RIVERS AND HARBORS. 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 Of 
 
 HON. E. G. SPAULDING, OF NEW YORK, 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1851, 
 
 On the Bill reported from the Committee on Commerce , making appropriations for the 
 
 improvement of certain Rivers and Harbors. 
 
 • . » 
 
 The House being in Committee of the Whole on the state 
 of the Union, (Mr. Meade in the chair,) on the bill making 
 appropriations for the improvement of rivers and harbors— 
 
 Mr. SPAULDING said: 
 
 Mr. Chairman: My constituents feel a deep in¬ 
 terest in this question, and I should be derelict in 
 duty if I did not do all that I could to favor its 
 passage. Sir, not only are my constituents inter¬ 
 ested in this subject, but the Lake region generally 
 -■—the Valley of the Mississippi, and indeed the 
 whole country. It is a bill that is intended to ben¬ 
 efit the North, the South, the East, and the West, 
 and to cement more closely the bond of union be¬ 
 tween all these sections of the country. 
 
 Sir, it is carrying forward a system of improve¬ 
 ments that was commenced under General Wash¬ 
 ington in 1789, and, with some modifications, 
 continued down to the present time. It has been 
 characterized by gentlemen on the other side of the 
 House as intended to rob the Treasury—as being 
 intended to break down the Treasury of the coun¬ 
 try by a general system of internal improvements. 
 The gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Morse] has 
 so characterized it. He says it is calculated to up¬ 
 root the foundations of government—that it is not 
 authorized by the Constitution—that it is local and 
 sectional in its character, and that for these and 
 many other reasons it ought not to pass. Now, 
 the gentleman from Indiana, [Mr. Fitch,] who 
 has just taken his seat, has, in my opinion, to a 
 great extent, answered the objections of the gentle¬ 
 man from Louisiana. It has been said, also, that 
 this was not a Democratic measure. Sir, I agree 
 with the gentleman from Indiana that this bill is 
 not the creature of any party, or of any section of 
 country; it is emphatically a national measure, de¬ 
 signed for the benefit of the whole country, with¬ 
 out reference to party. I can prove by acts of 
 Congress', conclusively, that this system of internal 
 improvements had its origin With the first session 
 of Congress under the Constitution; that provision 
 was made by that very Congress similar to those 
 contained in this bill; and the system has grown 
 up with our Government from that time to the 
 present day. 
 
 Sir, previous to the first session of Congress, in 
 1789, all the light-houses, beacons, buoys, and 
 ublic piers on the Atlantic coast and the harbors, 
 ays, and inlets of the several States, had been built 
 and maintained by such States respectively, or by 
 the local authority of the cities and towns in whicn 
 they were situated. On the adoption of the Con¬ 
 stitution, the separated States became one country , 
 without regard to State lines, for great national 
 objects specified in the Constitution. For the 
 common good of all the States, each State sur¬ 
 rendered a portion of its sovereignty under the 
 Constitution to the General Government, and 
 expressly prohibited the separate States from exer¬ 
 cising certain powers, among which was a provis¬ 
 ion that“no State, withouttlieconsent ofCongress, 
 should lay any duty of tonnage,” and “ vessels 
 bound to or from one State shall not be obliged to 
 enter, clear, or pay duties in another.” 
 
 The Constitution expressly confers on Congress 
 the power 
 
 “To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, 
 to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and 
 general welfare of the United States.” 
 
 “ To provide and maintain a Navy.” 
 
 “ To raise and support armies. ” 
 
 “To establish post offices and post roads.” 
 
 “ To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among 
 the several States, and with the Indian tribes.” 
 
 “To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper 
 for carrying into execution the foregoing powers.” 
 
 This broad power “ to provide and maintain a 
 Navy,” confers on Congress the incidental power 
 to establish docks and navy-yards, where the ships 
 and vessels of the United States may be built; to 
 equip and man them when built, and to provide 
 lights, beacons, buoys, and public piers, to enable 
 them to sail along the coast, and enter the bays, 
 harbors, and rivers of the country in safety, for 
 purposes of defence in time of war, and at all times 
 to protect our commercial marine. The United 
 States Government is also bound to maintain an 
 Army for the protection of the whole country, and 
 to establish post offices and post roads. To do 
 this effectually, troops and munitions of war, 
 as well as the mails, must be transported to the 
 remotest corners of this nation. Good roads, ca- 
 
2 
 
 nals, harbors, and the unobstructed navigation of 
 rivers, would enable the Government to carry the 
 mails with dispatch at all times, and in case of war 
 to concentrate promptly and cheaply, troops and 
 supplies to any point that might be menaced, in 
 sufficient force for its defence. 
 
 So much for the powers of the General Govern¬ 
 ment to aid in carrying on its own operations to 
 render effective the Army and Navy for the defence 
 of the country, and to facilitate the mail service. 
 
 But the other power conferred on Congress, 
 viz: “ to regulate commerce with foreign nations 
 and among the several States,” is sufficiently broad 
 to cover all the objects embraced in this bill, and 
 is deemed by some of the ablest statesmen of the 
 country to be the true ground, on which to rest 
 these appropriations. This is certainly a very 
 broad power, and at the Chicago Convention, in 
 which eighteen States were repi*esented without 
 distinction of party, it was unanimously resolved 
 that this grant of power accompanied by cotem- 
 poraneous history and a series of acts which have 
 received the sanction of the people of the United 
 States, and of every department of the National 
 Government, was sufficient to make it the constitu¬ 
 tional duty of Congress to continue this system 
 of appropriations. (See House doc. No. 741, 
 July 11, 1848, p. 86.) 
 
 This power “ to regulate commerce” has received 
 a liberal and beneficial construction by all the de¬ 
 partments of the Government. 
 
 The Supreme Court, in the case of Gibbons vs. 
 Ogden, (9 Wheaton’s Reps. p. 1,) have decided that 
 the power to regulate commerce includes the power 
 to regulate navigation on all the navigable waters, 
 bays, lakes, rivers, and harbors throughout the 
 United States, without any restraint or hindrance 
 by State legislation. Honorable A. Conklin, dis¬ 
 trict judge for the"northern district of New York, 
 held that this power was broad enough to author¬ 
 ize Congress to pass the act granting admiralty 
 jurisdiction to the district courts upon the lakes 
 and navigable rivers connecting the same, in re¬ 
 spect to all steamboats and vessels of twenty tons 
 burden and upwards employed in commerce and 
 navigation, the same as upon the high seas. (See 
 Conklin’s Admiralty Practice.) 
 
 Under this power Congress has passed laws re¬ 
 quiring steamers and vessels to be licensed and 
 registered—prescribing their tiller ropes, authoriz¬ 
 ing an inspection, and requiring a lantern to be 
 hung at their bows. Can the same power which 
 prescribes all those artifical safeguards for the pro¬ 
 tection of lifeand property,consistently disclaim all 
 jurisdiction over the natural obstacles and dangers 
 of the lakes and rivers themselves? 
 
 Sjr, this Government, in providing for “ the 
 common defence” and promoting the “general 
 welfare” of the United States “ as one country,” 
 under the Constitution, have authorized and pros¬ 
 ecuted four kinds of public works which may be 
 classed under the general head of internal improve¬ 
 ments. 
 
 1. The erection, support, and maintenance of 
 light-houses, light-ships, beacons, buoys,and pub¬ 
 lic piers. 
 
 2. Theimprovements of the navigation of rivers, 
 lakes, and harbors. 
 
 3. Making surveys and charts to guide the mari¬ 
 ner in the navigation of the Atlantic and Pacific 
 coasts, gulfs* bays, harbors, lakes, and rivers. 
 
 4. Roads and canals. 
 
 These improvements are necessary to enable 
 the Government to perform its own appropriate 
 functions, and were so considered by the fathers 
 of the Republic. At the first session of Congress 
 at New York, in 1789, it became the duty of its 
 members “ to make laws necessary and proper for 
 carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and 
 all other powers vested by the Constitution in the 
 Government of the United States.” Now, what 
 did this Congress do? What laws did it pass to 
 give practical effect to the provisions of the Consti¬ 
 tution ? The ninth act which passed this Congress 
 was approved by George Washington, August 7, 
 1789, and is entitled “ An act for the establish¬ 
 ment and support of light-houses, beacons, buoys, 
 and public piers.” By this act it was expressly 
 provided— 
 
 “ That all the expenses which shall accrue from and after 
 the fifteenth day of August, 1789, in the necessary support 
 and maintenance and repair of light-houses, beacons, buoys 
 and public piers, erected, placed, or sunk before the passing 
 of this act at the entrance of or within any bay, inlet, har¬ 
 bor or port of the United States for rendering the navigation 
 thereof safe and easy, shall be defrayed out of the Treasury 
 of the United States : Provided, That such light-houses, 
 beacons, buoys, and public piers, shall be ceded to and 
 vested in the United States, by the State or States in which 
 they are situated, together with the lands and tenements 
 thereunto belonging, with the jurisdiction of the same.” 
 
 And it was by that act made the duty of the 
 Secretary of the Treasury to provide by contracts 
 for rebuilding them when necessary, and for fur¬ 
 nishing them with necessary supplies; and also, to 
 agree for the salaries, wages, or hire of the per¬ 
 sons appointed for the superintendence of the 
 same. 
 
 By this act of the first Congress, approved by 
 General Washington, the United States assumed 
 jurisdiction and control over all the light-houses, 
 beacons, buoys and public piers in the United 
 States, the title and jurisdiction of which should 
 be ceded to them by the States in which they were 
 situated. They were placed under the charge of 
 the Secretary of the Treasury, and the faith of the 
 Federal Government was pledged to maintain and 
 support them forever afterwards; and this pledge, 
 in respect to the light-house establishment, has 
 been kept good by the Government. I have looked 
 over the appropriation bills from the passage of 
 that act to the present time, embracing a period of 
 seventy years, and find that in every year there 
 has been appropriations not only for those for 
 which they were pledged to support, but for all 
 the light-houses, light-boats, beacons, buoys, &c., 
 i that have since been authorized by law. 
 
 The first Congress also made it the duty of the 
 Secretary of the Treasury, by the same law, to 
 provide by contract for building a new light-house 
 near the entrance of the Chesapeake Bay. At the 
 next session of Congress, in 1790, he was author¬ 
 ized to finish the light-house on Portland Head, 
 and at the same session the annual appropriations 
 ' in the civil and diplomatic bill were commenced for 
 I the “ support of light-houses, beacons, buoys, and 
 public piers,” and have been annually continued, 
 without the omission of a single year, from that 
 time to the present. 
 
 These appropriations have been embraced in the 
 general appropriation bills, and have therefore been 
 
3 
 
 as permanent and uniform as the appropriations 
 for the support of the Government. 
 
 LIGHT-HOUSE ESTABLISHMENT. 
 
 For 1790* (estimated amount) 
 
 1791*.do. 
 
 1792 the amount was. 
 
 1793 .do. 
 
 1794 .do. 
 
 And for deficiency in 1792 . 
 
 For 1795 the amount was. 
 
 1796 .. do. 
 
 1797 .do. 
 
 1798 .do. 
 
 1799 .do. 
 
 1800 General appropriation bill 
 
 1801 .do. 
 
 1802 .do. 
 
 1803 .do. 
 
 1804 . do. 
 
 1805 .do. 
 
 1806 .do. 
 
 1807 .do. 
 
 1808 .do. 
 
 1809 .do. 
 
 1810.. .do. 
 
 1811 .do. 
 
 1812 .do. 
 
 1813 .do. 
 
 1814 .do. 
 
 .1815.do. 
 
 1816 .do. 
 
 1817 .do. 
 
 1818 . # .do. 
 
 1819 .do. 
 
 1820 .....do. 
 
 1821 .do. 
 
 1822 .do. 
 
 1823 .do. 
 
 1824 .do. 
 
 1825 .do. 
 
 1826 .do. 
 
 1827 .do. 
 
 1828 .do. 
 
 1829 .do. 
 
 1829.. ..5econd do. 
 
 1830 .do. 
 
 1831 .do. 
 
 1832 .do. 
 
 1833 .do. 
 
 1834 .do. 
 
 1835 .do. 
 
 1836 .do. 
 
 1837 .do. 
 
 1838 .do. 
 
 1839 .do. 
 
 1840 .do. 
 
 1841 .do. 
 
 1842 .do. 
 
 1842 .Deficiency bill. 
 
 1843 General appropriation bill 
 
 1844 .do. 
 
 1845 .do. 
 
 1846 .do. 
 
 1847 .do. 
 
 1848 .do.. 
 
 1849 .do. 
 
 1850 .do. 
 
 ;|15,000 00 
 , 15,000 00 
 16,000 00 
 20,000 00 
 , 20,000 00 ’ 
 
 . 4,000 00 
 
 . 24,000 00 
 24,000 00 
 47,769 14 
 43,255 12 
 44,281 08 
 39,392 03 
 38,622 70 
 44,841 44 
 50,970 82 
 , 55,951 33 
 115,209 36 | 
 . 81,088 02 
 , 83,961 08 
 , 85,000 00 
 . 79,039 40 
 . 68,131 04 
 . 68,965 39 
 , 93,100 16 
 . 99,349 15 
 , 69,100 28 
 24,299 11 
 . 97,464 00 
 . 73,493 33 
 , 60,236 00 
 74.362 27 
 , 120,863 00 
 .102,341 28 
 . 91,531 30 
 ,102,441 65 
 .109,774 33 
 .117,485 85 
 , 132,346 66 
 .158,650 00 
 , 166,444 00 
 , 42,000 00 
 ,134,473 00 
 ,186,003 13 
 ,193,156 00 
 205,778 00 
 ,231,850 00 
 .251,726 71 
 268,152 59 
 ,279,986 07 
 ,298,050 00 j 
 356,863 00 | 
 .394,331 00 
 .431,987 26 
 ,484,072 00 
 459,826 41 
 .196,994 27 
 ,415,276 96 
 .397,109 89 
 .394,808 06 
 .421,732 04 
 .402.325 80 
 .473,254 27 
 .478,633 33 
 .516,497 41 
 
 * The exact amount appropriated for this purpose by the 
 act of August 12, 1790, and the act of February 12, 1791, 
 does not appear in the acts themselves, but appears in the 
 accounts of the Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 The following additional light-houses, beacons, 
 &c., were authorized during General Washing¬ 
 ton’s administration : 
 
 In 1792, appropriations were made to finish the 
 light-house on Bald Head , at the mouth of the 
 Cape Fear river; floating beacons and buoys in 
 the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina; three 
 floating beacons in the Chesapeake bay; and a 
 light-house on Montauk point. In 1793, a bea¬ 
 con or buoy was authorized on Smith’s Point, in 
 the Chesapeake bay, and the like on Royal Shoal, 
 near Ocracoke inlet. In 1794-’5-’6 and ’7, Gen¬ 
 eral Washington also approved bills for buoys on 
 
 the rocks off New London; a beacon and two 
 buoys in the harbor of Portsmouth; light-house at 
 Cape Hatteras; a lighted beacon on Shellcastle 
 Island, North Carolina; light-house near the Kene- 
 beck river; a beacon and three buoys at the en¬ 
 trance of St. Mary’s river; light-house at the en¬ 
 trance of the harbor of Georgetown, South Caro¬ 
 lina; buoys in Cape Fear river; light-house oil 
 Baker’s Island, near Salem, Massachusetts- v light¬ 
 house on Cape Cod, and sixteen buoys in Boston 
 harbor. 
 
 I have gone into this detail of facts for the pur¬ 
 pose of proving conclusively that the practical men 
 during Washington’s administration, conspicuous 
 in forming the Constitution, and who gave a prac¬ 
 tical construction to it during the first eight years 
 after its adoption, fully established the principle of 
 making appropriations from the National Treasury 
 to facilitate, protect, and foster the commerce and 
 navigation of the country. 
 
 During the next four years, from 1797 to 1801, 
 this system was carried forward under the admin¬ 
 istration of John Adams, in the same manner as 
 it was under the previous administration ofWasli- 
 ington;new light-houses,buoys and beacons were 
 authorized and the annual appropriations were con¬ 
 tinued in the general appropriation bill for the 
 support of the light-house establishment. 
 
 From 1801 to 1809, Thomas Jefferson, who is 
 claimed to be the great apostle of Democracy and 
 liberty, was at the head of the Government. The 
 chairman of the committee who reported the bill 
 under consideration, [Mr. McLane,] alluded very 
 briefly to the fact that Thomas Jefferson, the great 
 apostle of Democracy, did by his approval of 
 bills for internal improvements, support this sys¬ 
 tem, although he expressed doubts respecting its 
 constitutionality. But in order to bring this mat¬ 
 ter more clearly to the committee, I take the lib¬ 
 erty of referring to some facts connected with his 
 Administration. He is, however, regarded as good 
 authority on all doubtful constructions of the Con¬ 
 stitution. Although, in one of his messages, he 
 thinks it desirable that there should be an amend 
 ment of the Constitution, giving more enlarged 
 powers on this subject, to make expenditures 
 “ within the States yet in every year he approved 
 bills for some or all of these works of internal im¬ 
 provement. In each year he approved the an¬ 
 nual appropriation bill for the support of the light¬ 
 house establishment. He also approved bills for 
 the erection of new light-houses, beacons, buoys, 
 and public piers. 
 
 Mr. BURT, (interrupting.) Will the gentle¬ 
 man from New York allow me to make a single 
 remark ? 
 
 Mr. SPAULDING. Certainly. 
 
 Air. BURT. If the gentleman addressed his 
 remarks to me, I have only to ask him if he has 
 read the messages of Jefferson? 
 
 Air. SPAULDING. I have. 
 
 Air. BURT. I will ask the gentleman if he has 
 read the message of 1806 ? 
 
 Air. SPAULDING. I have. [Laughter.] 
 
 Air. BURT. Then I ask the gentleman from 
 New York if, after reading that message, he makes 
 the statement which he has just made to this 
 committee? 
 
 Air. SPAULDING. Ido. [Great laughter.] 
 
 Air. BURT. Then I have nothing further to 
 say. 
 
4 
 
 Mr. SPAULDING. I will say to the gen¬ 
 tleman from South Carolina, [Mr. Burt,] that I 
 stated at the commencement of my remarks that 
 Mr. Jefferson questioned the constitutionality of 
 making these appropriatians; yet while he was 
 questioning this power he approved three very 
 important bills to carry forward the great system 
 of internal improvements for which we are now 
 contending. I look to his public and official acts 
 for a just exposition of his principles, and espe¬ 
 cially to his views respecting those works of na¬ 
 tional importance in which more than one State has 
 a common interest. Sir, gentlemen may write 
 messages, make speeches, pass resolutions, and 
 even give pledges as to their principles and course 
 of future action, but, after all, the best test of 
 fidelity of any man to his principles is his official 
 votes, and the signature of the President to the bills 
 that are made the law of the land by such official 
 acts. I will therefore refer to the acts of Con¬ 
 gress, passed during Mr. Jefferson’s administra¬ 
 tion, to ascertain what principles were established 
 by him. 
 
 At the first session of Congress after his inaugu¬ 
 ration, an act was passed authorizing the erection 
 of “ certain light-houses, and for other purposes.” 
 The first section of this act. authorizes the Secre¬ 
 tary of the Treasury “ to purchase for the use of 
 ‘ the United States the land whereon stood the 
 ‘ light-house on Gurnet Point, and so much land 
 
 * adjoining thereto as may be sufficient for vaults 
 ‘ and any other purposes necessary for the better 
 ‘ support of said light-house.” 
 
 The second section authorizes the Secretary of 
 the Treasury to rebuild the light-house on Gurnet 
 Point, at the entrance of Plymouth harbor. 
 
 The third section authorizes him to rebuild the 
 light-house on Newcastle Island, at the entrance of 
 Piscataqua river. 
 
 The fourth section authorizes him to cause to be 
 erected a light-house on Lynd’s Point, at the 
 mouth of the Connecticut river. 
 
 The fifth section authorizes “proper light-houses 
 
 * to be built., and buoys to be placed in the stations 
 ‘ necessary for the navigation of Long Island 
 ‘ Sound: Provided, That sufficient land for the ac- 
 ‘ commodation of such light-houses can be pur- 
 ‘ chased at a reasonable price; and that the Legis- 
 ‘ latures of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New 
 ‘York shall respectively cede the jurisdiction over 
 ‘ the same to the United States.” 
 
 The sixth section authorizes a “ sufficient light¬ 
 house” to be erected on Cumberland Island, at 
 the mouth of St. Mary’s river, in Georgia. 
 
 The seventh section appropriates $21,270 to ac¬ 
 complish the objects specified in the preceding 
 sections. 
 
 Tile eighth section is in these words: 
 
 “ Sec. 8. Andhe it further enacted, That if shall be law¬ 
 ful for the Secretary of the Treasury, under the direction 
 of the President of the United States, to cause to beexpend- 
 edin-repairing and erecting public piers in the river Del¬ 
 aware, a sum not exceeding $30,000, and that the same be 
 / paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro¬ 
 priated : Provided, That the jurisdiction of the site where 
 any such piers may be erected shall be first ceded to the 
 United States, according to the conditions in such case by 
 law provided. 
 
 “ Approved April 6, 1802. TH. JEFFERSON.” 
 
 So, sir, it will be seen that Mr. Jefferson, as 
 early as 1802, approved a bill in principle essentially 
 like the harbor and river bill now under considera¬ 
 tion. Sir, six distinct objects, extending from 
 
 1 Massachusetts to Georgia, are embraced in this 
 | bill. It is what my friend from Louisiana [Mr. 
 Morse] wo.uld call a “ log-rolling” bill, and yet 
 there can be no doubt each object is of national 
 importance; and I think Mr. Jefferson was clearly 
 right in approving it, and that he forfeited none of 
 his claims upon the Democracy for this official act. 
 
 But, sir, this is not all. Mr. Jefferson enlarged 
 and extended the system of internal improvement 
 beyond the limit it had been carried under Wash¬ 
 ington and Adams. 
 
 CUMBERLAND ROAD. 
 
 On the 29th March, 1806, Mr. Jefferson ap¬ 
 proved the bill for the commencement of the Cum¬ 
 berland road, from Cumberland, in the State of 
 Maryland, across Pennsylvania and a part of Vir¬ 
 ginia, to Ohio, and the sum of $30,000 was appro¬ 
 priated to commence the work. Since that time 
 (including the sum appropriated by that bill) no 
 less than $1,921,227 81 has been appropriated to 
 complete this road from Cumberland to the Ohio 
 river at Wheeling. For the continuation of this 
 road west of Wheeling through the State of Ohio, 
 
 ! $2,081,008 36 has been appropriated. Forthecon- 
 ! tinuation of the same through Indiana, $1,135,000; 
 and for its continuance through the State of Illi¬ 
 nois, $746,000; making in all th^um of $5,883,- 
 236 17. 
 
 In Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, it is usually called 
 the “ national road;” being of national importance 
 for the intercourse between our citizens east and 
 west of the Alleghany mountains, and the easy 
 and rapid transmission of the mails, I trust, sir, 
 that the Democracy will not repudiate their great 
 apostle for commencing an important national work 
 requiring so large an expenditure. 
 
 In 1807, Congress passed an act making pro¬ 
 vision for surveying the coast of the United States, 
 and made an appropriation of $50,000 for that 
 purpose. It was approved on the 10th of Febru¬ 
 ary, 1807, by Mr. Jefferson. The bill authorized 
 the survey of all the harbors and inlets on the 
 coast of the United States within twenty leagues 
 of the coast. Now, what was the object of this 
 bill ? It was for the express purpose of favoring 
 the commercial interests of the United States, and 
 by the fourth section, $50,000 was appropriated 
 for that purpose. Now, this system of surveying 
 the coast, harbors, and lakes, commenced at this 
 time, and since that time an appropriation has been 
 made almost yearly—last year an appropriation 
 was made for the coast survey. 
 
 Now, then, I will go further; I will go so far as 
 to say that Mr. Calhoun—of whose memory I 
 speak with entire respect—in a report made 
 whilst Secretary of War, under the Administra¬ 
 tion of the illustrious Monroe, in the year 1819, 
 went so far as to express himself in favor of the 
 construction of roads and canals. 
 
 On the 4th April, 1818, the House of Repre¬ 
 sentatives passed a resolution instructing Mr. Cal¬ 
 houn, then Secretary of War, to report at the 
 next session “a plan for the application of such 
 means as are within the power of Congress for 
 the purpose of opening such roads and canals as 
 may desBrve and require the aid of Government,” 
 &c. In his report he says: 
 
 “A judicious system of roads and canals constructed for 
 the convenience of commerce and the transportation of the 
 mail only, without any reference to military operations, is 
 itself among the most efficient means for the more complete 
 defence of the United Slates. Without adverting to the 
 
5 
 
 fact that the roads and canals which such a system would 
 require, are, with few exceptions, precisely those which 
 would be required for the operations of war, such a system, 
 by consolidating the Union, increasing our wealth and fiscal 
 capacity, would add greatly to our resources in war.” * * 
 u Thus circumstanced, it is the duty of Government to ren¬ 
 der it as secure as possible.” 
 
 These were sound views expressed by Mr. 
 Calhoun at that time. I respectfully commend 
 the whole of that able report to the gentleman 
 from South Carolina, [Mr. Burt.] 
 
 These appropriations were continued during the 
 administrations of Madison, Monroe, and John 
 Q.. Adams, down to the inauguration of General 
 Jackson, March 4, 1829. At the first session of 
 Congress under General Jackson’s administration, 
 a harbor and river bill was passed containing ap¬ 
 propriations for twenty-two separate objects, sim¬ 
 ilar in principle and detail, to the bill now before 
 the committee. This bill was approved by Presi¬ 
 dent Jackson April 23, 1830; and during his ad¬ 
 ministration he also approved the following harbor 
 and river bills: 
 
 On the 2d March, 1833, a bill containing appro¬ 
 priations for thirty-one. separate works. On the 2d 
 March, 1833, a bill for improving the navigation 
 of certain rivers in Florida and Michigan. In this 
 bill is an item of “ $5,000 for improving the navi¬ 
 gation of Choctawhachie river for the transportation 
 of the mails from Pensacola to Tallahassee.” And 
 on the same day he approved the harbor and river 
 bill, containing thirty-two separate items. On the 
 28th June, 1834, he also approved the harbor and 
 river bill for that year, containing thirty-three sep¬ 
 arate works; and on the 30 th of the same month a 
 separate bill for the Hudson river alone, appropria¬ 
 ting $70,000. On the 30th March, 1835, he also 
 approved the harbor and river bill of that year, 
 containing twenty-one separate items; on the 2d 
 July, 1836, the harbor and river bill, containing 
 thirty-nine separate works; and on the last night of 
 General Jackson’s official life he approved three 
 bills in which the following sums were appropri¬ 
 ated: 
 
 In the river and harbor bill. $1,917,188 00 
 
 For the Cumberland and other roads. 227,496 63 
 
 Light-house bill. 721,694 00 
 
 Annual expenses of light-houses, &c., for the 
 year 1837, contained in the general appropri¬ 
 ation bill. 311,255 00 
 
 Coast Survey. 60,000 00 
 
 $3,237,633 63 
 
 Approved by General Jackson, March 3,1837. 
 
 Sir, President Polk, in his veto message, which 
 has been so much lauded by the gentleman from 
 Louisiana, [Mr. Morse,] has made the unfounded 
 statement that it required the strong arm of Gen¬ 
 eral Jackson to arrest the extravagance of these 
 appropriations, which had grown up under the 
 administration of John Q,uincy Adams; and yet 
 the facts show that the system was greatly extend¬ 
 ed during General Jackson’s administration be¬ 
 yond that of Mr. Adams, the same as it was during 
 Mr. Jefferson’s administration beyond that of 
 Washington and the elder Adams. 
 
 The appropriations during the four years of John 
 Q,. Adams’s administration were... .$2,310,475 
 
 Andrew Jackson’s eight years.10,582,882 
 
 Sir, I am well aware that General Jackson ve¬ 
 toed the Maysville road bill on the ground that it 
 was a local work; but that had no reference to 
 these great works of national importance; and the 
 
 best evidence we have that General Jackson had 
 not changed his views in respect to works of a 
 national character is, that after that veto, and among 
 the very last of his official acts, he approved bills 
 of this kind appropriating the large sum of $3,237,- 
 633 63. 
 
 Sir, Mr. Van Buren promised to walk in the 
 footsteps of his “illustrious predecessor;” but, 
 sir, his foot was not long enough, nor broad 
 enough, to cover the whole ground occupied by 
 General Jackson. He did, however, in the first 
 year of his administration, make a very fair at¬ 
 tempt to redeem his pledge, so far as it related to 
 internal improvements. At the first session of 
 Congress under Mr. Van Buren’s administration, 
 a river and harbor bill was passed, and approved 
 by Mr. Van Buren July 7, 1838, appropria¬ 
 ting. $1,489,507 53 
 
 Bill for Red river raft. 70,000 00 
 
 Cumberland Road, 8cc. 459,000 00 
 
 Roads in Florida. 37,300 00 
 
 do. in Wisconsin. 44,000 00 
 
 For light-house establishment, contained in the 
 
 general appropriation bill. 356,863 00 
 
 Coast survey, do. do. 90,000 00 
 
 Light house bill, for new light-houses, Stc... 340,395 33 
 
 First year of Mr. Van Buren’s administration. $2,887,065 89 
 
 No further river and harbor bill was passed du¬ 
 ring Mr. Van Buren’s administration. The sys¬ 
 tem was arrested, and in 1839-’40, the tools, 
 machinery, materials, &c., then on hand to com¬ 
 plete the works in progress on the lakes, were sold 
 at a great loss, and the system of harbor and river 
 improvements to a great extent abandoned. 
 
 During Mr. Tyler’s administration only one 
 harbor and river bill received his approval, which 
 was June 11, 1844. After the passage of this bill 
 there was a partial resumption of the works; 
 but during that year Mr. Polk was elected Presi¬ 
 dent, which put an end to all hope of accomplish¬ 
 ing anything during his administration. It is 
 true that Congress endeavored to do its duty by 
 passing river and harbor bills, but in every in¬ 
 stance President Polk either vetoed or pocketed 
 the bills, and thus one man was able to thwart the 
 popular will and stop all these important works. 
 
 From an able and interesting report, made at 
 St. Louis, by Thomas Allen, Esq., one of the 
 executive committee of the Chicago Convention, 
 many facts were Stated which are very important 
 in showing how much was lost to the country by 
 arresting these works in this arbitrary manner. 
 I am indebted to this report for the following 
 facts: 
 
 “ Prior to 1838 six steam snag boats had been cons¬ 
 tructed, at an average cost for each of about $25,000— 
 for six boats $150,000. During the same period eight or 
 nine small steam boats belonging to the Government were 
 etnployed in the same service. One hundred thousand 
 dollars was appropriated by Congress { for building and 
 repairing the necessary boats and for carrying on the 
 improvement of the Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio and Arkan¬ 
 sas rivers.’ Captain John W. Russell was appointed the 
 agent of the United States, and the boats having been re¬ 
 paired at St. Louis, the work of removing snags was recom¬ 
 menced in December of that year, and continued until 
 April 17, 1843, when they were suspended by high water, 
 but resumed in August following. Congress appropriated 
 for the eighteen months ending June 30, 1844, $50,0C0, up 
 to which time the works were continued.” 
 
 Soon after this, the Administration was changed 
 by the election and inauguration of James K. 
 Polk. Congress continued to do its duty by 
 passing the necessary appropriation bills, but the 
 President interposed his veto. All these valu- 
 
6 
 
 able improvements upon the western rivers were 
 stopped, and the snag boats sold at a sacrifice. 
 
 Colonel Long, of the corps of Topographical 
 Engineers, estimates the cost of constructing a 
 snag-boat, to be used upon the Mississippi and its 
 branches, at $25,000, exclusive of rigging, tools, 
 and other equipments. The estimated cost of 
 working them, as follows: 
 
 Employment of four snag-boats nine months, at 
 
 $2,160 per month each boat. $77,760 
 
 Repairs and outfits of the same, & c. 6,000 j 
 
 Employment of two steam machine-boats, nine 
 
 months, at $1,100 per month each boat. 19,800 
 
 Repairs, &.c., of the same. 3,000 
 
 Construction of two small steam-boats, or trans¬ 
 ports, of light draught, to serve as tow-boats, ten¬ 
 ders, &c., in the service, at $8,000 each. 16,000 
 
 Employment of same nine months, at $800 per 
 
 month. 14,400 
 
 Amount for four snag boats, nine months service. .$136,960 
 
 These boats were of simple construction, yet of 
 sufficient power to remove the most formidable 
 snags in the Mississippi river with facility in a few 
 minutes. The boats then in use having been sold, 
 it will be necessary to construct new boats to carry 
 on the improvements in the Western rivers. 
 
 Sir, the suspension of this great system of in¬ 
 ternal improvements, and the consequent loss of 
 life and property, and the damage sustained by our 
 commerce, admonishes us of the necessity of 
 resuming these important improvements, and of 
 making the system as permanent as the Govern¬ 
 ment itself. The appropriations should be as reg¬ 
 ular as the annual appropriations for the support 
 of Government; and I do not see the least objec¬ 
 tion to putting the appropriations for the continu¬ 
 ance of all works, heretofore authorized by law, in 
 the general appropriation bill. 
 
 Sir, the appropriations should not only be an¬ 
 nually made until the improvements are fully com¬ 
 pleted, but they should afterwards remain under 
 the constant supervision of some competent agent 
 of the Government, to maintain and keep them in 
 repair. 
 
 When any light-house, pier, or breakwater is 
 constructed on the borders of, or within, any State, 
 the title and jurisdiction of the land upon which 
 each improvement is made should be ceded to the 
 United States, so that the Government shall not j 
 only have the right to the possession, but the ab- i 
 solute responsibility and duty of keeping and 
 maintaining them in good repair and condition, to 
 answer the purposes for which the improvements 
 were made. As to all new works, I think it would 
 be desirable that they should be commenced in 
 separate bills, as heretofore proposed by the Hon. 
 J. A. Dix, in order to secure a thorough examin¬ 
 ation, to ascertain beforehand that the work pro¬ 
 posed is of sufficient national importance to war¬ 
 rant Congress in assuming jurisdiction and control 
 over it, as a Government work, before it is adopted j 
 as such. To elucidate these views more fully, I j 
 will take a practical illustration. The improve- i 
 ment of the St. Clair Flats is of sufficient national 
 importance to enforce upon the General Govern¬ 
 ment the duty of immediately deepening and im¬ 
 proving the channel in a manner sufficient to make 
 the navigation safe and easy through this thorough¬ 
 fare of commerce. This duty is not only admit¬ 
 ted by all the people of the seven States bordering 
 upon this obstructed channel, but it is recom¬ 
 mended by Government officers who have made 
 
 an examination and report on this subject.* The 
 proposed improvement has never been adopted be 
 Congress, and no appropriation has as yet been 
 made. It now comes before us as a new improve¬ 
 ment, to be adopted as a national work. We go 
 through all the forms of passing a law authorizing 
 the improvement to be made, and we propose to 
 appropriate the sum of $40,000 to commence the 
 work. To make the adoption by the United 
 States effectual, so that its duty be fully discharged, 
 let us provide in the same law that the sum of 
 $20,000 shall be appropriated annually, until there 
 shall be a navigable channel through the entire bar 
 sufficient to pass all the vessels navigating these 
 waters, and the work is fully completed. The 
 appropriations may then be continued from year 
 to year in the general appropriation bills till the 
 work is finished. This would give permanency 
 to the system, and without that the labor and ma¬ 
 terials of one Administration is liable to be lost 
 by the caprice or party prejudice of the one which 
 succeeds it. 
 
 I trust I shall be pardoned by the committee if 
 I make some allusion to the harbor within my own 
 district, and in which I feel an especial interest. 
 The harbor at Buffalo is of great national import¬ 
 ance. It is the principal commercial depot of the 
 great valley of the lakes above Niagara Falls; the 
 great mart and port of transhipment for at least 
 eight of the northwestern States and Territories, 
 and the western terminus of the Erie Canal, three 
 hundred and sixty-five miles in length, connecting 
 these lakes with Hudson river. It was made a 
 port of entry and a collection district by act of 
 Congress in 1805, and has since that time been 
 under the jurisdiction of the United States. 
 
 The land for light-house, &c., was deeded to the 
 United States in 1819. The aggregate value of 
 the property shipped east and west through the 
 | port of Buffalo alone, during the last season, was 
 about $70,000,000—equal to one half the entire 
 foreign export trade of the whole Union. The 
 total number of arrivals and departures was eight 
 thousand four hundred and forty-four, and the 
 | tonnage of the same, two million seven hundred 
 and thirteen thousand seven hundred. No appro¬ 
 priation for this harbor has been made since 1844. 
 The Government pier, which protects the entrance, 
 and resting on land belonging to the United States, 
 has been greatly damaged by storms. The severe 
 gale which occurred in 1844, broke through the 
 pier, and it has only been partially repaired. 
 
 *The late Captain Williams, of the Topographical Corps 
 of Engineers, who made an examination in 1841, says: 
 
 “ Another point of great interest is the obstruction to 
 navigation at the mouth of the St. Clair river. The river 
 forms a delta, having three principal outlets—the north, 
 middle, and south channels—and one or more intermediate 
 passages. The general thoroughfare at present is by the 
 north channel, the middle channel not having sufficient 
 water on the bar for the draught of steamboats and the 
 larger class of lake vessels. By a cut through of no great 
 length, (by dredging, 1 ) a channel may be effected, it is 
 thought, and a distance saved of upwards of si x miles. * * 
 
 “ The importance of some improvements being made here 
 to facilitate commercial operations cannot be too strongly 
 recommended. I will repeat the remarks alluded to : ‘That 
 £ vessels are frequently detained here, and that steamboats 
 ‘ have to be lightened of a portion of their cargoes before 
 ‘ they are enabled to pass over the bar. A small expense 
 ‘ would obviate the difficulty and facilitate a thoroughfare 
 1 of commerce, having for its object the intercourse be- 
 ‘ tween the waters of the Mississippi and the great emporia 
 ‘ of our northeastern States, and all the great interests bor- 
 ‘ dering on this channel of communication.’ ” 
 
7 
 
 Since that time, it is no uncommon sight to see 
 half a dozen loaded vessels sticking fast on the bars, 
 which have been forming around the light-house at 
 the end of the Government pier, at the mouth of 
 the harbor. The appropriation contained in the 
 bill for this harbor is only $50,000. This is but a 
 small item when compared with the extent of its 
 commerce, and the relation it bears to all the other 
 harbors upon the lakes. 1 would by no means 
 desire to diminish the amounts for the other ports; 
 but rather that the amount for Buffalo should be 
 increased. I am gratified to see that Oswego and 
 Rochester, important ports upon Lake Ontario, 
 are provided for in the bill; and that Dunkirk, 
 Erie, Cleveland, Sandusky, Milwaukie, and Chi* 
 cage, have not been overlooked. 
 
 In 1834, the appropriation for the Hudson river 
 was in a separate bill; but as it is the great chan¬ 
 nel through which is transported the principal im¬ 
 ports to, and exports from, the lake region, as 
 well as Upper Canada, I trust that the item of 
 $75,000 for this river, contained in it, is not now 
 in the “ wrong bill.” On looking at the items for 
 the Valley of the Mississippi, I see in the bill, for 
 the Ohio river, above the Falls, $80,000, and be¬ 
 low these Falls, at Cumberland Island, $50,000; 
 and for the Mississippi, Missouri, and Arkansas 
 rivers, $240,000. I also see that the bill contains 
 appropriations for the ports on the Atlantic coast 
 and Gulf of Mexico. Indeed, I may say that all 
 sections of the country seem to have been fairly 
 considered by the committee; and although I 
 should be gratified to see some of the items in¬ 
 creased, yet I fully believe the committee have 
 done what was for the best, and I hope the bill 
 will pass. 
 
 The revenues derived from commerce were, upon 
 the adoption of the Constitution, surrendered to 
 the General Government, “ to provide for the com¬ 
 mon defence, to promote the general welfare, and 
 to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
 our posterity.” The Government collect large 
 revenues on imports at the several ports embraced 
 in this bill. While thus enjoying the revenues 
 derived from commerce, there must be a reciprocal 
 duty on the part of the Government, to facilitate, 
 protect, and foster the hand that supplies it with 
 the means of support. 
 
 In the last year of General Jackson’s adminis¬ 
 tration the appropriations to these objects were 
 over $3,000,000, and in the first year of Mr. Van 
 Buren’s administration they were rather less than 
 $3,000,000; but theaverage of these two years was 
 about $3,000,000. 
 
 In resuming these works again, it seems to me 
 that if the Government were pledged to expend 
 $3,000,000 annually for ten years in a systematic 
 and vigorous prosecution of these works, it would 
 not only be a great saving of time and money over 
 the former mode of prosecuting them, but would 
 add greatly to the facility and protection of com¬ 
 merce; to the defence of the country, by enabling 
 it to transport men and munitions of war; facili¬ 
 tate the intercourse of our citizens,and the speedy 
 transmission of the mails. 
 
 In reply to the suggestionof the gentleman from 
 Louisiana, [Mr. Morse,] that to pass bills like 
 these will tend to weaken the bonds of the Union, 
 I take leave most respectfully to dissent from that 
 opinion. I believe that every dollar expended in 
 perfecting this system of internal improvements 
 
 will have the contrary effect from that predicted 
 by the gentleman from Louisiana. Sir, the con¬ 
 struction of the Cumberland Road, extending, as 
 it does, from Maryland, through Pennsylvania, 
 Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, has greatly 
 increased the commerce and intercourse between 
 Baltimore and the great West, and Baltimore has 
 been much benefited by the increased trade and 
 business that has been drawn to it, It has in¬ 
 creased the facility of the mail service, and has 
 increased the attachment of the people, east and 
 west of the mountains, in all the States through 
 which this road passes. 
 
 Sir, the Mississippi and its tributaries, extend¬ 
 ing through the whole valley of the Mississippi, 
 forming twenty thousand miles of navigable com¬ 
 munication, and finding an outlet in the Gulf of 
 Mexico, improved, as it must be, by the General 
 Government, will forever bind all that immense 
 region together by kindred, by social intercourse, 
 and by commercial relations. They all have a 
 common interest in its waters, and in its free 
 and unobstructed navigation from its sources to 
 its mouth. No line east and west across the val¬ 
 ley of the Mississippi ever should be allowed to 
 separate a people bound together by so many cords 
 of interest ana attachment, and I trust and believe 
 that no such line ever will be drawn. 
 
 At the last session Congress granted a right of 
 way and made large donations of land to the 
 States of Illinois, Mississippi, and Alabama, to 
 aid in the construction of a railroad from Chicago 
 to Mobile. If this road is constructed, as I trust 
 it will be, it will increase the social intercourse and 
 commercial interests between the North and South, 
 and will tend to consolidate the Union more closely. 
 There will not only be an iron band, extending 
 across several States, but a bond of sympathy ana 
 interest growing out of the increased intercourse 
 between the people of these States, which is far 
 better. This was one of the reasons which in¬ 
 fluenced me to vote for that bill, and which would 
 induce me to vote for other improvements of the 
 same character. 
 
 The marine disasters and losses on the Lakes, 
 for the last three years, have been as follows: 
 
 1848.. Loss of property, $420,512; of lives... 55 
 
 1849.. .do.dc. 368,171;. ..do. 34 
 
 1850.. .do..... ..do..... 558,926;. ..do.395 
 
 $1,347,609. No. lives..484 
 Making an aggregate loss of property of $1,347,- 
 609; and of lives, 474. This great loss is mainly 
 for the want of good harbors of refuge and shelter 
 on the lakes between Buffalo and Chicago. The 
 annual loss of life and property on the Mississippi 
 and its tributaries is much greater. The loss of 
 property upon the lakes and rivers cannot be less 
 than $2,000,000 annually, which is annihilated— 
 blotted out of the wealth of the country, for the 
 want of proper care and attention on the part of 
 the Government. I am aware that the destruction 
 of human life upon our navigable waters is not en¬ 
 tirely chargeable to the want of the improvements 
 provided for in this bill. Fearful losses have 
 occurred by fire and other casualties, but this does 
 not lessen the responsibility and constitutional duty 
 of the Government for the losses that occur by 
 reason of snags in the rivers and the want of ade¬ 
 quate harbors upon the lakes. Shall this frightful 
 
I 
 
 8 
 
 destruction of human life go on and increase with 
 the increasing business and population of the coun¬ 
 try ? We have the means m the Treasury to 
 remedy these evils to a great extent. We have the 
 constitutional power to do it; we have the exam¬ 
 
 ples of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Jack- 
 son, in the precedents to which I have referred, for 
 the exercise of that power, and I trust we shall 
 now follow those precedents by the passage of this 
 bill. 
 
 — 
 
 Printed'at the Congressional Globe Office. 
 
 X 
 
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