more than 
 extinguish the interest of the debt contracted for that 
 purpose. We should also take into view, the land 
 already subscribed by individuals for this work, 
 amounting to 106,632 acres. These donations, 
 together with those which may be confidently 
 anticipated, will exceed in value a milHon of dollars, 
 and it will be at all times in the power of the state to 
 raise a revenue from the imposition of transit duties, 
 which may be so light as scarcely to be felt, and yet 
 the income may be so great as in a short time to 
 extinguish the debt, and this might take effect on the 
 completion of every important section of the work. 
 
 If the legislature shall consider this important pro- 
 ject in the same point of view, and shall unite with 
 
( .97 ) 
 
 US in opinion, that the general prosperity is intimate- 
 ly and essentially involved in its prosecution, we are 
 fully persuaded that now is the proper time for its 
 commencement. Delays, are the refuge of weak 
 minds, and to procrastinate on this occasion is to 
 show a culpable inattention to the bounties of Nature ; 
 a total insensibility to the blessings of Providence, 
 and an inexcusable neglect of the interests of society. 
 If it were intended to advance the views of individ- 
 duals, or to foment the divisions of party; if it promo- 
 ted the interests of a few, at the expense of the pros- 
 perity of the many ; if its benefits were limited as to 
 place, or fugitive as to duration, then indeed it might 
 be received with cold indifference, or treated with 
 stern neglect ; but the overflowing blessing from this 
 great fountain of public good and national abundance, 
 will be as extensive as our country, and as durable as 
 time. 
 
 The considerations which now demand an im- 
 mediate, and an undivided attention to this great 
 object, are so obvious, so various, and so weighty, 
 that we shall only attempt to glance at some of the 
 most prominent. 
 
 In the first place, it must be evident, that no pe- 
 riod could be adopted in which the work can be pro- 
 secuted with less expense. Every day augments the 
 value of the land through which the canal will pass ; 
 and when we consider the surplus hands which have 
 been recently dismissed from the army into the walks 
 of private industry, and the facility with which an ad- 
 dition can be procured to the mass of our active la- 
 bour, in consequence of the convulsions of Europe, 
 it must be obvious that this is now the time to make 
 those indispensable acquisitions. 
 
 2. The longer this work is delayed, the greater will 
 be the difficulty in surmounting the interests that will 
 rise up in opposition to it. Expedients on a contracted 
 scale have already been adopted for the facilitation 
 of intercourse. Turnpikes, locks, and short canals, 
 have been resorted to, and in consequence of those 
 
 13 
 
 
( 98 ) 
 
 establishments, villages have been laid out, and towns 
 have been contemplated. To prevent injurious spec- 
 culation, to avert violent opposition, and to exhibit 
 dignified impartiality and paternal affection to your 
 fellow citizens, it is proper that they should be noti- 
 fied at once of your intentions. 
 
 3. The experience of the late war has impressed 
 every thinking man in the community, with the im- 
 portance of this communication. The expenses of 
 transportation frequently exceeded the original 
 value of the article, and at all times operated with 
 injurious pressure upon the finances of the nation. 
 The money thus lost for the want of this communica- 
 tion would have perhaps defrayed more than one 
 half of its expense. 
 
 4. Events which are daily occurring on our fron- 
 tiers, demonstrate the necessity of this work. Is it 
 of importance that our honourable merchants should 
 not be robbed of their legitimate profits; that the 
 public revenues should not be seriously impaired 
 by dishonest smuggling, and that the commerce of 
 our cities should not be supplanted by the mercantile 
 establishments of foreign countries ? then it is essen- 
 tial that this sovereign remedy for maladies so de- 
 structive and ruinous, should be applied. It is with 
 inconceivable regret we record the well known fact, 
 that merchandise from Montreal has been sold to an 
 alarming extent on our borders for 15 per cent, be- 
 low the New-York prices. 
 
 5. A measure of this kind wiU have a benign ten- 
 dency in raising the value of the national domains, 
 in expediting the sale, and enabling the payment 
 Our national debt may thus, in a short time, be ex- 
 tinguished. Our taxes of course will be diminished, 
 and a considerable portion of revenue may then be 
 expended in great public improvements ; in encou- 
 raging the arts and sciences ; in patronising the ope- 
 rations of industry; in fostering the inventions of ge- 
 nius, and in defusing the blessings of knowledge. 
 
 6. However serious the fears which have been en- 
 
( 99 ) 
 
 tertained of a dismemberment of the Union by col- 
 lisions between the north and the south, it is to be ap- 
 prehended that the most imminent danger lies in 
 another direction, and that a line of separation may 
 be eventually drawn between the atlantic and the 
 western states, unless they are cemented by a com^ 
 mon, an ever acting and a powerful interest. The 
 commerce of the ocean, and the trade of the lakes, 
 passing through one channel, supplying the wants, 
 increasing the wealth, and reciprocating the benefits 
 of each great section of the empire, will form an im- 
 perishable cement of connexion, and an indissoluble 
 bond of union. New-York is both atlantic and west- 
 ern, and the only state in which this union of interest 
 can be formed and perpetuated, and in which this 
 great centripetal power can be energetically applied. 
 Standing on this exalted eminence, with power to 
 prevent a train of the most extensive and afflicting 
 calamities that ever visited the world, (for such a 
 train will inevitably follow a dissolution of the Union,) 
 she will justly be considered an enemy to the human 
 race, if she does not exert for this purpose the high 
 faculties which the Almighty has put into her hands. 
 
 Lastly. It may be confidently asserted, that this 
 canal, as to the extent of its route, as to the coun- 
 tries which it connects, and as to the consequences 
 which it will produce, is without a parallel in the his- 
 tory of mankind. The union of the Baltic and the 
 Euxine ; of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean ; 
 of the Euxine and the Caspian, and of the Mediterra- 
 nean and the Atlantic, has been projected or execu- 
 ted by the chiefs of powerful monarchies, and the 
 splendour of the design has always attracted the ad- 
 miration of the world. It remains for a free state to 
 create a new era in history, and to erect a work more 
 stupendous, more magnificent, and more beneficial^ 
 than has hitherto been achieved by the human race. 
 Character is as important to nations as to individuals, 
 and the glory of a republic, founded on the promo- 
 tion of the general good, is the common property of 
 all its citizens. 
 
( 100 ) 
 
 We have thus discharged with frankness and plain- 
 ness, and with every sentiment of respect, a great 
 duty to ourselves, to our fellow citizens, and to pos- 
 terity, in presenting this subject to the fathers of the 
 commonwealth. And may that Almighty Being, in 
 whose hands are the destinies of states and nations, 
 enlighten your councils and invigorate your exertions 
 in favour of the best interests of our beloved country. 
 
 To the Honourable the Senate and Assembly of the State 
 of JVew- York. 
 
 During the late war, it was impracticable to carry 
 on any further operations to forward the objects of 
 their appointment, by pursuing the surveys and levels 
 heretofore commenced with a view to ascertain the 
 most desirable route for the proposed canal from 
 Lake Erie, to the tide-waters of the Hudson River. 
 
 Referring therefore to their former reports,respect- 
 ing the practicability of effecting this important 
 object, they will briefly add, that their opinions have 
 been confirmed by reflection and additional inquiries 
 on the subject. And particularly so far as respects 
 the cost, they are satisfied that it will not exceed the 
 calculation they have already submitted. It now 
 remains for the legislature to provide means to 
 enable the commissioners to engage a competent 
 professional engineer to examine minutely the whole 
 of the ground, and decide on the most expedient 
 route. Experience in similar operations in Europe, 
 has shown that an error in regard to this may cause 
 the useless expenditure of vast sums of money. The 
 surveys and levels which the commissioners have 
 caused to be taken, will have anticipated what an en- 
 gineer would direct as an indispensable, preparatory 
 work, and will put information into his hands which 
 will enable him at once to take such a view of the 
 field of operation, as to save much time and expense. 
 
 These preparatory operations, your commissioners 
 
( 101 ) 
 
 therefore consider as essential to economy, since 
 they will, with but little time employed in traversing 
 the ground, by the person to whom the work will be 
 intrusted, enable him to fix on the precise route, on 
 which the best judgment, with the best information, 
 would finally determine, with less danger of error, 
 than if he were left to enter on his business, an 
 entire stranger to the facilities or difficulties which 
 the country presents. To select a suitable person 
 to perform this most important part of the work, will 
 require the utmost caution and deliberation. The 
 same causes which suspended the duties of the 
 commissioners, have been the principal obstacles to 
 the selection and employment of a capable engineer. 
 There are few persons of this description in Europe, 
 and there is every inducement for preferring our own 
 countrymen, if the requisite scientific and practical 
 knowledge can be formed. 
 
 From the number and the respectability of the 
 applications now before the legislature in favour of 
 an immediate commencement and vigorous prose- 
 cution of this great national work, it is evident that 
 the immense advantages which would result from its 
 completion, are duly appreciated by our fellow citi- 
 zensf and itonly remains for the legislature to sanc- 
 tion,by their approval,an undertaking which combines 
 in one object the hoaour, interest, and political emi- 
 nence of the state. 
 
 In a time of peace like the present, the commis- 
 sioners have the most undoubted assurance, that a 
 loan on the credit of the state can be obtained for a 
 million of dollars, with which to commence the work, 
 and for as much more thereafter as may be required, 
 at a rate of interest at or under six per cent. Perhaps, 
 however, better means may be devised ; and they 
 beg leave to remind the legislature, that the lands 
 already offered to them by private individuals near 
 whose property the canal will pass,are very valuable, 
 and that further similar donations may be season- 
 ably expected. If it should be judged expedient to 
 
( 102 ) 
 
 make that part of the canal first, which is best calcu- 
 lated to yield an immediate and most profitable return 
 for the expense, the Commissioners are of opinion 
 that the route from Rome to the Seneca river will 
 be the most elegible; and would moreover have the 
 most immediate tendency to divert the trade from 
 passing down the Oswego river to lake Ontario and 
 Montreal : to permit which would be improvidently 
 to abandon to a foreign and rival nation, commercial 
 advantages which ages may not enable us to reclaim. 
 The difficulty of diverting the fixed currents of trade 
 is obvious and well known; and the importance of the 
 policy of directing that of the western section of the 
 state to the Hudson, is equally evident : and the com- 
 missioners conceive that the present moment, while 
 this section of the state is yet comparatively in its 
 infancy, is most favourable for forming and establish- 
 ing such connexions between the lakes and our 
 atlantic waters, as will effectually disappoint the views 
 of our rivals, and promote the honour and advantage 
 of the state. 
 
 While the commissioners cannot express, in terms 
 sufficiently emphatic, their ideas of the incalculable 
 benefits which will arise from a canal navigation be- 
 tween the great western lakes and the tide waters of 
 the Hudson, they fully appreciate the advantages of 
 connecting the waters of Champlain and the Hudson. 
 And they most respectfully represent to the legisla- 
 ture the expediency of adopting such preliminary 
 measures as may be necessary for the accomplish- 
 ment of this important object. 
 
 All which is respectfully submitted. 
 Signed, S. V, RENSSELAER, 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 SIMEON DE WITT, 
 W. NORTH, 
 THOMAS EDDY, 
 PETER B. PORTER, 
 CHARLES D. COOPER. 
 March, 181&« ' 
 
REPORT 
 
 or THE 
 
 THE Commissioners constituted by the act, entitled ^^ j9n act 
 to provide for the improvement of the internal naviga,- 
 tion of this State,''"' passed this llth April, 1816, most 
 respectfully present the following Report to the Legisla- 
 ture, being " a plain and comprehensive Report of their 
 proceedings,'''' as required by the said act. 
 
 The duties enjoined upon the commissioners, are — 
 
 1st. To devise and adopt such measures as shall 
 be requisite to facilitate and effect a communication, 
 by canals and locks, between lake Erie, and the na- 
 vigable waters of Hudson's river, and also between 
 lake Champlain and the said navigable waters. 
 
 2d. To examine and explore the country, for the 
 purpose of determining the most eligible routes for 
 the contemplated canals ; to cause surveys and levels 
 to be taken, and maps, field books, and draughts to 
 be made, and to adopt and recommend proper plans 
 for the construction and formation of the said canals, 
 and of the locks, dams, embankments, tunnels, and 
 aqueducts; and to cause all necessary plans, models, 
 and draughts thereof to be executed. 
 
 3d. To calculate and estimate the expense of the 
 above operations. 
 
 4 th. To ascertain whether to any, and to what 
 amount, and upon what terms, loans of money can 
 be procured, on the credit of the state, for the above 
 purposes — and, 
 
 5th. To apply for donations ©f land or money, in aid 
 of those undertakings, to the United States, to states 
 interested, to corporate bodies, and to individuals. 
 
 The commissioners met in New-York, on the 17th 
 day of May last, and after having organized the 
 
( 104 ) 
 
 board, they conceived it best to effect, if practica- 
 ble, the objects of the legislature, in the course of 
 the seasons. — With this view, they agreed to appoint 
 three engineers for the Erie, and one for the Cham- 
 plain canal ; each engineer to be assisted by a sur- 
 veyor and a competent number of hands. The Erie 
 canal was divided into three great sections, and one 
 engineer assigned to each ; the western section ex- 
 tending from Lake Erie to the Seneca river ; the 
 middle section from the said river to Rome ; and the 
 eastern section from Rome to the Hudson. In the 
 course of their investigations, they found it expedient 
 to appoint a fourth engineer, to explore and survey 
 the country from Buffalo to the east line of the Hol- 
 land purchase, on the south side of the mountain 
 ridge, it being represented that this route might be 
 preferable to that on the north side. 
 
 The best artificial navigation in the United States 
 being the Middlesex canal, in Massachusetts, two of 
 the commissioners, accompanied by two of the en- 
 gineers, proceeded to examine it, in order to obtain 
 practical information on the subject. 
 
 Another meeting of the commissioners was held at 
 Utica, on the 15th day of July : after which, three of 
 them explored, in person, the principal and most im- 
 portant parts of the route of the western canal, and 
 superintended and directed the general operations 
 of the engineers. And in the course of the season, 
 two of those commissioners attended, in like manner, 
 to the northern canal, while their colleagues con- 
 tinued to devote their attendance to the concerns 
 of the other. 
 
 The dimensions of the western or Erie canal and 
 locks, ought, in the opinion of the commissioners, 
 to be as follows, viz. — width on the water surface, 
 forty feet: at the bottom, twenty-eight feet, and depth 
 of water, four feet ; the length of a lock, ninety feet, 
 and its width, twelve feet in the clear. Vessels carry- 
 ing one hundred tons, may navigate a canal of this 
 size : and all the lumber produced in the country, 
 and required for market, may be transported upon it. 
 
( 105 ) 
 
 The route of the canal, as explored has been care- 
 fully designated by bench marks,level pegs, and other 
 fixtures; and in obedience to special instructions, 
 given by the commissioners, shafts have been sunk in- 
 to the earth in various places, to ascertain its nature, 
 with a view to a just estimation of the labour re- 
 quired, and of the expense to be incurred ; and great 
 pains have been taken to collect all the facts which 
 might be requisite to elucidate the facilities in favour, 
 and the impediments in the way, of this great under- 
 taking. 
 
 From their own examination, the commissioners 
 determined that it would be expedient to connect 
 the west end of the great canal with the waters 
 of Lake Erie, through the mouth of Buffalo creek. 
 In adopting this determination, they were influenced 
 by the following considerations : It is important to 
 have, at that end, a safe harbour, capable, without 
 much expense, of sufficient enlargement for the ac- 
 commodation of all boats and vessek, that a very 
 extensive trade may hereafter require to enter and 
 exchange their lading there. The waters of Lake 
 Erie are higher, at the mouth of the Buffalo, than 
 they are at Bird island, or any point further down the 
 Niagara; and every inch gained in elevation will 
 produce a large saving in the expense of excavation, 
 throughout the Lake Erie level. 
 
 That section of the route which extends from Buf- 
 falo to the east line of the Holland purchase, and 
 lying south of the mountain ridge, as before descri- 
 bed, was explored by William Peacock, Esq. as en- 
 gineer, under the superintendence of Joseph Ellicott, 
 Esq. one of the commissioners^ who had been pre- 
 viously requested, by a vote of the board, to afford 
 such superintendence. In the details of this section, 
 reference is made to Mr. Ellicott's report to the presi- 
 dent of the board, and to the field notes, draughts, 
 maps, and remarks of the said engineer, all of which 
 are herewith presented. 
 
 Beginning, then, at a point in the little Buffalo 
 
 14 
 
 'vt 
 
( 106 ) 
 
 creek, marked F, on the map, and extending two 
 miles to the southern extremity of Black Rock, mark» 
 ed G, the line of the canal passes over a marsh, of 
 which more than two feet of the surface consists of 
 light muck resting upon a strong bed of clay, suita- 
 ble for brick. The average depth of cutting, for 
 this distance, will be nearly ten feet. To perform 
 it will require the excavation of 33,350 cords of 
 earth, which is estimated at ^ 112 1-2, and would 
 cost $ 37,581 
 
 From G to E, on the map is a mile, and includes 
 the margin of Niagara river, at Black Rock. The 
 rock here is composed of limestone, mixed, in the 
 upper stratum, with flint ; and as the average depth 
 of cutting will be five feet, there must be excavated 
 49,960 perches of stone. At 62 V2 cents per perch, 
 this would cost $ 30,600 
 
 It is believed, however, that by erecting a wall near 
 the river, and puddling it for the lower bank, the 
 canal may be made, for this mile, af an expense not 
 exceeding half of the above estimate. 
 
 From the letter E, at Black Rock ferry, to L, at 
 the Tonewanta creek, the line of the canal contin- 
 ues along the margin of Niagara river, the distance 
 being thirteen miles. A part of this distance will be 
 completed, by moving earth enough to form the low- 
 er bank of the canal only ; nevertheless, to cover 
 the expense of making culverts and small embank- 
 "Tiients, at several creeks which cross the canal line, 
 the average depth of excavation is calculated at five 
 feet. This calculation will require the removal of 
 80,600 cords of earth, which, at one dollar, would 
 amount to $ 80,600 
 
 At L. it is proposed to erect a dam, across the creek 
 of sufficient height to raise the waters thereof to the 
 level of Lake Erie. This height would be four feet 
 deep and sixty-eight hundredths ; and the expense of 
 the dam is estimated at $ 8,500 
 
 Such a dam would produce a level surface, of from 
 fourteen to twenty perches wide, and an abundant 
 
( 107 ) 
 
 depth of water for seventeen miles up the Tonewan- 
 ta, to R. Both banks of this creek are bold ; a towing 
 path might be made on either for ^600 per mile, and 
 would therefore cost for the whole distance ^10,200. 
 Thus might the canal be completed, for seventeen 
 miles, by using the bed of this creek, of the ex- 
 pense of $18,700 
 
 In most cases, experience is decidedly against ma- 
 king use of the channels of natural streams, on any 
 part of the route of canal navigation. These streams 
 are so apt to produce injury to the artificial works 
 with which they are connected, by freshets in the 
 spring, with a strong and muddy current, by want of 
 water in the fall, and the sudden changes to which 
 they are liable at all seasons, that they should be 
 avoided, except as feeders, almost when it is practi- 
 cable. But always to these remarks the Tonewanta 
 affords an exception. After the dam is built near its 
 mouth, that part of it which it is intended to use, will 
 have much more the character of a quiet narrow bay, 
 or an artificial canal, than of a natural stream ,- and 
 to give it still more of this character, provision might 
 be made, with very little expense, at the point where 
 its waters are first subservient to the canal, to turn 
 all its superfluous freshets and floods down the Oak 
 Orchard creek, into lake Ontario. 
 
 The expense of a lock near the dam, for the pur- 
 pose of facilitating the navigation from Scholosser to 
 Lake Erie, would be % 1 0,000 
 
 At R, on the Tonewanta, thirty-three miles from 
 the west end of the canal, the Lake Erie level termi- 
 nates. From this place to C, on the summit level 
 between Lake Erie and the Genesee river, is twelve 
 miles. In this distance locks must be constructed for 
 a rise of seventy-four feet and eighty hundredths. It 
 would probably be expedien^to divide this rise equal- 
 ly between ten locks, in which case the lift of each 
 would be seven feet and forty-eight hundredths. Of 
 these locks three might be placed at R, four at C, and 
 the remaining three at some convenient place or 
 
( 108 ) 
 
 places between. The expense of them would not ex- 
 ceed ;S 100,000. Between R, and C, the country is re- 
 markably even. The average quantity of earth to be 
 excavated in each mile of this part of the route, is es- 
 timated at 3,786 cords ; which, as the plough and 
 scraper might be almost exclusively u^ed, would not 
 cost more than sixty-two and a half cents per cord. 
 At this rate, twelve miles, the distance between R, 
 and C, would cost $ 28,275 
 
 The length of the summit level, from C, to B, is 
 seventeen miles, ; and it passes over a country so 
 very level, that an average depth of four feet of ex- 
 cavation is all that will be required. To effect this, 
 the removal of 5,550 cords of earth per mile, will be 
 necessary, and such removal may be performed for 
 seventy-five cents per cord, amounting, for seventeen 
 miles, to $ 64,387 
 
 From D, on the Tonewanta creek, to C, on the 
 west end of the summit level, it is intended to con- 
 struct a feeder sixteen feet wide and four feet deep. 
 The length of this feeder will be four miles and sixty 
 chains, and 2,640 cords of earth per mile must be 
 removed in order to complete it; at seventy-five 
 cents per cord, this would cost $ 9,443 
 
 From the end of the canal, at Buffalo, to B, at the 
 east end of the summit level, west of the Genesee ri- 
 ver, is sixty-two miles. In his report relating to this 
 section, Mr. Ellicott observes, that in the preceding 
 estimates of expense little has been left to conjec- 
 ture. The aggregate amount of these estimates is 
 $379,523. To which he adds; for grubbing and 
 clearing ; for conducting Bigelow's and Spring creeks 
 into the summit level, near its east end, and for pay 
 of engineer, and officers to superintend the execu- 
 tion of the work, ^70,477 
 making the entire expense of these sixty two miles 
 
 . •^ ^450,000 
 
 It wdl be observed, that if the canal takes the di- 
 rection here indicated, it will be raised seventy-four 
 ieet and eighty-hundredths above the level of lake 
 
( 109 ) 
 
 Erie, in which case recourse must be had to other 
 reservoirs for its supply of water. Common prudence 
 demands, that upon this subject every doubt should 
 be removed, before this route is definitively adopted. 
 Mr.Ellicott has had the sources of this supply guaged 
 with great care, during the driest part of the last 
 season, which has been more remarkable for se- 
 vere drought than any ever before experienced in 
 that part of the state. 
 
 Independently of waters deemed sufficient to re- 
 pair the waste occasioned by evaporation and soak- 
 age, these sources consist of ten streams naturally 
 flowing, or capable of being conducted into the sum- 
 mit level. When these streams were guaged, they 
 afforded in the aggregate 253,435 cubic feet of water 
 per hour, which would fill six hundred and seventy- 
 three locks every day, and provide for the passage 
 of 1,209,600 tons during eight months, in boats of 
 thirty tons burden. Besides, the raising of one of the 
 canal banks to the necessary height for a towing path, 
 on the summit level, would produce the flooding of 
 more than a thousand acres of land, which as a re- 
 servoir, together with the hourly discharge of the 
 streams above-mentioned, would be abundantly suf- 
 ficient for all the wants of this level. 
 
 From the east end of this level, down the valley of 
 Black creek, and along the west banks of the Gene- 
 see river, to the point where the route explored north 
 of the mountain ridge passes that river, the face of 
 the country has not been scientifically examined. It 
 is well known, however, to present no serious impe- 
 diments to the construction of a canal; and its facili- 
 ties are thought to be such, that if the difficulties 
 occurring on the summit level do not prevent, the 
 canal should certainly take this direction. The 
 length of this unexamined section would be about 
 thirty miles ; and it would require locks for a fall of 
 one hundred and thirty-nine feet and eighty hun- 
 dredths. The expense of these locks might be esti- 
 mated at jg; 150,000 
 
( 110 ) 
 
 and all other expenses of this distance at $6,000 
 per mile, 180,000 
 
 making the entire cost from lake Erie to the 
 Genesee river, in this direction, 780,000 
 
 ' At a point eleven miles up the Tonewanta creek, 
 from its mouth, that section of the route assigned to 
 James Geddes, Esquire, as engineer, commences, and 
 extends eastward to the Seneca river. In the details 
 of this section, reference is made to the minutes, 
 maps, profiles and draughts of the said engineer, 
 herewith presented. 
 
 Pursuing this route, the canal never rises above the 
 lake Erie level. It would, therefore, derive its wa- 
 ters, until it descends to the Genesee level, and as 
 much further as may be necessary, from that never- 
 failing reservoir. 
 
 Map No. I, includes six miles and forty-two chains 
 of the route, on this section. 
 
 I From the place of its commencement, at the dis- 
 tance of five miles and sixty-four chains, this route 
 reaches the brow of the mountain ridge. For the 
 first forty-four chains of this distance, it falls in the 
 channel of a small stream, and twenty-two chains the 
 channel of that stream is sufficiently wide and deep 
 for the canal. But a towing path on its margin would 
 cost %1 50 per chain, $165 
 
 To give the other twenty-two chains the average 
 width and depth of the canal, 2438 cubic yards of 
 earth must be excavated, at eighteen cents ; this 
 would cost $440 
 
 Add for towing path, at the same rate as above, 165 
 The expense of the next thirty chains, as a little deep 
 cutting is to be encountered in it, is estimated at 
 $ 30 ] 8. At this place, seventy-four chains northerly from 
 the Tonewanta creek, commences the deep cutting,, 
 which continues four miles and seventy chains to the 
 brow of the ridge above-mentioned, and there termi- 
 nates the lake Erie level, in this direction. 
 
 As the excavation of the canal, through this distance, 
 constitutes one of the most serious difficulties pre- 
 
( 1" )• 
 
 sented on the whole route, great pains have been ta- 
 ken to avoid all impracticable data of calculation re- 
 lating to it, and, at the same time, to give to the work 
 such dimensions and construction as may be required, 
 with the greatest attainable economy. Throughout 
 this deep cutting, the calculations embrace a width 
 of water on the surface of the canal of twenty-seven 
 feet ; a bank from the bottom to an elevation of five 
 feet on each side, of such a slope as that twelve inch- 
 es rise will give a base of eighteen inches ; a recess at 
 this elevation, in one bank of two feet, and in the 
 other of one ; and an ascent of both banks from these 
 recesses, to the natural surface of the earth, at an an- 
 gle of forty-five degrees with the horizon. The earth 
 here consists of a stiff brown clay,which in the banks 
 of the Tonewanta, stands fifteen feet high at a steep- 
 er slope than the one above proposed for the canal 
 banks above the water. Of the recesses, the least 
 is for a berm, the largest for a towing path, to be com- 
 pleted in a manner described below. 
 
 In order to conform to these calculations, the first 
 sixty-one chains of this deep cutting, which rises from 
 fourteen to seventeen feet above the bottom of the 
 canal, would require the excavation of 68,106 cubic 
 yards ; but as there flows through this distance a 
 brook, which has scooped out a channel averaging 
 three feet deep by thirty feet wide, there may be 
 deducted 13,380 cubic yards from the number above 
 stated, leaving to be actually excavated 54,726,which 
 at twenty-five cents, will cost $ 13,681 
 
 For the next forty chains and twenty links, the 
 depth of cutting will average eighteen feet, and ma- 
 king for this distance a deduction, on account of the 
 channel of the brook, at nearly the same rate as above 
 the number of yards to be excavated will be 60,000, 
 which at twenty seven cents, wil] cost $ 1 6,200 
 
 For the next forty-eight chains and eighty links, the 
 average depth is nineteen feet seventy-five hun- 
 dredths; number of yards to be excavated 97,442; 
 which at twenty-eight cents, will cost ^ 26,983 
 
( 112 ) 
 
 For the next two hundred and forty chains, the 
 ave age depth is twenty-five feet ; number of yards 
 to be excavated 687,866, at thirty-one cents, will 
 cost $213,238 
 
 The medium expense of excavating a cubic yard 
 of earthy in this deep cutting, has been adopted from 
 an estimate of the expense of such excavation to four 
 different depths below the surface, viz : to 6 1-4 feet 
 to 12 1-2 feet, to 18 3-4 feet and to twenty-five feet ; 
 and the medium expense of such excavation to the 
 first depth is estimated at 16 cents ; to the second at 
 28 cents ; to the third at 36 cents ; to the fourth at 
 46 cents which makes in the whole 124 cents ; divide 
 the aggregate of these sums by 4 and the medium is 
 31, which is the rate per yard adopted, for the most 
 part, in the above calculations ; and where it is not 
 to avoid fractions, a rate somewhat higher has been 
 adopted. 
 
 In effecting this excavation, it is proposed to use 
 the machine described in page eighty two of a pub- 
 lication entitled " A treatise on Internal Navigation," 
 &c. To the above items of expense, therefore, add, 
 for making the machine, keeping it in repair, and 
 moving it as may be wanted, ^2,500 
 
 To construct a towing path through this deep cut- 
 ting, it will be necessary to erect a dry stone wall, 
 on the side of the largest recess Above mentioned, 
 three and a half miles long. This wall should be 
 thirty inches thick at the bottom, twenty four at the 
 top, and six feet high. Let it be laid two feet below 
 the water, to prevent injury by frost, and four feet 
 above with a suitable battering ; fill up the space 
 between it and the recess, and then the wall : the re- 
 cess and the space between them filled up, will form 
 a towing path six feet wide. Such a wall would 
 consume 10,080 perches of stone, after they are laid 
 up. They may be laid up at eighty-seven and an 
 half cents per perch, amounting to $8,820 
 
 The stone could be furnished, from the north end of 
 the deep cutting, without any expense, except that 
 
( "3 ) 
 
 of moving them to the line of the wall, which, estima- 
 ted at two dollars per cord, and making an allowance 
 for waste of more than twenty -five per cent, would 
 amount to ^5040 
 
 For one mile and thirty chains of this deep cut- 
 ting, no expense of erecting a wall to support the 
 towing path is estimated. By sinking shafts,where the 
 ground is dry, and sounding it with a pole where it is 
 not, in various places, from the brow of the precipice 
 southerly, it is found, that a rock of limestone must 
 be excavated for that distance, lying at from one to 
 ten feet below the surface. But the number of cubic 
 yards to be excavated in this rock will be so much 
 diminished by making the banks perpendicular, that 
 after allowing a recess in one of them for a towing 
 path six feet wide, and calculating the expense of 
 such excavation at seventy-two cents per yard, which 
 it is believed will be warranted by the data afforded 
 in the two letters from Mr. Porter and the Messrs. 
 Browns, subjoined to this report, the extra expense of 
 this one mile and thirty chains will be $ 25,000 
 
 At the end of this deep cutting the line of the canal 
 descends i)6 feet to the level of Genesee river; and 
 this descent is calculated to be effected by 8 locks, 
 of which the whole expense is estimated at ^73,586 
 The remainder of the route, on this map, is 51 
 chains, which exhibits an uneven surface, requiring, 
 however, no considerable embankment or deep cut- 
 ting, but in some places rugged with stone. The 
 expense of it is estimated at ^5,610 
 
 Many bridges will be required across this canal, 
 but they need not be expensive. Make two stone 
 abutments 22 feet apart; let 6 feet between them 
 serve for a towing path, leaving 16 feet in width of 
 water ; let string pieces be laid, from one of these 
 abutments to the other, in sufficient numbers and size 
 to support a flooring 20 feet wide ; make this flooring 
 of plank ; over the whole place a suitable ^ railing ; 
 and the average expense of such bridges will not ex- 
 ceed poo. 
 
 15 
 
( 114 ) 
 
 Much of the route of the canal will pass thuough 
 woods, or land newly cleared. Considerable expense 
 in grubbing and clearing, will therefore be incurred.— 
 This expense will be estimated at j^lOOO per mile. 
 
 Add, therefore, to the foregoing items of expense 
 the cost of one bridge, ^300 
 
 grubbing and clearing 6 miles and 42 chains 6^525 
 and the aggregate amount of expenses through the 
 first map will be g! 40 1,271 
 
 Map No. 2, includes 7 miles and 34 chains. From 
 the beginning of the route on this map easterly, the 
 extra expenses only will be estimated, in the first 
 place, and afterwards the expense of excavatioii 
 common to every mile, will be added. 
 
 At D, a hill, composed of a yellow slate gravel, is 
 to be cut through, where 6,450 yards of earth must be 
 ttioved, at 20 cents, $ 1,290 
 
 The next difficulty occurs in 34 chains of side-lying 
 ground, of which the declivity is such, that a base 
 line of 22 feet gives a perpendicular line of ten and 
 an half feet. Here it is proposed to erect two dry 
 stone walls to support the two banks of the canal. 
 If these walls are 15 feet high, they may be placed 
 so far apart as to give a width of water on the surface 
 of the canal exceeding 30 feet, and aflbrd all need- 
 ful support to the banks. Make them 3 feet thick, 
 and they will consume 7480 cubic yards of stone. 
 Stone of the best quality, and in great abundance, 
 are to be found at the east end of the proposed walls, 
 and it is believed that they may be moved and laid 
 up, at ^1 40 per yard, $ 10,472 
 
 Over a small stream, which falls into the Eighteen 
 mile creek, must be an embankment of 13,839 cubic 
 yards, at 20 cents, $ 2,770 
 
 There are three other embankments to be made,, 
 in this map, which may be estimated at the price of 
 the last, in the aggregate, $ 8,310 
 
 At S occurs a little deep cutting 710 
 
 a larger one near it is estimated at 1,485 
 
 On this map must be 10 small culverts, 1,000 
 
 and two bridges, 600 
 
( 115 ) 
 
 Between E and D. the slope of the hills is such as 
 to require some extra expense ; and between W and 
 V the ground is stony and uneven. Both of these 
 places are estimated at the sum of $ 6,000 
 
 For grubbing and clearing 6 miles and 40 chains, 6,500 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map $ 39,137 
 
 Map No. 3, includes 6 miles and 1 1 chains. The 
 deep cuttings, on this map, are very inconsiderable ; 
 they are estimated, in all, at $ 2,200 
 
 The contents of the embankment required over 
 the east branch of Eighteen mile creek, is 10,984 cu- 
 bic yards, at near 20 cents, $ 2,00 
 Johnson's creek will require another embankment 
 of 5,700 cubic yards, $ 912 
 But in addition to these sums the expense of large 
 culverts must be incurred at both of these streams. 
 In the bed of each of them lie strata of red sand- 
 stone, which may be taken up in pieces large enough 
 to cover water-ways of sufficient size to discharge 
 their floods. — The length of the water-way at Eigh- 
 teen mile creek, after due allowance for wing-walls, 
 must be 90 feet; at Johnson's creek it must be 100 
 feet. Pouble this length of wall, in order to make it 
 on bo ides of the water-way, make it 3 feet thick, 
 and raise it 8 feet high, and then cover the walls and 
 the space of 4 feet between them, with the sandstone 
 above-mentioned ; 3 feet deep, and the solid contents 
 of stone work required will be 600 perches. For this 
 stone work, when complete, as the best of stone lie 
 very handy, the expense need not exceed g 1 12 1-2 
 per perch, in all ^675 
 3 bridges, 900 
 Grubbing and clearing 6 miles and 1 1 chains 6,135' 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, $ 12,824 
 
 Map No. 4, includes 6 miles and 71 chains. At F 
 is a valley, where an embankment is required, which 
 with deep cutting between D and C, and the embank- 
 ment at C, will cost gl2,400 
 
( 116 ) 
 
 At Oak orciiard creek, an aqueduct will be neces- 
 sary, 200 feet in length ; and it may be constructed 
 of stone abutments and piers supporting a wooden 
 superstructure, to be replaced hereafter, perhaps, 
 by one of stone or iron. The bottom of the creek, 
 consisting of rock is 28^ feet below the contemplated 
 surface of water in the canal. Good stone are 
 here on the spot, and two piers between the abut- 
 ments, may be so placed, as with them to afibrd three 
 spaces of 50 feet by 23, for the passage of the water 
 below. This is the creek into which it is thought ex- 
 pedient to bring the upper floods of the Tonewanta : 
 And when it is considered that its bed is smooth, 
 rocky, and of considerable declivity, with a perpen- 
 dicular fall, two chains below, of 25 feet, the provi- 
 sion for a water passage will probably be domed ade- 
 quate. The better to support the wooden part of 
 this aqueduct, with the least possible diminution of 
 the water-way, braces might be introduced, with one 
 end resting in the stone work of the abutments and 
 piers, and the other end mortised into the string 
 pieces sretching across the spaces between. The 
 expense of this aqueduct is estimated at $ 10,000 
 The deep cutting, at the east end of it, requiring the 
 moving of 9,256 cubic yards, consisting partly of 
 sandstone, would cost, at 40 cents, P,700 
 
 The embankment at the west end is estimated at 1,144 
 For uneven places, west of Oak Orchard creek, not 
 heretofore enumerated, and from X to the east end 
 of the map, ^3,000 
 
 For 4 small culverts, 400 
 
 For 2 bridges, 600 
 
 For grubbing and clearing 6 miles and 71 chains, 6,912 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, ^28,156 
 
 Map No. 5, includes 6 miles and 73 chains. At 
 Fish creek an embankment is required to contain 
 5,364 cubic yards, which, as it is low, and there is 
 sufficient deep cutting at both ends to supply the 
 materials for making it, is estimated at 15 cents, $804 
 
( H7 ) 
 
 At Clark's brook another embankment is necessary, 
 to contain 10,814 cubic yards, at 20 cents, Jg2,160 
 There are three places on this map of steep side-lying 
 ground, of which the whole length is near a mile, 
 and will require an extra expense of ^4,000 
 
 Several other small difficulties are estimated at 3,000 
 
 2 culverts, 200 
 
 3 bridges, 900 
 Grubbing and clearing 6 miles and 73 chains, 6,937 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, p 8,001 
 
 Map No. 6, includes 6 miles and 68 chains. At the 
 west end of this map Otter creek crosses the line of 
 the canal in a valley 51 feet below the level. To 
 pass this valley an embankment is required of 48,024 
 cubic yards. This may be made from the deep cut- 
 tings on both sides of the valley- but as part of the 
 earth must be brought some distance, it would not be 
 safe to estimate the expense of raising this embank- 
 ment at less than 25 cents, 12,006 
 This creek requires a culvert, with walls 180 feet 
 long, which would consume, if properly constructed, 
 502 perches of stone. These stones may be trans- 
 ported more than two miles, and may be estimated, 
 when laid into the walls, at $2, 50 per perch, 1,255 
 From L east, for a mile and a quarter, the extra ex- 
 pense amounts to ^2,500 
 Near G must be laid out, in deep cutting, embank- 
 ment, and removing sandstone, ^2,200 
 The culvert at the west branch of Sandy creek, 200 
 5 small culverts, . 500 
 2 bridges, 600 
 Grubbing and clearing 6 miles and 68 chains, 6,850 
 
 Aggregate of extras on" this map, ^26,111 
 
 Map No 7, includes 7 miles and 58 chains. About 
 a mile south of the west end of this map lies Jeffer- 
 son lake, which is very deep, and covers fifty acres 
 of land. From Genesee river west, the same level 
 continues more than 60 miles. To prevent a current 
 
( 118 ) 
 
 either from this river, at one end, or the waters of 
 lake Erie, at the other end of so long a level, and to 
 supply all the waste of evaporation and soakage, it 
 is desirable that a feeder be introduced as near the 
 middle of it as practicable. The outlet of Jefferson 
 lake might be converted into such a feeder, without 
 expense, and would amply supply the necessary wa- 
 ter. 
 
 At A will be required a small piece of deep cutting, 
 and between U and T, a much larger one. This last 
 extends 26 chains, but lies through a black ash swamp, 
 with a clay bottom, and a hill of gravel. The average 
 depth of cutting will be small, and the quantity of 
 earth to be removed here and at A, will in the ag- 
 gregate be 22,739 cubic yards, at 29 cents, ^4,548 
 East of S is a hill to cut through, requiring the re- 
 moval of 12,653 cul^c yards, more difficult than the 
 last, at 24 cents, ^3,036 
 
 At Sandy Creek, the highest embankment that occurs 
 in the whole route will be necessary. From the bed 
 of the creek to the top water line of the canal, is 70 
 feet ; but this embankment will be short, and at the 
 west end of it lies a hill of gravelly clay, as conve- 
 nient as possible to furnish the necessary earth. The 
 number of cubic yards required to raise this embank- 
 ment, is 73,222, which added to 5,525, the number 
 necessary to pass the canal over a valley west of the 
 hill above-mentioned, make an aggregate of 78,747, 
 estimated at eighteen cents, ^14,174 
 
 Here are large quantities of excellent stone to con- 
 struct the culvert necessary for the passage of the 
 creek. The width of so high an embankment, is 
 inevitably great, at the bottom, requiring for a culvert 
 a proportionate length of wall. 
 
 These walls here must be 240 feet long. To complete 
 them would consume 758 perches of stone, of which 
 the expense, when laid in the wall, is estimated at 
 $1 37 1-2 per perch, in all ^1,042 
 
 At R is required 1,000 
 
 4 bridges, 1,200 
 
( 119 ) 
 
 4 small culverts, 400 
 
 Grubbing 7 miles and 58 chains, 7,725 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, $33,125 
 
 Map No. 8, includes 6 miles and 18 chains Several 
 small deep cuttings and embankments upon it, are 
 estimated, in the aggregate, at $6,000 
 
 At D, a hill must be cut through, requiring the re- 
 moval of 17,512 cubic yards, at 25 cents, $4,378 
 3 bridges, 900 
 
 5 culverts, 500 
 
 Grubbing, 5 miles and 30 chains, 5,375 
 
 A'ggregate of extras on this map, $17,153 
 
 Map No 9, includes 6 miles and 42 chains. 
 At Y, an excavation of 21,846 
 at R, 10,730 
 
 at A, 5,394 
 
 In all, 37,970 cubic yards is ne- 
 
 cessary. 
 
 At the first place, the greatest depth of excavation 
 is 15 feet ; at the other places, 10 feet. These exca- 
 vations are estimated at 30 cents per yard, $1 1,391 
 At Salmon creek, the embankment of 9,216 
 at O, 5,858 
 
 at Camp brook, 12,877 cubic 
 
 yards is necessary. 
 
 They are estimated at 25 cents per yard, ^7,000 
 Other small embankments and excavations on this 
 map are estimated at 2,400 
 
 The culvert at Salmon creek, 480 
 
 I Another at Camp brook, 400 
 
 2 small culverts, 200 
 
 6 bridges, 1,800 
 
 5 miles and 40 chains of grubbing and. clear- 
 ing, ^ 5,500 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, $29,171 
 
 Map No. 10, includes 6 miles and 24 1-2 chains.— 
 
( 120 ) 
 
 At L, the surface of the earth rises 18 feet above the 
 bottom of the canal, and will require the excavation 
 of 7,589 cubic yards. This earth is easy to move, 
 at 30 cents, $2,276 
 
 Several small places of uneven ground, from K to F, 
 are all estimated at ;^ 4,000 
 
 Rush brook runs through a valley 26 feet too low, 
 and more than two chains wide. Here must be an 
 embankment of 6,000 cubic yards, at 20 cents, Si ,200 
 Stone tire not to be found near this place, and a cul- 
 vert of suitable size will cost $480 
 For steep side-lying ground near the east end of this 
 map, $1,500 
 3 culverts, 300 
 2 bridges, 600 
 Grubbing and clearing 6 miles and 24 chains, 6,300 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, $ 1 6,656 
 
 Map No. 11, includes 4 miles and 49 chains, w^est of 
 the Genesee river, and 1 mile and 55 chains more 
 easterly, inclusive of the river ; in all, 6 miles and 
 24 chains. Between K and I an embankment is 
 necessary, to be 6 feet high, for near 1000 feet in 
 length. It must contain 6222 yards, at 20 cents,$ 1,244 
 At G, on the north side of Fort brook, the line of 
 the canal is crossed by a ridge, on which a lateral 
 cut may easily be made to carry navigation within 
 half a mile of the harbour at the mouth of the Gene- 
 see river. Fort brook runs in a ravine, which will re- 
 quire an embankment of 6000 yards, and which, in- 
 cluding the necessary culvert, and the deep cutting 
 at G, are estimated at $1,600 
 
 From this brook to the Genesee river the surface of 
 the ground is uneven, and may require an extra ex- 
 pense of $ 1,200 
 
 Note. — The route of the canal, south of the mountain ridge, 
 will here intersect the route north of that ridge. The distance 
 
( 121 ) 
 
 It is proposed to pass the Genesee river, by a dam 
 ten feet high, with a bridge some distance above it, 
 for a towing path. The place of passing is a few chains 
 south of the village of Rochester. The width of the 
 river here, when low, is near 130 yards ; when raised 
 by the dam, it will spread over the west bank to a 
 width of more than 400 yards. The current is rapid 
 and shallow, in consequence of a considerable de- 
 clivity in its rocky bottom. Half a mile below this 
 place, the Messrs. Browns have built a dam across 
 the river, eighteen inches high, and secured it im- 
 
 form Buffalo to the point, eleven miles up the Tonewanta creek, 
 is 27 miles 
 
 from that point, to the Genesee river, on the north 
 
 route, 72 10 1-2 chs 
 
 The vvrhole distance in that direction is 99m. 10 1-2 ch 
 
 The distance in the direction south of the ridge is supposed to 
 be 92 miles. The vyhole expense from Buffalo to the point, ele- 
 ven miles up the Tonewanta, including a proportionate part of the 
 allowance for grubbing, superintendence, &.c. as estimated on Mr. 
 Peacock's section, is ^205,877. The whole expense, from that 
 point to the Genesee river, as estimated on Mr. Gedde's section, 
 is as follows : Whole expense of excavation, for 6 miles and 42 
 chains, g 401,271 
 
 Total amount of extras thence to Genesee R. 224,378 
 Expense of each mile after all extras are cal- 
 culated, for 65 miles 48 1-2 chains, at 
 g 2250, (for which allowance see a subse- 
 quent part of the Report) 
 
 147,611 
 
 On this sum $ 778,260 
 
 Add for contingencies, 6 per cent. 38,663 
 
 For superintendence, draining, and fen- 
 cing, at the rate of ^1000 per mile for) 72,148 
 72 miles and 10 1-2 chains, 
 
 The total amount is $ 884,057 
 
 Which, added to the expense from Tonewan- } 
 
 ta to Buffalo, above stated, \ 205,877 
 
 Make the aggregate cost of the canal from Buffalo to } ^ -.q g 
 
 the Genesee river, on the north route, ^ iS ' ' 
 
 On the south route, this cost is estimated at 780,000 
 
 Leaving a balance of expense in favour of the south route, by 
 these estimates, of $ 309,925 
 
 16 
 
( 122 ) 
 
 moveably to the rock below, by large iron bolts, for 
 less than one dollar per foot, in length. Guided 
 by this experience, it is calculated that a dam of 
 the necessary strength, 440 yards long, may be built 
 here for $ 8,150 
 
 Such a dam, 1 feet high, would set the water back 
 three miles, and while it would drown but little land, 
 would render the river navigable, with boats, for 
 more than 30 miles above. The top of it would serve 
 as a waste wier, or tumbling bay, to discharge the 
 floods of the river; for which purpose, as well as re = 
 tarding the current so much as to give safety to the 
 boats towed across the river, its great length would 
 be an eminent advantage. The bridge for a towing 
 path should be permanent, not floating, like the one 
 over Concord river, on the Middlesex canal ; but it 
 might be light, and with so good a foundation to 
 build on notwithstanding the necessity of security 
 against the current and floodwood of the spring fresh- 
 ets, it is estimated at $ 1 0,000 
 
 On each side of the Genesee river, a lock of three 
 feet lift must be placed, to prevent the floods 
 from extending themselves into the canal east and 
 west, in such a manner as to endanger its banks and 
 fill it with sediment. These locks are estimated 
 at ^12,000 
 
 From the east bank of this river, there must be 
 deep excavations for the distance of seventy chains. 
 It lies through a black ash swamp, of which the up- 
 per surface is a black soil resting on clay. For a 
 small part of the distance, the excavation must be 
 ten feet deep ; for the rest, less. The number of 
 cubic yards to be moved here, is 47,055, estimated 
 at 17 cents, $8000 
 
 3 bridges, 900 
 
 4 culverts, 400 
 Grubbing and clearing 6 miles and 24 chains, 6,300 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, ^49,794 
 
 Map No. 12, includes 7 miles and 25 chains. Near 
 
( 1^3 ) 
 
 the west end of this map, after continuing upon one 
 level for almost seventy miles, the line of the canal 
 falls 49 feet. Here six locks will be necessary, esti- 
 mated at ^60,000 
 Between these locks,andC, are several places of deep 
 cutting, in all of which, 15,600 cubic yards of earth 
 must be removed. 
 
 This earth is sand and loam, at 20 cents, ^9,120 
 
 Stone's creek requires a culvert estimated at 320 
 Between B and A, are extras requiring, 1,530 
 
 At Nye's creek an embankment, 1,324 
 
 And a large culvert, 380 
 
 From this creek to the end of the map, there are 
 five small places of deep cutting, estimated in all 
 at ^2,225 
 
 4 bridges, 1,200 
 
 7 culverts, 700 
 
 Grubbing and clearing 6 miles, 6,000 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, ^82,799 
 
 Map No. 13, includes 6 miles and 51i chains. 
 There are two small ridges at T and R, which will 
 require the excavation of 5000 cubic yards, at 20 
 cents, ^1000. At A an excavation is necessary, 157 
 yards long at the bottom, and 20 feet deep from its 
 summit. The number of cubic yards to be moved, 
 is 13,000, at 30 cents, $3,900 
 
 The next place of difficulty in the Irondequot valley, 
 where an embankment is required to be 20 chains 
 long on the top, and from the lowest part of the val- 
 ley, 65 feet high. On the east side of this valley 
 rises a steep hill, consisting of sand and loam, 50 
 feet above the level of the canal. This hill will fur- 
 nish, in the most convenient situation, all the earth re- 
 quired for the embankment ; and to remove this earth, 
 temporary wooden rail-ways might be used with 
 great advantage. To make this embankment 34 feet 
 wide at the top, and 229 at the bottom, it would 
 consume 147,000 cubic yards, which, considering 
 the facilities above-mentioned, are estimated at 20 
 cents, ^29,400 
 
( 124 ) 
 
 At the base of this embankment must be made a wa^ 
 ter-way with walls of stone. If wing-walls be made 
 15 feet high, at the ends of this water-way, its length 
 will not exceed 184 feet. Calculate three walls of 
 that length each, three feet thick and ten feet high, 
 and their solid contents will be 129 cords. To this 
 add, for wing-walls, and to cover the water-way, 71 
 cords, and for waste at the rate of 25 per cent. 50 
 cords more, and the whole quantity of stone required, 
 will be 250 cords. This may be delivered on the 
 spot for $5 per cord, ^1,250. Laying it into the wall 
 at 87i cents per perch, ^1,144. A little east of O, 
 must be a small embankment, to support which, and 
 the natural ridge on which the canal runs for three 
 and an half chains eastward, stone walls, twelve feet 
 high, will be necessary on both sides, ^687 
 
 The hill west of N, is a high pile of sand, of which 
 it will be necessary to move 12,600 cubic yards, at 
 121^ cents, $1,383 
 
 The expense of several small embankments and 
 deep cuttings, from M to the east end of this map, is 
 estimated at $9,525 
 
 7 culverts, " 700 
 
 3 bridges, 900 
 
 Grubbing and clearing 3 miles and 40 chains, 3,500 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, $53,389 
 
 Map No. 14, includes 6 miles and 26 chains. This 
 map presents a deep cutting 3 miles long, running 
 through a black ash swamp, of which the upper sur- 
 face is light muck resting upon a hard clay. The 
 depth of excavation will in no place exceed 4 feet ; 
 and it is thought that the extra expense required 
 here will not be more than equal to the removing 
 from the bottom of the canal, two and a half feet in 
 depth, of this excavation. Let this bottom be eigh- 
 teen feet wide, and with the requisite slope of the 
 banks, there must be removed, in this distance, 
 31,827 cubic yards, estimated at 38 cents, $8,911 
 For other small expenses on this map, 960 
 
( 125 ) 
 
 2 bridges, $600 
 
 Grubbing 6 miles and 26 chains, 6,325 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, $16,796 
 
 Map No. 15, includes 6 miles and 65 chains. Near 
 the west end of this map, a feeder may be introduced 
 into the canal from Mud creek.. And if this feeder 
 should ever prove deficient, a correct examination 
 has ascertained that this deficiency may be amply 
 supplied by one from the outlet of Canandaigua 
 lake, introduced at the same place. The feeder from 
 Mud creek must be 43 chains long, and if it is 20 
 feet wide and 3 feet deep, it will require the excava- 
 tion of 6,307 cubic yards, at 12^ cents, $788 
 Several small excavations and embankments are es- 
 timated, in the aggregate, $5,140 
 At Red creek, for culverts, 600 
 A feeder from the same creek, a mile long, and 
 excavated 3 feet wide and three feet deep, is esti- 
 mated at $500. On this map are 4 locks, by which 
 the line of the canal falls 33 feet — expense of these 
 locks, $40,000 
 1 culvert, * 100 
 4 bridges, 1,200 
 Grubbing 2 miles and 40 chains, 2,500 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, $51,829 
 
 Map No. 16, includes 8 miles and 32 chains. At 
 
 fo«r little streams between the west end of this map 
 
 and the lock east of B, small embankments will be 
 
 necessary; which, with steep side-lying ground and 
 
 deep-cutting, in the same distance, are estimated 
 
 at $2,000 
 
 This lock will have a lift of 9 feet, estimated 
 
 at 10,000 
 
 Adjoining the lock east, deep cutting, 1,200 
 
 At the end of this deep cutting, a feeder may be 
 
 Note. — The word perch, in this report, uniformly stands for 24 
 solid feet and seventy-fiye hundredths. 
 
( 126 ) 
 
 conveniently introduced, from Sherman's mill-pond 
 in Mud creek. This feeder must be 20 chains long ; 
 and if it be calculated 4 feet in width, and the same 
 in depth, it will require the excavation of 782 cubic 
 yards of earth, at 15 cents, ^117 
 
 For a small embankment of Clark's creek, 1 00 
 A mile east of this brook commences a piece of deep 
 cutting, 36 chains long, very favourably situated for 
 disposing of the excavated earth. The depth of 
 excavation nowhere exceeds 7 1-2 feet, and the num- 
 ber of cubic yards to be removed is 19,100, at 12 ^ 
 cents, $ 2,387 
 
 Other uneven places to the east end of the 
 map, $ 1,580 
 
 4 bridges, ],290 
 
 iO culverts, 1,000 
 
 Grubbing and clearing 60 chains, 750 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, g20,334 
 
 Map No. 17, includes 10 miles and 51 ^ chains. — 
 At the west end of this map must be a lock of 9 feet 
 lift, estimated at $ 10,000 
 
 All the small inequalities of surface between the lock 
 and the hill west of H, are estimated at g 2, 1 74 
 
 At Battey's brook, which is a permanent stream, a 
 feeder may be brought into the canal by a cut 27 
 chains long. If this feeder is 6 feet wide, and 4 feet 
 deep, it will require the excavation of 1,584 cubic 
 yards, at 15 cents, $ 238 
 
 The hill west of H, and the one west of 1, are com- 
 posed of sand, and lie on the margin of Mud creek. 
 To pass through them, the excavation of 24,750 cu- 
 bic yards is necessary, at 15 cents, ^3,700 
 To secure a passage for the creek here, add 600 
 East of IIP is a shallow embankment required of 17 
 chains in length. The number of cubic yards to be 
 moved, 6,540, at 20 cents, $ 1,308 
 To obviate the difficulty presented by side-lying 
 ground between this embankment and K, is allowed 
 $ 1,000, West of K, a piece of excavation is neces- 
 
(^127 ) 
 
 saiy, of which the greatest depth is 16 feet. The earth 
 here consists of sand and a yellow slate gravel, 
 and there are 26,410 cubic yards of it to remove, 
 estimated at twenty-five cents, f, 6,602 
 
 At A, another lock is wanted, of five feet lift, esti- 
 mated at ^7,000 
 Adjoining this lock on the east, an embankment of 
 5,330 cubic yards is required, at 18 cents, ^960 
 Near the east end of this map occurs a place of deep 
 cutting, 52 chains in length, through a swamp, 
 which nowhere rises more than three feet above 
 the surface of the water in the canal. It will re- 
 quire the excavation of 12,520 cubic yards, at 15 
 cents, $1,878 
 5 culverts, 500 
 
 5 bridges, 1,500 
 
 6 miles of grubbing and clearing, 6,000 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, $43,460 
 
 Map No. 1 8, includes 7 miles and 20 chains. Near 
 the west end of this map a lock of 9 feet lift is neces- 
 sary, estimated at $10,000 
 At the distance of two and an half miles further east, 
 must be placed another lock of 6 feet lift, $7,000 
 Small embankments and excavations from the west 
 end of the map to the last lock above-mentioned, 
 $ 3,700 Adjoining the lock on the east, an embank- 
 ment over a small brook, to contain 6,800 cubic yards, 
 is required, at 18 cents, $1,224 
 Between this embankment and P, for little inequali- 
 ties of surface, in the aggregate, $2,000 
 At P, an embankment over a black ash swamp, 630 
 From the east lock above-mentioned to the end of 
 this map, a distance of near four miles, some provi- 
 sion must be made against the highest floods of the 
 Canandaigua outlet, with which Mud creek inter- 
 sects at the village of Lyons. This provision is in- 
 tended to be made, by giving to the south bank of 
 the canal an additional elevation of two feet, which 
 will require a proportionate increase of width at its 
 
( 128 ) 
 
 base. This enlargement of the south bank will 
 require for every yard run of its continuance, an ex- 
 tra embankment of 9 cubic yards, amounting, in four 
 miles, at 15 cents per cubic yard, to $9,504 
 
 8 culverts, 800 
 
 2 bridges, 600 
 
 Grubbing and clearing 6 miles, 6000 
 
 Aggregate of extras on this map, $ 41,458 
 
 Map No. 19, includes 6 miles and 60 chains. From 
 the east end of it to the east side of the Seneca river, 
 where the section of Mr. Geddes terminates, is two 
 miles and 6 chains, which are hot laid down on a map, 
 because they pass over a level marsh, where there is 
 no difficulty in choosing the route. The first 3 miles 
 and 76 chains of this map run on a side hill of a 
 gentle slope, presenting few difficulties. For this 
 distance, the whole expense of excavating the canal, 
 and forming its banks, may be estimated at ^5,500 
 per mile, in all, 21,725 
 
 At the end of this side-hill, commences the Cayuga 
 marsh, over which the canal is to be conducted, for 4 
 miles and 60 chains. When the waters of Seneca 
 river are low, the surface of this marsh is about 3 feet 
 above them ; when they are highest, in the spring 
 floods, it is near 2 feet below them. x\t the west end 
 of the marsh, the level of the canal is 9 feet higher 
 than the surface of Seneca river, in low water. To 
 secure a convenient passage over this marsh at all 
 times, it is proposed to place a lock of 4| feet lift at 
 its west end, estimated at ^6,000 
 
 From this lock, eastward, there must be an embank- 
 ment sufficient to preserve the water in the canal 
 18 inches above the general level of the marsh. An 
 excavation 40 feet wide, and 2| feet deep, would fur- 
 nish earth enough for these banks, calculating them 
 to be raised 2 feet above the top-water line of the 
 canal, in order to guard against floods. But the 
 spongy nature of this earth renders it indispensable, 
 that in both banks great precaution should be used 
 
( 129 ) 
 
 to prevent leakage. At the Montezuma salt works^ 
 a canal has been dug through a part of this same 
 marsh, which was there found to rest upon a bed of 
 dark blue clay. Let a partition of pile plank, then 
 extending the whole length of the marsh, be driven 
 through each of the banks. If these plank are 7 feet 
 long, and driven into the earth 2 feet 9 inches below 
 the bottom of the canal, they will stand 3 inches above 
 the upper surface of the water within the banks. 
 And this,it is presumed, would constitute an adequate 
 precaution against leakage. Constructed in this way, 
 the expense of one chain in length, of both banks, is 
 estimated as follows : 
 
 For removing 200 cubic yards of earth, at > .^ 
 
 20 cents, ^ ^ 
 
 924 feet of 2 inch pine plank jointed, ) 02 
 
 grooved, and driven, ^ 
 
 Gravelling towing path (which might j^ 
 
 be done by boats, after the water is > 8 
 
 let into the canal,) J 
 
 Whole expense per chain, ^80 
 
 Amounting in 4 miles and 60 chains, to ^30,400 
 
 At the east end of the marsh must be placed another 
 lock, of 4^ feet lift, to let the boats which may navigate 
 the canal, fall down to the level of Seneca river when 
 its waters are lowest ; estimated at $6,000 
 
 In high water the gates of this lock would stand open, 
 offering no delay A bridge, 10 chains long, across 
 the Seneca river, is all that remains to connect this 
 section with that which includes the route between 
 this river and Rome. For all the purposes of a tow- 
 ing path, this bridge may be built as follows : At 
 intervals of 16^ feet across the river, drive down a 
 pair of large oak piles; connect each pair of these 
 piles by framing on their top a piece of timber 10 
 feet long; stretch across these pieces of timber, from 
 one pair of piles to another, 4 string peices 12 inches 
 by 4, and cover them with a flooring of 2 inch oak 
 plank. The expense of such a bridge would be — 
 
 17 
 
( 130 ) 
 
 For each pair of piles delivered on the spot, gl 
 
 Driving them, 2 
 Timber connecting each pair of piles and ) . 
 
 framed on, 5 
 
 4 string pieces, at 66 cents, 2 64 
 
 165 feet 2 inck plank for a floor, 3 36 
 
 Add for a suitable railing, ] 50 
 
 Aggregate for every 16^ feet, $11 bO 
 
 And the whole expense of the bridge is 460 
 
 Aggregate of estimates on this map, S 64,5 85 
 
 It cannot fail to be remarked, from the foregoing 
 details, that the sources on which reliance is placed, 
 for feeding the canal, in this section, are permanent 
 and most abundant ; and that the country over which 
 it runs, exhibits a singular regularity of surface. The 
 route of the canal, as explored, pursues one level 
 for 69 miles and 51 1-2 chains, and another for 20 
 miles and 40 chains. So uniformly is the declivity to 
 the north, that from the foot of the mountain ridge, to 
 the entrance of Mud-creek valley, a distance of more 
 than 90 miles, no stream crosses the canal except in 
 that direction, and there is not a single mile in which 
 the north bank of the canal will not be the lowest. 
 
 Recapitulation of distances and expenses on this section. 
 No. of Map. Miles & Chains. Extra Expense. Whole Estimate, 
 
 JJ40J,271 
 
 1 includes 
 
 6 
 
 42 
 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 34 
 
 $39,137 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 12,824 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 71 
 
 28,156 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 73 
 
 18,001 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 68 
 
 26,111 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 58 
 
 33,125 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 17,153 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 42 
 
 29,171 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 24 
 
 1-2 16,656 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 24 
 
 49,794 
 
 12 
 
 7 
 
 25 
 
 82,799 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 51 
 
 1-2 53,389 
 
 14 * 
 
 6 
 
 26 
 
 16,796 
 
( 131 ) 
 
 15 6 65 51,829 
 
 16 8 32 20,334 
 
 17 10 51 1-2 43,460 
 
 18 7 20 41,458 
 
 19 8 66 64,485 
 
 Whole distance, 136 02 1-2 jj(580,193 
 
 From distance deduct 15 28 for 1st and 19th maps. 
 
 Total amount of extras as above, ;^580,193 
 
 Add to extras for 120 54 1-2 being at the rate ) 
 
 of ^2,250 per mile, after all extras are calculated, I $211 ,532 
 
 On this section, which is in general very free from 
 porous earth, there are, including embankments, 
 8 1-2 miles, in parts of which, puddling may be 
 required. — Little experience, in relation to the 
 expense of this operation, has been afforded in this 
 country ; but it is presumed, from that little, that the 
 whole expense of puddling in these 8 1-2 miles, will 
 not exceed ^30,000 
 
 Total of the foregoing items is 1,347,581 
 
 Add for contingencies, 5 per cent. 67,379 
 
 Add also for engineers, superintend- ^ 
 
 ence, fencing, and draining, at the > 146,025 
 
 rate of $1,000 per mile, y 
 
 The entire expense of this section is g 1,550,985 
 
 The estimate of $2,250 per mile, above adopted, 
 for excavation, after all the extras have been calcula- 
 ted, is founded upon a consideration of the number 
 of cubic yards to be excavated in a variety of differ- 
 ent slopes, and in level land. A base of 40 feet, 
 giving a perpendicular of 2,28 feet, it is believed 
 comes nearer than any other, to indicating the 
 general slope of this section. — In land lying on this 
 slope, the average dimensions of the canal, would 
 require an excavation, of which a cross section would 
 contain 74,17 superficial feet; and a similar section 
 of the banks would contain 62,12 superficial feet; 
 and in this case, the quantity of excavation necessary 
 in a mile, would be about 14,500 cubic yards. To 
 this quantity, has been added almost a fourth part, 
 
( 132 ) 
 
 making 1 8,000 cubic yards, which, estimated at 1 2 
 1-2 cents, an ample price, considering that all the 
 rough places are previously made smooth, and the 
 whole line reduced to the minimum depth of cutting, 
 amount to the ^2,250. 
 
 The Seneca river, at low water, is 1 94 feet lower 
 than Lake Erie ; and to provide for this descent, 
 25 locks, besides the two guard locks at Genesee riv- 
 er, are located on the canal line. The lift of some 
 of these locks is small, owing to the unusual evenness 
 of the country. At places where there are embank- 
 ments and deep cuttings, of which the dimensions 
 are not particularly stated, the calculations have 
 been such as to give a width of water, in the surface 
 of the canal, never less than 27 feet. From the end 
 of this section, eastward, to Rome, there is a rise, in 
 the line of the canal, of 48 i feet; thence the line 
 descends to the Hudson. 
 
 The middle section of the canal extends from 
 Rome to the Seneca river, and is about 77 miles in 
 length. It was surveyed and laid out by Benjamin 
 Wright,Esq. who acted as the engineer. Its route is ac- 
 curately delineated in the maps, profiles, and minutes, 
 herewith presented. 
 
 As a great part of the route of this section lies 
 through low lands, where the timber is very heavy, 
 with large roots, the estimate for grubbing and clear- 
 ing is at the rate of ^l,.0OO per mile. This is suppo- 
 sed to be too high, as machines have been invented 
 and successfully applied, for this purpose, which 
 greatly facilitate labour and diminish expense. 
 
 This section begins at Rome at the point marked A 
 on the map. the red line designating the route, by 
 courses and distances accurately measured. 
 
 Mile Isif, May be considered as excellent for a ca- 
 nal. It requires the excavation of 2,700 cubic yards 
 atl2i^cePts, ^3,375 
 
 For grubbing and clearing 65 chains, ], 200-$ 4,575 
 
 Mile 2c/, Passes nearly the whole distance over 
 swampy or low ground, which has, however, general- 
 
( 133 ) 
 
 \y a hard gravelly clay bottom, at 1^ or 2 feet be 
 low the surface. Part of the swamp is miry trom 8 
 to 10 feet below the surface. The probability is, 
 that owing to the surface being so near a level, no 
 puddling will be necessary. Upon the whole, this 
 mile is good for a canal, and will not require more 
 than an average of 4 feet excavation — it may be es- 
 timated thus : 
 For excavation of 20,000 cubic yards, 
 
 at twenty cents, ^4,000 
 
 Grubbing, &;c. 1,500—^5,500 
 
 Mile 3d, Passes over clay and gravel, intersected 
 with some spots of low ground, where there is one 
 foot of black mud, and under that, hard gravel and 
 clay. — In this distance, a lock of 6 feet descent will 
 be necessary. The land, where this lock is to be 
 located, will afford an excellent foundation for a lock, 
 and the ground descends so fast as to make it easy 
 of excavation, and to bring the level of the lock 
 chamber, within a few rods, upon the surface. An 
 aqueduct will also be necessary over Wood creek, 
 of the length of 40 or 20 feet, which must be made 
 of wood, or cast iron, laid upon stone piers, as there 
 is not sufficient space below for a regular turned 
 arch of masonry to admit the waters to pass. — An 
 embankment of 510 cubic yards will be essential. 
 After passing Wood creek, the ground is clay or 
 gravel, and varies very little from the level to the end 
 of the mile. The expertse is for excavation of 21,000 
 cubic yards, at 12 ^ cents, ^2,625 
 
 For grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 embankment of 510 c. yds. at 20 cts. 102 
 aqueduct over Wood creek, 2,500 — $6,727 
 
 Mile ith, Passes over clayey and gravelly land, 
 with some small undulations. There are 2 spots 
 below the level, and a ravine with a small brook also 
 below the level. Three culverts may be necessary — 
 2,200 cubic yards of embankment, and 4,000 of extra 
 excavation, in consequence of cutting off some small 
 points of ridges. — 
 
( 134 ) 
 
 Expense for 3 culverts, $300 
 
 For 24,000 c. yards of excavation, at 20 c.3,300 
 2,200 do. embankment, at 20 cents, 440 
 grubbing, &c. l,500-g!5,540 
 
 Mile 5th^ Passes over ground which is gravelly ,mix- 
 edwith small flat stones, and its surface is undulating. 
 There are 4 or 5 places where the land is too low, 
 and 4 points of ridges, where it is from 2 to 6 feet too 
 high. They are all short, and may be avoided by a 
 serpentine course. The ridges consist of gravel, and 
 the valleys of clay. The water in Stoney creek is 14 
 feet below the level, and here must be an embank- 
 ment 14 chains long, and O^feet high. Two culverts, 
 of 7^ feet diameter, will be requisite for the passage 
 of the waters of that creek. 
 Expense for 2 culverts, $2,000 
 
 for embankment of 5,300 c. yds. at 20 cts 1,060 
 excavation at 12^ cents, 3,750 
 
 Grubbing, &c. " 1,500,.$8,310 
 
 Mile 6th, Passes over the same kind of ground as 
 the last. There is an irregular summit between 
 Stoney creek and a small brook in this mile : and 
 some deep cuttings are required to gain a good course. 
 The brook is 8 feet below the level ; from it to the 
 termination of the mile, the ground is very near the 
 level, and descends gently to the north. Expense for 
 embankment 1,700 cubic yards, at 20 cents, 340 
 For 1 culvert, 100 
 
 excavation of 31,000 c yds. at 15 cts. 4,650 
 Grubbing, &c. 1, 500-^6,590 
 
 Mile 7th, Passes over grayelly and sandy soil; good 
 for a canal. An embankment 12 chains long, and 
 averaging 5 feet deep, will be required. The one 
 half of it may be saved by a diverging course. In 
 the remainder of the mile is a small stream, which 
 does not require a culvert, and no extra excavation 
 is necessary. Expense for embankment of 9,200 
 cubic yards, at 20 cents, 1,840 
 
 For 3 culverts, 300 
 
 excavation of 20,500 c.yds. at 12^ cts. 2,562 
 Grubbing, &c. 1,500— $6,202 
 
( 133 ) 
 
 Mile 8th, Passes over gravel, with some mixture 
 of clay and sand strata. There is a ravine made by 
 a brook, up which a line passes for 7 or 8 chains. 
 The water in the brook, where it turns north, and 
 leaves the line of the canal, is 5 feet below the bottom 
 ofthe canal, and may be admitted intoitwithoutinjury. 
 Expense for embankment of 1,000 cubic yards, at 20 
 cents, %220 
 
 For excavation of 27,500 c.y. at 12ic. 3,43C 
 
 grubbing, kc. 1,500—^5,1 57 
 
 Mile 9fh, Is good for a canal, although it passes over 
 swampy ground for a considerable part of the whole 
 distance. In the swamp there is only one foot of mud, 
 and the substratum is clay, or clay and gravel mixed. 
 There is a point of a ridge near the commencement 
 of this mile, which is 4 feet above the level ; and 
 there is one small stream, which forms no regular 
 bed, but collects the waters of low grounds lying 
 south of the line. It dries up in summer, and may 
 be admitted into the canal without injury. Expense 
 for excavation of 24,100 cubic yards, 
 at 12i cents, $3,012 
 
 For grubbing, &;c. 1,500 — $4,512 
 
 Mile 1 0/^, In the first part, passes over the swampy 
 grounds before mentioned ; and there are one or two 
 islets or spots of hard land in the swamp, over which 
 the line passes, which may be easily avoided, if ne- 
 cessary. This hard land is stones mixed with clay. 
 Drum creek, which is 3f feet below the level, may be 
 admitted into the canal Avithout injury, as it is a short 
 and sluggish stream, and of course will not introduce 
 much earth. There are some scattering undulations 
 of sand, but the land is generally clay and gravel. 
 Expense for dam across Drum creek, $ 300 
 For excavation of 2 1 ,(300 c.yds. at 1 2 ^ c. 2,700 
 
 grubbing, «&c. 1,500 
 
 $4,500 
 
 .MeYe 11 M, Passes over some points of ridges from 
 two to four feet above the level, which may be avoid- 
 ed by a winding course. They are however narrow. 
 
( 136 ) 
 
 and composed of gravel and loam. After passing 
 them, the line runs over excellent ground declining 
 gradually and uniformly to the north west. The soil 
 is loamy and well adapted for a canal. The extra 
 excavation will be J l,l20 cubic yards. Expense for 
 excavation of 37,520 cubic yards, at 12|- cents, $4,690 
 Grubbing, &c. $1,500 
 
 g!6,190 
 Mile 1 2th^ At the beginning, passes over a point of 
 land four feet above the level, which may be avoided 
 by bending a little to the north ; thence it proceeds 
 over loamy land, good for a canal, and declines to 
 the north west. The line here passes over two 
 brooks, which will not require culverts, if it is de- 
 sirable to take them into the canal. The westerly 
 brook will require some embankment. There is a 
 little ridge west of the brook, that might be shunned, 
 but the deep cutting would produce sufficient earth 
 to make the embankment. The general declivity of 
 this mile is from one to three degrees. Expense for 
 excavation of 27,000 c. yards, at 12^ cents, $3,375 
 For culvert, 100 
 
 Grubbing, &;c. 1,500 
 
 _$4,975 
 Mile 1 ^th^ Continues on loamy gravelly soil like the 
 last, with the desired level and the favourable de- 
 clivity, ki the distance of 25 or 30 chains on the 
 line, the ground rises gradually to one and a half feet 
 above the level, and continues so for ten chains, when 
 it gradually declines to the required level and then 
 below it. There are two dead swampy streams, 
 where embankments will be necessary, and where 
 culverts will probably be wanted. A few strata of 
 sand on this mile ; and for the last part the ground is 
 swampy and very flat. The embankments will be 
 1,800 cubic yards. The water stands on the surface 
 of the ground, which retains it. 
 Expense for embankment of 1 ,800 c. > 
 
 yards at 20 cents, 5 ^^^^ 
 
( 137 ) 
 
 For 2 culverts, 200 
 
 For excavation of 21 ,600 c. yards, at ) 
 
 121- cents, ^ 2,700 
 
 For grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 g!4,760 
 
 Mile lith, Begins in swampy grounds, the timber 
 hemlock, and the surface covered with moss. At 15 
 chains distance, there is a small brook requiring a 
 culvert 3^ feet below the level, and also an embank- 
 ment 1 50 feet long, of the average height of six feet. 
 After passing the brook, the ground is li^ feet too low 
 for 10 or 12 chains to another brook, laying only 3i 
 feet below the level. Soon after leaving the last brook, 
 the land rises to three feet above the level, and lays 
 in ridges crossing the line at right angles. This ele- 
 vation continues for fourteen or fifteen chains, when 
 the line fails to the level, and soon after too low by 
 1 3 feet in a ravine, where the top length of the re- 
 quired embankment will be 7 chs. and 80 Iks. After 
 passing this ravine, the line may be continued 
 straight, or by making a bend, a part of the embank- 
 ment may be saved. The straight course is to be 
 preferred. 
 Expense for embankment of 5,170 cubic yards, at 
 
 20 cents, ^1,034 
 
 For excavation of 24,100 c. yds. at 12i cts. 3,012 
 For 1 culvert, 100 
 
 Grubbing, &€. 1,450 
 
 $5,596 
 
 Mile 15M, Requires, in order to cross the Oneida 
 creek, an embankment of 50,600 cubic yards, and an 
 aqueduct of 100 feet in length. After crossing the 
 creek, the course is straight and good, the ground 
 being in some places a little too high. Near the end 
 of this mile is a place where water runs most of the 
 year, where a culvert will be required and an embank- 
 ment of 3 chains long, averaging 3 1-2 feet high. In 
 this swampy ground, the soil is sandy. Expense for 
 embankment of 50,600 c. yards, at 20 cents, $10,12» 
 
 18 
 
( 138 ) 
 
 For aqueduct of wood over Oneida creek, 5,000 
 another embankment of 1,200 c. yds. 2,400 
 excavation of 17,400 c. yds. at 12 1-2 c. 2,175 
 1 culvert, 100 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,075 
 
 $18,710 
 
 Mile 16/^, Passes over a very flat country, and the 
 soil is sandy loam with some gravel on the riges, inter- 
 spersed by narrow glades of ash timbered land, which 
 has from 1 to 2 feet of black mud, and then hard clay. 
 The general face of the country declines a little to 
 the north-west : 1,500 cubic yards of excavation will 
 be required. Expense for excavation of 21,600 cubic 
 yards, at 15 cents, ^3,240 
 
 For grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 ^4,740 
 
 Mile llth^ Passes over ground like the last for thirty 
 chains, when the bottom land along the Cowaslon 
 creek commences. An embankment of 1 4,000 cubic 
 yards, to keep the level, will be required here. This 
 embankment may be avoided by passing through a 
 cedar swamp. The first course is, perhaps, the best. 
 Expense for embankment of 14,000 cubic yards, at 
 twenty cents, ^2,800 
 
 For aqueduct of wood over the Cow- > 
 
 aslon, \ 2,500 
 
 excavation of 17,500 cubic yards ) 
 at 12 -12 cents, ] 2,187 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,300 
 
 ^8,787 
 
 In this mile, a feeder of 2 miles and 70 chains in 
 length, may be introduced from the Oneida creek. 
 
 This feeder may be made navigable, as a lateral 
 canal, to Oneida Castleton, a village at Oneida castle 
 owned by the state. In all probability no water from 
 Oneida creek will be wanted for the canal, but consi- 
 dering that the state land at the village and in its 
 vicinity wijl be trebled in value by this lateral canal, 
 
( 139 ) 
 
 it will be an object to make it on that account only. 
 The whole of the Cowaslon creek may be thrown 
 into the same feeder. Making the feeder 24 feet 
 wide on the top and twelve feet at the bottom, with 
 a depth of four feet, would cost, for excavation of 
 42,224 cubic yards, $7,603 
 
 For grubbing, &c. 3,000 
 
 dam across Oneida creek, 1,000 
 
 guard lock, 5,000 
 
 g 16,603 
 As this is not necessary as a feeder, the expense of it 
 is not properly chargeable to the canal. 
 
 Mile I8tk, Is all in low swampy ground, with one 
 or two feet of black mud upon a hard clayey and 
 gravelly soil. The whole has a little descent north- 
 west,and there are two small streams,which arise from 
 springs, and run without forming beds much below 
 the surface. They may be admitted into the canal 
 without injury. Expense for excavation of 2 1,500 cubic 
 yards, at 20 cents, ;g4,300 
 
 For one culvert, 100 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 ^5,900 
 
 Mile 19th, Passes below a Btep or ridge. The 
 land is clay and gravel, descending gently to the 
 north, and is as good as nature could form it for a 
 canal. Expense for excavation of 26,000 cubic yards, 
 at twelve and an half cents, $3,250 
 
 1,500 
 For grubbing, &c. ^4,750 
 
 Mile 2Qth, Passes upon ground similar to the last 
 for nearly half the distance. At the Canastota creek 
 the water is six and a quarter feet below the top wa- 
 ter line of the canal. The best way to dispose of this 
 small creek, is to erect a dam of six and a quarter 
 feet high, and pass the canal through the pond. This 
 will only overflow two or three acres, and two mill 
 dams, about half a mile distant, will receive almost all 
 
( MO ) 
 
 the alluvion. After crossing the creek, the land is 
 gravelly, and for ten chains is, on an average, two feet 
 too high. The rest is excellent for a canal, descend- 
 ing gradually from two to three degrees north. If 
 the Canastota creek is carried under the canal by 
 deepening its bed, 3,050 cubic yards of embankment 
 will be required ; if a dam is adopted, the expense 
 will not be considerable. Expense for excavation 
 of 21,540 cubic yards, at 12 |^ cents, ^2,692 
 For a dam across Canastota creek, 900 
 
 grubbing, &c. 700 
 
 ^4,292 
 
 Mile 2l5^, Is all excellent for a canal, the ground 
 being gravel, clay, or loam, with a descent of 2 or 
 3 degrees north, and requiring no excavation or em- 
 bankment. Expense for excavation of 20,000 cubic 
 yards, at 12 ^ cents, g2,500 
 
 For grubbing, &c. 500 
 
 $ 3,000 
 
 Mile 22c?, Passes through a cedar swamp, which 
 has hard bottom under 2 feet of black mud. The 
 surface is rather below the level, but there is a gene- 
 ral declivity of from 1 to 2 degrees north ; it is, 
 therefore, easy to gain, if desired, a higher surface. 
 There are 4 small runs of water on this mile, none 
 of them requiring culverts but one. At the latter 
 end of this mile, the line ascends the summit of a 
 ridge 1 6 i feet above the level. This is run over to 
 keep a good course, and will require an extra exca- 
 vation of 5,840 cubic yards. An embankment ad- 
 joining eastward will require a small part of this 
 earth,' and if a bend be made northerly to avoid 
 this point of a hill, it will increase the embankment. 
 Perhaps it will be best to cut off only a part of the 
 point of the hill, and thereby save one half of the ex- 
 tra excavation. Expense for excavation of 35,800 
 cubic yards, at 15 ceqts, 5,370 
 
 For 2 culverts, 200 
 
 Grubbing, kc. 1,500 
 
 ^7,070 
 
( 141 ) 
 
 J^/e 23c?, Passes over excellent land for a canal, 
 which consists of clay and loam, and descends gradu- 
 ally to the north from 2 to 3 degrees. Expense for 
 excavation of 26,000 c. yds. at 12^ cts $3,250 
 For 1 culvert, 100 
 
 Grubbing, &c. 1,200 
 
 % 4,550 
 
 Mile 2ith, For the first part, passes over clay and 
 loam exactly on the required level. The best course 
 is to pass over the mill pond in the Canasaraga creek ; 
 and this will require an embankment of 7,500 cubic 
 yards, and an aqueduct of wood or cast iron, 40 feet 
 Jong. A feeder, if necessary, can easily be obtained 
 from this creek. Expense for embankment of 7,500 
 cubic yards, at 20 cents, $1,500 
 
 For aqueduct of wood, 2,500 
 
 Excavation of 20,000 c. yds. at 12i-cts. 2,500 
 
 $6,500 
 
 Mile 25thf Is all excellent, with a descent north, 
 and soil of loam or gravel. Expense for excavation 
 of 26,000 cubic yards, at 12icents, $3,250 
 For grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 $4,750 
 
 Mile 26th^ Passes over clay and gravel. In some 
 places there are rough loose stones, which may be 
 useful, and in one place the ground is from 11-2 feet 
 to 3 inches above the level. Expense for excavation 
 of 30,500 cubic yards, at 15 cents, $4,575 
 For grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 $6,075 
 
 Mile 27th, Is excellent for a canal, from the begin- 
 ning to the Chitteningo creek, over which it passes. — 
 Some of the ground consists of clay, and some of the 
 rich black mould, or bottom of the creek, which is 
 very nearly on the level wished. The creek may 
 be passed by making a dam 4 feet 3 inches high, and 
 this would form a pond of the proper level, and very 
 little land would be overflown. All the water of this 
 creek may be taken out, for the canal, at a designated 
 point, without injuring any hydraulic establishments. 
 
( 142 ) 
 
 As the line advances to a small spring brook, an 
 embankment will be required. For the residue of 
 the mile, the line passes over land excellent for a 
 canal, and descending gradually to the north east. 
 Expense for excavation of 20,000 cubic yards, at 
 12 1-2 cents, $ 2,500 
 
 For 1 culvert, 100 
 
 embankment of 4,250 c. yds. at 20 cts. 850 
 dam across the creek, 2,000 
 
 grubbing, &;c. 500 
 
 $5,950 
 
 Mile 28^^, Shortly after its commencement, passes 
 a run of water, which may be admitted into the canal 
 without injury. The ground to the vicinity of Beaver- 
 dam creek is loam and gravel, with a gradual declina- 
 tion, and is as good as can be desired. This creek 
 is 1,171 feet below the level of the canal, which 
 renders a considerable embankment necessary, and 
 the estimate is formed upon that presumption, although 
 a less expensive route may probably be adopted. 
 This creek may be used as a feeder. It affords one- 
 fourth as much water as the Chitteningo, and rises 
 from springs. Expense for embankment of 20,000 
 cubic yards, at 20 cents, $4,000 
 
 Forexcavationof 18,500c.yds.at 12 l-2c. 2,312 
 aqueduct over creek, 2,000 
 
 ;g8,312 
 
 Mile 29/A, Is as conveniently formed for a canal as 
 may be, with a descent north of from two to five de- 
 grees, and a soil of black and chocolate loam. Ex- 
 pense for excavation of 26,010 cubic yards, at 12 1-2 
 cents, 523,250 
 
 For grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 ^ ^ $4,750 
 
 Mile 30th, Is excellent, and passes only one stream 
 of water, which is two and an half feet below the top 
 water-line of the canal, and which must be admitted 
 into it. This can be done without injury, as there is 
 a mill-dam building a few rods above this place, 
 where all the alluvion will be deposited, and the 
 
( 143 ) 
 
 water discharged into the canal tolerably pure. 
 Expense for excavation of 26,000 c. yds. at 12 1-2 
 cents, $3,250 
 
 dam, 500 
 
 grubbing, &:c. 400 
 
 ^4,150 
 
 Mile 31 st, Passes over excellent ground, except a 
 small elevation three and an half feet above the level. 
 Expense for excavation of 27,000 cubic yards,at 121-2 
 cents, $3,375 
 
 For grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 -P,875 
 
 Mile 32c/, Is also excellent, except an elevation, the 
 highest point of which is fourteen and three-fourths 
 feet above the top water-line, and which will require 
 an extra excavation of 23,500 cubic yards. Expense 
 for extra excavation of 23,500 cubic yards, which 
 may be partially saved by lengthening the canal, at 
 twenty cents, $4,700 
 
 For excavation of 26,000 c.y ds. at 1 2 1 -2 c. 3,250 
 grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 ;g!9,450 
 
 Mile 33d, Is excellent until it reaches the valley of 
 the outlet of the little lakes, where an embankment 
 is required. Here a reservoir might be made at 
 little expense. Expense for embankment of 15,000 
 cubic yards, at 20 cents, $3,000 
 
 For aqueduct, 200 
 
 excavation of 18,500 c. yds. at 12 i c. 2,312 
 
 —^5,512 
 
 Mile 34cth, Is all excellent for a canal, running along 
 at the foot of a hill ; the ground descending three 
 degrees generally, and well adapted for excavation. 
 Expense for excavation of 20,000 cubic yards, at 12^ 
 cents, $2,500 
 
 For grubbing, &;c. 1,500 
 
 ^4,000 
 
 Mile 35th, Passes over a low place requiring a 
 small embankment. In another place the ground 
 is full of springs, which may be all admitted into the 
 
( 144 ) 
 
 canal. In one place the line runs on a steep side- 
 hill, requiring some additional work. The residue 
 of the mile is excellent. Expense for excavation of 
 20,000 cuhic yards, at 12 1- cents, $2,500 
 
 For extra work in moving earth to 
 
 low places, 700 
 
 ^3,200 
 
 Mile 36/A, Commences with the steep bank men- 
 tioned in the last, after which the ground assumes a 
 more regular and easy slope, and is good for a canal 
 until it reaches Lime-stone creek,which will require 
 an embankment four and an half feet high and fifteen 
 chains long. The water of the creek is 4.89 feet be- 
 low the top water-line. By deepening the bed of 
 the creek and doubling its width, the water may be 
 made to pass under a wooden or cast iron aqueduct. 
 After crossing the creek, the ground is excellent to 
 the end of the mile. Expense for embankment of 
 8,300 cubic yards, at 20 cents, p,660 
 
 For aqueduct, 5000 
 
 extra work on steep bank, 1000 
 
 excavation of 20,000 c. yds. at 12^ c. 2,500 
 grubbing, &c. 300 
 
 ;g 10,460 
 
 Mile 37ih, Commences by cutting off the point of 
 a hill. It then crosses a swamp for 32 chains, which 
 is two feet too low. The swamp appears very soft, 
 is covered with cedar and pine, and a stake may be 
 driven down ten feet. No serious difficulty is appre- 
 hended in carrying the canal over it, but the em- 
 bankment will be more than it appears, owing to the 
 sinking of the mud of the swamp. There are three 
 spring brooks in it, which may, be made to fill a ca- 
 nal dug two feet in the present swamp, and that would 
 enable dirt-boats to pass from hill to hill, for the pur- 
 pose of taking earth to make this embankment, as 
 easy as it could be carted on. After passing this 
 swamp, there is no obstacle to the end of the mile, 
 the ground descending north from three to four de- 
 grees. Some springs come out of the hill on or about 
 
( 145 ) 
 
 the level. Expense for embankment of 9,000 cubic 
 yards, at 20 cents, gl,800 
 
 excavation of 26,000 c.yds. at 121- c. 3,250 
 
 gniibbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 ^6,550 
 
 Mile 3Sth, Passes over excellent ground, at the foot 
 of a hill, until it reaches the low ground adjoining 
 Butternut creek, which will require an embankment 
 and an aqueduct. Water may be obtained by a feed- 
 er from this creek, of the length of three-fourths of 
 a mile. 
 
 Expense for embankment of 19,000 cubic yards, at 20 
 cents, ^3,800 
 
 For aqueduct, 5,000 
 
 excavation of 16,000 c. yds. at 12^ cts. 2,000 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,100 
 
 ^11,900 
 
 Mile 39th, Is over excellent loamy soil, with a north 
 descent of from one to three degrees, and one spring 
 brook which may be admitted into the canal with- 
 out injury. Expense for excavation of 20,000 cubic 
 yards, at 12^ cents, ^2,500 
 
 For grubbing, &c. 1,100 
 
 ^3,600 
 
 Mile 4:0th, Passes over loam, is as good as could be 
 wished. Expense for excavation of 20,000 cubic 
 yards, at ]2|- cents, $2,500 
 
 For grubbing, (fee. 1,150 
 
 ^3,650 
 
 Mile 4:1st, Is excellent fot a canal, the soil being 
 loamy and gravelly, with a descent of from one to two 
 degrees northerly. Several copious springs of wa- 
 ter come out of the hill on the left, above the canal, 
 which may be admitted into it without injury. The 
 hill on the left is 200 feet high, and steep. Expenso 
 for excavation of 26,000 c.yds. at 12i cts. $3,250 
 For grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 $4,750 
 
 Mile 42 J, Begins in swampy ground, which it passes 
 over at the northerly edge, and then runs along the 
 
 19 
 
( 146 ) . 
 
 hard land. The swamp is eight inches below the 
 level on an average, and is an open bog with no 
 bottom of hard stuff within ten feet. After gaining 
 the hard land, the ground is gravelly and good to the 
 end of the mile. Expense for excavation of 26,000 
 cubic yards, at 20 cents, ;^ 5,200 
 
 For grubbing, &c, 1 ,300 
 
 -— ^6,700 
 
 Mile 436/, Is gravelly, except a short distance of 
 cedar swamp, with moss bottom, but in fact hard and 
 good ground. A small spring brook may be admitted 
 into the canal without injury. Expense for excava- 
 tion of 26,000 cubic yards, at 15 cents, ^3,900 
 For grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 — ^5,400 
 
 Mile 44th, Requires two locks, there being a de- 
 scent of nineteen feet; an aqueduct over the Onon- 
 dago creek, two culverts, and considerable embank- 
 ments, which will cost twenty-five cents per cubic 
 yard, owing to the difficulty of obtaining earth. Ex- 
 pense for excavation of 12,000 c. yds, 12^ cts. $1,500 
 For embankment of 31,600 c. yds. at 25 cts. 7,900 
 2 culverts, 300 
 
 aqueduct 200 feet long and 30 feet high, 10,000 
 grubbing, &c. 750 
 
 ^20,450 
 
 Mile 45?^, Is occupied by the Salina plains,and is all 
 too low, the ground hard and gravelly except along 
 Harbour creek, which is a cedar swamp. Four cul- 
 verts will be necessary, and an embankment of 
 1 30, 500 c. yards, at 25 cents per yard, and an aqueduct 
 over the creek. Expense for 4 culverts, $ 450 
 For embankment, 32,625 
 
 aqueduct, 1,000 
 
 ^34,075 
 
 Mtle 4:6th, Although excellent for a canal, with a 
 loamy soil, will require considerable embankments, 
 besides culverts and excavation. It is supposed that 
 the route here may be more advantageously arranged. 
 Expense for embankment of 19,510 cubic yards, at 
 20 cents, $3,902 
 
( 147 ) 
 
 For 4 culverts, 750 
 
 excacation of 22,000 c. y. at 12^ cts. 2,750 
 grubbing, &c. 600 
 
 ^8,000 
 
 Mile Mth, Descends gently to the north, and con- 
 tains a rich black gravelly loam, is excellent for a 
 canal, except a ravine, which will require an embank- 
 ment. Expense for embankment of 1 450 cubic yards, 
 at twenty cents, $290 
 
 For one culvert, 100 
 
 excavation of 26,000 c. y. at 12^ cts. 3,250 
 grubbing, &;c. 1,500 
 
 Mile iSth, Passes over smooth good land for a 
 canal, with a gradual descent of fjom one to two de- 
 grees north, until it approaches the swamp of Mill 
 brook. Here the land is nearly level, and there is 
 one foot of mud, but gravel and clay below. There 
 are several small spring brooks in the swamp, which 
 may be received into the canal. Mill brook is 4,96 
 feet below the water line of the canal. A dam one 
 hundred feet long must be raised across this creek, 
 four feet ten inches high ; very little embankment is 
 wanted. Expense for excavation of 26,000 cubic 
 yards, at twelve and a half cents, $ 3,250 
 
 For dam across Mill brook, 750 
 
 grubbing, (fee. 1,500 
 
 ^5,500 
 
 Mile 49th, Is excellant. One small culvert and a 
 few yards of extra excavation are wanted. Expense, 
 For one culvert, $ 1 00 
 
 excavation of 26,000 c.yds. at 12i c. 3,250 
 grubbing, &c. 1,200 
 
 ^4,550 
 
 Mile 50th, Is uncommonly good for a canal. Ex- 
 pense, For excavation of 20,000 
 
 c.yds.at 12^ cts 2,500 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1 400 
 
 ^3,900 
 
 Mile 5l5^ Soon after its commencement, turns 
 north, to pass over the nine mile creek, and crosses 
 
( 118 ) 
 
 a piece of low clay ground, the lowest of which is 
 2.84 feet below the level, but rises gradually to it 
 each way. The nature of the soil, and the very little 
 extra earth wanted, to make the banks, warrant a 
 belief, that nothing need be added to the expense, in 
 order to make a canal across it. Near to the Nine 
 mile creek, the line rises so as to be 2.89 feet above 
 the banks, and the water of the creek is 4 feet deep 
 on an average, and 11.82 feet below the top water 
 line. This is a mill pond, and the water may be 
 settled four feet by carrying the dam 10 or 12 rods up 
 the stream, so as to be above the canal. If an aque- 
 duct of wood or cast iron is constructed, there will 
 be no necessity of altering the dam. The 8 feet below 
 the bottom of the canal will make the elevation of 
 the aqueduct sufficient, as the water never rises more 
 than 4 or 5 feet in the greatest freshets. This aque- 
 duct will be 200 feet long. After passing the creek, 
 the bank is 3^ feet above the level, but the ground 
 soon descends to the level. The earth is loamy and 
 easy of excavation. Farther on, there are two small 
 ravines, in which there is no water, but embanking, 
 and perhaps, culverts or cast iron pipes of 6 inches 
 diameter, ought here to be placed, in order to drain 
 off the waters that may collect above the canal. A 
 feeder may be easily made to bring the waters of the 
 creek into the canal, which will, at the same time, 
 serve as a branch canal, and without any lock will 
 carry navigation up to a very large quarry of excel- 
 lent gypsum. Expense, 
 For excavation of 28,500 c.y.at 12i cts.$3,562 
 aqueduct, 10,000 
 
 3 culverts, 300 
 
 grubbing, &c. 500 
 
 ^14,362 
 
 Mile 52d, Presents excellent ground for a canal, 
 which is loam, and descends easterly. There are 
 4 small and short ravines, requiring 3 culverts, of 
 which two may be cast iron pipes of 6 inches diam- 
 eter. The other ought to of be three feet diameter. 
 
( 149 ) 
 
 A little extra excavation will be requisite. Expense, 
 For embankment of 2,100 c.yds. at 20 cts. ^420 
 3 culverts, 300 
 
 excavation of 28,500 c. yds. at 12^ 
 
 cents, 3,562 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 ^^5,782 
 
 Mile 53d, Passes over excellent land, a mixture of 
 clay and loam, lying with a descent of from 1 to 2 de- 
 grees north. There is a small run of water, where 
 an embankment of 4 feet high will be wanted, and pro- 
 bably a culvert, or cast iron pipe. Expense 
 For embankment of 2500 c. yds. at 20 cts. ;g!509 
 1 culvert, 100 
 
 excavation of 26,000 c.yds. at 121- cts.3,250 
 grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 gi5,350 
 
 Mile 54:th, Requires some culverts and extra exca- 
 vation. A part of the line passes along the edge of 
 a brook, where there is a steep bank a little too high, 
 and at the foot of it a flat 4 or 5 feet too low, and 
 this edge of the bank must give the earth to make 
 the bank below sufficiently elevated. Expense, 
 For 3 culverts, ;S300 
 
 excavation of 28,500 c. yds. atl2i cts. 3,562 
 grubbing, &c. ^950 
 
 —^4,812 
 
 Mile 55th, Commences at the beginning of a deep 
 cutting, through a marl meadow swamp. The soil 
 is all soft and must be removed by manual labour, 
 and the work must be so managed as to drain the 
 lands as it proceeds. As the ground is all swamp 
 and very bad, the excavation is set down at 50 cents 
 per cubic yard. Expense, 
 
 For extra excavation of 77.400 cubic yards, at 50 
 cents, $38,700 
 
 mean excavation of 26,000 c. y. at 12^, 3,250 
 grubbing, &c. being very bad, 3,000 
 
 $44,050 
 
 Mile 56th, Is a continuation of the same swamp. 
 Expense, 
 
( 150 ) 
 
 For extra excavation of 98,000 cubic yds. at 50 
 cents, ^49,000 
 
 mean excavation of 26,000 c. yards, 
 
 at 12 i cents, 3,250 
 
 grubbing, &;c. 3,000 
 
 ■^55,250 
 
 Mile 57th, Contains the west end of the same 
 swamp. Expense, 
 For extra excavation of 44,000 c. yards, 
 
 at 25 cents, ^8,800 
 
 mean do. of 26,000 do. at 12^ do. 3,250 
 
 grubbing, &c. 2,000 
 
 ^14,050 
 
 Mile 58/A, Passes over a very flat piece of ground, 
 requiring a little extra excavation at the east end. — 
 Hand's brook and Camp's brook will both fall into the 
 canal on this mile ; and it is not easy to find a me- 
 thod to dispose of the water of the former, while the 
 canal is digging. For this purpose it will perhaps 
 be necessary to create for it a new channel. Expense 
 For excavation of 28,500 c. y. at 15 cts- ^4,27 5 
 extra labour to divert Hand'sbrook, ] ,500 
 grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 7-^7,272 
 
 Mile 59th, Is all excellent, requiring nothing extra 
 but a culvert. Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 26,000 c, y. at 12^ c. ^3,250 
 1 culvert, 100 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,400 
 
 —$4,750 
 Mile 60th, Is excellent, except a little low ground, 
 which will require small embankments near Carpen- 
 ter's brook, and at another place. A dam must be 
 erected across the brook 150 feet long. As the wa- 
 ter in the brook is 6.08 feet below the level, a dam 
 of 6 feet high will make the water in the pond on a 
 level with the canal. Expense, 
 For excavation of 20,000c.y. at J2i-cts. $2,500 
 dam above-mentioned, 1,800 
 
 embankment of 1,001 c. y. at 20 cts. 220 
 
( 151 ) 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1 ,500 
 
 ' ^6,020 
 
 Mile 6lst, Passes over a summit between Carpen- 
 ter's brook and the Skaneatelas outlet. The swamp 
 is from 1 to 3 feet, composed of a soft mossy spongy 
 substance and then a gravelly clay. Expense, 
 For excavation of 29,000 c.y. at 18 cts. $5200 
 grubbing, &;c, 1500 
 
 ^6720 
 
 Mile 62</, Passes over very suitable ground for a 
 canal, with the exception of the point of a hill, until 
 it arrives at the low land, which extends to Skaneate- 
 las outlet. A little embankment and a small culvert 
 are required. Expense, 
 For extra excavation of 2,300 cubic yards at 
 18 cents, ^414 
 
 embankment of 960 do. at 20 do. 192 
 excavation of 22,000 do. at 12 i^ do. 2,750 
 1 culvert 100 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 — S4,956 
 
 Mile 63d, Requires a very small embankment where 
 it begins. Thence to the Skaneatelas outlet is all 
 flat bottom land. The water of the stream is rapid, 
 and the surface is 5.66 feet below the level. A dam 
 raised to that height w^ould do no injury, as it v/ould 
 not overflow 1^ acres of land, and there is no mill 
 below this point to the junction of the outlet with 
 Seneca river. A little embankment on the west side 
 of the outlet will be necessary , or perhaps a dam 
 200 feet long, for the water to waste over, would be 
 advisable. The remaining embankment is so sinall 
 as to require Mttle or no estimate of expense. At 
 the latter end of the mile, the ground is very favour- 
 able (with the exception of a small piece requiring 
 extra excavation) and declines from 1 to 2 degrees 
 northerly. There is a brook only 1.50 feet below the 
 level of the top water line, which will require a cul- 
 vert, or perhaps it may be admitted into the canal 
 without injury, if a small dam is made across it 2 or 
 
( 152 ) 
 
 3 chains above, to deposit alluvion in case of fresh- 
 ets. — Taking the waters of this brook will not in- 
 jure farms below, as they are lost in swamp. Ex- 
 pense, 
 
 For dam raised on piles, and embankment 
 
 with it, $2,000 
 
 excavation of 22,000 c. y. at 12 i cents 2,750 
 
 1 culvert, perhaps, 100 
 
 grubbing, &c. 500 
 
 ^5,350 
 
 Mile 6ith, Is all excellent for a canal ; the ground 
 descends northerly. The excavation is easy,, the 
 soil being loamy. A point of a hill, of which the 
 summit is nine and a half feet above the level, must 
 be cut through ; and there is a low place at the west 
 end, requiring some earth to straighten the course. 
 Expense for embankment and extra 
 excavation, ;^800 
 
 excavation of 24,000 c. yds. at 12 ids. 3000 
 grubbing, kc. 1,200 
 
 ^5,000 
 
 Mile 65th, Is equally excellent, except a small point 
 of land 5.75 feet above the level, where the line is 
 rather circuitous, in order to avoid a cedar swamp. 
 Expense for excavation of 27,000 cubic yards, at 
 12 1-2 cents, ^3,375 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 ■ — $4,875 
 
 Mile 66th, Passes over the points of several eleva- 
 tions, which rise from two to six feet above the level, 
 and may be avoided by a very crooked course. They 
 are all easy to excavate, and will require no deep 
 cutting exceeding six feet, and generally, on each 
 side of them, the ground will require a little raising. 
 Expense for extra excavation of 3,700 cubic yards, 
 at twenty cents, $740 
 
 mean excavation of 26,000c.y. at 12^^ c. 3,250 
 grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 -$5,490 
 
 Mile 61th, Lies with a northerly descent of 
 
( 153 ) 
 
 from one to two degrees, and is^ rich black loam. A 
 culvert and a little embankment will be necessary. The 
 line runs over some*ground a little above the level. At 
 one place runs a small stream, which may be let in with- 
 out injury. Expense for excavation of 27,000 cubic 
 yards,^ at 12^, ^3,375 
 
 2 culverts^ 200 
 
 embankment of 2,000 c. yds. at 20 cts. 400 
 grubbing, &c. 900 
 
 ^4,875 
 
 Mile 68th, Begins a little east of Bread creek. On the 
 flat or bottom land, made by the creek, there are some 
 places three feet below the level '(where water 
 runs in very great freshets) which may be rendered 
 good with little expense ; and perhaps a small culvert 
 may be necessary here. Bread creek is only 4.85 feet 
 below the top water line. This is a rapid stream, and 
 the best plan to cross it is to erect a dam. The alluvion 
 of the creek might be kept out of the canal by erecting 
 stop gates, on each side of the pond, which would 
 oblige the water to pass over the dam ; or, in addition 
 to this, waste gates may be so fixed in the dam as to 
 draw from the bottom of the canal, and the water thus 
 discharged would carry off all the alluvial matter 
 through these waste gates. After crossing this creek, 
 the ground is excellent, with a gentle declination to 
 the north, till near the end of the mile, where a culvert 
 may be wanted. Expense, 
 For a dam on piles across Bread creek, ^1,500 
 excavation of 26, 000 c. y. at 12^ cts. 3,250 
 1 culuert, 100 
 
 grubbing, &c. 300 
 
 ^5,150 
 
 Mile 69th, Descends from one to two degrees north- 
 erly, and is all excellent for a canal. One small cul- 
 vert will be necessary. Expense, 
 For excavation of 26,000 c. y. at 12i c. ^3,250 
 1 culvert, 100 
 
 grubbing, (fee. 250 
 
 20 
 
 -;9(3,600 
 
( 154 ) 
 
 Mile HOth, Commences near Spring brook, which is 
 4.97 feet below the level. A dam of that height would 
 give the water in the pond the requisite level. Some 
 raising of the banks is necessary near the creek, as the 
 flat land along it lies about two feet below the top water 
 line. Between Cold spring and Tyler's brook, the 
 ground is above the level, in one place, near four feet, 
 declining each way. The deep cutting here is no seri- 
 ous objection to a straight course. Expense, 
 For extra excavation of 11,400 cubic yards, at fifteen 
 cents, ^1,710 
 
 mean do. of 26,000 do. at 121- do. 3,250 
 
 dam across Oold spring brook, 1,000 
 
 ;^5,960 
 
 Mile 7 1st, Is good for a canal. Some little extra 
 excavation will be necessary at the east end. Near 
 the west end, the ground is too steep, where, in some 
 places, the descent is six or eight degrees. The Tyler's 
 brook is a small stream, only 1.50 feet below the bottom 
 of the canal, into which it may be brought. If, however, 
 this produces too much alluvial matter, it may be con- 
 veyed over the canal. Expense, 
 For excavation of 27,000 c. y. at 12i cts. ^3,375 
 extra labour to dispose of the water ) 
 
 of Tyler's brook, > 500 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,000 
 
 -^4,875 
 
 Mile 72c?, Passes on good ground for some distance, 
 until an embankment becomes necessary to pass the 
 flats of the Owasco outlet. This creek is twelve and 
 an half feet below the top water line of the canal, and 
 will require an aqueduct 150 feet long. After gain- 
 ing the high land, which is very steep, with a sharp 
 ridge 1 1 feet above the level, the line falls very soon 
 below the level, and then rises again above it. It soon 
 descends again ; after which the route is good, until it 
 becomes necessary to make a lock and descend eight 
 feet. Thence to the end, good ; but requiring a little 
 embankment. Expense, 
 
( 155 ) 
 
 For embankment of 21,000 cubic yards, at twenty-five 
 cents, ^5,275 
 
 aqueduct, 5,000 
 
 excavation of 20,000 c. y. at 12^ c. 2,500 
 grubbing, &;c. 225 
 
 — '■ ^13,000 
 
 Mile 73d, Is crooked and uneven. Four culverts will 
 be required for the streams rising in the hills south of 
 the canal, and some points of hills must be cut off to 
 straighten the course. Expense, 
 For excavation of 32,000 c. y. at 12|- c. ^4,000 
 4 culverts, 400 
 
 grubbing, &:c. 1,400 
 
 ^5,800 
 
 JUile 74M, Descends to the north-west, and is all good. 
 There is one point three feet too high, which may be 
 easily avoided by a bend. Two culverts are required. 
 Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 26,000 c. y. at 121^ c. g! 3,250 
 2 culverts, 400 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 $5,150 
 
 Mile 7 5th, Is very good for a canal to Crane brook, 
 where there is ground from 2 to 3 feet too low. In this 
 brook, the water is 8.13 feet below the top water line. 
 This stream dries up in summer, and therefore would 
 not yield water when wanted. It rises high in freshets, 
 and ought to pass under the canal. The bed of the 
 creek may be doubled in width, and by that means, 
 with deepening the channel a little, a passage may be 
 found for the floods. Some extra excavation will be 
 necessary, in order to avoid a swamp. Expense, 
 For embankment of 16,000 cubic yards, at twenty 
 cents, ^3,200 
 
 aqueduct over Crane brook, 3,500 
 
 excavation of 18,000 c. y. at 12^ cts. 2,250 
 grubbing, &c. 1,500 
 
 ^10,450 
 
 Mile 76th, Commences near the bed of Great brook, 
 which is lost in a swamp. The bed is formed near its 
 
( 150 ) 
 
 junction with Crane brook. On this mile a lock of nine 
 feet descent must be made, for which the ground is very 
 favourable, and will require but little excavation* From 
 the Jock to the end of the mile, the ground is low and 
 apparently swampy. It consists of clay, and an em- 
 bankment may be easily made, as there is no part more 
 than three and an half feet below the top of the canal. 
 Some points of hills must be cut off to straighten the 
 route, and three culverts are required. Expense, 
 For embankment of 18,500 cubic yards, at twenty 
 cents, P,700 
 
 aqueduct over Great brook 1,500 
 
 excavation of 16,000 c. y. at 12| cts. 2,000 
 3 culverts to drain the land above > or,r) 
 
 embankments, ^ 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,400 
 
 g! 8,900 
 
 Mile 11th, Begins in clayey ground, three feet too low. 
 After passing this, two points of land (the easterly one 
 coming in from the south, and the other from the north) 
 four or five feet above the level, of a loamy soil, must 
 be cut off The valley of a brook, which must be 
 crossed, will render an embankment and a culvert es- 
 sential. Expense, 
 
 For embankment of 9,300 cubic yards, at twenty 
 cents, $1,860 
 
 1 culvert, 150 
 
 excavation of 18,000 c. y. at 12i cts. 2,250 
 
 ^^—^4,260 
 
 Here the middle section of the canal terminates in 
 the Seneca river, at the point and on the level, reached 
 by Mr. Geddes. 
 
 The exuberant supply of water for the canal, in this 
 section, must be at once perceived from an inspection 
 of the topographical map. At its commencement, the 
 waters of the Mohawk river will be used, and they can 
 be increased to any extent, by introducing a feeder 
 from Fish creek. Independently of numerous small 
 brooks, the canal can derive as much water as can be 
 desired from the Oneida, the Cowaslon, the Canasara- 
 
( 137 ) 
 
 ga, the Chitteningo, the Black, the Limestone, the But- 
 ternut, the Onondaga, the Nine-mile, the Skaneateles, 
 the Bread, the Cold-spring, the Owasco, and the Crane 
 creeks ; some of which are the outlets of lakes, and 
 others originate from perennial springs in high lands, 
 and will never be affected by the clearing of the country. 
 The adaptation of the grounds of this section, for a 
 canal, is peculiar and extraordinary. After proceed- 
 ing two miles and fourteen chains, it will be necessary 
 to descend 6 feet ; after which, the line of the canal 
 proceeds 41 1-2 miles on one level. A descent of 19 
 feet then takes place, from the foot of which another 
 level extends 30 miles. For the remainder of the 
 distance to the Seneca river, there are three departures 
 from the level — one of 8, one of 9, and one of 6 1-2 feet. 
 Thus the w^hole extent of this section, occupying 77 
 miles, will require but 6 locks. 
 
 In many places inexhaustible beds of gypsum exist, 
 which can, by means of this canal, be conveyed cheap- 
 er to the great agricultural counties of the state, than it 
 can be procured by importation. And nothing is more 
 easy than, by a short lateral canal of 1 1-2 miles in 
 length, to form a communication between Salina and 
 the great canal, thus furnishing fuel to the works, and 
 salt to the whole country. A level has been carried 
 from that of the canal, at the foot of the two locks near 
 Onondaga creek, which would require no greater depth 
 of excavation than 4 feet, in any place, and no embank- 
 ment, culvert, or lock. 
 
 A connexion by locks can easily be made with the 
 Onondaga lake. And if it is thought adviseable, a 
 canal uniting the great canal with the Oneida lake, can 
 be effected. The level of the canal is 51 feet above 
 the Oneida lake, and the expense of this lateral com- 
 munication may be estimated as follows : 
 Three miles of canal, at an average cost of excavation, 
 including every thing, of ^5,000 per mile, ^15,000 
 Lockage of 51 feet, 51,000 
 
 6 large culverts, 1,200 
 
 Embankments, &c. 4,000 
 
 ^71,200 
 
( 158 ) 
 
 The estimates, per mile, herein before stated, exclud- 
 ing the above estimate for a lateral canal to Oneida 
 lake, and also the expense of a feeder from Oneida 
 creek, in the aggregate, amount to g609,696 
 
 There are other expenses to be added. The line of 
 the canal passes over 46 roads, where bridges will be 
 required, and these are estimated at ^500 a piece, 
 (probably too much,) p3,000 
 
 A feeder from Limestone creek, 20 chains long. 
 Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 3,500 c. y. at 12^ c. ^437 
 guard-gate and dam, 1,500 
 
 •— ^1,937 
 
 A feeder from Butternut creek, 60 chains long. 
 Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 10,500 c. y. at 12 1-2 c. ^1,312 
 dam and guard -gates, 1,500 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,100 
 
 — P,912 
 
 A feeder from Nine-mile creek, 3 miles long- Ex- 
 pense, 
 
 For excavation of 42,242 c. y. at 12 1-2 c. ^5,280 
 dam and guard -gates, J, 500 
 
 grubbing, &;c. 3,000 
 
 — p,780 
 
 A feeder from the Owasco outlet, 15 chains long. 
 Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 3,000 c. y. at 12 1-2 cts. $375 
 raising 5 1-2 feet on a mill dam, 2,000 
 
 guard-gates, &c. 500 
 
 — -^ $2,8T5 
 
 Expense of two guard-locks, of 2 feet lift each, at 
 Chitteningo creek, to prevent floods from entering the 
 canal, ^6,000 
 
 of two stop-gates at Carpenter's brook, 1,800 
 
 do. at Bread creek, 1 ,800 
 
 do. at Cold-spring brook, 1,800 
 
 2 locks, of 2 feet lift each, at Skaneateles, ^ 
 to prevent water from rushing into the i „ „^ 
 canal in freshets. It is not certain that [ ' 
 these will be necessary, J 
 
( 159 ) 
 
 6 locks for an ascent of 48 1-2 feet, allow- ) ^q ^05 
 
 ing per foot ^1,250, 5 ' 
 
 The whole of this section passes through earth of 
 
 such a texture, or so situated, as to be deemed secure 
 
 from leakage. Puddling will, therefore,be requisite only 
 
 for some of the high embankments, estimated at glO,000 
 
 The aggregate amount of all preceding 
 
 items, is ^739,225 
 
 Add five per cent, for contingencies, ^36,961 
 for engineers, superintendence, 
 and expenses connected there- 
 with, at ^1,000 per mile, 77,000 
 
 The total amount of estimates for the middle 
 
 section, is ^853,186 
 
 The five per cent, for contingencies is borrowed 
 from the European mode of forming estimates ; and the 
 charge of $1,000 per mile for engineers, superintend- 
 ence, &c. is too liberal. 
 
 The eastern section of the canal extends from Rome 
 to the Hudson river ; and Charles C. Broadhead, Esq. 
 was employed as engineer, to act upon that part of it 
 which lies between Rome and Schoharie creek, He 
 has accordingly levelled over and explored the route, 
 within these limits ; and in the following details there- 
 of, reference is had to his minutes, maps, and profiles, 
 herewith presented : 
 
 Beginning, then, at a stone placed by Mr. Wright, in 
 the south west bank of the Rome canal, standing 
 45.100 of a foot above the level of the water, (being the 
 point marked A, on Mr. Wright's map,) and proceeding 
 down the Mohawk river along the south shore there- 
 of, the route is described and estimated as follows : 
 
 Mile 1st, Passes, for 36 chains, over rich bottom 
 lands, then 16 chains of alder swamp. The residue is 
 gravel and loam, descending to the north. The Little 
 Oneida creek crosses the line in the swamp, with its bed 
 2.59 feet below the level. An embankment, in the 
 swamp, will be required, of 16 chains long, and from 1 
 to 4 1-2 feet high, with a culvert to pass the water of 
 the creek. Expense, 
 
( l&O ) 
 
 For embankment of 3,230 c. y. at 20 cts. $646 
 
 excavation of 27,500 do. at 12 1-2 do. 3,437 
 
 1 culvert, 100 
 
 dam across Little Oneida 500 
 
 ^4,683 
 
 Mile 2d, Passes over 60 chains of gravel, mixed with 
 clay, the rest sandy. The line for 20 chains runs near 
 the edge of a swamp. A small run of water crosses the 
 line, where a culvert will be necessary. Expense, 
 For excavation of 26,700 c. y. at 12^ c. ^3,337 
 
 1 culvert, 100 
 
 ■ ^3,437 
 
 Mile 3d, Passes over gravel, clay, and loam, with 
 some places stony, and descending to the north, in some 
 places steep. Ibe line maybe so varied, in this mile, 
 as to avoid extra digging, by lengthening it. Expense, 
 For excavation of 52,120 c. y. at 18 c. $9,381 
 1 culvert, 100 
 
 9,481 
 
 Mile ith, Passes over flat stony land, consisting of 
 loam and clay for the first 20 chains. The residue is 
 loam and sand, descending northerly. The line for 
 the greatest part of this mile, runs at the foot of a hill, 
 near the edge of a swamp, and 16 chains of it lies 
 through woods. Expense, 
 For excavation of 26,800 c. y. at 12i c. $3,350 
 
 2 culverts, 200 
 grubbing and clearing, 300 
 
 $3,850 
 
 Mile 5th, Passes over land of a description similar to 
 the last, except that 64 chains lies through wood land. 
 There are two small runs of water, which may be admit- 
 ted into the canal without injury, or if passed under, 
 they will require 2 culverts. Expense, 
 For excavation of 34,190 c. y. at 14 cts. $4,786 
 2 culverts, 200 
 
 grubbing, &c. 1,200 
 
 $6,186 
 
 Mile 6th, Passes generally over clay and loam, gent- 
 ly declining to the north. The route lies between the 
 
( 161 ) 
 
 edge of a swamp and the foot of a hill. There are, in 
 this mile, 56 chains of woodland, and a fine quarry of 
 building stone contiguous to the line. There are two 
 streams which require culverts. Expense, 
 For excavation of 38,110 c. j. at 14 cts. ^4,339 
 2 culverts, 200 
 
 grubbing, &:c. 800 
 
 ^5,339 
 
 Mile 7th, Passes for the first 24 chains, along a steep 
 side hill ; the residue of the mile descends gently to the 
 north. The earth is generally sand and clay, with some 
 stone. It is easy to excavate. There is one small 
 stream, and a fine quarry of building stone. Expense, 
 For excavation of 2 1,960 c. y. at 12^ c.S2,745 
 2 culverts, 200 
 
 embankment of 1,670 c. y. at 20 cts. 334 
 
 $3,279 
 
 Mile Sth, Passes generally over sand and loam, of 
 which the surface is pretty even. In this mile the Oris- 
 kany creek crosses the line, where an embankment, 15 
 chains long, and from 4 to 13 feet high, will be neces- 
 sary. The bed of the creek is 11 feet below the level, 
 and a canal, from a woollen manufactory, which crosses 
 the line here, is 5.30 feet below the level. A cul- 
 vert will be wanted for the little canal, and large water- 
 ways for the creek ; but these will be provided for in 
 the estimate of an aqueduct, by which the creek and ca- 
 nal will best be passed. By throwing a dam across the 
 Oriskany 5 feet high, at a point 46 chains above the 
 line, the water may be brought, in a feeder, into the 
 canal, as represented on the map. Expense, 
 For aqueduct over creek and canal, $15000 
 excavation of 20,500 c. y. at 12^ c. 2,575 
 embankment near the 48th station, of 
 
 2,640 c. yards, at 20 cents, 528 
 
 feeder 46 ch. long, requiring the exca- 
 vation of 12,130 c. y. at 15 cents, 1,719 
 For embankment on feeder, of 2,810 c. y. 
 
 at 20 cents, 562 
 
 dam and guard gate, 1,000 
 
 21 ^21,384 
 
( 162 ) 
 
 Mile 9thi Passes generally over a soil composed of 
 sand and loam, easy to excavate. The route passes 
 over the side of the Oriskany hill, which is in some pla- 
 ces very steep, and which has at its foot a miry cedar 
 and tamarack swamp. A ravine must be crossed where 
 it is one chain and fifty links wide, and 6^ feet deep. — 
 This will require an embankment and small culvert. — 
 By a route bending to the north, the deepjcutting might 
 be avoided. Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 40,200 c. y. at 12-|^ c. $5,025 
 1 culvert, 100 
 
 ^5,125 
 
 Mile lOth, Passes over earth easy to be excavated, 
 but considerably uneven. Three small streams, requi- 
 ring 2 culverts cross the line. These streams rise in a 
 sandy hill, considerably above the level, and in fresh- 
 ets bring down much sand in their waters. But if it 
 should be thought advisable, they may be let into the 
 canal, by a side cut, with very little expense, and with- 
 out injury. Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 27,000 cubic yards, at twelve and 
 an half cents, $3,375 
 
 embankment of 6,260 c. y. at 20 cts. 1,252 
 1 culvert, 250 
 
 $4,877 
 
 Miles llth 8{ 12/A,Are described together. The first 
 part of the 11th mile passes over level ground, and 
 near the edge of the bank above the bottom land. 
 Here two routes have been explored for a short dis- 
 tance, (see map.) If the north route is adopted, which 
 is probably the best, an embankment of 45 chains 
 long, and from 7 to 8 feet high, will be necessary, with 
 a culvert sufiicient to pass the waters of the Sadaque- 
 da creek, which is 50 links wide. The bed of this 
 creek is 11^^ feet below the level. Near the east end 
 of the 12th mile, is a ravine, requiring an embankment 
 of 4 chains long, and from 4 to 13|^feet high, under 
 which must be a culvert to pass a small stream. If the 
 south route should be adopted, less embankment will 
 be necessary, but deep cutting will be incurred ; be- 
 sides, it is probably more difficult to cross the mill ca- 
 
( 163 ) 
 
 nal, than the stream below, and the old bed of the 
 stream must be crossed in either case. Expense of 
 Mile 1 1 th^ For embankment of 28,000 cubic yards, 
 at 25 cents, ;8i7,000 
 
 excavation of 1,450 do. at 12 ^do. 4,815 
 embankment of 4,220 do. at 20 do. 844 
 
 $9,659 
 
 Mile 12th, Embankment of 39,900 cubic yards, at 
 
 25 cents, $9,775 
 
 2 culverts, 250 
 
 aqueduct over the Sadaqueda creek, 6000 
 
 excavation of 7,000 c. y. at 12 ^ cts. 875 
 
 $17,100 
 
 Mile 13th, Passes over loam, of which the excava- 
 tion is very easy. It descends gradually to the north. 
 Two culverts will be required. Expense, 
 excavation of 26,800 c. y. at 20 cts $3,350 
 2 culverts, 250 
 
 $3,600 
 
 Mile 14th, Passes over earth easy to excavate, and 
 it descends gently to the north. At Nail creek an em- 
 bankment will be required, of 8 chains in length on the 
 top, and 6 chains long on the bottom. The bed of the 
 creek is 14^ feet below the level ; it is also 30 links wide. 
 Here must be a culvert. If the north route of the ca- 
 nal is adopted, (see 11th mile,) an embankment on the 
 last part of this mile will be required, of 20 chains long, 
 and from 5 to 8 feet high, and this embankment extends 
 into the next mile. If the south route is adopted, there 
 will be required from 3 to 4 feet extra deep cutting for 
 34 chains. Expense, 
 
 For embankment of 17,240 c. y. at 20 cts. $3,448 
 excavation of 41,200 c. y. at 15 cts. 6,180 
 aqueduct'over Nail creek, 500 
 
 $10,128 
 
 Mile 15th, On the north route, will require from its 
 commencement, an embankment from 5 to 20 feet high, 
 and 44 chains long, including Ballou's creek and ravine, 
 where a culvert will be wanted, larger than common, 
 as the creek is 50 links wide, and Ip.rge enough in the 
 spring to carry a grist-mill, though nearly dry in the 
 
( 164 ) 
 
 summer. On the south route, there would be required 
 about 60 chains of extra deep cutting, and an embank- 
 ment over Ballou's creek and ravine, of four chains and 
 50 links in length, and from 12 to 15 feet deep, includ- 
 ing the culvert. Expense, 
 For excavation of 85,000 c.y. at 12 1-2 c. ^10,625 
 embankment of 6,300 do. at 20 c. 1,260 
 aqueduct over Ballou's creek, 500 
 
 ^12,385 
 
 Mile 16M, Passes over a gravelly loam, descending 
 to the north. An embankment is necessary 2 chains 
 long, and 14 1-2 feet high, with a small culvert under 
 it Expense, 
 
 For embankment of 4,920 c. y. at 20 cts. ^984 
 culvert, 100 
 
 excavation of 32,000 c. y. at 12 1-2 c. 4,000 
 
 ^5,084 
 
 Mile 17 th, Passes over land like the last. Clark's 
 creek and ravine cross the line, where an embankment 
 will be wanted, 4 chains 50 links long on the top, and 
 3 chains 50 links at the bottom, and 13 1-2 feet high, 
 including a culvert. This creek rises high in the spring, 
 and its bed is 30 links wide. Another embankment is 
 necessary on this mile, to be 3 chains 50 links long on 
 the top, and 2 chains 50 links at the bottom, and 6 1-2 
 feet high, including a small culvert. Expense, 
 For embankment of 14,560 c. y. at 20 cts. ^2,912 
 excavation of 35,200 c. y. at 15 c. 4,280 
 aqueduct over Clark's creek, 500 
 
 2 culverts, 600 
 
 $ 8,292 
 
 Mile ISth, Passes over sand, gravel, and loam. Seve- 
 ral creeks, runs, and ravines, cross ^he line, requiring 
 embankments and culverts, as follows : 1st ravine, 2 
 chains 50 links long on the top, and 50 links less on the 
 bottom. It is 11 1-2 feet deep, and requires a culvert. 
 The 2d ravine is 1 chain 50 links long on the top, and 
 1 chain on the bottom, and 17 1-2 feet deep. The 3d 
 is 2 chains 25 links long on the top, 1 chain and 25 
 links on the bottom, and 1 If feet deep. The 4th is 
 J erguson's creek, 25 links wide, and 6f feet below 
 
( 165 ) 
 
 the level, and may be made still lower 4 or 5 feet 
 This creek rises in a hill, and in a wet season swells 
 much over its banks. Here a small embankment will 
 be required, of from 1 to 2^ feet high, and 8 chains 
 long Another ravine and run cross the canal west of 
 Ferguson's creek, of 2 chains 25 links across on the 
 top, 1 chain 25 links on the bottom, and 6i feet deep, 
 where an embankment will be necessary. Expense, 
 For excavation of 55,120 c. y. at 15 c. ^8,268 
 embankment of 14,615 c. y. at 10 c. 2,923 
 
 5 culverts, 1,000 
 
 ;$!12,191 
 
 Mile 1 9M, Passes over land easy to excavate, but in- 
 cludes 6 small creeks and ravines, where so many em- 
 bankments and culverts will be required. Expense, 
 For excavation of 23,500 c. y. at 121- c. ^12,937 
 embankment of 18,926 c. y. at 20 c. 3,787 
 
 6 culverts, 600 
 
 ^^,324 
 
 Mile 20th, Passes generally along a pretty steep side 
 hill, the soil being of sand and loam. Dederick's creek 
 crosses the line, and requires an embankment 2 chains 
 long, and Hi feet deep, where a culvert is necessa- 
 ry. There are besides this creek, four small runs, re- 
 quiring 3 culverts. Expense, 
 For embankment of 3,820 c. y. at 20 c. $ 764 
 excavation of 26,800 do at 12^ do. 3,350 
 4 culverts, 400 
 
 ^4,514 
 
 Mile 21st, Passes over ground easy to excavate, 
 and generally on a side hill. The surface is here une- 
 ven, requiring several small embankments and culverts, 
 Expense, 
 
 For embankment of 4,000 c. y. at 20 cts. ;8i800 
 excavation of 38,330 do. at 12| do. 4,791 
 4 culverts, 400 
 
 ;g!5,991 
 
 Mile 22c?, Passes over uneven land, easy to excavate, 
 in which, beside smaller ones, there is a ravine re- 
 quiring an embankment 6 chains long, and from 12 to 16 
 feet deep. Expense, 
 
( 166 ) 
 
 For embankment of 18,930 c. y. at 20 c. $2,786 
 excavation of 38,000 do. at 12^ do, 4,750 
 5 culverts, 800 
 
 -$8,336 
 
 Mile 23d, Passes over land which is, in some places, 
 wet and stony, but generally consists of sand, loam, 
 and gravel. Here is a brook, 30 links v*^ide, running 
 in a ravine, which requires an embankment 3 chains 
 long and 16 i- feet high. Expense, 
 For excavation of 51,500 c. y. at 15 ets. ^8,725 
 embankment, 9,170 do. at 20 1,834 
 
 1 culvert, 200 
 
 ^10,759 
 
 Mile 2ith, Passes over 1 6 chains of bottom land, and 
 the rest stony and gravelly. Here are several ravines 
 and runs of water, of which the principal one is Mey- 
 er's creek, which in time of high water is a mad stream 
 overflowing the flats. There are, however, in this mile, 
 no difficulties which may not easily be overcome with 
 small embankments, suitable culverts, and an aqueduct 
 over Meyer's creek. Expense, 
 For embankment of 9,853, c. y. at 20 cts. ^1,970 
 excavation of 22,500 do. at 12^ do. 2,812 
 3 culverts, 300 
 
 aqueduct over Meyer's creek, 2000 
 
 ^7,08^ 
 Mile 25//i, Passes for the most part, over a flat, filled 
 with round stones ; for the rest, along the side of a hill, 
 consisting of sand, gravel, and loam. There is here a 
 ravine 4 chains and 80 links long on the top, 4 chains 
 on the bottom, and 10 feet deep. There will also be 
 required an "embankment over Dy gert's creek, 7 chains 
 and 40 links long, and 9 feet high. This creek is 20 
 links wide, and must have a culvert. Expense, 
 For embankment of 17,320 c. y. at 20 c. $2,474 
 excavation of 29,500 do. at 121^ do. 3,b75 
 3 culverts, 750 
 
 ^ =—^6,899 
 
 Mile 26th^ For the first 56 chains, passes over land de- 
 scending gradually to the north, of which the earth is 
 gravel and loam. The residue is rich bottom land.—- 
 
( 167 ) 
 
 For 42 chains of this mile, embankments are necessa- 
 ry, of which the largest is required at Steel's creek, 
 which lies 13^ feet below the level. This creek re- 
 quires a passage at least 30 links wide, being at times 
 swollen and rapid. The greatest part of the embank- 
 ment in this mile might be avoided by a more southerly 
 route, but in that case the high point of a hill must be 
 cut through. Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 4,780 c. y. at 12|- cents ;g937 
 embankment of 42,500 c. y. at 25 cents 10,525 
 1 culvert and aqueduct over Steel's ) 
 
 creek, 5 2,500 
 
 ^13,962 
 
 Mile llthi For one-third of the way, runs over a steep 
 side hill ; the residue descends gradually to the north. 
 An embankment of 16 chains long, and from 4 to 13 
 feet high, will be required over a low piece of ground 
 which cannot be avoided. Expense, 
 For embankment of 19, 700 c. y. at 20 c. ^3,940 
 excavation of 18,500 c.y. at 12 1-2 c. 2,312 
 aqueduct, 500 
 
 1 culvert, 200 
 
 — ^ ^6,452 
 
 Mile 2Sth, For about 48 chains, runs along a ridge 
 of round stones ; for the rest it runs over flat land. An 
 embankment, 4 chains long, and from 4 to 13 feet high, 
 is required in crossing Fulmer's creek, where a small 
 aqueduct is necessary. Expense, 
 For embankment of 3,600 c. y. at 20 cts. ^720 
 excavation of 20,000 c. y. at 12 1-2 c. 2,500 
 aqueduct 2,500 
 
 ^5,720 
 
 Mile 29th, For about 14 chains, runs along land 
 which has a gentle slope to the north. The next 32 ch. 
 runs along the foot of a steep hill, called the dug-way, 
 where a rough stone wall will probably be necessary on 
 both sides of the canal ; on the north side, to support the 
 bank of the canal, and on the south side, to prevent the 
 hill from falling into it. The residue of the mile passes 
 over bottom land, overflowed in the spring and fall, 
 where an embankment and a wall, of from 3 to 14 feet 
 
( 168 ) 
 
 high, and 40 chains long, will be wanted, on the north 
 side of the canal, to protect it against the floods of the 
 Mohawk. Within 20 or 30 rods are plenty of good 
 building stone. Expense, 
 For stone wall at the dug-way, ^5,000 
 
 embankment and other stone wall, 8,250 
 excavation of 4000 c. y. at 12icts. 500 
 1 culvert, 200 
 
 — ^13,950 
 
 Mile 30th^ For about 50 chains, runs between the foot 
 of a steep hill and the river, over gravel and hard earth, 
 difficult to excavate. The residue of the soil is loam 
 and sand. An embankment will be required of 26 ch. 
 long, and from 3 to J 6 feet high, to pass a ravine, where 
 a small culvert will be necessary. Expense, 
 For embankment of 49,650 c. y. at 15 c. ^7,464 
 excavation of 24,000 do. at 12^ do. 3,000 
 
 1 culvert, 100 
 
 $10,564 
 
 Mile 3lst, Passes over gravelly loam and bottom 
 land. Here is considerable deep cutting, and the line 
 might be varied so as to avoid it in part, but in that case 
 it would pass through a burying ground. Expense, 
 For excavation of 65,100 c. y. at 15 c. ^9,766 
 culvert, 100 
 
 $9,866 
 
 Mile 32t/, For 60 chains passes over a gravelly loam, 
 and for the residue, over limestone, oi which a part is 
 solid rock. A small embankment will be necessary on 
 this mile. Expense, 
 
 For embankment of 4,400 c. y. at 20 cts. $880 
 
 excavation of 21,500 c. y. at i2i cts. 2,687 
 
 do. through the limestone rock, 4,000 
 
 2 culverts, 200 
 
 $7,767 
 
 Mile 33c?, For about twelve chains, continues over the 
 limestone ridge mentioned above. The rest of this 
 mile consists of uneven gravel and loam, interspersed 
 with stone. Three culverts will be required, and a 
 considerable embankment. Expense, 
 
 ;# 
 
( 169 ) 
 
 For embankment of 10,500 c. y. at 20 c. $2,100 
 
 excavation of 18,000 c. y. at 121- c. 2,250 
 
 do. rock, 2,500 
 
 3 culverts, 300 
 
 $7,150 
 
 Mile 3ith^ For the most part, passes over land which 
 is gravelly, and in some places hard and stony. Pro- 
 bably a little b*^low the surface some rock will have to 
 be excavated. A brook, on which there is a grist-mill, 
 crosses the line. This brook may be conducted into 
 the canal with little expense. Expense, 
 For excavating rock and earth, 34,000 ) 
 
 cubic yards, at 5.3 cents, 5^18,700 
 
 embankment of 5,300 c. y. at 20 c. 1,060 
 2 culverts, 300 
 
 S 20,060 
 
 Mile 35th. The description of the last mile applies 
 to this, even to the receiving into the canal a small 
 stream of water. Expense, 
 For excavating rock and earth, 26,580 ) 
 
 cubic yards, at 50 cents, 5 $13,290 
 
 2 culverts, 300 
 
 $1.3,590 
 
 Miles 36, 37, and 38. These three miles includes the 
 route of the canal at the Little Falls, and are described 
 together; — 57 chains of the 3bth mile pass along the 
 foot of Fall hill to A, on a piece of ground about one 
 chain wide between the hill and the bottomland. This 
 part is gravelly, with some loose stone, and solid rock, 
 and has an uneven surface, with the appearance of 
 having fallen from the hill. Near the house of Col. 
 Bellinger, a small stream crosses the line, and here the 
 deep cutting may be partly shunned by passing north 
 of his house. From A to B, is a ravine 14 chains 50 
 links long, in which there is a fall of 46 feet, requiring 
 to be descended by jfive locks. The banks of the ra 
 vine consist of rock, and rise from 4 to 40 feet, leaving 
 a width between them, from 50 to 100 links. At B, 
 the line runs on the beach of the Mohawk, and Httle or 
 no excavation will be necessary from A, at the upper 
 
 22 
 
 » 
 
( 170 ) 
 
 end of the ravine, to the island in the river. From B, 
 to the head of this island, it is proposed to build a dam 
 of sufficient height to exclude the waters of the Mo- 
 hawk from running on the south side of the island, the 
 island itself, and the north bank of the ravine between 
 A and B, being, at present, higher than such a dam 
 would require to be. From B to C, which is opposite 
 to the lower en^ of the island, at a place where the 
 canal line enters another ravine, is about 24 chains. 
 At C, the water is six feet deep, with a bottom of rock. 
 Just below the upper entrance of the ravine atC, it is 
 proposed to build another dam, 20 feet high, and ex- 
 tending from the lower end of the island across to the 
 south shore of the river. Such a dam would set the 
 water back to the foot of the locks at B, with a depth 
 all the way between, sufficient for the canal. From C 
 to D, a distance of 28 chains, the ravine last above-men- 
 tioned extends, and is separated from the Mohawk on 
 the north by a rough irregular bank of rock and earth, 
 which seems to have been thrown from the precipice 
 on the south, with such violence as to be separated from 
 it at the bottom, for the space of from 4 to 6 rods, 
 which forms the width of the ravine. There are here 
 two places where a passage for the canal must be exca 
 vated through granite rock. The first of these places 
 extends from the bank of the river eastward, and is 4 
 chains long, and at the highest point, 6 1-2 feet above 
 the level. The second is 5 chains 50 links long, and 
 at the highest point, 13.47 feet above the level. From 
 D to E. is 57 chains, over which the line runs along the 
 foot of Fall hill, where the width of ground between a 
 mountain of rock, on one side, and the bank of the river, 
 on the other, is not more than from 50 to 100 Iks. For 
 the north bank of the canal, throughout this distance, it 
 will be necessary to build a substantial stone wall, and 
 to line it, on the inside, with a considerable quantity of 
 tight or well puddled earth. Here must also be a lock 
 with a descent of 6.85 feet. From E to the end of the 
 38th mile, the hne passes over rich bottom land, which 
 is not overflowed by the river, but which requires three 
 culverts. Expense, 
 
( 171 ) 
 
 For excavation of 40,600 c.y. at 22i c. ^5,750 
 do. of rock for canal and locks, in all 
 97,500 c. y. at 75 cents, 73,125 
 
 stone wall between the river and 
 
 Fall hill, 4,560 
 
 2 dams, one at the head and the other 
 
 at the foot of the island, 25,000 
 
 3 culverts, 300 
 
 ^108,735 
 
 Mile 39/^, Passes over land easy to excavate, lying 
 between the bottom land and a hill. Expense, 
 For excavation of 29,496 c. y. at 121- cts. $3,687 
 
 Mile 40th, Passes over some loam, some clay, and 
 some loose round stone, in general not quite so easy to 
 excavate as the last, and requiring one culvert. Ex- 
 pense, 
 For excavation of 32,124 c.y. at 12i c. ^4,01 5 
 
 1 culvert, 100 
 
 $4,115 
 
 Mile 41st, Passes for the most part over bottom land 
 easy to excavate. The Nowendaga creek, of which 
 the bottom is dark limestone, crosses the line in this 
 mile. This creek is 50 links wide between its banks, 
 and may be conducted over the canal, as it lies much 
 above the level near the route. The deep cutting can- 
 not be avoided. Expense, 
 For excavation of 73,616 c. y. at 18 cts.$ 13,250 
 
 2 dams, gates, &;c. at the creek, 5,000 
 
 $18,250 
 
 Mile 42J, Runs generally along the foot of the high 
 ground, and at the edge of the bottom land. In some 
 places it is stony, and the bottom land in this mile is 
 low and swampy. Two culverts will be required. — 
 The deep cutting may be avoided by crooking a little 
 to the north. Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 26,800 c. y. at I2ic. $3,350 
 
 For embankment of 2,100 do. at 20 do. $820 
 
 2 culverts, 200 
 
 $4,470 
 
( 172 ) 
 
 Mile 43d, Will require an embankment 12 cli. long, 
 and from 4 to 6 feet high. The earth is chiefly gravel 
 and loam. There is a piece of deep cutting which can- 
 not be avoided. Over the \ow ground, a stone vt^all, 20 
 chains long, and from 6 to 10 feet high, to support one 
 of the banks of the canal, will be wanted. Expense, 
 For embankment of 6,600 c. y, at 20 cts.$ 1,320 
 excavation of 40,100 c. y. at 14 cts. 5,614 
 stone wall, 1,600 
 
 1 culvert, 100 
 
 ^8,634 
 
 Mile 4:4th^ Passes over gravel and loam, generally 
 full of round stones. In some places it is wet and bog- 
 gy, but with a hard bottom. Two small embankments 
 are necessary. There is here a small stream which 
 may be received into the canal. Expense, 
 For embankment of 13,600 cubic yards, at twenty 
 cents, ^2,720 
 
 excavation of 26,«00 c.y.at 12i cts. 3,350 
 1 culvert, " ]00 
 
 g6,170 
 
 Mile 4:bth, Passes over ground descending gently to 
 the north ; in some places stony, and in others boggy, 
 not hard to excavate. Some embankment and a cul- 
 vert will be necessary. Expense, 
 For embankment of 2,640 c.y. at 20 cts. ^528 
 excavation of 20,800 do. at 15 do. 4,020 
 
 1 culvert, 200 
 
 — ^ $4,748 
 
 Mile 4:6th, Passes over ground which will answer to 
 the description of the last mile, except that two runs of 
 water cross the line, requiring each a culvert. Expense, 
 For excavation of 30,000 c. y. at 15 cts. ^4,500 
 
 2 culverts, 200 
 
 ^4,700 
 
 Mile 4.7th, Passes over land generally descending to 
 the north, with its surface gravelly and stony. Here 
 Mill brook, a small rapid stream, crosses the line. Ex- 
 pense, 
 For embankment of 3,160 c. y. at 20 cts. ^632 
 
( 173 ) 
 
 excavation of 24,500 do. at 12|do. 3,068 
 dam to pass Mill brook, 2,500 
 
 ^6,200 
 
 Mile 48?it, Passes over land generally descending 
 gently to the north, but of which, 16 chains has a steep 
 descent, and consists of clay. Several small streams 
 cross the line, requiring embankments and culverts. 
 Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 40,200 c. y. at 121- c. ^5,025 
 embankment of 528 do. at 20 do. 105 
 
 3 culverts, 500 
 
 -^5,630 
 
 Mile 4.9ih, Passes from the end of the last mile to A, 
 over steep side-lying ground, consisting of gravel and 
 clay. The residue of the mile runs along the beach of 
 the river, at the foot of an almost perpendicular hill, 
 consisting of rock and blue clay, full of springs. Here 
 will be required a stone wall, on both sides of the ca? 
 nal,for 40 chains. Expense, 
 For stone walls, ' ^9,600 
 
 embankment, 6,250 
 
 excavation of 20,700 c. y. at 12^ c. 2,575 
 
 1 culvert, 200 
 
 P 8,625 
 
 Mile 50th, Passes over a steep side-hill of clay and 
 
 gravel, easy to excavate. Two small runs cross the 
 
 line, of which one is 8^^ feet, and the other 9^^ feet 
 
 below the level. Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 17,850 c. y. at 15 cts. ^2,677 
 embankment of 14,750 do. at 20 do. 2,950 
 
 2 culverts, 200 
 
 ^5,827 
 
 Mile 5lst, Runs, for 66 chains, at the foot of a hill, 
 where the line may be varied so as to require but lit- 
 tle extra excavation. Three embankments will be re- 
 quired, of which the largest must be 14 chains long, 
 and from 7 to 10 feet high, and 3 culverts will be re- 
 quired. Expense, 
 For excavation of 20,100 c. y. at 12 1-2 c. $2,507 
 
( 174 ) 
 
 embankment of 16, 192 do. at 20 do. 3,238 
 3 culverts, 950 
 
 g6,705 
 
 Mile 52</, Runs from its commencement, 32 chains 
 over bottom land, where an embankment, 5 feet high, 
 will be required. In this distance, the Esquago creek 
 crosses the line. This stream is 2 chains 30 links wide 
 between its banks, and 12ifeet below the level, and 
 one of the most violent creeks on the whole section, 
 requiring an aqueduct. Expense, 
 For embankment over the Esquago flats, of 39,600 
 cubic yards, at 25 cents, ^9,960 
 
 excavation of 13,120 do. at 12^ do. 1,640 
 aqueduct, 9,500 
 
 ^21,040 
 
 Mile 53d, Passes along the edge of a hill of gravel, 
 chiefly easy to excavate. Two small runs cross the 
 line here, which may be admitted into the canal without 
 expense. One culvert will be necessary. Expense, 
 For excavation of 23,150 c. y. at 12^ c. ^2,893 
 1 culvert, " 100 
 
 ^2,993 
 
 Mile 54:th, Passes over soil like the last. The Kaates- 
 kill crosses the line in this mile. It takes its rise in the 
 hills south, and is a violent stream in freshets, bringing 
 down large quantities of gravel and sand. It lies too 
 high to pass under the canal, and must therefore be 
 crossed by making a dam high enough to raise the wa- 
 ter to the level. The superfluous waters of this stream 
 can be discharged from the canal by suitable waste 
 gates. Expense, 
 
 Fot excavation of 24,360 c. y. at 15 cts. p,654 
 dam and waste gates, 3,550 
 
 1 culvert, 100 
 
 ^7,304 
 
 . Mile 55th, Passes generally along the foot of a ridge 
 of lime stone, good for building. The Canajoharry 
 creek crosses in this mile, on a bed 8i feet below the 
 level, and may be sunk down to 14 feet below the level, 
 by clearing out the stream for 1 5 chains below the line. 
 
( 175 ) 
 
 This is a mad stream, sometimes overflowing its banks, 
 in consequence of being obstructed by ice lodged on 
 the island lying 10 chains below the line. Over this 
 stream,which is 1 chain 60 links wide between its banks, 
 there must be an aqueduct, and an embankment 8 ch. 
 long, and from 1|^ to Sf feet high. Expense, 
 For excavation of rock and earth, 22,800 cubic yards, 
 at 40 cents, A 120 
 
 embankment of 4,100 c. y. at 20 cts. 820 
 aqueduct and deepening the creek, 10,000 
 
 g 19,940 
 
 Mile 56ih, Runs along at the foot of a limestone hill, 
 over land consisting of sand, gravel, and some stone. — 
 Expense, 
 For excavation of 25,350 c. y. at 25 cts. ^6,337 
 
 Mile 51th^ Passes for 45 chains along a side hill, of 
 which 20 chains are very steep. The earth is clay and 
 gravel. Here will be required, on both sides of the 
 canal, a dry stone wall, one to keep the hill from slip- 
 ping into the canal, and the other to support the north 
 bank, and protect it against the Mohawk. One culvert 
 will be necessary to pass a stream which lies 5|- feet 
 below the level. Expense, 
 For excavation of 30,270 c. y. at 25 c. $7,567 
 stone wall, 3,200 
 
 1 culvert, 500 
 
 $11,267 
 
 Mile 5Sth, Passes generally over ground descending 
 gently to the north, and consisting of gravel and sand, 
 with considerable quantities of stone in some places. — 
 The deep cutting may be avoided by bending the line 
 to the north. The Plattikill crosses the line of this 
 mile, and is a mad stream, 1 ch. 60 links wide within its 
 banks. It brings down in the spring of the year flood 
 wood and gravel. There is a saw mill on it 4 chains 
 above the line. This stream may be passed by a dam 
 with suitable waste gates, without injuring the mill site. 
 Expense, 
 For embankment of 4,280 c y. at 28 c. ^850 
 
 excavation of 23,100 c. y. at 15 cts. 3,465 
 
( 176 ) 
 
 dam and gates, 8,250 
 
 1 culvert, • 100 
 
 ^12,671 
 
 Mile 69th, Passes over land descending gradually to 
 the north, and which has, in some places, gravel and 
 stone. Expense, 
 For embankment of U,256 c. y. at 20 c. ;^2,851 
 
 excavation of 20,460 do. at 18 do. 3,b82 
 
 1 culvert, 200 
 
 ,^6,733 
 
 Mile 60th, Passes for 50 chains, on a strip of land 
 about one chain wide, at the foot of a precipitous and 
 rocky hill, called the Nose. The place of elevated 
 ground, between the hill and the river, appears to have 
 been formed by the successive falling of fragments 
 from the precipice. Here it will be necessary to erect 
 a stone wall 30 chains long: — 20 chains of this mile pass 
 along a steep side-hill, and near the edge of a swamp. 
 The soil is a gravelly loam, and some embankment will 
 be necessary. Expense, 
 For stone wall and embankment to pass the 
 Nose, $7,250 
 
 excavating rock and earth, 1 5,550 c. 
 
 yards, at 20 cts. 3,110 
 
 1 culvert, 200 
 
 iS 10,560 
 
 Mile 6lst, Generally runs winding round the foot 
 of a stony ridge, to near the end of the mile, along 
 the edge of a swamp, The earth consists of gravel, 
 sand, and stone, difficult to excavate. At a place called 
 the Little Nose, deep cutting will be required, through 
 granite rock, for a stretch of 8 chains, and from two to 
 19 feet deep. An embankment of 40 chains long, and 
 from 2 to 7 feet high, will be necessary near the begin- 
 ning of the mile ; and a small stream 6f feet below 
 the level will require a culvert. Expense, 
 For embankment, culvert, and stone wall, to pass Little 
 Nose, $4,500 
 
 excavating earth of 22,500 c. yds. 
 
 at 20 cents, 4,500 
 
 excavating rock at Little Nose, 
 
( 177 ) 
 
 12,1{48 cubic yards,at 75 cts. 9,636 
 
 g J 8,636 
 
 Mile 62c?, is partly occupied by the Little Nose de- 
 scribed in the last mile. The greatest part of this dis- 
 tance the line runs over fine bottom land, near the edge 
 of hard land on a ridge. But here passes the Wassen- 
 haw creek, which is twenty links wide, and where an 
 embankment 13 chains long, and from 7 to 9 feet high, 
 and a stone wall and dam, will be necessary. Expense, 
 For stone wall and dam, $5,690 
 
 Excavation of 13,150 c. y. at 12^ c. 1,643 
 embankment of 14,580 c. y. at 20 cts. 2,916 
 
 Igi 10,249 
 
 Mile 63c?, Runs over land descending gently to the 
 north, and in some places wet and stony, but not diffi- 
 cult to excavate. Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 25,160 cubic yards, at 15 cts. $3,774 
 Mile 64/A, Passes, for the first 20 chains, over bottom 
 lands, where an embankment 16 chains long will be 
 wanted, of from 1 to 8 feet high. Here crosses Prin- 
 tup's creek, which now runs in a channel 30 links wide, 
 and 9f feet below the level, but which has uniformly 
 scooped out a channel, now dry and abandoned, to the 
 depth of 8f feet below the leveL The deep cutting 
 cannot be avoided. It consists of gravel and loose 
 stone. Expense, 
 
 For excavation of 34,270 cubic yards, at 15 cents, 
 
 ^5,140 
 embankment of 1 1 ,264 do. at 20 do. 2,252 
 aqueduct over the creek, 4,000 
 
 1 culvert, 250 
 
 -^11,642 
 
 Mile 65th, Runs along and at the foot of a steep side 
 hill of gravelly loam, except 1 6 chains, which consists 
 of lime-stone, of which a small part, where a ridge puts 
 down to the river, will have to be excavated. West 
 of this ridge, an embankment 16 chains long, and from 
 4 to 7i feet high, will be required on the north side 
 of the canal. The stone here is good for building, and 
 easily obtained. Expense, 
 
 23 
 
( 178 ) 
 
 For excavation of 22,300 c. j. at 20 cts. ^4,460 
 
 excavation of rock, 1,600 
 
 embankment of 9,800 c. y. at 20 cts. 1,960 
 
 7-^8,020 
 
 Mile Q6th, Runs on the margin of a steep side hill, 
 near the edge of the flat. The hill is mostly loose 
 slate and gravel, mixed in places with other stone. 
 Two small runs of water cross the line. Expense, 
 For excavation of 31,500 c. y. at 18 cts. ^5,670 
 
 3 culverts, 300 
 
 ^.0,970 
 
 Mile 67th, Runs over land which resembles the last, 
 except that there is a greater proportion of sand, loam, 
 and gravel, making it easier to excavate. Expense, 
 For excavation of 35,150 c. y. at 15 cts. ^5,272 
 
 1 culvert, 200 
 
 — p,472 
 
 Mile 68th, Runs over land like the last. Expense, 
 For excavation of 35,150 c. y. at 15 cts. ^5,472 
 
 Mile 69 fh, Rune over land like the last. Expense, 
 For excavation of 35,150 c, y. at 15 c. ^5,472 
 
 1 culvert, 200 
 
 . ^5,672 
 
 Mile 70th, Passes, for the most part, along and at the 
 foot of a steep side hill. Here two creeks cross the 
 line, Aurey's kill, and Ishes' kill, over the first of which 
 an embankment will be necessary of 1 6 chains in length, 
 and from 8 to 14 feet high: over the other is required 
 another embankment 14 chains long, and from 2 to J3-L 
 feet high. The north bank of the canal between these 
 creeks must be supported by a stone wall. The deep 
 cutting may be avoided by bending to the north. Ex- 
 pense, 
 
 For embankment of 50,940 c. y. at 20 c. ^10,188 
 stone wall, 4,960 
 
 2 aqueducts, 10,000 
 excavation of 13,200 c. y. at 12^ c. 1,650 
 
 ^126,798 
 
 Mile 7\st, and 27 chains. This distance runs along 
 ^nd at the foot of a steep hill, of which the earth is 
 gravel, sand, and clay, easy to excavate. Expense, 
 
( 179 ) 
 
 For excavation of 39,200 c. y. at 12^ c. gi4,900 
 
 The aggregate amount of all the foregoing 
 
 items, is ^718,012 
 
 The details of the line explored by Mr. Broadhead 
 terminate on the west side of the Schoharie creek, 71 
 miles and 27 chains from Rome. In the course of this 
 distance, the line of the canal falls precisely ' 32.85 
 feet. To accommodate this fall, 16 locks are placed at 
 various distances, pointed out on the map, where the 
 ground is favourable, and the materials for making them 
 easily to be obtained. The expense of lockage is esti- 
 mated at ^1,250 per foot lift, $166,062 .00 
 
 At the Little Falls, and several short distances in the 
 highest embankments, and where the line passes over 
 small round stone, puddling will probably be necessa- 
 ry; but the route, in general, lies over land in which 
 there is no danger of leakage. To cover the expenses 
 of this item, an allowance is made of $20,000 
 
 The quantity of water which may be introduced into 
 the canal, on this section, is such, as to leave no solici- 
 tude on that subject* And no calculation of the ex- 
 pense of feeders from the Mohawk is made, because, 
 at several places were dams and walls are to be erect- 
 ed against that river, its waters may be admitted into 
 the canal, without additional expense. 
 
 There are required on the route between Rome and 
 the Schoharie creek, 45 bridges, at J500, ^22,500. 
 
 Allow for 210 bridges to accommodate 
 farms, at $200 42,000 
 
 And the amount is $970,574 50 
 
 On which add 5 per cent. 48,528 50 
 
 And for engineer, superintendence, &;c. 
 at the rate of $1,000 per mile, 71,500 
 
 The aggregate of all expenses on this ) ^, ^^^ ^^^ 
 section, is ^ $i,0JiJ,W5 
 
 It may here be remarked, as a feature of the country 
 traversed by this canal, not less favourable than the 
 
( 180 ) 
 
 evenness of its surface, that, from three miles above 
 the Little Falls of the Mohawk, westward for 240 
 miles, the route will not require the excavation of a 
 single yard of any kind of rock. 
 
 Mr.Brodhead's level approaches the Schoharie creek, 
 on its west side, at an elevation of about 22 feet above 
 its surface. There are two modes of crossing this creek, 
 either of which might be adopted. A dam may be 
 made across the creek at A, (on Mr. Brodhead's map) 
 which shall raise the water 10 feet, when the canal may 
 be let down, by a lock, into the pond, which this dam 
 will create, and a floating bridge may be stretched 
 across it for a towing path. But is believed, from 
 the examinations and levels heretofore made between 
 this creek and the Hudson river, that it would be the 
 better mode to cross the creek on the aqueduct bridge, 
 in order to keep up the line of the level, with a view of 
 passing the more easily two slaty ridges four or five 
 miles below Schenectady, near Alexander's mills. — ► 
 Should this plan be adopted, the bed of the creek, 
 which is about 400 feet wide, should be increased to a 
 width of 700 feet, so as to give the water an unobstruct- 
 ed passage under the aqueduct. This aqueduct may 
 be composed of wood, supported by two abutments and 
 sixteen piers of stone, each of which piers would occu- 
 py about 10 feet of the width of the stream. 
 
 The commissioners have not been able to procure a 
 level and survey to be made from the Schoharie creek 
 to the Hudson. They had in their employ, four engi- 
 neers on other parts of the line of the western canal, and 
 one on the northern, neither of whom had time to level 
 and survey that part of the line above-mentioned ; nor 
 could they find a sixth engineer, who would undertake 
 to finish the Mohawk route. But although they are 
 prevented from submitting to the Legislature a report 
 of this part of the line, with all that minuteness of de- 
 tail which is exhibited in relation to other parts, yet 
 they possess information, which, for all general pur- 
 poses, is equally satisfactory. This part of the line was 
 formerly examined by Mr. Weston, an English engi- 
 
( 181 ) 
 
 fleer, and pronounced to be practicable without a very 
 serious expense. It has also been heretofore twice le- 
 velled and surveyed, by Mr. Benjamin Wright, in va- 
 rious ways, with the same result. The commissioners, 
 therefore, confidently state, that the navigation may be 
 continued from the Schoharie creek to the Hudson by 
 a canal along the valley of the Mohawk. 
 
 From the examinations of Mr. Weston and Mr. 
 Wright, above-mentioned, as well as from the personal 
 knowledge of the commissioners, it is believed that the 
 canal, from the aqueduct last mentioned, ought to be 
 continued down along the south side of the Mohawk to 
 Lansing's mills, which are situated a short distance 
 above the Cohoes. From this point the canal may leave 
 the Mohawk, and be directed towards the Hudson, 
 which it will approach opposite to the village of Lan- 
 singburgh, and it may thence be continued along the 
 valley of the Hudson, at a proper distance from its mar- 
 gin, until it reaches the city of Albany, where it is to 
 be connected with the river. 
 
 This location of the canal will afford to the village of 
 Waterford an opportunity of enjoying its benefits, by 
 the construction of a side cut, to be connected with the 
 main canal above the Cohoes, The village of Lansing- 
 burgh and the city of Troy, may also, by lateral canals 
 participate in its advantages; and thus, the cities of Al- 
 bany and Troy, and the villages of Lansinburgh and 
 Waterford, may be placed on grounds of fair competi- 
 tion, not less advantageous to the growth of those cities 
 and villages, than beneficial to the general interests of 
 trade, and the prosperity of the state. 
 
 This route, from Schoharie creek to the city of Al- 
 bany, will comprehend a distance of 42 miles. It is 
 proposed to give the canal on this route a fall of one 
 inch in a mile. The whole descent in this route will 
 be 286 feet. 
 
 The expense, by a liberal calculation, may be esti- 
 mated as follows : 
 For 283 feet lockage, at ^1,250, $353,750 
 
 3 aqueducts over small streams, at $5,000 15,000 
 
( 182 ) 
 
 1 road aqueduct, , 3,000 
 
 aqueduct over Schoharie ereek, 30,000 
 
 24 bridges, at $500, " 12,000 
 
 25 culverts, at $200, 5,000 
 excavation, embankment, puddling, tow- 
 ing path, and grubbing 42 miles, at 
 
 ^14,000, 588,00 
 
 For contingencies add 5 per cent, ;^ 50,337 
 engineers, superintendence, and expenses 
 
 connected therewith, 49,000 
 
 The aggregate amount is, g 1 , 1 06,087 
 
 There are certain items of expense applicable to all 
 the sections of the canal, and not heretofore enume- 
 rated, of which the amount cannot be very precisely 
 calculated. The items alluded to, here follow, with 
 such estimates as, it is believed, will not be found un- 
 reasonable, to wit : 
 
 For utensils, such as carts, ploughs, scrapers, wheel- 
 barrows, iron bars, pick axes, shovels, 
 chains, &c. ^40,000 
 
 temporary workshops for carpenters, 
 
 smiths, stonecutters, and for lime houses, 5,000 
 dwellinghouses for clerks and lock-keepers, 10,000 
 barracks for workmen, 20,000 
 
 Makingthe aggregate of these general expenses, $75,000 
 
 Recapitulation of Expenses. 
 From Lake Erie to a point 1 1 miles up the 
 
 Tonnewanta, $205,877 
 
 Tonnewanta to the Seneca river, 1,550,985 
 
 Seneca river to Rome, 853,186 
 
 Rome to the Schoharie creek, 1,090^603 
 
 Schoharie creek to Albany, 1,106,087 
 
 Add for general expenses, 75,000 
 
 In the aggregate, $4,881,738 
 
( 183 ) 
 
 But if the route south of the mountain 
 ridge, in the country west of the Genesee 
 river, is adopted, in preference to the north- 
 ern route, then deducting ;^300,925 
 
 The aggregate of expense will be ^4,571,813 
 
 Of Distances. 
 
 Miles. Chains. 1 
 From Erie to the point up the Tonne- 
 wanta, 
 
 Tonnewanta to Seneca river, 
 Seneca river to Rome, 
 Rome to Schoharie creek, 
 Schoharie creek to Albany, 
 
 The aggregate distance is 
 
 Of Rise and Fall 
 
 From Lake Erie to Seneca river, a fall 
 
 of 194 ft. by 25 locks, 
 
 Seneca river to Rome, a rise of 48,50 6 
 Rome to Schoharie creek, a fall 
 
 of 132.85 16 
 
 Schoharie creek to Albany, a 
 
 fall of 286 30 
 
 27 
 
 
 136 
 
 21 
 
 77 
 
 
 71 
 
 27 
 
 42 
 
 
 353 
 
 m 
 
 The aggregate of rise and fall, 
 
 in feet, is 661.35 by 77 locks. 
 
 Lake Erie is 564.85 feet higher than the Hudson, and 
 145ifeet higher than Rome. 
 
 The average expense, per mile, of this canal, accord- 
 ing to the foregoing estimates, taking the north route 
 beyond the Genesee river, is a little more than $13,800 
 
 With respect to that part of their duty, whichre- 
 lates to loans on the credit of the state, the commis- 
 sioners have to state, that at an early day they address- 
 ed a letter on this subject to William Bayard, of the 
 City of New-York, and that he has taken measures to 
 ascertain whether a loan can be procured in Europe, 
 
( 184 ) 
 
 but hasnotyet had time to learn whether his measures 
 have been successful. The Commissioners entertain no 
 doubt but that as much money can be obtained in this 
 country, as may be required for the canal, on the cred- 
 it of the state, at an interest of 6 per cent, by the crea- 
 tion of a funded debt, and that ample funds may be 
 appropriated for the payment of the interest, and the 
 gradual extinguishment of the debt without the impo- 
 sition of taxes. 
 
 The commissioners have also attended to that requi- 
 sition of the act respecting subscriptions and donations. 
 They have applied to the United States, and to the 
 states of Vermont, Kentucky, and Ohio, as having a 
 common interest with New- York in the contemplated 
 canals, and where they feel persuaded that a favourable 
 disposition exists. The letter to the members of Con- 
 gress from this state will show the view which the Com- 
 missioners have taken of the fund contemplated by 
 Congress for internal improvements. But if no extra- 
 neous aid should be afforded, it will at all times be in 
 the power of this state to levy high transit duties on the 
 articles transported to and from those states and the 
 territories of the United States, and thereby secure, 
 eventually, a greater fund than can possibly arise from 
 any present contributions from those quarters. It is 
 to be hoped, however, that the necessity of this mea- 
 sure may be superseded by a cordial and liberal co- 
 operation. But it cannot reasonably be expected, that 
 the efforts of one state are solely and gratuitously to 
 produce an expensive andsutpendous work,intimately 
 identified with the interests of many, and directly 
 or indirectly connected with the prosperity of all. 
 
 The commissioners appointed agents to receive sub- 
 scriptions in this state, and they also prepared and dis- 
 tributed forms of cessions of land and donations in mo- 
 ney : one form relates to gratuitous grants of land for the 
 ground through which the canal will pass, and the other 
 is a contribution to the fund for making it. Agents 
 have also been appointed in Vermont and Ohio for the 
 same purpose. 
 
( 185 ) 
 
 There is reason to believe, from the cessions alreadj 
 made, and the favourable dispositions manifested, on 
 this occasion, thatthe land occupied by the canal will ge- 
 nerally speaking, be granted gratuitously. Some dona- 
 tions in land have been made, and more are expected. 
 And many circumstances concur in promising that a 
 munificent spirit will be evinced as soon as the state un- 
 dertakes this great project. 
 
 The Commissioners have thus, agreeably to the du- 
 ties required of them, confined themselves to a plain 
 statement of facts, and it is not their intention to devi- 
 ate from the prescribed course. Their investigations 
 have shown the physical facility of this great internal 
 communication, and a little attention to the resources 
 of the state will demonstrate its financial practicability. 
 And they may be permitted to remark, that unless it is 
 established the greater part of the trade, which does 
 not descend the Mississippi, from all those vast and fer- 
 tile regions west of the Seneca lake, will be lost to the 
 United States. 
 
 All which is respectfully submitted. 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 S. VAN RENSSELAER, 
 SAMUEL YOUNG, 
 MYRON HOLLEY, 
 
 Albany^ February 15, 1817. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Mr. Ellicott, one of the Commissioners, not being 
 able to attend the meeting of the board, was not con- 
 sulted on the details of this Report ; but he approves 
 its general principles. 
 
 The engineer employed on the northern canal, not 
 having yet completed his returns, the Commissioners 
 will make it the subject of another communication, 
 with which they will connect their application to Con- 
 gress and to some of the states — their correspondence—? 
 and various other documents, connected with their du- 
 ties, not herewith presented. 
 
 2a 
 
186 
 
 Report of the Board of Commissioners, on the JYorthern 
 or Champlain Canal. 
 
 The advantages which will result from the con- 
 nexion of Lake Erie with the navigable waters of the 
 Hudson by means of a canal, have been so frequently 
 elucidated, and are indeed so obvious to every one who 
 possesses a correct geographical knowledge of the west, 
 that it has been deemed unnecessary to enumerate them. 
 But, presuming that the benefits to be derived from a 
 similar communication with Lake Champlain, are not 
 fully understood, or duly appreciated, the commission- 
 ers ask the indulgence of briefly pointing out a few of 
 the most prominent of these benefits. 
 
 That part of this state which is contiguous to Lakes 
 George and Champlain, abounds in wood, timber, masts, 
 spars, and lumber of all kinds, which, transported by the 
 Northern Canal, would find a profitable sale along the 
 Hudson and in the City of New- York, instead of being 
 driven, as much of those articles have heretofore been, 
 to a precarious market, by a long and hazardous navi- 
 gation to Quebec. 
 
 Some idea may be formed of the immense quantity of 
 lumber which would be conveyed on the contemplated 
 canal, from the following statement, made on the best 
 authority, and which embraces only that small section of 
 the northern part of this state, from whence the trans- 
 portation is carried on to the City of New-York, or to 
 intermediate markets. 
 
 Within that tract of country, embracing the borders 
 of Lake George, and the timber land north and west of 
 the great falls in Luzerne, there are annually made, and 
 transported to the south, two millions of boards and 
 plank : one million feet of square timber, consisting of 
 oak, white and yellow pine, beside dock logs scantling 
 and other timber to a great amount. 
 
 A considerable portion of the northern part of this 
 state is rough and mountainous, anij in a great mea- 
 sure, unfit for agricultural improvements. These broken 
 
( 187 ) 
 
 tracts are covered with native forests, which, by the 
 contemplated canal, would furnish vast supplies of wood 
 and lumber for many years ; and thus the great and in- 
 creasing population which occupies the margin of the 
 Hudson, would be supplied with boards, plank, timber, 
 fencing materials, and even fuel, with less expense, than 
 from any other quarter ; while, at the same time, the 
 lands to the north, considerable tracts of which belong 
 to the people of this state, would be greatly increased 
 in value. 
 
 The mountains in the vicinity of Lakes George and 
 Champlain, produce a variety of minerals, among which 
 are found, in inexhaustible quantities, the richest of 
 iron ores. Several forges are in operation in the coun- 
 ties of Washington, Warren, Essex, and Clinton, the 
 number of which may be indefinitely increased : and 
 the iron which they produce is very little, if at all, infe- 
 rior in quality to the best iron manufactured in the 
 United States : nor can it be doubted, that, after the 
 completion of the contemplated canals, the middle and 
 western part of this state would be furnished with 
 this necessary article on more advantageous terms than 
 it can at present be procured. 
 
 The inhabitants of a large tract of country on both 
 sides of Lake champlain, embracing a considerable 
 j>ortion of the State of Vermont, would find, by the 
 northern canal, a permanent market in the City of New- 
 York, or at intermediate places, for their pot and pearl 
 ashes, and also for all their surplus agricultural pro- 
 ductions, from whence they would also be cheaply 
 supplied with all the necessary articles of forcing 
 growth. 
 
 The iron of the northern part of this slate, which at 
 present is unwrought in the mine, and the fiue marble of 
 Vermont, which now lies useless in the quarry, would 
 be converted to useful and ornamental purposes in the 
 west, in exchange for salt and gypsum ; and thus the 
 large sums which are annually sent abroad for the pur- 
 chase of iron, of salt, and of gypsum, would be retained 
 amoPiic our citizens, and added to the permanent wealth 
 of the state. 
 
In short the connexion of Lake Champlain, with the 
 Hudson, by means of a canal, would greatly enhance 
 the value of the northern lands; it would save vast sums 
 in the price of transportation; it would open new and 
 increasing sources of wealth ; it would divert from the 
 province of Lower Canada, and turn to the south, the 
 profits of the trade of Lake Champlain; and, by impart- 
 ing activity and enterprise to agricultural, commercial, 
 and mechanical pursuits, it would add to our industry 
 and resources, and thereby augment the substantial 
 wealth and prosperity of the state 
 
 The examination and levels for this canal, have 
 been made under the direction of the commissioners, 
 by Col. Lewis Garin, and the line for the same has 
 been marked out upon the maps herewith presented. 
 There are two places of departure from the Hudson, 
 in order to connect that river with Lake Champlain, 
 each of which affords a very favourable route, in point 
 of soil, to be excavated, and of materials for the arti- 
 ficial works. One of these routes by commencing at 
 the mouth of Fort Edward creek, and pursuing the 
 valley of that creek to the summit level, and then fol- 
 lowing the ravine of Wood-creek, win reach Whitehall, 
 in the distance of twenty-two miles. This route was for- 
 merly deemed most eligible by a board of commission- 
 ers, composed of General Schuyler and others. It is, 
 however, supposed by the engineer, that the other route 
 may be preferable, which commences about six miles 
 further down the river, near the mouth of Moses's kill, 
 and which by the natural channel of this kill, and of 
 Dead-creek, joined to a short length of artificial canal, 
 forms the summit level from whence it proceeds — part- 
 ly by the natural channel of Wood-creek, and partly 
 by artificial cuts, which greatly shorten the distance- 
 to Whitehall. The length of this route, is twenty-eight 
 miles, and it passes over a soil, which is, in general, re- 
 markably favourable, consisting principally of vegeta- 
 ble mould, loam and clay. At the northern termina-. 
 tion of the canal, a few yards of limestone excavation 
 will be necessary ; this, however, is not deemed an un- 
 
( 189 ) 
 
 favourable circumstance, as the stone are of such a 
 quahtj as will be useful in the construction of locks, 
 and it may be remarked that the materials for the con- 
 struction of the locks between Lake Champlain and 
 the Hudson can be procured with little difficulty. 
 
 Between the Hudson and Lake Champlain, nine locks 
 will be necessary, viz. three at the Hudson, of 7,779 feet 
 lift each, by which the summit-level will be attained, and 
 by a deep cutting the greatest depth of which will be 
 12,465 feet, and the length of which, is about two miles ; 
 the summit-level will be extended fifteen miles, and will 
 terminate about one mile south of Fort Ann. At this 
 place two locks will be necessary of 6,217 feet lift each. 
 Between this point and Whitehall, two locks, the first of 
 8,223 feet lift, and the next of 9,243 feet lift, are to be 
 made. At Whitehall, the canal is to be connected with 
 Lake Champlain by two locks of 8,550 feet lift each. — 
 About fifteen miles of this route will need no excavation, 
 as the canal for that distance, will occupy the natural 
 channels of Moses' kill. Dead creek and Wood creek. 
 In order to turn off as much as possible the superfluous 
 waters of freshets, and to ensure at all times a sufficiency 
 of water on the summit-level it is proposed to erect a 
 dam across Half-way brook of eighteen feet in height, 
 half a mile above the mouth of said brook, and by 
 a natural ravine, leading to the south, to direct so much 
 of the water of said brook, to the summit level, and 
 from thence by several waste-wiers into the Hudson, 
 as may be necessary for the convenience of tt^e canal. 
 
 The water in the canal, is not to be less than thirty 
 feet wide at the surface, twenty feet at the bottom, and 
 three feet deep, and the locks to be seventy-five feet 
 long and ten feet wide in the clear. 
 
 By the mode of calculation heretofore adopted by the 
 commissioners, the whole expense between Lake Cham- 
 plain and the Hudson, at the mouth of Moses' kill, will 
 not exceed two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 
 
 From the mouth of Moses' kill, it is proposed to im- 
 prove the channel of the Hudson, for the purposes of na- 
 vigation as far south as the village of Stillwater at the — 
 
( 190 ) 
 
 head of Stillwater falls. This may be effected in the 
 following manner. By erecting a dam of three feet in 
 height across the Hudson, at the head of fort Miller falls, 
 the river above as far as fort Edward, would at all times 
 afford a sufficiency of water for boats drawing three feet. 
 To overcome the descent of fort Miller falls, a side cut 
 or artificial canal of about one mile in length, and with 
 two locks of 10,320 feet lift each, will be necessary. — 
 These works, including the dam, locks, excavation, tow- 
 ing path, and all other expenses, may be estimated at 
 fifty thousand dollars. 
 
 Two and a half miles below the south end of this ca- 
 nal, at the head of Saratoga falls, a dam three feet in 
 height, is to be made across the river, and a side cut 
 round the falls, similar to the above, of about one mile 
 in length, with two locks, of 6,198 feet lift each. It is 
 believed that all the artificial works at this place may be 
 constructed for thirty -five thousand dollars. 
 
 Thirteen miles below this place, at the head of Still- 
 water falls, another dam of three feet in height, will in 
 like manner ensure a good boat navigation up to the 
 Saratoga falls. 
 
 The cost of this dam, the construction of a towing- 
 path, with several bridges, the purchase of Schuyler's 
 mill, which it is supposed will be necessary, together 
 with all the other expenses of this section, are estimated 
 at fifty thousand dollars. 
 
 From the village of Stillwater at a point above the 
 dam last mentioned, it is proposed to cut an artificiati 
 canal to the village ot Waterford, where it is to be con- 
 nected with the Hudson. This canal will be supplied 
 with water, from the river at its upper end. Its length 
 will be nearly twelve miles, and the whole descent, is 
 76,464 feet; which will require eight locks. The ex- 
 cavation of this canal for some distance near the upper 
 end, will be considerably expensive, asit passes through 
 a slate rock : the middle and lower parts, however, are 
 very favourable. 
 
 The expenses from Stillwater to Waterford, may be 
 ^timated as follows J 
 
( 191 ) 
 
 76 feet lockage at i^llOOO per foot, 76,000 
 
 12 miles of excavation and towing-path with 
 
 bridges, culverts, and other necessarj works, 
 
 at an average of ^30,1)00 per mile, - 360,000 
 
 Recapituiation of Expenses. 
 From Whitehall to the Hudson, - - $250,000 
 
 Dam, side cut, and other works at Fort Miller 
 
 falls, - - - - - - 50,000 
 
 Do. at Saratoga falls, - - . - 35,000 
 
 To Stillwater including dam, &c. . - 50,000 
 
 From Stillwater^to Waterford, including lockage, 436,000 
 
 Add for contingencies, engineers, and superin- 
 
 tendance, . . - - . 50,000 
 
 Total, $871,000 
 
 Whether the canal from Lake Champlain enters the 
 Hudson at Fort Edward creek, or at Moses' kill, is not 
 very material in the estimate of expense ; and the com- 
 missioners wish to be explicitly understood, that they 
 consider this question as still open, and as one which 
 will require mature deliberation. It is ascertained that 
 both routes are equally practicable. 
 
 The termination of the northern canal, in the Hud- 
 son, at Waterford, will afford the cities of Albany and 
 Troy, and the villages of Lansingburgh and Water- 
 ford, a full participation of its benefits ; and its ap- 
 proximation to the great western canal, will open the 
 most beneficial channels of communication, between 
 every great section of the country, and furnish every 
 facility, for promoting the activity and enlarging the 
 sphere of inland trade, which constitutes one of the 
 principal elements of national opulence, prosperity, 
 and greatness. And before the lapse of half a century, 
 those who succeed us will witness, in the consolidation 
 of those cities and villages into one great city, a union 
 of interests and sympathies, which will totally dissipate 
 the apprehensions and jealousies that may now exist. 
 All which is respectfully submitted. 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 S.VANRENSELLAER, 
 MYRON HOLLEY, 
 SAMUEL YOUNG. 
 Mam.\ March 18, J 81 7. 
 
APPLICATION TO CONGRESS. 
 
 To the honourable the Senate and House of Representatives 
 of the United States in Congress^ the representation of the 
 Commissioners of the State of Mew-York^ in behalf of 
 the said State, respectfully showeth — 
 
 That the Legislature of the said state, in April last, 
 passed an act to provide for the improvement of their 
 internal navigation, of vt^hich act we may take the liber- 
 ty of transmitting herewith a copy. In this, it will be 
 seen that a board of commissioaers is constituted, and 
 that, among other duties enjoined upon them, they are 
 required to make application to the government of the 
 United States, for cessions, grants or donations of lands 
 or money, for the purpose of aiding in opening a com- 
 munication, by means of canals, between the navigable 
 waters of Hudson's river and Lake Erie, and the said 
 navigable waters and Lake Champlain. To fulfil this 
 requisition, then, is the object of this address. 
 
 Next to the establishment and security of the right to 
 self-government, we flatter ourselves that no subject re- 
 quiring legislative interference, can be found more in- 
 teresting than the one which we are charged to lay be- 
 fore your honourable body. And we venture to solicit 
 your favourable consideration of it, in full confidence 
 that an enlightened public spirit may justly give to it 
 such a measure of patronage as cannot fail to produce 
 signal benefits to the nation. 
 
 The benefits to be acquired by the United States, 
 from the construction of these canals, will most obvious- 
 ly and immediately affect their pecuniary and political 
 interests. iMore remotely, indeed, they will exert a fa- 
 vourable influence upon every object embraced within 
 the scope of an enlightened and paternal policy. If we 
 consider the extent and fertility of our territory north- 
 west of the Ohio; the large proportion of it, which yet 
 remains unsold ; the disposition and the ability which 
 
( 193 ) 
 
 oiir eastern fellow-citizens possess to purchase and im- 
 prove it, v/e cannot be insensible of the great pecuniary 
 advantage which would result from opening to them a 
 safe, easy, and economical passage into that territory. 
 Every dollar saved to them, in the expenses of re- 
 moving thither, would operate to enhance the value of 
 the public lands, and, at the same time, to hasten their 
 settlement: and, it is obvious, that a canal from the 
 Hudson to lake Erie would save a very large portion of 
 these expenses. The number of persons to be affect- 
 ed by this consideration, cannot be accurately stated. 
 It certainly would not be small. We are well assured, 
 that in the course of ofie year, since the war, more than 
 twelve thousand new settlers, almost exclusively from 
 the east, have established themselves within the limits 
 of this state west of the Genesee river. 
 
 Whatever adds to the value of all that land produces, 
 must increase the value of land itself To a country, 
 which depends upon a distant market for the sale of its 
 surplus productions, it is of great importance to afford 
 every possible facility of transportation ; for all that is 
 taken from the expense of transportation is added to 
 the value of the articles transported : and by cheapen- 
 ing the rate of carriage, many articles are rendered 
 valuable, which would otherwise be worthless. 
 
 Moreover, if habit or the necessary accommodation 
 of life, require that such a country should consume fo- 
 reign goods to the amount of all its surplus productions, 
 it is evident that the landholder there enjoys a twofold 
 benefit in every increased facility of transportation. 
 Perhaps the whole of the country between the great 
 lakes, the Mississippi, and the Ohio,(certainly the great- 
 er part of it,) would derive from the completion of our 
 principal canal greater advantages for distant commu- 
 nication than any country, so far inland, h^s hitherto 
 enjoyed, and incomparably greater than that country 
 can ever derive from any other means. Regarded, then, 
 merely as a measure of pecuniary wisdom, we trust 
 your honourable body will make such an appropriation 
 in favour of it as will ensure its accomplishment. 
 
 25 
 
( 194 ) 
 
 But considerations of a political nature seem to us 
 most urgently to recommend* the construction of these 
 canals. The great influence exercised over the western 
 Indians, even in our own territory, by the subjects of a 
 foreign government, we have always had numerous rea- 
 sons to wish destroyed. This influence depends, mate- 
 rially, upon establishments erected for the promotion 
 of the fur trade. Any measure that would open, be- 
 tween one of our sea-ports and the region where furs 
 are collected, a road in all respects preferable to any 
 other, besides drawing to our own citizens a profitable 
 commerce, would tend, eventually, to the subversion of 
 that influence, and, in the mean time, oflfer to us impor- 
 tant facilities for controlling it. 
 
 The trade carried on between our country and the 
 Canadian provinces is already considerable, and is ra- 
 pidly growing. The fruits of the earth from the south- 
 ern shores of Erie and Ontario, and from the borders of 
 Champlain, find their way to the ports of our northern 
 neighbours cheaper than they can to any, which offers 
 a market, of our own, and are there exchanged for the 
 various commodities of foreign countries. This trade is, 
 indeed, profitable to many of our citizens who engage 
 in it, but it is much more so to the British. Subject to 
 their control, they direct it to the advancement of all 
 their public interests : and it is no mean instrument of 
 that advancement. It is evidently the vital spirit of 
 their internal navigation, which it cannot fail to exalt 
 into a consequence that may hereafter greatly affect us. 
 Would not the prosecution of our projects to complete 
 effect, result, immediately, in giving to the citizens of 
 the United States the entire profits of this trade, and 
 to government, all the security and inflnence connected 
 with a thipkjy settled frontier, and a most decided su- 
 periority of shipping on the lakes ? 
 
 Nothing can be more certain, than that the continu- 
 ance of our union is essential to our freedom. The means 
 of this continuance are to be found only in the strength 
 of our common interests. Whatever extends and conso- 
 
( 195 ) 
 
 lidates these interests, then must be of distinguished im- 
 portance to government: and can any thing be imagined 
 more efficaciously conducive to these objects, than 
 opening to distant sections of our country the means of 
 easy and profitable intercourse ? Virtuous and enlight- 
 ened men among us, have long delighted themselves 
 with looking forward to the period, when a canal com- 
 munication between the Hudson and lake Erie would 
 afford, to half the United States, more ample means of 
 promoting every social interest, than have heretofore, 
 in any country, been furnished by the accomplishment 
 of any human enterprise. 
 
 The advantages of canals were not entirely unknown 
 to ancient governments. Among them, the wisest and 
 most powerful executed works of this kind, in every di- 
 rection, through their territories, for the purposes of 
 agriculture, commerce, and war. The vestiges of many 
 of these are still discoverable, and they are doubtless 
 to be reckoned among the most impressive memorials 
 that remain of ancient greatness. When we recollect 
 the instrumentality which canals have formerly exhibit- 
 ed in collecting the blessings of wealth, strength, and a 
 crowded population for every country through which 
 they passed, and see those very countries, by the neg- 
 lect and ruin of them, reduced to their original barren- 
 ness, can we suppress a conviction of their immense 
 utility ? But, it is not alone from history, and the faint 
 traces of them which have survived the lapse of many 
 centuries, that the advantages of these improvements 
 are to be known. There are proofs more conclusive. 
 Our own times furnish them. In contemplating the pre- 
 sent state of Europe, it is impossible not to be struck 
 with the number and extent of her canals. And we per- 
 ceive that they abound most in those countries where 
 the wants of the social state and the means of power, 
 have been most diligently explored, and are most pro- 
 foundly understood. We see them there enabling ex- 
 tensive empires to hold in speedy administration, to 
 every public object, all the resources of their remote 
 
( 196 ) 
 
 sections; and, at the same time, increasing those 
 resources prodigiously by the economical exchanges 
 of which they are the occasion. Experience is always 
 a safe guide. It is especially to be trusted when it has 
 been acquired in the midst of difficulties and dangers, 
 and has been sanctioned by the wisdom of different 
 nations. If, then, in the pressing exigencies of recent 
 events, when every power of national defence and an- 
 noyance has been exerted, when all the capacities of 
 men, as individuals, and in political combinations, have 
 been remarkably evolved, we observe, in that quarter 
 of the globe, a perpetually growing attention to the 
 subject of canals, is it not expedient, is it not wise for 
 us, to engage in making them.^ No country is more sus- 
 ceptible of all their benefits than ours : none of larger 
 extent presents fewer impediments to their construc- 
 tion. They constitute improvements peculiarly fit for 
 a repablic. They contribute equally to the safety and 
 opulence of the people, and the reputation and re- 
 sources of the government, They are equally desira- 
 ble in reference to the employments of peace, and the 
 operations of war. In whatever light they are viewed, 
 they seem to combine the substantial glories of the 
 most splendid and permanent utility. 
 
 But if the execution of those of which we are the advo- 
 cates, be impracticable, or would involve an expense 
 disproportionate to their value, they can have no claim 
 upon the favour of the national legislature. On these 
 topics we entertain no doubts. The minute examina- 
 tion which has been made this season, under our 
 superintendence, of all the lands which these canals 
 will traverse, has convinced us, that an expenditure not 
 exceeding ten millions of dollars would be sufficient to 
 perfect them. Shall they remain unattempted ? ~ The 
 state of New-York is not unaware of her interests, nor 
 disinclined to prosecute them ; but where those of the 
 general government are united with her's, and seem to 
 be paramount, she deems it her duty to ask for their 
 assistance. Wherefore, io her behalf, we solicit your 
 honourable body to make such an appropriation, in 
 
( 197 ) 
 
 lands or money, to aid in the construction of these canals, 
 as you, in your wisdom, may think reasonable and just. 
 By order, and in behalf of the said commissioners, 
 at a meeting held in Albany, on the 10th of No- 
 vember, 181 ?> 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON, President. 
 
 Copy of a Letter to the Governor of the State of Ohio. 
 AJhany^ llth JYovember, 1816. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 By an act of the legislature of the state of New- 
 York, passed at last session, a board of commissioners 
 was constituted for the purpose of ascertaining the prac- 
 ticability of connecting, by a canal, the navigable waters 
 of the Hudson river with Lake Erie. As the organ of 
 that board, and in compliance with the requisitions of 
 said act, I beg leave, through you, to solicit the atten- 
 tion of the honourable the legislature of the state of 
 Ohio, to this interesting subject. 
 
 A careful examination, by competent engineers, of 
 the route of the contemplated canal, fully authorizes 
 the belief that it can be made at an expense, which, 
 although considerable, will be vastly overbalanced by 
 the utility of the object. A facility in the transportation 
 to market of the abundant productions of the west, — a 
 rapid and easy interchange of commodities of foreign 
 and domestic growth — an increasing activity in com- 
 mercial and agricultural pursuits, and a consequent 
 enhancement in the value of lands, are some of the 
 most obvious benefits to be realized from a communica- 
 tion between the great lakes and the Atlantic, by means 
 of a navigable canal. 
 
 Nor can it be disputed, that from the local situation 
 of the state of Ohio, the luxuriance of her soil, her 
 growing wealth and increasing population, she will be 
 among the first to enjoy these advantages. 
 
 As the citizens of the state of Ohio, in common with 
 those of the state of New-York, will enjoy the benefits 
 of this improvement in the means of internal communi- 
 cation, it seems to be the dictate of justice, that, 
 
( 198 ) 
 
 with them, they should also participate in the ex= 
 pense. 
 
 The legislature of the state, distinguished for pa- 
 triotism and liberality, are thereforere spectfuUy invited 
 to partake with New-York, in the lasting advantages 
 and immortal honour resulting from the accomplish- 
 ment of an object so important. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 DE WITT CLINTON, President 
 of the Board of Canal Commissioners, 
 His Excellency the Governor of Ohio. 
 
 The foregoing letter was communicated by the go- 
 vernor, to the senate and house of representatives of 
 the state of Ohio, as follows : 
 
 " I communicate to you copies of a letter from De 
 Witt Clinton, Esq. president of the board of canal 
 commissioners, in the state of New-York. That state 
 contemplates making a canal which will connect the 
 navigable waters of the Hudson river with Lake Erie. 
 
 The advantages of such a water communication to 
 the state of Ohio generally, and in a particular man- 
 ner to the northern part of it, are so manifest, that I 
 am persuaded you will not hesitate to give the subject 
 that careful examination, its great importance requires. 
 
 I recommend to your consideration the propriety of 
 using such means as you may deem proper, to ascer- 
 tain the practicability and expense of tiie contemplated 
 canal. Should the information obtained on these points 
 be satisfactory, it will become the duty of the people 
 of Ohio to give all the aid in their power towards effect- 
 ing an object, in which they are so deeply interested." 
 
 On the subject of this communication, a joint com- 
 mittee of both houses of the legislature of the state of 
 Ohio was appointed, who made the following report ; 
 
( 199 ) 
 
 The joint Committee to whom was referred the Communi' 
 cation of his Excellency the Governor of the eleventh ult. 
 together with the accompanying Letter from the Honour- 
 able De Witt Clinton^ on the subject of the contemplated 
 Canal fromLahe Eree to the Hudson River^ have had 
 the same under consideration, and now submit the following 
 Report : — 
 
 From a view of the subject submitted to their con- 
 sideration, your committee are fully impressed with the 
 belief, that the making of a Canal from the Hudson 
 river to Lake Erie, is an object of the first importance 
 to this state, and the United States in general, both in 
 a commercial and in a political point of view. The 
 facility which it will afford to the exportation of the 
 surplus produce of our luxuriant soil, and the conse- 
 quent encouragement of agricultural and commercial 
 enterprise, are effects too obvious to pass unnoticed, 
 and of too much importance to be neglected ; as afford- 
 ing a safe, easy, and expeditious mean of a mutual 
 interchange of commodities between different sections 
 of our common country, highly advantageous to all, as 
 increasing the commercial connexion, friendly inter- 
 course, and ties of interest, and by these means strength- 
 ening the bonds of union between remote parts of the 
 nation. The contemplated Canal presents advantages 
 vastly superior to those resulting from any work of the 
 kind accomplished by the industry of man in any age 
 or country. 
 
 From a geographical view of the state of Ohio, ex- 
 tending for a great distance on its northern frontier 
 along the extensive navigable waters of the St, Law- 
 rence, presenting all the advantages of a northern mar- 
 ket, and washed on the eastern and southern bounda- 
 ries by one of the great branches of the Mississippi, 
 affording an easy access to a southern market, and a 
 facility in obtaining the various productions of the 
 south ; connecting the northern with the southern, and 
 the western with the Atlantic States : considering its 
 happy climate and the luxuriant fertility of its soil, in- 
 tergected by navigable rivers, and unbroken by moun- 
 
( 200 ) 
 
 tains, we are struck with its natural advantages, which, 
 if improved by an enlightened and liberal policy, will 
 render the situation of Ohio inferior to that of no state 
 in the Union, or country in the world.— Among these 
 improvements, the contemplated Canal is unquestion- 
 ably of the first importance. Sensible that a work of 
 such magnitude cannot be effected without the united 
 and vigorous exertions of those interested ; and fully 
 impressed with the belief that the greatest advantages 
 will result to the United States generally, and par- 
 ticularly to the state of Ohio, as well as the state of New- 
 York, from the completion of the contemplated canal ; 
 your committee are clearly of opinion, that true policy, 
 as well as justice, require the state of Ohio to lend its 
 aid to the accomplishment of a work of such incalcula- 
 ble utility : 
 
 We are at the same time sensible that the funds of 
 this state will not permit us to aid in the undertaking 
 in that proportion which might be expected from the 
 relative population of the state. 
 
 Your committee have had no accurate means of as- 
 certaining the probable expense of the proposed Canal; 
 but from the best information they have been able to 
 obtain, they are induced to believe that the work is 
 not only practicable, but can be accomplished at an 
 expense within the reach of those interested ; and from 
 the enterprising spirit and enlightened policy of the 
 state of New- York, they feel little hesitation in believ- 
 ing that it will be undertaken. 
 
 Your committee are at present unable to point out 
 or recommend any particular method of aiding in the 
 proposed work, not being in possession of any informa- 
 tion relative to the system or plan which may be 
 adopted by the state of New- York, for effecting the 
 object. 
 
 Your committee respectfully submit for consideration 
 the following resolutions. 
 
 Resolved^ by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio^ 
 That this state will aid, as far as its resources will jus- 
 tify, in making the contemplated Canal from Lake Erie 
 
( 201 ) 
 
 to the Hudson river, in such manner as may be deemed 
 most adviseable, when the plan or system which may 
 be adopted by the state of New-Yorkfor the accomphsh- 
 ment of that work, may be known ; and that His Excel- 
 lency the Governor, be requested to open a correspon- 
 dence with the Honourable De Witt Clinton, or such 
 other persons as he may think necessary ; and take 
 such other means as he may deem adviseable, in order 
 to ascertain the practicability and probable expense of 
 making said Canal ; the probable time when the same 
 will be commenced ; the plan which may be adopted 
 to carry it into effect, and such other information as he 
 may deem important or useful, and communicate the 
 same to the General Assembly at their next session. 
 
 Resolved^ That His Excellency the Governor, be 
 requested to transmit a copy of the foregoing Report 
 and Resolution, to the Executive of the state of New- 
 York, and to the Honourable De Witt Clinton, president 
 of the Board of Commissioners for the Canal from Lake 
 Erie to Hudson's river. 
 
 THOMAS KIKKER, 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives > 
 ABRAHAM SHEPHERD, 
 
 Speaker of the Senate. 
 
 January 21 th, 1817. 
 
 Secretary of Stater's Office, Columbus, 
 
 Ohio, nth, February, 1817. 
 I Certify the foregoing to be a correct Copy of the 
 original remaining on file in this office. 
 
 JERM'SIM, 
 Secretary of State. 
 This report was enclosed to the President of the 
 Board of Commissioners, by His Excellency the Go- 
 vernor of that State, in the following letter. 
 
 Executive Office, 
 
 Columbus, Feb. 10th, 1817. 
 Sir. 
 
 Your letter of 11th of November, was received 
 in due time and communicated to the General Assembly 
 
 €k 
 
( 202 ) 
 
 of Ohio, as you will perceive, by the resolutions, which 
 I have the honour now to enclose to you. Any infor- 
 mation which you may deem proper to communicate^ in 
 addition to that requested by the first resolution, will be 
 thankfully received and laid before the legislature of 
 Ohio, at their next session. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 T. WORTHINGTON. 
 
 De Win Clinton, Esquire. 
 
 Applications, similar to the one herein before con- 
 tained to Ohio, have been made, by the commissioners, 
 to the states of Vermont and Kentucky, from whom no 
 answers have hitherto been received. 
 
 Miscellaneous particulars of information, respecting the Mid- 
 dlesex canal, near Boston, in the state of Massachusetts. 
 
 The following information, respecting the Middlesex 
 canal, was obtained in May last, by two of the Commis- 
 sioners, who visited and carefully examined that canal, 
 throughout its whole extent, aqd committed to writing, 
 on the spot, the result of their own observations, as well 
 as the answers to all their inquiries, which were oblig- 
 ingly given, by the very intelligent agent (Mr. Sullivan) 
 of the canal company. 
 
 The canal is 27 miles long, and connects the tide- 
 water, in Boston harbour at Charlestown, with the Mer- 
 rinjack river. The water in the canal is 30 feet wide 
 at its surface, 20 feet at its bottom, and 3 feet deep. 
 The Concord or Sudbury river crosses the line of the 
 canal on the summit-level, 22 miles from Charlestown, 
 and .5 miles from the junction of the canal with the Mer- 
 rimack, and wholly supplies it with water for locking, 
 down each way from the summit-level. From tide-wa- 
 ter to the summit-level is an ascent of 104 feet, and from 
 thence to the Merrimack a descent of 3 2 feet. There 
 a re, in all, 20 locks of different lifts, of which the high- 
 est is 12 feet. These locks are 75 feet long in the clear, 
 10 feet wide at the bottom, and 11 feet at the top. 
 
( 203 ) 
 
 Boats for the transportation of merchandise and pro- 
 duce carry 14 tons, and are drawn bj one horse 3 miles 
 an hour. Packet-boats pass the whole length in 5 hours 
 coming down, and 7 hours going up. To each boat 
 there are three men; two, however, are sufficient to 
 manage the boat on the canal, the other being wanted 
 only on the Merrimack river. From the summit-level, 
 down the canal, there is a current which exceeds in no 
 place half a mile per hour there being a fall or descent 
 in the canal of one inch per mile. The expense of 
 transporting a ton the whole length of the canal is 
 $3 50, of which sum gl 70 is toll, and g!l 80 is freight. 
 
 Across the canal, there are 50 bridges, made by the 
 canal company ; they consist of 2 stone abutments (one 
 on each side of the canal) 20 feet apart : from one of 
 these abutments to the other, are laid sills or string- 
 pieces of wood, covered with plank, and of sufficient 
 height for the towing horses to pass under. The tbw- 
 iiig-path under the bridges occupies 6 or 7 feet. 
 
 Two miles from the lower end of the canal, Mystick 
 river, a turnpike road, and the canal, run a little dis- 
 tance parallel with each other, the road being between 
 the canal and river. Here is affi^rded a good opportu- 
 nity of comparing the relative advantages of these 
 three modes of conveyance. 
 
 Heavier boats than those above-mentioned, are used 
 on the canal for transporting fire-wood, lumber, &c.; 
 they are shaped like a scow, are 75 feet long, 9|- feet 
 wide, and carry 25 tons of wood. 
 
 The towing-path is generally 8 feet wide, so that 
 horses and oxen may easily pass each other. On the 
 opposite side of the canal, where a towing-path is not 
 wanted, the upper surface of the bank or embankment 
 is five feet wide, and this is found to be sufficient.- A 
 branch-canal, or side-cut is made to connect the main 
 canal with Mystick river, near Medford ; this is owned 
 by a separate company, and is principally used for 
 transporting timber to Medford for ship-building. 
 
 The canal company was incorporated in 1789, and 
 the next year commenced the work of making the 
 
( 204 ) 
 
 canal.— When the canal was begun, the price of labour 
 by the month was $8. The canal was opened foruse^ 
 in 1804, though not completed in 1808, when Mr. Sulli- 
 van took charge of it. Some repairs and new con- 
 structions have been made every year since. In 
 assesments upon the proprietors, there has been laid 
 out on the canal ^528,000, and about ^50,000 more, 
 derived from tolls, has been expended in buildings, 
 wharves, &;c. At Medford is a swivel bridge, which is 
 found to be very inconvenient. The principal articles 
 transported on the canal are wood, timber, lumber of 
 all kinds, pot and pearl ashes, rye, oats, provisions, and 
 building stone from the Merrimack to Boston. Last 
 year 12,000 cords of wood were transported down the 
 canal, and there are more tons of timber in rafts,brought 
 down, than of wood. 
 
 More than one half of the whole length of th^ canal 
 is more or less embanked or raised above the natural 
 surface of the ground. Above Medford is an aqueduct 
 across the Mystick river, of which the abutments are 
 J 00 feet apart, and between them are three stone piers, 
 each 8 feet thick, for supporting the aqueduct. The 
 tide flows up the Mystick river above this place. The 
 surface of the water in the aqueduct, is 10 feet above 
 the surface of the water in the river below, at high 
 water. This aqueduct consists of a kind of trough 
 made of timber and plank, which has stood 16 years, 
 but is beginning to decay. The timber is framed 
 together in the usual way of carpenter's work, by 
 tenants and mortises, and strengthened by braces. 
 As tenants soon rot, and give way, it might have been 
 made on a better and more durable construction, with 
 knees and bolts, in the manner of ship-building. At 
 the upper end of the aqueduct, is a lock of 12 feet lift. 
 
 Mr. Weston, an English engineer, took the levels of 
 the whole length of the line of tliis canal, part of the 
 way on two routes. He estimated the expense of 
 making it at 100,000/. sterling. The company went on 
 to make the canal, without any further aid from any 
 European engineer, and found Mr. Weston'' s levels to be 
 correct. 
 
( 205 ) 
 
 Over Syms' river is an aqueduct, of which the abut- 
 ments are 120 feet apart, with three intervening piers. 
 The water in the aqueduct, is 30 feet higher than the 
 water in the stream below. These aqueducts all afford 
 convenient waste-weirs. When the water is not drawn 
 off from the canal at the commencement of winter, the 
 expansion of its freezing, spreads and injures the tim- 
 bers of the aqueducts; wherefore, it is the practice, just 
 before the winter sets in, to draw off about one third 
 of the water. 
 
 Half a mile above the last mentioned aqueduct, is 
 deep cutting, 40 rods in length, through loose sand and 
 gravel. In the deepest part of the excavation,is 20 feet 
 below the natural surface of the earth ; and the part 
 excavated, is here, from 90 to 100 feet in width at the 
 top. The earth was chiefly carried away in wheel- 
 barrows, some in carts, to an embankment just above, 
 on the right side. Half a mile higher up, the earth is 
 very porous, and on the right side, the water leaks out 
 through or under an embankment: this might have 
 been prevented, by putting 2 or 3 feet of water-tight 
 stuff in the bottom of the canal. 
 
 >^ Near this place are two water-gates, by which the wa- 
 ter of the canal is drawn off in the spring for the pur- 
 pose of clearing out the earth, stones, &c. which fall in- 
 to it, and injure the navigation. The expense of this, is 
 perhaps $500 a year. 
 
 Mr. Sullivan states, that he has had a steam-boat on 
 the Merrimack river for the purpose of towing boats ; 
 he found, that a man by a rope could easily hold a boat 
 in tow, immediately astern of the steam-boat, which it 
 would require a horse, on the bank of the river, to tow 
 with the same velocity: such, in his opinion, is the 
 great diminution of the resistance of the water, to the 
 head of a boat, which is drawn in the wake of another 
 boat. 
 
 For some weeks in the spring, the canal leaks much 
 more than it does the remainder of the season : this is 
 because the banks had been recently swelled and 
 loosened by the action of the frost. Three men with a 
 
( 206 ) 
 
 horse and boat, are, in the summer, constantly employ- 
 ed, to keep the banks, and particularly the towing- 
 path in order. 
 
 The lands within six miles of the canal on each side, 
 have increased one-third in price; while land in the 
 country, generally retains its former value. In the state 
 of New-Hampshire, through which the Merrimack flows, 
 timber is now worth from 1 to 3 dollars per ton stand- 
 ing; before the canal was made, it was worth nothing; 
 so that in the article of timber alone, that state is sup^ 
 posed to have been benefited to the amount of at least 
 5,000,000 of dollars. The wood-land there, has risen in 
 price, since the opening of the canal, from $2 per acre, 
 to ^6, ;S8, and glO per acre. 
 
 In Woburn, a pretty high embankment, which was 
 miade in the winter, across a marsh, sunk down in the 
 spring, at the breaking uppf the frost, so that its top was 
 just level with the natural earth: another embankment 
 was then raised upon it. Near this place, the canal, by 
 a deep cutting of 25 feet, passes through a hill. An 
 embankment at Maple meadow, in the town of Wilming- 
 ton, is near 80 rods long, and 25 feet high, to the top of 
 the towing-path. At a place called the sinking mea- 
 dow, in the above-named town, an embankment is made 
 across a marsh of about 30 rods in extent. When this 
 embankment was commenced, it was found that the 
 dirt and stuff carried on, to form the embankment, kept 
 gradually sinking into the marsh; when measures were 
 taken to ascertain how much it would sink : the labour- 
 ers continued to carry on stuff which gradually went 
 down, until the whole embankment sunk to the depth of 
 60 feet ! The great expense of making this embank- 
 ment across the marsh, might have been foreseen, and 
 prevented. The depth and softness of the marsh, might 
 have been ascertained by sounding it with an iron rod, 
 and by conducting the canal circuitously around its 
 margin, a solid foundation might have been secured. 
 
 By the act of incorporation, the Legislature author- 
 ized the company to occupy, 5 rods of land in width on 
 one side of the centre of the canal, and 3 rods on the 
 
( 207 ) 
 
 other. If the owners of the land did not apply for pay 
 within a year, it was deemed a donation. In the state- 
 ment of monies expended, before made, are included, 
 the costs of several law-suits, the building of boats, 
 of offices, the purchase of 70 acres of land, and the 
 erection of mills at Billerica. The land and mills cost 
 $10,000. There is no income derived from hiring out 
 water privileges, for hydraulic operations. The cannal 
 receives its whole supply of water, from the Concord 
 river; and if any were let out for hydraulic purposes, a 
 current would be created, the inconveniencies of which, 
 would probably more than counterbalance all the ad- 
 vantages of income. 
 
 Either through design or accident, logs, stumps and 
 sticks were in some places left in the banks, when the 
 canal was made ; and these, having now become rotten, 
 leave unsound places, through which the water escapes. 
 A great part of the canal was made by contractors, in 
 small parts or jobs, and where two jobs of embankment 
 met each other, the workmen did not, in some cases, 
 take the precaution to prevent the stones, as they threw 
 on the stuff, from rolling down together, from each end 
 of the separate job, and thereby forming a loose porous 
 and leaky place in the embankment. 
 
 The aqueduct over the Shawsheen river is, between % 
 the abutments, 140 feet. The water in it is, 35 feet 
 higher, than the surface of the river below. This aque- 
 duct has been made 20 years ; it is, like the other aque- 
 ducts on this canal, made of wood, and is so much de- 
 cayed, as to require temporary props, to support it. — 
 There are three piers between the abutments, and, be- 
 tween the outside pier and the abutment on each side, 
 there is a kind of Wooden pier. On the inside, or river 
 side of both the abutments, and on both sides of the 
 piers at suitable distances, large horizontal timbers are 
 embedded, which serve to support the lower ends of the 
 aqueduct braces : when these timbers become rotten, 
 the stone work will probably fall down. From each - 
 end of this aqueduct, to the distance of 500 feet, is an 
 embankment nearly 35 feet high. 
 
( 208 ) 
 
 During the war, the timber used to repair the Consti" 
 tution frigate, was brought, down the canal to Boston^ 
 and that used to build the Independence, seventy-four, 
 except the live oak, was procured through the same 
 channel, as also were many of the masts and spars, &c. 
 which were furnished at Boston, to our vessels of war. 
 Without the canal, this part of the country could not 
 have supplied these necessary articles. 
 
 In approaching the Concord river, the canal passes 
 through half a mile of deep-cutting, 800 feet of which 
 is excavated by blasting through a hard granite rock. — 
 In some places, this blasting was carried 7 feet into the 
 rock, and from 14 to 20 feet wide. The deep-cutting for 
 this half mile, is from 12 to 20 feet. 
 
 Across the Concord river, a few rods below the line 
 of the canal, a dam of 150 feet long, and 8 feet high is 
 made. This creates a pond, out of which, through the 
 deep-cutting last mentioned, the water flows and sup- 
 plies the canal, 22 miles to Charlestown at the tide-wa- 
 ter. From the other side of the pond, the water flows 
 through the canal 5 miles to the Merrimack river. The 
 water which supplies the 22 miles of the canal, passes 
 through a horizontal apeture of 6 feet by 1 , with a head 
 of 2 feet water, above the upper side of the apeture. 
 The towing-path, is carried across the pond, by means 
 of a floating bridge, a part of which is occasionally 
 drawn up, to let the logs, timber and drift-wood, which 
 collect above pass through. There are two waste gates 
 in the dam, by which the height of the water in the 
 pond can, in some measure, be regulated. 
 
 In Chelmsford, within 60 rods of the Merrimack, is 
 an aqueduct, of which the abutments are 1 10 feet apart, 
 and there are ten wooden piers to support it. The wa- 
 ter in the aqueduct, is, 16 feet higher than the stream 
 below. Between this aqueduct and the Merrimack, is a 
 fall of 32 feet, and 3 locks of durable stone masonry, in 
 tarres mortar. Where the canal joins the Merrimack, 
 a basin is excavated, 10 or 12 feet below the natural 
 surface of the earth, and 5 feet below the surface of the 
 river, at low water. The extent of the ,basin is about 
 
( 209 ) 
 
 200 feet on the shore of the river, and half that dis- 
 tance on a line at right angles with the shore, being 
 nearly semi-circular. There are in all 7 aqueducts on 
 the canal, but those not mentioned above are very in- 
 considerable : there are also s.everal culverts.-r-Grass 
 grows in the bottom of the canal, and obstructs the 
 passage of the water in autumn to such a degree, that 
 at the lower end of the canal, 22 miles from its source, 
 the water is sometimes 9 inches lower than it otherwise 
 would be. To remedy this inconvenience a man is 
 employed who wades along the canal and mows off 
 the grass under water with a scythe. During the 
 winter season, while the canal was not used, the musk- 
 rats would sometimes burrow into and endanger the 
 breaking of the banks ; in consequence of which the 
 company had offered a bounty of 50 cents for every 
 one that should be destroyed within a certain distance 
 of the canal. This bounty had caused their destruc- 
 tion to such an extent that very little apprehension was 
 entertained of their doing injury. 
 
 It was the original design of the company to em- 
 ploy three officers on the canal, viz. a superintendent, 
 a treasurer and clerk ; but that project has been aban- 
 doned, and those three officers are now united in Mr. 
 Sullivan. His compensation is a salary of ;^1500 a 
 year, besides 5 per cent, on all the tolls or receipts, 
 which are warranted not to fall short of ;S 20,000 per 
 annum. 
 
 The receipts of the company from the canal are ra- 
 pidly increasing. The income in 1808, was $7000, in 
 1809, gi9000, in 1810, g 14,000, in 1811, g! 17,000, last 
 year $25,000, and this year (1816) it will, undoubtedly, 
 exceed $30,000. 
 
 Copy of a Letter to Paul Bustt, Esq. Agent of the Hol- 
 land Land Company^ from the President of the Board 
 of Commissioners. 
 
 JVew- York^ ith January, 1817. 
 Sir, 
 I am charged by the commissioners of canals, to ^ 4 
 
 27 
 
 »«• 
 
( 210 ) 
 
 Isoicit your attention to the donations of lands hereto- 
 fore promised by the Holland Land Company, but 
 which was not consummated, on account of the late 
 war, which rendered it almost impracticable for the 
 state to embark in an undertaking of such magnitude 
 and expanse, at that time. 
 
 The commissioners arc anxious to know,. with all con- 
 venient speed, whether you will renew the grant, and 
 add to it the lands through which the canal will pass, 
 and which may be necessary for the operation, on con- 
 dition that the canal shall be completed within twenty 
 years. The lands of course will not be taxed. 
 
 Your prompt answer will oblige the board of commis- 
 sioners, who are required by law to make a report to 
 the legislature, on the subject of the canal, some time 
 in the beginning of February ; and I have only to add, 
 that the whole route has been surveyed, that the prac- 
 ticability and comparative cheapness of the canal, has 
 been satisfactorily ascertained, and that a liberal spirit 
 manifested by the great landed proprietors, on this 
 occasion, may have a benign effect in promoting this 
 great object. 
 
 Very respectfully, I am, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 BE WITT CLINTON, 
 
 President^ of the Board of Canal Commissioners. 
 
 Paul Bnsii, Esq. , 
 
 (Jinswer to the foregoing Letter.^ 
 
 Philadelphia, January 9th, 1817. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have had the honour of receiving your letter of the 
 4th instant, on the subject of the renewal of the donation 
 of lands, heretofore made, by the Holland Land Compa- 
 ny, for promoting the execution of canal navigation, 
 from Lake Erie to the Hudson river, but which, in conse- 
 quence of a postponement of this great undertaking, has 
 reverted to the company. 
 
( 211 ) 
 
 I am not prepared to give a definite reply to your in- 
 quiry. I mUst content myself, for the present, to assure 
 you, that the disposition of the Holland Land Company, 
 to aid so important a work, remains unaltered. The 
 only question has been, the best manner in which they 
 can give elFect to their wish of contributing towards ef- 
 fecting it. With this view, I have some time since con- 
 sulted Jos. Ellicott, Esq. (the company's agent at Bata- 
 via,) on this subject, and flatter myself with having it in 
 my power, shortly, to offer to the board of canal commis- 
 sioners, the Holland Land Company's donation, in 
 lands, on such terms as, I trust, will be perfectly satis- 
 factory to the gentlemen commissioners, and furnish a 
 further proof of the sincere disposition of my constitu- 
 ents, to aid undertakings of public utility. 
 
 I have the honour to be, very respectfully. Sir, 
 Your most obed't servant. 
 
 PAUL BUST!. 
 De Witt Clinton^ Esq. President 
 
 of the board of Canal Commissioners^ 8^c. S^c. 
 
 (Second answer from the same.^ 
 
 Philadelphia, February 22nd, 1817. 
 Sir, 
 
 Agreeably to the promise conveyed by my respects 
 of the 9th. ult. I have now the honour of waiting on 
 you with the Holland Land Company's offer of contri- 
 buting to the making of a canal navigation from the east 
 end of Lake Erie to the Hudson river. 
 
 After mature reflection and consultation with Mr. 
 Ellicott, on the most proper means of giving effect to the 
 Holland Land Company's disposition of aiding a public 
 undertaking of such magnitude, and promising such im- 
 portant advantages to your patriotic state, I have come 
 to the determination of renewing, on the same terms, 
 the offer heretofore made and accepted by the gentle- 
 men commissioners in 1814, but which, in consequence 
 of the late war, was not consummated. I have been led to 
 this selection by the conviction that I shall have the 
 
( 212 ) 
 
 happiness of reconciling the liberal views of my con- 
 stituents, with the most sanguine expectati6ns of your 
 board. The acceptation in 1H14, of this grant, forms 
 the ground of this conviction. I have now the pleasure 
 to repeat my offer of conveying to the state of New- 
 York, two tracts of land situate in the county of Cat- 
 taraugus and state ofNew-York, containing upwards of 
 one hundred thousand acres of land, on condition that 
 the canal shall be completed within twenty years; that 
 the land shall not be taxed during that period, and in 
 case of failure, that it shall revert to the company, or 
 the state remain accountable for any part sold or dis- 
 posed of For the particulars of the terms and condi- 
 tions, on which the grant was heretofore made, and is 
 now renewed, I beg your reference to the enclosed 
 copy of the proposed act to be passed by the legislature, 
 and of the conveyance then executed by the Hol- 
 land Land Company, but since annulled. In case any 
 lots in the two tracts should have been sold, they must 
 of course be excepted ; but I believe no such sale has 
 taken place. As a further proof that the best wishes 
 of my constituents for the success of this stupendous 
 work, have not been weakened by the lapse of time, 
 since the first offer reverted, I feel myself authorized to 
 add to that grant the ground actually the property of 
 the Holland Land Company, through which the canal 
 shall pass, with sufficient tow-paths along its sides, the 
 breadth of which grant, however, not to exceed four 
 rods. This additional grant 1 offer oh condition that 
 the canal company shall make, within the time limited 
 for the completion of the canal, a good and safe harbour 
 for vessels navigating Lake Erie, at or near the mouth 
 of Buffalo creek. To this condition, I am persuaded 
 no objection will be made. It is so intimately connect- 
 ed with the free and full use of the canal, that it really 
 forms a most important part of it. That a safe and 
 commodious harbour at the east end of Lake Erie, is 
 at present much wanted, and would be an object of 
 vast importance to the trade which passes through that 
 inland sea, by offering security to their vessels, and 
 
( 213 ) 
 
 facilities for the loading and unloading of them, is a 
 truth known to every one acquainted with that part 
 of your state. It appears to me equally evident, that 
 the benefits resulting from the canal navigation, must 
 in a good measure depend on its connexion with the 
 navigation both above and below it, and that it neces- 
 sarily becomes an object of the last importance, to afford 
 every possible facility for the transfer of the cargoes 
 of the canal boats to the vessels navigating the waters 
 above and below them. Were I not fearful of tres- 
 passing on your valuable time, much more might be 
 added in support of this measure ; but it certainly has 
 not escaped the clearer penetration of the gentlemen 
 commissioners, and I ought . to apologize for saying so 
 much on a subject, the utility ofwhich appears so evi- 
 dent. 
 
 I am ready to confirm the foregoing, in the same 
 manner as was done in 1814: I will convey the lands 
 and site for the canal, on the conditions above stated, to 
 the people of the State of New-York. The deed to 
 remain as an escrow in the hands of T. L. Ogden, Esq. 
 of New-York, to become absolute on the passage of the 
 proposed act by the legislature, provided it be passed 
 within one year from the date of the deed. 
 
 I flatter myself with ihe hope of having fully met the 
 wishes of your board, and of having afforded them and 
 the State of New-York, another unequivocal proof, that 
 my constitiients feel the liveliest interest in the welfare 
 of your state, and that they are not the last in offering 
 their mite in contributing to its prosperity. 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 With great respect. Sir, 
 
 Your most obed't^erv't, 
 PAULBUSTI, 
 Agent of the Holland Land Company. 
 
 De Witt Clinton, Esq. 
 
 President of the Grand Canal Company^ Sfc. S^e 
 
( 2H ) 
 To the Members of Cong fess^ from the State of JVew-^York. 
 
 The Commissioners of canals, for this State, have 
 seen, with great pleasure, the outlines of a plan for ap- 
 propriating a considerable fund to the internal improve- 
 ment of the country ; and they take the liberty of re- 
 spectfully presenting to you some considerations con- 
 nected with this subject, which have an important bear- 
 ing on the public prosperity. 
 
 1st. As to the rule to be adopted for distribution: 
 
 2d, As to the authority making the application of 
 the monies. 
 
 It appears to the Commissioners, that there ought to 
 be no hesitation, with regard to the ratio. The popula- 
 tion of each state, will be a feir and unexceptionable 
 standard. In this case, the state would be entitled to 
 about ^85,000 annually. The interests of Ohio being 
 identified with ours, in relation to the Erie canal, and 
 those of Vermont, with regard to the Champlain canal, 
 it is reasonable to suppose, that the contributions from 
 those quarters, arising from the same source,and applied 
 to the same objects, would augment the annual divi= 
 dend, received by the state, to ^140,000. 
 
 If it be admitted, as it undoubtedly ought to be, that 
 the Erie canal will not cost more than six millions of 
 dollars, and the Champlain canal a million, the greatest 
 interest paid for the money borrowed would not exceed 
 $420,000 annually ; but as the whole sum would not be 
 wanted at once, it is obvious that the allotment to this 
 state would form an accumulating fund, which with 
 other resources amply within our power, would enable 
 us to execute these great works without imposing any 
 taxes. 
 
 With regard to the second point for consideration, 
 the commissioners are of opinion, that it would be a 
 wise arrangement to confide the expenditure of the 
 money to the state government, on condition that it be 
 applied to the canals in question. 
 
 The Commissioners are aware, that some of you may 
 not be friendly to the contemplated canals; but they 
 
( 215 ) 
 
 trust, that on the presumption that these works will be 
 undertaken, none of you will be hostile to the appro- 
 priation of an adequate revenue, which will promote 
 the object, without any inconvenience to your consti- 
 tuents. 
 
 Done at Albany, the 22d day of January, 1817. 
 By order of the Commissioners. 
 
 DE WITT CLmTON, President. 
 
 Letter from the Honourable Philetus Smft, President 
 of the Senate. 
 
 Albany, March 5, 1817. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 In answer to your inquiries concerning the 
 canal made for my mills in Phelpstown, I can state, that 
 it is 260 rods long, 40 feet wide on the surface, and 30 
 feet at the bottom, with a depth of water of from 4 to 5 
 feet. It runs through good intervale land; and 160 
 rods of it be new, was grubbed and cleared, and dug 
 by the job, for $2 50 a rod. About one half of this 160 
 rods lay along an old water-course, which in many 
 places was only to be made wider and deeper. The 
 other half was to be dug from 1 i to 3^ feet deep. For 
 the distance of 30 rods, it was dug li feet deep ; and 
 the earth here was, for the first foot in depth, a good 
 soil, such as is common in intervales; for the next 2 feet, 
 it inclined to clay, below which, there was a clean gra- 
 vel. Much of the above excavation was done for a 
 dollar a rod. Where it was deepest, the land was level, 
 and after grubbing and clearing, smooth ; so that the 
 plough and scraper alone were used in moving it. Hav- 
 ing attend personal)^' to the progress of the job-work 
 above-mentioned, and carefully calculated the expense 
 of it at the time, I was then satisfied, as 1 am now, that 
 the whole cost of excavation where it was deepest, in- 
 cluding grubbing and clearing, did not exceed ^.5 for a 
 rod. A rod included about 75 cubic yards. The cost 
 of each yard, therefore was little short of 7 cents. 
 It (should be remembered, that this work was done in 
 
( 216 ) 
 
 the year 1800, when the price of labour was less than 
 it is now. 
 
 I am, Sir, with great respect, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 PHILETUS SWIFT. 
 Hon. De Witt Clinton, 
 
 President of the Board of Canal Commissioners. 
 
 Copy of a Letter from the Hon. A. Porter., of the Coun- 
 ty of JYiagara^ to one of the Commissioners. 
 
 JViagara Falls, January 3, 1817. 
 Dear Sir. 
 
 Your letter of the 9th of August last, was received, 
 requesting of me, answers to the following questions, viz. 
 
 What is the kind of rock through which your canal 
 is excavated.'' 
 
 What is the length, width, and depth of such excava- 
 tion } 
 
 What was the expense of it ? 
 
 What, in your opinion, would be the expense of ex- 
 cavating a canal, 30 feet wide and 5 feet deep, for one 
 mile, through the common limestone rock, lying between 
 Lake Erie and Genesee river ? 
 
 In reply to these inquiries I would answer: The kind 
 of rock is horizontal strata or layers of limestone, of 
 from 6 to 24 inches thick. The horizontal joints, be- 
 tween these layers, are so open, that there is very little 
 difficulty in separating the layers. These layers are 
 separated by perpendicular cracks, dividing them into 
 irregular and unequal slabs, of from 1 to 6 or 8 feet 
 square. These slabs are so sound as to blast well, and 
 are very pure limestone, so that an auger, suitably tem- 
 pered, will not batter, but will last until the friction on 
 the stone wears it out. 
 
 The length of my canal is 20 rods, its width 1\ feet, 
 on an average, its depth in the rock, five feet, besides 
 one foot of earth on the top of the rock. 
 
 It cost about ^300. 
 
 To excavate a mile of the same kind of rock, the same 
 width and depth, would of course cost ^8,000. My canal 
 
( 217 ) 
 
 being the depth required, viz. five feet, and one-fourth 
 part of the width required, viz. 7^ feet, it follows that 
 four times as much rock would require to be removed 
 from a canal 30 feet wide, and 5 feet deep, as from one 
 of the size of mine ; in that proportion, then, it would 
 cost $32,000 per mile. It is however, my opinion, that 
 one of 30 feet wide, would by no means cost in the 
 same proportion, for the following reasons: 
 
 First, because in first making an opening, the rocks 
 are all bound together in such a manner, that it is diffi- 
 cult to remove any single stone or rock, without blast- 
 ing ; and at least one half of the blasts have little or 
 no effect. Whereas, after an opening is made, the 
 rock being separated both by horizontal and perpen- 
 dicular joints, many of them may be removed without 
 breaking, either by hand or by the aid of cattle , and 
 those too large to be removed whole may he broken 
 by a sledge or with a single blast. 
 
 Secondly, the width of the canal will enable you to 
 remove very large rocks, by the aid of oxen, much ea- 
 sier than they could be hoisted by a windlass, which 
 was the way most of mine were done, as its width made 
 it difficult to remove them with oxen. Many of those 
 which I was obliged to blast, to enable me to handle 
 them, might have been removed by oxen, could I have 
 used them. From these reasons 1 have no doubt, that 
 a canal through the same kind of rock, which mine 
 passes, (and it is the same as that which prevails gene- 
 rally between Lake Erie and Genesee river,) of 30 feet 
 wide and 5 feet deep, might be made for double what 
 one of the size of mine would cost, viz. it might be 
 made for $16,000 per mile. 
 
 I am, Sir, with great respect, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 AUGUSTUS PORTER, 
 
 Myron Holler/, Esq, 
 
 28 
 
( 218 ) 
 
 Copy of a letter from Matthew Brown, Jun. and Francis 
 Brown, Esquires, to one of the Commissioners. 
 
 Gates, Genesee County, January 1 5/, 1818. 
 Myron Holley, Esquire, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your letter, of September last, request- 
 ing information respecting the cost of making a canal, 
 at the Falls on Genesee river, which we were then en- 
 gaged in, to supply our mills, factory, &c. was duly re- 
 ceived. We should have noticed the contents of that 
 letter immediately, but did not complete the work until 
 late in the fall, so that we could not ascertain the cost 
 accurately ur^til now. We have given below a state- 
 ment of the different items, in the expense of making 
 the canal, that you may see the nature of the cost, in 
 effecting works of this kind. 
 
 Men's labour 1 535 days, at 62icts. %dm 37 
 
 Team's labour 312 do. 50 cts. 156 00 
 
 do. by contract, 100 00 
 
 Mason's work, by contract, laying dry wall, 55 00 
 
 Blacksmith's bills repairing tools, &c. 142 43 
 
 13 kegs of powder, at g!l4 182 00 
 
 Tools worn out and destroyed, say, 25 00 
 
 Use of carts and waggons, 40 00 
 
 Subsistence for men at 16s. per week, the 
 
 common price for boarding, 435 00 
 
 Subsistence for teams, at 16s. per week, 90 00 
 
 Add for the work done by contract, on a part 
 
 of the canal, the nature of the work the same, 1300 00 
 
 Superintending 6 months, say 383 39 
 
 Amount of the whole expenditure, $3868 19 
 
 The length of the canal now finished is 74 
 rods, through limestone, at ^15,227 per rod, 1^3867 98 
 
 The width with perpendicular banks is 30 
 feet, the average depth b\ feet, 7448 cubic 
 yards, at 52 cts. $3872 96 
 
 It will be proper to observe, that in making this canal, 
 the stone suitable for constructing buildings and other 
 
( 219 ) 
 
 uses, were removed at considerable distance and piled : 
 that opening the bank and constructing guard gates for 
 two miles ; also the fragments unfit for use in building, 
 have been removed to fill up and make a street on the 
 bank, the expense of all, which is included in this esti- 
 mate. We do not hesitate to say, in our opinion, a 
 canal of 30 feet wide and 5^ feet deep, may be worked 
 through any limestone quarry known in this country, 
 for jg; 16,000 per mile. 
 
 We are, respectfully. 
 
 Your obedient servants, 
 
 MATTHEW BROWN, Jr. 
 
 FRANCIS BROWN. 
 
 Extract of a letter from the Hon. Joshua Forman^ first Judge 
 of Onondaga county^ dated at Onondaga, 20th JVovember, 
 1816, and addressed to the President of the board of Com- 
 missioners. 
 
 " You request vAe to give yon a statement of the canal 
 I have dug for mills near this place. I cannot give you 
 the exact length or total cost of them, but the data I can 
 furnish you, will enable you to calculate what it would 
 produce per mile. The first was the one passing the 
 Turnpike in Onondaga Hollow ; which was let to be 
 dug nearly half a mile in length, 24 feet wide at top, and 
 18 feet at bottom, and an average of 4 feet deep, at the 
 rate of 50 cents per cord of 128 cubic feet of excavation. 
 This was run through a meadow free of roots, the soil 
 clay, with some bars of gravel crossing the canal at 
 bottom. The second was at Selina, which was about 
 40 feet wide at top and 30 feet at bottom, averaging 4 
 feet deep through uncleared land, and the soil a hard 
 gravel, at seventy-five cents the cord. 
 
 The last was about 60 rods, 18 feet at bottom and 
 about 3i feet deep, through an alluvial soil, which, after 
 digging down 2 feet, proved full of logs and quicksand, 
 for a foot or more above a hard gravel. This was let 
 at 50 cents the cord, but the contractor complained of 
 the unexpected difficulty, and had a reasonable allow- 
 
( 220 ) 
 
 anee made him of about 12^ cents per cord. As to the 
 other two, the first did not make more than ordinary- 
 wages, but the same man took the second, and made 
 money in it." 
 
 Copy of a hetter to one of the Commissioners^ from Col. Myn- 
 derse, who lives at the Seneca Falls, and ivho is lar.gely in- 
 terested in the improvement of the navigation of the Seneca 
 river, now partly completed, in that place and its vicinity- 
 
 Seneca Falls, 11th February, 1817. 
 Dear Sm, 
 
 Your favour, of the 17th ult. requesting an account 
 of the improvements making in the navigation of the 
 Seneca river, at this place, came duly to hand, and 
 would have been early noticed but for the absence of 
 Mr. Lewis, the engineer and contractor, and Major De- 
 Zeng, who has had the occasional superintendence of 
 the work. These gentlemen being alone able to furnish 
 the information required, with accuracy, I sent them 
 immediately, on receipt of your letter, a transcript of 
 its contents, desiring them to send me an answer ; but, 
 not hearing from them, I proceed to give you such in- 
 formation as I possess on the subject. I regret that it 
 is not in my power to be more particular and correct. 
 
 There are nine chamber locks and three guard locks, 
 contemplated to be erected, in the whole distance, to 
 wit, one chamber lock of about 2 feet lift, immediately 
 at the outlet of the Seneca lake ; two chamber locks at 
 the foot of the canal at Scawyas, of about 9 feet lift 
 each ; one chamber lock at the little Scawyas rapid, 
 of about 4 feet lift ; two chamber locks at the Seneca 
 Falls, of 8^ feet lift each ; one lock at the same place, 
 of about 9i feet lift ; one other lock, at the same place, 
 of 8i feet lift, and one chamber lock, at the foot of the 
 Seneca Falls rapid, of about 5 feet lift. There is one 
 guard lock at the entrance of the canal at Scawyas; 
 one at the entrance of th6 upper canal of the Seneca 
 Falls, and one at the entrance of the fourth canal, at 
 the same place. 
 
( 221 ) 
 
 Of these, three are completed, one guard and two 
 chamber locks, at Scawyas. and the chamber lock at 
 Little Scawyas. One guard lock is completed, at the 
 Seneca Falls, and two chamber locks at the same place 
 are nearly completed, and the site of another is exca- 
 vated, and the materials for it, are on the ground, pre- 
 pared to be laid up early in the spring. Some progress 
 has also been made towards the three remaining locks. 
 
 The materials with which these locks are construct- 
 ed are stone ; the inner face of the walls are of hewn 
 stone neatly joined and well incorporated with the 
 body of the walls, which are laid up with common 
 lime-stone found on the spot, in good lime-mortar and 
 grout. 
 
 The walls of the locks are six feet in thickness, and 
 supported with substantial embankments on the out- 
 side. I am not possessed of data on which to found 
 an accurate estimate of the cost of each particular 
 lock. 
 
 The whole distance of excavation, exclusive of the 
 sites of the locks, is as follows ; 
 
 1st. A canal at Scawyas, on the Waterloo side of the 
 river. This canal is about 250 rods in length. The 
 expense of making it is estimated at about. ;^3000 
 
 No rock or other hard substance, was met with in 
 digging this canal. 
 
 2d. A canal, at commencing at the dam, near the head 
 of the Seneca Falls rapid. This canal is 36 rods in 
 length, and is conducted along a lime-stone ledge. 
 One of its embankments is altogether artificial : It is 
 faced on both sides with stone, to prevent wear by the 
 fall of rains or otherwise. Extraordinary expense 
 was incurred in making this canal, owing to the stony 
 nature of the soil. The cost was about $900. 
 
 3d. A canal of about 22 rods long is not quite finish- 
 ed; will cost about $3oO. 
 
 4th. A canal, together with a low dam of about 150 
 feet long across the river, is about 1 02 rods in length, 
 and cost including the said dam about $1200 
 
 A mill-race was used for a part of this canal, by 
 which the expense was considerably lessened. 
 
( 222 ) 
 
 5th. This canal, which will be about 40 rods in length, 
 must for about one half of its length be cut to a consi- 
 derable depth into a slate rock. Nothing has yet been 
 done to it. It will cost at least $ 1000 
 
 6th. This canal will be about 120 rods long, but from 
 the favourable nature of the ground it may be easily 
 made. It cannot cost, to exceed j^lOOO 
 
 The canals are to contain at all times three feet of 
 water, and are to be 24 feet wide at the bottom, and not 
 less than 30 feet on the surface of the water. 
 
 There are three dams thrown across the river, of 
 from 3 to 4 feet in height, constructed of stone and tim- 
 ber. Each cost about ^400. The principal dam is at 
 the head of the Seneca rapids — is about 200 feet in 
 length, 10 feet high and 10 feet thick at the base, dimi- 
 nishing towards the top to 3 feet. This dam is built of 
 stone in a neat and substantial manner, and gravelled 
 on the upper side. It cost, I understand, ^1800. 
 
 The Seneca lock navigation company are bound to 
 erect two bridges over the canals, where they intersect 
 pubic roads. One of these is completed. It is built 
 with stone abutments, and covered with square timber 
 and plank. It is supposed to have cost ^150. 
 
 The other bridge is to be built in the same manner, 
 and will probably cost the same sum. 
 
 The extent of navigation improved by these locks 
 and canals, from the Seneca lake to the lower lock, at 
 the foot of the Seneca rapids is about 12 miles. The 
 aggregate amount of locking is about 64 feet. The 
 length of artificial canalling will be about 550 rods. 
 The bed of the river is used where its depth of water is 
 sufficient, and where no natural obstructions exist. 
 
 The locks are 70 feet in length, in the clear between 
 the gates, and 1 2 feet in width, and are capable of pas- 
 sing a barge of 20 tons burden. 
 
 The stone with which the inner walls of the locks 
 are faced are obtained, at considerable expense, from a 
 quarry near the head of the Seneca lake, about 50 miles 
 distant. 
 
 The whole expense of making this navigation, it is 
 calculated will amount to ^55,000 
 
( 223 ) 
 
 It certainly will not exceed ^60.000. 
 
 Mr. Lewis, the engineer, although very able and com- 
 petent to such works, possessed no practical knowledge 
 of the subject when he commenced operations here : 
 Much expense was consequently incurred which might 
 and would have been avoided had he had more expe- 
 rience. I feel confident, that the whole work might 
 now, with the experience we have acquired, be done 
 for |45,000 
 
 I may yet receive a communication, on this subject, 
 from Mr. Lewis. If so, and it should contain any thing 
 useful to you, I will do myself the honour to transmit 
 it to you. 
 
 I am. Dear Sir, your very obedient servant, 
 
 W. MYNDERSE. 
 
 Myron Holley, Esq. 
 
 Copy of a Letter J to the President of the Board of Com- 
 missioners., from John L. Sullivan, Esquire., who has per- 
 sonally examined the most celebrated canals in England, 
 France, and Holland; has had the charge of constructing 
 several short cckals, with locks, dams, Sfc. around falls, in 
 the JMerrimach river, and has for eight years been su^ 
 perintendent of the Middlesex Canal, in Massachusetts. 
 
 Albany, March 7, 1817. 
 The Hon. De Witt Clinton, 
 
 President of the Board of Canal Commissioners. 
 Sm, 
 
 In compliance with your request in behalf of the 
 board of commissioners, 1 have given all the attention 
 in my power at this time, to the report on the proposed 
 canal, and shall with pleasure proceed to state my im- 
 pression of the estimates in general, premising, how- 
 ever, that without seeing the ground, it would be pre- 
 sumption to offer a decisive opinion on the expense. It is 
 therefore with the utmost deference to the engineers, 
 and other gentlemen who have assisted in making them, 
 that I shall express mine, from a comparis?"^ of the de- 
 scription of the route with works of this nature, with 
 which I am intimately acquainted. 
 
( 224 ) 
 
 In comparison with the Middlesex canal, the descrip- 
 tion given of the country is peculiarly favourable ; in 
 the proportion I should think of three to one. That is 
 for the whole distance, the Middlesex canal per mile 
 is three times as difficult or expensive, as to the work 
 to be done by excavation and embankment, as the 
 New-York state canal will be. And none of the heavy 
 jobs will compare with what has been often done in 
 Europe. In making the comparison, it will be recol- 
 lected, that the dimensions of the canal are as 4 to 7 ; 
 the mean width and depth of Middlesex being 25 by 4 , 
 your canal, 3o by 5. 
 
 The estimates have been made from the best sources 
 of information in the country, and from experiments; 
 I conclude, therefore, that the easy-work can be done 
 accordingly, but it would cost much more in our part 
 of the country, if executed without the aid of labour- 
 saving machinery, as wages now are. 
 
 The embankments will, I believe, generally cost three 
 times as much as excavation ; and it is obvious to re- 
 mark, that where they are extensive, the earth to form 
 them must be carried the whole distance ; and the 
 quantity of earth required will very much exceed in 
 square yards at the place whence it is taken, the mea- 
 surement of the bank. No doubt the Board have at- 
 tended to these and other local circumstances : but in 
 the estimate the difference does not appear to be suf- 
 ficient. 
 
 The wasfe-wiers, safty gatcs^ and other constructions 
 to control the streams, feeders, &c. not expressly con- 
 tained in the estimates, ought not I think to have been 
 assigned to the 5 per cent, added for contingencies, be- 
 cause that allowance is to be made as well on them 
 as on other objects of expenditure. 
 
 The allowance of 10,000 dollars per lock appears to 
 me to be ample. The cost of the aqueducts depends 
 on so many local circumstances, that I can only say it 
 seems to me very probable that the estimate for them 
 is|high enough;|constructed of stone piers, and the trunks 
 of wood ; but much will depend on the previous prepa- 
 
( 225 ) 
 
 ration and the season of the year in which the work is 
 done. 
 
 In some instances the digging of the eastern route is 
 represented as partly light and partly difficult. Where 
 the pick axe is to be used, the digging will cost double 
 what it will where it may be done by the shovel alone : 
 or, if the light loam or sand may be excavated for 12 
 to 20 cents, hard gravel and clay should be estimated, 
 in my opinion, from 30 to 50 cents per yard. 
 
 The middle and western sections appear to be on 
 the whole high enough. The eastern to Schoharie 
 crosses so many streams, and there being some difficult 
 digging, and considerable wall required to sustain the 
 banks of the canal and adjacent high grounds, that I 
 doubt if the estimate has sufficiently considered all 
 these circumstances: but it does not appear to be on 
 the whole a more difficult route than that of the Mid- 
 dlesex in proportion to its distance ; I say this, how- 
 ever, with deference to the gentlemen of the board 
 who have seen both. 
 
 But, on the whole, as the country is so generally fa- 
 vourable, as labour-saving machines can be used, and 
 as there will probably be no land or damages to pay 
 for, the estimate appears to be high enough. 
 
 in making a comparison with the Middlesex canal, 
 having no minutes with me, I can only do it from recol- 
 lection. The accounts, while this canal was in the 
 process of construction, were not kept so as to admit of 
 our knowing what any particular piece of work cost, 
 analysis of it, therefore, will be wholly from judg- 
 ment, formed from my knowledge of the ground, and 
 some experience in other places. 
 
 The Middlesex canal is 27 miles in length; its depth 
 is intended to carry at least 3 feet of water. The banks, 
 where formed, are meant to be one foot above the 
 water. The width generally 30 feet on the surface, and 
 on the bottom 20 feet. In carrying the work on, it was 
 found necessary to purchase some estates, the whole of 
 which was not essential to the canal. The lands were 
 generally paid for, where most valuable. There was 
 
 20 
 
( 226 ) 
 
 some considerable expense attending litigations, and 
 perhaps some mistakes, which are not likely to happen 
 in the proposed work. The whole expense in assess- 
 ments has been 520,000 dollars ; not including the ap- 
 plication of income for several years past, in renova- 
 ting and completing it, and the buildings, wharves, 
 &c. necessary to the business. As neither of these 
 objects of expenditure apply to the present question, 
 I shall leave them out, and also deduct 50,000 dollars 
 as havimg been applied to the other works leading to 
 the principal canaL 
 
Analysis of the cost of Middlesex Canal, in the State of Massachusetts 
 
 Description of the Levels 
 
 Em- 
 
 . bank- 
 
 ment. 
 
 1st. In Charlestown, 
 
 The mille and contiguous land — re- 
 serving tke part used for the land' 
 ing, 
 
 1st lock in the tide, 
 
 2d lock in the tide, 
 
 Digging the first level "about 600 
 feet in length, say, 
 
 3d lock. (All the locks except 
 those at Chelmsford, consist of 
 walls to sustain the banks of the 
 lock pit, 
 containing ( in length 100 feet, 
 
 300 ^ height 12, 
 perches. ( thickness 3, 
 In most instances the stone were 
 brought from a distance. 
 The frame of the locks were of 
 yellow pine, then considered as 
 durable as white oak ; and as ex- 
 pensive. The gates were of oak 
 The length of the wood work 
 about 100 feet. The width 11 
 feet at top and 10 at bottom. The 
 
 ■ lift generally 8 feet. 
 Zd Level. 
 
 T» 1 mile through valuable clay 
 .land, containing about 10 acres 
 at 500 
 
 2d mile, 300 
 
 3d mile, 300 
 
 4th mile, 200 
 
 Where the excavation is of the ordi- 
 nary depth of four feet, I will as- 
 sume the contents to be 30,000 
 cubic yards, 1st 2 miles, I esti- 
 mate the excavation at 20 cts. 
 
 Extra excavation for basins, 15,000 
 yards, at 25 cents, 
 
 2 miles of embankment of 50 cents, 
 including the excayation of some 
 stone, 30,000 
 
 A Culverts, 
 
 10 Bridges, 1 
 
 1 Aqueduct ] 10 feet in length, sur- 
 face of water, 10 feet above the 
 tide, standing on 3 piers, 2 abut- 
 ments. 
 Height of them 12 feet, 
 
 20 feet length, ' 
 average 6 feet thick. 
 300 perch at 3 dollars, the stone 
 being brought from some distance 
 Materials, pine. 
 Carpentry. 
 Piling the ends, labour, &c. 
 
 1st 4 miles, Ist and 2d levels, 
 
 Sd Level. 
 1 lock 
 2 miles, at 20 cents, (easy) 
 1 mile at 40 cts. deep, (easy) 
 30 acres at 100 dollars, 
 1 Culvert, 
 1 Aqueduct, twice as large as the 
 former, 
 
 1st 7 mile*. 
 
 vations 
 
 Locks. 
 
 1000 
 
 Aque 
 ducts, 
 
 7000 
 3000 
 
 12,000. 
 
 5000 
 
 verts. 
 
 (Lands 
 [Bridges and 
 Extras 
 
 10,000 
 
 5000 
 6000 
 2009 
 
 400 
 
 3000 
 
 3000 
 
 30,000 
 
 13,000 
 
 12,000 
 12,000 
 
 30,000 37,000 lO.OOOj 
 
 13,000 
 3000 
 
 3000 
 
 6000 
 
 $000 
 
 3750 
 
 400 
 
 100 
 
 500 
 
 3000 
 
 26,750 
 
 3000 
 
 3000 29,750 
 

 Em. 
 
 Exca- 
 
 
 Aque=^ 
 
 Cul- 
 
 Land5 
 
 Description of the Levels. 
 
 bank- 
 ment 
 
 vations 
 
 Locks. 
 
 lucts 
 
 verts. 
 
 Bridges 
 
 & 
 Extras 
 
 
 30,000 
 
 37,000 
 
 18,000 
 
 9000 
 
 500 
 
 3000 
 
 29,750 
 
 4th Level, 3 1-2 Miles. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 Locks, 
 
 
 
 9000 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 miles at 20 cts. 
 
 
 12,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1-2 mile at 60 cents, 25 feet deep 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 part of the way. 
 
 
 9000 
 
 
 
 
 
 13,000 
 
 3 culverts and 2 wasteways, 
 
 
 
 
 
 600 
 
 
 Land 30 acres at 50 dollars, 
 2 Bridges, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 500 
 
 
 1st JO Miles, 
 
 30,000 
 
 58,000 
 
 27,000 
 
 9000 
 
 ii.O! 3i;00 ',31,250 
 
 5th Level, 6 Miles. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 S miles at 20 cts. 
 
 
 18,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 mile at 60 cts. 
 
 
 18,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 miles of bank, average 40 
 
 24,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 culverts, and waste-ways, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ Aqueduct, 
 
 
 
 
 2000 
 
 1000 
 
 
 
 Laud, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1800 
 
 Extra excavation of rock, 
 
 54,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 3500 
 
 1000 
 
 1st 16 miles, 
 
 97,000 
 
 27,000 
 
 11,000 
 
 2100 
 
 34,050 
 
 Gfh Level, 2 Miles 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Excavation, 1 mile. 
 
 
 6000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Embankment, 1 mile, 60 cts. 
 
 18,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Lock, 
 
 
 
 9000 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 Bridges, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 small Aqueduct, 
 
 
 
 
 2000 
 
 
 1200 
 
 
 20 acres at 30 dollars, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4700 
 
 600 
 
 1st 18 miles. 
 
 72,000 
 
 100000 
 
 30,000 
 
 13,000 
 
 2100 
 
 34,650 
 
 Tth Level, 5 Miles. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 miles excavation, 20 
 
 
 18,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 miles embankment, 40 
 
 24,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Aqueduct, 
 1 Lock, 
 6 Bridges, 
 
 
 
 3060 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 18000 
 
 
 8 Culverts, 
 
 
 
 
 
 8O0 
 
 
 
 Land 50 acres at li dollars, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 750 
 
 Excavation of rock, say 3000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 perch, at 5 dollars. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15,009 
 
 1 Guard Lock therein, 
 
 
 
 1000 
 
 
 
 
 
 1st 22 miles canal, including the 
 
 
 121000 
 
 34,000 
 
 23,000 
 
 2900 
 
 6500 
 
 50,400 
 
 tide work at Charlestown, 
 
 96,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Concord River. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 First purchase of mill site, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 Improvement, 
 Dam, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10,000 
 1000 
 
 Sth Level, S Miles. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Guard Lock, excavated in the 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ledge ; (cost uncertain) no wood 
 
 
 
 5000 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 work but the gates, say 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Smiles at 20 cts. 
 
 
 18,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 miles emi- ankmentj at 40 
 
 24,00(] 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 A<jueducts, 
 6 Culverts, 
 
 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 60C 
 
 
 
 6 Bridges, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1800 
 
 
 3 stone Locks, 
 
 
 
 15,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 Excavation of the basin. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Purchase of laad and erection o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1000 
 
 Stores, 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 3000 
 
 27 Miles, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12000C 
 
 )ll3900e 
 
 54,000 
 
 33,000 
 
 3500 
 
 8300 
 
 75,400 
 
 Omittei 3300 
 
 11,600 
 
( 229 ) 
 
 Summary of the different divisions of expenditure on the 
 Middlesex Canal. 
 
 Lands and extraordinary purchases, and 
 
 excavation of rock — $75,400 
 
 Bridges, (some of them less expensive) 1 1 ,600 
 
 Culverts, 3,500 
 
 Aqueducts, 33,000 
 
 Locks, 54,000 
 
 Excavation, 139,000 
 
 Embankments, 120,000 
 
 448,000 
 Contingencies, 22,000 
 
 470,000 
 To reduce this comparison to the par of the most fa- 
 vourable representation of the proposed canal, the 
 following deductions should be made — 
 Lands and extras, $75,400 
 
 2-3 the bridges, 7,000 
 
 And as the proporion of locks is as 1 to 5, 
 
 so 1-5 would be $11,000 
 
 To which add for superior 
 
 size and quality, 10,000 
 
 21,000 
 Leaving of this item to be deducted 33,000 
 
 115,000 
 and 2-3 the embankments 80,000 
 
 In all $195,000 
 
 which deducted from 470,000, leaves 275,000 
 
 Amount brought over, being cost of Middle- 
 sex canal divested of its peculiarities, — 
 equal to $ 1 0,500 per mile, 275,000 
 
 At this rate, the New- York state canal would 
 cost for the 353 miles— at $10,500 per 
 mile, or 3,706,500 
 
( 230 ) 
 
 Allowance for increased sjxe of the trunk 
 being as 7 to 4— supposing 1-20 the dis- 
 tance to be embankment ; leaving 330 
 miles, at ^2,812 additional, is ^8(927,960 
 
 :8!4,634,460 
 
 In this, there is no estimate of superior workman- 
 ship and materials in the aqueducts. 
 
 If, however, it were presumed that the route might 
 be full as difficult as that of the Middlesex, the esti- 
 mate would stand thus : 
 If 27 miles cost 470,000 dollars, 353 miles 
 
 would cost ;g! 6, 500,000 
 
 To which add for increase of size and 
 
 depth as above, 927,960 
 
 gS7,427,960 
 And to this is to be added the superiority of work. 
 But, it being concealed that the ground is on the 
 whole more favourable, this may be too high — espe- 
 cially as the Middlesex was not excavated by ma- 
 chines ; but labour at that time was low. Common men 
 had from ^8 to ^10 per month. 
 
 p The works to extend the navigation from the junc- 
 tion of the canal with the Merrimack, up that river to 
 Concord, New-Hampshire, cost as follows, viz.— ^ 
 
 Wicasee lock and canal, thus described. — A rapid for 
 half a mile between an island and the western shore, is 
 crossed with a dam of stone and timber, 200 yards ; this 
 raises the water above about a foot, which saved dig- 
 ging on the other side of the island, where the lock is 
 placed. This side afforded a passage for high water, 
 six rods wide. From the lock to its entrance is 1000 
 feet. This place was encumbered with masses of rock 
 of every size, and with earth, estimated at 4000 square 
 yards. The lock is placed in the middle of the stream; 
 its side-walls are 100 feet in length, connected with the 
 shore by wing-walls, each about 50 feet. The wing- 
 walls are faced with plank driven into the bottom, and 
 extended into the shores. The walls having no supportj 
 
( 231 ) 
 
 were necessarily thick, to sustain the pressure of the 
 lock, and the shock of the freshets. They are 1 2 feet 
 high, and average 8 feet thick ; contain 1200 perch. 
 The stone was split out large, and drawn i a mile, 
 loaded for the most part on to a boat with a crane and 
 windlass, and thence laid. The foundation was diffi- 
 cult, the bottom was encumbered with stones, the wa- 
 ter from 2 to 7 feet deep, and not being clear, the work 
 of deepening, filling up, and laying the walls under wa- 
 ter, was done by feeling, diving, &c. 
 
 The whole expense including quantities of powder — 
 much iron, boats, utensils, barracks, bedding, and the 
 dam, was 14,000 dollars. 
 
 The labour was performed by about 100 men, be- 
 tween the middle of July and November. 
 
 Cromwell's lock is similar, with 120 rods of dam 
 extending to the head of the rapid. It contains about 
 600 perch of stone, brought from the distance of a mile. 
 Whole expense about g8,000 , 
 
 Moors' falls has two locks, with 200 rods of 
 dam. Here was much excavation of earth 
 and removal of stone, 15,000 
 
 Coos, a similar lock with less dam, 5,000 
 
 Goffslock, 7,000 
 
 Short falls, 6,000 
 
 Griffin's, 4,000 
 
 Merrill's falls lock, 10,000 
 
 All these walls were of split stone, difficult to be got 
 on, and much iron was used. 
 
 Amoskeig canal is the greatest work of the kind on 
 this navigation. The fall around which it is carried is 
 one mile in length, and the perpendicular measurement 
 45 feet. 2000 feet is excavated. The rest of stone 
 and dams. The whole expense is uncertain ; but the 
 part which was rebuilt the last season, may serve the 
 purpose of comparison in some measure, viz. three locks 
 connected together, each 100 feet in length, from 10 to 
 1 1 feet wide, lift each 8 feet. The walls of one side 
 without embankment, the other with. The contents of 
 these walls being 8 feet average outside, and 5 ieet 
 
( 232 ) 
 
 average inside — is 6 1-2, say 7 feet thick, and 12 feet 
 high, will be 2000 perch. 
 
 The old work was first removed ; the old locks were 
 supported by wooden ties above; few of the stone an- 
 swered anew. 
 
 The stone were split, carted half a mile, loaded on 
 to boats, brought down six miles, unloaded on a 
 platform, loaded on to trucks, brought three hundred 
 feet to the locks, unloaded on a stage, then worked 
 into the walls. 
 
 The drought of last season, impeded the boating 
 considerably The locks are of white oak timber, and 
 white pine plank, the whole of the best workmanship 
 of the kind. 
 
 The expense, including wages, boarding, spirits, 
 implements, and materials, was little more than 10,000 
 dollars. 
 
 Hookseld Cawa/ consists of two locks, two basins, and 
 a guard gate and stone dam. The stone was got out and 
 boated over the river. There was considerable excava- 
 tion, (including the purchase of a mill-seat.) The whole 
 expense has been 15,000 dollars. 
 
 Bow Canal is a work of uncommon difficulty and 
 variety. The perpendicular fall is 25 feet. Near its 
 upper entrance, a dam is thrown across the river, 
 which is here 200 yards wide. The guard gates are 
 supported by stone abutments, 14 feet high. One half 
 of the first 300 feet was ledge 6 feet deep, and 20 feet 
 wide, say 1 400 perch. 
 
 The next 300 feet was made by an embankment sup- 
 ported by a wall 12 feet high, 6 feet at bottom, and 4 
 at top,standing in the river, containing about 800 perch. 
 
 The next 250 feet is carried through a hill or ledge 
 of rock, of a slaty kind, but hard enough to be blast- 
 ed, 12 feet wide and 16 deep, containing about 2000 
 perch of excavation, 1900 yards. 
 
 The next 300 feet is excavated in gravel, on the slope 
 of a hill, sustained on one side by a wall 8 feet high, 4 
 at bottom and 2 at top, battering back more than usual. 
 
 Then comes the three locks, each 90 feet in length. 
 
( 233 ) 
 
 containing about 2000 perch. The lower lock is set 
 4 feet below the low water mark. It was necessary to 
 keep the pit clear bj bailing and pumping. From the 
 locks a low water channel was made The stone were 
 drawn from a quarter to half a mile, after being split. 
 This work, including the purchase of 5 acres of land, 
 cost 21,000 dollars. ' 
 
 These canals give a net income of 6, 7, 8 per cent, 
 and are increasing fast in productiveness. 
 
 The Middlesex gave 32,000 dollars, or about 3 per 
 cent, net income. 
 
 The following general observations may not be un- 
 acceptable to the board. 
 
 It is found to have been bad economy on the Middle- 
 sex canal, to have constructed any thing of perishable 
 materials. Had all the locks been laid in cement, and 
 constructed in the best manner, the property would 
 have yielded dividends of income, and sustained its 
 prospective value to a higher degree than at present. 
 
 The canal will be interrupted for three weeks, the 
 ensuing summer, to put up a new aqueduct over Shaw- 
 shine river. Other similar interruptions may be ex- 
 pected, whenever the other aqueducts and locks must 
 be rebuilt. If the winter season is taken for the work, 
 it will be more difficult and more expensive. 
 
 Probably for 50 per cent additional for the aque- 
 ducts, they may be made of iron. Were it double, I 
 should still deem it the best economy. 
 
 If this communication, which is very hasty and im- 
 perfect, can be of any use to the board, I shall have 
 much pleasure in the reflection of having contributed, 
 in any degree, to the great object of their attention. 
 With the highest respect, 
 
 I am, Sir, your most obed't. serv't, 
 JNO. L. SULLIVAN'. 
 Albany, March 8?A, 1817. 
 Sir. 
 
 The joint committee, to whom was referred the 
 report of the commissioners constituted by the act to 
 provide for the improvement of the internal navigation 
 
 30 
 
( 234 ) 
 
 of this state, wishing to avail themselves of the oppoi^tii- 
 nitj now offered, request the commissioners (though 
 the information required does nor form a part of their 
 official duties) to assist them in completing such a sys- 
 tem of finance as will meet the contemplated improve- 
 ments, and best subserve the pubhc interest, with the 
 least possible burthen upon the people. 
 I am sir, 
 
 Your humble servant, 
 
 WM. D. FORD, Chairman. 
 To the Hon. De Witt Clinton, 
 President of the Board of Commissioners. 
 
 Albany, lOth March, i^ll . 
 Sir, 
 
 The canal commissioners had the honour of re- 
 ceiving your letter, of the 8th instant, requesting theit 
 opinion, on the best plans of ways and means for mak- 
 ing the Erie and Champlain canals. 
 
 It will require considerable time to prepare and di- 
 gest a complete, judicious, and well organized system 
 of finance, for those important objects. And perhaps 
 the session is so far advanced, that the legislature will 
 not be able to bestow that attention on it, which their 
 duty inculcates, and which the public interests demand. 
 
 But the commissioners have no hesitation ic stating, 
 that these important communications can be opened 
 without any direct tax ; that the resources of the state 
 are abundantly ample ; and that a preliminary arrange- 
 ment may be made, which will answer every desirable 
 purpose. 
 
 Notwithstanding the perfect conviction of the com- 
 missioners, that these canals can be made without any 
 serious inconvenience to the financial operations of the 
 state, yet they are persuaded, that it is due to the coun- 
 sels of prudence, to bring the solidity of their opinions 
 to the touchstone of experiment, before the whole sys- 
 tem is undertaken. 
 
 Under this impression, the commissioners recom- 
 mend the adoption of immediate measures for pur- 
 
( 235 ) 
 
 chasing the interest of the Western Inland Lock Navi-- 
 gation Company; for commencing and completing a 
 canal navigation between Rome and the Seneca river, 
 and between lake Champlain and the Hudson river at 
 a convenient point below Baker's falls. 
 
 If the middle section of the western canal is made 
 before the rights of the Western Inland Lock Naviga- 
 tion Company are purchased, it may induce the latter, 
 in consequence of the increased value of their proper- 
 ty, to rise in their demands. And if the state, after a 
 fair trial of the experiment, shall only complete the 
 canals now proposed, and proceed no further in the 
 whole work, yet these partial operations will open va- 
 luable and important communications, and be greatly 
 beneficial to the community. 
 
 The commissioners being of opinion, that those de- 
 signated objects can be accomplished, in two or three 
 years, and at an expense not exceeding one million 
 and a half of dollars, would respectfully recommend, 
 that a board of commissioners, to be denominated the 
 commissioners of the fund for internal improvements, 
 be constituted ; that it consist of the comptroller, the 
 secretary, the attorney general, the surveyor general, 
 and the treasurer ; and that the powers and duties of 
 the said board shall embrace the following objects : 
 
 1st. To borrow on the credit of the state a sum not 
 exceeding a million and a half of dollars by the crea- 
 tion of funded debt, with interest at six per cent, pay- 
 able semi-annually, and the principal, reimbursable in 
 twenty years, or at any time before, in the option of 
 the state. 
 
 2d. The said commissioners shall keep an account of 
 all monies received for the said fund, which monies shall 
 be kept in the treasury of the state, and shall pay over 
 from time to time, such monies as shall be required for 
 the execution of the powers committed to them, by the 
 commissioners constituted by the act to provide for the 
 improvement of the internal navigation of this state. 
 
 3d. The said commissioners of the fund shall as soon 
 as the said purchase, or the whole or any part of the 
 
( 236 ) 
 
 said works is completed, have power to establish and 
 receive reasonable tolls, and to take all the necessary 
 measures for that purpose. 
 
 4th, The annual application of 60,000 dollars of the 
 monies arising from auction duties, and the whole of the 
 monies which the state may derive from the sale of un- 
 appropriated lands, shall be pledged for the payment 
 of the said debt and the interest thereof, and shall be 
 received, by the said commissioners^ and applied to 
 that purpose. And they shall have power to apply any 
 unappropriated money, in the Treasury, to make good 
 any deficiency or suspension, in the payment of 
 the said funds, or to borrow on the faith of the state 
 any monies that may be necessary, to be reimbursed 
 from the said funds when the same shall be received. 
 
 5th. The said commissioners shall, at the opening 
 of the next session of the legislature, report a plan of 
 finance, for the execution of the whole of the said canals 
 and also of a sinking fund, for the extinguishment of the 
 debt. 
 
 The commissioners have proposed this plan for the 
 following reasons : 
 
 1st. In a free government, where the people compose 
 the sovereign authority, it is chimerical to contemplate 
 the execution of a stupendous plan of internal naviga- 
 tion, without the adoption of a wise and economical 
 system, which shall conciliate the affections, and se- 
 cure the favourable opinion of those who are the source 
 of all legitimate power. To attempt to raise by taxa- 
 tion the whole sum as it will be required, will impose 
 a burthen on the people which wiil be destructive of 
 the project. 
 
 2d. The annual revenue of the state is now upwards 
 of 924,000 dollars, and its ordinary expenses about 
 547,000 dollars, leaving a surplus of near 400,000 dol- 
 lars, applicable to extraordinary demands on the trea- 
 sury, and to the extinguishment of the state debt. The 
 auction duties, for the last year, amounted to about 
 160,000 dollars. Sixty thousand dollars of this fund may 
 be therefore appropriated annually to the payment of 
 
( 237 ) 
 
 interest as before stated, without interfering with any 
 other claims, and without any inconvenience to the trea- 
 sury. It will be also recollected that the direct tax 
 of the United States, which last year drew from our 
 treasury $365,620 38, has ceased to operate. 
 
 3d. The appropriations before mentioned from the 
 duties on auctions, and the partial avails of the sale of 
 public lands, will be at least equivalent to an immediate 
 grant of one and a half million of dollars. On a sup- 
 position that the western canal will cost five, and the 
 northern, one million of dollars, the commissioners of 
 the fund for internal improvement, will, besides devi- 
 sing a sinking fund, have only to recommend a plan for 
 raising 270,000 dollars annually, being the interest of 
 4,500,000 dollars. For this purpose, the following, 
 among many other subjects, may be indicated : and it 
 must be explicitly understood, that as only an annual 
 revenue of 90,000 dollars will be required, until the 
 canals from Rome to the Seneca river, and from Lake 
 Champlain to the Hudson, below Baker's falls, are 
 finished, it will not be necessary to use the funds now 
 appropriated, until the happening of those events, and 
 that they will be of course in a state of rapid accumu- 
 lation. 
 
 The whole of the unappropriated lands of the state, 
 considering the value of several villages, and of the 
 Indian reservations, and the quantity on hand, may be 
 safely estimated at two millions of dollars. If the 
 whole were sold on the usual credit, the annual inte- 
 rest would bring 120,000 dollars. 
 
 A revenue may be derived from steam-boats, without 
 injuring the proprietors, to the amount of ^30,000 an- 
 nually. 
 
 The income from the salt springs, will be next year 
 about ^10,000. It is believed, that this sum may be 
 augmented, without the least inconvenience to the com- 
 munity, to ^40,000. 
 
 There are some places, which will be benefitted in 
 an extraordinary degree, by the canals. An annual 
 assessment, say of $50,000 on them, would not be felt, 
 
( .23« ) 
 
 and would be reasonable ; and it might be continued 
 until the.present grants of lotteries shall be satisfied, 
 when that sum might be raised by substituting lotteries. 
 The donations already made, and which may be rea- 
 sonably expected, will probably amount to a million of 
 dollars in value. 
 
 The revenue, originating from the few sources here 
 pointed out, will be amply sufficient to meet the whole 
 sum required, which is 360,000 dollars annually, or the 
 interest of ,0,000,000. 
 
 Auction duties, - - - - » ^60,000 
 Sales of public lands, - - - - 120,000 
 Steam-boats, ------ 30,000 
 
 Salt springs, - 40,000 
 
 Assessments and Lotteries, - - - 50,000 
 Donations, 60,000 
 
 P60,000 
 
 It is admitted that the whole of this property cannot 
 at once, be rendered productive; but it must also be 
 conceded, that it can be rendered so, contemporane- 
 ously, at least, with the exigencies that will require it. 
 
 As soon as the canals, or any important section of 
 them are completed, a great revenue will accrue to the 
 state, which will speedily extinguish the whole debt; 
 and this will arise in tw o ways. 
 
 1st. From the artificial mill sites, and the infinite 
 variety of hydrauhc uses, to which the surplus waters 
 may be applied, but these privileges ought never to be 
 sold in perpetuity, but leased, and kept under the con- 
 trol of the state , so that no individual can gain an in- 
 terest in them, that may become prejudicial to the 
 public. 
 
 2d. From the imposition of light tolls or transit du- 
 ties, on vessels and cargoes descending the canals, to 
 be increased on those ascending. 
 
 The late Mr. Fulton, from data furnished by the 
 custom-house, calculated that 400,000 tons of freight 
 are annually carried on the Hudson. And from a com- 
 parison between the country trading on that river, with 
 
( 239 ) 
 
 the territory embraced by the western canal, he esti- 
 mated that there would be annually transported on the 
 latter, one million tons of commodities. He further 
 was of opinion that the cost of transportation on the 
 canal from Buffalo to Albany would be three dollars 
 and fifty-three cents a ton, and from Albany to New- 
 York, two dollars and fifty cents a ton. A toll of fifty 
 cents a barrel, or twenty-five cents a hundred on mer- 
 chandise, would amount on a ton to five dollars, mak- 
 ing eleven dollars and three cents for the expense of 
 carrying a ton on the whole route, or one dollar and 
 ten cents for a barrel of flour, which would be by no 
 means burthensome or oppressive, when we consider, 
 
 1st. That the present cost of transportation by land, 
 from Buffalo to Albany, is $ 100 a ton. 
 
 2d. That the toll now paid, for a barrel of flour, 
 passing the locks of the Western Inland Lock Naviga- 
 tion Company, the distance of only one hundred miles, 
 is fifty-two cents, and for a ton of goods five dollars 
 and twenty-five cents, besides a considerable duty up- 
 on the vessels. The same charge, for the whole extent 
 of the western canal, a distance of 353 miles, which 
 is now made by that company for less than one-third 
 of the distance, would in a short time produce the enor- 
 mous income of $.§,000,000; but lowering the duty to 
 one dollar a ton, the whole expense of this magnificent 
 operation would be defrayed in a few years, and an im- 
 mense revenue would be secured to the state, which 
 would enable it to patronize literature and science ; to 
 promote education, morality, and religion; to encour- 
 age agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and to 
 establish the interests of human improvement upon an 
 imperishable basis, and to an incalculable extent. 
 
 We have the honour to be most respectfully. 
 Your most obedient servants, 
 By the Commissioners, 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON, President. 
 Wm. D. Ford, Esq. 
 
 Chairman of the Joint Commitiee of the 
 Senate and Assembly^ oh Canals. 
 
( 240 ) 
 
 Copy of a letter to William Bayard^ Esq. relative to a 
 loan of money. 
 
 JYew-York,'23dMay,lSlQ. 
 Sir, 
 
 The commissioners appointed for the purpose of 
 reporting to the legislature, on the subject of a canal 
 navigation between Lakes Erie and Champlain, and 
 Hudson's river, are directed, with a view to the ac- 
 complishment of those important objects, to ascertain 
 whether a loan of money can be obtained on the credit 
 of the state of New-York, and also the terms of such 
 loan. 
 
 The commissioners, having full confidence in your 
 disposition to promote this great undertaking, and in 
 your ability to obtain the information required, solicit 
 your early attention to this subject, and beg leave to 
 indicate the following points as material to the inquiry ; 
 the amount of the sum that can be loaned ; the rate of 
 interest ; the place where the interest is to be paid ; 
 and the duration of the loan. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obed't serv't, 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 In behalf of the Commissioners. 
 Wm. Bayard, Esq. " 
 
 FORMS OF CESSIOiNS OF LANDS. 
 
 Whereas the Legislature of the state of New-York, 
 by an act entitled " An act to provide for the improve- 
 ment of the Internal Navigation of the State," passed 
 April 17, 1816, did appoint Commissioners authorisedi 
 and required (among other things) to make applica- 
 tion in behalf of the People of this state, for cessions, 
 grants, or donations of lands, for the purpose of aiding 
 in the construction of a contemplated Canal to connect 
 the waters of Lake with the navigable 
 
 waters of the Hudson River : Now therefore, in con- 
 sideration of the benefits which will result to commu- 
 
( 241 ) 
 
 nity in general, and to myself in particular : And also, 
 in consideration of the sum of one dollar to me in hand 
 paid by the said commissioners in behalf of the said 
 state, I hereby, for myself and my heirs, give, grant, 
 cede, and for ever transfer to the People of the* state 
 of New- York, for the purposes aforesaid, the following 
 piece or parcel of land, to wit : 
 
 Provided however, that if the said Canal shall not be 
 completed within twenty years from the date hereof, 
 then the above granjfc and the cession hereby made 
 shall be null and void. 
 
 Date3:^bis^ day of one 
 
 thousand eight hundred and sixteen. 
 
 SIGNED, SEALED, AND DELIVERED, 
 IN THE PRESENCE OF 
 
 ^^ 
 
 # Whereas the Legislature of the state of New-York, 
 by an Act, entitled " An Act to provide for the im- 
 provement of the internal Navigation of this state," 
 passed April 17, 1816, did appoint Commissioners 
 authorized and required (among other things) to make 
 application in behalf of the People of this state, for 
 cessions, grants, or donations of land, for the purpose 
 of aiding in the construction of a contemplated Canal 
 to connect the waters of Lake with the 
 
 navigable waters of the Hudson River : And whereas, 
 it is supposed that the said Canal will pass through 
 lands belonging to me, Now therefore, in considera- 
 tion of the benefits which will be conferred upon all 
 who own real property in the vicinity of the said Canal, 
 and upon myself in particular : And also in considera- 
 tion of the sum of one dollar to me in hand paid by the 
 said Commissioners in behalf of the said state, I here- 
 by, for myself and my heirs, give, grant, cede, and for 
 ever transfer to the People of the state of New- York, 
 all the lands belonging to me which shall be necessarily 
 occupied by the site of the said Canal, and also by the 
 
 31 
 
( 242 ) 
 
 site of the Towing Paths, Feeders, Aqueducts, Reser- 
 voirs, Spoil Banks, and Culverts connected therewith. 
 Dated this day of one 
 
 thousand eight hundred and sixteen. 
 
 SIGNED, SEALED, AND DELIVERED, 
 IN THE PRESENCE OF 
 
 In Assembly, 3J arch 19, ISll. 
 REPORT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE SUBJECT OF THE CANALS. 
 
 The joint Committee, to whom were referred the report of the 
 Commissioners appointed^ the act for the improvement of 
 the internal navigation of mis State, with the documents 
 thereto annexed, and the minutes, draughts, maps, and 
 profiles of the engineers employed by the said Commis- 
 sioners, relating to the contemplated Canals from Lake Erie 
 to the Hudson, and from Lake Champlain to the same, 
 
 Respectfully Report — . 
 
 That they have applied their best faculties to the 
 investigation of the important subjects submitted to 
 them ,• and the result has been a settled conviction, 
 that the highest interests of this state require, of the 
 Legislature, the adoption of suitable measures for the 
 iinmediate commencement of these canals. 
 
 The minute and copious detail of facts, stated by 
 the Commissioners, in relation to the length, direction, 
 location, and dimensions of these canals, the difficulties 
 and facilities occurring throughout the course of each, 
 and the manner of construction recommended for the 
 various works necessary to their completion, appears 
 
( 243 ) 
 
 to your committee to be very satisfactory. In esti- 
 mating the expense of these great undertakings, it was 
 not to be supposed that no errors would be committed ; 
 and it is probable that for some items, the estimates 
 will, in the application of them to practice, be found 
 too low, and for others too high. The aggregate 
 amount of these estimates, however, as well as many 
 particulars which compose it, seems to be well war- 
 ranted, by the different data appended to the report of 
 the commissioners. And your committee have observed 
 with great pleasure^ that the benefits of actual experi- 
 ment, in regard to most of the expenses incidental to 
 the construction of canals, is far more extensively fur- 
 nished by our own country than is generally imagined. 
 
 If then, it is rationally established, that the expenses 
 of the western canal will not differ materially from five 
 millions, and those of the northern canal from one mil- 
 lion of dollars, is it best for the state of New-York im- 
 mediately to engage in the accomplishment of these 
 measures ? 
 
 This state is favourably situated for the encourage- 
 ment of every public interest. It contains inexhausti- 
 ble quantities of salt, gypsum, and iron ore, with a 
 great variety of other valuable materials for manufac- 
 turing establishments. The thirty million acres of its 
 territory offer to agricultural industry no uncertain or 
 penurious reward. An unrivalled river navigation for 
 more than one hundred and sixty miles terminating on 
 the sea-board, at a port which is capacious, healthy, 
 and easy of access; its interior boundary line, passing 
 for more than half its length through the waters of Erie, 
 Ontario, and Champlain, and the numerous navigable 
 lakes included within its limits, afford to its citizen^ the 
 most decided commercial advantages. 
 
 In such circumstances, its prosperity is not surpris- 
 ing. It was to be expected, that under the direction of 
 prudence and patriotism, its wealth, population, and 
 security would be rapidly advanced. And this ad- 
 vance, which is every where observable, is not the less 
 gratifying because it was natural and probable. It is, 
 
( 244 ) 
 
 on that account, more likely to be permanent. But 
 has it not nearly reached its maximum, with respect to 
 the southern and middle district, unless some new 
 means of aiding it are speedily discovered and applied? 
 Considerable portions of these districts are now almost 
 replete with inhabitants, who by their industry and 
 enterprise, have taken possession, and made the most, 
 of nearly all the bounties which nature has spread out 
 before them. And beyond the slow progression of 
 improvement to be produced by the invention of happier 
 methods of applying labour, and the more perfect di- 
 vision of mechanical occupation, what will enlarge the 
 borders of their cities and villages hereafter ? 
 
 As the eastern and western districts have increased 
 in numbers and opulence, they have loaded the Hud- 
 son with their surplus produce, and the merchandise 
 for which they have exchanged it : and this trade has 
 been the chief aliment of all the increase which has 
 latterly been exhibited at the mouth and along the 
 banks of that river. But the remote sections of these 
 districts are contiguous to the territory of a foreign 
 power, and are washed by navigable waters, which 
 flow into the ocean through that territory. It is for 
 the interest, and will therefore be the policy of that 
 power, to invite commercial intercourse with those 
 sections. Facilitated by the course of their streams, 
 and the declivity of their country, our citizens have 
 already extensively engaged in this intercourse. — 
 And, if nothing is done to divert them from it, it is easy 
 to foresee, that it will become permanent, and soon em- 
 brace within the number of its agents, all those who live 
 beyond the high lands, in which our rivers running to 
 the north originate ; including the most fertile part of 
 the state, which is hastening also to become the most 
 populous. 
 
 Our eastern and western districts having been set- 
 tled from the south and the east; roads from these points 
 were, of course, first opened. These roads were ex- 
 tended and improved with the diffusion and age of the 
 new settlements. And as they were, for several years, 
 
( 245 ) 
 
 better in proportion to their proximity to the Hudson^ 
 this circumstance, added to the ties of acquaintance, 
 friendship, and consanguinity, retained the settlers, for 
 a long time and universally, in a business-connexion 
 with our own cities. But these roads are now carried 
 through to the farthest borders of the &tate ; and on 
 the margin of the waters where they terminate, asdense, 
 active, and intelligent population is collected. Stimu- 
 lated by the energetic impulse of private emolument, 
 these people are making new roads and improving the 
 old, erecting store-houses and wharves, building ves- 
 sels of every description calculated to facilitate trans- 
 portation, and at various places extending into the 
 country, by artificial constructions and the improve- 
 ment of natural streams, navigable communications 
 with the northern waters. The enterprising spirit of 
 these people is laudable. It has heretofore added to 
 the wealth of the state, while it has enriched them- 
 selves. And unless it is directed into new channels, 
 it will hereafter lavish the productions of our soil, to 
 the amount of several millions a year upon our north- 
 ern neighbours. This unwelcome result, it appears to 
 your committee, that the present state of things, is rap- 
 idly maturing ; and to render it still more inauspicious, 
 it will inevitably produce the effect of sending to a 
 permanent foreign residence, many of our most useful 
 citizens. 
 
 Shall we look on with unconcern, and see so large a 
 portion of the means, within our power, of conferring 
 a perpetually increasing strength and respectability 
 upon our body politic, for ever averted ? Or shall we 
 adopt an easy, an obvious, an effectual method of re- 
 claiming for ourselves and our posterity, to the remotest 
 generations, all these means, amplified into their fullest 
 proportions by a warmer patronage than the frozen 
 outlet of the St. Lawrence can ever afford ? 
 
 The decision of this question is now emphatically 
 devolved upon the state. It is a question, in which 
 the interests of every district, county and town, are 
 deeply implicated. There are places, indeed, which 
 
( 246 ) 
 
 will enjoy, more immediately, and in a higher degree, 
 the incalculable advantages of these canals ; but these 
 advantages will most assuredly, and in no parsimoni- 
 ous measures, reach and enrich every part of the state. 
 
 It has been observed by a perspicacious statesman 
 of our country, that "in proportion as the mind is 
 accu§i|;omed to trace the intimate connexion of inter- 
 ests-;vf hich subsists between all the parts of a society 
 united. under the same government; the infinite vari- 
 ety of channels which serve to circulate the prosperi- 
 ty of each to and through the rest ; in that proportion 
 will it be unapt to be disturbed by solicitudes and ap- 
 prehensions which originate in local discriminations. 
 It is a truth, as important as it is agreeable, and one to 
 which it is not easy to imagine exceptions, that every 
 thing tending to establish substantial and permanent 
 order in the affairs of a country ; to increase the to- 
 tal mass ©f industry and opulence, is ultimately bene- 
 ficial to every part of it. On the credit of this great 
 truth, an acquiescence may safely be accorded, from 
 every quarter, to all institutions and arrangements, 
 which promise a confirmation of public order, and an 
 augmentation of public resource." 
 
 Your committee believe, that navigable canals, con- 
 necting the Hudson with lake Erie and with lake 
 Champlain, would, from the moment of their comple- 
 tion, make it cheaper for nearly all our western and 
 northern citizens to find a market down these canals, 
 than in any other direction; and they would certain- 
 ly afford the safest possible transportation. 
 
 But, besides calling back to our own market a large 
 amount of the productions of our own soil, which are 
 now alienated from them, the construction of these 
 canals would draw into our limits the trade of the 
 western parts of Vermont, of a considerable region in 
 Upper Canada, and of the northerp half of all that 
 portion of the United States, which lies west of the 
 Allegany mountains. The future extent of this trade, 
 it would be difficult to calculate. It must be immense. 
 The country south of the great lakes alone, from which 
 
t { 247 ) 
 
 it will flow, includes as many acres as make up the 
 territory of some of the most powerful nsetions of Eu- 
 rope, and is the most fertile part of the globe. That 
 country already contains near a million of souls, and 
 is increasing with a rapidity of population known only 
 on this side of the Atlantic. 
 
 The increase of the people of New-England, for the 
 last twenty years, has been at the rate of six percent, an- 
 nually ; and the surplus thousands of this increase are 
 continually seeking new settlements in the west. A 
 similar climate to that in which they have been bred — 
 a luxuriant soil, and advantages for navigation, which 
 are never lightly esteemed by a trading people, induce 
 these thousands, for the most part, to take up their 
 abode within two or three degrees of latitude south of 
 the lakes. There they are joined by a numerous emi- 
 gration from the middle and southern states, who, to- 
 gether with them, multiply and thrive in exact propor- 
 tion to the means of subsistence, which their common 
 industry produces. It is in our power to open tQ that 
 country a cheaper, safer, and more expeditious i;oad to 
 our market towns, than they can possible enjoy to any 
 other. Shall it be done ? 
 
 The expense of transportation from Buffalo to Mont- 
 real, is 30 dollars a ton ; and the returning transpor- 
 tation is from $60 to $7,^ a ton. The passage of lake 
 Ontario and the St. Lawrence, is shown to be danger- 
 ous, by the fact, that many vessels and lives are yearly 
 lost upon them. And this passage, though at different 
 times of very unequal duration, is on an average long- 
 er than one would be from Buffalo, through a canal 
 and the Hudson, to New- York. The expense of 
 transportation from New-York to Buffalo is about 100 
 dollars a ton, and the ordinary length of the passage is 
 about 20 days. In the present state of things, to all the 
 trade of the west, the evils attending the more tedious 
 and expensive route to New-York, are not counterbalan- 
 ced by the, benefits of a superior capital, and a more 
 open port, which that city enjoys over Montreal. Make 
 the western canal, and it would once and for ever con- 
 
( 248 ) 
 
 trol that trade ; for it would offer a transportation from 
 Lake Erie to New- York, including the imposition of 
 reasonable tolls, at a rate of from ^JO to ^12 a ton. 
 
 Those, whom business and curiosity have led to con- 
 sider what is the amount of monies now actually paid 
 for transportation by our citizens, will best understand 
 how to appreciate the saving produced by so great a re- 
 duction of its price. It is believed by intelligent gentle- 
 men, that the merchants of our state, living in Oneida 
 and the counties west, pay annually, for transportation, 
 not less than one million of dollars. And this belief is 
 strengthened by what is known in relation to the sums 
 paid, by the merchants of Pittsburgh, for waggonage, 
 from Philadelphia and Baltimore, to that place. In the 
 year 1815, the amount of this kind of disbursement, was 
 found to be, in the month of July, jS 103,000, in the 
 month of August, $ 1 J 2,000, and in the first fourteen 
 days of September, $83,000. This saving, it must be 
 confessed, would be of vast importance. 
 
 By making the northern canal, a saving would be 
 ensured, of much less amount indeed, but, considering 
 the cumbrous and heavy articles, which must always- 
 constitute the chief subjects of trade, from the neigh- 
 bourhood of lake Champlain, and the difficulty of remov- 
 ing them upon the present roads, the expense of trans- 
 portation would be reduced in almost as great a pro- 
 poition. 
 
 In discussing the expediency of opening these ca- 
 nals, it should never be forgotten that the question is, 
 whether we will, by taking measures completely with- 
 in our power, and not burdensome, secure to our own 
 country incalculable wealth, or will, by neglecting such 
 measures, bestow that wealth, with all its advantages, 
 upon a foreign nation. 
 
 To those^of our citizens, who live on the great par- 
 allel roads, which traverse the state east and west, it 
 is important to consider, not whether the canal, from 
 lake Erie to the Hudson, will be more travelled than 
 either of those roads, but whether this travel shaU 
 pass through the heart of the state, giving additional 
 
( 249 ) 
 
 activity to every species t)f profitable labour, by dis- 
 pensing to it a golden reward, or whether it shall be di- 
 verted entirely beyond their reach, and pass down the 
 waters of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi. And 
 they should remember, that whatever increases popula- 
 tion, capital, and commerce, in their vicinity, enlarges 
 the sum of materials, out of which their individual for- 
 tunes are to grow. The same considerations will ap- 
 ply with greater or less force, to every portion of our 
 people. 
 
 It will not be denied, that the construction of these 
 canals, will induce the transportation into the state, of 
 an immense amount of interior productions, and of for- 
 eign goods. Will these come into the state, and de- 
 part from it, without leaving any traces of their having 
 been among us ? Or will they swell the comforts of our 
 country towns, and make our villages and cities exhibit, 
 upon a larger scale, the improvements and the magni- 
 ficence of a prosperous community ? 
 
 From the foregoing observations, it will be perceived, 
 that your committee are of opinion, that these canals 
 would be beneficial to every section of the state. .They 
 would eventually make New-York the greatest com- 
 mercial emporium in the world ; and the greatness of 
 the commerce of that city, would, in a variety of ways, 
 promote the interests of the southern district. Every 
 addition to its inhabitants, would add to its demand for 
 all the numerous articles, which only its immediate 
 neighbourhood can supply ; and every augmentation of 
 its wealth, would send out, in greater numbers, its rich 
 citizens, to patronize the industry, and to cultivate, im- 
 prove, and embellish the face of the earth, in the adja- 
 cent country. Experience shows, in all the rich cities 
 of Europe, that as the means of communication with 
 the interior are rendered easier, better, and more ex ' 
 tensive, from those cities, the value of property has uni- 
 formly increased in their vicinity. It must necessarily 
 result, from establishing great affluence in any place, 
 that the ordinary channels of wealth, which are open 
 nearest to that place, will first be filled. 
 
 32 
 
( 250 ) 
 
 These canals would promote the interests of the 
 middle district, by furnishing it with gypsum, salt, iron, 
 lumber, and fuel, in many places cheaper than they 
 can be otherwise obtained; and by increasing the 
 market for all its surplus productions. 
 
 They would speedily give a new and more prospe- 
 rous aspect to the business of our northern counties, 
 by opening, to a more profitable and growing demand, 
 their extensive forests, abounding with all the usual 
 kinds of lumber, and building timber, and their inex- 
 haustible mines of iron ore; and by facilitating the 
 transportation to and from their markets, in such a 
 manner as to give an additional value to all their other 
 exports, and a reduced price to all their imports. 
 
 To the western district, the importance of these ca- 
 nals is too well known, and too generally admitted, to 
 need elucidation here. 
 
 It may be proper, in this place, to notice an objection 
 sometimes made against making these canals, arising 
 from the high price of labour in our country. The foun- 
 dation of this objection will probably long remain. But 
 can the objection itself have any weight ? Is it not ap- 
 parent, that if the price of labour is high among us, it 
 applies as well to the prodigious annual expense, which 
 would be saved in transportation, by the canals, as to 
 the cost of their construction ? 
 
 The consideration, which your committee have given 
 to these great improvements, has impressed them with 
 a conviction, that from the moment when the Legisla- 
 ture shalldeliberatelydetermine to undertake them, the 
 real property of the state will rise in value, faster than 
 the amount of disbursements necessary to their perfect 
 completion. They ought certainly to be made. 
 
 But does good policy require, that they should be 
 immediately commenced ? The benefits which they 
 will insure are, now extensively understood ; and the 
 evils which they will avert, are plain, palpable, and ur- 
 gent. Every real objection to them must be of a local 
 origin ; and will time lessen such objections ? Every 
 year produces new concentrations of interest, on the 
 
-^A^ 
 
 ( 251 ) 
 
 borders of the northern waters, at mill sites, and in the 
 centres of the counties, where villages spring up and 
 grow into importance. Some of these places will be so 
 situated as to think hereafter that the construction of 
 these canals will be injurious to them ; but if it shall be 
 now known, that they wiU be constructed, these vil- 
 lages will take such a location in future, and with pros- 
 pects much more promising, as to profit by all their ad- 
 vantages. 
 
 The land to be occupied by the canals would now 
 cost nothing ; and little expense would be incurred, in 
 the purchase of water privileges from mills and other 
 hydraulic establishments. But wait a very few years, 
 and the enterprise of our countrymen will have appro- 
 priated every stream to objects, from which the expense 
 of detaching them will be measured by their profit ; and 
 every mile of the country will contain obstructions to 
 the route, from public or private edifices, from orchards, 
 or from burying grounds. Your committee, therefore, 
 decidedly believe that the best policy of this state re- 
 quires the immediate commencement of these canals. 
 
 Having arrived to this conclusion, it is felt to be a 
 cause of just exultation, that the interests of the state 
 of New-York, demanding the execution of these pro- 
 jects, are so entirely concurrent with those of several 
 of our sister states, and of the union generally. The 
 Legislature of Ohio, with a liberality, and promptitude 
 worthy of that enlightened body, have already express- 
 ed their zealous approbation of the canal from lake 
 Erie to the Hudson, and pledge themselves to an efiec- 
 tive co-operation in its construction. Additional aid 
 may be expected from other states in the west. 
 
 And surely we may yet look for help from the govern- 
 ment of the United States. As bonds of union, as mili- 
 tary roads, as favouring the increase and collection of 
 commercial revenue, as means of sustaining her Indian 
 department, and as prolific parents of all kinds of na- 
 tional resource, the claims of these canals upon the ge- 
 neral government must hereafter be allowed and foster- 
 ed. That day which shall see them completed, will be 
 
( 152 ) 
 
 a proud one for our country. If the Spaniard, who, 
 from the top of the Andes, first discovered the Pacific, 
 felt impelled by a natural impulse, to prostrate himself 
 in thanksgiving to the Almighty, for the prospect with 
 which he was indulged, what pious gratitude will be- 
 come the American citizens a^henever, by the comple- 
 tion of these improvements, he shall be permitted from 
 the political and moral elevation on which they will 
 place him, to contemplate as wide an expanse,animated, 
 adorned, and illustrated, by every thing interesting and 
 ennobling to man ! Let it be the ambition of this state, 
 now to commence them, and this prospect will soon be 
 realized. 
 
 It remains for your committee to point out where 
 they would recommend to have these canals begun; to 
 designate the funds which they would appropriate to 
 them at the present session ; and to state the manner 
 in which they think it expedient to provide for their 
 eventual completion, and the discharge of all the ex- 
 penses to be incurred in their prosecution. 
 
 Notwithstanding the perfect conviction of your com- 
 mittee, that these canals can be made without any seri- 
 ous inconvenience to the financial operations of the 
 state, yet they admit that it is due to the counsels of 
 prudence to bring the solidity of their conviction, to the 
 touchstone of experiment, before the whole system is 
 undertaken. 
 
 Under these impressions, they recommend the adop 
 tion of immediate measures, for purchasing the interest 
 of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, and 
 for commencing and completing a canal navigation, 
 between Rome and the Seneca river, and between lake 
 Champlain and the Hudson river, at a convenient point 
 below Baker's falls. 
 
 If the middle section of the western canal is made 
 before the rights of the Western Inland Lock Naviga- 
 tion Company are purchased, it may induce the latter, 
 in consequence of the increased value of their property, 
 to rise in their demands. And if the state, after a fair 
 trial of the experiment, shall only complete the canals 
 
( 153 ) 
 
 now proposed, and proceed no further in the whole 
 work, yet these partial operations will open valuable 
 and important communications, and be greatly benefi- 
 cial to the community. 
 
 Your committee, being of opinion, that those desig- 
 nated objects can be accomplished in two or three 
 years, and at an expense not exceeding one million 
 and a half of dollars, recommend that a board of com- 
 missioners, to be denominated the Commissioners of 
 the Fund for Internal Improvements, be constituted ; 
 that it consist of the comptroller, the secretary, the at- 
 torney-general, the surveyor-general, and the treasurer- 
 It is proposed to establish a fund, or income, to be 
 appropriated expressly and exclusively to the making 
 of these canals, and to be pledged for the payment of 
 the interest and principal of such loans as it may be- 
 come convenient to make, and which should be made 
 exclusively upon the credit of such income, and not upon 
 the general credit of the state; and that the comptroller 
 be directed to open separate books, and to keep the 
 accounts of those funds distinct from the other funds 
 and accounts of the state; the whole to be under the 
 control and management of the said commissioners of 
 the fund, whose powers and duties shall, besides, em- 
 brace the following objects : — 
 
 1st. To borrow, on the credit of the fund above-men- 
 tioned, a sum not exceeding a million and a half of 
 dollars, with interest not exceeding six per cent, paya- 
 ble semi-annually, and the principal reimbursable in 
 twenty years, or at any time before, in the option of the 
 state. 
 
 2d. To pay over, from time to time, such monies as 
 shall be required for the execution of the powers com- 
 mitted to them, by the commissioners constituted by the 
 act to provide for the improvement of the internal 
 navigation of this state. 
 
 3d. to purchase the interest of the Western Inland 
 Lock Navigation Company. 
 
 4th. The said commissioners of the fund shall, as 
 
( 254 ) 
 
 soon as the said purchase, or the whole, or any part of 
 the said works is completed, have power to establish 
 and receive reasonable tolls, and to take all the neces- 
 sary measures for that purpose. 
 
 5th. The annual application of dollars of the 
 
 monies arising from the auction duties, of the duties 
 arising from salt as herein after mentioned, and the 
 "whole of the monies, which the state may derive from the 
 sale of unappropriated lands, shall be pledged for the 
 payment of the said debt and the interest thereof, and 
 shall be received and applied by the said commissioners 
 of the fund for internal improvements ; and they shall 
 have power to apply any unappropriated monies in the 
 treasury to make good any deficiency or failure in the 
 receipts of the said fund, or to borrow on the faith of 
 the state any monies that may be necessary, to be reim- 
 bursed from the said funds, when the same shall be 
 received. 
 
 6th. The said commissioners of the fund shall at the 
 opening of the next cession of the legislature, report 
 a plan of finance for the execution of the whole of the 
 said canals, and also of a sinking fund for the extin- 
 guishment of the debt. 
 
 Your committee have proposed this plan for the fol- 
 lowing reasons : — 
 
 1st. In a free government, where the people compose 
 the sovereign authority, it is chimerical to contem- 
 plate the execution of a stupendous plan of internal 
 navigation, without the adoption of a wise and econo- 
 mical system, which will conciliate the affections and 
 secure the favourable opinion of those, who are the 
 source of all legitimate power. To attempt to raise 
 by taxation the whole sum, as it will be required, will 
 impose a burthen on the people, which would be des- 
 tructive of the project. 
 
 2d. The annual revenue of the state is now upwards 
 of 924,000 dollars, and its ordinary expenses about 
 547,000 dollars, leaving a surplus of near 400,000 dol- 
 lars, applicable to extraordinary demands on the trea- 
 sury, and to the extinguishment of the state debt. The 
 auction duties for the last year amounted to about 
 
( 255 ) 
 
 160,000 dollars. From this fund the sum of dol- 
 lars may be therefore appropriated annually to the 
 payment of interest as before stated, without interfer- 
 ing with any other claims, and without any incon- 
 venience to the treasury. — It will be also recollected, 
 that the direct tax of the United States, which last year 
 drew from our treasury $365,620 38, has ceased to 
 operate. 
 
 3d. The appropriations before mentioned from the 
 duties on auctions and salt, and the partial avails of 
 the sale of public lands, will be at least equivalent to 
 an immediate grant of one and a half million of dollars. 
 On a supposition, that the western canal will cost five, 
 and the northern canal one million of dollars, the com- 
 missioners of the fund for internal improvements, will, 
 besides devising a sinking fund, have only to recom- 
 mend a plan for raising 270,000 dollars annually, be- 
 ing the interest of four and a half millions. For this 
 purpose the following among many other sources may 
 be indicated. And it must be explicitly understood, 
 that as only an annual revenue of 1^90,000, will be 
 required until the canal from Rome to the Seneca 
 river, and from lake Champlain to the Hudson river 
 below Baker's falls are finished, it will not be neces- 
 sary, to use the funds now designated, until the hap- 
 pening of those events ; and that some of them will be, 
 of course, in a state of rapid accumulation. 
 
 1st. A tax to be laid upon all salt maiiufactured in 
 the western district, at the rate of nine cents per bush- 
 el, upon that which is made at private works, and at 
 the rate of twelve and a half cents per bushel, upon 
 that which is made at the public works. 
 
 2d. The duties on sales at auction, after deducting 
 ^26,000 for the hospital, ^15,000 for the support of for- 
 eign poor in the city of New-York, $500 for the Or- 
 phan Asylum Society, and $500 dollars for the Economi- 
 cal School. 
 
 3d. A tax to be laid upon the valuations of real and 
 personal property, in the counties, cities, or towns, 
 which will be particularly benefitted, by the construe- 
 
( 256 ) 
 
 tion of these canals, of from one-third to three-fourths 
 of a mill upon a dollar. And the places to which this 
 tax should apply, and the proportion of its application 
 to each, your committee think, should be as follows: — 
 New-York, at 1-2 a mill, on last year's valua- 
 tion, amounting to ;^41,037 
 Albany and Watervliet, at 3-4 mill, on do. do. 4,776 
 The towns of Waterford, ^ 
 Stillwater, Saratoga, j 
 
 Northumberland, and J- at 1-2 do. on do. do. 1,762 
 Moreau in the county I 
 of Saratoga, J 
 
 All the towns of Washing- 1 
 
 ton county, except ! . , „ i j j « n<^^ 
 
 Cambridge, Jackson, \ ^' '"^ ^"^ «" ^"^ ^°- 2-672 
 
 and Whitecreek, j 
 
 The County of Essex, at 3-4 do. on do. do. 706 
 
 of Clinton, at 3-4 do. on do. do. 1,135 
 
 of Montgomery, at 1-3 do. on do. do. 2,593 
 
 of Herkimer, ' at 1-2 do. on dOo do. 1,914 
 
 of Oneida, at 3-4 do. on do. do. 7,098 
 
 of Madison, at 3-4 do. on do. do. 3,408 
 
 of Onondaga, at 3-4 do. on do. do. 2,869 
 
 of Cayuga, at 3-4 do. on do. do. 3,647 
 
 of Seneca, at 3-4 do. on do. do. 3,066 
 
 of Ontario, at 3-4 do. on do. do. 11,203 
 
 of Genesee, at 3-4 do. on do. do. 5,834 
 
 of Niagara, at 3-4 do. on do. do. 2,373 
 
 of Chatauque, at 3-4 do. on do. do. 648 
 
 The city of Troy, at 1-2 do. on do. do. 800 
 
 The village of Lansingburgh, at 1-2 do. on do. do. 180 
 
 4th. A tax upon all steam-boat passengers, of one 
 cent per mile each, for any distance not exceeding an 
 hundred miles, and not exceeding one dollar for a pas- 
 sage between Albany and New-York. 
 
 5th. Lotteries after the sums now granted upon them 
 are raised, and which v»^ill probably require ten years. 
 
 6th. All unappropriated lands. 
 
 7th. Contributions from other states, on condition 
 that they shall make use of the canals, for the same 
 tolls, as may be required from the people of this state. 
 
 8th. Contributions from the government of the United 
 States, on condition, that for all their purposes they 
 
( 257 ) 
 
 shall use the canals for the same tolls, as may be re- 
 quired from the people of this state. 
 
 9th. Donations of money and lands from individuals. 
 John Grieg, Esq. has already contributed to this fund, 
 by executing a deed to the people of this state, for three 
 thousand acres of land lying in the county of Steuben ; 
 and the agent of the Holland land Company has given 
 satisfactory assurances, that he will execute a deed of 
 100,632 acres of land, lying in the county of Cattarau- 
 gus, for the same purpose. 
 
 lOth. As soon as the canals, or any important section 
 of them are completed, a great revenue will accrue to 
 the state, which will speedily extinguish the whole debt, 
 and repay to all the places, which shall have been tax- 
 ed on the valuation of their real and personal estates, 
 the sums from them respectively levied. This revenue 
 will arise in two ways : 
 
 1st. From the artificial mill sites, and the infinite 
 variety of hydraulic uses to which the surplus waters 
 may be applied. These privileges ought never to be 
 sold in perpetuity, but leased and kept under the con- 
 trol of the state, so that no individual can gain an in- 
 terest in them, that may become prejudicial to the pub- 
 lic. And, 
 
 2d. From the imposition of light tolls or transit du- 
 ties, on vessels and cargoes descending the canals, to 
 be increased on those ascending. 
 
 Your committee deem it proper, before they con- 
 clude, to present to the consideration of the Legisla- 
 ture, a proposition for the construction and completion 
 of the western canal, which has been made to the 
 president of the canal, commissioners, by J Rutsen 
 Van Rensselaer, Esq. as follows : 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Desirous of aiding by every means in my power 
 the improvement of the internal navigation of this state 
 1 take the liberty of submitting to your consideration 
 the following propositions, to be disposed of, as you 
 may deem proper. 
 
 33 
 
( 258 ) 
 
 1st. I will form a company, who shall give security 
 in the sum of one million of dollars to be approved by 
 the comptroller, that the whole canal from Erie to Hud- 
 son shall be completed, on the plan contemplated by 
 the report of the commissioners, except only, that the 
 aqueducts shall be formed of durable materials, proba- 
 bly cast iron, as in my opinion, vt^ood should not be 
 used in any exposed situation. I will then contract to 
 perform the whole work, for ten millions of dollars, 
 five hundred thousand of which shall, on good security 
 be advanced by the state, to be accounted for by the 
 company, on the completion of the canal, and shall form 
 a part of the last expenditure ; and on each subsequent 
 advance, by the state, similar security shall be given, 
 that the amount shall be applied to the object, and a 
 proper proportion of the distance be completed, until 
 the whole is finished. 
 
 2dly. I will complete the work, on like advances and 
 security, for the sum of seven millions and an half of 
 dollars, together with the tolls, which may be collect- 
 ed from the time one-fourth of the canal shall be com- 
 pleted to the expiration of twenty years after the whole 
 is finished, the toil not to exceed two cents per mile 
 per ton. Or, 
 
 3dly. I will, on the like advances, furnish the like 
 security, and finish the whole, for five millions of dollars, 
 together with the tolls, at the rate specified in the former 
 proposition, for the period therein specified, and for 
 one half that sum for ever thereafter : should the legis- 
 lature exact a toll, after the twenty years, at the rate 
 of five dollars per ton, for the whole distance, the com- 
 pany shall pay, and the canal be pledged as security, 
 three per centum per annum, on the whole advance, 
 or refund to the state two millions and an half of dol- 
 lars, at convenient periods, with interest, at six per cent. 
 
 In the commencement of an undertaking of this im- 
 portance, the Legislature should be governed by a spi- 
 rit of great liberality ; sectional interests should not be 
 indulged, and no objection should be raised to the im- 
 position of a general tax to meet a portion of the expense. 
 
( 259 ) 
 
 U the Legislature will consent to borrow the five mil- 
 lions of dollars, funds may very easily be provided to 
 meet the payment of the interest, and to redeem the 
 principal at no great distance of time. 
 
 I am, sir, with perfect respect, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 J. RUTSEN VAN RENSSELAER; 
 Claverack, 11th March, 1817. 
 
 To the acceptance of either of these propositions? 
 your committee are entirely opposed, being persuaded, 
 for a variety of important considerations, that the state 
 should retain the perfect control of this canal, in every 
 period of its construction and future regulation. 
 
 For the reasons and in conformity with the princi- 
 ples herein specified, your committee have prepared a 
 bill on the subjects submitted to them, which they now 
 ask leave to present. 
 
 WILLIAM D. FORD, Chairman. 
 
 In Assembly, April 3, 1817. 
 
 Communication from the Canal Commissioners. 
 
 The canal commissioners have the honour to report 
 to the honourable the assembly, in obedience to their 
 resolution of to-day : — 
 
 That they are not required or authorized by law to 
 hold any communications with the western inland lock 
 navigation company respecting the purchase of their in- 
 terests, and that, of course, they did not institute any in- 
 quiry on that subject. It appears however, from an offi- 
 cial report of the former commissioners, who were duly 
 authorized, dated March, 1812, that the company asked 
 $190,000 for the shares held by them, exclusive of three 
 hundred and fifty shares held by the state. And the 
 present commissioners coincide in the opinion with the 
 former board, that the price then asked is unreasona- 
 bly high. 
 
( 260 ) 
 
 The commissioners have obtained cessions of the 
 land to be occupied bj the Erie canal, from fifty-six 
 persons, through whose farms the line passes, west of 
 the Seneca river ; and Schoharie creek a considera- 
 ble number of cessions, from persons living within those 
 limits ; but as the deeds of cession, except those which 
 relate to lands west of the Seneca river, are not here, j 
 
 and as these deeds do not, in general, express the length ,; 
 
 of line conveyed by those who have executed them re- 
 spectively, neither the precise number of these deeds, 
 nor the exact extent of the lands which they cover, can 
 at present be ascertained. 
 
 Though the commissioners, at an early day, procured 
 blank forms of cessions to be printed (some of which 
 were delivered to the engineers on the different sections 
 of the canals) and have found more than nine-tenths of 
 those to whom they were offered for subscription, wil- 
 ling to make a donation to the state of that strip of their 
 land, which would be required for the canal, it has not 
 yet been in their power to secure a large portion of the 
 canal lines. Much of the land lying in the western part 
 of the state is owned by persons who do not reside 
 there. The agent of the Holland land company has 
 offered to convey to the state, a strip of land for the 
 canal, through their possessions, not exceeding four 
 rods in width, on condition that the state shall make a 
 good harbour for lake vessels at the mouth of Buffalo 
 creek, a condition which the commissioners think en- 
 tirely inadmissible. Other agents did not feel them- 
 selves authorized to make the donations desired, with- 
 out consulting their principals. This they engaged to 
 do, and at the same time expressed decided expecta- 
 tions of receiving favourable answers, but had not re- 
 ceived those answers at the date of the last communi- 
 cations between them and the commissioners. In some 
 cases the owners of the land, though usually resident 
 there, were absent from home, and it has hitherto been 
 inconvenient to make application to them. Besides, in 
 exploring the route of the canal, in a country but par- 
 tially cleared, it was impossible for the engineer, in.first 
 
C 261 ) 
 
 running it over, to determine in many places, where the 
 canal line would pass. After advancing some distance in 
 a doubtful course, difficulties would be met with, which 
 made it expedient to go back upon the line to some 
 point, whence a more eligible course might be pursued. 
 In such cases, cessions on the route first explored would 
 be useless ,- and a few of the deeds actually obtained 
 are of this description. And although the line of ca- 
 nal presents but few obstructions, and is in general ex- 
 tremely favourable, yet it cannot be doubted but that 
 the more minute and extensive examination of resident 
 engineers to whose superintendence the execution of 
 the work ought to be intrusted, will point out many 
 partial deviations from this line, which may be made 
 with great advantage and economy. Hence it seemed 
 the less important to obtain deeds of cession, on a first 
 survey, even if the more general, and as was judged 
 more pressing duties of the commissioners and engi- 
 neers, had allowed the necessary time. And it was 
 thought, in reference to all those parts of the route of 
 both canals, which should not be immediately under- 
 taken, that the inducements to give the lands to be oc- 
 cupied by the canals, would rather be increased than 
 diminished, making the eventual success of the whole 
 ; projects to depend, as well upon the encouragement 
 
 [i offered by those who are most interested therein, as 
 
 upon the success of those parts actually to be com- 
 menced. 
 
 It is not to be denied that a few individuals, whose 
 lands will be crossed by canals, have refused to make 
 a donation of any part of those lands to the state. A pro- 
 vision by the Legislature, therefore, seems to be re- 
 quired for taking the necessary possession of lands so 
 withheld. Whether this provision extend to a few cases 
 more or less, appears not to be very material, as if it 
 is equitable, it will doubtless involve no public expense, 
 except in cases where it interferes with expensive ex- 
 isting improvements 
 
 The commissioners, from the best information which 
 they have been able to obtain, entertain no doubt but 
 
( 262 ) 
 
 that the necessary lands on the whole route of the ca- 
 nals may, with a few exceptions, be procured gratui- 
 tously. 
 
 All which is respectively submitted, 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 MYRON HOLLEY, 
 SAMUEL YOUNG, 
 Albany^ April 1 , 1817. 
 
 To the Honourable the House of Assembly. 
 
 In compliance with a resolution of the honourable 
 the Assembly, we have the honour of enclosing a state- 
 ment of the Comptroller. This communication would 
 have been made before, but the accounts, as far as 
 they were ascertained, were agreeably to the direc- 
 tions of the law exhibited to him ; and with every at- 
 tention, on his part as well as ours, it was not until to- 
 day that it has been in our power to render this state- 
 ment. 
 
 The expenses of the commissioners include the ex- 
 penses of travelling, at various periods — of their visit 
 to the Middlesex canal — of their superintendence of 
 the whole route of both canals, of their meetings at va- 
 rious times, and are brought up to their first meeting 
 during the present session of the Legislature. They 
 consist of the following sums, viz. — 
 Expenses of commissioners meeting 17th 
 May, 1816, in New-York including the ex- 
 pense of going there, of stay there, of two 
 commissioners with two engineers going 
 to view the Middlesex canal, stay there, and 
 return home 1^515 00 
 
 Expenses of commissioners in meeting at Utica 
 on the 15th July, while there, while explor- 
 ing the route of the western canal, and re- 
 turning home, 1080 12 
 Expenses of the commissioners in exploring 
 the northern canal, and directing opera- 
 tions thereon, 679 19 
 
( 263 ) 
 
 Expenses of commissioners in meetingat Alba- 
 ny, in November last, and returning home, 193 86 
 
 The whole of these items amount to $2163 17 
 
 Considering that upwards of 313 miles on the west- 
 ern canal, besides that part of the route south of the 
 mountain ridge and west of Genesee river, and more 
 than 60 miles on the northern canal, have been ex- 
 plored, surveyed and levelled ; that the routes of the 
 canals have been actually laid out; that perspicuous 
 maps and profiles have been made ; and that full re- 
 ports have been presented, it is believed that no ope- 
 ration so extensive, so complicated and so important, 
 has ever been performed with more economy of ex- 
 penditure. 
 
 A sum not exceeding $4000 will be required, in ad- 
 dition to that part of the appropriation which is unex- 
 pended, to complete the payment of the engineers for 
 their services ; to defray the expenses of printing, en- 
 graving and stationary; to pay the expenses of the 
 meeting of commissioners and their attendance on their 
 duties during the present session of the Legislature ; 
 to satisfy some demands not yet presented, and also to 
 make a reasonable compensation to the secretary and 
 treasurer of the board, whose time, since the first meet- 
 ing in May, has been almost exclusively engrossed in 
 discharging those trusts, and in attending to their gene- 
 ral duties as commissioners. 
 
 All which is respectfully submitted. 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 MYRON HOLLEY, 
 SAMUEL YOUNG. 
 Albany, 2d. April, 1817. 
 
 STATE OF NEW-YORK ) 
 
 comptroller's office. ) 
 I certify, that from accounts and vouchers rendered 
 by the commissioners appointed in and by the act, en- 
 titled "an act to provide for the improvement of the 
 internal navigation of this state," passed 17th April, 
 
( 264 ) 
 
 1816, it appears they have paid and expended the fol- 
 lowing sums, viz. 
 
 To William Peacok, engineer, and Andrew 
 A. Ellicott, surveyor, for their services and 
 for expense of hands, &c. &c. in exploring, 
 levelling, &c. on the western section of the 
 Erie canal, $1563^2 
 
 To James Geddes, engineer, for do. do. do. do. 3233 17 
 To Benjamin Wright, on account of his ser- 
 vices and expenses in exploring, levelling, 
 &c. the middle section of thie Erie canal, 2000 00 
 To Charles C. Broadhead, for his services and 
 expenses in exploring and levelling a por- 
 tion of the eastern section of the Erie canal, 2097 70 
 For exploring and levelling a route for the 
 
 northern canal. 5237 83 
 
 For expenses of the comraissioners, 2468 17 
 
 For printing and other incidental expenses, 339 00 
 
 Making an aggregate of $ 1 6940 29 
 ARCH'DM'INTIRE, Comptroller. 
 Aibany, ^pril 2, 1817. 
 
 A JY ACT to provide for the improvement of the internal 
 navigation of this State. 
 
 PASSED APRIL 17, 1817. 
 
 I. Be it enacted by the people of the State of JVew- York, 
 represented in Senate and Assembly, That Stephen Van 
 Rensselaer, De Witt Clinton, Samuel Young, Joseph 
 Ellicott, and Myron Holley, be, and they are hereby 
 appointed commissioners, to consider, devise and adopt 
 such measures as may or shall be requisite, to facilitate 
 and effect the communication, by means of canals and 
 locks, between the navigable waters of Hudson's river 
 and lake Erie, and the said navigable waters and lake 
 Champlain j and in case of the resignation or death of 
 any of the said commissioners, the vacancy thereby 
 
( 265 ) 
 
 occasioned, shall be supplied by the Legislature, in the 
 manner in which senators of the United States, from 
 this state, are directed to be chosen. 
 
 II. And be it further enacted, That the said commis- 
 sioners shall choose one of their number, to be presi- 
 dent of their board, and shall appoint a fit person for 
 their secretary, who shall be allowed and paid such 
 salary as the said commissioners shall deem proper and 
 reasonable : And the president of the said board of 
 commissioners, shall have power to call a meeting of 
 the same, w^henever, in his opinion, the public interests 
 require it ; and the said board may adjourn from time 
 to time, to meet at any time and place they may deem 
 most conducive to the public good ; And further^ the 
 said commissioners shall have power to employ such and 
 so many agents, engineers, surveyors, draftsmen, and 
 other persons, as in their opinion may be necessary to 
 enable them to fulfil and discharge the duties imposed 
 upon them by this act, and to allow and pay the said 
 agents, engineers, surveyors, draftsmen, and other per- 
 sons, for their respective services, such sum or sums as 
 may be adequate and reasonable. 
 
 III. And be it further enacted^ That it shall be the duty 
 of the said commissioners, us soon as may be after the 
 passing of this act, to cause those parts of the territory 
 of this state which may lie upon or contiguous to the pro- 
 bable courses and ranges of the said canals, to be ex- 
 plored and examined for the purpose of fixing and de- 
 termining the most eligible and proper routes for the 
 same, and to cause all necessary surveys and levels to 
 be taken, and accurate maps, field books and drafts 
 thereof to be made, and further to adopt and recom- 
 mend proper plans for the construction and formation of 
 the said canals, and of the locks, dams, embankments, 
 tunnels and aqueducts which may be necessary for the 
 completion of the same, and to cause all necessary 
 plans, drafts and models thereof, to be executed under 
 their direction. 
 
 IV. And be it further enacted^ That the said commis- 
 sioners or a majority of them, shall be, and they are 
 
 34 
 
( 266 ) 
 
 hereby authorized and required to make application in 
 behalf of this state, to the government of the United 
 States, and of such states and territories as may be 
 benefited by the said canals or either of them, to the 
 proprietors of lands, through or near which, the said 
 canals or either of them may or may be proposed to 
 pass, to all bodies politic and corporate, public or pri- 
 vate, and all citizens or inhabitants of this or any other 
 of the United States, for cessions, grants or donations 
 of land or money, for the purpose of aiding in the con- 
 struction or completing of both or either of the said ca- 
 nals, according to the discretion of the several grant- 
 ors or donors, and to take to the people of this state, 
 such grants and conveyances as maybe proper and com- 
 petent to vest a good and sufficient title in the said peo- 
 ple to the lands so to be ceded or granted as aforesaid, 
 and for the purposes above-mentioned, it shall be the 
 duty of the said commissioners to open books of sub- 
 scription in such and so many places as they may think 
 necessary and expedient, and under such rules and re- 
 gulations as they may from time to time establish ; and 
 further^ it shall be their duty to ascertain whether to any 
 and to what amount, and upon what terms, loans of 
 money may or can be procured on the credit of this 
 state, for the purpose aforesaid. 
 
 V. And be it further enacted^ That it shall be the duty 
 of the said commissioners to make, or cause to be made, 
 with as much accuracy and minuteness as may be, 
 calculations and estimates of the sum or sums of mo- 
 ney which may or will be necessary for completing 
 each of the said canals, according to the plan or plans 
 which may be adopted and recommended by them, for 
 the construction or formation of the same, and to cause 
 the said calculations and estimates, and all surveys, 
 maps, field books, plans, drafts and models authorized 
 and directed by this act, or so many thereof as may 
 be completed, together with a plain and comprehen- 
 sive report of all their proceedings under and by 
 virtue of this act, to be presented to the Legislature 
 of this state within twenty days after the commence- 
 ment of the next regular annual session thereof 
 
( 267 ) 
 
 VI. And be it further enacted^ That the treasurer shall 
 ^n the warrant of the comptroller, pay to the order of 
 a majority of the said commissioners, out of any mo- 
 nies in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, any 
 sum or sums not exceeding twenty thousand dollars, 
 and for which the said commissioners shall account to 
 the comptroller of this state. 
 
 VII. And be it further enacted^ That the act entitled 
 " an act to provide for the improvement of the internal 
 navigation of this state," passed the 8th day of April, 
 1811, and the act, entitled " an act further to provide 
 for the improvement of the internal navigation of this 
 state," passed June 19th, 1812, be and the same are 
 hereby repealed. 
 
 An Act^ respecting JYavigable communications between the 
 Great Western and JYorthern Lakes and the Atlantic 
 Ocean. 
 
 PASSED APRIL 15, 1817- 
 
 Whereas, navigable communications between Lakes 
 Erie and Champlain and. the Atlantic Ocean, by means 
 of Canals connected with the Hudson River, will pro- 
 mote agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, miti- 
 gate the calamities of war, enhance the blessings of 
 peace, consolidate the union, advance the prosperity 
 and elevate the character of the United States. And 
 whereas, it is the incumbent duty of the people of 
 this State to avail themselves of the means which the 
 Almighty has placed in their hands for the production 
 of such signal, extensive, and lasting benefits to the 
 human race. Now, therefore, in full confidence that 
 the Congress of the United States, and the States 
 equally interested with this State, in the commence- 
 ment, prosecution, and completion of those important 
 works, will contribute their full proportion of the ex- 
 pense, and, in order that adequate funds may be pro- 
 vided, and properly arranged and managed for the 
 prosecution and completion of all the navigable com- 
 munications contemplated by this Act : 
 
( 268 ) 
 
 Be it enacted by the people of the State of JVew-Yorlc, 
 represented in Senate and Assembly^ That there shall be 
 constituted a fund to be denominated the Canal Fund, 
 which shall consist of such appropriations, grants. and 
 donations, as may be made for that purpose by the Le- 
 gislature of this State, by the Congress of the United 
 States, by individual States, and by corporations, com- 
 panies, and individuals, which fund shall be superin- 
 tended and managed by a board of Commissioners, to 
 be denominated, " The Commissioners of the Canal 
 Fund," consisting of the Lieutenant Governor, the 
 Comptroller, the Attorney General, the SurveyorGene- 
 ral, Secretary and Treasurer, a majority of whom with 
 the Comptroller, shall be a quorum for the transaction 
 of business, and that it shall be the duty of the said 
 board, to receive, arrange, and manage to the best ad- 
 vantage, all things belonging to the said fund ; to bor- 
 row from time to time, monies on the credit of the 
 people of this State, at a rate of interest not exceed- 
 ing six per centum per annum, and, not exceeding in 
 any one year, a sum, which together with the net income 
 of the said fund, shall amount to four hundred thou- 
 sand dollars, for which monies so to be borrowed, the 
 Comptroller shall issue transferable certificates of 
 stock, payable at such time or times, as may be deter- 
 mined by the said board out of the said fund, to pay to 
 the Canal Commissioners hereafter mentioned, the mo- 
 nies so to be borrowed, and the income of the said fund, 
 reserving at all times sufficient to pay the interest of 
 all monies that shall have been borrowed by the said 
 board ; to recommend from time to time to the Legis- 
 lature, the adoption of such measures as may be thought 
 proper by the said board for the improvement of the 
 said fund, and to report to the Legislature at the open- 
 ing of every session thereof, the state of the said fund : 
 and that the Comptroller and Treasurer shall op6n 
 separate books, and keep the accounts of the said fund, 
 distinct from the other funds of the State. 
 
 And be it further enacted. That the Commissioners 
 appointed by the Act, entitled " An Act to provide for 
 
( 269 y 
 
 the improvement of the Internal Navigation of this 
 State," passed April 17, 1816, shall continue to possess 
 the powers thereby conferred, and be denominated the 
 Canal Commissioners, and they are hereby authorized 
 and empowered in behalf of this State, and on the credit 
 of the fund herein pledged, to commence making the 
 said Canals, by opening communications by Canals 
 and Locks between the Mohawk and Seneca Rivers, 
 and between Lake Champlain and the Hudson River; 
 to receive from time to time from the Commissioners of 
 the Canal fund, such monies as may be necessary for 
 and applicable to the objects hereby contemplated; 
 to cause the same to be expended in the most prudent 
 and economical manner in all such works as may be 
 proper to make the said Canals, and on completing any 
 part or parts of the works or Canals contemplated by 
 this Act, to establish reasonable tolls, and adopt all 
 measures necessary for the collection and payment 
 thereof to the commissioners of the canal fund : that a 
 majority of the said commissioners shall be a board for 
 the transaction of business, each of whom shall take an 
 oath, well and faithfully to execute the duties of his 
 office, and shall report to the Legislature at each ses- 
 sion thereof, the state of the said works and expendi- 
 tures, and recommend such measures as they may 
 think advisable for the accomplishment of the objects 
 intended by this Act. And in case of any vacancy in 
 the office of Commissioner, during the recess of the 
 Legislature, the person administering the government, 
 may appoint a person to fill such vacancy, until the 
 Legislature shall act in the premises. 
 
 And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be 
 lawful for the said canal commissioners, and each of 
 them by themselves, and by any and every superintend- 
 ent, agent, and engineer, employed by them, to enter 
 upon, and take possession of, and use all and singular 
 any lands, waters and streams, necessary for the 
 prosecutionof the improvements intended by this Act. 
 And to make all such canals, feeders, dykes, locks, dams 
 and other works and devices, as they may think proper 
 
( 270 ) 
 
 for making said improvements, doing nevertheless no 
 minecessary damage. And that in case any lands, 
 waters, or streams taken and appropriated for any of 
 the purposes aforesaid, shall not be given or granted 
 to the people of this State, it shall be the duty of the 
 canal commissioners from time to time, and as often as 
 they think reasonable and proper, to cause applications 
 to be made to the Justices of the Supreme Court, or 
 any two of them, for the appointment of appraisers, 
 and the said Justices shall thereupon by writing, ap- 
 point not less than three, nor more than five discreet 
 disinterested persons as appraisers, who shall, before 
 they enter upon the duties of their appointment, sever- 
 ally take and subscribe an oath or affirmation, before 
 some person authorized to administer oaths faithfully 
 and impartially, to perform the trust and duties re- 
 quired of them by this Act. Which oath or affirma- 
 tion shall be filed with the Secretary of the canal com- 
 missioners ; and it shall be the duty of the said ap- 
 praisers or a majority of them, to make a just and equi- 
 table estimate and appraisal of the loss and damage, 
 if any over and above the benefit and advantage to the 
 respective owners and proprietors or parties interested 
 in the premises so required for the purposes aforesaid, 
 by and in consequence of making and coiistructing any 
 of the works aforesaid ; and the said appraisers^ or a 
 majority of them, shall make regular entries of their 
 determination and appraisal, with an apt and sufficient 
 description of the several premises appropriated for the 
 purposes aforesaid, in a book or books to be provided 
 and kept by the canal commissioners, and certify and 
 sign their names to such entries and appraisal, and 
 in like manner certify their determination as to those 
 several premises, which will suffer no damages, or will 
 be benefited more than injured by or in consequence of 
 the works aforesaid. And the canal commissioners 
 shall pay the damages so to be assessed and appraised, 
 and the fee simple of the premises so appropriated, 
 shall be vested in the people of this state. 
 
 And be it further enacted, That whenever in the opi- 
 
( 271 ) 
 
 mon of the canal commissioners, it shall be for the in- 
 terest of this state, for the prosecution of the works 
 contemplated by this act, that all the interest and title 
 (if any) in law and equity of the western inland lock 
 navigation company should be vested in the people of 
 this state, it shall be lawful for the said canal commis- 
 sioners to pass a resolution to that effect; and it shall 
 then be lawful for the president of the canal commis- 
 sioners, to cause a copy of such resolution, with a notice 
 signed by himself and the secretary of the said com- 
 missioners, to be delivered to the president or other 
 known officer of the said company, notifying the pre- 
 sident and directors of the said company, that an ap- 
 plication will be made to the Justices of the Supreme 
 Court, at a term thereof, to be held not less than thirty 
 days from the time of giving such notice for the ap- 
 pointment of appraisers, to estimate the damages to be 
 sustained by the said company, by investing in the peo- 
 ple of this state, all the lands, waters, canals, locks, 
 feeders, and appurtenances thereto acquired, used and 
 claimed by the said company, under its act of incorpo- 
 ration, and the several acts amending the same ; and it 
 shall be the duty of the Justices aforesaid, at the term 
 mentioned in the said notice, and on proof of the ser- 
 vice thereof, to appoint by writing under the seal of the 
 said Court, and the hands of at least three of the said 
 Justices, not less than three nor more than five disinte- 
 rested persons, being citizens of the United States, to 
 estimate and appraise the damages aforesaid; and it 
 shall be the duty of the said appraisers, or a majority 
 of them, to estimate and appraise the damages afore- 
 said, and severally to certify the same, under oath be- 
 fore an officer authorized to take the acknowledgment 
 ofdeeds, to be a just, equitable, and impartial appraisal 
 to the best of their judgment and belief, and shall 
 thereupon deliver the same to one of the canal com- 
 missioners, who shall report the same to the said court; 
 and if the said court shall be of opinion, that the said 
 damages have been fairly and equitably assessed, the 
 said justices, or any three of them, may certify the 
 
. ( 272 ) 
 
 same on the said report, and the amount of the said 
 damages, and the expenses of the said apprisal shall 
 be audited by the comptroller, and paid on his warrant 
 by the treasurer, out of the canal fund. And the peo- 
 ple of this state shall thereupon be invested with, and 
 the said canal commissioners may cause to be used all 
 the lands, waters, streams, canals, locks, feeders, and 
 appurtenances aforesaid, for the purposes intended by 
 this act. 
 
 And be it further enacted^ That for the purposes con- 
 templated by this Act, and for the payment of the in- 
 terest, and final redemption of the principal of the 
 sums to be borrowed by virtue hereof, there shall be 
 and hereby are appropriated and pledged, a duty or 
 tax, of twelve and a half cents per bushel, upon all salt 
 to be manufactured in the westei-n district of this State : 
 a tax of one dollar upon each steam-boat passenger, 
 for each and every trip or voyage, such passenger may 
 be conveyed upon the Hudson River, on board of 9,ny 
 steam-boat over one hundred miles ; and half that sum 
 for any distance less than one hundred miles and over 
 thirty miles ; the proceeds of all lotteries which shall 
 be drawn'in this State, after the sums now granted upon 
 them shall be paid : all the net proceeds of this State, 
 from the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company: 
 and all the net proceeds of the said canals and each 
 part thereof when made : all grants and donations 
 made or to be made for the purpose of making the 
 said canals : all the duties upon sales at auction, after 
 deducting thereout twenty-three thousand and five hun- 
 dred dollars, annually appropriated to the hospital,the 
 Economical School, and the Orphan Asylum Society, 
 and ten thousand dollars hereby appropriated annually 
 for the support of foreign poor in the city of New- York. 
 And be it further enacted^ That from, and after 
 the first Tuesday of August next, there shall be paid 
 and collected in the manner now directed by law, upon 
 all salt to be manufactured in the county of Onondaga, 
 a duty of twelve and a half cents per bushel instead of 
 the present duties, and the like tax or duty of twelve 
 
( 273 ) 
 
 and a half cents per bushel, upon all other salt to be 
 manufactured in the western district of this state, which 
 shall be collected by the superintendent of the salt 
 springs, until otherwise directed bj the Legislature : 
 and for that purpose he shall have a responsible de- 
 puty residing at each place where salt is, or may be 
 manufactured, with the like powers, and subject to the 
 like duties as his present deputies: and that all the 
 provisions, forfeitures, penalties, and restrictions con- 
 tained in the laws relative to the duties upon Onondaga 
 salt, so far as the same may be applicable, shall be in 
 force for the purposes of enforcing the payment and 
 collection of the tax or duties imposed on salt, hereby 
 levied and imposed : and further, that the said superin- 
 tendent, instead of a yearly report to the legislature, 
 shall make a yearly report to the commissioners of the 
 canal fund, and pay into the treasury of this state, on 
 the first Tuesday of February, May, August, and No- 
 vember, in each year, all the monies collected by him 
 during the quarter preceding each of those days, de- 
 ducting in addition to what by law is now allowed to 
 be deducted, five per cent, of the duties collected at 
 all other salt works, not situated in the county of On- 
 ondoga, and two per cent, of the duties upon Ononda- 
 ga salt, as a compensation for the collecting and paying 
 over the same. 
 
 And be it further enacted^ That it shall be the duty 
 of the said canal commissioners, to raise the sum of 
 two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to be appro- 
 priated towards the making and completing of the said 
 canals, from the Mohawk River to the Seneca River, 
 and from Lake Champlain to Hudson's River, by caus- 
 ing to be assessed and levied in such manner as the 
 said commissioners may determine, and direct the said 
 sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars upon 
 the lands and real estate, lying along the route of the 
 said canals, and within twenty-five miles of the same, 
 on each side thereof: which sum so to be assessed and 
 levied, shall be assessed on ths said lands and real es- 
 tate adjacent to the said several canals, in such pro- 
 
 35 
 
( 274 ) 
 
 portion for each, as the said commissioners shall deter- 
 mine. And the said commissioners shall have power to 
 make such rules and regulations, and adopt such mea- 
 sures for the assessing, levying, and collecting of the sum 
 or sums ofmoney,eitherby sale of the said lands or other- 
 wise, as they shall deem meet, and the said assessment 
 shall be made on said lands, according to the benefit 
 which they shall be considered by the said commission- 
 ers,as deriving from the making of the said canals, re- 
 spectively : Provided, That such rules, regulations, and 
 measures, shall, before they are carried into effect, be 
 sanctioned and approved by the chancellor and judges 
 of the Supreme Court, or a majority of them : And pro- 
 vided further^ That the company, or individual subject to 
 such tax, shall subscribe any money or other property 
 towards the completion of the said canals, the amount 
 of such donation or voluntary subscriptions, shall, if the 
 same is less than the amount of the tax, be deducted 
 therefrom, and if more, he or they shall be entirely dis- 
 charged from the said tax. 
 
 And he it further enacted, That from, and after the first 
 day of May next, the aforesaid tax upon steam-boat 
 passengers, shall be demanded, taken, and received, 
 by each captain, or master of every steam-boat, navi- 
 gating the Hudson river; and, that during each month 
 thereafter, in which such boat shall be employed for 
 the conveyance of passengers, it shall be the duty of 
 such captain or master, to cause to be delivered to the 
 comptroller of this state, a return or account sworn to, 
 before some officer authorized to administer oaths, 
 stating the name of the boat, the number of trips made 
 by such boat during such month, and the whole number 
 of passengers conveyed on board such boat, at each of 
 the said trips, over one hundred miles, and the number 
 conveyed less than one hundred miles, and over thirty 
 miles, and pay into the treasury of this state, the amount 
 of such tax collected during the time mentioned in the 
 said return, deducting three per cent, thereof, as a com- 
 pensation for making such return, and collecting and 
 paying over the said tax : And further, that in case of any 
 neglect or refusal in making such return, or collecting 
 
( 273 ) 
 
 and paying over the tax, as directed in and by this sec- 
 tion,the captain or master so neglecting,shall forfeit and 
 pay the sum of five hundred dollars, beside the amount 
 of the tax so directed to be collected and paid over, 
 to be recovered in an action of debt in the name of the 
 people of this state, and for the use of the aforesaid 
 fund. 
 
 State of New-York, ) 
 Secretary^ Office. ^ 
 
 I certify the preceding to be a true copy of an original act of the 
 legislature of this state, on file in this ofl&ce. 
 
 Archibald Cambpell, 
 Deputy Secretary, 
 April 15, 1817. 
 
 REPORT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CANAL COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 Pursuant to the requisitions of the act, entitled, " An act to 
 provide for the improvement of the internal navigation of 
 this state,''"' passed April 17, 1816 ; and of the act, enti- 
 tled, " An act respecting navigable communications between 
 the Great Western and Northern Lakes and the Atlantic 
 Ocean^'' passed April 15, 1817, the Canal Commissioners 
 respectfully present to the Legislature the following Re- 
 port : — 
 
 As early in the spring a« was practicable, operations 
 w^ere commenced at Rome, by a careful re-examination 
 of the line of the canal, and of the levels of the preced- 
 ing year. This re-examination induced a belief, that 
 the short summit level at Rome, mentioned in the re- 
 port, and indicated on the map of last year, might be 
 entirely avoided, and instead thereof, a long summit 
 obtained, extending from the Mohawk river to the vici- 
 nity of the salt works at Salina. By this arrangement, 
 
( 276 ) 
 
 the cost of constructing two locks, the delay of passing 
 them, and the future expense of repairs, would for ever 
 be saved and prevented. Add to this, the new and ex- 
 tended summit would command, at all times, an inex- 
 haustible supply of water, embracing the Oriskany 
 Creek, the Mohawk River, Wood Creek, and the more 
 numerous and copious streams west of Wood Creek, 
 which cross the line of the canal, and discharge them- 
 selves into Oneida Lake. After a minute and labori- 
 ous examination, this alteration was adopted. 
 
 The law of April 15, 1817, directs the construction 
 of the middle section " between the Mohawk and Se- 
 neca Rivers," without designating any point of union 
 with either of the said rivers. The commissioners 
 therefore believed themselves vested with a discre- 
 tionary power which would authorize them to approach 
 either of the said rivers, at such place as would most 
 conduce to the public good. Not only from actual ob- 
 servation, but from information derived from the most 
 unquestionable authority, it was ascertained, that the 
 Mohawk River, from Rome to Utica, is extremely ser- 
 pentine in its course ; and that its navigation, in low 
 water, is much more difficult and imperfect than below 
 the village of Utica ; so much so, that this part of the 
 route of the western inland lock navigation, frequently 
 becomes a portage ; boats being lightened or unloaded 
 west of Rome, and their cargoes carried by land to 
 Utica, where they are re-loaded into boats and trans- 
 ported down the Mohawk. Anticipating that the chan- 
 nel of the Mohawk river may be used for the purposes 
 of navigation, for some time after the completion of the 
 middle section, before the eastern section will be con- 
 structed, it was deemed advi'sable to extend the mid- 
 dle section as far east as the village of Utica. 
 
 By a reference to the report of last year, it will be 
 found that a sum estimated at $75,000 was assigned to 
 the purchase of " utensils, such as carts, ploughs, scra- 
 pers wheel-barrows, iron bars, pick-axes, shovels, 
 chains, temporary work-shops, barracks, &;c." This 
 item of anticipated expenditure, was made on the au- 
 
( 277 ) 
 
 thority of precedents, derived from the best English 
 engineers; and it was supposed at the time, that it 
 would be expedient for the state to purchase the utensils ' 
 and incur the expense. But further reflections satisfied 
 the commissioners that a more economical course might 
 be pursued. They therefore determined to let out the 
 canal in short sections or jobs to contractors, who 
 should furnish their own tools, and be paid a stipulated 
 price per cubic yard, ior excavation and for embank- 
 ment. It was believed that under this arrangement, the 
 necessary utensils would be much better preserved 
 from injury and destruction, than they would were they 
 the property of the state,; it was foreseen also, that a 
 set of tools in the hands of a contractor who had finish- 
 ed one job, would furnish him with a strong inducement 
 to engage in another; and it was obvious, that the tools 
 which should remain in the hands of an individual after 
 the completion of any section of the canal, might in 
 a great measure be usefully applied to the reparation 
 of roads, or to the purposes of agriculture ; whereas 
 they would, as the property of the state, turn to little 
 account. 
 
 These preliminaries being settled, preparations were 
 made for dividing the canal line into short and con- 
 venient sections preparatory to its being let to con- 
 tractors. The engineers were directed to arrange 
 these sections in such manner, as that every section, 
 if practicable, should have a brook, ravine or low piece 
 of ground at either end, so that every contractor might 
 have the advantage of draining his works, without in- 
 terfering with any adjoining contract. Augers of near- 
 ly four inches in diameter, and with a shaft of twelve 
 feet in length, were procured, with which the earth 
 was perforated, along the canal line, at short distances, 
 to the necessary depth, in order that every alternation 
 in its strata, its hardness or softness, its inclination to 
 vegetable matter, clay, loam, sand, gravel or other 
 substance, and also its porosity or impermeability to 
 w^ater, might be ascertained with the greatest possible 
 accuracy. 
 
( 278 ) 
 
 The levels of the preceding year, were not only care- 
 fully re-examined, but lateral levels were frequently 
 made on each side of the line, with a view to improve 
 its location wherever the nature of the ground would 
 permit; and this was often found practicable. The en- 
 gineers were directed, in addition to permanent bench- 
 marks, to' place three rows of stakes, the middle row 
 to mark the centre of the canal, and the two outside 
 rows, which were to be sixty feet apart, to designate 
 the extremities of the part to be grubbed, wherever that 
 operation was necessary. Two other rows of stakes 
 were placed in such manner as to designate the width 
 of excavation, conforming also to the curves into which 
 the angles on the line were converted, and varying 
 in their distance from each other in a* ratio combining 
 the depth of cutting and the declivity of the surface 
 of the ground. The engineers also made perspicuous 
 profiles of all the sections separately ; marking them 
 alphabetically, or numerically ; designating the dis- 
 tance embraced by each, and noting the variations 
 of soil, the quality and quantity of timber to be 
 grubbed and cleared, and other peculiarities. — These 
 sectional maps, together with drafts and plans for aque- 
 ducts, culverts, &c. are herewith presented 
 
 After the extension of the summit level had been de- 
 termined, an extension which it is believed renders it 
 superior in length to any summit level in the world, 
 considerable solicitude was felt, lest with all the care 
 and accuracy of the engineers some deviation from an 
 exact water level might be made on so long a line. — 
 While Benjamin Wright, Esquire, was re-examining 
 and laying off sections from Rome, west along the ca- 
 nal line, it was deemed expedient, as a test to the ac- 
 curacy of the work, that James Geddes, Esquire, should 
 start, at a given point on the canal line, at Rome, and 
 carry a level along the road to the east end of Oneida 
 Lake, marking on permanent objects the height of the 
 surface of the water while the lake was tranquil, at va- 
 rious places from the east to the west end, along its 
 southern shore ; that he should then connect by a le- 
 
( 279 ) 
 
 vel, the Oneida with the Onondaga Lake ; after which 
 he was to carry a level from the last mentioned lake, at 
 Salina, south about one and a fourth miles to the ca- 
 nal line, and from thence to work to the east, laying 
 off sections along the canal line. This was accom- 
 plished, and nine miles at the west end of the summit 
 level were laid out into sections. And the commis- 
 sioners have the satisfaction to state, that when the 
 level of Mr. Wright had been carried along the canal 
 line, to the place where Mr. Geddes had terminated 
 his line, the levels of these engineers, which embraced 
 a circuit, from the place of departure to the junction, 
 of nearly one hundred miles, differed from each other 
 less than one and an half inches ! This result, so satis- 
 factory, exhibits in the engineers a degree of care, 
 skill and precision, in the delicate process of levelling, 
 which has perhaps never been exceeded. 
 
 Isaac Briggs, Esquire, an eminent mathematician, 
 who had been employed by the Commissioners as an 
 engineer, after procuring the necessary instruments, 
 was directed to operate between Rome and Utica. 
 
 This part of the line was in general less encumbered 
 with forest trees, and offered fewer obstructions to a 
 fair and speedy experiment in excavation than any 
 other. The necessary preliminary examinations had 
 occupied much time, so that the season was already far 
 advanced, and had become excessively wet; the de- 
 mands for contracts already increased- beyond every 
 exertion to supply them ; it seemed very important that 
 in the course of the season such progress should be 
 made in the works, as would present to the people of 
 the state as satisfactory a test as possible, of the cor- 
 rectness or incorrectness of the estimates of last year : 
 it was necessary before the contracts could be made to 
 determine the exact dimensions of all the works, and 
 the precise manner of their construction; to calculate 
 the cubic contents of masonry in every aqueduct and 
 bridge, so that a sufficient quantity of proper materials 
 might be provided : in short, to settle all the details and 
 provisions of a great variety of miscellaneous contracts, 
 
( 280 ) 
 
 of which hardly any two are to be found exactly simi- 
 lar to each other. Oppressed by that weight of re- 
 sponsibility, which is the necessary concomitant of such 
 a complication of important concerns, the acting com- 
 missioners felt that the united exertions of the engi- 
 neers and of themselves were indispensable, until by 
 their labours these multifarious details should have as- 
 sumed, in some measure, an organized form. These 
 considerations, it is hoped, will furnish a sufficient 
 apology for not having divided their exertions at an 
 earlier period, and simultaneously attended to the 
 Champlain canal, as was at first intended, and as it 
 seems was contemplated by the law which authorizes 
 its construction. 
 
 After performing the above services, James Geddes, 
 Esquire, was directed to operate between Rome and 
 Utica, until that part of the line should be ready for 
 contracts ; after which he was instructed to repair to 
 the Champlain canal, he having been previously disig- 
 nated as its engineer. 
 
 The first contract is dated the 27th June, 1817, but 
 owing to the time necessarily spent by the contractors 
 in preparation, it was not until the 4th of July that the 
 excavation was commenced. 
 
 Although the contracts are various and dissimilar, 
 in conformity to the localities of the line which they 
 respectively embrace, yet there are some general pro- 
 visions applicable to every contract for grubbing and 
 clearing, for excavation and for embankment, which 
 will be seen in the forms marked A.B.C. hereto an- 
 nexed, The form of a contract for stone, marked D ; 
 of a contract for the construction of road bridges, 
 marked E. ; and of a contract for cast iron culverts, 
 marked F., are also added. Some of the contracts for 
 stone provide that they shall be paid for according to 
 the measurement by the cord at the place of delivery : 
 others according to the cubic measurement in the wall, 
 after they are laid, and others at so much per ton, 
 weighed at the place of delivery. 
 
 A schedule Marked G, hereto annexed, contains the 
 
( 281 ) 
 
 names of all the contractors, the dates, extent, nature 
 and prices of the several contracts, the respective times 
 when they are to be completed, and also the sums of 
 money paid or advanced upon each of them. 
 
 It v*^ill be perceived that the length of line, embraced 
 by the several contracts for excavation and for embank- 
 ment,varies from 40 rods, to three miles. The contracts, 
 generally were made to embrace less than would other- 
 wise have been necessary, in order that men in mode- 
 rate pecuniary circumstances might be enabled to en- 
 gage in the work, provided they could procure the ne- 
 cessary security. And although this multiplication of 
 the contracts created much more trouble and labour 
 for the commissioners than a contrary course would 
 have done, as on every job it was necessary not only to 
 draw and execute a contract, but also a counterpart 
 thereof, so that each party might have one in his pos- 
 session, yet this was obviously more just and equitable, 
 than by a diminution of the number of contracts to 
 have put it in the power of a few wealthy individuals 
 to have monopolized the whole, and to have made sub- 
 contracts, at reduced prices, with the labouring part 
 of the community. 
 
 It was usually the case, when a contract was made, 
 that the contractor wished for an advance in money, in 
 some degree proportionate to the extent of his con- 
 tract, to enable him to procure teams, utensils, provi- 
 sions, &c. A sum for this purpose was generally ad- 
 vanced, on the security of some responsible individual 
 or individuals, who became jointly and severally bound 
 with the contractor that the job should be finished by 
 the time and in the manner specified in the contract, 
 or that the money should be refunded with interest ; 
 and further, that the amount of the sum advanced, 
 should be expended in labour towards the completion 
 of the contract within a reasonable time, (generally two 
 months,) or, in default thereof, that ttie said sum should 
 be repaid on demand, with interest. This obligation 
 was generally written on the back of the contract, ac- 
 cording to the form hereto annexed, marked H. 
 
 36 
 
( 282 ) 
 
 in the execution of contracts for excavation, and for 
 embankment, there are great opportunities for decep- 
 tion, by neglecting to remove, in an effectual manner, 
 from the foundation of the works, all the porous and 
 perishable matter, and by constructing the internal and 
 concealable parts of the banks of improper materials. 
 To prevent this, the engineers were instructed to ex- 
 amine the works as often as their other avocations would 
 permit ; and also to employ faithful, active and vigilant 
 assistants, who were frequently to traverse the line, and 
 carefully inspect every job, and commit to writing, 
 and report to the engineer, every departure from a ri- 
 gid compliance with the respective contracts. The 
 commissioners, also, as far as time would allow, super- 
 intended the execution of all the works. The contracts 
 were drawn in such manner (as will be perceived by 
 the forms) that every contractor was compelled to finish 
 his whole job, and have it inspected and accepted by 
 the engineer, before he was entitled to receive any 
 part of his pay. They, however, received a verbal as- 
 surance from the commissioners, that while the works 
 were carried on in a faithful manner, monthly payments 
 should be made, amounting nearly to the value of the 
 labour expended on the job, calculated jwro rata accord- 
 ing to the prices mentioned in the contract, and de- 
 ducting all previous advances and payments ; but, that 
 if any attempt at deception was discovered in the 
 works, these payments should be entirely suspended, 
 and a strict compliance with the contract enforced, 
 arrangements were also made to fill the canal with 
 water, after the completion of a job, and previous to a 
 settlement with the contractor, in every place where 
 this was practicable ; so that the leaks, if any, might be 
 at once discovered and repaired, at the expense of 
 the contractor. 
 
 When it is considered that the greatest part of the 
 contractors are men of property and respectability, 
 whose reputations are intimately connected with a 
 faithful performance of their contracts,. and when refe- 
 rence is had to the many guards and precautions, which 
 
( 283 ) 
 
 are calculated to insure the same result, it may be 
 safely anticipated, that the canal will be constructed in 
 the most substantial and durable manner. 
 
 The distance now under contract, is about fifty-eight 
 miles, and is wholly on the summit level. A few rods 
 on each side of Oriskany creek, have not been let out, 
 but are reserved in order that the surplus earth may be 
 used in the construction of a dam, which is to be built 
 across that stream. More or less labour has been ap- 
 plied along the whole extent of the line under contract, 
 according to the means of the several contractors, and 
 the time aflfbrded to each of them after the date of the 
 contract, before the close of the season. — The greatest 
 part of the contractors suspended their operations at 
 the freezing of the ground, though several of them have 
 continued to labour on their jobs up to the present 
 time. About two thirds of the whole distance is through 
 new and uncleared land, and of course required grub- 
 bing and clearing ; the greatest part of which has been 
 completed. Considerable progress has also been made 
 on about two-thirds of the jobs in excavation and em- 
 bankment. One job has been completed and inspect- 
 ed, and a final settlement made with the contractors. 
 Another is so far finished, as to be fit for use; but it 
 will nevertheless require a few days additional labour, 
 to give it that beauty and symmetry which are contem- 
 plated by the contract; and arrangements are also 
 made to fill it with water before a final settlement is had 
 with the contractor. Detached pieces likewise are com- 
 pleted on many others : Indeed contracts may be seen 
 in every stage of progression, from a bare commence- 
 ment to a completion. A pretty correct idea can be form- 
 ed of the amount of labour, which has been applied to 
 each contract, by reference to the prices, and to the 
 amount paid to the respective contractors. It ought,how- 
 ever, to be noted, that from ^200 to ^1000 each was 
 advanced on security, in December last, to the greatest 
 part of the contractors, to enable them to take advan- 
 tage of the market, in purchasing beef, pork, flour, and 
 other stores and provision for the next season. From 
 
( 284 ) 
 
 the best estimate that can be formed, it is believed^ 
 that the amount of labour which has been applied on 
 the whole line, would have completed, if concentrated, 
 the average excavation and embankment of about fif- 
 teen miles. 
 
 Much useful experience has been acquired in the 
 course of the season. Many valuable improvements 
 have been made in the method of grubbing standing 
 timber. It has been ascertained that much labour in 
 excavation is saved, especially in dry ground, by the 
 use of the plough and * scraper : and it is found that 
 banks constructed in this way, by being constantly tra- 
 velled over by the teams with their loads, are much 
 more solid, and less liable to leakage, than those which 
 are made after the European method with the spade 
 and wheel-barrow. And even with the spade and 
 wheel-barrow, more progress can be made in excava- 
 tion, than was supposed. As an exemplification of this 
 remark, the commissioners state with the fullest confi- 
 dence, on the authority of Messrs. Pease, Mosely, and 
 Dexter, that three Irishmen in their employ, finished, 
 including banks and towing-path, three rods of the ca- 
 nal, in four feet cutting, in the space of five and a half 
 days. Thus sixteen and a half days work, accomplish- 
 ed the excavation of two hundred forty-nine and one- 
 third cubic yards; which at twelve and a half cents per 
 cubic yard, would produce to each workmam the very 
 liberal wages of one dollar and eighty eight cents 
 per day. 
 
 It is believed that the prices which the contractors 
 receive for the several kinds of work, will afford them, 
 in ordinary seasons, a generous compensation for their 
 labour and superintendence. The contractors in gene- 
 ral feel confident of this ; and those who have done the 
 most towards the accomplishment of their jobs, feel the 
 greatest degree of encouragement. Several of them, 
 as will be perceived, have taken second jobs ; and 
 others have made application for them, but could not 
 be accommodated. Those who have finished particu- 
 lar pieces, have been able to make calculations of their 
 
( 285 ) 
 
 loss or gain with mathematical certainty; and not an 
 instance of this kind is known, in which it has been 
 shown that the prices do not pay for the labour. Mr. 
 Richardson, who has completed his first job, except 
 giving it the last finish, which will not probably require 
 more than ten or fifteen days labour, alledges that he 
 has kept an account of his expenditures, and that not- 
 withstanding the unfavGurableness of the season, he 
 shall clear the whole of his tools and utensils. The 
 excavation of this job, running through low ground, 
 was almost incessantly interrupted or incommoded by 
 repeated inundations. The contractors, in general af- 
 firm, that they have been insured from 20 to 30 per 
 cent, by the extraordinary wetness of the season. 
 
 The rains have surpassed in extent and duration, all 
 former example. More water has flowed in the Mo- 
 hawk river the past summer than was ever before wit- 
 nessed in any season by the oldest inhabitants. Its ex- 
 tensive intervale lands, have been several times deluged: 
 and at Rome, it raised so high in October last, that a 
 part of its waters, overflowing the dividing lands be- 
 tween the river and Wood creek, passed down that 
 creek and were of course discharged into the ocean by 
 the St. Lawrence : thus converting the northern and 
 eastern parts of this state, and, indeed, all the country 
 east of the Hudson, and south of the St, Lawrence, in- 
 to an island. 
 
 But although these excessive rains have been so de- 
 trimental to the contractors, yet they have furnished a 
 volume of experience, which cannot fail to be immense- 
 ly valuable to the state, in the great works of internal 
 improvement which have been commenced. Indeed, 
 with minds accustomed to view in every occurrence a 
 particular dispensation of a benign and superintend- 
 ing Providence, the two last seasons cannot but be re- 
 garded with pecuHar interest. In 181 6, when the whole 
 of both routes, from lake Erie and from lake Champlain 
 to the navigable waters of the Hudson, embracing an 
 extent of more than four hundred miles, was to be ex- 
 amined and" explored, the season was uncommonly dry 
 
( 286 ) 
 
 and favourable ; and perhaps more useful and extensive 
 surveys and levels were made, than were ever before 
 accomplished in one year in any age or country : And 
 in 1817, when the works were to be commenced, no 
 season was ever marked with such repeated inunda- 
 tions ; as if, to indicate at the commencement, by the 
 height, impetuosity and durability of the greatest 
 floods, the exact dimensions and strength of the works, 
 necessary to discharge or resist them. 
 
 The examinations of last year, which have been 
 so minute and critical that no important obstructions 
 could have escaped them, have strongly demonstrated 
 the practicability of carrying on these important 
 works. 
 
 The ground is so well calculated for a canal, that 
 the commissioners feel very confident, that in the dis- 
 tance of more than fifty eight miles between Utica and 
 Salina, there is not to exceed half a mile which will 
 probably require puddling. 
 
 This half mile is in the neighbourhood of Whitesbo- 
 rough ; and even with respect to this, strong expecta- 
 tions are entertained, that without this process it will be- 
 come water tight. So few rocks or stones exist on the 
 whole extent of the summit level, that it is believed 
 S500 would be more than sufficient to remove every 
 obstruction of this kind. In the town of Manlius, two or 
 three points of shelly, rotten limestone, of a slaty struc- 
 ture such as generally forms the roof or covering of 
 plaster beds, have been discovered, and are indicated 
 on the profiles ; — and on the contract of Mr.Gumar, 
 in this town, fine chrystalized gypsum has been dug 
 up and laid bare by the excavation. In the whole ex- 
 tent of the summit level, there is not a ravine to be 
 filled up, or a ridge to be cut down in which the great- 
 est deviation of the surface of the earth from the top 
 water line amounts to eighteen feet. The average 
 depth of cutting, for the whole distance, is less than five 
 feet ; and an embankment one seventeenth part of the 
 distance, ten feet high, would amount to all the com- 
 bined works of that kind which are necessary. 
 
( 287 ) 
 
 A reference to the former report will show, that 
 the contracts on the whole are within the estimates. It 
 is true, that as respects the contracts for excavation, 
 separately considered, although some of them are as 
 low as eleven cents, per cubic yard, yet in the aggre- 
 gate they will, in a trifling degree, exceed the esti- 
 mates. But by an examination of the sectional maps, 
 it will be seen, that some of these contracts include 
 small ravines, over which short embankments were ne- 
 cessary ; and in some cases of this kind, where the sur- 
 plus earth from the parts to be excavated was supposed 
 to be sufficient to form the embankments, nothing was 
 allowed eo nomine for the embankments ; but such sum, 
 by the cubic yard, for the excavation, was agreed on, 
 as was deemed suflScient to cover this extra labour. — 
 This was the case in the first contract of Mr. Richard- 
 son, and in several others of the earliest contracts, as 
 will be perceived by the profiles of the sections which 
 they embrace. 
 
 The reduction of the short summit level at Rome 
 created between two and three feet additional depth 
 of cutting for about three miles in length ; and this ex- 
 tra depth required an enhancement in the price of ex- 
 cavation : but it should be noted, that the saving of the 
 cost of constructing two locks, in addition to other ad- 
 vantages, will much more than counterbalance this en- 
 hancement of expense. 
 
 The estimates allowed for grubbing and clearing 
 through uncleared land, $1500 per mile; and by a ref- 
 erence to the contracts it will be perceived that the pri- 
 ces to be paid average about Si 200 per mile. The es- 
 timated price for building a road bridge was ;^500 — 
 whereas the whole have been contracted for between 
 Utica and Salina, and wit& a warranty that they shall 
 stand firm and secure for five years, at an average of 
 $335 each. The culverts are to be made of cast iron. 
 They will probably cost as much, and possibly rather 
 more than the estimates; but their permanency and 
 durability, will, it is believed, make them cheaper in 
 the end, than though they had been constructed in the 
 
( 288 ) 
 
 ordinary manner. In comparing the amount to be 
 paid upon the contracts with the former estimates, it 
 should not be forgotten that all the contractors furnish 
 their own tools, by which the state is relieved from a 
 very serious item of expense. 
 
 On the whole, the commissioners feel satisfied from 
 the experience of last year, that with care and econo- 
 my, and also with the aid of the labour-saving improve- 
 ments which may be reasonably anticipated during the 
 progress of the works, the Erie and Champlain canals 
 may be completed for a sum which shall not exceed the 
 estimates 
 
 About the 5th of Semptember, Mr. Geddes com- 
 menced the re-examination of the Champlain canal.— 
 Considerable time was spent in exploring, with a view 
 to ascertain whether, incase the trade on that canal 
 should in a course of years, increase to such a degree 
 as to exhaust Half-Way Brook, which is the principal 
 source of supply for the summit level, a sufficient 
 quantity of water might be obtained from any other 
 quarter. Levels were carried from the Hudson river, 
 at several points above Fort Edward, to the line of the 
 canal : And it was ascertained, that in the event of fu- 
 ture deficiency, water may be drawn from the Hudson 
 by a short feeder, in any quantity which may be ne- 
 cessary. It is not proposed to make this feeder at pre- 
 sent ; indeed, it is not believed it will be wanted in 
 half a century, unless a change in the seasons, creating 
 a great diminution of water, should take place; but it 
 was deemed prudent, before the canal w as commenced, 
 to ascertain the practicability of its future construc- 
 tion. 
 
 The engineer levelled auid examined the whole 
 length of the line of the canal from Fort Edward, 
 which is to be its place of junction with the Hudson, to 
 Whitehall. Five miles from Whitehall, south, along 
 the line of the canal, were marked out into sections ,; 
 which comprehend the greatest part of the excavation 
 between the south part of the village of Whitehall and 
 Fort Ann, as the natural channel of Wood Creek will 
 
( 289 ) 
 
 be principall)' used the remainder of the distance be- 
 tween those two places. Some doubt existed at Fort 
 Ann, whether it would be best to pass on the east or 
 the west side of the village. Both routes were ex- 
 plored, and it is finally beHeved, that the east route 
 combines the greatest advantages. These two routes 
 form a junction about one mile south of the village of 
 Fort Ann, from which point, about five miles along the 
 line of the canal to the south were laid out into sec- 
 tions. From the termination of this last distance to 
 Fort Edward, it was carefully explored and levelled ; 
 but a part of the distance being swampy and filled 
 with water, by the excessive rains, and it being so late 
 in the fall, that little probability existed of commenc- 
 ing the excavation to advantage until next season, 
 the engineer did not lay off into sections and accu- 
 rately stake out this part of the line. It is, however, 
 intended that this shall be done in March, before the 
 breaking up of the frost, if the weather will permit, so 
 that the work may be commenced as early in the spring 
 as possible. 
 
 The profiles and maps of the engineer are herewith 
 presented. A printed copy of specifications, regulating 
 the manner of constructing the works, and designed in 
 some measure to abridge the labour of writing the con- 
 tracts, is also hereto annexed. 
 
 The line of the canal, and the form of the works, are 
 not materially varied from the plan proposed in the re- 
 port of last year. It has, however, been thought ad- 
 visable, and indeed of considerable importance, to en- 
 large the dimensions of the canal and locks, so as to 
 make them correspond in size with the Erie canal. 
 
 Several weighty considerations may be adduced in 
 support of this alteration. Those parts of this state 
 and of Vermont which lay contiguous to lake Cham- 
 plain, abound in masts, spars, ship-timber, and lumber 
 of all descriptions, to a degree which can hardly be 
 conceived by a person unacquainted with those exten- 
 sive tracts of country. It will require locks of nearly 
 or quite ninety feet in length to transport masts and 
 
 37 
 
( 290 ) 
 
 spars to the best advantage; and all the bulky articles 
 of lumber, which are usually rafted, may be transport- 
 ed through such locks in much larger quantities, and of 
 course with much more expedition, than through those 
 of small dimensions, as it requires nearly the same 
 time to pass a small as a large lock. 
 
 After the completion of the canals, a considerable 
 exchange of articles may be expected between the 
 western and northern parts of this state. Salt and 
 gypsum will be sent from the w«st to the north, for 
 which iron and the fine marble of Vermont will be re- 
 turned. It is obvious, that no direct communication of 
 this kind can be carried on between these two parts, 
 unless the boats which navigate the Erie canal, and 
 which will probably be of corresponding dimensions, 
 can also traverse the Champlain canal. If this is not the 
 case, cargoes passing from one of these places to the 
 other must be unloaded and reloaded at the tide-waters 
 of the Hudson, which would increase, in a considera- 
 ble degree, the expense of transportation. 
 
 The additional cost of increasing the dimensions of 
 the Champlain canal, together with its locks, will, it is 
 believed, bear no proportion to the utility of the mea- 
 sure. For more than half the distance between the 
 tide-waters of the Hudson and lake Champlain, this 
 communication will occupy the natural channel of the 
 Hudson and of Wood creek. It is apparent then, that 
 the extra expense of excavation created by this mea- 
 sure cannot be very serious. A considerable share of 
 the expense of a lock is usually incurred in securing a 
 permanent foundation, by piling or otherwise. When 
 it is considered, therefore, that the piling machines and 
 other necessary apparatus will cost about the same 
 sum for locks of different dimensions, it is pretty evi- 
 dent, that an addition ot ten feet to the length, and two 
 to the breadth of a lock, cannot very considerably 
 augment its expense. 
 
 The excavation of about five miles of the canal, im- 
 mediately south of Whitehall, has been contracted for 
 by Messrs. Melanchton Wheeler and Ezra Smith, at 
 
( 291 ) 
 
 tT*^elve and a half cents per cubic yard, except a deep 
 cutting of about thirty rods in length, for which they 
 are to receive eighteen cents. The work was com- 
 menced and continued for some time on this contract, 
 until the weather had become so unfavourable, and the 
 days so short, that it was thought prudent to suspend 
 it till spring. 
 
 Reasonable propositions have been made for the ex- 
 cavation of all the remaining part of the line, except 
 that which passes through the village of Whitehall ; 
 but as the work could not be advantageously com- 
 menced till next spring, and as a considerable part of 
 the line was not accurately designated, the contracts 
 have not yet been executed. 
 
 The re-examination of the Champlain canal, has con- 
 firmed and increased the favourable impressions which 
 the former survey had made. From the advantageous 
 nature of the ground generally, and from the contiguity 
 of the materials which are necessary for the construc- 
 tion of the artificial works, the commissioners confi- 
 dently anticipate, that even with its enlarged dimen- 
 sions, it will be made for the sum mentioned in the 
 estimate. 
 
 An agent was employed early in the season to pro- 
 cure for the state cessions of the lands to be occupied 
 by the Canals. He traversed the whole line from Uti- 
 ca to the Seneca river, and took particular pains to call 
 on every resident land-holder who could be found. The 
 result was, that about nine-tenths of them made volun- 
 tary cessions to the state. More than half of the line 
 of the Champlain Canal, between Fort Edward and 
 Whitehall, has also been ceded by the owners, to whom 
 application was made by the same agent. 
 
 Several young men have been employed by the engi- 
 neers as assistants, during the last season, some of whom 
 have manifested a praiseworthy zeal to qualify them- 
 selves as engineers ; and from the attention and apti- 
 tude which they have exhibited, there is no doubt but 
 they will soon become extremely useful to the state. — 
 One of them has gone to Europe, with a view to make 
 
( 292 ) 
 
 himself fully acquainted with the best mode of con- 
 structing all the works appertaining to Canals. 
 
 The construction of Canals is an art within the com- 
 plete attainment of ordinary capacities. All its rules 
 have been fully explained by eminent engineers, who 
 have written treatises on the subject. And notwith- 
 standing our country has made such trifling advances 
 in Internal Navigation, yet there are already in the 
 United States samples of the most difficult works which 
 will be necessary on the Erie or Champlain Canal. — 
 Neither of these communications will require a reser- 
 voir, sough or tunnel, which are always the most ex- 
 pensive appendages to internal navigation. Locks are 
 the most difficult of all the works which will be neces- 
 sary, and their construction is already well understood 
 in this state. 
 
 The state of New-York may indulge the proud re- 
 flection, that she possesses within herself the genius, the 
 skill, the enterprise, and all the other means, requisite 
 to the accomplishment of an internal navigation, whose 
 utility will surpass any work of the kind which pre- 
 ceding ages have accomplished. The location and ex- 
 tent of the great lakes, connected together and stretch- 
 ing through several degrees of latitude and longitude, 
 and the wonderful facilities of the country intervening 
 between them and the tide-waters of the Hudson, ap- 
 pear to have been designed by nature, to tempt the im- 
 proving industry of man. To join the east to the west; 
 to unite the forty-fifth degree of latitude on lake Cham- 
 plain with the farthest verge of lake Superior ; to con- 
 nect the whole with the ocean, and to bestow the bless- 
 ings of any easy intercommunication upon the millions 
 of human beings who are destined to flourish along 
 these extended lines, are within the resources of the 
 people of this state. It rarely falls to the lot of the 
 limited powers of man, to confer any signal, extensive 
 and lasting benefit upon the human race: but the achieve- 
 ment of this magnificent enterprise, surpassing in its ef- 
 fects all the ordinary attainments of human imbe- 
 cility, would seem, in no partial degree, to emulate the 
 
0m 
 
 ( 293 } 
 
 bounty of heaven itself, which showers its benedictions 
 upon whole states and kingdoms. 
 
 An acquaintance with the history of European ca- 
 nals, with the cost of their construction, their location, 
 their annual tonnage, and the revenues which they af- 
 ford, cannot fail to satisfy every unprejudiced mind, that 
 in a pecuniary point of view, the amount which the 
 contemplated canals will cost, could not in any other 
 way be so profitably invested. Few of the canals of 
 Europe extend their benefits beyond the immediate vi- 
 cinity of their works. But an inspection of the map of 
 this state will show, that ten times as much territory be- 
 yond its northern termination will be benefited by the 
 Champlain canal, as exists along its line; and with re- 
 spect to the Erie canal, when it has traversed the most 
 productive parts of this state, to its western termina- 
 tion at Buffalo, embracing within its scope exhaustless 
 mines of gypsum and perennial fountains of salt, the 
 boundless theatre of its usefulness is but barely com- 
 menced. Is it possible, then, that the accomplishment 
 of these works can fail to yield to the state a rich pe- 
 cuniary reward, as well as the more honourable testi- 
 monials of public gratitude, perpetuated to the latest 
 generations in the plaudits of a countless posterity ? 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 S. VAN RENSSELAER, 
 SAMUEL YOUNG, 
 MYRON HOLLEY. 
 
 ^^Ibany, January 3\, mis. 
 
( 294 ) 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Articles of agreement, made and concluded this 
 day of in the year between of the one 
 
 part, and the canal commissioners of the state of New- 
 Fork of the other part, whereby it is covenanted and 
 agreed as follows, to wit; the said covenants and 
 agrees to grub and clear section Number of the Erie 
 canal, containing in length of the line of the said 
 canal, reference being herein had to the location of said 
 line, and the map thereof, by engineer : the grub- 
 bing is to be at least sixty feet wide, that is, thirty feet 
 on each side from the middle of the canal ; from which 
 width all the trees, saplings, bushes, stumps and root^ 
 shall be dug up, and together with all the logs, brush 
 and wood of all descriptions shall be removed at Jeast 
 forty-five feet from the centre of said canal : on each 
 side of the said sixty feet, a space thirty-six feet in 
 width, shall have all its trees, saplings and bushes cut 
 down, and a strip fifteen feet wide, of the last men- 
 tioned space on each side of the grubbing, and adjoin- 
 ing thereto, shall have all its trees, saplings, bushes and 
 stumps cut close to the ground, so that none of them 
 shall be left of more than one foot in height ; and all 
 the trees, saplings, bushes, brushes, logs, stumps and 
 wood of every kind, shall be removed wholly without 
 the said strip ; and no part thereof, nor any rubbish of 
 any kind, shall be laid, felled or left on either of the 
 sections adjoining this contract : and the said 
 agrees that during the progress of the work, he will, 
 from time to time, conform to such deviations from 
 the canal line as it is at present designated, as either 
 of the said commissioners, or any engineer by them or 
 either of them appointed for that purpose, shall direct, 
 and to such alterations in the width to be grubbed and 
 
( 295 ) 
 
 cleared, on any part, or the whole of the said section, 
 as may be directed by the commissioners, or any en- 
 gineer as aforesaid : And the said work shall be, from 
 time to time, carefully examined and inspected, and 
 to prevent all disputes and misunderstandings or 
 some other engineer in the employ of said commission- 
 ers, and to be designated by them or either of them for 
 that purpose, shall be the inspector of the said works ; 
 and whenever this contract shall be fully performed, in 
 the opinion of said inspector, on the part of the said 
 
 he shall certify the same in writing, whereupon, 
 within ten days after notice of such certificate, the said 
 commissioners shall pay to the said the sum of 
 dollars, and such further sum as said inspector shall de- 
 termine to be reasonable, for any additional labour re- 
 quired, inconsequence of any alteration of the present 
 canal line, or any increase of the width of grubbing and 
 clearing directed as aforesaid ; provided, however, and 
 it is hereby expressly covenanted and agreed, on the 
 part of the said that this contract shall be fully 
 
 performed and completed, on his part, by the 
 day of 
 
 Signed, sealed and delivered}^ 
 In presence of ^ 
 
 (B) 
 
 Articles of agreement, made and concluded this 
 day of in the year between 
 
 of the one' part, and the canal commissioners of the 
 State of New-York, of the other part, whereby it is co- 
 venanted and agreed as follows, to wit : The said 
 covenants and agrees, that he will excavate and con- 
 struct, in a good, substantial, and workmanlike manner, 
 all that part of the line of the Erie canal, which is in- 
 cluded in section reference being herein had to 
 the location and map of said line, made by 
 engineer. The canal and banks are to be constructed 
 
( 296 ) 
 
 in such manner, that the water may in ail places be at 
 least forty feet wide at the surface, twenty-eight feet 
 at the bottom, and four feet deep ; each of the banks 
 shall be at least two feet perpendicular measurement 
 above the top water line, and such a slope shall be pre- 
 served on the inner side of the banks, both above and 
 below the top water line, as that every foot perpendi- 
 cular rise shall give a horizontal base of at least eigh- 
 teen inches : the towing path shall be on the side 
 of the canal ; its surface shall be at least ten feet 
 wide, and not more than five feet in any place above 
 the top water line ; it shall be smooth and even, and 
 consist of the best materials excavated. The bank op- 
 posite the towing path, shall in no place be less than 
 five feet wide at its surface ; shall be smooth and even, 
 and neither of the banks shall have a less slope on the 
 outer than on the inner side, except where there is a 
 redundance of stuff, increasing their width at the sur- 
 face beyond the requirements aforesaid. In all places 
 where the depth of cutting below the natural surface 
 of the earth exceeds nine feet, there the towing path 
 shall be five feet, perpendicular measurement, above 
 the top water line, and shall be twelve feet wide, and 
 the bank opposite to the towing path, shall have, at the 
 elevation last aforesaid, above the top water line, a ho- 
 rizontal berm or recess, five feet in width at its sur- 
 face, and the spoil banks without the towing path and 
 berm, shall in no case have a less slope on the inside 
 than as aforesaid, and no part of the extra stuff, nor any 
 trees or rubbish of any kind, shall be laid, felled, or 
 left on either of the sections of the canal line, adjoin- 
 ing this contract. All the loose and porous materials 
 which are of a perishable nature, or permeable to w^a- 
 ter, shall occupy the outer extremities of the banks, 
 and for the distance of at least ten feet, horizontally 
 measured from the top water line on each side of the 
 canal, the banks shall be wholly made and construct- 
 ed, both above and below the top water line, of the 
 most pure, solid, compact, and water-tight earth, which 
 the adjoining excavation can supply, and no vegetable 
 
( 297 ) 
 
 mould, leaves, roots, grass, herbage, logs, sticks, brush, 
 or any other substance of a porous or perishable na- 
 ture shall be left, laid, or in any way admitted into the 
 said space of ten feet horizontally measured from the 
 top water line, or above, or below the same : And the 
 said commissioners covenant and agree to pay to the 
 said for completing this contract as aforesaid, 
 
 at the rate of cents per cubic yard, for all earth 
 
 necessarily excavated between the banks or under 
 them : And it is mutually agreed, that the said works, 
 during their progress, shall be carefully examined and 
 inspected ; and to prevent all disputes and misunder- 
 standings, it is agreed, that or some other com- 
 petent engineer, to be selected by the said commis- 
 sioners or one of them, shall be the inspector of the said 
 works, and shall estimate the number of cubic yards 
 of excavation, and his estimate shall be final and con- 
 clusive between the parties to this contract : And the 
 said further agrees^ that during the progress of 
 the work, he will, from time to time, conform to such 
 deviations from the present canal line, and to such al- 
 terations in the form, slope and dimensions of the 
 banks, towing-path, berm, or any other of the works, 
 as the said commissioners, or either of them, or any en- 
 gineer in their employ, shall direct : And it is further 
 agreed, that if in the opinion of the inspector afore- 
 said, the said shall refuse or unreasonably neg- 
 lect to prosecute this contract, such inspector shall 
 have the power of determining that he has abandoned 
 it, and such determination shall exonerate the Com- 
 missioners from every obligation imposed on them by 
 this contract, and they may immediately thereafter, 
 proceed to dispose of the said section in the same man- 
 ner as if this contract had never existed : And it is fiir- 
 ther agreed, that whenever this contract, in the opinion 
 of the said inspector, is completely performed in every 
 respect, on the part of the said the said inspec- 
 tor shall certify the same in writing, under his hand, to- 
 gether with his estimate of the number of cubic yards 
 of excavation ; and the said commissioners sLall, with- 
 
 38 
 
( 298 ) 
 
 in ten days after notice of such certificate, pay to the 
 said the sum which according to this contract 
 
 and the said estimate shall be due to him; provided 
 however, and it is hereby expressly covenanted and 
 agreed on the part of the said that this contract 
 
 shall be fully performed and completed on his part by 
 the day of 
 
 (C) 
 
 Articles of agreement made and concluded this 
 day of in the year between 
 
 of the one part, and the canal commissioners 
 of the state of New-York, of the other part, whereby 
 it is covenanted and agreed as follows, to wit ; The 
 said covenants and agrees to embank and con- 
 
 struct, in a good, substantial and wdrkmanlike manner, 
 all that part of the Erie canal which is included in 
 section of the line of said canal, and reference 
 
 being herein had to the location of said line and the 
 map thereof by engineer. The canal and 
 
 banks are to be so constructed, that the water may in 
 all places be at least forty feet wide at the surface or 
 top water line, twenty-eight feet at the bottom, and 
 four feet deep ; each of the banks shall be at least two 
 feet perpendicular measurement above the top water 
 line, and_ such a slope shall be preserved on the inner 
 side of the banks, both above and below the top water 
 line, as that every foot perpendicular rise shall give a 
 horizontal base of at least eighteen inches ; the towing- 
 path bank shall be on the side of the ca- 
 nal; its surface shall be at least ten feet wide; and 
 the surface of the bank opposite to the towing-path 
 shall be at least five feet wide; both banks shall 
 be constructed of pure, solid, compact and water 
 tight earth, and they shall be "made smooth and even, 
 with a slope on their outermost sides, not less than is 
 above mentioned ; And it is further agreed, for the sake 
 
( 299 ) 
 
 of giving the banks the necessary solidity and a se- 
 cure connection with the earth on which they are to be 
 erected, that all the trees, bushes and stumps, on the 
 space to be occupied by the canal and banks, shall be 
 cut close to the ground, and together with all the logs, 
 brush and wood of all descriptions, shall be wholly re- 
 moved, at least forty-five feet from the centre of the 
 canal, and that from a strip fifteen feet in width un- 
 der each bank throughout the said section, and to be 
 so situated as that its inner edge on each side shall be 
 perpendicularly under the edge of the top water line, 
 all the trees, bushes, stumps and roots shall be 
 thoroughly grubbed, and together with all the logs, 
 brush, wood, weeds, grass, herbage, and vegetable and 
 porous earth, shall be removed entirely without the 
 banks : And the said commissioners agree to pay to 
 the said for completing this contract as follows, 
 
 to wit : For grubbing and clearing the sum of 
 for all the necessary excavation under the banks 
 cents per cubic yard, and for embankment cents 
 
 per cubic yard, measured in the banks for all earth 
 necessarily placed therein : And the said works during 
 their progress shall be carefully examined and inspect- 
 ed ; and to prevent all disputes and misunderstandings, 
 it is agreed, that or some other competent en- 
 
 gineer to be selected by the said Commissioners, or 
 one of them, shall be the inspector of the said works, 
 and shall estimate the number of cubic yards of exca- 
 vation, and also of embankment, and his estimate shall 
 be final and conclusive between said parties : And the 
 said further agrees, that during the progress of 
 
 the work, he will from time to time conform to such 
 deviations from the present line of the Canal, and to 
 such alterations in the form, slope and dimensions of 
 the banks^ towing-path, or any other of the works, as 
 the said Commissioners, or either of them, or their en- 
 gineer, shall direct : And it is further agreed-, that if in 
 the opinion of any engineer in the employ of said Com- 
 missioners, the said shall refuse or unreason- 
 ably neglect to prosecute this contract, such engineer 
 
( 300) 
 
 shall have the power of determining that he has aban- 
 doned it, and such determination shall exonerate said 
 Commissioners from every obligation imposed on them 
 by said contract, and they may immediately thereafter 
 proceed to dispose of the said section in the same 
 manner as if this contract had never existed . And it is 
 further agreed, that whenever this contract, in the opi- 
 nion of the said inspector, is completely performed in 
 every respect, on the part of the said the said in- 
 
 spector shall certify the same in writing, under his hand, 
 together with his estimate of the number of cubic yards 
 of excavation, and also of embankment : And the said 
 commissioners shall within ten days after notice of such 
 certificate, pay to the said the sum which ac- 
 
 cording to this contract and the said estimate shall be 
 due to him : Provided however, and it is hereby ex- 
 pressly covenanted and agreed on the part of the said 
 that this contract shall be fully performed and 
 completed on his part by the day of 
 
 Sealed and delivered ) 
 In presence of ^ 
 
 (D.) 
 
 Articles of agreement, made the sixteenth day 
 of September, in the year one thousand eight hundred 
 and seventeen, between of the one part, and 
 
 the canal Commissioners of the State of New- York, of 
 the other part, whereby it is covenanted and agreed 
 as follows, to wit : The said agrees to furnish, 
 
 deliver and cord in compact piles, stone of the best 
 quality, for the construction of an aqueduct on the 
 line of the Canal, over the Creek; The said 
 
 hereby covenants to deliver and cord in a 
 close, compact and faithful manner, two hundred cords 
 of stone : The stone shall be delivered and corded near 
 the site of the said aqueduct, and convenient for its con- 
 struction, in such pile or piles, and place or places, as 
 
( 301 ) 
 
 either of the said commissioners, or of the engineers 
 in their employment, shall direct at any time before 
 delivery. The stone shall be thick, large, solid, rec- 
 tilinear, well shaped and well faced, and in all other 
 respects completely adapted to the construction of a 
 substantial and permanent aqueduct. One-twentieth 
 part of the whole quantity shall be delivered and cord- 
 ed by themselves separate from the rest, under the di- 
 rections aforesaid : And in addition to the above requi- 
 sites, the said twentieth part shall wholly consist ofgood 
 free-stone, or of that species of lime-stone which is fit 
 and proper to be cut, chiseled and shaped into the 
 arches, curves and angles of an aqueduct : And it is 
 agreed that Benjamin Wright, Esquire, or some other 
 engineer in the employment of the said commissioners, 
 and to be selected by them, or one of them, shall in- 
 spect and measure the said stone, and shall be the sole 
 judge in relation to the performance of this contract 
 on the part of the said and whenever the said 
 
 engineer shall certify in writing, that this contract is 
 coQipletely performed on the part of the said 
 the said commissioners shall within ten days after 
 notice thereof, pay to the said four dollars and 
 
 fifty cents per cord, for the said two hundred and fifty 
 cords : Provided however, that they shall all have 
 been delivered and corded as aforesaid, within the 
 time above specified. 
 
 Sealed and delivered ) 
 in the presence of\ 
 
 (E; 
 
 Articles ofagre ementmade and concluded the 
 day of in the year between 
 
 of the one part, and the Canal Commissioners of the 
 State of New-York, of the other part, whereby it is cove- 
 nanted and agreed as follows, to wit : The said 
 covenants and agrees to furnish all the materials, 
 
( 302 ) 
 
 and to construct and complete in a good, faithful and 
 workmanlike manner, on or before the day of 
 
 a bridge over the line of the Erie Canal, on 
 a public road or highway crossing the same in section 
 No. reference being herein had to the location 
 
 of said line and the map thereof by engineer. 
 
 The said shall make suitable provision for the 
 
 reasonable accommodation of all that travel at the place 
 where said bridge is to be built, while it is building ; 
 and said bridge shall be built as follows, to wit : It 
 shall have two abutments and four wing-walls, all of 
 which shall have their foundation laid as low as the 
 bottom of the canal ; the abutments shall be twenty- 
 two feet apart at the bottom, and twenty-four at the 
 top, and they shall be eleven and a half i'eet high; at 
 the bottom they shall be three and a half, and at the 
 top two and a half feet thick ; their faces lengthwise of 
 the canal shall be twenty feet long at the bottom, and 
 they shall have such a batter at their ends, that the 
 length of said faces, at the top, shall be but eighteen 
 feet ; each of the wing-walls shall be as high as where it 
 connects with the abutment as the abutment itself, 
 and shall slope, as it departs from the abutment, no 
 more than shall well consist with supporting the road 
 and strengthening the abutment ; it shall have the same 
 batter as the ends of the abutments aforesaid; its face 
 shall recede from the canal, so as to form an angle, 
 with the line of the face of the abutment continued, of 
 about forty -five degrees, and it shall have its founda- 
 tion of such thickness as to afford throughout its whole 
 length with the batter aforesaid, the thickness of two 
 and a half feet at the top, where it shall be finished with 
 a coping of large flat stone. Those sides of the abut- 
 ments and wing-walls, next to which the earth is to be 
 placed, in landing up the bridge, shall be laid up per- 
 pendicularly and in the most substantial manner ; 
 There shall also be made, between the abutments, to 
 support the towing-path under the bridge, a wall which 
 shall have the same extent lengthwise of the canal as 
 the abutments — shall have its face projected into the 
 
( 303 ) 
 
 canal six feet from the face of the abutment on the 
 towing-path side, and shall be connected and bound in, 
 from its two ends with the last mentioned abutment, 
 by walls laid crosswise of the towing-path ; and these 
 walls, to wit, the wall for the support of the towing- 
 path and those which connect it with the abutment, 
 shall be two and a half feet thick at the bottom and two 
 at the top, and four and a half feet high ; they shall be 
 laid up perpendicularly on the inside and battering on 
 the water side, and their foundation shall be as low as 
 the bottom of the canal ; and the towing-path under 
 the bridge shall be completed by filling up the space 
 between the last mentioned walls and the abutment 
 with gravel, and such shape shall be given to the tow- 
 ing-path on each side of the bridge, as to afford a safe 
 and easy passage under the same. The abutment of 
 said bridge on the towing-path side, shall not have its 
 face laid nearer the centre of the canal, than the edge 
 of the top water line, and all the stone work above re- 
 quired, shall be constructed of large, well-shaped, du- 
 rable and solid stone, and shall be laid up without mor- 
 tar. After the abutments are completed, the^re shall be 
 laid across the canal, from one of them to the other, to 
 support the flooring of the bridge, five string-pieces, 
 sixteen inches wide, and twelve inches thick, of strong 
 and durable wood, and to be of such length as to lap 
 two feet on to each abutment, which string-pieces shall 
 be placed at equal distances apart, and shall be so fit- 
 ted to the stone work on which they are placed, as to 
 rest firm and steady on their narrowest sides, so as to 
 support, in the most effectual manner, a flooring of 
 eighteen feet in width; after which, they shall be cover- 
 ed for their whole length with a flooring of the width 
 aforesaid, and to consist of good hard wood plank, not 
 less than three inches thick. The sides of the bridge 
 shall each be guarded by a plain substantial railing, 
 three feet high, to extend from one end of the flooring 
 to the other, and to be securely fastened to the string- 
 pieces, and properly supported by studs and braces; 
 and as a farther guard, a piece of timber of the same 
 
( 304 ) 
 
 size as the railing on the bridge, shall be extended 
 from each end of the said railing on both sides down 
 the wing-walls so far as may be reasonable, of which 
 timber, one end shall be strongly connected with the 
 end of the railing, and the other end shall be securely 
 bolted with iron to a large flat stone, to be placed in 
 each wing-wall at a proper distance from the abutment 
 for that purpose. Between the wing^walls and behind 
 the abutments, the said bridge shall be landed up with 
 good solid earth, in such a way as to afford a safe and 
 easy ascent to the bridge from each side, and so that 
 the angle of ascent to said bridge shall in no place ex- 
 ceed, on the face of the road, one inch perpendicular 
 rise to one foot horizontal base: And the said 
 covenants and agrees, that after said bridge is com- 
 pleted in the manner aforesaid, and inspected and ac- 
 cepted, he wall warrant it to stand firm and secure for 
 five years from the time of such acceptance. In con- 
 sideration of the full performance of this contract on 
 the part of the said said commissioners agree to 
 
 pay him the sum of And it is mutually agreed, 
 
 that or some other competent engineer, in the 
 
 employ of said commissioners, and to be designated by 
 them, or any one of them, for that purpose, shall be the 
 inspector of said bridge; shall determine when it is 
 completed^ and every other question relating to the 
 execution of this contract on the part of the said 
 without appeal : And whenever such bridge is com- 
 pleted as aforesaid, the said inspector shall examine 
 and accept it, and in writing certify that it is accepted; 
 whereupon, within ten days after notice of such certifi- 
 cate, the said commissioners shall pay to the said 
 the consideration aforesaid. 
 
 Signed, sealed, and delivered, ) 
 in presence of ) 
 
 (F.) 
 
 Articles of agreement made and concluded, the 
 day of in the year between of the one 
 
( 305 ) 
 
 part, and the canal commissioners of the state of New- 
 York of the other part, whereby it is covenanted and 
 agreed as follows, to wit : the said covenants and 
 
 agrees to furnish and deliver before the day of 
 
 such and so many iron castings as may be re- 
 quired for the construction of culverts on the line of 
 the Erie canal, between and comprehend- 
 
 ing miles in length of the said canal line, at the 
 
 rate of dollars per ton. The said castings are 
 
 all to be delivered at the places where they are to 
 be used ; they are to be of good iron, smooth and even, 
 with all their edges and ends so shaped as that they 
 may fit close together when they are laid in the cul- 
 verts which they are designed to form : they are to 
 consist of pieces in the form of half cylinders, three 
 eigths of an inch in thickness or more, if required by 
 said commissioners, and not less than three feet in length, 
 except the pieces necessary to complete the ends of the 
 culverts, which shall be half as long as the other pieces, 
 Where culverts are required to be of one foot in diame- 
 ter the pieces of castings to be delivered at such pla- 
 ces shall be of such a description, as that when they 
 are put together in the form of a cylinder, it shall have 
 that diameter, and where larger culverts are required, 
 the pieces to be delivered at such places, shall be adapt- 
 ed to form cylinders of the diameter required provided 
 such diameter does not exceed three feet. In forming 
 the culverts with the pieces of castings, it is intended 
 to lay the concave side of half the pieces up, in such a 
 manner as that when the cylinder is completed by lay- 
 ing the convex side of the other half of the pieces up, 
 each piece in the upper half shall cover the one half of 
 two pieces in the lower half, thus breaking joints, ex- 
 cept at the ends, which are to be completed by two 
 half pieces, and all the pieces are to be so cast as to be 
 well adapted to this arrangement ; each piece is to 
 have on its outside, and at or near its edges, cast flanges, 
 projecting so far out, and of such location, thickness, 
 and length on the side of the piece, as may be necessa- 
 ry, and these flanges are to have holes cast or drilled 
 
 39 
 
( 300 ) 
 
 through them, and are to be placed at such distances 
 on eaclj piece as that when all the pieces of a culvert 
 are laid in their proper bed with their ends close to- 
 gether, all the flanges of 4he upper pieces shall be per- 
 pendicularly over the corresponding flanges of the 
 lower pieces, so that the said upper and lower flanges 
 may be strongly fastened together with screws and 
 nuts and, all the pieces in any one culvert, by these 
 means, may be permanently secured in their proper 
 places. The places where said castings are required 
 to be delivered, the number and size of the pieces re- 
 quired at each place, the location, thickness, projection 
 and length of the flanges, shall all be determined by 
 
 or some other competent engineer, to be desig- 
 nated for that purpose by said commissioners or one of 
 them, and said engineer shall on or before the 
 day of give notice in writing to the said 
 
 of his determination in relation to each of the said 
 particulars, and the said or other engineer to be 
 
 designated as aforesaid, shall be the inspector of the 
 said castings ; shall determine their weight, and all 
 questions respecting the fulfilment of this contract on 
 the part of the said without appeal ; and when- 
 
 ever the same is in all respects fully performed on the 
 part of the said said inspector shall certify such 
 
 performance in writing, and within ten days after notice 
 of such certificate, said commissioners shall pay to 
 
 in consideration of such performance, at the 
 rate per ton aforesaid for the said iron castings 
 Signed^ sealed and delivered ) 
 In presence of ^ 
 
 (H.) 
 
 Received of Treasurer of the canal com- 
 
 missioners, dollars in advance on the within 
 
 contract, and we hereby jointly and severally covenant 
 and agree, that the said therein named, shall ful- 
 
( 307 ) 
 
 iy perform and complete said contract within the time 
 and in the manner therein specefied, or that we will, at 
 the expiration of said time, repay said sum to said trea- 
 surer with interest ; and we hereby further covenant 
 and agree, that said sum shall be laid out in work on 
 said contract, within two months from this day the value 
 of which work shall be determined^ by the opinion 
 of any engineer in the employ of said commissioners, 
 or that we will on demand, after the expiration of said 
 two months, repay said sum to said treasurer with in- 
 terest. Dated day of 
 
 SPECIFICATIONS, 
 
 In relation to the construction, S^c. of the Champlain Canal. 
 
 Grubbing and clearing, preparatory to excavation. — All 
 the trees, logs, stumps, bushes, roots and timber of 
 every kind shall be dug, grubbed, cleared, eradicated^ 
 and wholly removed from a space of sixty feet, viz. thirty 
 feet on each side of the middle of the canal : and for the 
 space of fifteen feet in width on each side of the part so 
 grubbed, the trees, bushes, and timber shall be cut as 
 close to the ground as may be, no stumps being left 
 more than one foot in height ; and all the logs, trees, 
 stumps, bushes, roots and wood of all descriptions so 
 grubbed and cut as aforesaid shall be removed forty- 
 five feet from the centre of the canal, or burned, or 
 otherwise destroyed or disposed of. 
 
 All the large trees not embraced in the grubbing and 
 clearing aforesaid, which stand within four rods of the 
 centre of the canal, and which, by falling, after the 
 completion of the canal, might break the banks or ob- 
 struct the navigation, shall be cut down. 
 
 Excavation. — All the top soil, vegetable mould and 
 every other substance of a porous or perishable nature, 
 shall be first removed from the surface of the ground to 
 be excavated into the outer extremities of the banks; 
 and were ever the earth to be excavated, at or below 
 
( 308 ) wm- 
 
 the top water line, is composed of materials which are 
 porous, perishable, or permeable to water,such materials 
 shall be wholly removed as aforesaid, not only from the 
 surface of the ground to be excavated, but also from the 
 base of the bank or banks where such materials are to 
 be found, for the space of ten feet horizontally mea- 
 sured from the top water line; and the bank or banks, 
 in such cases, for the said space often feet horizontally 
 measured from the top water line, and also above and 
 below the same, shall be wholly made and constructed 
 of the most pure, solid, compact, and water-tight earth 
 which can be procured from the adjoining excavation. 
 
 Dimensions and slope of the Canal. — The canal shall 
 be constructed in such manner that the water may in 
 all places be at least twenty-eight feet wide at the bot- 
 tom, forty feet wide at the surface or top water line, 
 and four feet deep, reference being had to the levels, 
 surveys and maps of James Geddes, Esq. engineer. 
 
 Towing-Path Bank. — The bank to be occupied for a 
 towing-path, shall, in all places, be at least ten feet wide 
 at its surface: it shall be smooth and even, without any 
 sudden inequalities in its height, nor shall it in any 
 place be less than two, nor more than five feet perpen- 
 dicular measurement above the top water line; its sur- 
 face shall be composed of the best materials for a tow- 
 ing-path, which the adjoining excavation can supply. ■ 
 
 Opposite Bank. — The bank opposite the towing-path 
 shall be at least four feet wide on its surface, and at 
 least two ieei perpendicular measurement above the 
 top water line. 
 
 Slope of the Banks — The outer and inner sides of 
 both the banks, as well above as below the top water 
 line, shall have such a slope as that every foot perpen- 
 dicular rise shall give a horizontal base of at least eigh- 
 teen inches, and the above rule shall apply to all cases 
 of embankment. 
 
 Deep-cutting. — Wherever the top water line will be 
 more than five feet below the nutural surface of the 
 earth, the towing-path shall be twelve feet wide, and on 
 the opposite side of the canal a horizontal berm or re- 
 
( 309 ) 
 
 cess shall be made of four feet in width, which shall not 
 be less than two nor more than five feet perpendicular 
 measurement above the top water line ; and the slope 
 of both the banks, as well above as below the towing- 
 path and berm, shall be at least one and a half feet base 
 to every foot rise. 
 
 Embankment. — The ground which is to be occupied 
 as the base of an embankment shall be effectually grub- 
 bed and cleared, and all the trees, logs, stumps, roots 
 and timber, and every other substance of a vegetable 
 or perishable nature, shall be removed therefrom. — 
 The embankment shall be wholly composed of pure, 
 solid compact and water tight earth, and shall have 
 the form, slope, height and dimensions heretofore spe- 
 cified. No sticks, logs, roots or timber of any kind 
 shall be left, laid or admitted into or under any bank 
 or embankment. 
 
 Spoil banks, rubbish 8^c. — The spoil-banks or surplus 
 earth shall be laid with as much evenness and regularity 
 and as little injury to the adjoining land as may be; 
 and all the trees, logs, stumps, roots, bushes and rub- 
 bish shall be disposed of with the like precaution; nor 
 shall any unnecessary injury of any kind be done to 
 the owners or occupants of the land through which the 
 canal passes. No contractor shall place any logs, tim- 
 ber, earth or rubbish in such situation as to obstruct 
 the works on any adjoining contract or part of the ca- 
 nal. No highway or road which crosses the line of the 
 canal shall be obstructed by excavation or otherwise 
 until the materials for a bridge shall have been collect- 
 ed, nor until the contractor shall have received notice 
 from one of the canal commissioners, or one of the engi- 
 neers in the employment of the said commissioners, to 
 complete the construction of the canal across such 
 highway or road. 
 
 Miscellaneom Regulations.— The contractor or con- 
 tractors shall from time to time conform to such devi- 
 ations from the canal line, and to such alterations in 
 the form, height, slope or dimensions of the canal, tow- 
 ing-path, or banks, or any other of the works, as either 
 
( 310 ) 
 
 of the commissioners, or any engineer in their employ- 
 ment, shall direct. 
 
 The contractor shall be paid for constructing the 
 canal and towing-path at a stipulated price per cubic 
 yard for excavation, at a stipulated price per cubic 
 yard for embankment, and at a stipulated price for 
 grubbing and clearing. 
 
 All the earth necessarily excavated between the 
 banks or under them shall be estimated by the engi- 
 neer as so much excavation ; and after an embankment 
 shall have been completed, its contents in cubic yards 
 shall be calculated and the contractor shall be paid 
 therefor as for so much embankment ; and in all cases 
 where the earth necessarily excavated is not to be re- 
 moved more than one hundred feet to form the adjoin- 
 ing bank or banks, no estimate for embankment shall 
 be made. 
 
 James Geddes, Esquire, or some other competent En- 
 gineer in the employment of the Commissioners, shall 
 from time to time inspect the works as they advance ; 
 shall be the judge and umpire in relation to the perform- 
 ance of every contract, and shall estimate the num- 
 ber of cubic yards of excavation and of embankment, 
 and his estimate and opinion shall be final and conclu- 
 sive between the parties ; and whenever he shall certi- 
 fy in writing that the contractor has, in all respects, 
 faithfully performed his contract, the canal commis- 
 sioners shall, within ten days after notice thereof, pay 
 to the contractor the sum to which, according to the 
 contract and the said estimate, he is entitled. And if 
 any contractor shall, in the opinion of the Engineer, 
 unreasonably neglect to prosecute his contract the En- 
 gineer shall have the power of determining that the con- 
 tractor has abandoned his contract, and such deter* 
 mination shall exonerate the commissioners from every 
 obligation imposed upon them by the said contract, 
 and they may immediately thereafter let the same 
 contract to any other contractor. 
 
( 311 ) 
 
 ANNUAL. REPORT, &c. 
 
 PF THE CANAL COMMISSIONERS, COMMUNICATED TO THE 
 LEGISLATURE, JAN. 25, I8l9. 
 
 To the Legislature of the State of JVew-York : In obedience 
 to the act, entitled, " ^7i act respecting navigable communi- 
 cations between the Great Western and JYorthern Lakes 
 and the Atlantic Ocean,'''' passed April 1 5th, J 817, the 
 Canal Commissioners most respectfully Report — 
 
 In relation to the Erie canal — 
 
 That, after a winter of unusual severity, followed 
 by excessive rains in the spring, they had the satisfac- 
 tion to find, when they commenced their operations for 
 the last season, that those parts of the canal line which 
 had been finished, or nearly so, by the labours of the 
 preceding year, had suffered very little; so that their 
 apprehensions of injury to the banks of the canal, from 
 the breaking up of winter, under the most unfavourable 
 circumstances, are considerably diminished. 
 
 Between the Mohawk and Seneca rivers, a great 
 portion of the canal line passes through swamps and 
 marshes, or along their southern margin. And this loca- 
 tion, though it will eventually prove of great impor- 
 tance, in reclaiming large tracts of the richest bottom 
 lands, by intercepting the waters which have hereto- 
 fore inundated them, was yet attended with the serious 
 disadvantage, last spring, of enabling the weather to 
 prevent the contractors from prosecuting their work, 
 with any success, to a late period. Actuated by a 
 laudable determination to omit no means in their pow- 
 er, of a punctual compliance with their engagements, 
 several of the contractors had continued to labour on 
 their jobs all winter: and by their experience it is 
 sufficiently ascertained, that in deep cuttings, in em- 
 bankments, and were the ground is constantly watered 
 
( 312 ) 
 
 hy warm springs, or so covered by vegetable matter as 
 to protect it, in a great measure, from freezing, such la- 
 bours may be carried on profitably during the coldest 
 months in the year. From motives .of economy, and 
 because most of the roads by vt^hich the route of the 
 canal is intersected, between Utica and Salina, are 
 nearly impassible in the summer season, many of the 
 contractors had purchased, in advance, large stores of 
 subsistence for their men and cattle, and transported 
 them to the proper places on the canal line, by sleigh- 
 ing. But this wise and prudent measure was rendered 
 almost unavailing, as to any advance of the work, by 
 uncontrolable events. The surface of the earth was 
 beaten and drenched, by heavy and frequent rains, 
 from the melting of the snow, till near the first of June. 
 During a great part of this time, the stores of the con- 
 tractors were decreasing, and their expenses were ac- 
 cumulating, while their work was at a stand. The ef- 
 fects of this state of things were equally detrimental 
 and disheartening. But, with the commencement of the 
 summer, the weather became favourable, and since 
 that period, the canal business, in all its branches, has 
 advanced, with economy and rapidity. 
 
 The same causes which obstructed the efforts of the 
 contractors, retarded those of the engineers. In the 
 course of the fall of 1817, the country west of the termi- 
 nation of the Rome level, had been examined, in se- 
 veral directions, to a considerable extent, in order to 
 discover if practicable, some means of obviating the 
 great expense of the Salina embankments, and the 
 serious hazards, as well as much greater expense, 
 of the deep cutting, through the marl meadow, in 
 the town of Camillus, From these examinations, 
 there resulted a deep impression of the difficulties pre- 
 sented at these places, especially at the latter. When 
 the canal line was run through the marl meadow, in 
 1816, the season had been uncommonly dry; and,^ 
 though a deep cutting three miles in length, through 
 light, soft and porous materials, gradually swelling to 
 fifteen feet in the centre, a!?pve the bottom of the canaL 
 
( 313 ) 
 
 could never be regarded without solicitude, the ap- 
 pearance of this, upon every subsequent inspection, 
 has been more formidable and repulsive. When the 
 past season, however, had so far advanced as to admit 
 of a renewal of these examinations, they were more ex- 
 tensively pursued : and at length, the acting commis- 
 sioner, upon whom was cast the responsibility of set- 
 tling the line in that part of the route, in full accord- 
 ance with the conviction of the engineer of the middle 
 section, and his assistants, determined that two altera- 
 tions from the line of 1816 were expedient. These 
 alterations were not adopted, without a careful ascer- 
 tainment and collation of facts and circumstances, 
 which, upon much deliberation, were deemed decisive 
 by them. 
 
 The first of the alterations consist in sinking the ca- 
 nal line, across the Salina plains, six feet lower than had 
 been at first proposed. This alteration requires the 
 construction of an additional lock of six feet lift, on 
 each side of these plains ; but, by affording sufficient 
 excavation, in the canal, for the formation of the adja- 
 cent banks, it altogether supersedes the necessity of 
 embankment, for about a mile and a half; and where 
 embankment is still requisite, its height is materially di- 
 minished. The same diminution is also obtained in the 
 height of an arched bridge, and the largest stone aque- 
 duct to be erected between Utica and the Seneca river. 
 This alteration was recommended, chiefly, by the fol- 
 lowing reasons. 
 
 1st. It produced a saving in expense, estimated at 
 seventeen thousand dollars. This estimate does not 
 include damages to the lands, through which the canal 
 line is laid, which would probably have been claimed, 
 to a large amount, for the half mile adjoining Ononda- 
 ga creek on the east, in case the original plan had been 
 pursued. The land, along the half mile referred to, had 
 been laid out into village lots, upon which the owners 
 set a high value ; and one tier of these lots, on each 
 side of the canal, must have been dug over and de- 
 
 40 
 
( 314 ) 
 
 faced, in order to obtain the earth necessary for the 
 embankment. 
 
 2d. It renders the canal more secure. Embankments 
 are, in general, more liable to accidents than other 
 parts of a canal ; and whenever breaches are effected 
 in them, the usual consequences are more injurious. 
 
 3d. It will facilitate the construction of a side cut 
 to connect the main canal with the salt works, at the 
 village of Salina, by approaching nearer to a level 
 with those works, in that part of the line to which they 
 are most contiguous. 
 
 4th. It will promote the convenience of all those 
 people, who, from the fertile country on both sides 
 of the canal, shall hereafter have occasion to commu- 
 nicate therewith, on the Salina plains. These plains, 
 for the most part, consist of a dry, coarse gravel, mix- 
 ed, to the depth of three or four feet, with sand and 
 loam, and constitute, from the nature of their soil, as 
 well as from their local situation, an excellent site for 
 business- There is little doubt but they will soon be- 
 come the scene of extensive dealings. 
 
 The second alteration consists, in the establishment 
 of a new summit level, extending from the Nine-Mile 
 creek to the Skeneateles outlet, a distance of between 
 eleven ajid twelve miles, and involving the construction 
 of two ad^itonal locks,of eleven feet lift each, but reliev- 
 ing the line from all the difficulties of the marl meadow. 
 There are three unfailing and pure streams naturally 
 flowing across this level, either of which, at this period 
 of considerable drought, affords water enough for its 
 supply : but if, collectively, they should hereafter 
 prove deficient, the two copious creeks, which bound 
 the level, may be easily conducted into it. Having 
 satisfactory assurance of this essential fact, this altera- 
 tion was adpoted, 
 
 1st. Because it produces a saving in expense, estima- 
 ted at seventy-five thousand dollars, without taking into 
 the account the charge of lining both banks, for the 
 purpose of sustaining them, with solid earth, brought 
 form a great distance, an operation which the charac- 
 
( 315 ) 
 
 ter of the marl meadow would undoubtedly have ren- 
 dered necessary, to a large extent, if the primary des- 
 ignation of the canal line had been adhered to. 
 
 2d. Because at the Nine-Mile creek, it admits of the 
 substitution of stone arches in the 'aqueduct, instead 
 of a wooden trunk; and, at the Skeneateles, of an en- 
 tire stone aqueduct, in place of a dam with guard locks. 
 At both of these places, excellent stone are contracted 
 for, at reasonable prices. 
 
 3d. Because it carries the canal line farther south, 
 and nearer to the populous and productive settlements 
 of the western part of Onondaga county. 
 
 4th. Because it was much feared, that the comple- 
 tion of the canal, upon the old plan, could not be ef- 
 fected, so as to render it navigable, as soon as it might 
 be, upon the new, by at least one year. This would 
 have been discouraging to the public spirit, by which 
 this great enterprise is supported, and a serious delay 
 of the profitable returns, which may be expected, when- 
 ever the communication between the Mohawk and 
 Seneca rivers, is all the way opened. And the reasona- 
 bleness of such a fear is manifested by the following 
 considerations : The Marl-meadow is a swamp without 
 any outlet, except at its eastern and western extremi- 
 ties : and as it contains great quantities of water, pro- 
 ceeding from Hand's brook, and numerous springs, 
 which run into it, the only possible mode of excava- 
 ting the canal through it, would be, to begin by open- 
 ing a wide drain at each end, below the bottom of the 
 .canal, and prosecuting the work from these points to- 
 wards the centre, taking especial care, as advances 
 should be made, to keep these drains free from all ob- 
 structions. The common mode of executing a heavy 
 job of this kind, by stationing numerous parties of la- 
 bourers upon it, at short distances from each other, 
 could not be adopted here : for besides the difficulty 
 of transporting every barrow of earth a great way, 
 upon a soft and wet surface, all such parties, except 
 one at each end, would soon find themselves at work 
 in a pond, in which the depth of water would increase 
 
( 316 ) 
 
 in the same ratio with that of the excavation. No cat- 
 tle or horses could be employed ; and as the parties, 
 at both ends, could not advantageously include more 
 than seventy or eighty hands, it is evident, that so great 
 a labour, even without the occurrence of any untow- 
 ard events, would require the application of all prac- 
 tical exertions, during several years, for its accomplish- 
 ment. But, it must be acknowledged, that the depth 
 of the cutting, the weight of the spoil banks, the quan- 
 tity of water with which the swamp is filled, and the 
 nature of the earth, which is ascertained, by frequent 
 borings, to be chiefly vegetable matter, marl, and sand, 
 are circumstances connected with the old plan calcu- 
 lated to render untoward events, affecting both the cost 
 and time within which the canal could be constructed, 
 and its security, afterwards, extremely probable. 
 
 5th. Because there is no part of the Middle Section, 
 of the same length, where the whole expense of opening 
 the navigation will be less than that of the new summit, 
 between the locks. 
 
 From the Skeneateles outlet to the Seneca river, the 
 survey and location of the canal-line was easy; and 
 this last portion of it was finally completed by the 
 middle of July. The whole was judiciously divided 
 into short sections, and perspicuously exhibited in maps, 
 profiles and descriptions, which are herewith presented. 
 
 The avidity with which great numbers of wealthy 
 and respectable citizens sought contracts, was highly 
 gratifying, and afforded a sure pledge of the energy 
 which has since been displayed in their execution. 
 Many applications, for every section, were always made 
 immediately after, and oft^n before, the returns of the 
 engineer had been received, so as to render it proper 
 to let them out. A very few of the contractors are 
 foreigners, who have recently arrived in this country ; 
 but far the greater part of them are native farmers, 
 mechanics, merchants and professional men, residing in 
 the vicinity of the line ; and three-fourths of all the 
 laborers were born among us. 
 
 Within a few days afterthe survey had been extended 
 
( 317 ) 
 
 to the west end of the Middle Section, the whole was 
 taken up, except a few short places necessarily left, 
 where structures of wood and stone were to be erected. 
 But as it requires two or three weeks after a section is 
 agreed for, to construct tools, collect provisions, hire 
 hands, purchase teams, and provide the necessary 
 shelter, it was not till about the tenth of August that the 
 whole line became a scene of the most animated and 
 laborious exertions. From that time to the tenth of 
 December, between two and three thousand men, with 
 half as many horses and cattle, and a considerable va- 
 riety of mechanical inventions, have been unremittingly 
 employed upon it : And the diligence, ingenuity, and 
 good judgment, with which these means have been 
 applied would hardly be credited, if they did not rest 
 upon a testimony impossible to be doubted, that of the 
 effects produced. 
 
 Machinery has hitherto been used, with most suc- 
 cess, in the heavy business of grubbing and clearing. 
 By means of an endless screw, connected with a roller, 
 a cable, a Avheel and a crank, one man is able to bring- 
 down a tree of the largest size, without any cuttingabout 
 its roots. For this purpose these means are all, except 
 the cable, combined in a small but very ^irong fram^ 
 of wood and iron. — This frame is immovealbly fastened 
 on the ground, at a distance of perhaps one hundred 
 feet from the foot of the tree, around the trunk of which 
 fifty or sixty feet up, one end of the cable is secured, 
 the other being connected with the roller. When this 
 is done, the man turns the crank, which successively 
 moves the screw, the wheel and the roller, on which, 
 as the cable winds up, the tree must gradually yield, 
 until, at length, it is precipitated by the weight of its 
 top. The force which may be exerted in this way, 
 upon a tree, is irresistible, as with the principle of the 
 wheel and the screw, by the application of the cable 
 at a point so far from the ground, it unites also that of 
 the lever. 
 
 There is no grubbing so difficult and expensive, by 
 
( 318 ) 
 
 the common methods, as that of sound, green stumps; 
 and as our citizens, west of Utica, are every day mul- 
 tiplying these evidences of their industry, it was desi= 
 rable to discover some easier means of eradicating them. 
 Such means have been found ; but the cost of the ma- 
 chinery, in which they partly consist, would forbid the 
 use of them in ordinary cases. Two strong wheels, 
 sixteen feet in diameter, are made and connected to- 
 gether by a round axle-tree, twenty inches thick and 
 thirty feet long ; between these wheels, and with its 
 spokes inseparably framed into their axle-tree, another 
 wheel is placed, fourteen feet in diameter, round the 
 rim of which a rope is several times passed, with one 
 end fastened through the rim, and with the other end 
 loose, but in such a condition as to produce a revolu- 
 tion of the wheel whenever it is pulled. This apparatus 
 is so moved as to have the stump, on which it is intend- 
 ed to operate, midway between the largest wheels, and 
 nearly under the axle-tree ; and these wheels are so 
 braced as to remain steady. A very strong chain is 
 hooked, one end to the body of the stump, or its prin- 
 cipal root, and the other to the axle-tree. The power 
 of horses or oxen is then applied to the loose end of 
 the rope above-mentioned, and as they draw, rotary 
 motion is communicated, through the smallest wheel, 
 to the axle-tree, on which, as the chain hooked to the 
 stump winds up, the stump itself is gradually disen- 
 gaged from the earth in which it grew. After this dis- 
 engagement is complete, the braces are taken from the 
 large wheels, which then afford the means of removing 
 that stump out of the way, as well as of transporting 
 the apparatus where it may be made to bear on ano- 
 ther. The expense of the wheels, axle-tree, chain 
 and rope, is about two hundred and fifty dollars ; and 
 with them, in this way, seven hands and a pair of horses, 
 can grub from thirty to forty large stumps in a day. 
 A few stumps have been found to require the strength 
 of four horses. The gain of power, by this machinery, 
 is somewhat more than eight fold, with very little loss 
 by friction. 
 
( 319 ) 
 
 Great obstruction to the excavation has been of- 
 fered by the small roots and fibres which overspread 
 the surface, and every where penetrate the top soil of 
 timbered land. A plough has been invented for cutting 
 up these, greatly superior to the one in common use. 
 It is very narrow or thin, and consists of a piece of iron 
 much heavier than a common plough,strongly connected, 
 at its upper edge, with the beam, and in the rear, with 
 the handle, both of which are of the usual construction. — 
 The front edge of the iron, where the cutting is to be 
 done, is covered with steel, well sharpened and sharped 
 like the front of a coulter, except that it retreats more 
 as it rises to the beam. The lower edge is made smooth, 
 and gradually thickens as it extends back towards the 
 handle, to about four inches. Two yoke of oxen will 
 draw this utensil through any roots not exceeding two 
 inches in diameter ; and by moving it, at short intervals, 
 through the surface of any ground to be excavated, the 
 small roots and fibres are so cut up as to be easily 
 picked and harrowed out of the way of the shovel 
 and scraper. 
 
 The experience of two seasons, embracing all those 
 operations concerning which we had most anxiety, has 
 abundantly confirmed our most favourable hopes, in 
 relation to the construction of the canal. But we do 
 not feel ourselves at liberty, in this report, either to 
 conceal or to disguise the fact, that in several places 
 unexpected obstacles have been presented. There 
 have been frequent spots of hard-pan, through most of 
 which, however, the excavation is already completed. 
 At the Oriskany-hill, in the neighbourhood of Rome, 
 and on sections 15, 16, 17, 23 and 64, we have been 
 troubled with quicksand. In some of these places, by 
 a slight alteration of the canal-line, we have, in a great 
 measure, avoided the evil: and what we could not 
 avoid, we have overcome : In the others, such progress 
 is made as leaves us no fear of the result. 
 
 On sections 27, 37 and 40 considerable quantities of 
 breccia, or gravel firmly cemented together, have oc- 
 curred. This substance is the most stubborn and 
 
( 320 ) 
 
 expensive to break up of any that we have found. 
 Some of it we have contrived to shun, and the rest is 
 chiefly removed. 
 
 But we have been subjected to the most accumulated 
 expense by indurated clay, and stone, of various des- 
 criptions. The indurated clay is either red orblueish, 
 and has shown itself, to the greatest extent, on sections 
 14, 20, 24, 2 ), 50, 51, 54 and 55, all of which are in great 
 forwardness, and will surely be finished before next 
 August. The stone is all, either gypsum, common 
 limestone, or a kind of meagre limestone. Of the ia&t 
 we expect to make a very important use ; as, by a 
 number of small experiments, in which, after being 
 thoroughly burnt and slaked, or ground, and mixed in 
 equal portions with sand, it appears to form a cement 
 that uniformly hardens under water. The gypsum is 
 found on sections 27, 28 and 59; the common limestone on 
 on sections 19, 23, 24, 27 and 33; and the meagre lime- 
 stone on sections 27, 31 and 37. The greatest part of 
 all this stone is now excavated ; and where it is not, it 
 probably will be in two months, as a number of men are 
 daily at work in it. 
 
 Besides the additional cost of the foregoing contin- 
 gencies, we have, in several instances, by enlarging the 
 plans upon which our original estimates were formed, 
 or by procuring more durable and better materials for 
 their construction, contributed to swell the expense of 
 our operations ; yet we are firmly persuaded, that the 
 savings we have made, and the economy we have pur- 
 sued, will enable us to complete the middle section at 
 an amount not exceeding the sum total of those esti- 
 mates. The better to justify this persuasion, in the 
 minds of your honourable body, we beg leave to refer 
 to the detailed statements, hereto annexed, exhibiting 
 the names of the contractors, the nature of their con- 
 tracts, the progress made in executing them, and the 
 amount of payments upon them, together with a variety 
 of other particulars tsiiding to explain the true condi- 
 tion of the work confided to our management. 
 
 While the labours of this great section have been 
 
C 321 ) 
 
 thus going on, the following system has been adopted, 
 to instruct, to inspect, to advise, and to aid, the con- 
 tractors. The whole line has been subdivided into 
 five parts, to each of which has been assigned, an in- 
 telligent, active and vigilant overseer, or assistant en- 
 gineer, who had previously learnt ; the use of the level- 
 ling, instrument; an accurate method of designating 
 the dimensions of the canal, upon every variety of sur- 
 face; the general principles necessary to ensure the 
 best construction; and the nature of the stipulations 
 contained in the several contracts. — These assistants 
 have been constantly passing backwards and forwards, 
 within the limits assigned them ; to stake out the width 
 of the grubbing and clearing, of the excavation or em- 
 bankment, and of the mucking from under the banks , 
 to fix pegs in the earth, showing the depth and width 
 of the bottom of the canal, and the height and slope 
 of its banks; to watch that no work should be done un- 
 faithfully; and to take account of, and measure, all un- 
 foreseen obstructions. 
 
 The original selection of these assistants was in most 
 cases fortunate; and where it was otherwise, the de- 
 linquent was soon detected and removed. — Two of 
 these assistants, Canvass White and Nathan S. Roberts, 
 having had more extensive experience to qualify them 
 for it, besides the services above indicated, have been 
 employed in others of a highly responsible character. 
 
 Mr. White has run a test level throughout the long 
 summit, which became necessary in order to correct 
 some errors into which the work was falling, between 
 Rome and Utica. He aided essentially in perfoniiiiig 
 the surveys, on the authority of which, the alteration 
 was made in the town of Canillus: he has scientifically 
 examined two routes, upon different levels, for the dis- 
 tance of several miles down the Mohawk river, for the 
 purpose of enabling the commissioners to determine, 
 more judiciously, the location of the canal line through 
 the village of Utica ; and he has recently, in the months 
 of November and December, explored with the level 
 and compass, more than thirty miles of the country, in 
 
 41 
 
( 322 ) 
 
 the marshes, swamps, and woods, adjoining the Seneca 
 river, on the west. This last service was undertaken 
 with alacrity, and executed with skill and perseverence, 
 at the request of the acting commissioners, who, though 
 the weather had become quite severe, were very 
 anxious, while the waters were low, to obtain all the 
 information required, in order to the proper connexion 
 of the line with the Seneca river, on the east, which 
 could not be ascertained without first knowing the pro- 
 per continuation of it, from that point westerly, when- 
 ever that shall be authorized. Of these services, ac- 
 curate and full returns have been made, in descrip- 
 tions, maps and profiles. And the commissioners were 
 most agreeably disappointed, on inspecting tliem, as 
 well as on personal examination upon the spot, by 
 two of their number in company with the principal en- 
 gineer, to find, that the Cayuga marshes, and the 
 swamps beyond, will admit the canal to be construct- 
 ed through them at less than the average rate of ex- 
 pense. 
 
 Mr. Roberts had been employed, as surveyor, 
 throughout the middle section, in the year 1816; and 
 understanding the difficulties and facilities of the line 
 then run, he has, the last year, conducted the operation 
 of levelling and designating the canal line, as it is ac- 
 tually established, most of the way from Salina to the 
 Seneca river. And with the aid of the principal engi- 
 neer, who often visited, communicated with, and ad- 
 vised him, especially at all the important points, the 
 line is laid out in the manner and direction most ap- 
 proved. 
 
 The department of principal engineer, for the mid- 
 dle section, is still filled by Benjamin Wright, Esquire, 
 to whom all the assistants are subordinate and accoun- 
 table ; and who, besides inspecting the whole line as 
 often as possible, has devoted his time, to a minute ex- 
 amination of all the most difficult places ; to contriving 
 modes and giving directions best adapted for subduing 
 these difficulties; to forming plans, and executing 
 drafts, of all the more artificial works; to computing. 
 
( 323 ) 
 
 from time to time, as jobs have been successively com- 
 pleted, the number of cubic yards of excavation and 
 embankment performed upon them, and to estimating, 
 determining and certifying the value of extra labour, 
 of every species, necessarily done upon any of the 
 sections. These duties have expanded into an im- 
 mense multiplicity of detail : They have been delicate, 
 arduous and fatiguing : but they have been discharged 
 by Mr. Wright with such practical knowledge, indus- 
 try, equity and discretion, as to deserve the praise of 
 the state, while they have produced no complaint from 
 the contractors. 
 
 Several other agents have been appointed, for the 
 transaction of business, which could not safely or con- 
 veniently have been done without them. 
 
 One has had the care of making and using machines 
 for piling, and of digging out and preparing the foun- 
 dations of the stone culverts and aqueducts. This 
 last being a business so liable to contingencies, and so 
 necessary to be conducted with a faithful adaptation to 
 circumstances, which could not be known until it was 
 in progress, that it was thought unsafe to have it done 
 by contract. 
 
 Another has been employed in making a large 
 number of agreements, for piles, for timber, for plank, 
 for &and, for lime, and for fencing the canal; and in 
 obtaining cessions to the state of the lands through 
 which it passes. 
 
 Another was charged to explore the country within 
 a reasonable distance of the canal, for stone, previous- 
 ly to any undertaking, for the delivery of that article, 
 in order that we might surely understand where the 
 best quarries were situated, and also be able to pur- 
 chase the stone without being subject to exorbitant 
 demands. This agency was afterwards continued for 
 the purpose of inspecting and rough hewing the stone 
 as they were quarried. 
 
 Another, who had formerly been familiar with canals 
 in England, and who assisted in the construction of 
 that at Rome, was entrusted with placing and securing 
 
( 324 ) 
 
 the iron culverts, and with carrying into efiect the 
 process of pudling around severalof the stone works. 
 
 Having seen the locks at Waterloo, and the other 
 improvements, adapted to facilitate the navigation of 
 the Seneca river around its falls ; and requiring more 
 aid than we had provided for the superintendence of 
 works, of a nature allied to those, we engaged the ser- 
 vices of Marshall Lewis, Esq. under whose direction 
 those improvements had been made. He has been 
 occupied chiefly with the foundations, at the Limestone 
 the Butternut, and the Oneida creeks, which are com^ 
 pleted ; and with those of the Skeneateles, and Owas- 
 CO outlets, which are now advancing. The mechan- 
 ical skill of Mr. Lewis, arising from much native ingen- 
 uity, and long experience, applied particularly, to ca- 
 nals and hydraulic structures, has afforded us many ad- 
 vantages. 
 
 The general direction and regulation, of all these 
 departments of action, constitutes no light charge; but 
 it does not limit the responsibilities of the com- 
 missioners along the line. It has, moreover, been their 
 duty, to negociate all the important agreements, and 
 reduce them to writing, with the necessary specifica- 
 tion of the manner of their execution, in all their varie- 
 ty of particulars. In concluding these agreements they 
 have regarded it as essential to give such prices as 
 would induce men of enterprise, resource and perse- 
 verance, to engage with them, and, at the same time, 
 enable them to win, for the canal, more universally, 
 the favour of the legislature, by the frugality of their ex- 
 penditures. To effect this they have laboured earnest- 
 fv, to understand the true nature, and the real value, 
 of every item, both of ma»terial, andof service, entering 
 into the subject matter of their agreements; and to 
 impart, to all applicants for contracts, every informa- 
 tion in their power. When contracts were made, in 
 order to insure the greatest economy of execution, 
 advances of money have always been offered, upon 
 reasonable security ; and though no stipulation, re- 
 
( 325 ) 
 
 quiring it of them, is contained in any contract, the 
 Commissioners have never failed to pay each con- 
 tractor, as olten as once a month, the amount of his 
 earnings. For this purpose, they have personally gone 
 over the whole line, and estimated the advances of the 
 work, on the several jobs : and while they have thus, 
 by frequent payments, encouraged the contractors, 
 and, by undeviating punctuality, exerted a favorable 
 influence, upon all new negotiations, they indulge the 
 belief, that no cases have occurred, in which losses 
 will be sustained, in consequence of imprudent dis- 
 bursements. 
 
 Among the great number of contractors for the mid- 
 dle section, there are a few persons, who have alto- 
 gether failed ; and also a few, who have found, although 
 they are still at work, that they have undertaken more 
 than they can perform. Most of these persons were 
 exceedingly injured, by the extraordinary wetness of 
 the last spring and the fall before, and some of them 
 were disabled, by the pressure of pre-existing embar- 
 rassments. The unfinished and most difficult parts, 
 of their sections, are now all placed in the very best 
 hands, having been taken up by such of the original 
 contractors as had finished, or made greatest advances, 
 on their own jobs. 
 
 In making canals in Europe, it is generally an object 
 of great solicitude, and much of the expense is incur- 
 red, to construct reservoirs, and controul waters, 
 enough for their supply; in making ours, we are much 
 more anxious, to divert and waste those, which are 
 superfluous. With a country of, from fifteen to sixty 
 miles wide, stretching its whole length, and abounding 
 with lakes and streams, which all seek their natural 
 discharge by crossing it, no deficiency of water can 
 ever be apprehended. But, to secure our workmen 
 from injury, by floods and freshets, that will often sud- 
 denly collect from the extensive land-drain, and the 
 abundant waters, above alluded to, we have been com- 
 pelled to make numerous culverts and waste wiers. 
 The office of a culvert is, to pass waters, not wanted 
 
( 326 ) 
 
 for navigation, nuder the canal ; that of a waste-wiei , 
 to discharge the extra waters, which may be in it. We 
 have provided for eight large culverts, of stone, and 
 fifteen smaller ones, of iron : and there are thirteen 
 aqueducts, which necessarily leave capacious water 
 courses beneath them. Of waste wiers, there are 
 seventeen, stretching, on the north side of the line, in 
 the aggregate, a length of eighteen hundred and sixty 
 feet. The expense, of these last, was not included, 
 in our original estimates ; for there are besides, eight 
 wooden aqeducts and a dam, occupying together, a 
 length of thirteen hundred and fifty feet, which perform 
 the same office. An aqueduct is designed to carry the 
 waters, to be navigated in a canal, over the rivers 
 creeks or ravines, which cross its route ; it must, 
 therefore, be adapted to the proper level, and to the 
 width and depth, of the canal. Of these, the whole 
 number, between the Mohawk and Seneca,will be thir- 
 teen, of which five, are to consist exclusively of stone, 
 and eight, of wooden trunks resting on stone abutments 
 and piers. The iron culverts are actually laid, and 
 the other works are all under contracts, of which some 
 are executed, and the rest in a rapid course of comple- 
 tion. The tedious and expensive, but essential ope- 
 ration, of preparing and securing, for all of them, a 
 strong and permanent foundation, is three fourths done, 
 For a minute account of their location and dimensions, 
 we refer to schedule number two in the appendix. 
 
 On the south side of the canal, the ground always 
 rises, in most places gently, but in some, abruptly. And, 
 in these elevations, within from one to eight miles of 
 the line, are contained inexhaustible quantities of lime 
 and sand-stone. The wants of the country have not 
 yet required, that many quarries should be extensively 
 opened. But, we found some of an excellent quality: 
 that had been. To such we have had reasonable resort, 
 and we have been very fortunate, in opening several 
 new ones. The prices we have given, for the purchas- 
 ing, quarrying, and delivering, of large, thick, solid, 
 durable, and well faced stone, has varied from seventy- 
 
( 327 ) 
 
 five cents to one dollar and thirty-seven cents, per ton, 
 according to circumstances. We have, in all cases, 
 chosen to agree for stone, by weight rather than by the 
 cord, or perch, because it lessens the temptation of 
 contractors, to spoil them for our use, by breaking them 
 up into small pieces, which would make them easier 
 to handle, and increase their measurement. And the 
 expense, of erecting scales and weighing them, is not 
 greater than that of piling them up, into compact heaps, 
 for measuring. 
 
 There will be nine locks, upon the middle section, 
 including one, at the west end, to facilitate communica- 
 tion with the Seneca river, at high and low water. As 
 the locks of a canal are contrived, for the purpose of 
 effecting a passage from one elevation to another, they 
 must always be subject, while they are shut, to the 
 pressure of a considerable head of water, and 
 while they are filling and discharging, to the force 
 of a rapid current: and, as they must be made as small 
 as the nature, of the transportation through them, will 
 admit, they will be liable to violent impingements from 
 heavy loaded boats. With us, they are also exposed 
 to injury, by the intense frost of winter. It will be 
 perceived, therefore, that, in the construction of them, 
 great care and fidelity are indispensable. The site, 
 which ours will occupy, is uniformly excellent, consist- 
 ing of gravel mixed with loam or clay, in such propor- 
 tions as to render it close, heavy, hard, and water- 
 tight. 
 
 We have let out, the laying and securing of the 
 foundations, the framing and placing of the mitre-cills, 
 and the construction and hanging of the gates, of eight 
 of these locks, to a single individual of skill and respon- 
 sibility, who has heretofore been engaged, in similar 
 undertakings. The stone-cutting and masonry are more 
 distributed For the performance of these, we have 
 entered into five agreements, with men, whom we be- 
 lieve to be expert and trust-worthy, some of them, from 
 our own knowledge, and the rest from satisfactory re- 
 commendations. 
 
( 328 ) 
 
 The foundations, of these eight locks, are to consist 
 of a solid flooring, of hewed timber, one foot thick, and 
 covered with well jointed three-inch-plank, over which 
 within the chamber, will be laid another flooring, of 
 two-inch-plank, accurately fitted together with water- 
 joints, and spiked down, so as to prevent leakage : and 
 this foundation is to be strongly supported and guard- 
 ed by piling. The lock-walls are, to be not less than 
 six feet thick, and sustained, by several massy buttress- 
 es, to be laid, in water-cement, and thoroughly grouted 
 — to have all the faces, ends, and beds, of each stone 
 laid in the front of the wall, together with the hollow 
 quoins, the lock-culverts and the ventilators, well cut — 
 and the whole to be suflficiently cramped together with 
 iron, and coped. The mitre-ciOs and gates are to be 
 of the best construction, and properly fitted, secured, 
 and hung. Having provided, by contract, for all the 
 materials necessary, and the labour to be bestow^ed up- 
 on them, in the construction of these locks ; and, hav- 
 ing counted the cost, we anticipate their entire com- 
 pletion, for a sum not exceeding a thousand dollars, 
 per foot rise. In schedule number three, in the appen- 
 dix, may be seen further particulars relating to con- 
 tracts for stone, and for the locks. 
 
 That portion of the canal line, which we have been 
 authorized to open, is intersected by fifty-two public 
 roads, on which it became our duty to erect bridges. 
 For all these we have made provision ; and twenty-on€ 
 of them are erected. In several instances, where the 
 canal has traversed a farm, in such a direction and ex- 
 tent as to forbid the owner to occupy it all, without a 
 bridge we have paid a reasonable sum, for the construe 
 tion and reparation of such bridge ; and, in considera- 
 tion of such payment ; obtained from the owner a per- 
 petual discharge, for the state, from all further obliga- 
 tion relating thereto. And, to prevent these occupa- 
 tion bridges from ever interfering with the navigation, 
 a suitable plan, for their construction, was made, of 
 which a full description wa^ always given to the 
 builder. 
 
(329 ) 
 
 It may not be improper to state, here, that the gentle- 
 men appointed, by the supreme court, to appraise dam 
 ages upon the middle section, have examined, decided 
 upon, and certified, the most urgent cases of that kind ; 
 and the whole amount of claims upon us, which they 
 have yet authorized, is sixteen hundred and eighty-six 
 dollars. A list of all the cases decided, with the 
 amount of damages allowed in each, constitutes num- 
 ber four, of the appendix. 
 
 The middle section is ninety-four miles long. 
 Every thing that was to be done, on this section, is 
 now either completed, or under contract and to be 
 completed, by the first of October next : except 
 1st. A few occupation-bridges ; 
 2d. A small culvert, to pass the waters of a mill-pond, 
 
 in Whitestown ; 
 3d. A lock, to effect the proper connexion with Sene- 
 ca river, and a short section of the line adjoining 
 it. The materials, for the construction of the lock, 
 may be delivered by water : And, it was so late in 
 the season, before the precise location, of the lock 
 and section could be ascertained, that no advantage 
 would have been secured, by contracting for them 
 this fall. We have reasonable propositions, from 
 good men, to finish them both, in September next. 
 1th. About a mile of the line, on which the original 
 undertaker has failed, for which we can make effectu- 
 al provision, in the spring. 
 
 What is actually done may be understood from the 
 following summary, to wit : — 
 ist. All the grubbing and clearing is done, except 
 
 about five miles. 
 2d. Eight miles of excavation and embankment are 
 
 completed, inspected and accepted. 
 3d. Forty miles more have all the excavation and 
 embankment performed; and the frost alone has 
 prevented their being finished. When that is dis- 
 solved, and the earth is dry, fifty cents a rod, will 
 entirely complete them. 
 4th. Ten miles more are about half done. 
 
 42 
 
( 330 ) 
 
 5th. Twenty-one miles more, are a quarter done.— - 
 
 There remains, on the Middle Section, fourteen 
 
 miles more, lying in detached pieces, which are yet 
 
 unbroken. 
 
 The most costly embankments were to be made at 
 Nail-creek, at Sedaqueda-creek, at Brown brook, at 
 Brandy brook, at Oneida-creek, at Canastota-creek, at 
 Olcott's brook, at Canasaraga-creek, at Chitteningo- 
 Creek, at Beaver-dam-creek, at the outlet of the Little 
 lakes, at Limestone-creek, at Cadwell's swamp, at 
 Butternut-creek, at Onondaga-creek, at Harbour-creek, 
 at Geddesburgh, at the west end of section 37, at the 
 Skeneateles out-let, at Bread-creek, at the Owasco out- 
 let, at Great brook, and at Crane brook. Of these 
 embankments, the nine most expensive are completed, 
 and the residue, in the average, half completed. 
 
 Two thirds, of all the deep cutting, is accomplished. 
 
 The whole number, of expensive foundations re- 
 quired, was seventeen, of which ten are sunk and 
 secured, and the rest, in considerable forwardness. 
 
 The timber, for the waste-weirs, is now felling, and 
 hewing, and sawing ; and their constructions, is all 
 stipulated for, at about four dollars, per foot run. 
 
 The whole amount of mason-work necessary, in 
 culverts, aqueducts and bridges, is one fourth done. 
 
 The timber for the lock-sites is preparing; the 
 requisite quantities of stone, for all purposes, nearly 
 quarried ; and the scales to weigh them all erected. 
 
 The only expensive dam, on the whole route, is that 
 at the Oriskany-creek, which is to be built for $5,700, 
 and is already in some progress. 
 
 Taking into consideration every item, of material 
 and of labour, actually provided and paid for ; and com- 
 paring them with every item remaining to be provided 
 and paid for, in order to the enjoyment of a navigable 
 communication, between the Mohawk and Seneca 
 rivers; and it is our opinion, that the proportion of the 
 former to the latter, is nearly as two to one. 
 
 The whole estimated expense of the canal, from Utica 
 to the Seneca river, including a proportional part of the 
 
( 331 ) 
 
 general allowance, for utensils, work-shops, barracks 
 
 for the men, &c. as stated, in our Report of 1817, is as 
 
 follows, to wit : 
 
 From the west end of the old canal, at 
 
 Rome, to Seneca river, ;S853,186 
 
 From the east end of the old canal, at 
 Rome, to Nail-creek, in Utica, exclu- 
 sive of locks, the distance being 14 
 miles, 108,128 
 
 Add eight feet lockage between Rome 
 
 and Utica, at S 1,250 per foot, 10,000 
 
 " Twelve road bridges, at$500, 6,000 
 
 " Forty-two occupation-bridges, at $200, 8,200 
 
 " The proportional part of the general 
 
 allowance above mentioned, is 17,337 
 
 " The expense, of widening and deep- 
 ening the old canal, was not inclu- 
 ded, in the Report of 1817, but was 
 estimated, in another place, at 4,000 
 
 " For superintendence of engineers, 
 &c. from west end of old canal, at 
 Rome, to east side of Nail-creek, at 
 % 1 ,000 per mile, ] 5,000 
 
 Aggregate amount, $1,021,851 
 
 The whole amount of actual disburse- 
 ments, is 578,549 
 
 Which being deducted from the estimates, 
 
 leaves the sum of $443,302 
 
 applicable to the completion of the Middle Section. 
 This sum is believed to be more than sufficient for 
 that object. And if the present winter shall afford 
 five weeks of good sleighing to draw stone, and the 
 next summer shall not be unfavourable^, the commission- 
 ers entertain sanguine hopes of being able to pass, in 
 a boat, throughout this section, before the next meet- 
 ing of your honourable body, 
 
 Believing we were authorized to institute and carry 
 on further surveys, «|i the eastern and western sec- 
 
( 332 ) 
 
 tions, of the Erie canal, Isaac Briggs, Esq. has been 
 employed to explore, and re-survey, and locate, the line 
 of the canal, irom Utica towards the Hudon river. 
 Such a location he has made, for upwards of forty 
 miles including all the difl&cult places at Herkimer 
 and the Little Falls. Of his work, he has made am- 
 ple returns and estimates, accompanied with elegant 
 maps, and profiles, which are herewith presented. 
 From his estimate, it appears, that the cost of opening 
 the canal, through that portion of the line, will be less 
 than our first calculations. 
 
 In pursuance of that part of the law, relating to their 
 duties, which requires the canal commissioners to re- 
 commend such measures, as they may think advisable, 
 for the accomplishment of the objects intended by the 
 legislature ; we beg leave to recommend ; 
 1st. That adequate provision be made, for opening 
 a navigable side cut, in the course of the ensuing 
 summer, from the main canal to the salt works, at 
 Selina^ This may be performed in six months, at 
 an expense not exceeding six thousand dollars j 
 and as the main canal is expected to be navigable 
 to the waters of the Cayuga and Seneca lakes, on 
 the one side, and to those of the Mohawk river, on 
 the other, by the close of the next season, it is appa- 
 rent, that such a side cut would immediately become 
 profitable. 
 2d. That the militia law be so modified as to excuse 
 from militia duty all persons actually engaged in la- 
 bouring on the canal. Such labourers are, for the 
 most part, in situations which do not permit them 
 to be properly armed and equipt : They cannot 
 therefore be useful on the parade ground. And, 
 upon a reasonable calculation, there were during 
 the past season, twenty thousand dollars worth of 
 service lost to the canal, by militia interruptions. 
 3d. That a law be passed, the present session, author- 
 izing and providing for, the entire completion of the 
 Erie canal. Sufficient experience has now been ac- 
 ,quired to establish the practicability of such a mea- 
 
( 333 ) 
 
 sure, within the means of the state. And surely, the 
 prosperities, which it will advance, — of an agricul- 
 tural, a commercial, and a manufacturing, — of a pub- 
 lic, and a private, — of a pecuniary, a literary, a po- 
 litical, and a moral, character, commend it to your 
 patronage. It appears to us to be a measure invol- 
 ving the highest earthly interests. And, illustrious 
 as our country has become, for the utility and glory 
 of its achievements, it never had a legislative body, 
 engaged in a measure teeming with benefits, so vari- 
 ous, so extensive and so durable, since the cry, of 
 " land, land," was first heard, from one of the ships 
 of its great discoverer. If honour be coveted, solid 
 and expansive as "the great globe itself, and all 
 which it inherits," the accomplishment of this work 
 will ensure its attainment. 
 Dated 25th January, 1819. 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 S. VAN RENSSELAER, 
 MYRON HOLLEY, 
 S. YOUNG, 
 EPHRAIM HART.* 
 And, in relation to the Champlain canal, the com- 
 missioners report — 
 
 That, since the first of June last, when the season 
 became favourable, the excavation of the Champlain 
 canal has been vigorously and successfully prosecuted. 
 More than twelve miles have been completed, to the 
 satisfaction of the Engineer, and a final settlement has 
 been had with the contractors. 
 
 The remainder of the excavation is in such a state 
 of advancement, that two months of good weather will 
 ensure its completion, as there is not more on the whole 
 line remaining to be done, than the average excavation 
 of two and a half miles. Considerable progress has 
 been made towards the construction of the artificial 
 works. The stone for the locks have been quarried ; 
 
 * Mr. Hart was appointed a Canal Commissioner in 
 the room of Joseph Ellicott, Esq. resigned. 
 
( 334 ) 
 
 more than half of them^ it is heheved, are already de- 
 livered at the places where they are to be used, and 
 a considerable portion of them are hewn, and ready to 
 be laid into the work. The timber, lime, and sand, are 
 also in a very advanced state of preparation. The mate- 
 rials for the culverts,waste-weirs,bridges,^c.areinsuch 
 a state of forwardness, that there is little doubt but 
 they will all be prepared and delivered before the 
 breaking up of winter: and unless the next season 
 should be uncommonly bad, it is confidently expected, 
 that within ten months from this time, the Champlain 
 canal, from the Lake to the Hudson, will be fit for na- 
 vigation. 
 
 The amount of labour which has been performed the 
 last season, compared with the expenditures, fortifies 
 the opinion expressed in the Report of last season, that 
 the Champlain canal will be finished for a sum not ex- 
 ceeding the estimates; and the Commissioners respect- 
 fully recommend the passage of a law, authorizing its 
 construction from Fort Edward to the tide waters of 
 the Hudson. 
 
 25th January^ 1819. 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 S. VAN RENSSELAER, 
 
 S. YOUNG, 
 MYRON HOLLEY, 
 EPHRAIM HART. 
 
No. I. 
 
 A detailed Statf»inent of Contracts for Excavation and Embankment on Middle Section of the 
 
 Erie Canal. 
 
 
 Nature of Contract. 
 
 Progress of Execution. 
 
 Payments 
 made thereon. 
 
 Names of Contractors. 
 
 completed 
 
 nearly 
 completed 
 
 half done 
 
 one fourth 
 done 
 
 
 MIs.Chs. 
 
 MIs.Chs- 
 
 Mis. Chs 
 
 Mis. Chs. 
 
 
 Beckwith & Slayton 
 
 Exca. & Emb'kt. 
 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 S 2,490 
 
 N. Hempstead 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 2,700 
 
 Dexter, Pease & Moseley 
 
 55 55 
 
 3 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 18,000 
 
 D. Loomis 
 
 Emb'kt. 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 1,300 
 
 Mann and VValcott 
 
 Exca. & Emb'kt. 
 
 23 
 
 
 
 
 3,106 50 
 
 Joseph Miller 
 
 55 55 
 
 46 
 
 
 
 
 1,750 
 
 Timothy Hunt 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 1 
 
 30 
 
 10 
 
 6,710 
 
 James Donaldson 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 520 
 
 James Lynch 
 
 55 55 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 6,050 
 
 Ezra Hovey 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 25 
 
 30 
 
 20 
 
 3,750 
 
 J. & A. Waggoner 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 55 
 
 30 
 
 34 
 
 7,171 
 
 J. Brainard 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 1 64 
 
 
 
 13,945 50 
 
 J. Hathaway 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 65 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 11,437 50 
 
 E. Chapin 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 60 
 
 30 
 
 
 15,315 
 
 Joseph Miller 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 75 
 
 
 
 6,500 
 
 J. Richardson 
 
 55 55 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 
 4,094 
 
 J. Seymonr 
 
 '' & Emb'kt . 
 
 20 
 
 25 
 
 20 
 
 
 3,921 
 
 A Brayton 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 \5 
 
 2,000 
 
 Selden & Edgerton 
 
 55 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 3,450 
 
 Comstock & Miller 
 
 " & Emb'kt. 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 20 
 
 5,450 
 
 G. Seton 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 6 
 
 1,750 
 
 M. H. Farservice 
 
 55 
 
 
 45 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 4,700 
 
 J. Colburn 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 5,700 
 
 P. Lyon 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 
 1,370 
 
 Hibbard & Ackley 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 1,G50 
 
 Parker & Collins 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1,000 
 
 Wooley, Joslin, Barber 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 5,000 
 
 J. Burrows 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 1,300 
 
 Halsey Collins 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 2,420 
 
 P. Harger 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 4,900 
 
 C. & H. Adams 
 
 " & Emb'kt. 
 
 
 
 1 62 
 
 12 
 
 
 16,900 
 
 J. Edgerton 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 7,060 
 
 N. Raymond 
 
 Exca. & Emb'kt. 
 
 
 50 
 
 20 
 
 6 
 
 5,950 
 
 J. Landon 
 
 55 
 
 
 35 
 
 30 
 
 30 
 
 4.950 
 
 J. Van Camp 
 
 55 
 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 30 
 
 3,750 
 
 S. HolHday 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 2,300 
 
 Joseph Olcott 
 
 " & Emb'kt. 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 5,600 
 
 A. Fuller 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 15 
 
 1,300 
 
 W. Cotton 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 30 
 
 6,850 
 
 Zebulon Douglass 
 
 Exca. 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 40 
 
 2,650 
 
 J. Chapman 
 
 Emb'kt. 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 5,700 
 
 S. W. Bond 
 
 Exca. 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 10 
 
 40 
 
 2,950 
 
 Brown & Hall 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 15 
 
 60 
 
 5,450 
 
 Abercrombie 
 
 » & Emb'kt. 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 
 
 2,900 
 
 Cady & Harris 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 15 
 
 3,050 
 
 D. Eggleston 
 
 55 55 
 
 43 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 20 
 
 1 20 
 
 6,850 
 

 
 i 
 
 Progress of 
 
 Execution 
 
 
 Payments 
 made thereon. 
 
 Name of Contractors. 
 
 Nature of Contract. 
 
 completed 
 
 nearly 
 
 completed. 
 
 half done 
 
 one-fouith 
 done 
 
 
 Mls.Chs. 
 
 Mls.Chs. 
 
 Mls.Chs. 
 
 Mis. Chs. 
 
 
 Sage & Jiangs 
 
 Exca.&Emb'kt. 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 46 
 
 g2,600 
 
 Baily & Edwards 
 
 ?i 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 55 
 
 3,900 
 
 R. Noble 
 
 ?> 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 1,200 
 
 Gay & Wilcox 
 
 )5 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 3,550 
 
 J. Richardson 
 
 "^ & 
 
 Emb'kt. 
 
 
 2 5 
 
 10 
 
 35 
 
 19,950 
 
 N. Woolaver 
 
 !5 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 5 
 
 
 850 
 
 E. Gumaer, Jun. 
 
 " & 
 
 Emb'kt. 
 
 
 1 20 
 
 20 
 
 
 20,000 
 
 Vroman & Hempstead 
 
 )) 
 
 55, 
 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 2,800 
 
 E. Cadwell 
 
 ?> 
 
 55 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 
 9,119 04 
 
 Teal & Bangs 
 
 ?? 
 
 55 
 
 57 
 
 
 
 
 4,130 
 
 Olcott & Leonard 
 
 9? 
 
 55 
 
 
 1 37 
 
 
 
 15,300 
 
 S. Bronson 
 
 5» 
 
 55 
 
 1 13 
 
 
 
 
 6,400 
 
 R. Parsons 
 
 5? 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 2,650 
 
 J. Ingalls 
 
 ?) 
 
 55 
 
 
 25 
 
 10 
 
 45 
 
 3,850 
 
 S. N. Dexter 
 
 " & 
 
 Emb'kt. 
 
 
 60 
 
 20 
 
 45 
 
 9,650 
 
 E. Gumear, Jun. 
 
 :j 
 
 •5 
 
 
 60 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 8,300 
 
 A. C. Hoar 
 
 »? 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 20 
 
 2,800 
 
 Whitney & Crocker 
 
 )5 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 40 
 
 3,000 
 
 J. Ives 
 
 ?5 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 21 
 
 45 
 
 3,750 
 
 C. Hatter 
 
 5? 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 10 
 
 
 3,100 
 
 J . Crocker 
 
 5> 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 25 
 
 5 
 
 2,150 
 
 J. B. Olcott 
 
 '5 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 18 
 
 35 
 
 3,250 
 
 H. Bogardus 
 
 Exca. 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 15 
 
 28 
 
 4,150 
 
 R. Lloyd 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 25 
 
 2,652 
 
 E. Griffin 
 
 5» 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 2,400 
 
 F. Lasher 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 12 
 
 36 
 
 7,350 
 
 C. Clark 
 
 5? 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 1,480 
 
 A. Scott 
 
 ?» 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 
 I5884 81 
 
 J. Baldwin or Brown 
 
 " & 
 
 Emb'kt. 
 
 
 50 
 
 22 
 
 20 
 
 4,000 
 
 Hoar & Barse 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 2,250 
 
 D. Eggleston 
 
 Exca. & 
 
 Emb'kt. 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 40 
 
 1,400 
 
 Griswold & Bender 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 15 
 
 30 
 
 4,200 
 
 C. Moseley 
 
 " & 
 
 Emb'kt. 
 
 
 45 
 
 20 
 
 35 
 
 3,000 
 
 B. Gumaer 
 
 5J 
 
 55 
 
 
 75 
 
 20 
 
 25 
 
 6,000 
 
 A. Wilson, (now Scott) 
 
 95 
 
 55 
 
 
 30 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 2,372 
 
 Gay & Raymond 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 64 
 
 3,900 
 
 J. A. Sherwood 
 
 " & 
 
 Emb'kt. 
 
 
 70 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 4,550 
 
 M. Benedict 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 
 60 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 4,600 
 
 Richmond & Hamilton 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 A(\ 
 
 
 •"^O 
 
 2,025 
 3,000 
 
 C. Moseley 
 
 55 
 
 
 31 
 
 
 18 
 
 Potter & Babcock 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 46 
 
 
 14 
 
 3,150 
 
 C. Moseley 
 
 " & 
 
 Emb'kt. 
 
 
 30 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 3,000 
 
 W. Hempstead 
 
 55 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 35 
 
 2,700 
 
 Joslin & Cadwell 
 
 " & Emb'kt. 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 50 
 
 4,000 
 
 Tyler ^ Hovey 
 
 " 55 
 
 
 70 
 
 
 50l 
 
 4,800 
 
 
 
 
 II 8 b4 
 
 40 0'6\ 
 
 10 48 
 
 20 52 
 
 1 
 
 Most of the eight miles and sixty-four chains, (above mentioned to be completed,) and seve- 
 ral places on those sections which are nearly completed, are filled with water, into which a 
 few boats have already been introduced. 
 
( 337 ) 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 A I able ^ showino- the location, ilimensmis^ ^'c. of the Jique- 
 ducts. Culverts and Waste- Weirs, on the Middle Section of 
 the Erie Canal. 
 
 Of the Aqueducts. 
 
 Location. 
 
 Len 
 
 irth. 
 
 Materials. 
 
 At SedaqueJa creek, 
 
 240 ieet. 
 
 Stone and wood- 
 
 " Wood creek, 
 
 40 
 
 ri 
 
 do. 
 
 " Oneida creek, 
 
 J 20 
 
 ?» 
 
 All stone. 
 
 " Canasaraga creek, 
 
 40 
 
 55 
 
 Stone and wood. 
 
 " Chitteningo creek, 
 
 110 
 
 11 
 
 do. 
 
 " Limestone creek, 
 
 110 
 
 11 
 
 do. 
 
 " Butternut creek, 
 
 110 
 
 11 
 
 do. 
 
 " Onondaga creek, 
 
 180 
 
 11 
 
 All stone. 
 
 " Nine-Mile creek. 
 
 120 
 
 11 
 
 do. 
 
 " Skeneateles out-let, 
 
 100 
 
 11 
 
 do. 
 
 " Cold Spring brook, 
 
 100 
 
 11 
 
 Stone and wood. 
 
 " Owasco out-let, 
 
 150 
 
 11 
 
 All stone. 
 
 " Crane brook, 
 
 100 
 
 11 
 
 Stone and wood. 
 
 In the Report of 1817, the above aqueducts were all 
 estimated to be of wooden trunks, resting on stone 
 abutments and piers. 
 
 Of the Stone Culverts. 
 
 Location. Span of the Arch., 
 
 Length. 
 
 At Nail creek. 
 
 14 feet, 
 
 70 feet. 
 
 " Stony creek, 
 
 15 " 
 
 64 " 
 
 " Brandy brook, 
 
 10 " 
 
 64 " 
 
 *' Beaver-dam creek. 
 
 10 " 
 
 64 " 
 
 " Little lakes, 
 
 8 " 
 
 72 " 
 
 " Harbour creek, 
 
 10 " 
 
 72 " 
 
 " Hughes' creek. 
 
 4 " 
 
 120 " 
 
 *' Great brook, 
 
 10 " 
 
 61 " 
 
 44 
 
 
 
( 338 ) 
 Of the Iron Culverts, 
 
 Location. Diameter. Length. 
 
 On Section L, 3 feet, . . 69 feet 
 
 „ do. I, do. . . 75 
 
 At Swamp brook, . . . . do. . . 6a 
 
 „ Brown brook, . , . . do. . . 60 
 
 „ Rush creek, .... do. ... 75 
 
 „ Black creek, .... do. . . 75 
 
 „ Mud creek, .... do. . . 75 
 
 Near Cowaston creek, . . do. . . 75 
 
 Near Chitteningo creek, . do. . . 72 
 
 At Cadwell's swamp, . • do. . . 7i 
 
 „ Whipple's 2 feet .. 63 
 
 On Section No. 11, ... do. . . 69 
 
 On Section No. 10, ... do. . . 69 
 
 Near Barker's, 1 foot, . . 60 
 
 Near Lroomis,, do. . . 60 
 
 The above iron culverts, consist of pieces cast, in 
 the shape of half cylinders, with flanges, and connected 
 together, with nuts and screws. They were contracted 
 for, at the rate of ^^89 per ton delivered ; and the whole 
 expense of them when properly laid and secured, has 
 been, of those that are three f^et in diameter, about 
 $500 a piece, of those that are two feet in diameter, 
 about $340, and of those that are one foot in diameter, 
 about ;^170 
 
( 339 ) 
 Of the Waste Weirs, 
 
 Location. Length. 
 
 At Shepard's brook, .... 100 feet. 
 
 ,, Section C, 100 „ 
 
 „ Wood creek, near white house, 150 „ 
 
 ^, Section No. 5, 100 „ 
 
 „ Drum creek, 100 ?» 
 
 Near Oneida creek;, . . . . 100 „ 
 
 At Cowaston creek, . . . . 150 „ 
 
 , Canastota creek, 100 „ 
 
 , Olcott's brook, ..... 60 „ 
 
 , Pool's brook, 100 „ 
 
 , Mill creek, 100 „ 
 
 , Hand's brook, 100 „ 
 
 , Camp's brook, 100 „ 
 
 , Carpenter's brook, . . . . 150 „ 
 
 , White bottom brook, . . . 100 „ 
 
 , Bread creek, 150 „ 
 
 , Tyler's brook, 100 „ 
 
 The expense of these w?iste-weirs was not included 
 in our estimates of 1817* 
 
340 
 
 
 
 
 
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 13 
 
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( 343 ) 
 
 • No. 4. 
 
 A list of cases, in which claims for damages, on the 
 canal line, between Utica and Seneca river, have been 
 decided upon, and certified, by the Appraisers, toge- 
 ther with the amount of damages in each. 
 
 JYames of Claimants. 
 
 j^mount of damages allowed. 
 
 Leonard Peck 
 
 
 . g!l20 
 
 John Reed, (an Indian 
 
 
 30 
 
 John Mitchell 
 
 
 80 
 
 Qlivia Lewis 
 
 
 25 
 
 Peter Gumaer 
 
 
 . 330 
 
 Mary Huntley 
 
 
 300 
 
 Ira Huntley 
 
 
 30 
 
 Heirs in reversion of the real 
 
 
 estate of Huntley 
 
 , 
 
 1 
 
 Samuel Lusk 
 
 
 30 
 
 Dennis Rust 
 
 more 
 
 benefitted than injured 
 
 William Brown 
 
 
 the same 
 
 Robert B. Cunningham 
 
 
 the same 
 
 Benjamin Simpson 
 
 
 the same 
 
 John Johnson 
 
 
 the same 
 
 John Nicholson 
 
 
 30 
 
 Calvin Corey 
 
 
 30 
 
 Ephraim Emerick 
 
 
 75 
 
 Benjamin Rooker 
 
 
 ... 25 
 
 Recompense Sowle 
 
 
 §0 
 
 Frederick Real 
 
 
 30 
 
 Henry Kip 
 
 
 . 350 
 
 John Hecox 
 
 more 
 
 benefitted than injured 
 
 William G. Tracy 
 
 
 the same 
 
 Daniel Wiles 
 
 ^ 
 
 . . . 50 
 
 Eli Hays 
 
 • 
 
 ; 100 
 
 Aggregate sum is 
 
 J?! 1,686 
 
( 344 ) 
 ANNUAL REPORT, &c. 
 
 OF THE CANAL COMMISSIONERS, COMMUNICATED TO THE 
 LEGISLATURE, FEB. 18, 1820. 
 
 To the Legislature of the State of Mew-York : In obedience 
 to the Act entitled '•'•An Act respecting navigable commu- 
 nications between the great Western and JS'orthern LaJces 
 and the Atlantic Ocean,'''' passed April 16th, iSll the 
 Canal Commissioners most respectfully Report — 
 
 In reference to the Erie Canal,- — 
 
 That the middle section thereof has been so far 
 completed, during the past season, that large boats 
 have actually navigated it, for the distance of seventy- 
 miles : and nothing has hindered such navigation 
 throughout the residue of the section, for several weeks 
 previously to the meeting of your honourable body, 
 but the setting in of frost. The important fact of the 
 accuracy of the levels, from one end to the other, of 
 this section, has been ascertained, by the most satisfac- 
 tory and infallible proof — the admission of water. And 
 when it is remembered that the length of our Rome 
 summit is now extended to near sixty miles, this result, 
 so gratifying on every account, cannot fail to' beget 
 strong confidence in the skill, and ajust praise for the 
 care, of our engineer. 
 
 Having now witnessed the completion of a great 
 number and variety of canal contracts, with constant 
 and anxious attention to the mode of their execution, 
 in every stage of their progress, for the purpose of ob- 
 taining all the benefits suggested by experience, we 
 expect, hereafter, considerable improvements in the 
 manner of conducting our labours For a resolute 
 ambition of success, and the application of vigorous 
 industry, we cannot hope that an equal number of men 
 
( 345 ) 
 
 ^viil ever be more distinguished than those who have 
 hitherto been employed. 
 
 We have found, that in removing common earth, 
 where the depth does not exceed four or five feet, and 
 the ground is dry, the plough and scraper can be used 
 to greater profit than any other means of excavation 
 with which we are acquainted. And the banks which 
 are constructed with scrapers, from being constantly 
 and uniformly travelled over by the cattle and men, 
 during the time required to raise and form them, are so 
 thoroughly compacted as to be not much in danger of 
 injurious settling, after they are once completed. A 
 great proportion of our work has heretofore been per- 
 formed with these instruments. But as both the west- 
 ern and eastern sections of the canal, will pass through 
 but little wet land, in comparison with that which is 
 traversed by the middle, the use of them hereafter 
 will be much increased. 
 
 It was determined by the canal commissioners, when 
 they entered on the construction of the canal, that the 
 inside slope of the banks should be such, that a foot 
 perpendicular rise should give not less than eighteen 
 inches horizontal base. This slope is often adopted 
 in England ; and in earth unapt to slip, it will answer; 
 but in clay, in light earth, especially if it contain much 
 water, and wherever sand predominates^ a greater 
 slope is expedient. 
 
 The inside slope of the banks through the middle 
 section, is generally such as that above indicated. 
 There are, however, several places where it is greater. 
 And it is our intention for the future, except where pe- 
 culiar circumstances forbid, to increase the slope. For 
 besides diminishing the danger of having the banks slide 
 into the bottom of the canal, by diminishing their ac- 
 clivity, it requires but little observation to become con- 
 vinced, that such diminution lessens the labour of 
 forming the banks. This is true, when the banks are 
 formed by shovelling and wheeling, but it is eminently 
 so when the work is done by ploughing and scraping. 
 A slope, of a foot rise to eighteen inches base, is so 
 
 45 
 
( 346 ) 
 
 sleep that it is difficult to drive cattle or horses up it, 
 with a loaded scraper behind them : and as the exca- 
 vation approaches the bottom of the canal, the diffi- 
 culty of this operation greatly increases. Indeed, 
 where scrapers have been used, the excavation from 
 the bottom of the canal, at the edges, has been left un- 
 finished, with the adjoining banks also unfinished and 
 very sloping, so that much labour with spades and shov- 
 els, was afterwards necessary to take out the earth 
 from the bottom, and place it in the face of the banks, 
 at the top, in order to their completion: Or, if this la- 
 bour with spades and shovels was saved, the earth in 
 the bottom of the canal at the edges, was ploughed up, 
 and the scrapers, after being loaded by drav»^ing them 
 lengthwise of the canal on the bottom, drawn up the 
 banks, at places of easy ascent left in them, about ten 
 I'ods apart, for the purpose, and after arriving at the 
 top, were drawn lengthwise of the canal, for some dis- 
 tance, and then unloaded on the inner brow of the 
 bank. 
 
 This last mode of completing the excavation and 
 giving shape to the banks, has been found the most eco- 
 nomical; but to both modes the danger of slips is 
 equally incidental, and greater than it is where the 
 banks are formed by wheelbarrows ; because, in both, 
 the loose earth, which is required to finish the inside 
 face of the bank at the top, is always laid upon a slop- 
 ing and hard trodden surface^, with which it will not 
 speedily form a solid connection. 
 
 Horses and cattle can draw loaded scrapers, with- 
 out much inconvenience, up a bank of which the slope 
 is such as to give a base of two feet to a rise of one 
 foot; and if the face of the bank is left hard, as it will 
 be made by being travelled on in the process of its con- 
 struction with the scraper, there will remain no doubt 
 of its retaining its shape with very little impression from 
 heavy rains. This is an advantage of great importance, 
 as it respects the expense of repairs and preservation 
 of the beauty of the canal : and the increased slope, by 
 giving a width of surface at the top water-line four feet 
 
( 347 ) 
 
 greater than would be afforded by the slope originally 
 adopted, will also add to the facility of motion on the 
 canal. 
 
 Wherever the canal line crosses lands abounding in 
 springs, or very wet from any other cause, but so situ- 
 ated as to admit of draining, the spade and wheelbar- 
 row are indispensible utensils, in any common depth of 
 digging; and one of our contractors, Mr. Jeremiah 
 Brainard, of Rome, has invented a wheel barrow,which, 
 without being more expensive than those in common 
 use, is acknowledged by all who have seen it, to be 
 greatly superior to them Its advantages consist in its 
 being lighter, more durable, and much easier to unload. 
 
 Experience has convinced us, that after the grub- 
 bing and clearing is done, it is most judicious to carry 
 the excavation, wherever it is begun, as soon as may be, 
 to the bottom ; and as the work advances to complete 
 every part of the canal. 
 
 Many jobs on the middle section have had three 
 , fourths and often larger portions of the digging per- 
 formed, and the banks nearly raised, but left with the 
 earth sloping inwards from their outward extremity, 
 after which the contractor has transferred his labour 
 to other parts of the job, intending to bring the whole 
 into a similar state, and then to finish his work by tak- 
 ing out the residue of the bottom, giving it the proper 
 width, and dressing off the banks — From this course 
 of management much evil has ensued. The excavation 
 from the bottom, after baking for months in the sun, has 
 always been found much more difficult, the amount of 
 yards has been materially increased by an unnecessary 
 wash from the banks, the labour necessary to complete 
 the banks has been augmented, and after such labour 
 has been bestowed, there is less beauty in the whole 
 work, and it is more liable to injury. These evils will 
 all be obviated, by completing the canal with as little 
 delay as possible after the ground is broken. 
 
 In all cases it is essential, that care should be taken 
 to secure a sufficient drain from every part of the ejt- 
 cavation, otherwise the most injurious interruptipns 
 
( 348 ) 
 
 will be suffered from every shower. No person without 
 experience can be fully aware of the disadvantages 
 of labouring in wet earth. It is much heavier, more 
 tenacious and more slippery than dry, and of course 
 harder to load, harder to remove, and harder to unload : 
 and after it is unloaded into a bank, much of it will 
 run down so as to require a second removal. The la- 
 bourers who work in it destroy more clothes, live more 
 expensively, are more exposed to sickness, and require 
 higher wages, than other labourers ; the cattle and 
 horses sooner fail, and there is more wear and tear of 
 every implement. Hardly any expense should be avoid- 
 ed, which is necessary to provide good draining. Some 
 of our contractors have not been duly sensible of this, 
 and have lost more or less in consequence. By open- 
 ing a drain whenever the excavation is begun, and by 
 completing the canal as the work advances, the bene- 
 fits of an ample drain will be secured to every part of 
 the line. 
 
 But this course of proceeding will also produce other . 
 good consequences. The amount of money earned by 
 the contractors,from the time of one payment to another, 
 may be more accurately and easily estimated. The 
 contractor will more readily understand the exact con- 
 dition of his business, as to profit and loss, and the 
 workmen will be better able to secure themselves 
 against frauds or insolvency in their employers. With 
 the greatest care to ascertain the quality of the excava- 
 tion in any given section of the canal, previous to its 
 being let out, it is impossible to provide against the 
 occurrence of unforeseen obstructions in the earth, 
 which must be paid for at an equitable valuation, after 
 they shall be disclosed and overcome. The practice 
 of completing the canal as above mentioned, would 
 render these valuations more satisfactory to all parties, 
 because the precise nature and extent of such obstruc- 
 tions would be more clearly perceived, and the labour 
 laid out upon them would be more easily distinguished 
 from other labor. 
 
 Our efforts have now been continued so long, have 
 
( 349 ) 
 
 embraced so great a variety of operations, and have 
 actually given us an excellent navigation, for so great a 
 distance, that we suppose the public mind is fully satisfi- 
 ed of the practicability of the canals. 
 
 The original estimate of the middle section, extend- 
 ing from Utica to the Seneca river, in the aggreajate 
 amounted to $1,021>51 
 
 The real cost of its construction has been ^1,1 25,983 
 Making an excess of expenditure over the 
 
 estimate of $104,132 
 
 A little more than ten per cent. 
 
 This excess has been produced chiefly by the fol- 
 lowing causes : 
 
 I. The width of water in the canal, in all cases of 
 embankment, was originally intended to be only thirty 
 feet at the surface, and the estimate was made ac- 
 cordingly. These embankments have, however, all 
 been made so as to give the common width of forty feet 
 at the surface. This alteration has very much increased 
 the quantity of earth in those embankments which 
 required filling in at the bottom ; and as all the large 
 embankments are of this character, it has added con- 
 siderably to their expense. It was not adopted without 
 mature deliberation,and a strong conviction of its being 
 judicious. It was found that aqueducts, road bridges, 
 farm bridges, and a few other'unavoidable causes of con- 
 tracting the width of the canal, were of such frequent 
 occurrence along the line, as to make it very desirable, 
 for the sake of presenting no unnecessary obstruction 
 to motion through the water, to preserve the ordinary 
 width in all places where it was practicable. 
 
 The plan of several of the more artificial works has 
 been altered, always it is believed for the better, but 
 so as to render them more expensive. Of this class are 
 the following, to wit : 
 
 The aqueduct over Oneida creek. This was origin- 
 ally calcula.ted to be made of wood — it is constructed 
 of solid masonry. 
 
 The aqueduct over the Onondaga creek has been 
 greatly enlarged. It is built entirely of stone. 
 
( 350 ) 
 
 The aqueduct over Nine-mile creek was originally 
 intended to consist of stone abutments and piers with 
 a wooden trunk. It is constructed exclusively of stone, 
 and has been much enlarged by raising the level of the 
 canal at that place eleven feet. 
 
 At the Skeneateles outlet the original estimate em- 
 braced a dam, which has since been superseded by an 
 aqueduct of solid stone work, which is also raised eleven 
 feet above the original level. 
 
 The aqueduct across the Owasco creek has been 
 much enlarged, and a wooden trunk has been displaced 
 for stone arches. 
 
 II. Waste-weirs have been constructed in various 
 places, where it was believed no sufficient provision 
 could otherwise be had to discharge the surplus waters 
 with which the canal would be filled by the spring 
 floods : and the aggregate extent of these is about two 
 thousand feet. 
 
 III. The most prolific source of unforeseen expense, 
 has been found in hard excavation : and this w^e have 
 had in many places, and in all the varieties of hard- 
 pan, quick-sand, breccia, marl, gypsum, and limestone. 
 
 When the canal line was located by the engineer, he 
 dug or bored into the earth in several places on every 
 mile, to the bottom of the canal, for the purpose of 
 ascertaining the quality of the excavation. Upon in- 
 formation thus gained, he represented the character of 
 the earth to be dug through, in his sectional maps. And 
 when the commissioners entered into contracts, such 
 maps, with the representations contained in them, were 
 the basis of the prices stipulated to be paid by them. 
 But they always gave verbal assurances to the con- 
 tractors, that if in the progress of the work it should 
 turn out, that the excavation was manifestly worse than 
 it was represented to be, then they would pay for the 
 extra difficulty arising from that cause such sum as the 
 engineer should deem reasonable, over and above the 
 stipulated prices. Under such engagements large sums 
 have been paid. 
 
 1st. For hard-pan. On many sections of the canal. 
 
( 351 ) 
 
 the earth has become harder, ahnost in exact propor- 
 tion to the depth of excavation below the surface, and 
 often harder than the earth bored or dug through by 
 the engineer. — Such earth has been of several descrip- 
 tions : in some places, a hard tenacious clay, closely 
 filled with numerous stones ; in others, and more fre- 
 quently, a compact mixture of sand and loam, very 
 hard, and filled with blue gravel. Much of these kinds 
 of earth has been found in such condition, that the 
 most industrious men were unable to excavate more 
 than three yards in twelve hours. 
 
 2d. For quick-sand. This is a most unmanageable 
 substance, and generally dangerous wherever it oc- 
 curs. — It has subjected us to extra expense on several 
 sections, not merely by the necessity which it always 
 induces, of performing the excavation two or three 
 times over, but also by compelling us in a number of 
 places, to make defences against it of timber and 
 plank. 
 
 3d. For breccia. Patches of this have been fre- 
 quently found, but they have not been large, except in 
 a few places. The excavation of it is generally more 
 difficult than almost any rock of secondary formation, 
 and has cost from fifty cents to two dollars per cubic 
 yard. The largest masses of it have been encountered 
 in places continually wet, by springs or small streams. 
 
 4th. For marl. In Madison, Onondaga and Cayuga 
 counties, many miles of the canal are carried through 
 beds of marl, which, when it is first uncovered, is hard, 
 and in appearance, stone of a slaty structure, but which 
 after it is broken up and removed into the banks, by 
 exposure to the air, crumbles first into small pieces, and 
 finally into a fine earth ; so that no one would imagine, 
 after it has been a short time excavated, that it ever 
 offered any obstruction to the contractor : and yet the 
 excavation of it has cost from thirty to seventy-five 
 cents per cubic yard. 
 
 5th. For gypsum. Some extra expense has been in- 
 curred by the excavation of gypsum, on sections 27, 28, 
 59 and 63. * 
 
( 352 ) 
 
 6th. For limestone. This has been found in great, 
 abundance, on sections 19, 22, 23, 24, 27, 30, 31, 32, 33, 
 37 and 40 ; and the expense of removing it has been 
 from thirtj-seven and a half cents to one dollar per 
 cubic yajd. 
 
 As another cause of the excess of expenditure over 
 estimate, on the middle section, may be mentioned. 
 
 IV. The want of sleighing last winter. We had cal- 
 culated upon great advantages for the delivery of seve- 
 ral kinds of materials, particularly timber, plank, lime, 
 sand and stone, by sleighing. The roads leading to 
 most places where these articles were wanted, are 
 usually bad in the summer season. Recently made 
 over a rich deep soil, and rough with frequent cause- 
 ways, it was obvious that they would be almost impas- 
 sable with heavy loads on wheels. But when the earth 
 is frozen, and covered with a common winter depth of 
 snow, such roads afford as good a path as any other. 
 We had therefore been at great pains to make con- 
 tracts for these articles, early enough in the fall, to en- 
 joy the expected benefit of sleighing, for their delive- 
 ry : And much labour had been expended in quarrying 
 stone, felling and hewing timber, sawing plank, burning 
 lime and hiring teams, to make the most of that bene- 
 fit. — But there was no sleighing till the beginning of 
 March, and when at last the snow fell, it afforded us 
 no advantages. It came in such quantities as very soon 
 to take out the frost beneath it, and at so late a period 
 as to be exposed to rapid melting from the influence of 
 the sun. In the counties of Onondaga and Cayugawhere 
 most of the materials were required, it lay on the 
 ground for three or four weeks, and was used most of 
 that time, for sleighing, but to no profit. The teams 
 which had been engaged, could then, very few of them, 
 be had ; for nobody is willing, without strong necessi- 
 ty, to be at the trouble and expense of fitting out teams 
 for a few days service of doubtful emolument; and 
 spring snows are seldom durable. — Most of the time 
 while the sleighing lasted, all the materials were cover- 
 ed with snow,' to an inconvenient depth — no hard snow 
 
( 353 ) 
 
 path could be formed — and the road was, in many 
 places mirj. In truth, but a small portion of the mate- 
 rials were delivered by sleighing; and if the following 
 season had not been uncommonly dry and favourable 
 to wheeling, it is probable that no practicable efforts 
 could yet have effected the delivery of them. That 
 our stone structures might be permanent, we were fully 
 convinced of the great importance of using large stone 
 in their construction. Accordingly, those which we 
 have had delivered, a great portion of them weigh from 
 one to three tons a piece, and some of them much more : 
 but the expense of loading heavy stones into waggons 
 or rarts must always be greater than that of loading 
 them into sleds. — From the combined effect of these 
 causes, the delivery of our materials has cost as much 
 more than we could reasonably have anticipated. 
 
 V. To prepare the foundation of the locks and ac- 
 queducts, has been more difficult than was expected. 
 
 In order to give the same depth of water over the 
 lock-sills, which is provided for elsewhere, our manner 
 of securing the foundation requires that the excava- 
 tion shall be sunk tw<^feet below the bottom of the ca- 
 nal; and in digging for these foundations, in several 
 cases, where the earth down to the bottom was hard 
 gravel or clay, we have found it below that, and within 
 the limits of our excavation, to be quicksand. In such 
 cases, we have been compelled to fill the bottom w ith 
 bearing piles. And as these bottoms are about one 
 hundred and thirty feet long, by thirty-six broad, this 
 operation has been attended with" great labour and ex- 
 pense. 
 
 At all the places of our principal acqueducts, at the 
 locks, and at some of the large culverts, the difficulty 
 of constructing and maintaining coffer dams, and of 
 bailing out the water, in addition to that of the excava- 
 tion and pile-driving, which must necessarily be sub- 
 ject to many contingencies, has exceeded our calcula- 
 tions. 
 
 VI. Fencing the canal was not included in the origi- 
 
 46 
 
( 354 ) 
 
 nal estimate of the middle section ; and yet we found 
 this indispensable to the security of the canal, and 
 have actually completed it on both sides, for nearly 
 the whole distance. 
 
 VII. The water proof lime, which has been used, 
 during the past season, for the most of the mason work 
 done on the canal, has contributed to swell our dis- 
 bursements beyond our original estimates. This ma- 
 terial has been discovered in the progress of our exer- 
 tions; and it will doubtless hereafter be considered as 
 an article of prime necessity, throughout our country, 
 for all hydrauli-c masonry. Mixed with clean silicious 
 sand and water, and well beaten, it constitutes a mortar 
 which will soon set, and thoroughly cement any work 
 of stone or brick, in which it is used, under water. But 
 in the first use of it we have been unavoidably subject- 
 ed to many expenses which henceforth need not be in- 
 curred. We failed repeatedly in burning, pulverising 
 and mixing it; but many trials have now shown us the 
 way to succeed in all these operations. And all the 
 masons in our employ, though for some time they were 
 loth to use it from an opinion which they uniformly en- 
 tertained of its being of no value, now regard it as a 
 discovery of the greatest importance. It sets much 
 quicker, and becomes stronger in the air, than common 
 lime mortar; and under water, where common mortar 
 will not set at all, it begins to set immediately, and in 
 a few weeks acquires great hardness and tenacity. It 
 may be quarried with the same labour as common lime- 
 stone, and is known to occur in the greatest abundance 
 in Madison, Onondaga, Cayuga, Ontario and Genesee 
 counties; its colour is a yellowish grey, before it is 
 burnt, and burning inclines it to a buff It is softer than 
 common limestone and when burnt about ten per cent 
 lighter. It will not slack, but must be pulverized by 
 pounding or grinding, and when reduced to powder its 
 bulk is not materially increased. The quantity of sand 
 mixed with it should be about half that of the lime in 
 bulk. From its not swelling, by being pulverized— 
 
( 355 ) 
 
 from the expense of grinding it, and from the greatly 
 diminished quantity of sand which it will bear, it will 
 be at once perceived, that its use will always be attend- 
 ed with greater expense than that of common lime. 
 Still it may be used, at a very small proportion of the 
 cost of any other material now known to answer the 
 same purpose : and as it abounds in the vicinity of the 
 canal, it will probably soon supply a great amount of 
 tonnage for transportation by the demand which will 
 arise for it, from without this state. 
 
 Vlll. Our efforts have been much retarded, and ren- 
 dered more expensive, in completing the middle sec- 
 tion, by sickness. For about thirty-five miles, the ca- 
 nal line runs at no great distance from the Seneca river, 
 which in that part of its course, except at Jack's rift, 
 is a sluggish stream. The waters of this river flow 
 through a region of the rankest vegetable luxuriance, 
 which, in the spring of the year, they overspread to 
 the extent of many thousand acres more than they do 
 in the fall. In common seasons, the autumn brings with 
 it some danger to the health of the people of this re- 
 gion. The excessive and long continued heat of the 
 last season, subjected them to extensive and distressing 
 sickness. Between the middle of July and the first of 
 October, about one thousand men, employed on the ca- 
 nal, from Salina to Seneca river, were disabled from 
 labour by this cause. Most of these men recovered, 
 but the houses in which they were collected, for near 
 three months, presented a most discouraging spectacle, 
 and although great exertions were made to supply the 
 place of such labourers as became deseased, by fresh 
 hands, in was impossible to prevent some jobs, from 
 being entirely abandoned for several weeks. And 
 where labour was never wholly intermitted, it was much 
 less efficient and the means of it were essentially lessen- 
 ed. The necessary effect of this was, to protract the 
 entire execution of the work, to a much later period than 
 it would otherwise have been extended to, and this in- 
 evitably increased the expense. I^ate in the season 
 there were frequent interruptions of labour, by slight 
 
( 356 ) 
 
 fails of rain and snow. And these interruptions were 
 particularly injurious, in reference to m uch of the ex- 
 tra service done at this period. When the days had 
 become short, and the earth was every where covered 
 with mud, no resolution or ingenuity could make the 
 work advance rapidly, in proportion to the means em- 
 ployed. Every effort was clogged. The excavation 
 of ditiicult places, which had been left incomplete, 
 was slow and laborious. And the performance of all 
 those little jobs, that could not be omitted in bestowing 
 the last finish upon the works previous to their actual 
 use, was attended with tenfold difficulty. 
 
 It would not be reasonable to expect, that human fore- 
 sight could exactly adapt the provision of materials, to 
 all the exigencies of works so extensive, various and un- 
 usual, as those of which we had the charge, in the first 
 contracts. Some deficiencies of this kind were experien- 
 ced, which it was expensive to supply But the materi- 
 al supplieshave all been made, and with theexception of 
 a little lead, with which the iron cramps in some of the 
 stone work remain to be secured, — the coping of the 
 Owasco creek aqueduct, — some labour required upon 
 the feeder from Butternutt-creek, — and two small em- 
 baiikraents on the south side of the canal, which have 
 not heretofore been constructed, only because they 
 were not decided to be necessary, until after water was 
 admitted into the canal, the whole of the middle section 
 has been completed. The expense of all these opera- 
 tions cannot probably exceed three thousand dollars, 
 and they will not obstruct the navigation,while they are 
 going on. , 
 
 The side cut out at Salina, is one mile and forty- 
 three chainsin length, and it was estimated, as is sta- 
 ted in our report of last winter, , to cost $(3000. It 
 has been entirely completed with great fidelity and 
 beauty, -at an expense of ;^6041 06 ; and being added 
 to the middle section, which is near ninety-four and a 
 half miles long, we have an extent of 96 miles of artifi- 
 cial navigation, commenced and completed since the 
 4th of .July, 18 17, at an average expense, per mile, 
 including every thing, of $11792. 
 
( 357 ) 
 
 In a canal of such length, passingthrough so great a 
 variety of soils, and over such numerous streams which 
 afford the only possible channels through which seve- 
 ral considerable lakes, innumerable springs, and a very 
 extensive land drain, will necessarily discharge their 
 waters; and which are yet, from the extent of unclear- 
 ed land adjacent to them, subject to great obstructions 
 from an accumulation of float-wood, and of course, 
 wherever these obstructions take place, to the pressure 
 of a heavy head of water above them, and a currrent 
 of proportionate violence below, it will not be pru- 
 dent to calculate' upon entire exemption fr.om injurious 
 casual ties. A breach has been effected, and is now 
 open, in the north bank of the canal, at the Oriskany, 
 which it will take a fortnight in the spring to repair. 
 Other breaches may be expected, though we have 
 spared no labour in our power, which we deemed ne- 
 cessary, to provide against them. And in addition to 
 the security which the whole line derives from the man- 
 ner iii which it is constructed and guarded, we have di- 
 vided it into five sections, and assigned to each an ex- 
 perienced and vigilant superintendent, whose duty it 
 is constantly to watch for its safe keeping, and when- 
 ever danger threatens it of any kind, to use his utmost 
 means to ward it off 
 
 The canal commissioners, during the past season, 
 have limited their disbursements for all labour in the 
 actual construction of the canal, to the middle section. 
 But they have employed exploring parties, on both 
 the w^estern and eastern sections. Between the Sene- 
 ca and Genesee rivers. Canvass White, Esq. as engi- 
 neer, has had the charge of a party, which has been en- 
 gaged for several months in levelling over and survey- 
 ing different routes for the canal line. These labours 
 lie has performed much to our satisfaction, and having 
 presented a view of them to a meeting of our board, 
 held in October last at Utica, we thereupon decided 
 in favour of the route originally explored between 
 those rivers, in the year 1816 : and a part of this route 
 having first been definitively located,the acting commis- 
 
( 358 ) ' i 
 
 sioners, under the authority of a resolution of the 
 board,proceeded to enterinto contracts for the construc- 
 tion of the canal, through about twenty miles thereof 
 That portion of the line which is let out, extends from 
 the east bank of the Genesee river to the town of Pal- 
 myra, from which to Seneca river, we hope early in the 
 approaching season, to place the whole line under con- 
 tract. The zeal for engaging in this work has suffered 
 no abatement ; many of the old contractors, and other 
 persons of enterprise and responsibility, have entered 
 into agreements with us ; and very many respectable 
 applications are yet ungratified. The terms of these 
 new contracts are at least as favourable to the state as 
 any heretofore obtained : and one of them requires 
 that the whole work shall be completed by the first of 
 September, J 821. These contracts are dated in Decem- 
 ber last, and several of them are now in the process of 
 vigorous execution. 
 
 From the Genesee river to the Seneca, at the west- 
 ern termination of the middle section, there is a fall of 
 near i 30 feet ; and as every part of a canal line may 
 be better located in descending than in ascending a 
 country it was deemed expedient to commence this 
 operation, and the construction of the western section, 
 at the Genesee river. This expediency was rendered 
 more obvious by the consideration, that the place of 
 crossing that stream, and the canal level there, admit, 
 of but little variation. 
 
 At the meeting of the canal commissioners above 
 alluded to, it was resolved, that while about 63 miles of 
 the western section should be put in the course of con- 
 struction, 2(3 miles of the eastern section also should be 
 placed under contract. This distance extends from 
 Utica to the foot of the Little Falls of the Mohawk 
 river,em bracing the most difficult places on that section, 
 above the Schoharie creek. Eight miles of it will be 
 made in continuation of the Rome level, which before 
 exceeded fifty-eight miles in length; and these eight 
 miles have been contracted for at reasonable prices, by 
 good men, some of whom are now at work upon them. 
 
.( 359 ) 
 
 Valentine Gill, Esq. has been employed as engineer, 
 with the necessary assistants, to explore the country, in 
 reference to the best establishment of the canal line, 
 from Gannet's mill pond in Pahnyra, with which the 
 old level was connected, westerly to the Genesee river, 
 at a point about twelve miles south of Rochester, and 
 thence westerly to Buffalo creek. The easterly part 
 of Mr. Gill's line has been rejected, in favor of the more 
 northerly route ; but he thinks that a line from Roches- 
 ter may be run southwesterly, so as to intersect with 
 his line west of the Genesee river, and from the point 
 of intersection be carried through the counties of 
 Genesee and Niagara, to a junction with the waters of 
 Lake Erie, south of the village of Buffalo. The great 
 objection to a southern route, through the Holland pur- 
 chase, is the fear of a deficiency of water to supply it, 
 as such a route must necessarily be carried far above 
 the level of Lake Erie, Mr. Gill's summit level is about 
 94 feet above Lake Erie, but he is of opinion, that it 
 may be extended more than forty miles, so as to embrace 
 the waters of Wescoy, of Allen's, of Tonnewanta, of 
 Elicott's, and of Little Buffalo creeks, which he thinks 
 in the driest season, would furnish a copious supply. 
 In a country so new, and of which a great part is still 
 covered by standing timber, the interests of the canal 
 require, that great precaution should be taken in the 
 definitive establishment of the canal line. It will be 
 proper that other examinations should be prosecuted 
 through the country west of the Genesee river, previous- 
 ly to a final decision of the route. The maps and repot 
 of Mr. Gill are herewith presented. 
 
 In discharge of that part of their duty which relates 
 to the harbour of Buffalo, the canal commissioners 
 employed David Thomas, of Cayuga county, to make 
 the necessary surveys, and report to them the result. 
 This service has been faithfully rendered, and the 
 practicability of the construction of a harbor there, at 
 a moderate expense, seems to be sufficiently established 
 The report of Mr. Thomas, together with his map and 
 estimates of expense, is herewith presented. Whether 
 
( 360 ) 
 
 such a harbour, when it is constructed, should be paid 
 for out of the canal fund,it appears to us that it would be 
 premature to determine, before the route and termina- 
 tion of the canal is definitively settled in that neighbour- 
 hood : and we do not consider the surveys which have 
 yet been made, as affording all the information which is 
 desirable in order to such settlement. 
 
 At an early day of the last season, it was feared, that 
 the amount of money subject to our order, might not be 
 more than sufficient to complete the middle section of 
 the Erie Canal, and that part of the Champlain Canal 
 which had been commenced. Hence we determined 
 to confine our expenditure to these parts of the canals, 
 except as to such sums as might be requisite to fit out 
 and pay the necessary exploring parties. Such parties^ 
 the legislature bound us to provide, for the examination 
 of BuflTalo harbour and the Oswego river. And if the 
 canals were to be continued, it was obviously necessary 
 that a part of their routes should be fixed beyond the 
 limits contracted for, before those limits should be 
 entirely completed. For, otherwise, a whole season 
 would have been lost to these undertakings, in the 
 course of which the public property connected with 
 them would have been wasting, the most experienced 
 and efficient contractors would have sustained great 
 loss, in tools and other preparations made with a view 
 to their continued engagements on the canals, and they 
 must have betaken themselves to other employments. 
 These results, and others equally pernicious, would 
 have been inevitable. The total amount of disburse- 
 ments for exploring parties last year, is ^8,400. 
 
 But the unforeseen causes of, expense heretofore 
 indicated as unavoidably connected with bringing all 
 our contracts to a close, have greatly exceeded our ex- 
 pectation ; and we have been compelled to anticipate 
 ^122,500 of the funds of the present year. 
 
 Our contracts upon the middle section were all to 
 have been fully performed by the first of October last, 
 and as soon as they were performed, all the monies 
 eai-ned upon them became due. If these sums had 
 
( 361 ) 
 
 not been paid, every contractor would have been ruin- 
 ed ; and anxious as w^e were, from the most pressing 
 considerations ; that of safety to the canal, which incom- 
 plete, would have been much more exposed to injury 
 from the frosts of the winter and the floods of the spring; 
 that of economy to the contractors, who could uol be 
 expected to quit their work when they had nearly ac- 
 complished it, and afterwards return to it at great ex- 
 pense, because our disbursements were likely to exceed 
 our estimates : and that of duty to the public, who have 
 a paramount interest in having the canal navigable as 
 soon as possible, in order that it may speedily produce 
 profitable returns, we could not hesitate to incur the 
 responsibility of such anticipation. The money was 
 borrowed at six per cent interest, and on the fifth of 
 January last, certificaes of stock were issued by the 
 commissioners of the canal fund to cover it. The in- 
 terest of this money, from the time of its being loaned 
 up to the time of issuing the stock, amounts to ;$]775 03 
 which sum we solicit your honourable body to author- 
 ize the comptroller to place to our credit, as w^have 
 paid it for the reasons above stated. 
 
 Deduct $122,500 with the interest on loans of the 
 preceding and present years, from $600,000, the amount 
 of the permanent legislative appropriation, and it will 
 be seen that little more than 1^400,000, will remain 
 applicable to the construction of the canals for the 
 ensuing season. 
 
 From this sum a further deduction, which may be 
 considerable, but of which the amount is yet unascer- 
 tained, must be made for the purchase of the rights of the 
 Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, with whose 
 works we shall so interfere at Wood Creek, whenever 
 we fill our canal, as to render such purchase expedient. 
 
 After these deductions, we think the money remain- 
 ing subject to our control, will not be adequate to the 
 due prosecution of the canals. We therefore recom- 
 mend, that so soon as the amount of money to be paid 
 to the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company shall 
 be ascertained, according to law, it shall be paid by 
 
 47 
 
( 362 ) 
 
 the commissioners of the canal fund in certificates of 
 stock, to be issued by them for that purpose, and bear- 
 ing an interest of fiive per cent. And we furthur recom- 
 mend, that there be appropriated to the canals, by law 
 for the present year, in order to supply the deficiency 
 of funds occasioned by the anticipation aforesaid, and 
 in addition to the amount of stock last above mention- 
 ed, the sum of ^122,500, over and above the sums now 
 appropriated to them. 
 
 As fast as the canals are rendered navigable, they 
 will be liable to injuries of various kinds. The banks 
 may be broken, the fences may be thrown down, the 
 waste-gates may be opened or shut improperly, the 
 passage may be obstructed, and all the works may be 
 defaced, and many of them essentially impaired, both 
 by carelessness and by malice. We therefore recom- 
 mend the passage of a law, imposing suitable penalties, 
 for every injury to which they may be exposed. 
 
 The experiments that have been attempted at naviga- 
 tion on our canals, have been entirely satisfactory to 
 every witness of them. The novelty of seeing large 
 boats drawn by horses, upon waters artificially conduct- 
 ed — through cultivated fields, forests and swamps, over 
 ravines, creeks and morasses, and from one elevation to 
 another, by means of ample, beautiful, and substantial 
 locks, has been eminently exhilarating. The precision 
 of the levels, the solidity of the banks, the regularity 
 of the curves, the symmetry of the numerous and mas- 
 sive stone works, the depth of the excavation in some 
 places, the extent of the embankments in others, and 
 the impression produced every where along the line, by 
 the visible eflfects of immense labour, have uniformly 
 afforded gratification mingled with surprise. The ease 
 with which the canals may be approached, and the 
 facility of transportation on their waters, will recom- 
 mend them to immediate and extensive use. And 
 every result hitherto ascertained experimentally, in 
 relation to them, fully justifies the favour with which 
 preceding legislatures have regarded them, and exhi- 
 
( 363 ) 
 
 bits the most perfect and irrisistible claims to the stea= 
 dj and liberal patronage of your honourable body. 
 
 In reference to the Champlain Canal — 
 
 During the last season the works on the Champlain 
 canal have been prosecuted with zeal and activity, by 
 the several contractors to whom they were committed. 
 The locks, the waste-weirs,the culverts, and the remain- 
 ing parts of the excavation and embankment, have 
 been so far completed as to render the canal fit for 
 navigation. — On admitting the water in December last, 
 it was ascertained that both levels are perfectly correct. 
 
 Owing to a deficiency of funds, the canal has not 
 been fenced, and this, it is believed, is the most expen- 
 sive part of the work which remains to be done. A 
 towing path along the margin ofWood Creek is to be 
 constructed. There are two places in the vicinity of. 
 the village of Fort Ann, where the canal passes on the 
 slope of a clay hill, and where the earth below the 
 canal showed a disposition to slip after the canal was 
 filled with water. Measures were immediately taken 
 to secure those slips, but the work was arrested by the 
 frost before it was completed, and it will be necessary 
 to finish it as early in the spring as practicable. The 
 banks of the canal admit but very little water to escape 
 through them ; and it is believed that the solidity and 
 compactness which they will have acquired in another 
 season, will render them impervious to water. The 
 supply of water on the summit level has answered the 
 expectations which had formerly been indulged, and it 
 is believed, that with ordinary seasons, a feeder will not 
 be wanted in many years. Although the market at the 
 present time is unfavourable for the lumbering business, 
 yet from the best information which can be obtained, it 
 is expected, in case no accident should happen to the 
 canal, that nearly half a million of boards and plank 
 will be passed through it the ensuing season. 
 
 In the report of the 18th March, 1817, the construc- 
 tion of the canal, from the lake to the Hudsop, was 
 
( 364 ) 
 
 estimated to cost ^250,000. This estimate was made 
 on the supposition, that the canal should be " thirty feet 
 wide at the surface, twenty feet at the bottom, and three 
 feet deep ; and the locks to be seventy-five feet long, 
 and ten feet wide in the clear." Since • that period, 
 for reasons which are assigned in the report of the 3 1st 
 January, 1818, the canal commissioners determined to 
 enlarge the dimensions of the canal, so that it should 
 be forty-feet wide at the surface, twenty-eight at the 
 bottom, and four feet deep ; and the locks to be ninety 
 feet long, and fourteen feet wide in the clear. This 
 enlargement of the works added about one third to the 
 cost of construction, and the original estiniate increased 
 by the same ratio, would be ^333,000. 
 
 There has been paid already, towards the construc- 
 tion of the works, ^232,268 86, and on account of ap- 
 praisements which were not included in the original 
 estimates, the sum of ^33,876 49. The additional 
 expense of fencing the canal and finishing all the works, 
 will not, it is believed, exceed ^25,000, or ^30,000, so 
 that this section of the canal will be constructed for 
 1255,000, or $260,000, a diminution from the estimate 
 of more than twenty-eight per cent. 
 
 In order to prevent any unjust impression from being 
 made by the preceding statement, as to the compara- 
 tive economy with which the middle section of the Erie 
 canal has been constructed, it ought here to be obser- 
 ved, that when the original estimate of the expense of 
 opening the Champlain canal was made, there were no 
 such data of minute calculation before the conimission- 
 ers, as were furnished on the middle section of the 
 Erie canal. From Utica to the Seneca river, the 
 aggregate expense was made up of a separate valuation 
 of the cost of every mile, that is, there was a distinct 
 estimate for every mile of the grubbing and clearing, of 
 the number of cubic yards of excavation, and of em- 
 bankment, with the price per yard of each, and of the 
 bridges, culverts, aqueducts and locks, wherever they 
 were deemed necessary. While on the Champlain 
 canal it was necessarily otherwise from the character 
 
 ■■fj^i' 
 
( 365 ) 
 
 of the returns made by the engineer, Col. Garin. These 
 returns did not enable us accurately to calculate the 
 qus.ntity of excavation or embankment, the number of 
 aqueducts, culverts, waste-weirs or bridges. 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 STEPHEN VAN[ RENSSELAER, 
 SAMUEL YOUNG, 
 MYRON HOLLEY, 
 HENRY SEYMOUR. 
 Jllbany, I8th Feb. 1820. 
 
 The joint committee of the Senate and Assembly^ on so much 
 of the speech of his Excellency the Governor as relates to 
 the internal improvements of the state, to whom was refer- 
 red the annual report of the Canal Commissioners, 
 
 Report in part — 
 
 The actual construction of those great monuments 
 of the enterprise and munificence of the state, the great 
 Western and Northern canals, is now viewed by the 
 committee as no longer a question of unsettled policy : 
 and the completion of them with all practicable speed, 
 is a measure which, upon deep consideration, sedulous 
 inquiry and cautious calculation, has been already re- 
 solved upon by the deliberate acts of the Legislature, 
 and sanctioned by the approving and general voice of 
 an intelligent and reflecting people. In this view of 
 the subject, the committee apprehend that it would be 
 both unnecessary and unseasonable to occupy the time 
 of the Legislature with any further exposition of the 
 various considerations which have influenced the po- 
 licy of that expansive system of internal improvement, 
 which was entered upon by our predecessors, under 
 a full conviction of the magnitude of the undertaking, 
 and of the high responsibilities which it imposed upon 
 its projectors and advisers. 
 
( 366 ) 
 
 At a time when the general poUcy of this system was 
 a question undecided, and its practicabiHty by such 
 means as were within the abihty of the state to bestow, 
 rested, in a good measure, upon the basis of theory and 
 the deductions of calculation, it was proper to enlighten 
 and arouse the public sentiment to a just estimate of 
 its immense importance to the best interests of the state, 
 as well as of the capacity of the state to accomplish, 
 completely, the great object proposed. This has al- 
 ready been done, by the repeated exhibition of such 
 general views, facts and estimates, as have had a happy 
 tendency to allay the hostility of the prejudiced, cor- 
 rect the misconceptions of the uninformed, and invigo- 
 rate the resolution of the timid. The time when such 
 a course was necessary, it is presumed, has now pass- 
 ed. By the successful operations of the two past 
 years, the doubtfulness of theory is now superseded 
 by the surer test of practice, and the uncertain deduc- 
 tions of calculation are verified by the actual touch- 
 stone of experiment. 
 
 Referring, therefore, for those general views of pub- 
 lic policy by which the public councils of the state 
 have heretofore been governed on this subject, to those 
 various public documents now on the fies of the legis- 
 lature, which have thrown upon it all the light which 
 practical science and the experience of other countries 
 have brought to our aid, in the prosecution of so great 
 and meritorious an enterprise, — the committee con- 
 ceived that they should the best perform the duties 
 which were expected of them, by directing their inqui- 
 ries into the manner in which the responsible trusts 
 confided to the canal commissioners had been per- 
 formed, and to ascertain the extent and celerity with 
 which, for ensuing years, it would (consistent \vith that 
 prudent policy which has hitherto marked the mea- 
 sures of the Legislature on this subject) be prudent to 
 recommend, at this time, the further prosecution of 
 these important works. 
 
 The committee are happy in being able to say, that 
 
 the result, in relation to both branches of this inquiry, 
 
 c 
 
( 367 ) 
 
 has been highly satisfactory as to the past, and eminent- 
 ly encouraging to future efforts and operations. The 
 reports of the Commissioners, for the past and present 
 years, furnish ample evidence of two important facts — 
 that the progress made within those years towards the 
 completion of these works, has, thus far, exceeded the 
 expectations which, at their commencement, had been 
 encouraged by the most ardent of their patrons and pro- 
 jectors, and at an expense not exceeding the estimates 
 upon which they had been predicated, for the particular 
 details which go to justify these conclusions, the commit- 
 tee beg leave to refer to those reports, which at the same 
 time, in a very lucid and practical manner, furnish a 
 full and plain exposition of the whole course of the pro- 
 ceedings of the Commissioners in the execution of the 
 work. From these also it appears, that within the pe- 
 riod and the estimates above mentioned, about two 
 thirds of the expense of completing the whole middle 
 section of the Western Canal, ninety-four miles in 
 length, has been already provided and paid for; and 
 that with the advantages of a favourable season for 
 operations, the whole of that section will, in all proba- 
 bility, be in a state capable of boat navigation, in the 
 course of the ensuing year. 
 
 Within the same time, the excavation of more than 
 twelve miles of the Northern Canal, has also been com- 
 pleted and paid for, and that of the residue brought to 
 a state w^hich may be completed within two or three 
 months; and the forwardness of the other artificial 
 works is such, that its navigation from Lake Champlain 
 to the Hudson, may reasonably be calculated upon also 
 in the course of the ensuing season. 
 
 Viewing, then, the entire completion of the whole 
 line of the canals from Lake Erie to the Hudson, and 
 from Lake Champlain to the navigable waters of the 
 same river, as measures entering into the policy which 
 dictated the commencement 'of them, — as rapidly as 
 should be found compatible with the resources of the 
 state, and as soon as should be fully ascertained to be 
 practicable within the means which had been originally 
 
( 368 ) 
 
 contemplated; and considering also the experiment 
 which has now been made, as a satisfactory test, by 
 which future and more extensive operations may fairly 
 and safely be* judged — the committee have no hesita- 
 tion, in accordance with the opinion of the Commission- 
 ers, and for the reasons stated by them, in recommend- 
 
 1st. That provision be immediately made, by law, for 
 the entire completion of the west section of the Erie 
 canal, and for the construction of the Champlain 
 canal, from Fort Edward to the tide waters of the 
 Hudson. 
 2d. That like provisions be made for opening a lateral 
 canal, from the main Erie canal to the salt works at 
 Salina. 
 3d. That all persons actually engaged in working on 
 the canal, be excused from the performance of militia 
 duty. 
 
 With a view to obtain all such further information, 
 as the practical experience of the canal commissioners 
 might enable them to communicate, in relation to the 
 appropriations necessary to carry the measures hereby 
 recommended into" effect, the committee addressed to 
 them the inquiries, and received the replies, which are 
 hereto subjoined. 
 
 By order of the Committee. 
 
 E. BACON, Chairman. 
 
 To the Canal Commissioners. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 The joint committee of the Senate and Assembly, 
 to whom was referred so much of the speech of his Ex- 
 cellency the Governor, as relates to the internal im- 
 provements of the state, bave directed me to request 
 of you such information as it may be in your power to 
 communicate to them, on the following points : 
 1st. Whether any, and what amount of funds, in addi- 
 tion to those already provided for, it may be deemed 
 
( 369 ) 
 
 necessary to provide, for the purpose of completing 
 the entire Erie canal, and that from Lake Champlain 
 to the tide waters of the Hudson, and what amount 
 may, in their judgment, be advantageously and pro- 
 fitably expended thereon annually. 
 
 2d. Should it be thought expedient, by the legislature, 
 to proceed immediately to the completion of only 
 one additional section of the Erie canal, which of 
 those sections would it be recommended first to un- 
 dertake ? 
 
 3. In the event last mentioned, what additional funds, 
 if any, may it be necessary to provide for, and what 
 amount may be advantageously and profitably ex- 
 pended on that section, the middle section, and on 
 the entire route of the canal, from Lake Champlain to 
 the tide waters of the Hudson, annually ? 
 
 4th. Should it be thought expedient by the legislature, 
 to proceed immediately to the completion of the 
 middle section only of the Erie canal, and of the en- 
 tire canal from Lake Champlain to the tide waters of 
 Hudson, what additional funds, if any, may in that 
 event be necessary to provide for ; and what amount 
 may be advantageously and profitably expended on 
 those objects annually ? 
 
 5th. What progress (if any) has been made in the as- 
 sessments upon lands, which are provided for by the 
 7th section of the act "respecting navigable com- 
 munications between the great western and northern 
 lakes and the Atlantic Ocean .^" and what are the 
 difficulties (if any) which exist in carrying the pow- 
 ers thereby granted into effect ? 
 
 6th. A suggestion of all such legislative provisions as 
 are thought necessary by the commissionBrs, to ena- 
 ble them to carry into effect such of the foregoing 
 objects as may be thought expedient, and generally 
 all such further information, touching these subjects, 
 as it may be thought useful to communicate. 
 By order of the committee. 
 
 E. BACON, Chairman. 
 Albany. 1 2th February^ 1819. 
 
 4« 
 
( 370 ) 
 Reply of the Canal Commissioners. 
 
 To the joint committee of the Assembly and Senate^ to whom 
 
 was referred so much of the Speech of his Excellency the 
 Governor,as relates to the internal improvement of the Stale. 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 In answer to the queries submitted, by you, to the 
 canal commissioners, we would state — 1st. That the 
 amount which could be profitably expended in any one 
 year, would depend almost entirely on the character of 
 the season : for example, had the construction of the 
 canals been authorized, and the lines accurately located 
 previous to the year 1816, it is believed that seven or 
 eight hundred thousand dollars might have been pro- 
 fitably expended, during such a year; whereas, the al- 
 most continual rains of 1817 would have prevented the 
 economical expenditure of one half that sum. 
 
 Should the completion of the whole of both canals 
 be authorized by the legislature, it would probably be 
 prudent to authorize the expenditure of a sum not ex- 
 ceeding six hundred thousand dollars, in any one year, 
 over and above the nett avails of the canal fund ; be- 
 cause in a very favourable season, that amount might 
 be required ; and every exertion should be used to ad- 
 vance the work, during such a season, as far as possible: 
 for the excavation of ordinary earth, when saturated 
 with water, is tedious and expensive, and in swampy 
 grounds where there is difficulty in draining, it may, in 
 many instances, be accomplished fifty per cent, cheaper 
 in a very dry, than in a very wet season ; and in pre- 
 paring and laying the foundatioa of locks, aqueducts, 
 &c. in the beds of streams, continual freshets would 
 produce still greater sacrifices. 
 
 2. The Commissioners have no hesitation in saying, 
 that the western section should be first completed. 
 
 By a reference to the former estimates of the Com- 
 missioners, it will be perceived that it was calculated 
 that the Erie Canal from Utica to Albany, ninety-eight 
 miles, (and less than one-third of the whole distance) 
 would cost ;8!2,036,177 — whereas, from Utica to Lake 
 
( 371 ) 
 
 Erie, 254 miles, the estimated cost was only $2,845,561, 
 It is obvious then, that the eastern is the most difficult, 
 and most expensive section of the Erie Canal ; and it is 
 equally apparent, that these difficulties and expenses 
 will be more easily overcome and obviated, by the ac- 
 cumulated and matured experience which will have 
 been acquired by the Commissioners and Contractors, 
 in the previous execution of the more easy parts of the 
 canal. The Mohawk river furnishes at present a par- 
 tial navigation, the descending trade on which is much 
 less expensive than on land. A canal by the side of the 
 Mohawk will, therefore, not only cost much more than 
 an equal distance on the western section, but its imme- 
 diate beneficial effects will be much less sensibly felt, 
 because every mile of canal which is made from the 
 Seneca river west, draws from the surrounding country 
 an increase of trade, which not only passes over that 
 mile, but also through the whole extent of the middle 
 section, yielding thereby an accumulation of revenue 
 to the state from the works already made. 
 
 The sooner the canal is extended from the Seneca 
 river to Lake Erie, the sooner will those commercial 
 connexions, which have been or are about to be formed, 
 between our western citizens and Montreal, be destroy- 
 ed, or prevented ; the sooner will the western forests 
 be cleared and cultivated by an enterprising popula- 
 tion, and the sooner will the full tide of western com- 
 merce set towards the commercial metropolis of the 
 state. 
 
 3d. It would not lessen the expenditures but little, 
 were the eastern section omitted ; because, were the 
 whole authorized, the commissioners would not be able 
 immediately to spread their exertions through the 
 whole line ; they would probably not do much more on 
 the eastern section, at present,than carefully to re-survey 
 and re-examine all its difficulties, with a view to under- 
 stand, as far as possible, the most practicable and 
 economical mode of construction. 
 
 4th. It might lessen the expenditure of next season 
 about ^200,000, because most of the contractors will 
 
( 372 ) 
 
 have finished their jobs of excavation by the middle of 
 August next; and unless another section is authorized, 
 they will be out of the employment of the state about 
 one half the season. 
 
 5th. No progress has been made by the commis- 
 sioners, to lay the assessment of two hundred and fifty 
 thousand dollars, authorized by the seventh section of 
 the act, entitled, " an act respecting navigable com- 
 municati^^ns between the great western and northern 
 lakes and the Atlantic ocean." No time is mentioned 
 in the act, when this assessment is to be laid, and it is 
 very obvious, that it can be laid in a much more equita- 
 ble manner after the canal shall have been put into 
 operation. Indeed, the commissioners believe that 
 justice could not be done by an immediate apportion- 
 ment of this tax. Many large tracts of land adjoining 
 the canal, and lying on a lower level, will be wholly or 
 in part reclaimed from a marshy and unproductive state, 
 by intercepting and carrying off, through the canal, the 
 waters by which they had previously been overflowed, 
 but to what extent this result will be produced, cannot, 
 with any considerable accuracy ,be at present ascertain- 
 ed. Villages will also spring up, and the lands become 
 thereby very valuable in many places, where great 
 roads are intersected by the canal. 
 
 In nddition to these considerations for delay, the 
 commissioners have been so incessantly occupied in 
 devising plans, forming contracts, and attending to all 
 their pressing and multifarious duties, that it was im- 
 possible for them, without suspending the work, to 
 devote any time to the apportionment of this tax. 
 
 6th. The Commissioners have no additional sugges- 
 tions to make, other than to refer the committee to their 
 last report. 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 SAMUEL YOUNG, 
 EPHRAIM HART. 
 
 Albany, I9th February, r8l9. 
 
( 373 ) 
 REPORT 
 
 OF THE COMMITTEE ON CANALS, MARCH 14, 1820. 
 
 The committee to whom teas referred that part of his Excel- 
 lency the Governor'^s speech^ which relates to the Western 
 and J\ orthern Canals^ and various resolutions and petitions 
 pertaining to the same, have directed their chairman further 
 to report — 
 
 That, in reference to the resolution of the Hon. 
 the Assembly, concerning the raising of a tax on lands 
 adjacent to the canals, and also the resolution con- 
 cerning the disbursements of money exclusively upon 
 the eastern section of the Erie canal, and the south- 
 ern parts of the Champlain canal, until the same are 
 completed, they have requested the canal commission- 
 ers to communicate to them such information as they 
 possessed, on the subjects of the said resolutions, and 
 have received from them, in answer to said request, the 
 communication, which accompanies this report. 
 
 Having maturely considered that part of the said 
 communication, which relates to the local tax, your 
 committee are of opinion, for the reasons therein stated, 
 in which the canal commissioners are unanimous, 
 that it is expedient at present, for the legislature to 
 take any measure relating to the raising of the said tax. 
 On the subject of directing the places on which the 
 monies subject to the control of the canal commis- 
 sioners shall be first laid out, your committee perceive 
 that there is considerable diversity of opinion. They 
 understandhowever,that,withoutthe interference of the 
 legislature, it is intended that all that part of the west- 
 ernsectionof theErie canal, which extends from Seneca 
 river to Genesee river, being about sixty-three miles, 
 and all that part of the eastern section of the same ca- 
 nal, which extends from Utica to the foot of the Little 
 Falls of the Mohawk, being about twenty-six miles ; 
 
( 374 ) 
 
 and all that part of the Champlain canal, which extends 
 from Fort Edward, on the Hudson river, to the lower 
 end of the Saratoga level, being about twenty-seven 
 miles, shall be divided into small sections, as soon as 
 may be this season, and let out to contractors simulta- 
 neously. 
 
 Your committee have attended to the suggestions, in 
 favour of a resolution, concerning this subject, as well 
 as to those, against it ; and, after much deliberation, 
 they have found themselves unable to come to a de- 
 cided result. It is probable, that the different theories, 
 as to the advantages to be expected from ac^ opting 
 that course of expenditure, to which the board of canal 
 commissioners are inclined, or the course indicated, in 
 the resolution of the Assembly^ will be essentially il- 
 lustrated, by the experience of the approaching sea- 
 son. And your committee deem it expedient, to wait 
 for the benefit of such experience, before they interfere, 
 in any way, to counteract or control the plans of the 
 canal commissioners, who have hitherto managed their 
 business with success. 
 
 To George Huntington, Esquire, Chairman, &fc. 
 
 Sir, 
 Your letter, requesting from the Canal Commission- 
 ers any information which they have to communicate 
 relating to the subject of two resolutions of the Hon. 
 the Assembly, referred to the committee, of which you 
 are the chairman, has been duly received, and we now 
 transmit to you the following answer thereto. 
 
 The first of the said resolutions is in these words, 
 " Resolved, that the committee, on that part of the 
 speech of his Excellency, the Governor, " concerning 
 the Western and Northern Canals, and the repeal or 
 modification of the local tax on lands adjacent to them," 
 be instructed to inquire into, and report upon, the ex- 
 
( 375 ) 
 
 pediency of bringing in a bill requiring the Canal Com- 
 missioners, (luring the present year, to raise the sums, 
 and in the manner required in and by the seventh sec- 
 tion of the act, entitled, " An act respecting navigable 
 communications between the great western and north- 
 ern lakes and the Atlantic ocean, passed April I5th, 
 1817," and in pursuance of the latter paragraph of 
 the fifth section of the act, entitled, "An act concern- 
 ing the great western and northern canals, passed April 
 7th, 1819." 
 
 1st. ITie inconvenience and expense of collecting 
 such a tax, afford very strong reasons against the expe- 
 diency of it. 
 
 Previous to its collection it would be necessary to 
 have the district on each side of the canal, to which 
 the tax should apply,accurately surveyed and bounded ; 
 and as the canal line waves into frequent curves of dif- 
 ferent lengths, the labour of ascertaining and designa- 
 ting the outside limits of this district would be very 
 great. If the tax were to be levied upon towns or coun- 
 ties or other territorial divisions, of which the limits 
 are precisely known and described, this survey would 
 be unnecessary. Under those sections of the canal- 
 laws, which refer to this subject, as they now stand, it 
 would be unavoidable. 
 
 The task of apportioning the tax upon the lands and 
 real estate subject to it, would be exceedingly burden- 
 some : for, in order to this, the lands and real estate, 
 must be separately assessed : and this assessment could 
 not be judiciously made without possessing an accurate 
 description of the property, and a thorough knowledge 
 of all the local circumstances, which could affect its 
 value. The extent of the business of collecting such 
 descriptions, and inquiring into and understanding 
 such circumstances,will be best appreciated by consider- 
 ing, that the length of the Eerie canal is, 353 miles, 
 And that of the Champlain canal, 61 do. 
 
 In all, 414 miles. 
 
( 3^6 ) 
 
 The number of the different owners, and the vari- 
 ous kmds of property subject to the tax, included 
 within a territory four hundred and fourteen miles long 
 and fifty broad, and stretching through the most popu- 
 lous part of the state, need only to be mentioned to 
 impress every mind with the conviction, that the labour 
 of making such assessment, would be enormous. And 
 this labour could not be saved, by adopting the assess- 
 ments, made under the authority of the different towns 
 included within the taxable limits ; because it is well 
 known to those, who have had much to do with town 
 assessments, that there is great inequality in the valu- 
 ations of property, indifferent towns of the same coun- 
 ty, and still greater inequality, in the valuations of pro- 
 perty in different counties. These inequalities have 
 been heretofore complained of, and efforts have been 
 made to correct them since the imposition of a state 
 tax. If this local tax should be enforced, the amount 
 of it, upon a part of our citizens, being much greater 
 than any state tax heretofore levied upon them, would 
 induce them to urge a new assessment, to be applied 
 upon uniform principles, to all the lands and real estate 
 subject to the tax. And, as a line twenty-five miles, 
 on each side of the canals, would inevitably necessi- 
 tate new assessments of portions of iarms and other 
 real estate, which would be divided by such line, that 
 circumstance would so fortify tKe claim of these citizens 
 as to render it irresistible 
 
 But if the town assessments should be adopted, the 
 labour of apportioning the tax, upon the tands and real 
 estate required to pay it, according to the benefit, which 
 they shall be considered, by the Canal Commissioners, 
 as deriving from the making of the canals, would be 
 equivalent to that of the assessment. It would involve 
 tbe same necessity of particular and separate descrip- 
 tions of every kind of property subject to the tax, and 
 a much more difficult estimate of the circumstances, 
 which might be supposed ^to give that property value,— ^ 
 more difficult, because such estimate must be made, 
 without the light of experience, as to the proportion, in 
 
( 377 ) 
 
 which the benefits of the canals, will be conferred upon 
 property, in their vicinity. 
 
 But let us suppose, that the multiplied details of 
 assessing the property, and apportioning the tax, had 
 been entered upon and gone through with, the Canal 
 Commissioners are then, to make rules and regulations, 
 for collecting the tax, which may be done by sale of 
 the lands and real estate, or otherwise ; nothing more 
 being necessary, to make these rules and regulations of 
 the most binding and effective authority than the sanc- 
 tion and approval of the chancellor and judges of the 
 supreme court, or a majority of them. The delegation 
 of authority so extensive as that of making rules and 
 regulations, which, by the letter of the law, under which 
 they are made, may produce the transfer of a part of the 
 real estate of half this community, appears to be very 
 exceptionable. Nothing but the strongest necessity 
 could justify its exercise, by any body but the legisla- 
 ture. 
 
 When these rules and regulations are made, and the 
 assessment rolls completed, containing exact descrip- 
 tions of all the property taxed, the valuation of it, and 
 the amount of tax apportioned to each individual on it, 
 then, a numerous body of collectors are to be appointed, 
 who must give adequate security for the faithful per- 
 formance of their duties respectively, and be required 
 to make returns, on or before a certain time, of all the 
 monies collected, by them. These returns must be 
 made, to persons of fidelity and competent intelligence, 
 who must carefully examine them, and who will most 
 assuredly, find them very incomplete. After the labour 
 of many successive years, to perfect the assessment 
 rolls, for the purposes of ordinary town and county 
 taxtation, the description of property is generally very 
 imperfect, and arrears are often charged upon it, from 
 year to year, for the want of such a description as will 
 serve for its legal conveyance. And it is notorious that 
 the amount, actually collected, always falls far short of 
 the sum directed to be collected ; — but as the system of 
 taxation, for these purposes is in uniform application 
 
 49 
 
( 378 ) 
 
 every year, there are various ways provided by law, by 
 which the defects and errors of one year, are supplied 
 and corrected, in succeeding years. It is certain, that 
 the assessment rolls, for the local tax, and the returns of 
 the collectors thereof, would be more defective and 
 erroneous than those of common collectors, and the 
 errors and deficiencies, in their case, could be remedied 
 only, by the labour of a new assessment, apportionment, 
 and collection. 
 
 The inconvenience of this mode of raising money 
 Would soon be apparent to every body, and it would 
 become justly odious. It would also be oppressive : 
 For the great number of persons whom it would employ, 
 and the responsibility and duration of their services, 
 would necessarily lead to great expense. All these 
 services must be reasonably paid: and when the money 
 raised in this way should be counted, and the accumula- 
 ted services required in order to its collection, should 
 be paid for and deducted, it would probably be found, 
 that not more than half of it would remain applicable 
 to the construction of the canals. 
 
 Before the provision for a local tax was adopted, in 
 1817, a joint committee of the legislature made an ela- 
 borate report to the assembly, in which they manifest 
 their opinion that such a tax should be eventually le- 
 vied from every section of the state, which it was be- 
 lieved would derive peculiar benefit from the canals. 
 The report alluded to, is dated 19 March, 1817, and 
 the following is an extract from it, to wit : " A tax to be 
 laid upon the valuations of real and personal property, 
 in the counties, cities or towns, which will be particu- 
 larly benefited, by the construction of these canals, of 
 from one third to three fourths of a mill upon a dollar. 
 At the places to which this tax should apply, and the 
 proportion of its application to each, your committee 
 think should be as follows : 
 New York at i mill on last year's valuation, 
 
 amounting to . . . . . ^41,037 
 
 Albany and Water- Vliet at f mill on do. 4,776 
 
( 379 ) 
 
 The towns of Waterford, Stillwater, Sarato- 
 ga, Northumberland, and Moreau, in the 
 county of Saratoga, at ^ mill do. 1,762 
 
 All the towns of Washington county, except 
 Cambridge, Jackson, and White creek, at 
 
 i mill do 2,672 
 
 The county of Essex at f mill do. 706 
 
 Clinton I- " do. 1,135 
 
 " Montgomery i- " do. 2,593 
 
 Herkimer i " do. 1,914 
 
 Oneida f " do. 7,098 
 
 Madison f " do. 3,408 
 
 Onondaga f " do. 2,86a 
 
 " Cayuga f " do. 3,647 
 
 Seneca f " do. 3,066 
 
 " Ontario f " do. 11,203 
 
 Genesee f " do. 5,834 
 
 Niagara f " do. 2,373 
 
 " Chautauqua f " do. 647 
 
 The city of Troy i " do. 800 
 
 The village of Lansingburg -i- " do. 180 
 
 That the places above enumerated, and not included 
 within the limits of twenty-five miles, on each side of 
 the canals, will be specially benefited, by these works, 
 cannot be doubted, and therefore, it appears just, that 
 if a local tax upon lands and real estate, is to be im- 
 posed at all, it ought to extend to them. 
 
 But there is now a local tax paid to a large amount, 
 by all the country parts of the state, in the vicinity of 
 the Erie canal, to which the law applies. The tax re- 
 ferred to, is the duty of twelve and a half cents^ per 
 bushel, on all salt manufactured, in the Western Dis- 
 trict. 
 
 This duty amounted in 1817 to $ 2,926 28 
 
 " 1818 " 48,784 27 
 
 " 1819 " 61,432 11 
 
 in all, ;8! 11 3,1 42,66 
 nearly double the amount of all the interest paid on 
 monies loaned by the state for both canals. The amount 
 
( 380 ) 
 
 of such interest paid in 1817 was % 6,000 
 
 " J8I8 " 16,250 
 
 " 1819 " 38,836 64 
 
 in all. $61,086 64 
 The duty on salt is paid cheerfully, and it is of easy 
 collection. The places at which it is manufactured are 
 all so conveniently near the line of the Erie canal, or 
 the Salina-side-cut, as to enjoy all the facilities of tran- 
 portation afforded by them. These facilities will im- 
 mediately lessen the expense of fuel^ at the salt-works, 
 which will produce a proportionate diminution, in the 
 price of salt there. And, as by means of these canals, 
 and the waters with which they connect, the same 
 boats will be able to pass^ early in the ensuing season, 
 without unloading, all the way from the salt works to 
 Schenectady, on the one hand, and to the southern ex- 
 tremities of the Cayuga and Seneca lakes, on the other, 
 it is certain, that the market for this article will be at 
 once greatly extended ; and of course there will be col- 
 lected a proportionate encrease of duty. And this con- 
 sideration seems to render, a resort to a local tax, upon 
 lands and real estate, at present, altogether inexpe- 
 dient. 
 
 2d. A compliance with the resolution is, at present, 
 absolutely impracticable. 
 
 The 7th section of the act passed April 15th, 1817, 
 and referred to in the resolution, makes it the duty of 
 the Canal Commissioners " to raise the sum of $250,000, 
 to be appropriated towards the making and completing 
 the said canals from the Mohawk river to the Seneca 
 river, and from Lake Champlain to Hudson's river, by 
 causing to be assessed and levied, in such manner as 
 the said Commissioners may determine and direct, the 
 said sum of $250,000, upon the lands and real estate 
 lying along the route of the said canals, and within twen- 
 ty-five miles of the same on each side thereof.'''' and the 5th 
 section of the act passed April 7th, 1819, also referred 
 to, in the resolution, suspends the raising of the money 
 directed in the 7th section aforesaid, until the further 
 
( 381} 
 
 order of the legislature thereon, and provides " that, 
 whenever the legislature shall direct the assessment 
 and collection of such tax, a similar tax shall be assess- 
 ed and collected, on the sections authorized by this act^ and 
 on the like principles as declared in said 7th section." 
 The sections of the two canals authorized to be made, 
 by the act of the 7th April, 1819, were both the eastern 
 and western sections of the Erie canal, and all that 
 part of the Champlain candl, which extends from Fort 
 Edward down the Hudson river, to its navigable waters. 
 Now the line of the Erie canal, through all that part, of 
 the western section, lying between Genesee river and 
 Lake Erie, is not yet located ; neither is the line of that 
 part of the eastern section, which extends from the 
 western limits of Herkimer county to the Hudson river; 
 nor the southern extremity of the line of the Champlain 
 canal. In all places, where the canal-line is not yet 
 definitively established, the district of country, from 
 which the tax should be levied, is not ascertained, a 
 compliance with the resolution, in respect to such 
 places, is therefore, at present, obviously impracticable. 
 
 The second, of the said resolutions, is in these words, 
 " Resolved, that the said committee also enquire into, 
 and report upon, the expediency of directing the Canal 
 Commissioners to apply the funds, under their control, 
 in constructing the northern canal, and the western 
 canal, from Utica to the Hudson, and of delaying the 
 construction of a canal west of Seneca river, until the 
 northern canal, and the western canal from Utica to the 
 Hudson, be completed." 
 
 After much enquiry and deliberation, it is believed 
 to be wholly inexpedient to subject the Canal Commis- 
 sioners, to the direction mentioned in this resolution. 
 
 1st. Because, about twenty miles of the canal west of 
 the Seneca river, have already been contracted for to 
 individuals, all of whom have been at great expense, in 
 making the necessary preparations for prosecuting their 
 contracts ; and most of whom have been, for some time 
 past, with several hundred hands, actually at work upon 
 them. These contracts were entered into, under the 
 
( 283 ) 
 
 authority of the canal-laws; and the expense of their 
 full performance, will probably exceed ;S^00,000, of 
 which several thousand dollars have already been earn- 
 ed, by labour laid out upon them. 
 
 Under this sanction of the legislature, to violate 
 contracts, thus legally made, could be justified only, by 
 the most pressing considerations ; and, in this case, be- 
 sides involving a breach of public faith, and the disre- 
 pute of legislative instability, it would be doing the 
 greatest injustice to the contractors, unless heavy dama- 
 ges were paid them. 
 
 The expense of preparation, in building, the neces- 
 sary huts for the men and shelters for the cattle, 
 in purchasing spades, shovels, picks, wheel-barrows, 
 ploughs, scrapers, chains, crow-bars, carts, horsing- 
 blocks, wheeling-planks, axes, grubbing hoes, wheels, 
 screws, pike-poles, ladders, cranes, horses, oxen, corn, 
 oats, hay, flour, meat and vegetables, and of transport- 
 ing them all to the scene of labour, is by no means 
 small. The advances made? on the middle section, 
 for these purposes, was generally from $ 300 to $2000, 
 to each contractor, depending upon the extent of his 
 contract. West of the Seneca river, no advances were 
 made, before the commencement of the present year, 
 because the commissioners had no funds, in their hands 
 for such purpose, before that time. And but few ad- 
 vances have been made there since. The expense 
 of preparation, nevertheless, has been incurred. And 
 this expense, together with that of the labour laid out, 
 on the jobs, would, in a great measure, be thrown 
 away. But the loss of this expense and labour, and 
 the disappointment and chagrin of the contractors, 
 would not be the only evils produced by this course. 
 
 The owners of the land, through which the line of 
 the canal is carried, while the work is in progress, 
 are subject to many inconveniences. Their fields are 
 thrown open, or their fences are new-laid, for tempo- 
 rary security while the work is going on. The trees, 
 throughout all the woodland, are grubbed up, and 
 cleared away, or felled, for the width of eight rods ; 
 
( 383 ) 
 
 and out of these trees, timber is cut and hewed, for 
 the foundation of the locks, aqueducts, culverts and 
 waste-weirs, and for constructing the road and frame 
 bridges, aqueducts, and fences. Embankments are 
 commenced across the ravines and vallies, which afford 
 channels for the streams and springs. And while 
 these embankments are incomplete new channels are 
 provided, in many cases, which subject the adjoining 
 lands to more or less hazard of injury. Wherever ex- 
 cavation is begun, drains must be opened, which will 
 naturally discharge all the water running into the ex- 
 cavation. And in times of heavy rain, this will be in 
 such quantity, wherever the line of excavation is long, 
 and the drain from the land into it extensive, as to pro- 
 duce torrents of sufficient power to gully and deface 
 the ground below. 
 
 The accumulation of mischiefs, which would surely 
 result, from leaving any considerable portion of the ca- 
 nal-line unfinished, for years, after it was once begun 
 and brought into the situation above mentioned' should 
 not lightly be encountered. Among these mischiefs, 
 in addition to those above enumerated, must be reckon- 
 ed, the loss, of much valuable timber to the public, and 
 of the use of many acres of his land to the farmer, 
 who would, moreover, be exposed to the expense and 
 vexation, in many instances, of having his usual and 
 most important passages, for all agricultural objects, 
 effectually obstructed on his own farm. It is not in the 
 nature of man to hinder circumstances like these from 
 producing the most untoward effects. And it behooves 
 every friend to the canals, before he contributes to their 
 existence, to consider well their bearing and their in- 
 fluence. 
 
 2d. Because, in the prosecution of undertakings so 
 extensive and novel as these canals, it is most prudent 
 and safe, to encounter the places of least difficulty first, 
 and afterwards proceed, with every attainable advan- 
 tage of experience, to the places of greater difficulty. 
 From the report of the Canal Commissioners dated 
 the 17th February, 1817, it appears, that the whole ex- 
 
( 384 ) 
 
 pense of opening the navigation from Seneca river 
 Lake Erie is estimated at ;S 1,783,862. Divide this su 
 
 to 
 sum 
 
 by 163, the number of miles, as measured on the canal 
 line explored in 1816 between those two places, audit 
 will be found, that the average expense per mile is glO. 
 944. In the same report, the estimated expense of the 
 canal, from Utica to the Hudson river, is stated at $ 2, 
 067,457, which, divided by 98, the number of miles as 
 measured on the canal line, between those two places, 
 shows the expense per mile to be ^21,096. This differ- 
 ence, in expense, was intended to be a correct indication 
 of the difference, in the difficulty of constructing the 
 canal, through the two sections. And, it ought always to 
 be remembered, that, in proportion to the difficulty of 
 making a canal, in any given place, is the chance of ex- 
 pensive contingencies there, even after long experience 
 in the business of making canals. With little experi- 
 ence these chances would be greatly increased.! 
 
 The canals have hitherto gone on prosperously. Let 
 us not check their progress, by imprudence. And no 
 one will deny, that a large amount of unforeseen expen- 
 ses, in connexion with occasional miscarriages, would 
 essentially impair the energy, alacrity and sound dis- 
 cretion, to which the public anxiously looks, for the en- 
 tire accomplishment of these important projects. 
 
 3d. Because, by proceeding immediately with the 
 Erie canal, west of the Seneca river, the ultimate entire 
 construction, of both canals, is ensured : whereas the 
 application of the funds announced, in the resolution, 
 would subject the canal line, west of the Seneca river 
 to the hazard of eventual abandonment. If the Cham- 
 plain canal were now finished to the tide-waters of the 
 Hudson, and the eastern section of the Erie canal were 
 completed, it is obvious, that the most direct and ap- 
 parent local advantages, of these works, would be se- 
 cured to a majority of our population. Every facility 
 of transportation and mutual intercourse, which tiie 
 canals would ever produce, would then be enjoyed, 
 by all our citizens, from the mouth of the Hudson, to 
 the northern extremity of lake Champlain, and from 
 
( 385 ) 
 
 the eastern boundary of our state, to the borders of 
 Ontario county. 
 
 Thus situated, it would perhaps be calculating too 
 much upon the foreseeing wisdom or public spirit of 
 any set of men, to expect them to advocate, or contri- 
 bute to, the disbursements necessary for the continuance 
 of the canal one hundred and sixty-three miles, through 
 a country, which is now averred, by those who think, 
 they have a local interest in opposition to the canal, to 
 be sufficiently well accommodated for navigation, by 
 the waters of lake Ontario. Men, of narrow minds and 
 selfish spirits, would be disposed to argue, from the 
 income, then derived, from that part of the canals, which 
 would be navigable, on the capital expended in their 
 construction, to the profit which ought to be anticipa- 
 ted from their entire completion. And this argument 
 would have seeming weight with such as, not having 
 meditated on the subject much, would be backwand 
 to comprehend the interesting truth, that this state can 
 never enjoy a tenth part of the advantages of the Erie 
 canal, till the tide of inland commerce, of which it is to 
 be the channel, is permitted to flow, without a mile of 
 portage, from the great lakes to the Atlantic. 
 
 The great fear entertained, by the friends of the ca- 
 nals, since its practicability has been experimentally 
 demonstrated, has been founded upon the influence o( 
 local feelings, and the deluded calculations of local in- 
 terests. And it cannot be reasonably imagined, that 
 the way to remove these fears, is to increase the terri- 
 tory, over which such interests are likely to prevail. 
 
 The plan of operations adopted, by the Canal Com- 
 missioners, of advancing with the Champlain canal to 
 the foot of the Saratoga level, and of hastening the con- 
 struction of the western section of the Erie canal, while 
 they address themselves more gradually to the diflicult 
 places on the eartern section, seems to comport, better 
 than any other with prudence, and with an earnest de- 
 >sire of seeing the wLole works completed, within the 
 shortest tims, and with the least possible drawback 
 from unfortunate contingencies. 
 
 50 
 
( 386 ) 
 
 While the works are prosecuted in this way, much 
 useful experience will be gradually acquired, without 
 the danger of serious and expensive errors. And no 
 man can, for a moment, conceive, if a canal communica- 
 tion was all the way opened from lake Erie to the Little 
 Falls of the Mohawk, or to the city of Schenectady, 
 that any physical difficulty now existing, or political 
 considerations, which might be conjured up, could then 
 be able to withstand the force of that command for its 
 extension to the Hudson, which would issue from every 
 district, county and town, in the state. 
 
 4th, Because, the state has already obtained three 
 valuable donations of land, from the country west of the 
 Seneca river, for the increase of the canal fund, to wit, 
 that of John Greig, Esq. as agent for 
 
 the Hornby estate, of 3000 acres, 
 
 that of Paul Busti, Esq. as agent for 
 
 the Holland company, of 1,06036 „ 
 
 and that from the Hon. Gideon Gran- 
 ger, from his own estate, of 1000 „ 
 By a bond duly executed by the donor, this last de- 
 nation has been guaranteed to produce to the cana! 
 fund, when the western section is completed, the sum 
 ^5000. And Col. Troup, the agent of the Pultney 
 estate situate in the same region, is now urging his 
 Principals, with zeal and a prospect of success, to make 
 a liberal donation, in money, to the same fund. 
 
 These acts of munificence, while they furnish the 
 most irresistible evidence of honest and strong devotion 
 to the canal interests, and contribute, in no mean mea- 
 sure, to exalt the character of the state, have also some 
 claim to invite the expenditure of funds in the west. It 
 would doubtless give great impression, to the recom- 
 mendation, of neglecting for the present, the western 
 part of the canal-line, and of confining the disburse- 
 ments of money exclusively to the Mohawk and Hud- 
 son rivers, if those who live in their vicinity, and enjoy 
 all the gifts of fortune, were to enlarge the canal fund, 
 by similar liberalities. 
 
 5th. Because, the resources of the state, to complete 
 
( 387 ) 
 
 the canals, would probably accumulate in a greater 
 ratio, compared with the expenditure, by going west, 
 than otherwise. To evince this probability, the follow-^ 
 ing facts and considerations are suggested. 
 
 Whenever, in its progress from Seneca river west, 
 the canal reaches the Genesee river, that stream will 
 afford an additional navigation connected with it, for 
 the distance of near forty miles : that is, by making 
 sixty-three miles of canal, at about half the expense, per 
 mile, at which the eastern section is estimated, the 
 state will have the benefit of one hundred miles of 
 interior navigation, through a country, at least as 
 populous and productive as any other equal extent of 
 country, in the state. The surplus productions, of 
 Ontario county alone, have been reckoned, as high, in 
 some seasons, as g600,G00. And, by the published 
 statements, of the collector of the port of Genesee, it 
 appears, that the export, from the mouth of that river, 
 of articles growing and manufactured, in that neighbour- 
 hood, for the last two years, has been to the value of 
 about ^900,000. 
 
 From the Genesee river, on the most northerly ca- 
 nal route, about seventy-two miles running west, will 
 lead to the waters of the Tonewanta creek. These 
 waters flow into the Niagara river opposite Grand- 
 Island : and as they are deep and still, from the point 
 where the canal will intersect them, to the place 
 of their discharge, as soon as the canal reaches 
 them, they will afford a navigable communication with 
 Lake Erie, obstructed, only by the current of the Nia- 
 gara, which is very gentle, except at Black Rock. Im- 
 mediately after this consummation is effected, that 
 great revolution, which the construction of the Erie ca- 
 nal is destined to produce, in the trade, agriculture, 
 manufactures, wealth, political influence, and public 
 character, of this state, will begin speedily to develope 
 itself. The difficulties presented at Black Rock, and 
 thence to the Tonewanta, may be overcome at leisure. 
 The expense of overcoming them was originally com- 
 puted by the canal commissioners, at $205,377, Of 
 
t 
 
 ( 388 ) 
 
 this sum about 1^10,000, would be required to make a 
 dam and temporary lock of a little more than four feet 
 lift, near the mouth of the Tonewanta creek, which 
 would be necessary, in order to prevent a more expen- 
 sive operation of deep cutting from the said creek 
 northerly through the mountain ridge, and, in reference 
 to the ulterior purpose, of obviating the impediment, of 
 the Black Rock rapid. In deciding upon the relative 
 profit, of first taking up the eastern or western section 
 of the canal, the residue of this sum ought to be de- 
 ducted from the aggregate of estimates, west of the 
 Seneca river, because its disbursement might be post- 
 poned, to the all other expenses ofjconstructing the canal. 
 For so soon as the navigation is opened to the Niagara 
 river above the falls, the grand object of a navigable 
 communication with the entire lake country will be se- 
 cured, and that, in such a way, as will effectually induce 
 that country, to make us the most acceptable and pro- 
 fitable returns. 
 
 Before endeavouring to give some outline of the 
 wide field of internal trade, which a boatable connex- 
 ion with Lake Erie would afford us, it may be useful 
 to state more of the advantages, which we should de- 
 rive, from opening the western section of the canal in 
 preference to the eastern, without adverting at all to ex- 
 terior territories. 
 
 This course would speedily enhance the value of 
 the donations of land to the canal fund, and render 
 them all absolute. If the harbour required at the east 
 end of Lake Erie should be constructed, in one of the 
 modes proposed, to wit, by building a dam from our 
 shore below the Tonewanta creek to Grand Island, and 
 then connecting that island, by a wall of timber, earth 
 and stone, with Bird Island, at the foot of the lake, 
 the state land on the margin of the Niagara river and 
 Grand Island would, at once, become more valuable 
 than any other equal quantity, in the western district. 
 The dam and wall would afford a perpendicular head 
 of water, that could never fail, of near five feet, for 
 the length of about three miles, at the very place, 
 
"- ( 369 ) 
 
 where hydraulic establishments would be more valua- 
 ble than at any other, in the United States. And if 
 any other plan of a harbour is adopted, the value of 
 these islands will be essentially increased. 
 
 In all cases, the construction of good roads and ca- 
 nals. from large commercial towns,into any interior coun- 
 try,affbrd all their benefits^to a range of that interior coun- 
 try, which constantly widens as the distance, from the 
 town increases. In other words, on a canal, at a point 
 twenty miles from the market town, to which it leads, 
 the farmer would perhaps tind a saving, in transporta- 
 tion, by bringing his produce to the canal, from a dis= 
 tance of five miles ; while at a point two hundred miles 
 from the town, he would find a saving, in transportation, 
 by bringing his produce, from a distance of fifty miles. 
 On the Erie canal this principle has a striking appli- 
 cation. The width of country to be benefited, by this 
 canal, in its advance west from Albany always increases, 
 but not exactly in proportion to the distance. From 
 Albany to Utica, that width increases slowly, while 
 from Utica to Lake Erie, it increases rapidly. If the 
 canal were complete, no one would doubt this. It 
 holds good, in a great degree of the western section, 
 before the whole is completed. Besides, as the canal 
 is carried west from the middle section, it will not only 
 invite to its use the surplus produce of a more extensive 
 region, but every ton of property, which it bears to 
 market will pay toll for a much longer distance. 
 
 It is certainly good economy, after large expenditures 
 have been made, in the prosecution of any enterprize, 
 with a view to pecuniary profit, to lay out succeeding 
 expenses, in such a way, as will render the first, most 
 productive. A given number of tons transported from 
 Seneca river to Albany would pay twice as much toll, 
 as they would from Utica to Albany, even if navigation 
 extended throughout the whole distance. And it is 
 material here to remark, that the whole length of the 
 eastern section must be finished, before much profit can 
 be derived, from using any part of it. This section 
 runs, along a stream, which with the improvements on 
 
( 390 ) 
 
 it, now prelBents a parallel and continued navigation, 
 for eighty miles. For descending transportation, this 
 navigation is very valuable, during a great part of the 
 year. The tolls on the canals and locks, which con- 
 stitute a part of it, for lading in general, is $5,25 per ton, 
 charged both ways, besides a charge, on the capacity 
 of the boat, of $4 31, for one carrying ten tons, and 
 thirty-seven and a half cents for every addition£»l ton. 
 After the state becomes the owner of these canals and 
 locks, and takes off, or essentially lessens the exorbi- 
 tant toll at present imposed on the passage of all kinds 
 of property through them, as it certainly will do, this 
 season, the value of this navigation will be exceedingly 
 increased ; for it may be used, by boats coming all the 
 way from the remotest western limits, to which the ca- 
 nal may be completed, to Schenectady, without chang- 
 ing their loading. And it is well known, that the amount 
 of tonnage annually carried down the valley of the Mo- 
 hawk, is at present but a small part of that which is 
 carried up. For the introduction of salt and plaister, 
 to a market as far down as Schenectady, this river is 
 almost equal to a canal. After our great work is done, 
 it will be forever abandoned. But why incur the ex- 
 pense, of $2,067,457, in constructing this section, while 
 there is now an easy connexion, with all the useful part 
 of the river, from that portion of the canal, which is 
 completed, and while, without the construction of the 
 western section, the advantages anticipated from this, 
 would be but very partially exhibited ? Because the 
 river is not navigable throughout, or not so convenient, 
 where it is navigable, as a canal would be, shall we al- 
 together disdain to use it } 
 
 Let us now attend to some facts, that are calculated 
 to illustrate the subject of the inland trade, which we 
 may hope to derive from the immediate construction of 
 the western section of the canal. These facts will be 
 very miscellaneous, but they are believed to be stated 
 on good authority. 
 
 By an official statement from the collector's office in 
 Detroit, dated in 1818, it appears that there were then 
 
( 391 ) 
 
 owned, at that place, and on the United States' side of 
 lake Erie, 51 vessels, of which the aggregate tonnage 
 was .... . 1867 
 
 and vessels of less than tons burthen of which the 
 aggregate tonnage was . . .201 
 
 in all, 2068 
 
 The amount of tonnage owned by the British on the 
 same lake is not known, but is considerable. 
 
 During six weeks, in the year 1818, the number of 
 boats loaded with the produce of the country, chiefly 
 our own, which passed down the St. Lawrence, were 
 counted, near its head, and they averaged fifteen a day, 
 for that time. 
 
 The north part of the state of Ohio is favoured with 
 numerous rivers, which afford navigation southward 
 into the country from ten to forty miles ; and on the 
 margin of several of these streams inexhaustible quar- 
 ries of excellent grindstones are opened, which now 
 supply the demand for that article, in our state for one 
 hundred miles east of Buffalo notwithstanding the ex- 
 pense of land carriage. And on Rocky river, within 
 half a mile of its navigation, there is an excellent coal- 
 mine. 
 
 The manufacture of pot and pearl ashes, in that state 
 is considerable, and it would be much increased, by 
 affording to them the facilities of transportation, which 
 would be offered, by the construction of the western 
 section of the Erie canal. For they would avail them- 
 selves of these facilities, for the Montreal market, by 
 coming through the canal to the mouth of Genesee ri- 
 ver, and for the New- York market, by coming through 
 the canal, in the same boat, from Buffalo to Schenec- 
 tady. With the destruction of their forests, the founda- 
 tion of this trade, is rapidly passing away. 
 
 The soil of that state is well adapted for pasturage, 
 and the raising of wheat and Indian corn; and its ex- 
 ports of flour, beef and pork, are fast increasing. Some 
 of these articles are sent west for the supply of new 
 settlements, some are sent to the United States' garri- 
 
( 392 ) 
 
 Sons, on our lake-frontier, and several thousand barrels 
 have been sent, last year, over the portage of the Nia- 
 gara river. 
 
 The imports of that state are, by the way of New- 
 Orleans, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New-York, and Mon- 
 treal. The greatest portion of these imports are from 
 Philadelphia, by the way of Pittsburgh. A very able 
 pamphlet published, in 1818, at Baltimore, on the sub- 
 ject of the communications proposed between the At- 
 lantic and western states, contains the following, to wit: 
 " A computation has been made, in Philadelphia, that 
 ten waggons, on an average, leave that place for Pitts- 
 burg every day., loaded with an average freight of $200. 
 This gives for the annual amount of the fi-eight $730,000. 
 If we take eight dollars to be the average price of freight 
 (^which their writers state it is) then 8,730,000, will 
 give 91,250 cwt. as the quantity carried. It is difficult 
 to fix an everage value to this merchandise, but it is a 
 low estimate if we value it at $200 per cwt. round. — 
 Then 9 ! ,250 cwt. will give a gross amount of 18,250,000 
 dollars, the value of merchandise waggoned out, every 
 year, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. 
 
 If this calculation, from data furnished at Philadel- 
 phia, surprise us, by the greatness of its amount, let us 
 try how it will agree with one, from data entirely differ- 
 ent, furnished from Pittsburgh. Henry Montgomery, 
 keeper of the turnpike gate, at Chesnut Ridge, between 
 Stoystown and Greensburgh, made an official return, 
 from which it appears, that there passed through his 
 gate, during the year ending May 1818, among other 
 things, 281 four-horse, 2412 five-horse, and 2698 six- 
 horse teams. In order to make every allowance^, we 
 throw out the four-horse teams entirely ; and to allow 
 for wag2;ons returning eastwardly, we will take only half 
 the nuinber of five and sii-horse teams. This will give 
 2555 teams, which on a moderate calculation, must 
 carry an average of 35 cwt. The waggons therefore, 
 going westwardly, carry 89125 cwt. which, at an ave- 
 rage of $200, gives the value of merchandize, transport- 
 ed to Pittsburgh, $17,885,00." 
 
( 393 ) ** 
 
 When the western section of the Erie canal is done, 
 a large proportion of this immense trade will not only 
 be supplied from New-York, but, the articles of which 
 it consists, will be transported through our canal, and, 
 by the imposition of a reasonable transit duty, they will 
 contribute to the augmentation of our canal fund. The 
 people of Ohio feel a deep and lively interest in our 
 canal, and they are every year, seeking more extended 
 commercial connexions with us. Goods have been 
 lately purchased in New-York, and sent thence to 
 Albany in a sloop, thence to Buffalo in waggons, thence 
 to Huron, in a sloop, and thence one hundred and five 
 miles into the country in waggons, at a less expense 
 than they could have been sent for, from Philadelphia. 
 And respectable men, of this city, have recently adverti- 
 sed, to carry goods from New-York, by the way of 
 Albany, and through the western district, to Pittsburgh, 
 cheaper than the expense of carryingthem, to that place 
 from Philadelphia. The objection to this route has 
 been the length of time it requires. But this objection 
 will be removed, or if not wholly, it will be more than 
 counterbalanced, by further deductions of expense, 
 when water carriage may be had from Schenectady to 
 the south shore of Lake Erie. 
 
 The impression arising from these facts, undoubtedly 
 is, that a much more profitable result would be ensured 
 to the state, by the construction of the western section, 
 so far as it respects a trade, in articles generally 
 produced, or required, in the country, than would, by 
 the construction of the eastern section. 
 
 But the articles of plaster and salt, furnished in 
 inexhaustible abundance along the line of the middle 
 section, are of great importance, in settling the ques- 
 tion of pecuniary profit, and of course, intimately con- 
 nected with the best hopes of the friends of the canals. 
 How will these be affected by ope^iing the western 
 section ? 
 
 1st. Of Plaster. — The middle section of the canal, 
 having this season a navigable connevion with the 
 Mohawk river, when the tolls of the Western Inland 
 
 51 
 
^ ( 394 ) 
 
 Lock Navigation Company, are taken off or greatly 
 reduced, the transportation of this article will be so 
 cheap, as to induce its being brought, from the west, to 
 supply the market as far down as that river is navigable. 
 And it is most probable that the country above Still- 
 water, to the eastern limits of the state, may obtain, it, 
 from there, upon better terms than they can, from any 
 other quarter. It is believed that the plaster of the 
 west may be afforded at Schenectady ,whenever the tolls 
 are taken off from the Mohawk navigation, as low as 
 four dollars per ton. 
 
 At that rate 20 tons would amount to $80 
 
 It would be delivered, in a boat, on the canal, 
 
 120 miles from Schenectady, at one dollar 
 
 and a half per ton. 
 At this rate 20 tons would cost $30 
 
 ^he use of a boat sufficient to carry it, say 
 
 ten days, going and returning, at one dollar 
 
 per day, 10 
 
 Three men finding themselves ten days, at 
 
 %\ each, 30 
 
 One horse, for keeping and service, ten days, 
 
 at $1, , 10 
 
 In all, $80 
 But the horse's services would not be required, on the 
 Mohawk, and the hands are supposed to return with an 
 empty boat, besides being one more than would be 
 wanted, except in returning. These circumstances 
 show, that a reasonable toll might be imposed, and ^^t 
 the business, at the price above mentioned, would 
 afford a living profit. And the transportation could be 
 carried on, in boats of twenty tons burthen, more than 
 two months in the year, — ^long enough to »tock the 
 market. 
 
 Then in opposition to the additional country to be 
 supplied with that article from the west, by opening the 
 eastern section of the canal, may be put, that part of 
 west Pennsylvania, which may be easily approached 
 from the waters of Allegany river. The country allu- 
 
( 395 ,) 
 
 (led to, is well adapted to the use of plaster, and now 
 obtains it in small quantities, even at the price of three 
 dollars per bushel. This plaster goes from our state, 
 by way of the south end of the Seneca lake, Bath, and 
 the Allegany river. When the canal is opened to the 
 Genesee, it may be taken, in boats, from the quarry, to 
 the foot of the Gardeau falls on the Genesee, and thence 
 by land, to the navigable waters of the Allegany, with 
 half the distance of land transportation, to which it is 
 now subjected. And this would lead to a considerable 
 trade, in that article, with the counties of Warren, Ve- 
 nango, Mercer, Armstrong, Butler and Allegany. 
 
 2d. Of Salt. — The Mohawk river will afford the same 
 facilities for the transportation of salt, that it will for 
 plaster. And the market for this article may be ex- 
 tended further east by avoiding the cost of the barrel. 
 For when it can be loaded, at the works, into a boat, 
 from which it need not be unloaded until it passes into 
 the store-house at Schenectady, it will be brought there 
 in bulk. From the extension of the market east, there- 
 fore, before the construction of the eastern section, we 
 may expect a great increase of the revenue, from salt. 
 
 The western country, south of the great lakes and 
 north of Louisville, is supplied with salt chiefly from the 
 following places, to wit, — 
 
 From the Conemaugh works in Pennsylvania, situa- 
 ted on a creek, which falls into the Allegany river 
 thirty-five miles above Pittsburgh, The salt made at 
 these works, is better than any other made in the val- 
 ley of the Ohio, though not so good as Onondaga salt. 
 It cannot be sold at Pittsburgh for less than ^7.50 per 
 barrel. The neighbourhood of the springs abound 
 in coal, which is obtained at little cost ; but it is neces- 
 sary to bore three hundred feet through rock to pro- 
 cure the water, and when procured, it is not very 
 strong. Last year these works sent two thousand bar- 
 rels to Pittsburgh. The springs were but lately dis- 
 covered, in the examinations, which were induced by 
 the scarcity and high price of salt, in that country, du- 
 ring the war. The proprietors have not been able to 
 
( 396 ) 
 
 make the manufacture profitable, and the works begin 
 already to be neglected. 
 
 From the Great Kanhawa river, in Virginia. These 
 works have been recently monopolized, in consequence 
 of which the price of salt, in their neighbourhood, has 
 risen. Shafts are sunk here very deep, through solid 
 rock, for water, and after the water has been obtained 
 at great expense, several springs have wholly failed. 
 The salt manufactured here, is of an inferior quality. 
 It is generally sold in large quantities^ near the Ohio 
 river, and above Louisville, at $6 per barrel. 
 
 From Kentucky ; in which state, there are five places 
 where extensive manufactories of it are established. 
 These are at the Upper and Lower Blue Springs, at 
 the springs on Licking river, at the Big-bone-lick, at 
 Dennon's licks, and at Bullet's lick. From these places 
 salt has been furnished to the surrounding country, at 
 one dollar per bushel. The water is obtained strong- 
 er than that of the ocean, by sinking wells from thirty 
 to forty feet. The whole quantity manufactured, in this 
 state, in 1810, was 324,870 bushels. 
 
 From the state of Illinois; where about 200,000 
 bushels are annually manufactured, at the works of the 
 United States, on Saline river. At these works it is 
 commonly sold at seventy cents per bushel. 
 
 From the state of Ohio, in which there are salines, 
 on the Scioto river, and on Yellow creek. 
 
 And from the state of New-York, — 
 In 1810, 17,400 barrels of salt, from Salina, passed the 
 
 Niagara portage, into Lake Erie. 
 " 1811, 20,000 " " " 
 
 "1818,26,000 " " 
 
 " 1819, 29,000 " " " 
 
 Mr. Herger, a merchant of Cincinnati, last spring, 
 purchased four hundred barrels of Onondaga salt, to 
 transport and sell at his place of residence. There 
 \Vere sent, of the same salt, to Sandusky, last fall, not 
 less than five thousand barrels, of which a part was car- 
 ried to Columbus, the capital of Ohio, by land ; and, 
 at the port of Erie, on the south shore of the lake ol 
 
( 397 ) 
 
 that name, there were received from Salina, in the three 
 years ending the 1st January last, 27,900 barrels. 
 
 These facts prove that the people of Ohio, inhabit- 
 ing both her northern and southern borders, are desi- 
 rous of obtaining our salt. But the increase of their 
 demand for it, under present circumstances, is very 
 small. Not half so much of it is now sent to Pittsburgh 
 as there was ten years ago. Gen. Porter, one of the 
 lessees of the Niagara portage, in a speech, delivered 
 in congress, in 1810, on the subject of internal improve- 
 ments, having first mentioned the Niagara portage, 
 says, " On the south side of Lake Erie, in the state of 
 Pennsylvania, there is another portage of fifteen miles 
 over an artificial road, from Presqu'isle to French creek, 
 a branch of the Allegany, and which is navigable for 
 boats carrying two hundred barrels. Over these two 
 portages were sent, during the last summer, more than 
 100,000 bushels of salt, manufactured in the interior of 
 the state of New- York, and transported, through Lakes 
 Ontario and Erie, across these portages, and down to 
 Pittsburgh, for the use of the inhabitants of the Ohio 
 and its tributary streams. This salt trade was com- 
 menced about seven years ago, and has becQ increas- 
 ing ever since, at the rate of twenty -^ve per cent, a year. 
 And if the great line of navigation, to which I shall pre- 
 sently call the attention of the house, were opened, the 
 people of the Ohio, and its various waters, would be 
 supplied, with that great and necessary article of life, 
 fifty per cent, cheaper than it now costs them." The 
 inhabitants of the country referred to, in this extract, 
 have since that period increased three fold, and yet 
 the trade in salt, carried on from Salina with them, has 
 suffered great diminution. 
 
 The expense of transportation from Pittsburgh to 
 Louisville is from forty to fifty cents per cwt. when the 
 quantity is considerable. And salt from ISalina may 
 now be offered at Pittsburgh as follows, to wit : 
 Value at Salina, including duties, per barrel, %2 
 Expense of transportation, thence to Oswego, 
 
 commonly, 621^ 
 
 Thence to Buffalo, including portage, 1 12^ 
 
( 398 ) 
 
 Thence to Erie, including storage, 50 
 Thence to Waterford, including storage and 
 
 portage, 50 
 
 Thence to Pittsburgh, in boats, 56 
 
 In all, $5 31 
 
 In the existing state of things, the expense of trans- 
 porting a barrel of salt, from Salina to Erie, according 
 to the above statement, is $2 25. When the western 
 section of the canal is made, it may be carried, in the 
 same boat, from one of these places to the other, as the 
 boats, which navigate the St. Lawrence, now pass from 
 that river to Oswego; and then the price of transpor- 
 tation between them will be diminished more than a 
 dollar per barrel. 
 
 From these calculations, it is probable, that a barrel 
 of salt may be manufactured at Salina, and sent to 
 Louisville, on the Ohio, when the western section of 
 the canal is made, for the sum of five dollars. 
 
 Throughout the valley of the Ohio, Onondaga salt is 
 greatly preferred to any other, within their reach. And 
 when it can be sold, as low down as Louisville, at $5 
 per barrel, it will take place of all other salt in the mar- 
 ket, from that plac^e northerly. Can it be questioned, 
 then, that an immense trade in it, will at once spring 
 up from the completion of the western section of the 
 canal ? 
 
 The reason why our salt is manufactured at so much 
 less expense than any other, in the United States is, the 
 water is much stronger than any other, and is procured 
 in quantities that defy the fear of failure, at very little 
 expense. Its strength is such, that from a gallon of it, 
 may be obtained, from sixteen to twenty-six ounces of 
 salt. 
 
 The quantity of salt annually imported and consumed 
 in the United States, for ten years ending with 1807, 
 was, in the average, 2,888,385 bushels. The quantity 
 now annually imported and consumed is upwards of 
 3,000^000 of bushels : and there are made in the coun- 
 try about 2,000,000 of bushels— in all 5,000,000 of 
 bushels. This quantity divided among 10,000,000 of in- 
 
( 399 ) 
 
 habitants, about the whole number in the United States, 
 gives to each half a bushel a year. 
 
 Grazing countries consume more salt than grain coun- 
 tries, and countries remote from the sea, than those 
 which are near to it, if the population be equal. 
 
 With these facts in view, is it not reasonable to be be- 
 lieved, that the construction of the western section of 
 the canal, would open a more extensive demand for 
 the salt, which adds to the canal fund, than the open- 
 ing of the eastern section possibly could ? Salt at New- 
 York, which is preferred to that of Salina, by the inha- 
 bitants of the eastern and southern parts of our state, 
 though it may not be so good, is sold at from forty to 
 fifty cents per bushel, of fifty-six pounds. At Montreal 
 it is sold at from twenty to thirty cents. And from this 
 last place, it may be sent to lake Champlain, for six 
 cents a bushel. The difference between the prices at 
 New-York and Montreal is occasioned chiefly, by the 
 payment, at the former, of a duty of twenty cents per 
 bushel imposed by Congress on salt imported. If salt 
 comes, from Montreal into this state, it must pay the 
 same duty. And it should not be forgotten, on this 
 sul)ject, that as Congress impose the duty. Congress 
 may take it off It was taken off, and remained off 
 from the 3Jst December 1807 to the 1st of January 1814, 
 Before the eastern section of the canal could be com- 
 pleted, the finances of the United States may be so 
 regulated as not to require it. If the duty should be 
 taken off, the sale of salt from Onondaga, in the valley 
 of the Hudson, would be effectually debarred, for the 
 same reason that now prevents our citizens from con- 
 veying it down the St. Lawrence within a hundred 
 miles of Montreal. 
 
 But supposing the duty to remain unaltered, is it 
 reasonable to expect, that a greater salt trade, from 
 Salina would be promoted, by the construction of the 
 eastern section, than w^ould be, by that of the western ? 
 Number the population of our state, that will not be 
 supplied with salt from Salina after this year, from the 
 city of New-York, to the north end of Lake Champlain, 
 together with the people of those parts of Vermont, 
 
( 400 ) 
 
 Massachusetts, Connecticut and New-Jersey, which 
 now procure their salt from New-York ; and if they 
 shall all obtain their supply, of that article, from Sa- 
 lina, after the communication with the Hudson is per- 
 fected, they will not equal the population that will 
 ask their supply, of the same salt in the west, after de- 
 ducting those who are now supplied with it, in that 
 quarter. And the population of the western territory, 
 embraced within the supply, is increasing at the rate 
 of seven or eight per cent, annually ; while that of the 
 eastern, does not increase at a rate exceeding one per 
 cent. 
 
 In the preceding facts and remarks, no mention hsas 
 been made of the expense of opening the Champlain 
 canal, from Fort Edward to Waterford. The original 
 estimate of this, was $621,000, though, from more mi- 
 nute examination of that country, recently made, and 
 the discovery of unexpected facilities, the cost will not 
 probably much exceed ,^400,000. In determining on 
 the relative profit of the plan of operations actually- 
 adopted, and that of the resolution, under considera- 
 tion, this amount should be added against the latter. 
 
 Other weighty reasons might be adduced, to justify 
 the course, taken by the canal commissioners, but the 
 foregoing are deemed satisfactory and sufficient. 
 
 The more we examine into the topography of our 
 state and the adjoining country, and consider the 
 sources and principles of inland trade, the more we 
 shall be persuaded, that the richest results, of our 
 great enterprises, cannot be enjoyed, until all the parts 
 of them have received their last hand. When they 
 are complete, the w ealth of every island and every 
 lake, of every continent and every ocean, which is 
 visited by the light of heaven, will contribute to weary 
 their waters with conveyance. 
 
 With great respect, Sir, we are your obt. servants 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 S. VAN RENSSELAER, 
 MYRON HOLLEY. 
 Many, 1th March, 1820. 
 
( 401 ) 
 IN ASSEMBLY, Jan. 10, 1821 
 
 Report of the Commissioners of the Canal Fund ; to the 
 Hon, the Lesislature. 
 
 "s 
 
 The commissioners of the canal fund, 'pursuant to 
 the directions of the act, entitled " an act respecting 
 navigable communications between the great western 
 and northern lakes knd the Atlatic ocean," passed 
 April 15, 1817, respectfully submit the following RE- 
 PORT : 
 
 REVENUE 
 
 The revenue of the " canal fund" for the year 1821, 
 is estimated at two hundred and ten thousand dollars, 
 derivable from the following sources, viz : 
 Duty on goods sold at auction, 115,000 
 
 On salt manufactured in the western 
 district, 90,000 
 
 Commutation for the tax on steam boat 
 
 passengers 5,000 
 
 $210,000 
 
 RECEIPTS IN 1820. 
 
 The receipts of the commissioners of the canal fund, 
 
 in 1 820^ were as follows, viz : 
 
 Loan of 130,000 
 
 do. of $300,000 
 
 Premium thereon, besides stipu- 
 lation to convey money to ca- 
 nal commissioners, &c. &c. 
 1 per cent. 3,000 
 
 — 303,000 
 
 52 
 
( 402 ) 
 
 Loan of 151,000 
 
 Premium theron of 8 per cent. 12,080 
 
 163,080 
 
 Loan of 112,500 
 
 Premium thereon of 7^ per cent, 8,437 50 
 
 120,937 50 
 
 Duties on goods sold at auction, 122,653 07 
 
 do. on salt manufactured in 
 
 the western district, 67,038 67 
 
 Tax on Steam boat passengers, 1,684 92 
 
 Commutation for do. for 1820, 5,000 00 
 
 Dividend on the stock held by the state 
 in the Western Inland Lock Naviga- 
 tion Company, 3,678 00 
 
 Total receipts in 1820, $917,072 16 
 
 PAYMENTS IN 1820. 
 
 The payments made by the commissioners of the ca- 
 nal fund in 1 820, were as follows, viz ; 
 To the canal commissioners, 668,900 
 
 To the New- York State Bank and Mechanics 
 and Farmers Bank; amount which those 
 banks stood overdrawn, 31st Dec. 1819, 6,724 69i 
 For interest on loans, 70,627 27 
 
 To the Western Inland Lock Naviga- 
 tion Company, for damages sustained 
 by them, by their investing in the state, 
 the lands, waters canals, &c. &c. claim- 
 ed by them, including the interest of 
 the state in the stock of that com- 
 pany, Jg]51, 820 80 
 For expenses attending the appraise- 
 ment of do. damages, 897,72 
 
 152.718 52 
 
 For clerk hire, printing, and 
 
 other incidenatl expenses, 232 86 
 
 ;g!899.503 34 
 
( 403 ) 
 
 The receipts of the year, as above, 
 
 amounted to 917,072 16 
 
 And the payments, to 899,503 
 
 34 
 
 Which leaves a balance in bank, to the 
 credit of the commissioners of the 
 canal fund, on the 31st Dec. 1820 of g!l7,568 82 
 
 The commissioners of the canal fund are author- 
 ized to borrow annually, a sum, which, with the reve- 
 nues of the fund, shall not, in any one year, exceed 
 g 600,000. By the act, ch. 187. of the last session, 
 however, they were authorized, in addition to the formf 
 er authority, to borrow a sum, which should be suffi- 
 cient to pay " the damages to be sustained by the west- 
 ern inland lock navigation company, by investing in the 
 people of the state, all the lands, waters, canals, locks, 
 feeders, and appurtenances, claimed by the said com- 
 pany." — For this purpose, the commissioners obtained 
 a loan of ^151,000. The same act also authorized 
 the commissioners of the canal fund to borrow, if re- 
 quired by the canal commissioners for expenditure on 
 the canals in 1820, ^122,500 more ; and the same hav- 
 ing been so required, was accordingly borrowed, and 
 makes the aggregate amount of the loans obtained 
 in 1820, exclusive of the premiums obtained upon them, 
 693,500 dollars. 
 
 The amount required to extinguish the interest of 
 the individual stockholders in the western inland lock 
 navigation company, was only ^91,616 : but this board 
 deemed it most correct that the value of the interest 
 of the state in that company, amounting to ^60,204 80, 
 should become a charge upon the canal fund, and there- 
 fore borrowed a sum sufficient for the whole, and paid 
 the value of the interest of the state, into the treasury. 
 
( 404 
 
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( 405 ) ' 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 The total receipts of the commissioners to the 31st 
 
 December, 1820, inclusive, amount to ;g 2,226,326 94 
 
 And their expenditures to 2,208,758 12 
 
 Unexpended balance, $ 17,568 82 
 A survey and appraisement of the lands appropriated 
 to the canal fund, at the Onondaga salt works, is in 
 progress : and these lands will probably be opened for 
 sale in the course of the year. The lands on Grand 
 Island, cannot, with propriety, it is thought, be survey- 
 ed or sold, until the division line between this state and 
 the province of Upper Canada shall have been estab- 
 lished. No steps have yet been taken by this board 
 to ascertain the value of the lands granted as donations 
 to the state for the benefit of the canal fund. They 
 amount to 104,633 acres, and are situated in Cattarau- 
 gus county, with the exception of 1000 acres which lie 
 in Steuben county. 
 
 All which is respectfully submitted. 
 
 JOHN TAYLOR, President, 
 THOS. J. OAKLEY, JWy Gen, 
 ARCH'D. M'INTYRE, CompUr. 
 SIMEON DE WITT, Surv. Gen. 
 J. V. N. YATES, Secretary. 
 GERRIT L. DOX, Treasurer. 
 Albany, January Sth, 1821. 
 
* ( 406 ) 
 IN ASSEMBLY, FEB, 23, 1820. 
 
 Report Of the Canal Commissioners. To the Legislature 
 of the State of JYew- York, the Canal Commissioners 
 most respectfully report. 
 
 That in pursuance of a concurrent resolution of the 
 honourable the Senate and Assembly, passed 1 3th April 
 last, they have caused a survey to be made from the 
 mouth of the Oswego river up the same to Three river 
 Point, thence up the Seneca river to the outlet of the 
 Onondago lake, and thence up the said outlet the 
 length thereof, with a view of ascertaining the improve- 
 ments of which the waters of these streams are suscep- 
 tible, as respects their navigation. That they have 
 caused plans of such improvements to be devised, and 
 estimates of their expense to be formed ; and that al- 
 though it has not been in their power, from the constant 
 pressure of other duties devolved on them, by law, 
 personally to inspect the said waters, and to consider 
 on the spot, of the plans and expenses of such improve- 
 ments, they have no doubt that such improvements are 
 practicable. The survey has been made, the levels as- 
 certained, the plans devised and the estimates formed, 
 by S. Bates, Esq. as engineer, whose returns are here- 
 with presented. 
 
 The said commissioners further report, that they 
 have not caused a survey to be made in order to under- 
 stand the practicability expense and effects of draining 
 the Cayuga marshes, only because the condition as to 
 expense, upon which they were directed to act has 
 never been complied with on the part of the applicants 
 relating to said marshes. 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 SAMUEL YOUNG, 
 STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER. 
 MYRON HOLLEY, 
 HENRY SEYMOUR. 
 
 February 21, 1820. 
 
( 407 ) 
 
 To De Witt Clinton^ Stephen Van Rensselaer, Myron Hoi- 
 ley, Henry Seymour, and Samuel \oung. Esquires , 
 Commissioners of the iLrie and Hudson Canals. 
 
 Gentlemen — 
 
 At your request, and agreeably to directions con- 
 tained in a resolve of the honourable legislature of the 
 state of New-York, I have examined the communication 
 between Salina and Oswego through the Seneca and 
 Oswego rivers, and beg leave to present you the result. 
 Commencing at the mouth of Oswego river, on a level 
 with lake Ontario. 
 
 m.ch.li. f. 
 
 Thence to the head of 
 
 Oswego rift, distant 1.27.40 ascent 14.75i 
 
 „ to a point on rapids 
 of Little Smooth 
 
 rock, 38.00 1.65.40 „ 17.96i 
 
 ,. foot of Little Smooth 
 
 rock rift, 64.00 2.49.40 „ 22.97i 
 
 ,, point on Horse-race 
 
 rift, 38.00 2.77.40 „ 28,531- 
 
 ,. head of Horse-race 
 
 rift, 49.00 3.46.40 „ 38.07 
 
 " to foot of Six-mile 
 
 rift, 64.00 4.30.40 " 43.24 
 
 " foot of Devil's Horn 
 
 rift, 26,00 
 
 " head of do. do. 52.00 
 " Smooth rock (foot) 36.00 
 " commencement of 
 
 rapids, 77..50 
 
 " foot Braddock's rift, 48.00 
 " head of do. 52.00 
 
 " out-let of Fish lake, 95.00 
 " B. Mooney, 18.00 
 
 " foot of Oswego falls 
 
 rapid, 37. 9.71.90 " 60.54 
 
 4.56.40 
 
 ?7 
 
 46.271- 
 
 5.28.40 
 
 5? 
 
 52.16 
 
 5.64.40 
 
 , ?5 
 
 52.82 
 
 6.61.90 
 
 95 
 
 55.12|^ 
 
 7.29.90 
 
 ">•) 
 
 55.371- 
 
 8.01.90 
 
 » 
 
 60.33 
 
 9.16.90 
 
 •)1 
 
 60.36 
 
 9.34.90 
 
 ?? 
 
 60.481 
 
( 408 ) 
 
 Thence distance m.ch.li. ascent f. 
 
 " store house lower 
 
 landing, 80.60 10.72.50 " 63.48i 
 
 " Falley's mill pond, 24,90 11.17.40 " 74.36i 
 
 Foot of dam, 68.86 
 
 " foot of falls, 59.10 11.76.46)" 91.311 
 
 " head of do. J" 101.14 
 
 " gov'mt. store house 12 J6 12.08.90 " 101.20 
 " Lyons' store &whf. 21.85 12.30.75 " 101.45i 
 " Horse-shoe rift, 420.00 17.50.75 " 163.101 
 " head of do. 22.20 17.72.95 " 103.56| 
 
 " footof Smooth rock, 86.20 18.79.15 " 103.961 
 " head of do. 30.50 19.29.65 " 105.591 
 
 " footThree river bar, 90.55 20.40.20 " 105.931 
 " foot Three river rift, 52.85 21.13.05 " 107.10f 
 " head of do. 35.40 21.48.45 " 112.231 
 
 " foot of Knockemstiff, 56.50 22.24.90 " 112.791 
 " Drurybar, 41.80 22.68.70 " 113.241 
 
 " foot Gaston's rift, 109.00 24.17.70 " 113.541 
 " head of do. 34.40 24.52.10 " 115.48f 
 
 " out-let of Onondaga 
 
 lake, say 6 miles, 30.52.10 " ll6.68f 
 
 " from Seneca river to Onon. 
 
 lake, thro' out-let, 58 chs. 31.30.10 " 118.9lf 
 Bottom of Salina branch, 151. 9lf 
 
 Topwater line in do. 155.91 f 
 
 These ascents I have divided as follows : 
 
 m.ch.lio 
 No. 1. Comprehending the Oswego rift, 
 
 ascent, 14 751 dist. 1.27.40 
 To surmount this rapid, it is proposed to build a dam 
 across the Oswego river, which shall flow the water 
 back upon the succession of rapids connected with the 
 Horse-race and Little Smooth rock rapids. It will be 
 necessary to raise this so high as to obtain twenty feet 
 of ascent from the lake level, and one foot and a half 
 additional, to cover the rift at the foot of the next lock, 
 which will be on the face of the rift in 2^ feet water; 
 this is necessary to assist the navigation from the above 
 lock. From the eastern end of the abovementioned 
 
( 409 ) 
 
 dam, it will be necessary to cut a canal fifty-one chains 
 long, on the bank of the river, in about 3.ijO, cutting to 
 a site for a lock of 10 feet lift, thence three chains to 
 the river, into which it will be necessary to drop, and 
 continue the canal down the stream, nine chains, by a 
 side wall next the shore, to where the first lock of ten 
 feet lift will probably be placed. 
 
 Estimate. 
 
 Dam of stone, ( including all necessary "| 
 720 feet long J 
 50 feet base, 
 12.50 high, 
 
 \ 13.S36 
 
 1,000 
 2,321 28 
 
 88 
 
 487 
 
 20,000 
 
 3,200 
 
 $40,645 II 
 3,240 
 
 675 
 
 timber, plank, gravel 
 ling, &c. 1 3.636 perches 
 .. - latjgil. 
 Landing and attaching said dam to shores, 
 Proposed canal (perhaps rocky) 51 chs. 
 
 3ifeet, cutting 14.508 yds. at 16 cts. 
 Excavation, 3 chains, average 5 feet, cut- 
 ting (rock) 1301 yds. 37-|- cts. 
 Two locks, each 10 feet lift. 
 Guard lock, 6 feet rise. 
 
 Side wall, 3240 perches, at $1, 
 Embankments, 9 chains, 300 yds. per chain 
 
 2700 yds. ^V 
 
 S44, 560 16 
 No. 2. This section will extend from the head of Os- 
 wego rift to the head of Horse-race, ascent 23.3 1|, dis- 
 tance 2 miles 19 chains. 
 
 Of this ascent, 5.25 will have been accounted for by 
 the improvements on the head of Oswego rift. It will 
 be necessary, for the improvement of the remainder 18.7 
 feet, to place a dam and lock near tli« Little Smooth 
 rock rift, and another at such distance above this rift, 
 as the ascent will demand. 
 
 These will estimate as follows : 
 1 dam, 12 feet high 
 600 " long 
 50 " base ^ 
 
 53 
 
 10,908 perches 
 at^l, 
 
 g 10,908 
 
( 410 ) 
 
 1 do. 12 " high ) 
 
 600 " long } 10,9 08 do. do. 10,908 
 50 " base) 
 1 Lock, 9 feet lift, 9,000 
 
 1 do. 9.07 do. 9,070 
 Landing and attaching dams to the shores, 2,000 
 
 2 Guard locks, gates, &c. 6 feet high, 6,400 
 
 ;g48„278 
 No. 3. Extends from head of Horse-race to head of 
 Smooth rock, and contains the following rapids in suc- 
 cession. 
 
 Rapids below Six mile rift, no particu- 
 lar name, 5.174^ 
 Six mile rift, 3.03i 
 Devil's Horn rift, 6.54|- 
 Smooth rock, 2,55i 
 
 17.31 ascent. 
 To overcome these rapids, erect a dam and lock at 
 any place most convenient, probably about 12 chains 
 above the head of the Horse-race, at the head of a short 
 stretch of still water, and another at the foot of Devil's 
 Horn. 
 
 Estimate. 
 
 1 Dam, in 4 feet water ^ 
 
 600 ^^^^ bng [ ^^'^^^ perches, ^10,908 
 50 " base J 
 
 Attaching same to shores, 1,000 
 Dam at footof Devil's Horn, 12.31 high,(in 3,00 
 
 water) 600 feet long, , 11,190 
 
 Attaching and landing same to shores, 1,000 
 
 2 Locks 8 feet and 9.31 feet lift, • 17,310 
 2 Guard locks, 6 feet high, 6,400 
 
 ;g!46,800 
 
 No. 4. This division commences at still water, above 
 
 Smooth rock rift, and extends to the foot of Oswego 
 
( 411 ) 
 
 Falls rapid, covering no other obstruction than Brad- 
 dock's rift. This rift may be surmounted in four differ- 
 ent ways. 
 
 Ist. By a dam thrown across the north part of Brad- 
 dock's Island, and a look to let into the river, as des- 
 cribed of most of these below. 
 
 2d. By a dam placed across at the centre of the 
 island, and a canal across the elbow, formed by the 
 bend of the river from this place, with a lock inland. 
 
 3d. By a dam as last above mentioned, only across 
 the western branch of the river, and a river lock, assist- 
 ed by a wing dam from the southerly point of the island, 
 to the north end of the island, which stands on the head 
 of the rift, and which forms a part of the wing dam in 
 the occupation of Man 
 
 or 
 
 4th. By a dam thrown across the river, about 6 chains 
 below the island, when the river is compressed to about 
 6 chains width ; at this place, the dam would stand in 
 about 9 feet water. 
 
 The expense attending either of the above methods 
 would probably be the same. 
 
 Estimate, on 1st plan only. 
 
 Dam, 600 — deduct for assistance gained 
 from the position of the island, 60, is 540 
 in 4 feet water, will be 9 feet high, 7,364 
 
 Attaching to shores, 1 ,000 
 
 Lock 5 feet lift, 5,000 
 
 Excavation necessary at head of lift, to 
 construct a channel, 2.50 chs. long, 30 
 feet wide, 1.50 deep in rock, 275 yds. 
 at $ 1 25 per yard. 348 75 
 
 13,712 75 
 Guard lock, 6 feet high, 3,200 00 
 
 $16,912 95 
 No. 5. From foot of Oswego Falls rapid, extends to 
 James Lyons' wharf, above the falls — ascent 4I.03|^. 
 
( 412 ) 
 
 To surmount this rapid and falls, it will be found ne- 
 cessary to place a lock at or near the foot of the rapids, 
 of 1 3 feet lift ; from which a canal may be constructed 
 to Falley's mill pond — distance chains 105.50. Of this 
 distance 25 chains demand a cutting equal to 7 feet, 
 partly in very steep side lying ground, and the remain- 
 der 80.50 ch. cutting may call for an average of 3^ feet. 
 
 Estimate of first part of section 5. 
 
 Lock, 13 feet lift, 13,000 
 
 Canal, 25 chains, 7 feet cutting, 
 
 16,479 yds. at 18 cts. 2,966 
 
 Do. 80.50 3.50 do. 19.900 do. 14 do. 2,786 
 Guard lock and gate, at Falley's, 
 
 4 feet high, 2,134 
 
 1 Lock at or near Falley's pond, 
 10 feet lift, 
 
 1 do. do. do. free stone quar- 
 ry, 10 feet lift, 
 
 1 do. do. do, foot of Falls, 8.9 28,090 
 
 Side wall next to bank which will 
 be necessary to build, wdthin 
 which canal must be construct- 
 ed — average thickness, 6 {eet ; 
 height, 13 feet; length, 53 chns. 
 312 perches pr. chain, at ;^1 pr. 
 perch, 16,536 
 
 Embankment within and on the 
 same, estimated at 350 cubic 
 yds. pr. ch. 18,550 yds. at 25, 4,637 
 
 20,886 
 
 Wing dam, above the falls, to se- 
 cure a permanent level, 8 chs. 
 long, at ^300 per chain, 24,000 
 
 Guard gate and lock, 6 feet high, 3,200 
 2 road bridges, 300 
 
 49,263 
 
 2,750 
 72,899 
 
( 413 ) 
 
 There will be several places wh^re 
 locks are placed on rifts, at which 
 excavation of rock would be ne- 
 cessary to form a boat channel, as 
 at Braddock's rift, which cannot 
 probably be done for less than 1 ,000 
 
 Summary of Estimates. 
 
 Section No. 1—44,560, 
 
 2—48,286, 
 
 3—47,808, 
 
 1—16,912, 
 
 5_73,899,— Total amount, 231,465 91 
 To which add, for incidental charges, 10 
 
 per cent. 23,146 50 
 
 ^254,612 41 
 There is another made of improving the navigation 
 of this river, which may be fallen on, which would be 
 to make all the locks in land, the dams on the heads of 
 the rifts, and in all cases construct your canal in the 
 bank of the river. This mode might possess some ad- 
 vantages which the other does not — amongst which are 
 the fisheries, and the uninterrupted navigation of the 
 river by rafts, in flood tides, and the lowness of the 
 dams. These are countervailed by the arduous na- 
 ture and processof excavation, in every side lying banks, 
 often times almost perpendicular, and often times rising 
 above the level, 40 50 and 60 feet. The expense of 
 this mode would be much greater than that of the fore- 
 going. In all places where the ^^first method w ould ad- 
 mit of it. I have made calculations on improving by 
 the assistance of short canals, which lessen the ex- 
 pense in such places ; but in every other adjoining, 
 the expense would be greatly increased. But it ap- 
 pears to me, that the most judicious mode of making 
 a navigable communication from Oswego to Oswego 
 Falls is, to construct a canal through the county, on one 
 side or the other of the river, taking the level of the 
 falls for the basis of the work. 
 
( 414 ) 
 
 In doing this, I think the priifie difficulty will be to 
 get separated from the river. This circumstance,though 
 arduous, is not insurmountable, ft may be done by a 
 mound of stone work and embankment against the bank 
 of the river, keeping up to the level of the water above 
 the falls, till we arrive at a point near Falley's Pond, 
 say about six chains south of it, from whence we may 
 take the natural ground, embracing any cutting which 
 may be thought best.— From this point, and on this 
 summit, the neighbourhood of Oswego village may be 
 attained, near to which it will be necessary to drop 
 down three locks, of ten or eleven feet lift. Being fully 
 of opinion that this course is practicable, I beg leave to 
 present you a probable result of the undertaking. 
 Stone wall and bulwark from falls, 52 chains, 
 
 at ^530 per 27,560 
 
 Embankment of earth on and within wall, 
 
 1,100 yds. pr. ch. 57,200 yds. at -^|| per yd. 14,300 
 Wing wall above falls, 2.400 
 
 Guard lock, 6 feet high, 3,200 
 
 Excavation, say, 11 miles, 3 1-2 feet cutting, 
 supposing a canal to be constructed 28 feet 
 at bottom ; to contain 4 feet of water, and 
 to measure 40 feet in width or surface of 
 the water, 217,333 y'ds. at 14 cts. is 30,426 
 
 Embankment, say one mile, at an average of 
 one foot below bottom, 61,461 cubic y'ds. 
 a,o'^th, 13,615 
 
 G rubbing, 1 -A miles, at % 1 600 pr. mile, 1 9,290 
 
 Culverts, say 6, at ^300 per each, 1,800 
 
 Road bridges, 4, at ^50, 1,400 
 
 Aqueduct over Black creek, stone piers, 6,000 
 
 Locks, 3 of 10 feet lift, 30,000 
 
 Fencing, 12 miles, ^320 per mile, 3,040 
 
 Damages to owners of land, (certainly noth- 
 ing j but say, 1,000 
 
 154,741 
 To which may be added 10 per cent, for 
 
 contingent expenditures, 15,474 
 
 ^170,215 — 
 
( 415 ) 
 
 In the foregoing estimate, I have extended the im- 
 provements to within about 80 rods of sloop and 
 schooner navigation, in the harbour of Oswego, leave it 
 then in a basin, which should remain until time shall 
 demonstrate the propriety of locking down to the lake. 
 The remaining lockage will be 71.45 feet, which can be 
 overcome for 71,500 dollars. 
 
 Having given such examination, &c. of the position 
 of this river, below the falls, permit me to offer the 
 examination from the falls southward to the Onondaga 
 lake. 
 
 From Lyon's wharf, southwardly, no improvement is 
 necessary, till we have ascended the river to the Horse- 
 shoe rift, 5 miles 20 chains. This is a small rapid, in 
 length about four chains, on which is an ascent of less 
 than 6 inches. This, of itself, might be improved for a 
 trifling sum, say 250 dollars, by cutting through the bar 
 in such manner as to give a passage for boats ; but it 
 would perhaps be policy to connect the improvements 
 on this with the succeeding rifts : at this place a dam, 
 including all necessary land work, would be about 400 
 feet long, and if built 10 feet high, would cover all the 
 rifts north of Three river point. The only objection 
 which presents itself to this course, is the destruction of 
 about 300 acres low land, which would be flooded by 
 this dam, and consequent unhealthiness. 
 
 Estimate. 
 
 Dam, 400 feet long, 14 feet average height, 8,484 
 Lock, 10 feet lift, 10,000 
 
 Guard walls and gate, 8 feet high, 4,266 
 
 Loss of land by floods, 1 ,200 
 
 Incidental expenditures, at 10 per cent. 2,305 
 
 ^26,345 
 
 Should the objections above mentioned, or others, 
 
 do away this method of improving these rifts, they 
 
 might be improved by a dam at foot of Smooth rock, 
 
 and a lock of about 4 feet lift ; and a dam at foot of 
 
( 416 ) 
 
 Three river rift, with a lock of about 7 feet lift, each 
 of which would require the necessary increase of walls, 
 to guard against floods. If the difficulty which almost 
 uniformly presents itself along this stream, of depart- 
 ing from it, did not prevent, it would be a useful plan 
 to dam on the head of Knockemstiff rift, and canal 
 round them to the river below the Horse-shoe, a dis- 
 tance of about five miles. This, could it be done by 
 a dam of three feet in height, would supersede the 
 necessity of improvement on the Gaston's rifts, which 
 present themselves next above Drury's bar. 
 
 Drury's bar of itself hardly presents an obstruction; 
 but should improvements below not do away the small 
 amount of evil attending it, should judge that a pas- 
 sage through it might be obtained for an expense of 
 150 dollars. 
 
 It is highly probable that almost any mode of im- 
 proving the rifts below Three river point, will have a 
 particular effect on the Gastons rift. This is a fall of 
 one foot 95-100; but as no certain calculation can be 
 made on that effect — will estimate on the common 
 mode of dam and lock. 
 
 Dam 500 feet long, 8 feet high, 40 feet bar, g! 4,848 
 Lock 2 feet, 2,000 
 
 Guard lock, 3,200 
 
 10,048 
 The next and last improvement, except those which 
 may be made to connect the Salina branch with Onon- 
 daga lake, is the outlet of the Onondaga lake—Distant 
 from Gaston's rift, 6 miles. This outlet now affords 
 about 14 inches of water, and is a continued rapid 
 from the Onondaga lake, through two-thirds of itis 
 length, which is fifty-eight chains. The ascent through 
 this outlet is two feet and twenty-three hundredths. 
 To improve this part of the navigation, I would beg 
 leave to propose the lowering of the Onondaga lake, 
 to a level with the surface of the Seneca river ; this 
 may be done by a canal cut in a straight direction be- 
 tween the lake and river, of such depth as to hold four 
 
( 417 ) 
 
 feet water; this would give an average of cutting of, 
 six feet and fifty hundredths, and the length would be 
 about fifty-three or fifty-four chains. 
 
 Estimate. 
 
 Excavation, .'ji chains, 6.50 deep, 32.389 yds. 
 
 I6cts. 5.181 
 
 Grubbing „ „ 1 5 dols. pr. ch. 810 
 
 5.991 
 
 Estimate by dam and lock. 
 
 Dam 200 feet long, 2,182 
 
 Lock 2i feet lift, at $ 1 200 per foot, 3,000 
 
 Canal 4 feet cutting, 54chs. 2,552 
 
 Grubbing, 810 
 
 8,514 
 The improvement by the first of these methods 
 will be best, on several accounts. The low lands round 
 the margin of this lake, will be in some measure re- 
 claimed by the process. — the salt springs be less in- 
 commoded with fresh water, and the neighbourhood of 
 Salina rendered more healthy. There are those who 
 object to lowering the lake, and propose to improve by 
 scraping out the present channel ; this method cannot 
 avail much, as the channel is of sufficient width to draw 
 off the lake, and therefore all that is taken out above 
 the level of Seneca river, will not probably deepen the 
 water in the channel of the outlet. 
 
 General Estimate. 
 
 From Oswego to Oswego falls, by dams 
 
 and locks, ^254,612 41 
 
 From Oswego falls to the head of Gas- 
 ton's rift, 36,393 00 
 Outlet of Onondaga lake, 8.514 00 
 
 ^209,519 41 
 
 54 
 
( 418 ) 
 
 Improvement from Oswego to Oswego 
 
 falls by canal and locks, 170,215 00 
 
 From Falls to head of Gaston, as above, 36,393 00 
 
 Outlet of Onondaga lake, 5,991 00 
 
 212,599 00 
 Remarks. — I have found the general depth of the 
 still water in the Oswego and Seneca rivers, to be 
 7 to 9 feet and in a few instances 10 feet and from mea- 
 surements taken at many places. I find the spring floods 
 to have risen 6, 7 and 8 feet above the water, as it was 
 when I took the necessary examinations; from which 
 has arisen the charge of j^uard locks to many of the 
 dams in the estimates. I also found that the water 
 (flood)in its passage down the rifts, generally did not 
 rise to that height, but from the velocity of current on 
 these inclined planes, and in some instances from ex- 
 panded surfaces, the rise on them was from 3 to 4 feet. 
 The effect of dams at the foot of these rapids, and on 
 their faces, would be to create an almost equal rise of 
 the floods on the whole of the river, which I have esti- 
 mated at 6 feet as the lowestand least possible gene- 
 ral rise — yet I have no doubt but in some instances 
 more will be necessary, The depth of the water at 
 the head of, and on the faces of the several rifts. 
 is 1.50 2. 2.50 feet; of consequence, in many places 
 excavations in rock, with the disadvantages of being 
 under water, will undoubtedly be necessary, or an in- 
 creased height of dam. In the estimate of locks on 
 the Oswego falls rift, some expense might probably be 
 saved by increasing the number of locks, and lessening 
 the quantum of lift; this measure would reduce the 
 height and length of the the side walls. In my esti- 
 mate of dams, 1 have given, a computation of such 
 as I conceived to be most permanent, and took for the 
 basis of my calculation, the dam at Oriskany, enlarging 
 mine to meet some of the contingencies which may be- 
 fal them from a vastly greater pressure of flood than 
 can ever force itself on the dam on that stream; but 
 at the same time, am well assured that dams of a less 
 
( 419 ) 
 
 durable fabric may be built, and are actually erected 
 under the auspices of mill owners, which answer the 
 purposes for which they are intended, but are continu- 
 ally calling for repairs under the inspection of vigi- 
 lant proprietors. This kind of dam is so foreign from 
 the idea of permanent improvement, that I shall not 
 trouble you with an estimate of, it. 
 
 Should the river navigation require a towing path 
 to be constructed on the bank, the additional expense 
 would be about ten hundred dollars per mile, or in 
 the aggregate 12,000 dollars; the nature and situation 
 of the banks often times rising almost perpendicularly 
 from the waters edge to the height of 60 or 70 feet 
 above the surface of the water, renders the project 
 arduous ; and the rise of the floods inconvenient, for 
 in all cases it must be at least 6 feet elevated above 
 common water, to enable the navigator to avoid the 
 rise of the above described spring freshets. 
 
 I cannot close these remarks, without giving some 
 information relative to the fisheries, which present 
 themselves on the rifts of both rivers. From informa- 
 tion, the correctness of which I have no reason to doubt, 
 the weirs and fisheries of different kinds on the Oswego 
 Falls rift, alone, produce about 1,000 barrels of eels 
 annually, independent of other fish, which may be 
 estimated at half that quantity. On almost all the rifts, 
 there are more or less of these devices erected, and in 
 the proper season, kept in repair and closely attended 
 to. The price of a barrel of eels, at its lowest estimate, 
 is ^10, other fish are probably worth more, but say ten ; 
 and we have for an estimate, fifteen thousand dollars as 
 the produce of the Oswego Falls rift, this rift occupies 
 a length of a little more than two miles ; then I conceive 
 that it will not be an aggravated estimate, to say, that 
 all the remaining rifts will produce another fifteen 
 thousand dollars. The nett profits arising from this 
 branch of business, I have no means of calculating. 
 Those rifts and the fisheries erected on them, except 
 at Oswego Falls, will be overwhelmed by the process 
 of damming and locking the river, and many who now 
 
( 420 ) 
 
 draw much of their support from that source, will ip 
 consequence be deprived of their usual means. It is 
 said, and with truth, that this employment is not of the 
 brilliant national use, which is attached to agriculture, 
 but still those employed in it are citizens and men, and 
 fill a niche in the general estimate; deprive them of this 
 resource, and they will not become husbandmen ; they 
 will remain what they were — fishermen, or become 
 something worse. They have elected to rake the 
 waters for their supplies, and their surplus, they barter 
 with the farmer for their bread, who is glad to make the 
 exchange, rather than break in upon his profession to 
 catch fish. 
 
 In the first method of improving Oswego Falls, the 
 process pointed out will apply, without much difference 
 of description or expense, to either side. The canal 
 proposed, is calculated for the eastern side of the river. 
 It may be made on either side ; but I think the approach 
 on the west side, to the harbor of Oswego, somewhat 
 more difficult, and the embankment would probably be 
 more expensive. 
 
 In my plans, I have not laid down any part of the 
 river above the Oswego Falls, where there is no necessity 
 of improvement ; having pursued this course, it became 
 difficult to draw a connecting plan of the outlet of 
 Onondaga lake. I hope that no disadvantage will 
 result from it. 
 
 I am respectfully, 
 
 Your obd't. servant. 
 
 DAVID S. BATES. 
 January 7, ] 820, 
 
( 421 ) 
 IN ASSEMBLY, FEB. 28, 1820. 
 
 Report Relative to Buffalo Harbour. — To the Canal Com- 
 missioners. 
 
 The depth of water in Buffalo creek is sufficient for 
 a harbour. In taking soundings almost up to the ferry, 
 (which is one mile from the entrance) the least depth 
 observed was 1 1 feet, and this only in two places ; but 
 the common depth up this stream, is from 12 to 14 feet. 
 About 50 rods above the mouth of Little Buffalo, we 
 found 17 feet, and a few rods within that part of the 
 entrance which is obstructed by sand, we found 19 feet. 
 No injury to this channel need be apprehended from 
 depositions of either sand or mud. 
 
 The breadth of this creek, just above little Buffalo, 
 is full 16 rods ; but thirty five rods above the breadth 
 is only 12 rods; and the calculation of two triangles, 
 taken further up the stream at the respective distances 
 of forty and seventy rods, gave no material difference. 
 From its uniform appearance, we deemed it unneces- 
 sary to make any further examination but credible 
 persons assert that the apparent breadth and depth of 
 this creek, continue for more than two miles. 
 
 The shore is bold, and very little of the channel need 
 be occupied by wharves 
 
 It appears that after freshets in this stream, the 
 entrance is deepened from 12 to 15 feet; but the com- 
 mon current is so sluggish as to permit the first gale to 
 drive sand and gravel into it, from the south. As the 
 obstruction to navigation only originates from this sim- 
 ple cause, a remedy equally simple, will be sufficient, 
 and may be found in a pier or mole, as heretofore pro- 
 posed by Wm. Peacock. I think however, that both 
 its position and construction should be different. 
 
 I would propose tc coL^mence it at the light-house be- 
 cause there is no firm ground further north, and the 
 
( 422 ) 
 
 work ought to be secured in the rear. Thus, if we be- 
 gan half way down the point, (which is only a loose bed 
 of sand and gravel,) Buffalo creek might break through 
 between the pier and the light-house. On the contrary, 
 if we commence it above that building, the entrance of 
 the creek will be less protected from northwesterly 
 storms : and this view will be important, whether we 
 consider the entering of vessels or the drifting of sand 
 into the channel. It appears that the direction of the 
 gale shapes the gravel point, as its course on W. Pea- 
 cock's map, varies considerably from its present posi- 
 tion. 
 
 The reason given for locating the pier above the light 
 house, was founded in misapprehension. There is no 
 appearance of sand or gravel having ever been brought 
 down by Buffalo creek. 
 
 In respect to the construction, I have doubts whe- 
 ther loose stone in a pile, would withstand the violence 
 of the lake. A gentleman of observation made the fol- 
 lowing remark, in reply to my letter : — From many ex- 
 periments tried at this place, (Pultneyville.) I am sat- 
 isfied that loose stones cannot answer. The force of 
 the waves will remove them, even if very large ; and 
 those of a moderate size will be taken several rods by 
 the under toio.^^ 
 
 One disadvantage of employing driven piles, is, that 
 the top must be as wide as the base. The quantity of 
 materials to construct such a pier, is great in proportion 
 to the strength, for the waves dash with great violence 
 against a perpendicular wall, but where they strike on 
 a slope, the force is neither instantly nor wholly applied. 
 The exposed surface of the timber is also very great, 
 as will be evident from an estimate of all the pieces 
 which are necessary to connect the piles together ; and 
 though the sand would doubtless accumulate so much 
 as to protect it near shore, yet much of the western ex- 
 tremity must decay before it would receive that support. 
 
 Believing these objections to be valid, I would pro- 
 pose that the pier commence at the light-house, and 
 extend north <70 west (nearly in the direction of Tow- 
 
( 423 ) 
 
 son's battery) as far as the sand lies on the bottom, 
 I would recommend that cribs of round logs, be made 
 to occupy the whole of this line, which, when sunk 
 (and filled with gravel) shall only reach to the surface 
 of the water. At the surface, the width should be ten 
 feet, and the base one foot wider for every foot of depth, 
 the slope to be equal on both sides. On the top of 
 this structure I would recommend cribs of similar con- 
 struction, but of good white oak, the sides of which 
 should contract so as to leave only an opening of 3 feet 
 at the height of 6 feet. These should be filled with 
 stone, as the logs are laid, and connected by cross 
 pieces, which being covered by the stone, would render 
 the fabric immoveable. Long flat stones (which may 
 be readily procured) should rest with one end on the 
 upper logs, the other within the frame, slanting down- 
 ward ; and large round stones from the beach, to be 
 moved by tackle, . be placed partly within the frame, 
 like the key stone of an arch. 
 
 The advantage of having a footway on the pier, it is 
 believed will not balance the expense. 
 
 A lamp at the west end of the pier would be very 
 useful to vessels entering in the night ; and as there 
 would be smooth water within the pier, it would al- 
 ways be easy to approach it in a skiff. 
 
 In constructing the larger cribs, two logs of 40 feet 
 in length are first to be laid parallel on the water : close 
 to each end of these, a notch is to be cut on the under 
 side, to receive two small logs, thus completing the 
 parallelogram. Through these connecting pieces, and 
 4 feet from the middle toward the ends, holes are bored, 
 into which iron bolts, long enough to reach from the 
 bottom to the surface, must be fastened. As the logs 
 will easily turn in the notches, the bolts can be laid 
 down, and not incommode the workmen. 
 
 On the two long logs, cross ones are laid close, to 
 form a floor, and the building constructed in the usual 
 manner, excepting the slant, though partition logs in 
 the middle, to strengthen the frame, should not be omit- 
 ted. Green timber, being so nearly of the speci- 
 
( 424 ) 
 
 iic gravity of water, the building, as it progresses, 
 will rise but little above the surface, A thick layer 
 of brush with the leaves on, covering the whole floor, 
 should be sunk ; and brush of the same description, 
 should be placed on every side and end log, which, 
 when pressed down by each upper log, will render the 
 whole sand-tight. When holes are bored through the 
 two last end logs, the bolts are raised, passed and 
 keyed, thus confining the whole frame together. Iron, 
 under water in lake Erie, is not injured by rust. 
 
 As soon as the crib is thus prepared, and brought on 
 the spot where it is to be sunk, (it should be built as 
 near as possible,) brush and gravel are filled in, in al- 
 ternate layers : these materials may be procured in 
 the greatest abundance, on the adjoining shore. 
 
 If the last layer be of brush, pressed down by the 
 upper crib, the sand will not be washed out, as the 
 brush which projects inside from the chinks, bending 
 down by the weight of gravel, will" form a thick coat- 
 ing. As the lake rises with every gale, in proportion 
 to the violence will be the depth of water over this part 
 of the pier. The greatest rise of water is about four 
 feet. 
 
 The expense of this construction may be estimated, 
 in the following manner: In 13 feet water, the solid 
 content of a crib would be 8580 feet. Deduct 890 for 
 the partition logs and floor. Then 7690 feet — 60 cords 
 of brush and gravel at $\ 50 per cord, will — ^90. 
 
 It is presumed that this allowance for brush and 
 gravel, will be ample : at a small expense, an apparatus 
 can be constructed in a scow, so as to load the gravel 
 from the beach, and to unload it into the crib by horses 
 and scrapers. 
 
 It has been said that logs will cost 2 cents a foot in 
 length ; but I consider the estimate too high, and 
 believe that it might be obtained for one cent a foot. 
 Computing these logs at 15 inches diameter, each foot 
 in length will be 1.22 cubic: 105 feet would make a 
 cord, and ^1 05 be the price. When timber in this 
 country was not valued, the customary price of firewood 
 
( 425 ) 
 
 was 1^1 per cord, though it was drawn two miles, but in 
 these logs, much cutting, necessary in cord wood, is 
 saved, and all the labour of cording. 
 
 Assuming that each log, with the chink, will raise 
 the sides 1 8 inches, we will have for both sides, 1 8 logs, 
 40 feet long — 720. For the ends and middle, 2i logs, 
 averaging 16-1- feet in length ; 2() logs, 2.3 feet long, for 
 the floor; the two bottom logs, which will probably 
 settle in the sand, with the two bolt pieces. 
 In all, 1840 feet. $lli 40 
 
 Bolt iron, 56 ft. in length, 1 
 
 Labour of building the crib, common 
 
 ax-men only being required, 10 
 
 Filling with gravel, as above, 90 
 
 ^128 40 
 
 The upper part of the pier will require a separate 
 calculation. 
 
 8 logs for the sides, each 40 feet long, 320 
 20 cross logs, average 8 feet long, 160 
 
 480—^4 80 
 The labout, no bolts required, 5 
 
 The solid content of this part, calling the perpen- 
 dicular height 8 feet, will be 1600, which (deducting 
 nothing for cross pieces) — 121^ cords at $'3 — 37. .30. 
 
 Stone of a good shape may be procured at the reefs, 
 (which lie towards Fqtrt Erie,) more easily than at 
 Bird Island, as the distance as well as the current, is 
 considerably less. Stone may also be got from the 
 beach about two miles up the lake. It is deemed that 
 $3 per cord is a suffirient allowance, as the high prices 
 heretofore obtained at Buffalo, for materials and la- 
 bour, is nearly at a close. An allowance for placing 
 the upper stones, however, would be proper, and the 
 whole expense of this part may be estimated at f^50 
 for 40 feet of pier in length. 
 
 The average depth of the soundings, taken by or- 
 der of Joseph Ellicott, *very near this line, was 7 feet. 
 From several calculations of the expense of construct- 
 ing such a pier, in water of difTerent depths, I found 
 
 5.5 
 
( 426 ) 
 
 the increase or decrease not to vary more than from 
 25 to 30 cents a foot. 
 
 The estimate made of 7 feet Water may, therefore be 
 taken as the average •• Thus 
 
 Solid content of the crib, 3780 feet 
 
 Deduct for partition and floor. 605 re- 
 
 mains 3175 say 25 cords, at $1 50, ^37 50 
 
 The side logs, (as the bottom will raise it one 
 foot) will be 8 of 40 ft. ^3 20 
 
 The floor of 26 logs, in 17 ft. long, 4 42 
 
 For the ends and partition, 12 logs-, 13^^ 
 
 leet long, 1 62 
 
 Bottom log, with cross pieces. 1 14 
 
 In all, 10, 38 ^10 38 
 
 Iron bolts, 6 
 
 Labour of building, 6 
 
 59 88 
 Add for the upper story, including the filling, 50 
 
 Call the amount ^1 10 for 40 feet, and we have $2 75 
 per foot for the average. 
 
 The pier ought to extend 1150 feet--g;3l62 50, with- 
 out any estimate for superintendence, which, with the 
 proper allowance for contingencies, is submitted to the 
 consideration of the commissioners. 
 
 It is very important that the cross logs of the upper 
 frame be variously placed, so that no one be placed 
 immediately over another, in order that the stones 
 may lie on these pieces, and render the whole immove- 
 able. 
 
 If doubts of the permanence of this part should arise, 
 more cross timbers on the first log may be added, and 
 by plank or small timbers on these, the whole weight 
 of stone may be applied. The top cross pieces, at the 
 ends of the frame, may also be fastened by upright 
 scantling to the partition logs of the lower story ; but 
 without this, I think it will be sufiiciently fixed. 
 
 No injury to the pier from ice is apprehended: 
 loose ice in great quantities is collected near the shore. 
 
( 427 ) 
 
 but the force of the waves in jjeavy gales, extends but 
 a short distance among these floating blocks. 
 
 The current of the lake west af Buffalo creek, has 
 been estimated from 1|^ to 2 miles an hour. 
 
 1 also received the following propositions : 
 
 1. To make the harbour at Black Rock. For this pur- 
 pose, it was proposed to erect a dam across that part 
 of the Nifigara river, which flows on the side of Squaw- 
 island. The breadth is estimated at 80 rods, and the 
 depth at 12 feet. As this island is low, an ambankment 
 would be necessary the whole length ; and at its upper 
 point, a pier was proposed, to extend about 30* rods 
 from the east shore, up into lake Erie. The whole 
 length of this work would be about a mile and a half. 
 
 In gales of great violence, it would be much easier 
 for the vessels to enter this harbour, than the proposed 
 one at Buffalo. The objections which arise to this plan, 
 however, are not trivial. The expense alone, in the 
 present state of things, would be sufficient to discou- 
 rage the attempt ; for as the descent of water in this 
 distance is not less than 4 feet 10 inches, we would 
 have nearly 17 feet for the height of the dam, which, 
 together with the pier, should be water tight, so as to 
 overcome the rapids at Black Rock. 
 
 The general current of the winds is down the lake, 
 which vessels ready to sail almost continually experi- 
 ence ; and the narrowness of the channel would prevent 
 them from beating against it. 
 
 In case of hostilities with the British, so long as they 
 possess the opposite shore, this harbour would be use- 
 less. A retrospect of the last war will show that this 
 objection is not frivolous ; and, however much we may 
 deprecate such a state, the possibility will continue to 
 exist. 
 
 It is also asserted by creditable persons who have 
 long resided near the spot, that no pier could be made 
 to withstand the ice a single season ; and when we re- 
 flect that it comes into the river in large masses, down 
 which it is impetuously hurried, we may well admit the 
 danger. 
 
 ■^ 
 
( 428 ) 
 
 By this plan, however,, it was proposed to shorten 
 the canal, and render a,nf further excavation unneces- 
 sary. 
 
 2. To form a Harbour in the Lake, where the main 
 street of Buffalo, intersects the beach. 
 
 It was proposed to build a pier in a westerly direc- 
 tion, until as ufficient depth of Mater was attained, and 
 then to extend it northerly, nearly parallel to the shore. 
 
 At 20 rods from shore, about 8 feet water has been 
 found, but to give sulficient room, three times that dis- 
 tance,was mentioned. 
 
 I have not discovered any advantage in this plan. 
 The expense must be much greater than to shelter the 
 entrance of Buffalo creek; neither do I consider the 
 low ground near that place, an eligible site for a dense 
 population. 
 
 3. To excavate the neck of land near the ferry, and enter 
 Bnffulo creeJc from the lake along the slip. 
 
 In adopting this, we should neglect every natural ad- 
 vantage, and incur great and unnecessary expense. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 1 subjoin an estimate of the expense of constructing 
 the pier, in w hich an increase of price is assumed for 
 such items as may possibly require it. 
 
 W. Peacock's price for brush was % 1 per cord ; If 
 half the lower story be filled with this, we have %2 per 
 cord for gravel — to 43 cents per cubic yard. No in- 
 crease required. 
 For the lower story — 
 
 25 cords of brush and gravel, 
 
 1038 feet of logs at 1^ cents, 
 
 Iron, 
 
 Labour, 
 For the upper story, 
 
 \'2\ cords of stone at ^4, 
 
 480 feet of logs, at 2 cents. 
 
 Labour, 
 
 40)137 10 
 
 ;gS37 
 
 50 
 
 15 
 
 50 
 
 6 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 9 
 
 60 
 
 7 
 
 50 
 
( 429 ) 
 
 Average per foot in length j§3 42 
 
 Then 1150 feet at $3 42 ;^3,933 
 
 Allow for securing the line on the 
 beach, between the light house 
 and the lake, 67 
 
 And the whole expense of the pier, 
 
 excepting superintendence, 1^4000 
 
 The enclosed sketch is copied from W. Peacock's 
 
 map, and will show the two different sites on which it 
 
 has been p^:oposed to erect the pier. 
 
 DAVID THOMAS, 
 10 mo. 15, 1819. 
 
 JInnual Report of the Canal Commissioners of the State of 
 JVew-York, presented to the Legislature, 12th March^ 
 1821. 
 
 To the Legislature of the State of JYew- York, pursuant to 
 the act, entitled, " Jin act respecting navigable communica- 
 tions, between the great Western and JYorthern Lakes, and 
 the Atlantic Ocean,'''' passed April 1 5th, 1817 the Canal 
 Commissioners most respectfully * 
 
 Report ; — 
 
 That the construction of the great works submitted 
 to their superintendence, has advanced, during the past 
 season^ with greater economy than any antecedent ex- 
 perience had led them to expect. The want of money 
 in the country, and the growing reputation of the un- 
 dertakings, have greatly increased the number of res- 
 ponsible competitors for contracts; of which the natural 
 effect has been, a reduction, in the price of almost every 
 kind of labour required on the canals ; And this effect 
 has been further promoted, by the abundant stores of 
 grain and provisions, in the interior of the state, for 
 which there has been no foreign demand. 
 
( 430 ) 
 
 While the labour of opening, both the Eastern and 
 Western sections of the Erie canal, has been prosecut- 
 ed, with undiminished energy, and, under contracts re- 
 duced from thirty to forty per cent, below former prices, 
 the Canal Commissioners, since their last report, have 
 had new and more minute surveys extended through 
 nearly all the country, between the Genesee river and 
 Lake Erie, and between Utica and the Hudson, with a 
 view to the most eligible establishment of the canal 
 route. The surveys, made in the year 1816, by En- 
 gineers Geddes and Peacock, furnished us with a full 
 conviction of the practicability of effecting a navigable 
 communication, between Lake Erie and the Genesee 
 river, and enabled us to form a probable estimate of the 
 expense. But those surveys indicated two passages, 
 through either of which the canal might be carried, 
 leaving it to be determined, by subsequent more par- 
 ticular examinations, which of the two should be pre- 
 ferred. 
 
 The most southerly of these passages, had the ad- 
 vantage, of a location more through the centre of our 
 western settlements — of being several miles shorter — 
 and requiring less expenditure, in the construction of 
 the canal, than the other, according to our estimates, 
 of upwards of ^300,000. But pursuing that passage 
 the canal must be raised about seventy-five feet above 
 the surface of Lake Erie, which would, of course, de- 
 prive us of feeding it, with water, from that inexhaustible 
 source. And a fear was entertained, from the begin- 
 ning, of an ultimate deficiency of water, in that passage, 
 if it should be adopted. For the purpose of ascertain- 
 ing, whether such a fear w^as groundless or not, we 
 have had the various springs and streams, which might 
 be conducted into the summit level of the canal, on 
 that route, guaged ; and have considered the surface 
 and character of the country, from which the rains 
 would naturally drain into that level. And the result 
 has been a unanimous conviction, in our minds, that the 
 fear is but too well grounded. 
 
 The estimates of water to be obtained, in the present 
 
( 431 ) 
 
 condition of the country, for that summit level, if it 
 could be all saved, does not appear deficient; and 
 these estimates were made, upon the state of the wa- 
 ters, in a period of drought. But, since the Middle 
 Section of the canal has been filled, we have found, 
 that more water has been wasted, in it, by evaporation, 
 soakage, and leakage, than we had anticipated. And 
 this discovery we deem, ia itself, sufficient to settle the 
 question, between the two routes. But there are other 
 considerations, by no means to be overlooked, in rela- 
 tion to this question. 
 
 The country from which water may be had, for the 
 southern route, rises as it stretches south of the canal, 
 but very gently, and the distance is not far, before it has 
 a greater declivity, in other directions, than towards 
 the canal : and much of it is yet uncleared. Now all 
 experierce shows, that it would be unsafe to calculate, 
 that the springs and streams of a new country, will not 
 grow more penurious of their waters in proportion as 
 ' the forests are felled and removed, and the earth is sub- 
 jected to cultivation. 
 
 The vegetable matter, which constitutes the soil, of all 
 lands thickly covered with wood in their natural state 
 operates, like a sponge, to retain the waters with which 
 it may be filled ; and the surplus waters, which may 
 fall upon such lands, collect, in the natural basins up- 
 on their surface, serving as reservoirs for the numerous 
 Springs, which break out below; or they slowly pass off 
 in streams obstructed by trunks of trees, and other ru- 
 ins of the forest. But when the hand of vigorous and 
 judicious agriculture is once introduced, the aspect of 
 such lands, is very soon altered. The quantity of wa- 
 ter retained upon the surface is diminished, — by letting 
 in the sun upon the soil, — by draining the swamps, — - 
 and by removing the obstructions from the streams. 
 With the progress of cultivation many springs wholly 
 disappear, others are esentially lessened, and the larger 
 streams become little brooks ; except during the actual 
 continuance of a great thaw or a heavy rain. When- 
 ever these occur, the floods are rendered greater by 
 
( 432 ) 
 
 cultivation, than they were before; because much less 
 water is absorbed, bj the surface of cleared fields than 
 of wood lands in their natural state : and, because all 
 the water not absorbed, finds a much less impeded 
 passage, into the channels of the streams. But if the 
 waters rise, suddenly, on such occasions, in the streams 
 of a cultivated country, they as soon subside. And 
 many a farm in our state, which to the new settler, when 
 he first took possession of it, appeared objectionable 
 for being too wet for his purposes, an experience of 
 twenty years has shown to be much more objectiona- 
 ble for being too dry 
 
 Impressed with these considerations, we have con- 
 eluded that prudence would not permit us to adopt 
 any route west of the Genesee river, which should rise 
 above the level of Lake Erie. The most northerly 
 route indicated, on the engraved map of i 817, does not 
 rise above that level. To that route, therefore, during 
 the last year, our attention has been specially directed. 
 And we. have constantly employed David Thomas as 
 engineer, with all the necessary assistants, upon it, from 
 May to late in November. The results of the exami- 
 nation made by this party, have been much to our gra- 
 tification, for they have confirmed our former most fa- 
 vourable impressions, after having been produced with 
 great care, diligence, and skill 
 
 The survey of Mr. Thomas has been extended, from 
 Genesee river to the Tonnewanta creek, a distance of 
 a little more than seventy-two miles, including the deep 
 cutting, through the Mountain ridge. And throughout 
 this survey, the face of the country,— the nature of the 
 earth to be excavated, and the character of the streams 
 to be passed, are all so well understood, that the canal- 
 line may be speedily prepared for the contractor. 
 
 From the Genesee river easterly, there are fifty-one 
 miles and a quarter, of the canal line, either completed, 
 or under contract, including the whole distance from, 
 that river to Montezuma, except about nine miles. 
 These nine miles have not heretofore been placed in a 
 condition to be opened, because the appropriations 
 
( 433 ) 
 
 would not warrant entering into engagements with con- 
 tractors for the whole distance between Rochester and 
 Montezuma, and because there is now, contiguous to 
 these nine miles, nearest the latter place, and extending 
 from near one end of them to the other, a circuitous 
 and imperfect navigation by means of the Canandaigua 
 outlet and the Seneca river. With the ample ap- 
 propriations made at the present session of the Legisla- 
 ture, it will be the duty of the Canal Commissioners to 
 complete the canal through these nine miles, with all 
 possible despatch. 
 
 In the fifty-one miles and a quarter, of the canal' line 
 above mentioned, there have been two important devia- 
 tions from the route, which was traced in 1816, both of 
 which are deemed improvements. One of them is in 
 the place of crossing the valley of the Irondequot creek. 
 Here it was found, that instead of establishing the line, 
 so as to require an embankment twenty chains long, on 
 the top, and sixty-five feet, in height, from the bottom 
 of the valley, it might be so located, by carrying it a 
 little further north, as to divide this great embankment, 
 into two parts, both of which, would not contain more 
 cubic yards, than the one required, on the first route 
 And, as the earth in this vicinity consists too exclusively 
 of sand and gravel to be well adapted to embankments, 
 this division was thought judicious, and the new line 
 was adopted. But since its adoption, instead of the 
 largest of the two embankments, we have concluded to 
 substitute an aqueduct of wood. It was found, by 
 calculation, that the construction of this embankment 
 would involve the expenditure of a capital so large, 
 that the interest of it would exceed the sum required to 
 complete the aqueduct together with the interest 
 thereon, computing the interest, in both cases, for the 
 probable duration of the aqueduct. Economy, there- 
 fore, induced us to make the substitute. We had, 
 however, a strong additional inducement to the course, 
 which we adopted ; and this was, the safety of the work 
 after its completion. It has already been mentioned 
 that the quality of the earth near the embankment is 
 
 56 
 
 
( 434 ) 
 
 not fit for use, in it. When, by means of the aqueduct, 
 the canal is rendered navigable, good earth for the 
 embankment, may be economically brought from a 
 distance, in boats ; and the embankment may be con- 
 structed of such materials as will be safe, and at the 
 same time raised and completed in such a way as to 
 cause no interruption in the use of the canal, by the 
 removal of the aqueduct. 
 
 The other alteration consists, in carrying the canal 
 line south of mud-creek, from a point a little west of 
 Palmyra village, to a point a little west of the village 
 of Lyons, the distance, between these two points being 
 about fourteen miles. The line, as explored in 1816, 
 was all the way on the north side of this creek. But 
 the new route is recommended, by its shortening the 
 length of the canal two miles and fifty-two chains, by 
 its being less expensive, and by its passing through 
 earth more suitable for ensuring the canal against in- 
 jurious accidents, when it shall be filled with water. 
 This new route was examined, and found eligible, by 
 Nathan S. Roberts, Esquire, one of our Resident Engi- 
 neers, whose vigilance and industry deserves much 
 praise ; though in justice to the sagacity of Judge Ged- 
 des, the Engineer who explored the western section of 
 the Erie canal, with so much perseverance and good 
 judgement, in 1816, it ought not to be forgotten, that he 
 suggested the propriety of surveying this new route. 
 
 The contracts west of the Middle section, besides 
 grubbing and clearing, excavation, embankment and 
 fencing, provide for the construction of the following 
 more artificial works, to wit : — 
 
 Fifteen locks of various lifts, but which, in the aggregate 
 furnish the means of ascending or descending, one 
 hundred and eighteen feet. One of these locks is 
 nearly completed in the handsomest and most sub- 
 stantial manner; and the materials for all the others 
 are now chiefly procured and delivered : — 
 Twenty stone culverts, of different sizes, all to be arched 
 and placed upon permanent foundations, and more 
 
 M 
 
( 435 ) 
 
 than half of which are now finished with great solid- 
 ity and beauty : — 
 Five aqueducts, of which one is to cross Mud creek, near 
 Lyons, and to be constructed entirely of stone, with 
 three arches of thirty feet span each, one is to cross 
 the same creek near Palmyra, and to be constructed 
 of stone abutments and piers, with a wooden trunk 
 resting upon them ; two are to cross the valley of 
 Irondequot creek, and a narrow ridge adjacent there- 
 to these two being to be built exclusively ofwood, and 
 to extend, in the aggregate, a length of 1350 feet ;- 
 and one is to cross Black brook, in the town of Ga- 
 len, and to consist of stone abutments supporting a 
 wooden trunk. The foundations of these aqueducts 
 are in considerable forwardness, and most of the ma- 
 terials, for their completion, are delivered ; — 
 Forty road-bridges and a smaller number of Occupation- 
 bridges. About half of these bridges are erected, 
 and all of them which have been contracted for, du- 
 ring the last season, are required to be six inches 
 higher above the top water line, and to be made 
 eight feet wider, between their abutments, than 
 those were, which had been previously built, on the 
 Middle section. 
 
 All the above contracts have been prosecuted with 
 great zeal and success, insomuch that in the aggre- 
 gate the fifty-one miles and a quarter, are more than 
 half done; and nine miles have been -in such condition, 
 as to allow of an experimental admission of water. 
 A large part of this extent runs through the sands of 
 Perrinton and Pittsford, where we have always had a 
 great apprehension of difficulty, by leaks and breaches. 
 Through these sands we had taken the precaution to 
 have the banks made much thicker than usual, and 
 w^ith a greater slope ; and the efiects of admitting 
 the water, to the depth of about two feet, have been 
 satisfactory and encouraging. 
 
 Having adopted that route, for the canal, which, at 
 every departure from the level of lake Erie, in its pro- 
 gress eastward, will descend, till it reaches the Seneca 
 
( 436 ) 
 
 river, we entertain no doubt of an abundant and perma 
 nent supply of water, for every part of the canal line. 
 But, in order to provide against any possibility of dan- 
 ger, on this subject, it is intended to construct the ca- 
 nal, through the dry region, between the locks, at the 
 Mountain ridge, and the Genesee river, with a descent 
 towards the east, of one or two inches, in every mile; 
 the necessary effect of which will be, to save the ex- 
 pense of at least one lock, and to induce a current, of 
 so much water from Lake Erie, towards the east, as will 
 leave but little to be required from the Genesee river : 
 and this little may be still reduced, if it shall ever become 
 expedient, by a feeder from the Irondequot creek, a 
 copious and equable stream, which it was formerly 
 supposed could not be drawn upon, for the canal, but 
 which, by the enterprising zeal of David S Bates, Es- 
 qyire one of our Resident Engineers, has been found 
 capable of being taken into it, at Pittsford, near the 
 west end of a level, about thirteen miles in length. 
 From this level eastward, there might be obtained a 
 sufficient supply of water, from the Canadaigua Lake, 
 Mud creek, and several other sources, for all the de- 
 mands of the canal, if the Genesee river were annihi- 
 lated. 
 
 On the middle section of the canal, we have placed 
 mile-boards, duly painted and numbered, from one end 
 to the other. And the whole length of it, as measured 
 from Genesee-street, in the village of Utica, to the 
 lock, which connects it with Seneca river, without in- 
 cluding the Salina side cut, is found to be a few chains 
 more than ninety-six miles. 
 
 The navigation of this section commenced through- 
 out in May last. But, as there were several places on 
 it requiring repairs, and as it was soon discovered, 
 that our supply of water, would not be adequate to 
 the requirement of an extensive and increasing trans- 
 portation, some time was occupied in repairing breach- 
 es, in strengthening weak places, especially those, 
 where the high embankments had settled and in open- 
 ing several new feeders. And we did not think we 
 
I 
 
 ( 437 ) 
 
 should be justified, in asking toll, till the first of July. 
 From that time, till 4he ice prevented all passing, 
 there has been received, for toll, on this section, the 
 sum of B')2U 34. 
 
 This amount has been collected, by charging at the 
 following rates, which were agreed upon at a meeting 
 of the Canal Commissioners, and duly advertised, to 
 wit : 
 On Salt, 5 mills, per ton, per mile, (7 bbls. of 5 bushels 
 
 each, or 40 bushels in bulk, being a ton.) 
 •' Gypsum, 5 mills, per ton, per mile. 
 " Flour, meal, and all kinds of grain, salted provision, 
 
 pot and pearl ashes, one cent, per ton, per mile. 
 " Merchandise, two cents, per ton, per mile. 
 " Timber, squared and round, 5 mills, per hundred 
 
 solid feet, per mile. 
 •' Boards, plank and scantling reduced to inch measure 
 and all s iding lath, and other sawed stuff, less than 
 one inch thick, 5 mills, per thousand feet per mile. 
 " Shiiigles, one mill, per thousand, per mile. 
 " Brick, sand, lime, iron-ore and stone, 5 mills, per 
 
 ton, per mile. 
 " Rails and posts for fencing, two cents per thousand^ 
 
 per mile. 
 " Wood for fuel, one cent per cord, per mile 
 " All fuel to be used, in the manufacture of salt, to 
 
 pass free. 
 " Boats made and used chiefly for the transportation 
 
 of property, on each ton of their capacity, one mill, 
 
 per mile. 
 On boats made and used chiefl y for the carriage of 
 
 persons, 5 cents per mile, of their passage. 
 » Staves and heading, for pipes, one cent per thou- 
 sand, per mile. 
 " Staves and heading, for hogsheads, 7 mills per thou- 
 sand, per mile. 
 " Staves and heading, for barrels or less, 5 mills per 
 
 thousand, per mile. 
 All articles not enumerated, one cent, per ton, per 
 
 mile. 
 
( 438 ) 
 
 Besides the above mentioned amount of toll received, 
 there has been collected, at the Little Falls of the Mo- 
 hawk, since the rights of the Western Inland Lock 
 Navigation Company ,have been transferred to the state, 
 the sum of $450 56, for toll, the toll having been 
 charged, from Rome to the lower lock at the Little falls, 
 at the same rates, per mile, as are stated, in the above 
 table, in reference to the canal line. 
 
 To demand and receive these tolls, we have appoint- 
 ed six collectors, and located them, and paid them, as 
 follows to wit, 
 
 Stalham Williams, at Utica, with a salary of $200 
 Bela B Hyde, " Rome, " 200 
 
 Samuel Holladay, " Canestota, " 150 
 
 Joshua Forman, " Soracuse, " 250 
 
 Roderick Matson, " Bucksville, " 200 
 
 Sanders Lansing, " Little falls, " 62 50 
 
 The system, adopted by us, for regulating the collec- 
 tion of tolls, requires, that whenever i any property, 
 chargeable with toll, arrives at one of the places of 
 collection, the person entrusted therewith, should ex- 
 hibit a bill of particulars, containing an exact account^ 
 of all the property, arranged, under different heads, 
 according to the different rates of toll which it may be 
 liable to pay ; and containing also, the name of the boat 
 and its tonnage, if the articles are conveyed in a boat, 
 together with the place, from which it comes, and that 
 to which it is destined. When such a bill is presented, 
 it is made the duty of the collector to examine the pro- 
 perty, and ascertain, whether it corresponds with the 
 bill. If it does, he receives the full amount of toll ari- 
 sing from the whole passage, and receipts it on the bill, 
 which he copies into a book provided by him for that 
 purpose; after which, the bill, with the receipt, is 
 handed back to the boatmen, who, when he arrives at 
 the next place of collection, exhibits his receipted bill, 
 to the collector, and if there has been no change in 
 the lading, is permitted to continue his passage. If 
 additional articles are taken into the canal, between 
 the first collector, to whom the bill of lading is pre- 
 
( 439 ) 
 
 sented, and any subsequent one, such subsequent col- 
 lector ascertains, whether all such articles are properly 
 added to the bill, and makes the same receipt of toll 
 and entry of those articles, as was made by the first 
 collector in, relation to the original bill. The collec- 
 tors are required to give bonds for the faithful discharge 
 of their duty. And by way of a check upon their ac- 
 counts, one of them is required to make an entry of all 
 the property paying toll, at the several places of col- 
 lection, and of all the receipts therefor, by the collec- 
 tors. The system further proposes, that once in three 
 months, an agent of the canal commissioners, who 
 is competent to the task, shall examine the books of 
 the several collectors, for the purpose of ascertaining 
 their accuracy ; receive from them the amount of tolls, 
 collected during the preceding quarter, and transmit it 
 to the commissioners of the canal fund. 
 
 In the course of the last year, "there have been paid, 
 on the middle section of the canaL the following sums, 
 to wit. 
 
 For fencing, -.-.-$ 5637 06 
 On settlement of other old contracts and ac- 
 counts, - - - - - - 3040 64 
 
 For ereotion of houses for collectors and lock- 
 tenders, 1407 45 
 
 For bridges, ] 30 00 
 
 For damages^ - - - 135 02 
 
 For the construction of feeders, - - 2200 02 
 For repairs of canal and superintendents' 
 
 wages, - - - -16718 641- 
 
 Inall, . - - - . $29868 8 |i 
 
 The expense of reparation has, thus far, been much 
 greater than it probably will be for the same length of 
 time to come. With our utmost exertions, in 1819, we 
 were not able to have a number of contracts, on the 
 Middle section, brought to an end, until the occur- 
 rence of frost and snow, in the fall. And there is no 
 earth so impervious to water, but that, if it is subjected 
 to the pressure of a considerable head, immediately 
 
( 440 ) 
 
 alter it has been thrown up, it will be thereby endan- 
 gered : and if new embankments are frozen, as soon as 
 thej are made, whenever the binding power of the 
 frost is destroyed, the same danger continues. We 
 were well aware, when the contracts were entered into 
 that all banks, which are intended to hold water, 
 should have time to settle and dry, before they are used 
 for that purpose. And it was accordingly provided 
 that all our contracts should be fully performed, in 
 time to experience these effects, in a good degree. 
 But they were not : and we have been called upon to 
 make the most expensive repairs, in those banks, which 
 were latest raised. The banks have now had time to 
 settle and dry the breaches have been faithfully closed, 
 great care has been taken to strengthen every place, in 
 which there was any appearance of weakness, and the 
 whole have been so much compacted by travelling upon 
 them, that they are cq^^tainly much more solid and 
 secure. 
 
 Before toll began to be received, on the canal, the 
 transportation, of the season, had been nearly half ac- 
 complished. And the quantity afterwards passing, on 
 the canal, was materially less. than it would otherwise 
 have been, in consequence, — of the early want^of water 
 in the Mohawk, — of the number of teamsters still solici- 
 ting business on the roads, who rather than suddenly 
 change their employment were compelled to transport, 
 at very low rates,— and, of the numerous impediments, 
 which it was known would, at first, hinder that general 
 resort to the canal, which its superior safety, facility 
 and economy, will speedily and certainly effect. The 
 amount of tolls, however, increased regularly, during 
 every successive month, in which they were collected. 
 And the best expectations entertained, before hand, of 
 the advantages of transportation, on the canal, have 
 been surpassed. In the course of the next season, 
 while the expenditure, on the Middle section, is likely 
 to be small, the toll collected, will doubtless be many 
 fold greater than it has been, in the course of the past. 
 
 During the last year, the construction of the Eastern 
 section of the Erie canal has been commenced ; And 
 
( 441 ) 
 
 thirty miles of the line, beginning at the terminatioo'of 
 the Middle section, at Utica, and extending, along the 
 valley of the Mohawk, eastwardly of the Little falls, to 
 the town of Minden, is now in such a state of forward- 
 ness as to ensure its entire completion, the present 
 year. 
 
 The original surveys, on this section, which were 
 extended eastwardly as far as the Schoharie creek, 
 having pointed out a practicable route for the canal, 
 without marking the precise line which was to be 
 followed, the Engineers, on the opening of the last 
 season, were required to re-survey the route, and 
 definitively to locate the line ; and, at the same time, 
 to lay it off into half mile sections, that it might be put 
 into the hands of the labourers as early as possible. 
 The line embraced many places of difficulty, and admit- 
 ting of many variations in its course, much time was 
 necessarily spent, in ascertaining and determining on 
 the best possible location of it ; and nearly half of the 
 season had elapsed before the most considerable part 
 of the work, could be put under contract. The con- 
 tractors however commenced their work, with alacrity, 
 and continued to push it, with great vigour, until the ap- 
 proach of winter, when the entire expenditure of the 
 money appropriated to the construction of this section, 
 as well as the inclemency of the season, necessarily 
 suspended their labours. 
 
 During the time which has been allowed for active 
 operations, some of the most considerable and arduous 
 undertakings, on the line, have been performed : and 
 every part of the work, which it was important to have 
 done, the last season, has been accomplished. Eight 
 miles connected with the Rome level, is so far complete 
 as to require nothing more to render it navigable than 
 the filling up of the drains, which were left open, for the 
 security of the newly formed banks, which, without this 
 precaution, would have been liable to injury., from the 
 sudden admission of heavy Hoods of water into tiie 
 canal. On the remaining twenty-two miles, all the grub- 
 
( 442 ) 
 
 bing and clearing is completed, and ^ considerable pro- 
 portion of the excavation and embankment. 
 
 An important work has been executed, at the dug 
 way, opposite the village of Herkimer, where a steep 
 and sliding hill, on one side, and the Mohawk river, on 
 the other, has barely allowed room, for a road to be 
 formed, between them. At this place, to preserve the 
 road, and to avoid the falling earth, from the hill, it was 
 necessary to construct the canal along the edge of the 
 river, by carrying, in the Mohawk a broad and high 
 embankment of earth taken from the hill. This has 
 been done ; and the whole has been supported and 
 protected, from the injurious effect of a strong current, 
 by a substantial wall of stone, laid up, from the bottom 
 of the river, to the top of the embankment. 
 
 At the Little falls, the spirited exertions of the con- 
 tractors have been attended with great success ; and 
 on two sections, which included what has been con- 
 sidered the most difficult part of the work, and as 
 requiring the labour of years to perform, the whole ex- 
 cavation is already nearly completed ; and from the 
 massy fragments of rock, which have been blown from 
 the line of the canal, a broad and substantial wall has 
 been built, which, forming and supporting one side of the 
 canal, extends along the margin of the river, for nearly 
 three quarters of a mile, and rises, to a line measuring 
 from ten to twenty five feet, above its base. Besides 
 these two sections, there are three sections above, and 
 one below, the falls, on which a good deal of rock has 
 been encountered. A part of it has been thrown out,' 
 and what remains to be done can be executed before 
 the termination of the ensuing summer. 
 
 From Utica to Minden, there is a fall, in the canal 
 line, of one hundred and five feet, which will be descen- 
 ded, by thirteen locks. For these, contracts have 
 been entered into, for their completion, early in Sep- 
 tember next. And nearly all the stone necessary for 
 their construction, consisting of the finest and largest 
 blocks of lime stone, have been quarried, hewed and 
 transported to the line of the canal, and are in readi- 
 ness to be laid into the works, on the opening of spring. 
 
( 443 ) 
 
 Of six aqueducts, and thirty -six culverts, which are 
 required, on the line now under contract, the greatest 
 part of them have been built, with stone laid in water- 
 cement, and are completed, in the most substantial and 
 durable manner. 
 
 Contracts for the performance of every work, have 
 been obtained, on terms extremely favsurable to the 
 state. And it is a most interesting fact, that notwith- 
 standing this part of the canal includes the expensive 
 work, at the Little falls, the most formidable obstau:le 
 on the Eastern section, and also includes more than 
 one half of the lockage, between Utica and Schenec- 
 tady, the whole will be completed, at an expense, per 
 mile, but little exceeding that of the Middle section. 
 
 From Minden, the survey, of the route of the canal, 
 was continued along the south side of the Mohawk, 
 to the head of the Cohoes falls. At this point, the 
 Engineer found the first and only practicable place of 
 leaving the valley of the Mohawk, and of descending, 
 with the canal line, to the Hudson. The' lateness of 
 the season, and the necessity of his returning to put 
 the line west of Schenectady, in a situation to be put 
 under contract, before the setting in of winter, prevent- 
 ed his prosecuting his surveys and examinations as far^ 
 as under other circumstances, would have been advise- 
 able. But this examination has been such, as to war- 
 rant the conclusion, that the canal can be constructed, 
 along this route, at an expense, much within the origi- 
 nal estimates. 
 
 The important services pertaining to the Engineer's 
 department on the Eastern section, have been, for the 
 last season, chiefly devolved upon Canvass White, Es- 
 quire, whose usefulness, from the beginning, has been 
 constantly increasing with the progress of our labours, 
 by his continued assiduity and increasing knowledge. 
 
 The Erie canal now affords an artificial navigation of 
 about ninety-eight miles, in length, including the Salina 
 side-cut. And we confidently exp'ect to double that 
 distance, before our next annual report. With the wise 
 and liberal appropriations, which your honourable body 
 
( 444 ) 
 
 has lately made applicable to this undertaking, it is not 
 unreasonable to anticipate; the full consummation, of 
 the project, for connecting the great Lakes of the west, 
 with the Atlantic ocean, before the close of the year 
 1823. 
 
 The works on the Champlain canal have been vigo- 
 rously prosecuted during the past season. About seven- 
 teen miles of excavation, extendirrg from Saratoga falls 
 to within ten miles of the village of Waterford, have 
 been nearly completed. The banks of the canal, on 
 the above seventeen miles, have been formed and com- 
 pleted with a strength and beauty far surpassing any 
 of the similar works which had been previously finish- 
 ed ; and it is but justice to attribute this improvement 
 in the permanency and symmetry of the work,to the skill, 
 fidelity, and industry of William Jerome, Esq. the As- 
 sistant Engineer, to whose superintendence the above 
 mentioned excavation was principally committed. The 
 aqueduct across Fish creek is under contract, and the 
 materials for its construction are nearly all delivered. 
 Contracts have also been made for the waste weirs, 
 bridges, &c. and for fencing the canal, which are in part 
 executed. A dam has been thrown across the Hudson, 
 at the head of Fort Miller falls, which aided by exca- 
 vations made in the bed of the river, through Crocker's 
 and Potter's rifts, has produced a good boat navigation 
 between Fort Edward and Fort Miller. The excava- 
 tion of a lateral canal around Fort Miller falls, and 
 the construction of two locks at that place, are in a 
 g,tate of considerable forwardness^ The greater part 
 of the materitils for a dam across the Hudson, to be 
 located near the head of Saratoga falls are prepared. 
 The object of this dam is to raise the water into the 
 canal on the Saratoga level, and to complete the navi- 
 gation above the dam, to its junction with the lateral 
 canal before mentioned. The fencing of the canal, 
 and the completion of the towing path along Wood, 
 creek, between F(^t Edward and Whitehall, have been 
 nearly finished ; and that part of the route in which 
 the navigation is confined to Wood creek, has been 
 
( 445 ) 
 
 very much improved by cutting off several sinuosities 
 in this stream. 
 
 The upr>?»raleled drought of last season, occasioned, 
 for three months, a d^^ficiency of water on the summit 
 level. Although it could not be predicted that such a 
 season would occur, yet its result, if it did happen, was 
 always foreseen. Indeed, from the exaininations of 
 18 J 6, it was not believed that the summit level could be 
 navigated at all without a supply of water from a feeder. 
 It was supposed at that time, that a feeder might be 
 brought from Lake George, or from the Hudson river ; 
 and it was ascertained^that one might be easily made 
 from Halfway brook : And in the Report of the Canal 
 Commissioners ofthe 18th March, 1817, it is proposed 
 " to erect a dam across Halfway brook, of eighteen 
 feet in height, half a mile above the mouth of said brook, 
 and by a natural ravine leading to the south, to direct 
 so much ofthe water of said brook to the summit level, 
 as may be necessary for the convenience of the canal."; 
 
 Further examinations were made in 1817, and in the 
 Report ofthe 31st January, 1818, the Canal Commis- 
 sioBcrs state, that " considerable time was spent in ex- 
 ploring, with a view to ascertain whether, in case the 
 trade on the canal should, in a course of years, increase 
 to such a degree as to exhaust Halfway brook, which 
 is the principal source of supply for the summit level, 
 a sufficient quantity of water might be obtained from 
 any other quarter. Levels were carried from the Hudi 
 son river, at several points above Fort Edward, to the 
 line of the canal. And it was ascertained, that in the 
 event of future deficiency, water may be drawn from 
 the Hudson by a short teeder, in any quantity which 
 may be necessary." Thus it will be perceived that 
 Halfway brook was regarded as " the principal source 
 of supply for the summit level," that a feeder from this 
 stream was deemed indispensible, and that the neces- 
 sity of an additonal future supply from the Hudson was 
 also anticipated. 
 
 The summit level was finished in 1819, and it was 
 found, during the excavation of the same, that several 
 
( 446 ) 
 
 copious springs were intercepted, and that without any 
 feeder, the supply of water was greater than had previ- 
 ously been expected. By a reference to the Report of 
 the 18th February, 1820, it will be seen that it was ex- 
 pected, " that with ordinary seasons," a feeder for the 
 present would not be wanted. The limited appropri- 
 ations to the Champlain canal did not warrant the con- 
 struction of a feeder in 1819. Had the feeder been 
 made, the summit level could not have been finished: 
 and it appears in the same Report, that " owing to a 
 deficiency of funds, the canal was not fenced." 
 
 For ten years previous to the last season, the sum- 
 mers in general were cool and wet : and during the 
 whole of that period, (except the season of 1816, had 
 the canal been previously constructed, it is believed 
 there would have been a sufficient supply of water on 
 the summit level, without any aid from the Hudson, or 
 Halfway brook. But last summer was an exception to 
 almost every other. From the middle of June to the 
 20th September, the ordinary summer showers were al- 
 most entirely wanting; and during this period, the heat 
 of the atmosphere occasioned an evaporation so intense 
 as to exhaust the streams and springs in the neighbour- 
 hood of the Champlain canal, to a degree never before 
 witnessed by the oldest inhabitants of the country. 
 
 The foregoing references to former Reports, and the 
 preceding observations, are submitted to show, that the 
 failure of water on the summit level, was not occasioned 
 by any mistake of the commissioners or Engineer, or by 
 leaks in the canal, as some have erroneously supposed. 
 
 The extraordinary dryness of the last summer produ- 
 ced a considerable diminution of the water of Halfway 
 brook, although that streamisentirely formed by springs: 
 And as such seasons may occur again, it was thought 
 best to make a feeder from the Hudson in the first in- 
 stance, whereby the expense of a feeder from Halfway 
 brook, which might not at all times be sufficient, would 
 be entirely saved to the state. 
 
 Two modes of constructing this feeder, presented 
 themselves. The one, by taking the water from the 
 
( 447 ) 
 
 head af Baker's falls, and leading it along the declivi- 
 ty, parallel to the river, to a point where the bank, com- 
 posed of slate rock, became too precipitous to proceed 
 further, and from thence by a small tunnel or sough, 
 nearly at right angles with the river, to conduct the wa- 
 ter through a ridge of slate, into a ravine, from whence 
 it might easily be connected with the summit level. 
 The other, by throwing a dam across the Hudson, afeout 
 half a mile above the village of Fort-Edward, thereby 
 raising the water to the necessary height, and by a na- 
 vigable cut of abQut half a mile in length, to connect 
 the pond created by said dam, with the summit leveL 
 This feeder is indicated on the engraved map and pro- 
 file, of the Champlain canal. 
 
 ft was at first thought, that the former mode might be 
 preferable to the latter : But, after spending some time 
 in sinking shafts for the sough, the hardness of the rock, 
 and the great influx of water through the seams of slate 
 produced a diflferent conclusion. A contract was 
 therefore made, for the erection of the dam, the excava- 
 tion of a navigable feeder, and the construction of a 
 guard-lock, to prevent the irruption into the canal, of 
 the floods of the river The excavation was nearly fin- 
 ished last season, and the materials for the dam are to 
 be transported to the spot, early in the spring. With 
 a favourable season, it is expected that these works 
 will be finished within six or seven months from this 
 time. It is believed, that the Champlain canal will be 
 completed and rendered navigable next season, as far 
 as the south end of the Saratoga level, and that the re- 
 maining ten miles, to the village of Waterford, will be 
 excavated. The whole of the Champlain canal might 
 be finished this year, with the aid of the liberal ap- 
 propriations recently made by the Legislature. But 
 as there is ninetythree feet of lockage in the above 
 mentioned ten miles, and as the stone for the locks, 
 must be brought from the town of Kingsbury, it will be 
 more economical to delay the construction of the locks, 
 until another year, when the canal will be in operation, 
 as above mentioned, and thereby save the expense of 
 
( 448 ) 
 
 about thirty miles of land carriage, of these ponderous; 
 materials. 
 
 Although the navigation was interrupted for three 
 months, by a deficiency of water on the summit level, 
 yet, during the spring and fall, considerable quantities 
 of lumber were transported through the canal, from 
 Lake Champlain to the Hudson, and from thence to a 
 southern market ; upon which, however, as the works 
 were not finished, no toll was received. 
 
 The whole quantity of lumber, which passed from 
 Lake Champlain, through the locks, at Whitehall, ac- 
 cording to the return of the lock-keeper, is as follows, 
 to wit : One hundred and fifty-nine thousand boards, 
 ninety-eight thousand plank, thirteen thousand cubic 
 feet of pine timber, ten thousand do. of hemlock tim- 
 ber, twenty-nine cords of tanners' bark, twenty four 
 do. of fire wood, one hundred and four thousand oak 
 staves, forty-nine thousand shingles, three thousand 
 four hundred and eighty saw-logs, ten thousand rails, 
 nine thousand cedar posts, and eight thousand fence 
 boards. 
 
 In looking back to the numerous difficulties, and re- 
 sponsibilities, — some of them of an aspect the most 
 disheartening, which surrounded the canals, especially 
 in their commencement, we feel compelled, by common 
 justice, to commend the aid, which has been, at all 
 times, afforded by our Engineers. In the selection 
 of all the persons, who are now employed by us, under 
 this character, we have been eminently fortunate. But 
 to the Hon. Benjamin Wright and James Geddes, the 
 state is most indebted. Possessing much local informa- 
 tion, competent science, long experience in many kinds 
 of business bearing some analogy to canal operations, 
 and well established characters for industry and fideli- 
 ty, these gentlemen have rendered the most essential 
 services, in all the duties of their department. They 
 were first appointed Engineers : they have unceasingly, 
 and with improving fitness, devoted their best faculties 
 to the great cause in which they were engaged. And 
 they have hitherto been found equal to the high trust? 
 confided to them. 
 
( 449 ) 
 
 The state has now been engaged, nearly four years, 
 in the actual construction of the Erie and Champlain 
 canals. And the success of her efforts has been, at 
 least, equal to the expectation of the most ardent ad- 
 vocates of these measures. This success could not 
 have been attained, without care, vigilance, discretion, 
 and energy, in the complicated and arduous labours, of 
 which it is the fruit. And these labours could not nave 
 been performed, without the support of a wise foresight 
 and just liberality, in several successive legislatures. 
 To us it appears, that these legislatures have afibrded 
 a spectacle most animating, encouraging, and delight- 
 ful, in reference to the sagacity of the people to under- 
 stand, and their wisdom to provide for, their most sub- 
 stantial interests. They exhibit the most impressive 
 example, which the UniteJ States have yet produced, 
 since the adoption of the Federal constitution, of the 
 beneficent effects of free government, upon the cha- 
 racter of a community. They are intimately connected 
 with the best hopes of the Republic. Rising above all 
 fugitive and partial interests, and with a full detail of 
 the costs of these works before them, the immediate 
 representatives of the people, have so clearly discerned 
 the benefits, which they would introduce, as to apply to 
 them from year to year, a greater proportion of their 
 funds, than is sufficient, to defray the ordinary expenses 
 of their state government. And this proportion, your 
 honourable body has greatly increased. 
 
 When a project is once decisively embraced, of 
 which the practicability is ascertained, but of which 
 only a small part of its advantages can be enjoyed be- 
 fore it is fully performed, it is wise, it is economical, to 
 apply large means to the performance. And the ap- 
 propriation of the additional million of dollars to the 
 canals, for this year and the next, will be every where 
 a theme of praise and congratulation. This act of the 
 legislature, is a just and a great cause for rejoicing, — 
 because it ensures the speediest possible completion 
 of the canals. — because, when they are completed, 
 they will immediately communicate their blessings to 
 
( 450 ) 
 
 millions of" freemen, — and, because they will contribute 
 most effectually and rapidly to the spreading of our fel- 
 low-citizens broad-cast and thick, with all their precious 
 institutions for the perpetuation of civil liberty, and the 
 promotion of knowledge and virtue — with every thing 
 most admirable and sacred, in our social condition, 
 throughout the almost boundless and unoccupied re- 
 gions of the west. 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON, 
 
 STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER, 
 
 SAMUEL YOUNG, 
 
 MYRON HOLLEY, 
 
 HENRY SEYMOUR. 
 Dated 12th March, 1821. 
 
 ^n Act Concerning the Erie and Champlain Canals. 
 
 Passed February 9, 1821. 
 
 WHEREAS in the prosecution of the great western 
 and northern canals, experience has not only demon- 
 strated the practicability of their construction, but so 
 far as any portions of them have been completed, their 
 unquestionable utility : And whereas it is of great 
 importance to the interests of this state, that the whole 
 should be finished and made productive without any 
 unnecessary delay, and at a period when all circumstan- 
 ces are highly favourable to their progress : Therefore, 
 in consideration of the great advantages which offer at 
 the present time in the cheapness and abundance pf 
 labour, and in the low rate at which money may be 
 obtained for the accomplishment of these interesting 
 and useful works. 
 
 Be it enacted by the People of the State of JVew-York. 
 represented in Senate and Assembly ^Thdii the commission- 
 ers of the canal fund be, and they are hereby em- 
 powered, in addition to the loans already authorized by- 
 law, to borrow from time to time, during the years one 
 thousand eight hundred and twenty one, and one thou- 
 sand eight hundred and twentytwo, moneys on the credit 
 
( 451 ) 
 
 t)l the state, nt a rate not exceeding six per cent, per 
 annum, and not exceeding one million of dollars in each 
 year : for which moneys, so to be borrowed, certificates 
 of stock shall be issued in the manner directed in and 
 by the act, entitled " an act to improve the funds and 
 to provide for the redemption of the funded debt of this 
 state," payable at such time or times as may be deter- 
 mined by the said board, out of the canal fund ; and to 
 pay to the canal commissioners the moneys so to be 
 borrowed, to be applied in the same manner and pro- 
 portion as already provided for by law : Provided, That 
 it shall not be lawful for the commissioners of the canal 
 fund, to make loans under this act beyond such amount 
 as, for the payment of the interest thereof, the canal 
 fund at the time shall be deemed ample and sufficient. 
 
 ^nd be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the 
 two houses of the legislature, by concurrent resolution, 
 to appoint an additional canal commissioner ; and that 
 the commissioner so appointed, as well as the present 
 commissioners, shall hold their respective offices during 
 the pleasure of the two houses of the legislature, subject 
 to be removed by concurrent resolution of the two 
 houses. 
 
 ^tid be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the 
 two houses of the legislature, by concurrent resolution, 
 to appoint three appraisers on the eastern section of 
 the Erie canal, and three appraisers on the western 
 section of the Erie canal, and three appraisers on the 
 Champlain canal ; and that the appraisers so appoint- 
 ed, as well as the present appraisers, shall hold their 
 respective offices during the pleasure of the legislature, 
 subject to be removed by concurrent resolution of the 
 two houses. 
 
 jlnd be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of 
 each and every canal commissioner already appointed, 
 to superintend the making and constructing of either 
 the Erie or Champlain canals, within sixty days from 
 the passage of this act, and of every acting canal com- 
 missioner hereafter appointed, before entering upon 
 the duties of his office, to enter into a bond to the peo- 
 
 * 
 
( 452 ) 
 
 ^le of this state, with at least two substantial freehold- 
 ers as sureties, iu a penal sum of fifty thousand dollars, 
 conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties now 
 enjoined, or that may hereafter be enjoined on him by 
 law ; and for the faithful accounting of all moneys en- 
 trusted to him, as such acting canal commissioner^ 
 whenever, and as often as he may be required so to do 
 by law, or by concurrent resolution of the senate and 
 assembly, or by the comptroller of this state ; and the 
 said bonds shall be approved of by the comptroller, 
 and filed in his office. 
 
 ^^ndbe it further enacted^ That in order the better to 
 guard against mistakes and losses, it shall be the duty 
 of the acting canal commissioners, respectively, here- 
 after to take duplicate receipts for all sums of money 
 which they may advance and pay to their engineers, 
 contractors and agents 
 
 Jind be it further enacted^ That whenever the sum or 
 sums of money, paid to any canal commissioner, and 
 remaining unaccounted for, shall amount to fifty thou- 
 sand dollars, it shall not be lawful for the commission- 
 ers of the canal fund, to advance or pay to such canal 
 commissioner any further sum or sums of money, until 
 he shall first have produced an account and vouchers 
 to the comptroller, showing the payment and expendi- 
 ture on the canal of at least forty thousand dollars of 
 said sum. 
 
 And be it further enacted^ That it shall, be the duty of 
 the commissioners of tbe canal fund, previous to every 
 loan hereafterto be made,to give notice of such intended 
 loan, that sealed proposals will be received to a given 
 day; which proposals shall not be opened until a cer- 
 tain hour of such day, to be named in the notice ; and 
 said notice shall be published in two news papers, in 
 each of the cities of New-York and Albany, and con- 
 tinued for two weeks daily in the New- York papers,and 
 at least twice a week in the Albany papers. 
 
The following Letters, and the Essay with which they are ac- 
 companied, cast much light on the second great Western 
 Canal. They will be read with deep interest in the nation 
 and out of the nation. 
 
 (Governor Brown'^s Letter on the Ohio Canal.) 
 
 Columbus, Sept. 20th, 1820. 
 Charles G. Haines, Esq. 
 
 Dear Sir — I hare been prevented by business and a desire of 
 communicating more satisfactory information, from sooner acknow- 
 ledging the receipt of your letter of the 4th of August. 
 
 You give great pleasure, by informing me of the interest felt in the 
 state of New-York, in regard to the commencement and completion 
 of a canal from the Ohio river to Lake Erie. 
 
 Young as our state is, and forced hitherto to rely, almost exclusive- 
 ly, on direct taxation, for public improvements, as well as for the 
 support of government, we look to your state for capital, in the first 
 instance, towards affecting this object, either by way of loan, should 
 the work be undertaken by the state, or for individual subscription, 
 should it be thought necessary to incorporate a company for the pur- 
 pose. 
 
 I should be much obliged by the views that may be entertained by 
 any members of your association, concerning the prospect of raising 
 these funds in New-York, in either of the above mentioned alterna- 
 tives ; to the latter of which, 1 confess I feel a repugnance, while a 
 hope can reasonably be entertained, that the work will be accom- 
 plished by the state. 
 
 You are pleased to observe, that " the command of public opinion 
 will be the command of financial resources ;" this is very true, but, 
 even in the rich state of New-York, it required time, patience, and 
 perseverance, to acquire that command ; b}' proofs heaped upon de- 
 monstration, when a vast enterprise, of a nature still new to this 
 country, was proposed ; and we are greatly indebted, here, for your 
 daring experiment, inasmuch as it may lead, by force of its great ex- 
 ample, to an investigation of what latent resources Ohio may possess. 
 
 You first inquire whether it be practicable to connect Lake Erie 
 with the Ohio, by means of a canal ? 
 
 The House of Representatives of our Legislature addressed to me 
 last winter a similar inquiry, in answer to which, I communicated what 
 information I then possessed on the subject ; a copy of this message, 
 
( 454 ) 
 
 to which I beg leave to refer you, is forwarded by this post. The 
 intelligence 1 have since acquired on this head, is favourable. One 
 of the public surveyors has since assured me, that in the dry season 
 preceding, he found the two eastern branches of the Sandusky that 
 issued from the Morass, mentioned in that paragraph of the message 
 marked A, to afford each a supply of water sufficient to turn a large 
 run of mill-stones, by an undershot wheel. There seems no doubt, 
 that these can be diverted into the Scioto. On the other hand, a 
 more correct examination has proved, that the little Scioto, at the 
 place mentioned in the same paragraph, is elevated seven feet above 
 the Sandusky. I have no further information of the supply of water, 
 for the route through the valley of Mad Kiver, nor any thing to add 
 concerning the practicability of a water communication through the 
 north eastern part of this state, and part of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Your next inquiry relates to the distance, the fall, and number of 
 locks required ? 
 
 I can only answer the first, as regards geographical distance : The 
 length of the canal must inevitably depend on the course which the 
 face of the country will compel the engineer to pursue ; and this is 
 not likely to be so sinuous as your western canel. By the road (to- 
 lerably direct) from Sandusky Bay, to the mouth of the Scioto, the 
 distance is about two hundred miles : From the bay to Cincinnati, by 
 a road less direct, about ten miles less. In relation to the fall, I have 
 to observe, that the survey made by Mr. Briggs from the tide water 
 in Janaes' River, in Virginia, to the mouth of the Kenahawa, shows 
 my conjecture to be nearly correct, concerning the comparative ele- 
 vation of the lake, and of the Ohio, at the mouth of the Scioto. I 
 should presume, that at Cincinnati, the river must be at least 40 feet 
 lower. 
 
 The survey alluded to in paragraph C, was from the level of the Bay, 
 in a direction towards the heads of the Great Miami and Mad Rivers. 
 In the opinion of many judicious persons, there must have been some 
 error in this survey ; although the summit in that course must be 
 considerably higher than in a line northwardly from this place, where 
 the Scioto flowing from the west, and branches of the Sandusky from 
 the north east, approach each other ; and from whence each river 
 bends its course to an opposite point of compass from the other. The 
 reason for supposing this error, is chiefly grounded on the circum- 
 stance, that the principal rapids of the Sandusky are within 18 or 20 
 miles of the level of the lake, and have been surmounted by canoe 
 navigation ; while above them, from its most southern bend, the cur- 
 rent of the river is represented as very gentle. 
 
 I perceive that the New- York newspapers (probably on the au- 
 thority of Mr. Steel) represent the summit between Sandusky and 
 Scioto, as elevated 300 feet above lake Erie ; I think it probable 
 that this approaches the truth The estimate attributed to Captain 
 Riley, is generally thought too extravagant for notice. 
 
 You will be more competent to judge of the number of locks, that 
 may be required than I am. 
 
( 455 ) 
 
 Your third inquiry concerns the leading advantages of the canal to 
 the state of Ohio, and to the country bordering on the lakes, on the 
 completion of the great western canal, from Erie to the Hudson ? 
 
 Among the principal benefits which may first be expected to be 
 derived from the completion of these works, would be the importation 
 of salt, iron, and some other heavy, but indispensable commodities, not 
 yet produced here in sufficient quantities ; besides the diminished 
 cost of transportation of various articles of merchandise, consumed 
 among us, and for which, a large portion of the western country 
 would resort to the market of New-York — a trade which heretofore 
 has been, in a great measure, the life of Philadelphia and Baltimore. 
 
 if lateral and diverging canals are to be formed (especially towards 
 the Muskingum) the importation of gypsum for manure, might, at no 
 great distance of time, become an item of great importance : But, the 
 greatest advantage we should expect, would be the easy and cheap 
 conveyance, to your grand mart, of our agricultural productions ; 
 which, under an imperfect cultivation by a population still thin, are 
 already immense. The region in the south western part of this state, 
 called the Miami country, is one of our most fertile, best cultivated, 
 and most populous districts. From one county within it, containing 
 about 400 square miles, my correspondent last winter, acquainted me 
 with the result of his inquiries into its product, as follows: Harvested, 
 last season, (1819) 246,000 bushels of wheat — 43,500 bushels of 
 rye — .463,000 bushels of corn. In the winter preceding, I was in- 
 formed, that the same county, had prepared, and chiefly sent off, 
 4,000 hogs for market. This kind of stock, is almost uniformly dri- 
 ven to the lake, or to the Ohio, to be slaughtered, by way of saving ex- 
 pense, in the carriage of salt pork and bacon. Of the proceeds of their 
 daries, and considerable numbers of neat cattle and horses reared in 
 this county I have no returns. This county may be assumed as the 
 average of what is severally produced by 7 or 8 others, all nearly of 
 the same dimensions, in the quarter above mentioned. 
 
 The average cost of land carriage, to places where these provi- 
 sions can be embarked, on the Ohio or the lake, is scarcely to be 
 reckoned less, even in these dull times, than from 50 to 75 cents per 
 hundred, through the year. It is true, that much of this cost of land 
 carriage, is occasionally saved in this state, by transporting on the 
 principal streams that cross different parts of Ohio ; but this naviga- 
 tion is not without considerable difficulties and dangers, and is withal, 
 so uncertain, depending on the rise of the waters (which, after all the 
 preparation of adventurers, sometimes fails of their expectation) that 
 it forms an increase of expense. 
 
 North and west of Chillicothe, lies the most fertile part of the 
 country on the waters of the Scioto — extensive and beautiful in a 
 high degree, to the eye of the farmer, but more lately settled, less 
 populous, and in general much less cultivated, than the Miami coun- 
 try. The small county however, contigious to this in which I am 
 writing, has, for successive seasons, produced far greater wheat har- 
 vests than have ever been gathered in any of the more western coun- 
 
( 456 ) 
 
 ties, and of corn perhaps nearly equal. Land carriage has hereto^ 
 fore been *§> 1 50 per hundred between Columbus and the Ohio river, 
 and more to Sandusky Bay. 
 
 Of the country on the lakes, 1 know nothing personally, except our 
 own coast of lake Erie. Governor Cass and the secretary of Michi- 
 gan, Mr. Woodbridge, are persons whose intelligence and active zeal 
 in discovering what concerns their territory, will enable them better, 
 than any one known to me, to satisfy you, of what advantages would 
 be likely to result to the countries bordering on the Detroit, and 
 lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, from the accomplishment of 
 these great canal communications. 
 
 The settlement of that part of this state, bordering on the lake, is 
 considerably more recent than that near the Ohio, and much less of 
 its forests have yielded to the hand of improvement. That portion 
 of territory known by the appellation of the ' Connecticut Western 
 reserve,' as well as most of the land (not yet sold) lying west of it, 
 is in general, less a grain, than a grazing country, which may partly 
 account for a slower progress of settlement, till within a few years, 
 during which it has rapidly increased, in population and improvement, 
 and the inhabitants exhibit a great deal of public spirit, in promoting 
 and accomplishing works of public utility. Iron ore is abundant in 
 various parts of the reserve. They have yet few forges or furnaces. 
 Their search for salt has been less successful, and I anticipate that 
 for this article they must depend on New-York. Coal has not been 
 discovered in any considerable quantity near the lake ; but it is un- 
 derstood, that inexhaustible bedj of this mineral are found in the 
 south eastern part of the reserve, and touching on the probable 
 route for a canal in that quarter adverted to in a preceding part of this 
 letter. 
 
 Your last question requires an account of what latteral canals can 
 be connected with the Ohio canal ? 
 
 1 am unable to answer this question by any conjecture of tolerable 
 accuracy. I believe there are several practicable, of greater or less 
 extent. At present, I dare not venture to add any thing to the ha- 
 zardous remark contained in paragraph D, of the message, so often 
 (and I fear so fatiguingly) referred to. 
 
 You will observe that there is a part of the communication trans- 
 mitted to you at this time relative to a tinanciering plan, irrelevant to 
 the subjects of your inquiries. Our legislature passed an act at their 
 last session proposing to purchase from the United States, from one 
 to two millions of acres for the object of a canal ; and for a survey, 
 and estimates, in case the proposition should be agreed to. It was 
 not accepted by congress, not that the price offered was insufficient, 
 or that the security would in other circumstances be objectionable, 
 but on the principle, as I understand, that it is impolitic for congress 
 to give credit to a state, or for a state to become indebted to the 
 United States, on any terms or conditions, or for any purpose what- 
 ever. A bill, however, passed the senate, providing for a survey, 
 4'C. which now lies among the unfinished business of the house of 
 
( 457 ) 
 
 representatives. Unsuccessful in this attempt — uncertain what may 
 be the disposition of congress at their next session, and the aspect of 
 affairs among us rather gloomy, from the depression of our agricul- 
 ture, we are compelled to view the accomplishment, and even the 
 commencement, of the Ohio canal, as more remote than our own 
 sanguine wishes had once imagined it to be. But I cannot consent 
 to loose sight of it, while its practicability remains probable. Pa- 
 tience and perseverance may at length prevail : diligent investigation, 
 may, I trust, devolve dormant resources in our stale ; its government 
 is free from debt, its credit, (yet untried abroad) may prove good ; 
 but our legislature must be well convinced, before they consent to 
 pledge that credit, in a new scheme of immense magnitude. 
 
 It is to me a source of regret, that I have not possessed the means, 
 to afford you information more exact and satisfactory. I have taken 
 measures, which, I hope, will be effectual, to enable me to digest 
 several statistical accounts and estimates of the nature and quantity 
 of our productions, in agriculture and manufactures. If 1 succeed 
 according to my hopes, I shall have it in my power to furnish you in 
 the course of next winter,. with more precise and certain answers, to 
 some of your queries. After the polite invitation 1 have received, 
 to contribute to the general stock of information, on the great subject 
 of the internal trade and navigation of the country, it would be un- 
 grateful, and argue a w mt of patriotism in me, should I withhold from 
 you the association, what knowledge on the subject, I possess, or may 
 acquire. If any thing valuable can be culled from this communica- 
 tion (too imperfect in matter and manner for publication) 1 shall be 
 proud to have furnished it ; and I still indulge the hope of being able 
 in a few months, to offer you a statement on soine of the points of 
 your inquiry, more certain and therefore more worthy of their ac- 
 ceptance. 
 
 I am, Sir, with great esteem, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 ETHAN A. BROWK 
 
 New-York, August \st 1821, 
 Ch. G. Haines, Esq. 
 
 Sir — I have received your note of this dale, on behalf of the New- 
 York corresponding association, for the promotion of internal im- 
 provements, requesting information as to the practicability and pro- 
 bable expense, of making a canal acro-^s the state of Ohio, from lake 
 Erie to the Ohio river. 
 
 In answer to your inquiries, I will refer you to an essay on the 
 subject of the contemplated canal across Ohio, (which is herewith 
 transmitted to you) which I transmitted to Governor Brown, of Ohio, 
 and which was by him laid before the legislature of that state at their 
 last session. The ideas contained in that essay were hastily thrown 
 
 .09 
 
( '158 ) 
 
 together during severe indisposition ; but I hare every reason to be- 
 lieve that they may be relied on as correct. 
 
 The completion of the Erie and Hudson canal, and the Erie and 
 Ohio canal, will produce a complete revolution in the trade of a con- 
 siderable portion of the western country. It will cement the eastern 
 and western states together by the strongest ties ; and if similar im- 
 provements are made throughout the United States, we need not 
 dread a separation, of the American union, which no American can 
 desire to behold ; and I wish that the generation that witnesses its 
 dissolution, may witness also, the world wrapt in flames. 
 With sentiments of esteem, 
 
 I am yours, &c. 
 
 W. STEELE, 
 
 Considerations on the Project of a Canal, to Connect Lake 
 Erie with the Ohio River, submitted to the Legislature of 
 the State of Ohio. 
 
 NOTHING can be of more importance to the state of Ohio, than 
 the making of a navigable canal from Lake Erie to the Ohio river. 
 That it is practicable to make such canal admits not of a doubt. 
 Were it made and the Hudson and Erie canal finished, we should 
 have an easy and cheap highway on which to transport our surplus 
 produce to the New- York market. I have had the levels taken at 
 three different places, from the summit level between the Scicto, and 
 the Sandusky, to the head of Sandusky Bay at Lower Sandusky. 
 From the summit level on the most favourable route for a canal that 
 I am acquainted with to Lower Sandusky, the descent, agreeable to 
 the report of Mr. Farrer, whom I employed for the purpose of 
 taking the levels, is 318 feet. Mr. Farrer had good instruments, and 
 I presume that the levels are taken with tolerable accuracy. By the 
 report of the engineers employed by* the state of Virginia, they 
 make the Ohio river at the mouth of the Great Kenhawa river, 83 
 feet lower than Lake Erie. If those levels are to be relied on. 
 and we ascertain what is the amount of the descent in the Ohio, 
 from the mouth of the Great Kenhawa to the point where the canal 
 is intended to communicate with the Ohio, we will then know what 
 will be the whole amount of lockage required. If we allow 50 feet 
 for that descent, the lockage will be as follows : From Lake Erie to 
 the summit level 318 feet : From the summit level to the Ohio 433 
 feet, making the whole amount of lockage 761 feet. The estimate 
 by the commissioners for making the New-York canal is ^13,80 
 per mile. Owing to the reduction in the price of labour, it is found 
 that it can be made for much less monev. The ground for mak 
 
( 459 ) 
 
 iiig a canal across the state of Ohio, is much more favourable thau 
 that over which the New-York canal is now making. And although 
 there would be more lockage on the Ohio canal than on the New- 
 York canal, yet it is believed that it can be made at less expense than 
 an equal distance of the New York canal. There would not have 
 to be that heavy expense incurred in excavating rock that is encoun- 
 tered on the New-York canal. When we take into consideration 
 the low price at which labour can be had, and the advantage to be 
 gained by the employment of experienced engineers, now employed 
 on the New- York canal, 1 think I hazard but little in saying that a 
 canal can be made across this state for ^12,000 per mile, if we 
 suppose the canal to be 200 miles long, at this rate it will cost 
 2,400,000 dollars. I am aware that some will say that the state of 
 Ohio is too young and too poor to undertake this mighty project. 
 But I deny that the state of Ohio is either young or poor. She con- 
 tains at this time more than 500,000 souls, and ranks the 4th or 
 6th state in the Union. Can a state with such a population be 
 young ? can a state with such a population (of industrious people too) 
 be poor ? It has been justly remarked, " That population is power, 
 and industry is wealth," So 1 contend that we are both powerful 
 and rich. If the whole line of the canal was divided into feet, it 
 would not make (admitting its length to be 200 miles) 13 1-2 to each 
 man in the state subject to militia duty. The enquiry by some will 
 be, how is the money to be raised to dig this mighty ditch ! Raise 
 it in the same way the state of New- York does — borrow it on the 
 credit of the state. Many there are, I have no doubt, who will 
 doubt whether money can be borrowed on the credit of the state : 
 To such 1 would say, go and try. If we stand at the base of a hill 
 and look up without making an effort to ascend we will never reach 
 its summit, and it may be fairly estimated on the completion of the 
 canal, it will produce a revenue that will discharge the interest, and 
 enable the state to pay large annual instalments of the principal debt; 
 and in addition to the instalments, in a few years, defray the whole 
 expenses of the state government. The amount received for toll 
 could be expended in making the canal ; so, that although it cost 
 2,400,000, yet it might not be necessary to borrow any thing like 
 that sum. The distribution of the sum of money that the canal 
 would cost among the people of this state, would give them more 
 relief from their present pecuniary embarrassments, than can be had 
 from any laws that may be enacted for that purpose. 
 
 As the lands in the vicinity of the canal belonging to the general 
 government would be greatly enhanced in value, 1 think it not im- 
 probable that congress will make a donation to the state of a body 
 of land in its vicinity so far as it passes through their territory, if so, 
 it would aid very much in making it. the celebrated Brindley, the 
 greatest engineer that England, or perhaps the world ever pro- 
 duced, Mr. Philips, in his history of inland navigation, says, " Having 
 spoken of various circumstances of rivers before a committee of the 
 House of Commons, in which he seemed to treat all sorts of rivers 
 
( 460 ) 
 
 with great contempt, a member asked him for what purpose he ap- 
 prehended n. ,rs were created. After considering a moment be- 
 fore he gave Ins answer, replied, to feed navigable canals." Such 
 was the opinion of this great man, and such indeed must have been 
 the opinions of many others ; for vv^ tind canals in Great Britain in 
 many places running parallel with navigable rivers. Persons unac- 
 quainted with the ch'^ap rate* at which goods are transported on ca- 
 nals, are surprised when they learn that a ton weight can be trans- 
 ported at the rate of one cent per mile. The illustrious Fulton 
 but a short time previous to his death, gave it as his opinion that 
 goods could be transported on the New-York canal, when com- 
 pleted, at the rate of one cent per ton per mile. We find him sup- 
 ported in this opinion by Charles G Haines, Esq. " Corresponding 
 Secretary to the New-York Association for the promotion of Inter- 
 nal improvements." Col Haines' situation enables him, on this sub- 
 ject, to form correct opinions ; his opinions on any subject are enti- 
 tled to great respect. Mr. Philips, in the preface to his history of 
 inland navigation, says, "All canals may be considered as so many 
 roads of a certain kind, on which one horse will draw as much as 30 
 horses do on ordinary turnpike roads, or on which one man alone will 
 transport as many goods as three men and eighteen horses usually 
 do on common roads. The public would be great gainers, (he fur- 
 ther adds) were they to lay out upon the making of every mile of 
 canal, twenty times as much as they expend upon making a mile of 
 turnpike road." 
 
 " Sutcliff in his treatise on canals says, " That within the last 25 
 years there has been expended '>n canals in England, more than 
 ^130,000,000." 
 
 A country is never made poorer by making internal improve- 
 ments, even if the people are taxed to make them. If money be 
 taken from the people it is again paid out among them and kept in 
 circulation. Were the canals through Ohio and New-York finished, 
 I have no doubt but that two thirds of the surplus produce of all 
 the country watered by the Ohio and its tributary streams above 
 the Falls, would pass through them to the New York market. That 
 it would be the interest of every shipper to give the preference to 
 New-York is obvious. You have there a healthy climate, where 
 if you think proper to store up your produce, you can do it in safe- 
 ty. Not so at New-Orleans ; if you there store up perishable ar- 
 ticles they may be considered next to lost. The amount of produce 
 that perishes on the way to and at New-Orleans, every 15 years 
 . would itself more than pay for building a canal across the state of 
 Ohio. During the spring tides, when the principal part of the pro- 
 duce of the western country is carried to New-Orleans that market 
 is glutted, and the shipper is very often pleased at being able to re- 
 turn home with half the money his cari;o cost him. 
 
 If Mr. Fulton's estimate as to the expense at which goods can 
 be transported on canals be correct, the expense of transporting a 
 barrel of flour to the city of New-York (allowing ten barrels for a 
 ton) will be as follows : — 
 
( 461 ) 
 
 Miles. Cents: 
 
 From the Ohio to lake Erie 200 20 
 
 Down lake Erie 260 20 
 
 Through the New-York canal 353 35 
 
 Down the Hudson to the city of New- York 160 15 
 
 Total 973 90 
 
 To this must be added the tollage through both canals. 
 
 The lowest rate at which flour is at present freighted to New-Or-* 
 leans from the falls is ^ i 25 per barrel. Nor is it probable that the 
 price will be reduced, as the boats which costs from 100 to laO dol- 
 lars is generally thrown away at New-Orleans, or sold for a sum not 
 exceeding the tenth part of their cost. Opportunities but seldom 
 offer to ship in steam-boats, owing to the difficulty of passing the falls. 
 It will be recollected, that while our produce is carried to New- 
 York, at the cheap rate quoted above, that our foreign goods can be 
 brought through the same channel at the same rates (whereas, at 
 present, the expense of transportation costs from 3 to 5 cents per 
 lb. or from 67 to 112 dollars per ton.) More or less of these goods 
 the people will have, and the cheaper the rates at w-hich they can 
 be furnished, the better for the country. And besides, it must be recol- 
 lected, that if they are brought across the mountains by way of 
 Pittsburgh, or from New-Orleans, by way of the Mississippi and 
 the Ohio, that the expense of transportation is paid to the citizens 
 of other states. If they are brought through the Ohio canal, the 
 money saved in the state thereby, would in twenty-five years, 
 amount to more than the whole cost of the canal. It must be ad- 
 mitted that the risk on the canal and lake, is much less than on the 
 Ohio and Mississippi, and the time required to carry the produce 
 that way, much less. 
 
 By turning the trade from New-Orleans to New-York, we would 
 save thereby, the lives of many of our most enterprising and useful 
 citizens, who would otherwise tall victims to the diseases of the 
 lower Mississippi. The state of Kentucky has lost more of her 
 citizens by the Orleans trade within the last fifteen ye-ars, than she 
 has lost by the late war, and it is known, she bled at every pore. 
 
 Lateral canals may be made from the main canal in many places, 
 which will serve to collect to the main canal the rich products oi 
 the soil through which they pass, and at the same time afford means 
 of furnishing the country with many of the necessaries of life, at 
 prices greatly below what they now cost or ever will cost without the 
 canal, 1 will only name the article of salt which by the means of the 
 canal may be furnished to the people in the interior of the state, 
 from the Salines of New-York, at a price, but little, if any thing, 
 exceeding fifty cents per bushel. It is impossible to calculate what 
 will be the benefits that may be derived to the people of this state 
 by the making of the canal. In its progress, it will, no doubt, lay 
 open rich beds of minerals. It will lay us, as it were along side of 
 the Atlantic. It will, in short, elevate the character of the state, 
 and put it half a century in advance of her present situation. 
 
( 462 ) 
 
 And I would respectfully inquire, whether the convicts now in 
 the Penitentiary naight not be more usefully employed in making a 
 canal, than at work in the Penitentiary? 
 
 It only remains for the legislature ©f Ohio to apply the means 
 within their reach to accomplish this desirable object. When ac- 
 complished, there can be no doubt but that it will produce a suffi- 
 cient revenue to defray the expenses of the state government for 
 ever. 
 
 W. STEELE. 
 
 Cincinnatti, December 2, 1820. 
 
 An Act to provide for the improvement of the internal navi- 
 gation of this state. 
 
 Passed April 17th, 1816. 
 
 I. Beit enacted by the People of the State of JVew-York, represented 
 inSenate and Assembly, That Stephen Van Rensselaer, De Witt Clin- 
 ton, Samuel Young, Joseph EUicott and Myron Holley, be and they 
 are hereby appointed commissioners, to consider, devise and adopt 
 such measures as may or shall be requisite, to facilitate and eifect 
 the communication, by means of canals and locks, between the na- 
 vigable waters of Hudson's river and lake Erie, and the said naviga- 
 ble waters and lake Champlain ; and in case of the resignation or 
 death of any of the said commissioners, the vacancy thereby occa- 
 sioned, shall be supplied by the legislature, in the manner in which 
 senators of the United States, from this state, are directed to be 
 chosen. 
 
 II. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners shall 
 choose one of their number, to be president of their board, and shall 
 appoint a fit person for their secretary, who shall be allowed and 
 paid such salary as the said commissioners shall deem proper and re- 
 sonable : And the president of the said board of commissioners, shall 
 have power to call a meeting of the same whenever, in his opinion, 
 the public interests require it ; and the said board may adjourn from 
 time to time, to meet at any time and place they may deem most con- 
 ducive to the public good : And further, the said commissioners shall 
 have power to emploj' such and so many agents, engineers, survey- 
 ors, draftsmen, and other persons, as in their opinion may be neces- 
 sary to enable them to fulfil and discharge the duties imposed upon 
 them by this act, and to allow and pay the said agents, engineers, 
 surveyors, draftsmen, and other persons, for their respective ser- 
 vices, such sum or sums as may be adequate and reasonable. 
 
 III. And be it further enacted. That it shall be the duty of the said 
 commissioners, as soon as may be after the passing of this act, to 
 cause those parts of the territory of this state which may lie upon or 
 
( 463 ) 
 
 contiguous to the probable courses and ranges of the said canals, to 
 be explored and examined for the purpose of fixing and determining 
 the most eligible and proper routes for the same, and to cause all ne- 
 cessary surveys and levels to be taken, and accurate maps, fiield books 
 and drafts thereof to be made, and further to adopt and recommend 
 proper plans for the construction and formation of the said canals, 
 and of the locks, dams, embankments, tunnels and aqueducts which 
 may be necessary for the completion of the same, arfd to cause all 
 necessary plans, drafts and models thereof, to be executed under their 
 direction. 
 
 IV Jl7id be it further enacted. That the said commissioners or a 
 majority of them, shall be, and they are hereby authorized and re- 
 quired to make application in behalf of this state, to the government 
 of the United States, and of such states and territories as may be be- 
 nefitted by the said canals or either of them, to the proprietors of 
 lands through or near which the said canals or either of them may. or 
 may be proposed to pass, to all bodies politic and corporate, public 
 or private, and all citizens or inhabitants of this or any other of the 
 United States, for cessions, grants or donations ef land or money, for 
 the purpose of aiding in the construction or completing of both or 
 either of the said canals, according to the discretion of the several 
 grantors or donors, and to take to the people of this state, such grants 
 and conveyances as may be proper and competent to vest a good and 
 sufficient title in the said people to the lands so to be ceded or grant- 
 ed as aforesaid ; and for the purposes above mentioned, it shall be the 
 duty of the said commissioners to open books of subscription in such 
 and so many places as they may think necessary and expedient, and 
 under such rule's and regulations as they may from time to time es- 
 tablish ; And further, it shall be their duty to ascertain whether to 
 any and to what amount, and upon what terms loans of money may 
 or can be procured on the credit of this state, for the purposes afore- 
 said. 
 
 V. And be it further enacted. That it shall be the duty of the said 
 commissioners to make or cause to be made, with as much accuracy 
 and minuteness as may be, calculations and estimates of the sum or 
 sums of money which may or will be necessary for completing each 
 of the said canals, according to the plan or plans which may be adopt- 
 ed and recommended by them, for the construction or formation of 
 the same, and to cause the said calculations and estimates, and all 
 surveys, maps, field books, plans drafts, and models, authorized and 
 directed by this act, or so many thereof as may be completed, toge- 
 ther with a plain and comprehensive report of all their proceedings 
 under and by virtue of this act, to be presented to the legislature of 
 this state within twenty days after the commencement of the next re- 
 gular annual cession thereof. 
 
 VI. Jlnd be it further enacted, That the treasurer shall on the 
 warrant of the comptroller, pay to the order of a majority of the 
 said commissioners, out of any monies in the treasury not otherwise 
 appropriated, any sum or sums not exceeding twenty thousand do,l- 
 
( 464 ) 
 
 iars, and for which the said commissioners shall account to the comp= 
 troller of this state 
 
 VII. And be it further enacted, That the act entitled "an act to 
 provide for the improvement of the internal navigation of this state," 
 passed the 8th day of April, 18 < 1, and the act, entitled " an act fur- 
 ther to provide for the improvement of the internal navigation of 
 this state," passed June 19, 18 i2, be and the same are hereby re- 
 pealed. 
 
 ^'in act respecting navigable communications between the Great 
 Western and JYorthern Lakes, and the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 Passed April 15, 1817. 
 
 Whereas navigable communications between lakes Erie and Cham- 
 plain and the Atlantic ocean, by means of canals connected with the 
 Hudson river, will promote agriculture, manufactures and commia-ce, 
 mitigate the calamities of war, and enhance the blessings of peace, 
 consolidate the union, and advance the prosperity and elevate the 
 character of the United States ; And whereas it is the incumbent duty 
 of the people of this state to avail themselves of the means which the 
 Almighty has placed in their hands for the production of such signal, 
 extensive, and lasting benefits to the human race. Now, therefore, 
 in tuU confidence that the congress of the United States, and the 
 states equally interested with this state, in the commencement, pro- 
 secution and completion of those important works, will contribute 
 their full proportion of the expense, and in order that adequate funds 
 may be provided, and properly arranged and managed for the prose-" 
 cution and completion of all the navigable communications contem- 
 plated by this act : 
 
 Be it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in 
 Senate and Assembly, That there shall be constituted a fund to be de- 
 nominated the canal fund, which shall conjiis*" of all such appropria- 
 tions, grants, and donations, as may be made for that purpose by the 
 legislature of this state, by the congress of the United States, by in- 
 dividual states, and by corporations, companies and individuals ; 
 which fund shall be superintended and managed by a board of com- 
 missioners, to be denominated "the commissioners of the canal 
 fund," consisting of the lieutenant-governor, the comptroller, the 
 attorney general, the surveyor general, secretary and treasurer, a 
 majority of whom, with the comptroller, shall be a quorum for the 
 transaction of business ; and that it shall be the duty of the said board, 
 to receive, arrange and manage to the best advantage, all things be- 
 Ipnging to the said fund ; to borrow from time to time, monies on the 
 credit of the people of this state, at a rate of interest not exceeding 
 six per centum per annum, and not exceeding in any one year, a sum, 
 which together with the net income of the said fuad, shall amount to 
 
(465 ) 
 
 four hundred thousand dollars, for which monies so to be borrowed, 
 the comptroller shall issue transferable certificates of stock, payable 
 at such time or times, as may be determined by the said board ; out 
 of the said fund to pay to the canal commissioners hereafter mention- 
 ed, the monies so to be borrowed, and the income of the said fund, 
 reserving at all times sufficient to pay the interest of all monies that 
 shall have been borrowed -by the said board : to recommend from 
 time to time to the legislature the adoption of such measures as may be 
 thought proper by the said board for the improvement of the said 
 fund, and to report to the legislature at the opening of every session 
 thereof, the state of saidfund ; and that tl*e comptroller and treasur- 
 er shall open separate books, and keep the accounts of the said fund, 
 distinct from the other funds of the state. 
 
 And be it further enacted. That the commissioners appointed by 
 the act, entitled " an act to provide for the improvement of the inter- 
 nal navigation of this state, "i passed April 17, 1816 shall contnue to 
 possess the powers thereby conferred, and be denominated " the 
 canal commissioners," and they are hereby authorized and ena- 
 powered in behalf of this state, and on the credit of the fund herein 
 pledged, to commence making the said canals, by opening communi- 
 cations by canals and locks between the Mohawk and Seneca rivers, 
 and between lake Champlain and the Hudson river ; to receive from 
 time to time from the commissioners of the canal fund, such moneys 
 as may be necessary for, and applicable to the objects hereby con- 
 templated ; to cause the same to be expended in the most prudent 
 and economical manner in all such works as may be proper to make 
 the said canals, and on completing any part or parts of the works or 
 canals contemplated by this act, to establish reasonable tolls, and 
 adopt all measures necessary for the collection and payment thereof 
 to the commissioners of the canal fund : that a majority of the said 
 commissioners shall be a board for the transaction of business, each 
 of whom shall take an oath, well and faithfully to execute the duties 
 of his office, and shall report to the legislature at each session there- 
 of, the state of said works and expenditures, and recommend such 
 measures as they may think advisable for the accomplishment of 
 the objects intended by this act. And in case of any vacancy in the 
 office of commissioner, during the recess of the legislature, the per- 
 son administering the government may appoint a person to fill such 
 vacancy, until the legislature shall act in th« premises. 
 
 And he it further enacted. That it shall and may be lawful for 
 the said canal commissioners, aud each'of them, by themselves, and 
 by any and every superintendent, agent and engineer employed by 
 them, to enter upon, and take possession of, and use all and singular 
 any lands, waters and streams, necessary for the prosecution of the 
 improvements intended by this act. And to make all such canals, 
 feeders, dykes, locks, dams, and other works and devices, as they 
 may think proper for making said improvements, doing, neverthe- 
 less, no unnecessary damage. And that in case any lands, waters or 
 streams, taken and appropriated for any of the purposes afor^aid 
 
 60 
 
( 466 ) 
 
 shall not be given or granted to the people of this state, it shall be the 
 duty of the canal commissioners, from time to time, and as often as 
 they think reasonable and proper, to cause applications to be made 
 to the justices of the supreme court, or any two of them, for the ap- 
 pointment of appraisers, and the said justices shall thereupon, by wri- 
 ting, appoint not less than three, nor more than five discreet, disin- 
 terested persons as appraisers, who shiill, before they enter upon 
 the duties of their appointment, severally take and subscribe an 
 oath or affirmation, before some person authorised to administer 
 oaths, faithfully and impartially to perform the trust and duties re- 
 quired of them by this acte Which oath or affirmation shall be filed 
 vrith the secretary of the canal commissioners ; and it shall be the 
 duty of the said appraisers, or a majoritj' of them to make a just 
 and equitable estimate and appraisal of the loss and damage, if any 
 over and above the benefit and advantage to the respective owners 
 and proprietors or parties interested in the premises so required for 
 the purposes aforesaid, 'by and in consequence of making and con- 
 structing any of the works aforesaid ; and the said appraisers, or a 
 majority of them, shall make regular entries of their determination 
 and appraisal, with an apt and sufficient description of the several 
 premises appropriated for the purposes aforesaid, in a book or books 
 to be provided and keptbj' the canal commissioners, and certify and 
 sign their names to such entries and appraisal, and in like manner 
 certifiy their determination as to those several premises, which will 
 suffer no damages, or will be benefited more than injured, by or in 
 consequence of the works aforesaid. And the canal commissioners 
 shall pa}*^ the damages so to be assessed and appraised, and the fee 
 simple of the premises so appropriated, shall be vested in the peo- 
 ple of this state. 
 
 And be it further enacted. That whenever in the opinion of the 
 canal comjnissioners, it shall be for the interest of this state, for the 
 prosecution of the works contemplated by this act,, that all the inte- 
 rest and title (if any) in law and equity of the western inland lock 
 navigation company should be vested in the people of this state, it 
 shall be lawful for the said canal commissioners to pass a resolution 
 to that effect ; and that it shall then be lawful for the president of 
 the canal commissioners, to cause a copy of such resolution, with a 
 notice signed by himself and the secretary of the said commissioners 
 to be delivered to the president or other known officer of said com- 
 pany, notifying the president and directors of the said company 
 that an application will be made to the justices of the supreme 
 court, at a term thereof, to be held not 1-ess than thirty days from the 
 time of giving such notice for the appointment of appraisers, to esti- 
 mate the damages to be sustained by the said company, by investing 
 in the people of this state, all the lands, waters, canals, locks, feeders 
 and appurtenances thereto acquired, used and claimed by the said 
 company, under its act of incorporation, and the several acts amend- 
 ing the same ; and it shall be the duty of the justices aforesaid, at 
 the term mentioned in the said notice, and on proof of the service, 
 thereof to appoint by writing under the seal of the said court, and 
 
:( 467 ) 
 
 the hands of at least three of the said justices, not less than three 
 nor more than five disinterested persons, being citizens of the United 
 States, to estimate and appraise the damages aforesaid ; and it shall 
 be the duty of the said appraisers, or a majority of them, to estimate 
 and appraise the damages aforesaid, and severally to certify the same 
 under oath, before an officer authorized to take the acknowledgment 
 of deeds, to be a just, equitable and impartial appraisal to the best of 
 their judgement and belief, and shall thereupon deliver the sanle to 
 one of the canal commissioners, who shall report th<e same to the 
 said court ; and if the said court shall be of opinion, that the said 
 damages have been fairly and equitably assessed, the said justices 
 or any three of them, may certify the same on the said report, and 
 the amount of the said damages, and the expense of the said apprais- 
 al shall be audited by the comptroller, and paid on his warrant by 
 the treasurer out of the canal fund. And the people of this state 
 shall thereupon be invested with, and the said canal commissioners 
 may cause to be used, all the lands, waters, streams, canals, locks, 
 feeders and appurtenances aforesaid, for the purposes intended by 
 this act. 
 
 And be it further enacted, that for the purposes contemplated by 
 this act, and for the payment of the interest, and final redemption of 
 the principal, of the sums to be borrowed by virtue thereof, there 
 shall be and hereby are appropriated and pledged, a duty or tax, of 
 twelve and a half cents per bushel upon all salt to be manufactured in 
 the western district of this state ; a tax of one dollar upon each steam 
 boat passenger, for each and every trip or voyage, such passenger 
 may be conveyed upon the Hudson river, on board of any steam boat, 
 over one hundred miles ; and half that sum for any distance less than 
 one hundred miles and over thirty miles ; the proceeds of all lotteries 
 which shall he drawn in this state, after the sums now granted upon 
 them shall be paid ; all the net proceeds of this state from the western 
 Inland lock Navigation company : all the net proceeds of the said ca- 
 nals and each part thereof when made ; all grants and donations made 
 or to be made for the purpose of making the said canals ; all the du- 
 ties upon sales at auction, after deducting thereout twenty three thou- 
 sani) and five hundred dollars, annually appropriated to the hospital, 
 the economical school, and the orphan asylum society, and ten thou- 
 sand f<ol!ars hereby appropriated annually for the support of foreign 
 pool nn the city of Nevv-York. 
 
 And be if further enacted, That from and after the first Tuesday of 
 August next, there shall be paid and collected in the manner now di- 
 rected by law, 'jpon ails?li to be manufactured in the connty of On- 
 ondaga, a duty of twelve and a half cents per bushel, instead of the 
 present duties, and the like tax or duty of twelve and a half cents 
 per bushel, upon ail other salt to be inai-'ufartured in the western 
 district of this state, which shaU be colloced by the .superii\tendent 
 of the salt springs^ until otherwise directed by tf.o legislature ; and 
 for that purpose he shall have a respoMslMe deputy residin'^,- at each 
 place where salt is, or may be manufactured, with the like powers, 
 
( 468 ) 
 
 and subject to the like duties as his present deputies : and that all the 
 provisions, forfeitures, penalties, and restrictions contained in the 
 laws relative to the duties upon Onondaga salt, so far as the same may 
 be applicable, shall be in force for the purposes of enforcing the pay- 
 ment and collection of the tax or duties imposed on salt, hereby levi- 
 ed and imposed ; and further, that the said superintendent, instead of 
 a yearly report to the legislature, shall make a quarter-yearly re- 
 port to the commissioners of the canal fund, and pay into the trea- 
 sury of this state, on the first Tuesday of February, May, August, 
 and November, in each year, all the monies collected by him during 
 the quarter preceding each of those days, deducting, in addition t<;t, 
 what by law is now allowed to be deducted, five per cent of the du- 
 ties collected at all other salt works, not situated in the county of 
 Onondaga, and two per cent of the duties upon Onondaga salt, as a 
 compensation for the collecting, and paying over the same. 
 
 A7id be it further enacted. That it shall be the duty of the said ca- 
 tfal commissioners, to raise the sum of two hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand dollars, to be appropriated towards the making and completing 
 of the said canals, from the Mohawk river, to the Seneca river, and 
 from lake Champlain to Hudson's river, by causing to be assessed 
 and levied in such manner as the said commissioners may determine 
 and direct, the said sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, 
 upon the lands and real estate, lying along the route of the said ca- 
 nals, and within twenty-five miles of the same, on each side thereof: 
 which sum so to be assessed and levied, shall be assessed on the said 
 lands and real estate adjacent to the said several canals, in such 
 proportion for each, as the said commissioners shall determine. And 
 the said commissioners shall have power to make such ruies and re- 
 gulations, and ado^tsuch measures for the assessing, levying and col- 
 lecting the sum or sums of money, either by sale of the said lands, 
 or otherwise, as they shall deem meet, and the said assessment shall 
 be made on said lands, according to the benefit which they shall be 
 considered by the said commissioners, as deriving from the making 
 of the said canals respectively: Provided, That such rules, regula- 
 tions and measures, shall, before they are carried into effect, be 
 sanctioned and approved by the chancellor, and judges of the su- 
 preme court, or a majority of them : And provided further, That if 
 any company or individual subject to such tax, shall subscribe any 
 money or other property towards the completion of the said canals, 
 the amount of such donations or voluntary subscriptions, shall, if the 
 same is less than the amount of the tax, be deducted therefrom, 
 and if more, he or they shall be entirely discharged from the said 
 tax. 
 
 '>- And be it further enacted. That from and after the first day of 
 May next, the aforesaid tax upon steam-boat passengers, shall be de- 
 manded, taken and received, by each captain, or master of every 
 steam-boajt navigating the Hudson river; and, that during each month 
 thereafter, in which such boat shall be employed for the conveyance 
 itff passengers, it shall be the duty of such captain or master, to 
 
( 469 ) 
 
 cause to be delivered to the comptroller of this state, a return or 
 account,53ivorn to, before some oflBcer authorized to administer oaths, 
 stating the name of the boat, the number of trips made by such boat 
 during such month, and the whole number of passengers conveyed 
 on board such boat, at each of the said trips, over one hundred miles, 
 and the number conveyed less than one hundred miles, and over 
 thirty miles, and pay into the treasury of this state, the amount of 
 such tax collected during the time mentioned in the said return, de- 
 ducting three per cent thereof, as a compensation for making such 
 return, and collecting and paying over the said tax ; And further. 
 That in case of any neglect or refusal, in making such return or col- 
 lecting and paying over the tax as directed in and by this section, the 
 captain or master so neglecting, shall forfeit and pay the sum of five 
 hundred dollars, besides the amount of tax so directed to be collect- 
 ed and paid over, to be recovered in an action of debt in the name 
 of the people of this state, and for tbe use of the aforesaid fund. 
 
 jin Act concerning the Great Western and JVorthern Canals, 
 
 Passed April 7, 1819. 
 
 I. Be it enacted by the People of the state of New-York, represented 
 in Senate and Assembly, That it shall be the duty of the commission- 
 ers of the canal fund, in addition to the sums vehich they are al- 
 ready authorized to borrow, to borrow from time to time monies 
 on the credit of the state, at a rate not exceeding six per centum per 
 annum, and not exceeding in any one year a sum, which together 
 with the net income of the canal fund, and with the sums which they 
 are already authorized to borrow shall amount to six hundred thou- 
 sand dollars ; for which monies so to be borrowed, certificates of 
 stock shall be issued in the manner directed in and by the act, enti- 
 tled " an act to improve the funds, and to provide for the redemp- 
 tion of the funded debt of this state," payable at such time or times 
 as maybe determined by the said board, out of the said canal fund, 
 and to pay to the canal commissioners the monies so to be borrow- 
 ed. 
 
 II. And be it further enacted, That the canal commissioners be 
 and they are hereby authorized and empowered, in behalf of this 
 state, and on the credit of the canal fund, to proceed to open com- 
 munications by canals and locks, between the Seneca river and 
 lake Erie ; between such point on the Mohawk river, where the 
 middle section of the great western canal shall terminate and the 
 Hudson river ; between Fort Edward and the navigable waters of 
 the Hudson river, and between the great western canal and the salt 
 works in the village of Salina ; to receive from time to time from 
 the commissioners of the canal fund such monies as may be necessary 
 for and applicable to the object? hereby contemplated ; to cause the 
 
( 470 ) 
 
 same to be expended in the most economical and prudent manner 
 in all such works as may be proper to make the said canals and locks, 
 and completing any of the works contemplated by this act ; to estab- 
 lish reasonable tolls, and adopt all measures necessary for the col- 
 lection and payment thereof to the commissioners of the canal 
 fund. 
 
 III. And be it further enacted, That all the provisions of the 
 third section of the act, entitled " an act respecting navigable com- 
 munications between the great western and northern lakes and ihe 
 Atlantic ocean," as it respects the powers of the canal commission- 
 ers to enter upon and take possession of the lands, waters and streams 
 therein mentioned, the construction of all necessary artificial works 
 thereon, the mode of estimating and appraising the loss and damage 
 occasioned thereby to the owners and proprietors of such lands ; and 
 the payment of the damages to be so assessed and appraised, shall 
 be extended to and apply to all and singular any lands, waters and 
 streams necessary for the prosecution of the improvements intended 
 by this act ; and the same proceedings shall be had for estimating 
 and appraising the loss and damage occasioned by the occupation 
 thereof, and for payment of the same, as in and by the third section 
 of said act is provided in relation to the lands therein mentioned. 
 
 IV. And be it further enacted. That every person actually engaged 
 in labouring on either of the canals authorized by this act, or the act 
 respecting navigable communications between the great western and 
 northern lakes and the Atlantic ocean, shall be exempt from doing 
 militia duty in this state, except in cases of insurrection or invasion, 
 during the time when he is so'actually engaged; and the certificate of 
 one of the canal commissioners or contractors who shall employ such 
 men so liable to peform militia duty, in the performance of their con- 
 tracts, shall be prima facie evidence of such engagement. 
 
 V. And be it further enacted, 1 hat the assessments upon certain 
 lands which are directed to be made by the seventh section of the 
 act respecting navigable communications between the great western 
 and northern lakes and the Atlantic ocean, shall be suspended until 
 the further order of the legislature thereon : And further. That 
 whenever the legislature shall direct the assessment and collection of 
 such tax, a similar tax shall be assessed and collected on the sections 
 authorized by this act, and on the like principles as declared in said 
 seventh section. 
 
 VI. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the 
 canal commissioners, on or before the first day of February, in each 
 and every year, to settle and account with the comptroller for all 
 monies by them received from the commissioners of the canal fund ; 
 and it shall be the duty of the comptroller to report the settlement so 
 made to the legislature, as soon thereafter as may be, detailing the 
 sums allowed by them to the engineers, agents and servants, respec- 
 tively employed in the superintendence and construction of said 
 canal and the works connected therewith. 
 
 VII. And be it further enacted. That there shall be allowed and 
 paid to such of the canal commissioners (to be designated by the 
 
( 471 ) 
 
 board, and not to exceed three in any one year) as shall be actually 
 engaged in the superintendence of the works and the immediate 
 duties connected therewith, in full compensation for their services 
 and personal expenses, a salary of twenty-five hundred dollars each 
 a year, to commence on the first day of January last. 
 
 STATE OF NEW-YORK, > 
 
 Secretary's Office. ^ 
 
 I certify the preceding to be a true copy of an original 
 act of the legislature of this state, on file in this office. 
 
 ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, Dep. Secretary. 
 Albany, April Q,\8\9. 
 
 An Act for the maintenance and protection of the Erie and Champlain 
 Canals, and the works connected therewith. 
 
 Passed April 13, 1820. 
 
 1 . Be it enacted by the people of the State of J^ew-York, represented 
 in Senate and Assembly, That in all cases when a new road or public 
 highway is laid out; by legal authority, in such direction as to cross 
 the line of the Erie canal, Champlain canal, or the Salina side cut, 
 after said line is established, and in such manner as to require the 
 erection of a new bridge over either of the said canals, for the ac- 
 commodation of said road, such bridge shall be so constructed and 
 forever maintained at the expense of the town in which such bridge 
 is to be situated : Provided however, that no bridge shall be con- 
 structed across either of the said canals, without first obtaining for 
 the model and location thereof, the consent in writing of one of the 
 acting commissioners, or the principal engineer of the canal to be 
 intersected by said road ; And provided, that if any person or per- 
 sons, shall undertake to construct or locate such bridge without 
 such consent, and shall proceed therein, so far as to place any ma- 
 terials for that purpose on either bank of the canal, or on the bottom 
 thereof, he or they shall be subject to a penalty of fifty dollars for 
 such undertaking, and either of said commissioners or engineers 
 shall be authorized to remove all such materials so soon as they are 
 discovered, wholly without the banks of the canal. 
 
 2. And be it further enacted, That every person who shall lead, 
 drive, or ride, any horse, ox, ass, mule, or other cattle upon the 
 towing-path, or the bank opposite to the towing-path, of either of 
 the said canals, except for the purpose of towing boats or other float- 
 ing things upon the waters thereof, and except, for the purpose of 
 conveying articles to and from the said canals, in order to their trans- 
 portion on the waters of the same or their delivery at their place of 
 destination, shall forfeit for every offence, the sum of five dollars, 
 
( 472 ) 
 
 and pay all damages consequent upon such offence over and above 
 the said forfeiture ! and in case of default, in the immediate payment 
 of such forfeiture, after conviction of said offence, such person or 
 persons shall be liable to imprisonment in the gaol of the county 
 where such offence shall be committed, for a term not exceeding thir- 
 ty days, at the discretion of the court before whom such conviction 
 shall be had. 
 
 3. And whereas it may hapT^en thai the said canal, or the works 
 connected therewith, may be injured by unforeseen accidents, where- 
 by the navigation may be interrupted, and the lands adjacent there- 
 to may be exposed to damage ; therefore, Be it further enacted, for 
 the speedy reparation of such injury, that whenever, and as often as 
 such case shall happen, it shall be lawful for the said commissioners, 
 or either of them, or of their engineers, or any other person em- 
 ployed by either of them, with carts, waggons,' or other carriages, 
 with their beasts of draft or burthen, and all necessary tools and im- 
 plements, to enter upon any lands contiguous to the said canals, or 
 the works connected therewith and to dig for, work, to get and 
 carry away, and use, all such stone, gravel, clay, timber and other 
 materials as may be necessary or proper, in their opinion, for 
 such reparation, doing as little damage thereby as the nature of 
 the case will permit. And in case damages shall be claimed by 
 the owner or owners of any land, entered upon for the purpose of 
 obtaining materials as aforesaid, and the said commissioners, or either 
 of them, or the principal engineer of that portion of either of said 
 canals, where such injury may have occurred, cannot agree with 
 such owner or owners as to the amount of said damages, then, for 
 the purpose of ascertaining that amount, it shall be lawful for either 
 of the said acting commissioners, or for such engineer", to select one 
 discreet free-holder of the county wherein such damages may be 
 claimed, and such owner or owners another, and these two free- 
 holders shall select a third, which three, after being severally sworn, 
 before any person authorized to administer oaths, faithfully and im- 
 partially to assess said damages, shall proceed to inquire into said 
 damages, and after having ascertained the same by the concurrent 
 opinion of any two or all of the said freeholders, they shall certify 
 the same in writing under their hands and seals, or the hands and 
 seals of any two of them ; and the amount of damages thus certified, 
 shall be paid to such owner or owners, by the said commissioners, 
 within ten days after said certificate shall be delivered to them, or as 
 soon thereafter as they shall be in funds ; and proof of such pay- 
 ment, or of the offer of such payment, in case of refusal to re- 
 ceive the same, on the part of such owner or owners, shall for ever 
 discharge the said commissioners and their engineers, and all per- 
 sons employed by them, from all claims for entering upon such land, 
 and taking and using materials as aforesaid ; and in case the amount 
 of damages certified by said freeholders, in any case, shall fall short 
 of the sum offered for such damages by said commissioners or engi- 
 neer, previously to the selection of said freeholders, then the cost of 
 
( 473 ) 
 
 all proceedings after such offer, shall be deducted from the amount 
 of damages so certified, and said commissioners shall be required to 
 pay to said owner or owners, no more than the residue of said 
 damages after the deduction of such cost ; but in case the amount of 
 damages so certified, shall exceed such previous offer, then all 
 such cost shall be paid by said commissioners over and above the 
 damages so certified : and the said freeholders shall each be entitled 
 for his services, the sum of one dollar and fifty cents, for each assess- 
 ment of damages, and if more days than one are required to ascer- 
 tain and assess said damages, then each of said freeholders shall be 
 entitled to one dollar and fifty cents per day, for every day thus re- 
 quired. 
 
 4. And be if further enacted. That every boatman or other per- 
 son having charge of any boat or other floating thing, upon either 
 of the said canals, which shall pass through any lock thereon in de- 
 scending from a higher to a lower level, shall previously to moving 
 his boat or other floating thing into any lock, shut the lower gates 
 of such lock, and the paddles thereto belonging, before he shall open 
 the upper gates, or draw or open the paddles thereof, or open the 
 culvert gates of the head of said lock, and after he shall have moved 
 his boat or other floating thing into said lock, he shall then shut the 
 upper gates thereof, and the paddles thereof, and the gates of the 
 culverts belonging to the head thereof, before he shall draw or open 
 the paddles of the lower gates thereof; and immediately after such 
 boatman or other person shall have moved his boat or other float- 
 ing thing, through* any lock either waj^ and shall have emptied such 
 lock, he shall securely shut all the passages for water into and out 
 of said lock, contrived for the purpose of filling or emptying the 
 same : And at all times, boats or other floating things going up the 
 said canals, if within sight of any boat or other floating thing com- 
 ing down, and at a distance not exceeding one hundred yards below 
 any lock shall pass through such lock before the boat or other float- 
 ing thing above such lock, shall come down ; and if there shall be 
 more boats or other floating things than one below and one above 
 any lock, at the same time, within the distance aforesaid, such boats 
 or other floating things shall go up and come down through such locks 
 by turns, as aforesaid, until they shall a^l have passed the same, in 
 order that one lock full of water may serve two boats or other float- 
 ing things. And if any boatman or other person shall offend against 
 either of the provisions of this section, he shall forfeit for every 
 such ofi'ence the sum of twenty-five dollars. 
 
 5. And be it further enacted. That if any boat or other floating- 
 thing shall be so moored, in either of the s?id canals, as to obstruct 
 the navigation thereof or if any person or persons shall obstruct the 
 navigation of either of the said canals, by means of the loading, un- 
 loading, misplacing or otherwise misconducting any boat or other 
 floating thing, and shall not immediately, upon being requested there- 
 to by any commissioner, engineer, superintendent or agent employed 
 on said canals, or by any person incommoded by said obstruction, 
 
 61 
 
( 474 ) 
 
 remove the same, the boatman or person who caused said obstruc 
 tion, shall forfeit for every such offence, the sum of twenty-five dol- 
 lars, over and above the expense of removing said obstruction. 
 
 6. Afid be it further enacted, That if any person shall obstruct the 
 navigation of either of the said canals, by sinking any vessel, timber, 
 stone, earth or other thing or things, to the bottom of either of said 
 canals, or by placing any obstruction on the towing path thereof, or on 
 the bank opposite the towing path thereof, such person shall forfeit 
 for every such offence, the sura of twenty-five dollars ; and in case 
 such forfeiture is not paid forthwith, on conviction of such offence, 
 such convict shall be imprisoned in the gaol of the county where 
 such offence may be committed, upon the warrant of any court be- 
 fore whom such conviction may be had, for the term of one calen- 
 der month. 
 
 7. And be it further enacted. That if any person or persons shall 
 wantonly or unnecessarily open or shut, or cause to be opened or 
 shut, any lock gate, or any paddle or culvert gate thereof, or any 
 waste gate, or drive any nails, spikes, pins or wedges into either of 
 the said gates, or take any other mode of preventing the perfect and 
 free use of either of the said gates, or shall wantonly or maliciously 
 break, throw down or destroy any bridge or fence, on either of the 
 said canals, such person or persons shall, for every such offence, 
 forfeit the sum of fifty dollars, and be imprisoned in the gaol of the 
 county where such offence may be committed, upon the warrant of 
 the court before whom a conviction for such offence shall be had, for 
 a term not less than one, nor more than three calerfder months. 
 
 8. And be it further enacted. That if any person or persons shall 
 wilfully and maliciously break, throw down or destroy any lock, bank, 
 waste-weir, dam, aqueduct or culvert, belonging to either of the 
 said canals, such person or persons shall, for every such offence, 
 pay all the damages arising from such breaking, throwing down or 
 destroying, and on conviction thereof, before any court of general 
 sessions of the peace, or (^ourt of oyer and terminer to be held in the 
 county where such offence may be committed, shall be sentenced to 
 imprisonment in the state prison, at hard labour, for any term not 
 less than three years, in the discretion of the court before whom 
 such conviction shall be had. 
 
 9. And be it further enacted, That in all cases where any boat or 
 other floating thing, in passing on either of the said canals, shall meet 
 with any other boat or other floating thing, it shall be the duty of the 
 boatman or person having charge of each of said boats, or other 
 floating things, to turn out to the right hand, so far as to give to each 
 other a free passage, or as to be wholly on the right side of the centre 
 of the canal : and in all cases when any boat or other floating thing 
 shall approach any place on either of the said canals, which is less 
 than thirty feet wide at the top water line, or which will not safely 
 permit their passing, it shall be the duty of the boatman or person 
 having charge of the boat or other floating thing, going from the 
 navigable waters of the Hudson river, to wait at such distance from 
 
 J 
 
( 475 ) 
 
 such narrow place as may be convenient for the boat or other floating 
 thing, going towards the said navigable waters, to pass through said 
 narrow place, until such passage is eflfected ; and every boatman or 
 other person violating either of the provisions of this section, shall 
 forfeit, for every such offence, the sum of ten dollars. 
 
 10. And be it further enacted, That no boat or other floating thing 
 shall be permitted to move on either of the said canals, without per- 
 mission in writing of a majority of the canal commissioners, faster 
 than at the rate of five miles an hour ; and that in all cases in which 
 a boat intended and used chiefly for the carriage of persons and their 
 baggage, shall overtake any boat or other floating thing, not intended 
 or used chiefly for such purpose, it shall be the duty of the boatman 
 or person having charge of the latter to give the former every 
 practicable facility for passing ; and whenever it shall become 
 necessary for that purpose, to stop, until such boat for the carriage 
 of passengers shall have fully passed ; and every boatman or other 
 person who shall offend against any part of this section, shall forfeit, 
 for every such offence, the sum often dollars. 
 
 11. And be it further enacted, That no person shall construct any 
 wharf, basin or watering place on, or make and apply any device 
 whatever, for the purpose of taking water from either of the said 
 canals, without first obtaining permission therefoe, of one of the 
 acting commissioners, or of the principal engineer of the canal where 
 such wharf, basin, watering place, or device as aforesaid is desired, 
 in writing ; and if any person shall offend against this section, by 
 attempting to make any such construction or apply such device, 
 without such permission, or shall not conform to the directions of 
 the acting commissioner or engineer who may give such permission, 
 in respect to the location and size of such wharf, basin, watering 
 place, or device as aforesaid, such person shall, for every such 
 offence, forfeit the sum of twenty five dollars ; and the said acting 
 commissioners, or engineer, shall be authorized, at the expense of 
 the person thus attempting to remove and destroy every such wharf, 
 basin, watering place or device as aforesaid. 
 
 12. And be it further enacted. That if any agent, toll collector, 
 lock keeper or superintendent employed on either of the said canals, 
 and occupying any house, office, building or land belonging thereto, 
 shall be discharged from his employment by either of the acting com- 
 missioners on said canals, and shall not deliver up the possession of 
 such house, office, building or lands and their appurtenances, together 
 with all the books, papers and other matters and things belonging to 
 the said canals, within seven days next after notice of such discharge 
 shall be given to him, or left at such house, office or building ; or if 
 the wife or family of any such agent, toll collector, lock keeper or 
 superintendent, who shall die in either of said employments, shall 
 refuse to deliver up the possession of such house, office, building, 
 or lands and appurtenances, together with the books, papers and 
 other matters and things belonging to either of the said canals, in his, 
 her or their custody, power or possession, within seven days after 
 
 •#' 
 
( 476 ) 
 
 another person shall have been appointed in the place and stead of 
 the person so djing, then and in either of those cases, it shall be 
 lawful for any justice of the peace, in the county where such house, 
 office, building or lands shall be, and he is hereby required, by war- 
 rant, under his hand and seal, to order any constable or other peace 
 officer, with such assistance as may be necessary, to enter such 
 house, office, building, or upon such land, in the day time, and re- 
 move the persons who shall be found therein, together with their 
 goods and chattels, out of such house, office, building, and off from 
 such land, and to take possession of all the books, papers, matter'i 
 and things belonging to said canals, and to deliver possession of the 
 same to the new appointed agent, toll collector, lock keeper or super- 
 intendent. 
 
 13. And be it further enacted, That the tonnage of all articles con- 
 veyed on either of the said canals, on which toll may be charged 
 therefor, shall be ascertained and charged according to the real 
 weight thereof, and that one hundred and twelve pounds weight avoir- 
 dupoise shall be deemed and taken as and for one hundred weight ; 
 and in case any difference shall arise between any collector of the 
 said rates, and the boatman or other person having charge of such 
 articles, or the owner thereof, concerning the weight thereof, it 
 shall be lawful for any such collector to stop and detain such articles 
 together with the vessels in which they may be contained, and to 
 weigh the same ; and if upon such weighing the said articles shall 
 be found to weigh more than the account given thereof by such 
 boatman, person or owner, then it shall be lawful for such collector 
 to charge toll for said articles, according to their weight thus found ; 
 and such boatman, person or owner, shall pay the expenses of such 
 Tveighing, at the rate of twelve and a half cents for every ton weighed 
 to the said collector, who in case of refusal to pay the same, on de- 
 mand, by such boatman, person or owner, shall be authorized to 
 levy the said expenses, in the same manner as is hereinafter pro- 
 vided in case of refusal to pay toll. 
 
 14. Aiid be itfurtiier enacted, That in all cases where toll is charged 
 by the number of articles conveyed, or by the number of feet 
 contained therein, if any difference shall arise between any col- 
 lector of the said toll and the boatman, or person having charge 
 of such articles or the owners thereof it shall be lawful for any 
 such collector to stop and detain such articles, together with 
 the vessels in which they may be contained, and to count or 
 measure the same ; and if upon such counting or measurement, 
 rl shall be found that the said number of feet exceed the account 
 given by such boatman, person or owner, then it shall be law- 
 ful for such collector to charge toll according to the number and 
 feet thus found, and such boatman, person or owner shall pay 
 the expenses of such counting or measurement, at the rate of six 
 cents a piece for such articles as pay toll by number, and twelve 
 and a half cents per hundred feet for such articles as pay by the 
 foot, for ail the articles so counted or measured, to such collector, 
 
( 477 ) 
 
 who in case of refusal to pay the same, on demand, by such boatman 
 person or owner, shall be authorized to levy the said expenses, in 
 the same manner as is herein after provided in case of refusal to 
 pay toll. 
 
 15. And he it further enacted. That no boat or vessel of any de- 
 scription shall be permitted to pass through any lock, on either of 
 the said can;ds, unless such boat or vessel, shall have painted, in 
 large letters, near the head or stern thereof, and above the water 
 when full la(^en, the name of such boat or vessel, and the place 
 #where the same is owned ; and every boat or vessel, except those 
 used exclusively for the carriage of persons and their baggage, shall 
 have fixed on each side thereof, two metalic straps, one near the 
 head, and one near the stern, extending from below the surface of the 
 water when empty, to above the surface of the water when full la- 
 den, which straps shall each be so graduated and marked, as distinctly 
 to show the amount of tons weight contained in said boat or vessels ; 
 and every person who shall attempt to pass any boat or vessel 
 through any lock, or shall introduce any boat not named and gradua- 
 ted as aforesaid, into either of the said canals, in violation of this 
 section, after the first day of September next, shall forfeit, for 
 every such offence, the sum of twenty-five dollars. 
 
 16 And heit further enacted, Th^i no person navigating either of 
 the said canals, shall be permitted to use therein any setting pole, 
 or shaft pointed with iron or other metal, and if any person shall of- 
 fend against this section, he shall, for every such offence, forfeit the 
 sum of five dollars, and it shall be the duty of the lock keeper to 
 take such pole or shaft so found. 
 
 17. Andbeit further enacted. That every boatman or person hav- 
 ing charge of property moving on either of the said canals shall 
 give to such persons as may be duly authorized to collect tolls, at the 
 place where such collector shall attend for that purpose, a just ac- 
 count or bill of lading, in writing, signed by the person or persons 
 sending or conveying such property, or by his or their clerk or 
 agent, which account shall contain a statement of the weight of all the 
 property on which toll is charged by the ton, and of the number of all 
 rticles on which toll is charged by the number, and of the feet of 
 articles on which toll is charged by the foot ; and in all cases where 
 a difference in the rate of toll is charged on different articles, the 
 weight or quantity of each specifically set forth ; and it shall contain 
 a statement of the place from which such property is brought, and 
 where the same is intended to be landed ; and in case any boatman 
 or person having charge of any property as aforesaid, shall neglect 
 or refuse to give such account when thereto requested by any such 
 collector, or shall wilfully and knowingly give a false account, or de- 
 liver any part of such property at any other place, than that men- 
 tioned in said account ; or shall wilfully do any other act whereby 
 the payment of said toll, or any part thereof, shall be avoided, or if 
 the person required to sign such account, shall sign a false account 
 of such property, every person so offending shall forfeit, for such 
 offence, the sum of twenty-five dollars. 
 
( 478 ) 
 
 18. Andbe it further enacted, That any collector of toll, duly au- 
 thorized by the canal commissioners, may stop and detain all boats 
 and other property floating on either of the said canals, until the 
 boatman or person having charge thereof or the owner thereof shall 
 pay the toll or may distrain any part of the said property sufficient 
 to satisfy the same, which distress shall be kept by the collector of 
 tolls taking the same, for the space of eight days, and afterwards, be 
 sold at public auction at the place where such tolls are usually re- 
 ceivable, to the highest bidder, rendering the surplus on demand, if 
 any there be after payment of the said toll and the cost of distress 
 and sale, to the owner or owners thereof. 
 
 19. Andbe it further enacted, That for all damages done to either 
 of said canals, or any of the works connected therewith, either of 
 the acting commissioners or principal engineers shall be authorized 
 to sue in any court of competent jurisdiction ; and if a verdict or 
 judgement shall be given, either on proof made, or by default, or 
 upon demurrer, against any person or persons, for such damages, 
 the plaintiff shall recover the same, with full costs of suit ; and in 
 all cases in which suits are brought, it shall be the duty of the canal 
 commissioners to have accurate accounts kept of the amount of re- 
 coveries and of costs and expenses, and after deducting the said 
 costs and expenses from said amount, to pay the residue of said re- 
 coveries over to the commissioners of the canal fund. 
 
 20. And be it further enacted. That the canal commissioners shall 
 be authorized to establish the rates of toll to be paid on all articles 
 conveyed on either of the said canals in any manner, and to erect all 
 such toll houses, weighing scales, offices and other edifices, and 
 purchase such ground for the convenience thereof, as they may 
 think necessary for the convenient and profitable use of the said ca" 
 nals, at such times and places as- they may deem proper, and that they 
 shall be authorized from time to time, to make all such rules and re- 
 gulations in respect to the collection of toll and the payment thereof 
 to the commissioners of the canal fund, in respectto the size and struc- 
 ture of boats, rafts, and other floating things, on the waters of each 
 of the said canals, and in respect to all matters, in any way connected 
 with the navigation thereof, and to impose such forfeitureft of money 
 fo.r the breach of such rules and regulations, as they may deem rea- 
 sonable, from time to time, provided said forfeitures shall in no one 
 case exceed the sum of twenty-five dollars. 
 
 21. And be it further enacted, That in all cases in which it shall ■ 
 be deemed necessary by the principal engineer, in laying out the 
 line of the Erie and Champlain canals, or any work connected there- 
 with, to discontinue or alter any part of a public road or highway, 
 on account of its interfering with a proper location or construction 
 of either of said canals, such engineer shall be authorized to make 
 such discontinuance or alteration ; and upon his drawing up, in wri- 
 ting and figures a true description of all such parts of any pub- 
 lic road or highway as he may discontinue and new lay on the ac- 
 count aforesaid, and filing the same in the clerk's office of the town 
 
( 479 ) 
 
 of which such discontinuance and alteration may be situated, the 
 same shall be lawful : Provided hozaever, That the canal commission- 
 ers shall, before they obstruct the passage on any part of the high- 
 way now legally established, open and reasonably work, in order to 
 render it passable such part of said highway as may be new laid by 
 said engineer as aforesaid ; and the certificate of said engineer, ia 
 writing, that the part of any highway new laid as aforesaid, is opened 
 and reasonably worked as aforesaid, by said canal commissioners, 
 shall be sufficient for their justification ; and that any alteration 
 heretofore made by any engineer, in any public road or highway, on 
 either of the said canals, shall, from the time of such alteration, be 
 deemed lawful to all intents and purposes. 
 
 22, And be it further enacted, That no acting commissioner, or 
 principal or assistant engineer, employed on either of the said ca 
 nals, shall be liable to be taken by warrant in any civil suit, arising 
 out of, or connected with their official duties, any law to the con- 
 trary notwithstanding : but that such persons may be proceeded 
 against by summons in all cases. 
 
 23. jlnd be it further enacted, That all penalties and forfeitures 
 created by this act, the recovery of which is not otherwise herein 
 specially provided for, may be sued for and recovered before any 
 justice of the peace, in any county where such penalty or forfeiture 
 shall accrue, in the name of either of the canal commissioners, 
 principal engineers, or any collector of toll duly appointed by said 
 commissioners, who are hereby respectively autbprized to sue for 
 and recover the same ; and the amount of such penalties and for- 
 feitures, when recovered, shall be paid over or accounted for to the 
 commissioners of the canal fund. 
 
 Jin Act to amend " An Act respecting navigable Communications 
 between the Great Western and Northern Lakes and the Atlantic 
 Oce^i,'' passed April ]5th, 1817, and for other purposes. 
 
 Passed March 30, 1820. 
 
 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented 
 in Senate and Assembly, That from and after the first day of April 
 next, the collection of the tax of one dollar upon each steam boat 
 passenger on the Hudson river, imposed by the act above mentioned, 
 shall be and the same is hereby suspended until the payment thereof 
 shall become necessary to the redemption of the pledge given by the 
 state in the act aforesaid, so far as the same relates to the loans 
 which have already been made under the said act, wifLou!: reference 
 to any loans which may hereafter be made under the same, and -the 
 collection thereof directed by law. 
 
 2. And be it further enacted, That for the purposes contemplated 
 by the said act, in lieu of the tax, the payment and collection whereof 
 
( 480 ) 
 
 is above suspended, and for the payment of the interest and final 
 redemption of the principal of the sums borrowed or to \>n borrowed 
 by virtue of the said act, there shall be and hereby is appropriated 
 and pledged five thousand dollars annually ; and it shall be the duty 
 of the president and directors of the north river steam boat company, 
 and they are hereby required, in each and every year during the 
 continuance of their charter, and as long as the payment and collec- 
 tion of the said tax shall remain suspended as aforesaid, on or before 
 the first day of January, to pay into the treasury of this state the 
 sum of five thousand dollars ; and in case of any neglect or refusal in 
 paying over to the treasurer of this state the said sum of five thousand 
 dollars annually, the said president and secretary and the company 
 incorporated under the name and style of " the North River Steam 
 Boat Company," shall forfeit and pay the sum of one thousand 
 dollars, besides the amount so directed to be paid over, to be recovered 
 in an action of debt in the name of the people of this state, and for 
 the use of the aforesaid fund ; and the owners of stock in such com- 
 pany shall be personally responsible for such amount, and the penalty 
 also. 
 
 3. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners of the land 
 ofiice be and are hereby directed to cause to be surveyed into lots of 
 such size as they shall deem for the interest of the state, the lands 
 owned by the people of the state of New- York in the tract set apart 
 for the use of the salt springs in the county of Onondaga, except 
 such parts thereof as are now leased under any existing laws of this 
 state, and such other parts as they may deem it expedient to reserve, 
 and to sell the same in the manner that unappropriated lands of the 
 state are directed to be sold, in such parts and at such times as they 
 shall judge best for the interest of the state ; reserving to the people 
 of the state, in all sales of land made under this act, all salt springs, 
 salt mines, coal mines, and other mines and minerals upon such lands, 
 with a right to enter on and use such parts thereof as may be 
 necessary to dig or work such mines or springs. 
 
 4. Jlnd be it further enacted, That the said commissioners of the 
 land office be and are hereby authorized to receive surrenders of 
 the leases of such of the pasture and marsh lots as the present lessees 
 are willing to surrender. 
 
 6. And be it further enacted. That the said commissioners of the 
 land office be and are hereby authorized in their discretion, to obtain 
 by compromise the surrender of such of the marsh lots and pasture 
 lots on said tract as in their opinion may be necessary for the future 
 growth of the villages on said tract, and for the extension of the 
 manufactories thereon, and to cause to be laid out so many village 
 lots and salt manufacturing lots, with such additional streets, squares 
 and places of deposit for wood and bulky commodities as in their 
 opinion the future growth and accommodation of said villages and the 
 extension of salt manufactories may require ; and to cause the said 
 village lots to be sold in the manner provided in the third section of 
 this act. Provided, That the said commissioners shall reserve for 
 
( *81 ) 
 
 such future extension of the salt manufactories such marsh and 
 uplands adjacent to each of the salt manufacturing villages on said 
 tract as in their opinion may ever be necessary or useful for the 
 future extension of said manufactories, and for the state to retain in 
 their hands, to prevent any monopoly of, the ground most suitable 
 for the erection of manufactories of salt. 
 
 6. And he it further enacted. That the monies arising from the 
 sales of any lands by virtue of this act, shall be paid over to the 
 commissioners of the canal fund, to be by them applied to the uses 
 for which such fund was created : Provided, That the legislature 
 may at any time hereafter make an appropriation of any portion of 
 the proceeds of the said lands for the improvement of the navigation 
 of the Oswego river, and the communication between the Salina 
 branch canal, and the Onondaga lake. 
 
 7 And be it further enacted, That the sum of twenty-five thousand 
 dollars arising from the first of said sales be and is hereby appro- 
 priated for the improvement of the navigation of Oswego river, un- 
 der the direction of the canal commissioners ; and it shall and may 
 be lawful for the commissioners of the canal fund forthwith to bor- 
 row, on the credit of the fund arising from the sales of said lands, 
 at a rate of interest not exceeding six per cent per annum, the sum 
 of twenty-five thousand dollars, to be repaid by the said first of the 
 said monies arising from said sales ; and it shall be the duty of the 
 commissioners of the canal fund, as soon as they shall have so bor- 
 rowed the same, to pay over the same to the canal commissioners, 
 to be by them applied in the improvement of the Oswego river. 
 
 An Act concerning the Erie and Cftamplain Canals. 
 
 Passed April 12, 1820. 
 
 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented 
 in Senate and Assembly. That the comptroller is hereby authorized 
 and required to allow the canal commissioners, in the settlement of 
 their accounts, seventeen hundred and seventy-five dollars and three 
 cents, it being the sum paid by said commissioners, for interest on 
 one hundred twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars, borrowed by 
 them in the year one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, and ex- 
 pended in making the Erie and Champlain canals. 
 
 2. And be it further enacted. That whenever the damages, to be 
 sustained by the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, by in- 
 vesting ia the people of this state, all the lands, waters, canals, 
 locks, feeders, and appurtenances, claimed by the said company, 
 shall be appraised and determined, in the manner required by the 
 fourth section of the act, entitled, " An act respecting navigable 
 communications between the great Western and Northern lakes and 
 the Atlantic ocean," passed April fifteenth, one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and seventeen, it shall be the duty of the commissioners of 
 the canal fund, in addition to the sums which they are now authorized 
 annually to borrow, to borrow on the credit of this state, at a rate of 
 
 62 
 
( ^«2 ) 
 
 interest not exceeding six per centum per annum, the amount of 
 said damages, and the expense of said appraisal, and also, the further 
 sum of one hundred and twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars, 
 when required by the canal commissioners, to be expended in mak- 
 ing canals during the present year, for which monies so to be borrow- 
 ed certificates of stock shall be issued in the manner directed by the 
 first section of said act. 
 
 3, And be it further enacted, That one-fourth of the monies to 
 be applied in constructing the said canals shall be appropriated to- 
 wards the construction of the Champlain canal, and the remaining 
 three-fourths, one-half towards the western section of the Erie ca- 
 nal, and the remaining half towards the eastern section of the said 
 Erie canal ; provided however, that the canal commissioners should 
 be authorized out of the said monies, to complete and keep in repair, 
 such parts of the canal as have been in part, or wholly finished : and 
 provided further, that in case the respective amounts above appro- 
 priated, should prove more than can be judiciously expended on the 
 said different sections, it shall be the duty of the commissioners, es- 
 pecially charged with the superintendence of such section, to con- 
 sent to the expenditure thereof on the other sections. 
 
 STATE OF NEW.YORK. 
 
 In Assembly, 5th April, 1820. 
 
 Resolved, (if the honourable the senate concur herein,) That 
 the canal commissioners be directed to keep a separate and distinct 
 account of all monies which may hereafter be expended on or about 
 the middle section of the western canal, or in keeping the same in 
 repair, and of the monies which may be received on said section for 
 tolls ; and a like account in respect to any other section of the west- 
 ern and northern canals, whenever any such section shall be finished, 
 and to report the same annually to the legislature. 
 
 Ordered, That the clerk deliver a copy of this resolution to the 
 hon. the senate, and request their concurrence in the same. 
 i,- By order, 
 
 AARON CLARK, Cl'k 
 
 STATE OF NEW-YORK. 
 
 In Senate, April 6, 1820. 
 
 Resolved, That the senate do concur with the hon. the assembly 
 in their said resolution. 
 
 By order, 
 
 J. F. BACON, Crk. 
 
( 483 ) 
 
 An Act concerning the Erie and Champlain Canals, 
 
 PASSED FEBRUARY 9, 1821. 
 
 Whereas in the prosecution of the great western and northern ca- 
 tials, experience has not only demonstrated, the practicability of their 
 construction, but so far as any portions of them have been completed, 
 their unquestionable utility : And whereas it is of great importance to 
 the interests of this state that the whole should be finished and made 
 productive without any unnecessary delay, and at a period when all 
 circumstances are highly favourable to their progress : Therefore, 
 in consideration of the great advantages which offer at the present 
 time, in the cheapness and abundance of labour, and in the low rate 
 at which money maybe obtained, for the accomplishment of these 
 interesting and useful works 
 
 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of New-York represented in 
 Senate and Assembly, That the commissioners of the canal fund be and 
 they are hereby empowered in addition to he loans already authori- 
 zed by law, to borrow from time to time during the years one thou- 
 sand eight hundred and twenty-one, and one thousand eight hundred 
 and twenty two, monies on the credit of the State, at a rate not ex- 
 ceeding six per cent per annum, and not exceeding one million of 
 dollars in each year, for which monies so to be borrowed certificates of 
 stock shall be issued in the manner directed in and by the act entitled 
 " an act to improve the funds and to provide for the redemption of 
 the funded debt of the State" payable at such time or times as may 
 be determined by the said board, out of the canal fund, and to pay to 
 the canal commissioners, this monies so to be borrowed, to be appli- 
 ed in the same manner and proportion as already provided for by law; 
 Provided, That it shall not be lawful for the commissioners of the 
 canal fund, to make loans under this act, beyond such amount as for 
 the payment of the interest thereof, the canal fund at the time shall be 
 deemed ample and sufficient. 
 
 2. And be it further enacted, That,it shall be lawful for the two houses 
 of the legislature by concurrent resolution, to appoint an additional 
 canal commissioner and that the commissioner so appointed as well 
 as the present commissioners, shall hold their respective offices du- 
 ring the pleasure of the two houses of the legislature, subject to be 
 removed by concurrent resolution of the two houses. 
 
 3. And he it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the two 
 houses of the legislature by concurrent resolution to appoint three 
 appraisers on the eastern section of the Erie canal, and three ap- 
 praisers on the western section of theErie canal, andthree appraisers 
 on the Champlain canal, and that the appraisers so appointed as well 
 as the present appraisers shall hold their respective offices during 
 the pleasure of the legislature, subject to be removed by concurrent 
 resolution of the two houses. 
 
 4. And beit further enacted, That it shall be the duty of each and 
 every canal commissioner already appointed, to superintend the ma- 
 
( 484 ) 
 
 king and constructing of either the Erie or Champlain canals within 
 sixty days from the passage of this act, and of every acting canal com- 
 inissioner hereafter appointed, before entering upon the duties of his 
 office, to enter into a bond to the people of this state, with at least 
 two substantial freeholders, as sureties, in a penal sum of fifty thou- 
 sand dollars, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties now 
 enjoined, or that may hereafter be enjoined on him by law, and for 
 the faithful accounting for all monies intrusted to him as such acting 
 canal commissioner, whenever and as often as he may be required so 
 to do by law, or by concurrent resolution of the senate and assembly 
 or by the comptroller of this state, and the said bonds shall be approv- 
 ed of by the comptroller, and filed in his office. 
 
 6. And be it further enacted. That in order the better to guard 
 against mistakes and losses, it shall be the duty of the acting canal 
 commissioners respectively hereafter to take duplicate receipts, for 
 all sums of money which they may advance and pay to their engineers 
 contractors and agents. 
 
 6. And he it further enacted, That whenever the sum or sums of 
 money paid to any canal commissioner, and remaining unaccounted 
 for, shall amount to fifty thousand dollars, it shall not be lawful for the 
 commissioners of the canal fund to advance or pay to such canal com- 
 missioner, any further sum or sums of money until he shall first have 
 produced an account and vouchers to the comptroller, showing the 
 payment or expenditure on the canal, of at least forty thousand dol- 
 lars of said sum. 
 
 7. And be it further enacted, That, it shall be the duty of the com- 
 missioners of the canal fund, previous to every loan, hereafter to be 
 made, to give notice of such intended loan, that sealed proposals 
 will be received to a given day, which proposals shall not be opened 
 until a certain hour of such day, to be named in the notice, and 
 said notice shall be published in two newspapers in each of the 
 cities of Albany and New-York, and continued for two weeks daily 
 in the New-York papers, and at least twice a week in the Albany 
 papers. 
 
 STATE OF NEW-YORK > 
 secretary's office ^ 
 I certify the preceding to be a true copy of an original act of the 
 Legislature of this State on file in this office 
 
 ARCH'D CAMPBELL 
 Albany March \. \^2l, Dep, Secretary 
 
 Note In the introduction, a reference was made to the letter by 
 Mr. GEORGE BOWEN, rcceutlj of the commercial house of Bowen & 
 Co. of Pittsburgh, but now a merchant of this city. Of Mr. Bowens 
 extensive mercantile knowledge, I have the most perfect reliance. 
 His letter to me is a very valuable paper, and I sincerely regret 
 that it is mislaid, and cannot be added to the appendix. Many of my 
 calculations, relating to the trade of the western country, was ground- 
 ed on the data which it furnished. I yet intend to give this docu- 
 ment to the public in another shape, and can now render Mr. Bowen 
 no other return , than the assurance of my gratitude . 
 
PAGE 
 
 First Annual Report, 1810, . - . ^ 1 
 
 Second Annual Report, 1812, . . . 53 
 
 Documents relating to the Application to the General Go- 
 vernment, - - - - - - 56 
 
 Memorial of the Citizens of New-York, which renewed our 
 Canal policy, - - - - - 77 
 
 TbiFd Annual Report, relating to both Canals, - - 103 
 
 Application to Congress, to other States, and information re- 
 specting other Canals, - - - - 192 
 
 Report of -a Joint Committee relating to the Canals - 242 
 
 Communication from the Canal Commissioners to the Legisla- 
 ture, --.._. 259 
 Fourth Annual Report, 1818, - - . . 275 
 Fifth Annual Report, 1819, - - . . sjj 
 Sixth Annual Report, 1820, - - - - 344 
 
 Report of the Committee on Canals, and answer of the Ca- 
 nal Commissioners to George Huntington, Esq. - 373 
 Report of the Commissioners of the Canal Fund, - - 401 
 Letter of David S. Bates to Canal Commissioners, - 407 
 Report relating to Buffalo harbour, - - - 421 
 Seventh Annual Report, 1821, - - . 249 
 
:^ b b / y 
 

 DATE DUE 
 
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 DEC 20 
 
 1989 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 201-5503 
 
 
 
 PRINTED IN U.S.A. 
 
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BOSTON COLLEGE 
 
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