The New York Herald Newspaper, March 24, 1875, Page 3

THE Thurlow Weed Applauds Gov- ernor Tilden's Message. HOW THE PEOPLE'S MONEY IS STOLEN, Hoa. Samuel B. Ruggles on the History of the Canal System. CANALS. WHAT THE CANALS HAVE COST AND PAID. A Forty Years Study of the Great Subject. Necessity cf Deepening the Waterway to Seven Feet. BTATISTICS OF THE CARRYING TRADE, Legislative and Official Action in Beference to Canal Enlargement, USELESSNESS OF THE LATERAL CANALS Speaker McGuire and the “Fight- . ers” in Albany. So much talk bas been excited by Governor Tilden’s message in reierence to the canals, the costs of the repairs to them and of their opera- tion, and sv many and various motives nave been exposed by interested talkers—each of which has Deen declared to be the one which impelled the Executive of the State to make an onslaught upon the notorious ‘Canal Ring'’—that the interest in the message and the discussion upon it has in- creased daily, Senator Jarvis Lord’s truculent Geclarations did more to call attention to the message than anything else. They must have aroused in the minds of some naive people the idea that Governor Tilden nad drowned the senator's honor in the Erte Canal, fnd that while the legislator fisned for that of which he bad been despoiled he savagely de- mounced his despoiler. buought of Senator Lord’s proclamation most of them wanted io know what Mr. Thurlow Weed thought of Governor Tilden’s message. It was to oiscover this that the writer called at Mr, Weed’s fesidence, in Twelfth street, yesterday. Mr. Weed has been so Jong acquainted with the Dolitics of this State, 1ollowing them to the enas of their numerous ramifcatious, that the adfairs of every pubiic department nave been in bis mind as Uf in @ book which be mught open at will. lt was important to a certain degree ior the public to know how he read the canal message, or rather to know what are bis deductions from it. Mr. Weed being opposed politically to Governor Tilden, a commendation of the message and its design coming irom him Would be a great compliments to the Executive. Being thoroughly conversant with the affairs of the Canai Department, for him to condemn the Message would ve to burt its influence greatly 1n bhe Legislature and among the public. The writer called at Mr. Weed’s residence first Bt about three v’clock yesterday afternoon, bus Was iniormed that the veteran politician would hot be at home betore six o'clock. Shortly before that hour a secoud call was made, and then the caller was ushered tuto a pleas- ant Witie hbrary jus: beyond the nail @oor, The draughts of air caused by the opening and shutting ot the outer door, are ex- cluded from this sauctum by a screen draped with the American tag. ‘Thus the patriotic spirit of ur. Weed is evinced to the visitor as soon as he en- ters the hallway. Cosily ensconced in a chair be- fore a Maming fire the reporter awaited Mr. Weea’s teturo. GOVERNOR TILDEN COMMENDED. When the veteran entered the object of the caller's visit was explained, and Mr. Weed said emphatically : am convinced that Governor Tilden has done & good thing In exposing the mismanagement of the canals. He has at the same time cone a vary bold thing. He has put himself in opposition to Bn enormous and unscrupulous power, which is Famified through the central part of the State. This power has been growing for many years, There are meu connected witn the ‘Canal Ring’ Who bave been contractors since twenty-five years ago.”” Then going far into retrospection, Mr. Weed said, reflectively:—“Yes; just so. There are Roue now who were connected with the con- straction of the original canal, The ‘Ring’ has grown enormously within ten years. It has en- trapped ito ite membership officials of all kinds, Those honest but weak officials who could Hot be tempted with money its members bave always found means to beguile. Fraud in the con- Struction of the canuls and in the use of the monoss derived from them bas been in vogue ever bince the original Erie Canal was finished in 1825. HONEST WORK. Breaking his consecutive narrative, Mr. Weed remarked:—"Perbaps you do not know that the original Erie Canal was built within the cost which was estimated tor it, It was, The engi- Qeers of that canal were men of great original genius and were men of integrity. Though they bad nothing to guide them in their work, for there Were no great canaiseither here or in Europe; though they had to go onin the dark, they maue their surveys and tney constructed the canal Well, @ud without stretching their expenditur even to the limit of the aum which had been set to meet them, BEGINNINGS OF THEFT, “although the contractors on the original work were not iraudulent, they grew sharp as they progressed, and aiter 1825 the eraof theft vegan Witu those of them who continued to work on the Canal, Yet the tuefts did not reach great propor- ions until about the middle of the war time, wnen Public morality was generally unsettied. Tne first peculations were committed with tne ald of Otlivials meant to watch over the interests of the people in the canals, The Orst whoie- bale frauds grew out of bullding the double locks, Ana the thefts have continued to be perpetrated, with the knowledge at least of fuch Officiais. The tact is, the men who have been chosen tocare for tne Canal Department have @lways been of the wrong sort, Those of them Who have not been dishonest have been weak. All parties have erred in selecting persons to be oMciais tn the Oanal Department. HOW IT WAS DONE. “The way in which frauds were first committed,” Bald Mr. Weed, ‘was trough tne agency of dis- honest superintendents of tie canal. Each super- intendent tad asection of the camal to care for, &nd \nerefore nud many opportunities to be pi ofit- Bbly disbonest. Of course, those who were dis- donest gatnered around them contractors who Were iike them iu principie, Alter the superinten- flents lost tueir powers, the contractors 1ound a Qew means to deiraud the State, They Would finiso their work under their contracts and then apply to tne Legislature ior reliel, alleging What their expenditures had veva greatly in ex- tess 01 the amount they had been expected to be, ‘DB consequence of some extruordinary natural lupediment to their progress, jen the Legisla- ture Would puss billy reierring the examinavuon uct SOtLi¢ment Of their claims to the Canal Board, ‘The passage of the ville wimays settled the claims, for tie Cuusi Board never re; Whatever the initiated | 4 them, ite | Cnriatian Worl NEW YORK HERALD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, I875.—-TRIPLE SHEET. members were in the grasp of the members of the ring, and could not and never desired to reject | the claims, Still, notwitnstanding ali these things, the thefts of the Cana! Ring were not very great beiore the time of tne latter part of the war, At that period iis memvers nad become greatly experienced, and they devised the system of low bids, POWER OP THE RING. | The fact that they couid not carry this system into effect without the connivance of the canal ouicials showa the power of their ring. ‘Ihe | State Engineer’s Department has the preparation | Of estimates Jor all work upon the canals and the supervision of the work. Its engineers should know every stone laid and its proper cost to the State, every foot of earth delved and tts proper cost. The State Engineer’s Department is greatly | responsible for the trauds committed upon the | State Treasury by Krie canal contractors.” | Mr. Weed, coutinuing nis narrative, explained | | She working of the system of low vids, by means | of wich $0 Much money bas been extracted irom | the State Treasury. lt nas been made clear to | the readers of the Hxgavp by Governor Tilden’s | Message. ENOUGH STOLEN TO BUILD A SHIP CANAL, | Upon finishing it the venerabie and astute poll- ticlan said:—*Yes, you may say, truthfully, that | encugh money has been stoien by the present | Canal Ring to build a fine ship canal from Buifalo | to Albany, It was the original purpose to con- struct such a canal, and if such great sums had not been stolen if the present system of canals bau been @ real benefit to the taxpayers instead | of @ burden, a ship canal would either now be built or be in course of construction.” SENATOR LORD WEIGHED. “What do you think, Mr. Weed,” said the reporter, “of Senator Lord's assaults upon Gover- nor Tilden ?” | “He had to say something, and he had to say it | boldly, especially a3 he is a member of the State | Senate, andone of the bills exhibited as a speci- | men of the usual staiemenis of contractors was that o/ hig son, He bad to say something, bat Il think he bas said too much.” LOW TOLLS, “Do you think, Mr. Weed, that the canal tolls ought to be reduced, or that improvements should be faithiuily carried out by means of which traffic would be expedited on the canais and the Jor- warders and boatmen be thus recompensed for the tolls they now pay?’ In response to this question Mr, Weed said:— “The question of reducing the cana! tolls has been agitated for a long time, Certainly something | must be done for the traffickers on the canals. ‘The competition of the rail | Ways with the canals 18 sO great that it affects the business of tne boatmen and for- | warders, If the improvements were made in the | canals they would not only increase the speed of | traveliing upon them, but would also have the subsequent elfect of reducing tne tolla,’” THE REMEDY. “Now, Mr. Weea’” said the writer, “what do you tmnk are the means by which this Canal Ring can be overthrown and the system under which it nas worked can be done away with?” ‘4 thoroughly agree with the ideas of Governor | Tilden. 1 iully indorse bis Message, and I totox he has done a grand service in initiating tne overthow of @ ribg as poweriul as that which formerly exisied in Tammany Hall. Tne Governor should be appianded tor his boldness, He has ‘taken the bull by the horns,’ and in the struggle he 1s likely to over- | throw the animal. He suould be aided and en- couraged in bis task, for he is striving to benefit | the State.” - | hence, the interview. The Nestor of politicians, by which name it is so usual to call Mr. Weed, | uttered his words as emphaticaliy as his weak state | would permit, and was thoroughly convinced that for Governor Tilden to break up the Canal Ring, composed of men of both purties, would be @ fitting supplement to that oficial’s labors against whe great circle in the Tammany demoeratic party, Within which the people’s money went round and round, and Lever got outsiac. SAMUEL b. RUGGLES’ REPORT. AN INTERESTING STATEMENT ON THE RISE AND | PROGRESS OF OUR CANAL SYSTEM—A FORTY | YEARS STUDY OF THE SUBJECT. | The Chamber of Commerce has just publishea | | the grainfieids of our own interior. | and her ¢ | to be douvied trom Albany to | Missioner, Wiliam C, | suortly alter the adiministration 01 Governor Clin- | bad ever guided the pubilc eflorts of sat clear- | Enlarge. Eularge Totat on alt Net yearly Canat ment of thecanais, eurplus det at Oswego trunkand tollsand close of Guat | lateras revenues eur. iar to 1857. 97,560 1,180,858 6,326,506 601.510 1,205,003 "710,618 6,10 0/082 Totals.$721,440 —_ 61,840 .! 1,847,472 - I.-Y SURPLUS TOLLS, AIDED BY LOAN: 4838. The reporcof the Assembly Committee of Ways | and Means proposing ioans to expedite the eniarzemeut | | of the 1 estimated that the grow.h of t in These words ended Mr. Weed’s remarks, and, | 31, | ridd on the canal temporary short col ment during the important oF errors in judge y portion of this all- era, now to recall the singular | Jact that it ‘was not thought necessary | or important tm any census tuken by the United States or by the State of New York beiore the year 1840 to report or ascer- win the quantities of the various cereais produced in the fertile soi! overspreading so large 4 portion of our Continentat Repubiic, and laying the very joundation of ali its wealth «nud power. So iittle, mdeed, was the nation aware of its dormant agr.cul'ura! strength, that great alarm Was expressed by timid observers in 1836 and 1837, When considerable amounts of breadstutts ere temporarily imported into the United States irom several of the European nations, so that the “wheat from the Black sea” was paraded in par- Mean journals aud even in grave puvile documents, 10 suo how little reliance could pe placed on any | prospective estimate of the productive power of | Fortunately, | these apprehensions did not affect the ofictal ac- | tion of all oi our public Mnctionaries, some of Whom, with instinctive sagacity and by logical in- duction perceived, unaided by minute statistics, | the magnitude of the future in store for New York | uals, AS early as 1834tne Legislature | bad directed | | THE LOCKS ON THE ERIE CANAL racuse; but on the recommendauon of Governor Marcy, zeaiously | seconded vy that truly distinguished Canal Coni- ‘ouck, the law was repealed, | and the enlargement of the whole canal, irom | Alvany to Buffalo, substituted by the act ot tie | Lith May, 1835. The dimensions of the enlarge- | ment Were fixed by the Canal Board, first at sixty | fees wide and six ieet deep, but were subve- | quently changed to seventy leet by seven, alter an ineectnal effort made oy Commissioner | Bouck to induce the Canal Board to fix tnem at elgnty leet by eight. He had taken office during or ton, ald had then limbibded, or nataraliy posse-sed, much 01 che large and comprehensive spirit wnico heuded and tar-seeing public servant. It 18 justly due to the memory o! Commissioner Bouck now to state the tact, that on his removal in 1840 trom the Oifice of President of the Board of Canal Com- missioners he earnestly exhorted his successor to stand firmly by the enlargement as the greatess Work of the age, and in nv event togcpnsent to any diminution of its dimensions, With this brief preliminary outline, whica, if nec- essary, May be hereaiter fillea up by other bands, Une committee will now to proceed to show, by tables carelully prepared for the Chamber, with condensed explanatory note: from 1835 to | | Firsi—The progress and cost, of the trunk canals, to be permanently preserves Jor the commerce o! the State and the country. Second—Tne cost of the lateral canals, the | proper disposition of which is now committed to the Legislature. Third—The total amount of debt incurred in the construction Of all these works and its rapid ap- proach to final extinction, Fourth—Tae tolis of the cana!s which have been applied, and must yet ve appiled, to the purpose, and the propriety Of now reducing the rate of toll to facilitate aud cheapen the navigation of the canals by steam or otherwise. Hfih—lhe pre-eminent and urgent necessity of | completing tne trouk canals without furtuer delay, | i | | wito their iull legal depth of water, and the efforts made during the last sixteen years to effect that onject. Sizth—The leading particalars in respect to the | | quantities of cereals now curried yearly irom the | interior states to the seabvard, Wuetuher t:rougu | our iraok cauals or by compecng routes vy land | or by water. Cos? OF THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE TRUNK CANALS. L—COST DEFRAYKD WHOLLY BY SURPLUS TOLLS. Dimensions ot brie Canal enlargement fixed in 1835 by the Cana! Board, first at sixty leet wide by six ieet deep, aiterward increased to seventy leet by seven. Consiruction of the Black River and the Genesee Val- ley canuls authorized 1m 136 terlor States wou!d increase the yearly tolls of the cana ir enlarged, to $3,000,000 in the year When their po) ula? tion should reach 6,00J,.00, which was in 185s. that the | Yalue of these products in that year seeking downward | Transportation through the canal would be $00,000,0), and of merchandise, £c.,im revurn, $30,00),l0)—ia all, $140,000.00. | 1839. Counter reports, officially made to the Legisla- | ture and io (be Senate, estimated the tolls ot Iso ac | $40, and tho prodicts and other property to by car~ | from and to the Western states fm 1053 at $3,009 74, | they aiso proposed areduction in the dimensions of | the edlarged caual to feet by 6, but it was not agreed | Tolls. 843,247 1101031 to by either branch of the Legislature. Evie, Debt. Oswego. .6.306,374 | 19,574,392. | nd 1°41, | anal thé | Total.$10,636,:31 =, 16,087,375 5,656, ‘the active progress made iu 18s, 15:9, is parimanently secured tor the enlarged Erie full dimensions of 70 tect by 7. TRTARDATION xD susrENsiox, lawego. Total. Tolls. 796,250 1,422,683 Delt. 20,392,314 | 20,713,005. | 19,69) 020 17.uzs"240 18,743,749 an exhaustive and very abie report of the Com- | mittee on Railway and Canal Legisiation, by Mr. | | Samuel B, Ruggles, its chairman, showing the | progress, the cost and the present fiscal and com- mercial condition of the State canals, and proving | that the highest exigencies of the city and State | of New York not only, but the whole interior country north of the Onio River demand the prompt securing of seven feet of water in the bed | of the Erle Canal, i THE REPORT. The report opens with a preliminary history of the Staie canal system, as foilows The chairman oi the committee, on a former oc | casiou, in‘ormed the Chamber of his in tention, if | it should become ‘necessary in order to remove | any lingering prejudices or misapprenensions,’’ to | review to some extent some of the questions | agitated informer years in respect to the neces- | sity of enlarging the Erie Canal, to form part of a | “History of the Efforts in New York, irom 1835 to | 1875, to Secure and Increase the Commerce of the West.” He did not, however, propose, in such a Work, to indulge in any criticism of the actions or | the personai motives of any man or men, but | solely to deai with public measures and their actual results, Still less does he | Propose, in the present paper, to overstep that legitimate fleld of historical inquiry, but rather to | confine it, as faras practicable, to an impartial | and unimpassioned exhibition of the fiscal aspect | | ol the camals now on the eve, usitis hoped, of a | large increase of their power and useiuiness. These canals have aireaay played a conspicuous Partin the eveotiul civil mistury of our present | mineteenta century, so rich im the triumphs of | man over physical nature, and especially in re- | ducing the iabor und cost of transit and transpor- | tation over the uneven suriace of the glove he | inhabits, The current year 1875, completing | three-quarters of this important ‘century, Will -800D run out its appointed Course, HISTORICALLY EXAMINED, | we find the first fiteen years oi the century spent in the Jearful wars oftue first Napoleon, | accompanied on tuis Contunent witn vur last— may it indeed be our last—war with Engiand. ‘Loe succeeding sixty years, closing witn 1875, cm. braces the Whuie active bistory ot the canals of Lae State of New York, to waich it owes go largely its preseat rank in the civilized world. This re- Mmarkable era of sixty years ts ttself divisivle tor the present purpose lato arithmetical perious of | eVeu proportion, of which the first, embracing the | Weuty years jrom 1815 tu 1345, enurely covers | not only the commencement, progress and com- | pletion of tue first Erie and Champlain canals, by | the genius, energy and perseverence ol De Witt Cioton, but what some may iegard as much | betier, the inal jayment o: the whole | cost of their construction; while the si ond pertod, embracing the forty years from | 1885 to the point in 1875 we bave now reached, jujly comprises the luny continued and unwearied efforts of the followers of Mr. Clinton to enlarge the capacity and the value of the work whicn te | had so uobly sustained and coimpieted. Without | descanting at all upon tue political procitviues or the comparative merits oi} any of the public men who have manuged tne political affairs of the State during wis second period, tue degree to Which all parties have united in ‘the great enter- p.lse of enlarging tue brie Canai will be sufll- ciently imdicated by the fact that the Executive chair was occupied in 1835 by William L. Marcy, | Who was succeeued by @ jong Series of Governors, Wb a great variety of cuaracter, culture and | political opinions, vut nearly ali approving we necessary Meusures Jor enlarging the Cana. in audition to their Valuable services 1a the State | several of tnem have won enuuring renown in conducung the ioretgn aflans of the United Staces, ‘the progress of the enlargement ot the canal | during these successive adinimistrations in the | State may be gathered tu some exient irom the | ligures contemporaneously exuibited in tue jol- joWing tables, Which Were needed jor tue fiscal eXauiuation Which the preseut purpose requires, TAK YRAR 1835, with which the present review commences, was one in many respects of great historic Luterest. It saw the passage uf the original act ior the en- jargement of the Brie Canai in May o: that year, aud wituin siX moutns alterward it also saw the commencement of the New York aud Erie Ratl- | way, by the actual breaking ground by oue ot the members of the present committee of the New York Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with Jauwes G. King, the President of tne com. | pany tcorporated ior the purpose, ana whe, in | several subsequent years, Was (he houored Presi- | deut Of the Chumber. Wuacis iar tore imteresting, At begau to sec, tiough duly, the early duwu of the great prohe era ui cereal development in tne | | | | Agierior of our Continent, then scarcely percept | ble, but Dow vigorously on Its Way to the soiusion Of the wighty problem of adequately ieeding the dt may excuse or explain any Eric, Onoego. Total.” Toil, Deit, ese SOYA, STS — 864,776 2,548,219 16,712,649 | 1849, 4,939 1513862 2757/2 16,505,335 1300: 82507 QLIITY 26a 1s,zd,144 | AebL. 1444,708 2114/4832 16,641'056 | | 1852: 1881264 210,000 17001269 1353. Lown5 2 y70,u69 17s ev ol the canal. Copy ot report hereto appeased.) soon | aiter its publicadon the Legislawure passed ihe act of April 10, is62, ueclaring that no more Work should be | done nor m Is procuted atter ihe lst day of Sep: tember next thereatter. eave of enlarging | completing sid canals,” and that tue ame shoaki | | Canal Commissioners the sole Totals, $1,309,051 Pyar) r 9.348. — The act ol the Legislatare of April, 12, suspended or | rescinded, with a few exceptions, all the contracts for word ii progress on ail of the canals and directed di ages to b« paid to the coutractors. some of whe awar tor dumayes are included 1m the expenditures abo’ stated at $1,363.05: The consiiiution adcpted 1m 186, after much debate, and a compromise, to some extent, of widely diffe opinions, set apart us a sinking fund a sutlicient at Of the surplus tolls to pay off within eighteen years all the canal devt then existing and also the ‘al iund | gebt, of Which $3,000,000 had been incurred in the loan | of the credit of the state to that amount to expeulte the © struction of the New York find «rie Ratiroad. It directed the Legislature to apply the ‘remainder 0! the tolls, atter reservins $200,000 yearly tor the necessary expenses of the government, to the enlargement ot the Erie Canal aud to the completion of the Black River aud Genesee Val.ey Canals. In 1846 the tolls were reduced about eleven per cent. The rate existing in 1838 of $3 28 for a ton of wheat from Buffulo to Albuny was reduced to $292 The upward fo lstrom Albany to Butfalo were reduced from 36 67 to a 1V,—PROGRESS OF THE WORKS BY INCREASED SURPLUS TOLLS AND CANAL CRRTIFIVATES, | Totals.$5,001,101 596,206 8,3 B94 14,770,127 — Ju 1301 the Legislature authorized the issue of canal | certificates tor $9,0W,uu0, in anticipation of the tolls, on which $1,500,000 were borrowed. ‘ihe Court of Appea in 1362, decided that issue to be repugnant to the cons! tution’ of 1sa6, | The animated discussions in respect to the necessity of | issuing these canal certificates, during dininistra- | tion of Governor Washington Huot in i851 and 102, | pracucally led to the adoption in 184, by a populur vote of neuriy’ three to one, of an amendment to the consti- tutlon authorizing turther loans of $9,(L0,0W. ‘The Untied States census of 1850 saowed that of the Proaucts ip that year of the interior States north of the Uhio Kiver the ‘cereals alone amounted 10 311,652,066 bushels. ‘This quanuty in ty 67 16 bushels in 6) und to 812,101,925 busaels in 1370. The value of the | cereal products, merchandise and other property com- ing irom and carried to the Western States through ub Erie Canal, only parually enlarged in 1835, was | $136,590,284, as stated by the Caaal Auditor, | in'i8ol the “New York and rie aud the New York Con- | tral railways were completed trum the Hudsou River to Luge Eric, Before the close of 1863 they had begun | i} largely to divert Western commerce trom the ca then, as now, remaining untinished, with an insufticient depth of water. ‘The total tons carried on those rail- Ways in 1863 were 991,037: im 1863, 964,700; in 1373, 11,835,0.6; im the five years trom. 1868 to 1873,'inclusive, 40,738,412; average yearly, 9,315,480 tons ‘ihe total tous | carried on all the canald of New York in 18/3 wore | In i8>1 the canal tolls on a ton trom Buffalo to Albany | were reduced trom $2 92 to $2 19, and the tolis troin Albany to Buffaio trom $4 80 to $440; V.—ADDITIONAL LOAS Constitution amended by authorizing loans for $900,000 to complete the work therein specified, and in dadition to enlarge the Oswego and the Cayuga and Seneca canals, and to enlarge ihe locks of the Uham- lain Canal ‘The ainendment turther authosized the | gislature ‘to borrow $1,500,000 to repay that amouns advanced by the treasury ou ibe canal certificates Garweqa, r Tos 1854... SIS,.057 70 1850. 327,07 160,000 1678.8 1,952,500 Bz, 24.921 1,539,015 25,189,701 | 1s1,565 995.325 LAAbu ULE | Miscel. Miby. — | 75. 903,077 1,400,808. 1 1a count of ihe C gy, 665 SURPLUS TOLLS AND DIRECT TAXATION, mount of taxes irom 1840 to 1874 paid for ac- ‘anal Fond, as s.aied by the Canal Auditor in 187, Was $31 486,08Y, of Which $5,570,2.8 was paid trom | 1859 to 1562. | Total. Delt. 24,577,844 27,100,321 | 28,131,770 wvl,770 TotMl. $4,151.94 942,770 7,575,971 9,909,044 During ‘tiis period ‘ot tour Years ‘tue canal dept | Feached its highest amount, being $27,107,821, on which the interest at six per cent was $168.42, “ibe average surplus of yearly surplus tolls was 0,721. the direct tax was maiuly rendered necessary ‘for the purnose of replenishing the Sinking Fund, ay directed by the con+ stituuon of 1346, Ju lotd ihe descending tolls foe previous Muctuation in the rates, were reduced irom $- 1 ty ¥2 Ll, and from $4 40 to $i 4 per ton on property asceuding. in 19/V the tolls of @ ton of wheat from Buffalo to Al- banv were reduced from $2 11 to $1 C5, or 334 cents per busnel, ana on tons ascending trom $1 40 to $1 U3, at which rates they now remain. WANT OF WATER IN THE CANALS. By act ot April, 1859, the Canal Comuissioners were directed to cause monthiy trial ips to oe wade on the canals with boats especially laden, tor the purpose of practically ertaining ie depth of water the Canal. the reportol the last “trial trip,” made in Sep. | tewiber, 1461, was published with the aunual report of the Cabal Commistiouers, mauve to the Legisiatare in | 1802 (Assembly Documen sot 182, page 147), suowig an | insuticient depth of Water for at least WW ring nies | er ton on wheat, after ed aud wet of this w dered tuisted und com L waste uevolve Upon tue Wer of Hulsuing the it tue maby xed wor the Lequl euuipletion”” i 10 conse LI Ui, roving and uuinialning tie legal de) i ot water reduired tor thelr proper use. plow canals niter (he time thus not | of Some Oi the canals which have been abandoned munities adjacent have been promoted quite as | 1uily by railways in their vicinity open jor use at | Improvement, tne Balwinsville Canal, the Cayuga | or ents \ Tae actual amounts from 1846 fo 1874 thus YI1.—DIRKOT TAXATION, | Efforts of the canal officers oy direct taxes to complete | the enlargements with seven feet depth of water. | Erie Expended Canal Devt on ail Surplus at close of Cane Tolls Year ST 11084000 107.48 1)393.640 281586 21864,013 21035 1863549 206,400 146.570 7267 2354, 182450 540,694 83) 19,130,170 hyd es el ww BRE af 23 s gg Pas eg ¢ 53: 833 £558 EB ee eae setts 3 23 g Fs $y £223 fey 235 ca eaan | 2:35 736 sees a SAS Zeer L Lass 528 BEE 3 2 ase shes ec psss § les £23 Baee 5 B 335 seg & 8 3a3 gees 3 iis Ee 4a6s3 CURSE aS c etoksabenrs ie ose Geet Ch BES ae ae | 33 % > F ae ge ~ 22. She S|32eRes5h 23 | Zz eS S| aoccenu ss EI} SIS Hl SSSSLGaS F 23 3 eSeen? 24 :#38s3 ¢ “Se $54 :i3353 3 epgs | S53 i gees? f/Besss SEs5 3 B38 arse 8h, : 8225 8 SBESE RS? o BSes" 7 SeeSoreo ak | = ° Bo g « ses g Sze Hee ES- el ot 3 y B34 Zon S BBenz oe gee i Bees | gaeeeae Ss = | & igijsz S| S2285283 . a Be! oo & J iy Sad <7 “3 BA ge Fle EA gee iS 2 resus 2 ga2 * 53 = EeEEE: 3: 2 = i] ne tip gece SESa8se"s | - pes es :@z ot _ 8 223 £5 | SesbeGes? Boa : 88 52 EESESEZESe pee: BS =| seececea e°2 2g ge 2 ZE2SR25" 3 : a S ef e2F 30 f ais | FE? gf El sven Rok 7 Re os 5 aRSSyss | 2l885 8 33 §| BESESRSES glesh e& ss 3| 338 BS elgs* & 85 #1838 ze DURING THE GREATER PORTION OF THE TERM of turty years, through which the cost or coustruc- tion of these five lateral canals was paid trom tne | canal und, the State was obliged itself to pay in- terest al the average rate o1 at least six per cent per anuum, paid hati yearly, on the large sums needed beyond the surplus revenues {rom time to time in hand, for prosecuting tne enlargement ot the trunk canals, conclusively showing the necessity of loans for vearly, if not quite, 21] of the $28,081,364 drawn from the canal iund to construct and sup- port the lateral canals, It certaiuly may explain | why the canal deot, at its maximum in 1360, should reaca $27,107,521. AS a watter merely of seal account 1t caanot be unjust or uareasonable to charge these lateral canals at least simple in- terest at five per cent per aunum irom tae periods shown by the preceding statement, when the various portions of the $28,081,364 were actually drawn irom the treasury 01 the state. At that moderate rate, the actual cost was, jor principal : $ Simple interest, at live per cent. Total. . It 13 believed that a careful investigation o: branch of the subject vy the members of the Chamber of Commerce and of the ocher commer- clal bodies associated in the “Conierence,” will eflectuaily dispel the strange and wost erroneous impression eutertaimed in some quarters taat all v1 our canals, bot wunk and luteral—some of them so uryzently needed to preserve our Western commerce—could have been constructed and com- pleted io due season without borrowing any moneys whatever, but solely by ustug the surplus tolls and revenues of the Erie Canal. While we may adm!t tua these lateral canals have conierred @ measurable amount of puvlic benefit in stimulating industry and cheapening transportation Within the interesting districts whicu they penetrate, and that they may be cou- sidered to some eXtentus parts of @ general sys- tem, justiy disiributing common benelits sud common burdens, we canuot cose our eyes on | the uudemlable fact vat they have already | SUBTRACTED MORE THAN FIFTY-THREE MILLIONS from tue common treasury of the State, ‘The su- lution of the difficuit question of the just and | proper disposition to be made of these canals Low engaging the anxX:ous attention of the Legislature, With power lortanately divided between the two | Poltucal parties, Who must unite in. 118 solution to | lind, it possivie, sume Wise aod proper measure which may do justice alike to the counties imme- diately avjacent to these canais and at the same Ume relieve other aad less favored portions oi the State Irom the grievous tujustice of perpetually paying tixes or Works in witica they have no iu. terest. Lt ts believed that a careiul examination | im Penugyivania, Olio and Indiana, and also in | Burope to some extent, will snow tuat the local convenience and pecullor interests of the com- all seasons of the year. ‘The sui total of the expenditures for our whole system vo! canals, above divided Jor historical pur- poses 1n successive periods, from 1833 to the close | of 1874, 1s as sollows:— For the evlargement of the Erie Canal For the eiargement of the Oswego ciuding its first cost, $611,840) . sgrrereee 6,631,500 For the ement of the Cayuga and Seneca and ca Canul (neluding its first cost, . $280,751). sere 2,090,652 ‘Total. aS + $42,138,178 For the ‘first cost of construction of the five lateral canals as above stated (not including interest, nor the large defleiency of tolls in puying for repairs and maiutenance)..... Total... + $03,264,910 ‘The Auditor’s report gives no particulars of any expenditure for elargiug or improving the Cham- plain Canal beyond a single item, stating “the cost of the Erie and Champlain canis’ at $50,412,710, It gives the particulars, to some extent, in re- spect to thecost of certain minor works cun- nected with, and acces-ory to tuetrank canals, being the Oneida Lake Canal, the Oneida River Iniet and the Seneca River lowing Pato. TOTAL COST UF THE CANALS, It will be suificient for the present purpose to condense all the canal expenditures for construc. uon under the one general nead, presented by the | report of the Auditor, snowlog that the cost of all the canals, irom 1835 to tne close 9i 1874, hus been $67,978,827. This summary statement necessarily leads to the interesting tnquiry, how bas the State been enabled to meet this immense expenditure ? The gnswer may be very brief. The State has raised on temporary loans for definite periods less than naif of all the inoneys needed lor the purpose, the greater portion of which it has already repaid, and fas paid the residue by the surpius tolls of the canals aud the proceeds ol direct taxes. in examining the fiscal history of tue canais, it will be necessary caretuily to consider tne lurge and repeated reductions in the rates of toll (and especially On the immense cereal product o1 our great interior), as existing in 1835, when the en- largement of tne Erie Canal was directed by law, and which have been made ior the purposes of commerce, ‘The rate of $3 28 per ton on wheat and flour from Buffalo to Albany, existing in 1835, remained unchanged until 1846, when it was reduced to $292. It was again reduced in 1851 to $2 19; again in 1862 to $211, and lastly, in 1870 to $1 05, at which 1% Stil remaims, velug only 31-10c. per bushel. Withont entering at the present time into a laborious computation of the precise amouut by whicn these successive reductions of rate have | diminished the total sum which the surplus tolis Would have yielded to tue ‘treasury, 1 the rates existing in 1888 had veen retained, it may be salely stated, that while the gross tolls actually received from 1826 to 1874, and during much of the period at the reduced rates, have amounted to, .$115,378,504 they woula have been at least...... 135,378,504 fhe expenses of repairs, superintend- 4 ence and collection v1 tolls, amount- ing to $38,721,686, would have re- miuined the same. In a Word, the | reductions made for purposes of voi | merce have been at least. 20,000,000 AGGRRGATE £XVE The cost of ali the canals, as stated above, bas been. . $67,978,327 The interest patd on loans as stated by the Auditor, has been, ++ 87,237,626 | Total... tbeeeceescerseserse es +++++ $105, 316,385 rge amount, tor which we have acquired our whole system of Canals, nearly twotbirds have been | paid witvout imposing any burden Whatever oo the people O1 this State, | mereiy by applying trom time to time the accruing surplus canal to AMOUNUNE IU...66 $76,526,819 | The iarge reductions in the rates tor ( the pur,oses of commerce, coupled with certuin burdens imposed by the constitution of 1846, and fereinaiver | stated, have renderea it necessary to | lay uirect taxes to pay te residue, being.. peel eertel ee 28,783,568 The amount of taxes actually tuposed ana paid | between 1546 and 1874 was $81,336,313, a sui which { would have fully suificed to pay the $28,788,566, and Wholly to eXtinguish the canal debt, but tor the requirements o1 the constitution, Whicu im. posed upon tue Canals tue duty of paying uot oniy their oWn proper aebt as above stated, but in ud- dition the whole of tne “general 1und debt, amounting in 1546 to several millions of dollars | (of which $3,000,000 had been loaned and | was aiterward = given = to” the =| New York aud kre Railkoad Company), — all | of which, with interest irom isi, iagether With @ still further sum of $200,000 reserved vy the coustitution to be paid yeurly irom the suiplus | tolls “to defray the ordimary expen ol tae State,” havo been taken from the canal fund. aisaried | increased activity im | the descending tous on wheat to the two cents & | Spanelat Teport of the Assembly committee in | be effected by securing the 1uli legal depth of seven have been able to devote to t: | the interior S’ates shall jully understand that the | the Central from the proper revenues of the canals, nown in the general balauce sheet of all the canals | (Table 90 of the auditor's report for 1875), have | been :— For the general fund debvt..............+ $13,934,037 For the general fund (irom which the Orcinary expenses Of the Stute are paid)... fallntrase <sneres | SERED Total... teeeeee «+ $16,612,809 The fiscal consequence 3 to bas been postpone tie payment of a remnant of the canai debt, Wich was leit at the close of 1874 outstanding, to the amount of ssoe $10, —to be paid! to accrue thereatter. 1s thus Seen Chat $16,712,808 of the $3 levied by Girect taxes was really lor general pur- poses, and jor which general taxes migut properly and justiy be laid, it necessary, so lar as the residue of the $31,386,518 has been applied to the pavinent of the cost’ of the canals, it may have given canse of discontent in some portions of the State; but the people of the city of New York, and, Indeed, of every portion of the State deriv- ing any benefit froin che growtn or wealth of the Metropoiis or of our large intertor cities, should consider bow largely the constraction ot tue trank canals has augmented the avgregae Value of the property to be taxed for general purposes and | ugnhtened the burgen by Widening the Lasis of tax- lus Tolls | ation, i WHAT THE CANALS HAVE DONE. | It certaimly cannot oe denied that the greatiy ted to the internal as Well ag the external commerce of ine Siate, is dae almost exclusively to the construction and the | use of our canals and railways 48 the great labor- saving machines of interchange aud intercourse, | annualiy saving in the cost of transportation, and | Uiereby creating and ditusing yearly a large | amount of wealth. When we see that in tue forty years Dow under review the assessed valuation of tne real and personal property in the state rose 1,379 In 1835, to $1, 2,715 In 1857, $2,361,950,481 in 1874, We certainty | may take courage. Uur most umid legislators may even venture to beeve and to dectte that We ure not only able to deepen the water in our trank canals, but may also, withoat dangerously enceebling tne tiscal resources of the State, reauce busnel, which was expressly specified and pre- dicted as @ possivle and eventual rate in the Whether such @ reduction of rate would practi+ cally dimimish at alithe pecuniary amount to be Teceivea by the State, und whether the diminu- tion of toll will not be fully compensated by the increased amount to be carried, may depend Jargely on tue saving In cost of transportation to leet Of wuter neeued ior the advantageous use of the canal by boats, whether drawn by horses or propelied by steam. PROSPECTIVE INCREASE O¥ TONNAGE AND COMPETI- TION, From the best attention, which the committee more general ip- quiry, they see no reason to apprehend that tue aggregate amount of cereals now sent from the interior to the port of New York, either by water ways or railways, 18 destined to any great or serious dimunition unless the compietion of the | enlarged rival canals, now in progress in Canada should eventually permit them to pass large ves: sels carrying trom 80,000 to 40,000 bushels. We Bave, in 1act, the clearest evidence of a large and gratin ine lucrease in the quantity sent to New | In 1866 the | ork Curing the last eignt years, umount received Was 5! 7 bushels, which tne creased C0 69,921,579 tn 1869; to $2,137,971 In 18’ and to 106,451,031 10 1374, as shown by tne valuable tavles, heurly ready for publication, by M, Walker, P statisticlan of the New York Produce E change, by Whose permission the amount Jor 1374 show stated, els received at New York in 1874 2 were carried by railroads) were 10 . Adding the same amounts which were received at boston, Philadelphia and Balti- more in 1873, being at— Boston. 7,805,506 | Pailadelphia. 949, 137 Baltumore. + 19,099,517 Montreal +» 19,718,529 it will show a total of . seers 188,048,770 as the measure of the great commercial prige for which tuese rival Atiantic ports, With their re- spective water Ways aud railways, are ROW con- tending. it will be seen that this amount does not tn- clude the receipts at New Orleans, some portion of whica may und its way to New York. They ed, im 1868, ti 1,436 bushels; in 187i, Gud iD 1873, to 12,295,333, A large diversion trom the valley of the Mississippi 1uto the yreat basin o1 the iakes, and thence down the Kiver St. Lawrence, 1s seen by the table showing the receipts at Montreal, in 1868, to have been | | $258,367 bushels; Im 1871, 14,168,068, and in 1873, 19,715,5 Wauile we must naturally expect the vigorous | English-speaking race now directing whe aifairs | ol the “Domiuioa” to put forth their best efforts (Which wili be muca aided by the gravitation of | Vheir great continental river to the Ocean) to pai Ucipate in the immense commerce of tue m- terior of North America, we bave no good reason for supposing that th carried mrough New York will not continue to increase, possibly at a slackened rate, with the increase of the producing population in the United Stutes, and in the consuming popula- tion in Europe aud elsewhere, The remurkavie jaculty for incredulity in respect to the coumerce | Of our canais, manuested ior many years by many | very worthy people, may possibie lead thei to apprehend that the power ot producing wheat 1D our country has reacted or will soon reach its | “culminating point;" to which tt may be simply answered tuat our Wheat product ot the year 1574 | exceeded that oi any preceding year; and, furcher, that the growius desire of Europe to consume our Inaiau corn has been recently munttested in the | ates, in the year | Siguilicant 1act that the United s 1871, eXported to Lurope 9,545,036 bushels, aid 19 the year 1873, 40,465,582 busuels, Wheu tt js also considered that the total amount Of 183,045,770 Dustels received at the Atlantic ports in 1874 18 less than one-fourth of the actual yearly product in the states north of the Obio River in 1570, as suown by the census, it certainly cannut be very Visionary or enchustastic to expect thatif the navigation Of the Erie Canal shall be improved so that steain Vessels may largely reduce tue cost Oi iransportation the amount it may yearly carry may in due time reach 50,000,000 “bushels, on waich the toll, at two cents, would be $1,00u, 000, exclusive Of the tolls on all other property, With an Pe $1,000,000 tor every additional 50,000,000 ushels. THE CANAL DEBT, The interesting taple presented by the Auditor, showing in detull the progress o! “the canal dect,’? exhnoits its origin aud growth, with its increase and diminution, trom the close of 1835 to the pres- ent hour. Divided iu historical periods, commenc- ing ip 1836, witn the debt then existing, of $6,326,806 (incurred mainly lor lateral canals be- Jore that perio), it increased to $20,713,906 in 1843; Was reduced to $14,215,144 in 1850, aud again | increased to $27,107,321 in 1860, When it reached its “culminating point.’ From that time it is seen, first siowly, and soon rapidly, descending, under the application of the immense amount of the tolls (so much ridicuied and stigmatized in 1839, and for many succeeding years, a3 wholly “prospective and visionary’) and by their potent operation finally worn | down at the close of 1874to0 the nomiual remnant ol $10,230,430, at which it how remains for further Teduction, as directed by the constitution. As an actol carey ae , Dlainly due to the early advo- cates of the loans needed to secure the active prog- Tess Of the enlargement, most of whom now rest irom their javors in tis lower world which they strove to benelit, ic is proper, in their bena!f, now Lo claim and insist thut it was only the laviso and unexpected expenditures on the lateral canals, | und toe lurge but wise reductions of tne rates of | toll to loster the commerce and welfare, not only Ol our own commercial State, but of the populous and constantly widenizg group of agricultural States steauly coming iuto vigorous and increas. | ing lve in the great interior, which prevented the | total extinguishment of tue canal debt proper’? | Muay years ago, without imposing aay direct tax- | auion Whatever on our peopie, lt 1s especially hoped chat when our brethren in | nore genevous and jar-seemng policy actually pur- | and Jundamental | stitunion amount | | the Canal Commussioners to cause a boat to be laden so. 3 | els, from which it win ve seen that if 44,000,000 of busbels should, for any reason, be added to © quantity yeariy carried on the canal, it wou Tequire ai uccession of at least 1,00 boats 1¢ the Lumber DOW in use, On the other hand, If he Introduct.oa of steam, with Increased speed movement, should double to in the year, 500 steam vesseis miuht pe adequace to the Work, and WnUl @ further mcrease o! the quantity tobe carried, Practically, several must be devoted to the building v1 =teatm vi Welore they can injuriously interieve with tue horse boats now iu use, hoped that the preceding s qation of tae facts may aid t namoer of Commerce Of Che Sta York aud of if8 associated comunercia examining the question now far 11s t expedient at present to avolisu or Lar the tolis on the canals, it is evident thar the question is Bot One merely of finance, but that the highest considerati both of fipance and of commerce are mvoi the establishment Of such rates of toll as aay pre the commerce liself, That complex measure If vitally mvoived in the inquiry how tar and Luis Can bE SO ut hot seven Jeet of water prescribed by law, and the origiual plan of the eilargement, as tu justify the State in retaining a portion of the tolls, at least enough to secure te very deepentug Which has Low become so ptainly necessary. CANAL LEGISLATION With this view the committee will proceed ta furnish the statement, spect cirected by tog Chamber, of “the legisiation and the official action of the cinal anthorities during fhe lust sixteen years, in respect to the depth of Water in the Canal.” From the year 1810, und up to the adoption o the constitution of 1346, the sole management airection and construction of tue canals haa beet intrusted toa board consisting, lirst, of tv afterward of six Canal Commissioners, appointea by concarreat resolution or joie ballot of tud Senate aud Assembly, The iramers of of 1846, in seeking lo rete canal policy ahd finances, provided taree Canal Commissioners should be chosen by the peuple of tue State at the general eecuou, and snould hold their offices respectively tor thre years. Fortunately, however, the -provision wai added that their “powers and duties Snouid be sucb” as then Were or thereaiter suculd be pres scribed by law. The later cial may, Uf it hag not already, become very important in evavilog the Legislature (without the viiicuity and delay of au amendment to the consticution requiring popular vote, which migut be deteated by the devices of interested ana scheming canal contrac. tors) to prescribe uny definition or limttaiion of those powers or duties Which, 1n the wadmished, Inconerent and fragmentary condision of tie Cauais ar present, having uo Common eXecutive head aud menaced by powerful and enterprising rivais, may be deemed necessary to secure the tement is 1 bow soon the efficiency of the increased vy securing to them the de | systematic, efilctent and judicious mahagement 80 plainly needed for preserving tue Comiierce of the Stateirom turtuer diversio In Juuy, 1858, tue Geatn of one of the Canal Com+ missioners having leit a temporary Vacancy 1n tie office, the writer o1 the present paper, Who lad Diled the office of Canal Commissioner sro 1539 to 1842, Was appointed to fli the place until the ist o: January thereafter by Jobn aA. King, tue Governor of ‘the State. ‘This interval of ucarly SIX months afforded some opportunity tor xscer- taining the geueral coudivion of the canals, It Was soon discovered that the Erie Canai, the ene largement of which had been sapposed to ve hearly compieted, had not a uniioria depih evea Of SLX leet Of Water, CO Which it nad been limited guring the progress of the enlargement, cousiag great dissatisiacuion, delay and loss to tue numer ous persons engaged or Interesiea in its Lavigus uon. In the month of August of the year 1838 an earnest and well considered e:tort was made t some of tke enterprising citizens of Budalv to the troduce steam navigation on the Erie Canu during whicn a considerable collectioa of boas some of them propelled by steam, toox part in 2a elavorate “Steam Canal Ceebration,” attended by Governor King and other State officiais, iv commenced at Rocnester and terminated at Bul+ taio, Where the event Was iormaliy signalized by & geueral lilumination of the city. Alter ah Voyages by some ot the canal steamers, struggling with the ditticuities of a new undertaking, tue enterprise was brought to an end, partiy by the eXpeuse of the Mel required jor the propeil.ug power und the want ol adequate room in tie bout jor a “paying”? cargo, bué more especially b: Jvequent and vexatious obstructions in nel and the irregularities and protuve! the uneven bottom of the cimal, waich einer had been Jeft unexcavated, or bad beeu allowed to be flited up by earth Washed tn irom tie sides. ‘The report here repeats portions of the report of the Canal Commissioners at the close Of 1305, conciuding with the following suggestions First—Vhac a tax be laid of a mill ou the doliar and appiled to the completion, first, ol tae ene largement of the Erie uud Oswego ca » aud neXt, to the other unwnished Works i just pro- portions, Second—That $400,000 of that amount ve applied wituout delay to che obtaming a chanuel oi seven Icet water lor the Erie Canal by the opeaing Of navigation in the coming spring, or a8 soun ue verward as practicabie, Third—Yaat interest ve pald on any claims Gu¢ | tor work doue or lands or buildings taken jor ine | use of tue canals. Fourih—That until the revenues can be rendered | suflicient, by mcreasiug the capacity Of the Canald or otherwise, to pay the interest on the Hee debt, the deficieucy be anuually ascertained 0: | the Canal Board and levied by tax wituout iurther lewisiation. Fith—That ab amendment to the coustitution be suomitted to the peopie, allowing the Legisia« ture to borrow the amuunt necessary to discharge ail existing claims oa the Cauais aud to pay tor ther completion, with such a sinking jada aa suail sullice to pay Lhe interest ang extioguisi the principal Within & term uot exceeding tweniy-tive or tuirty years. ltisa@ gratuying portion of our canal history | that the appeal tus made in 1869 Lo secure audls | uonal tunds tor compieting the emlargeweut of the canals, and above ail tor securmg Withou: de. | lay their ail legal depth of water, Was received with such decided favor that tue Legisiaturd passed an act on the 6ti Of April, 185%, layiue a direct tax Of five-eignths ofa mili on the volar, | and trom the proceeds appropriating $017,4U5 tor the enlargement o: the Erie, the Oswexo, the | Cayuga and Seneca capa. This sum, having | been 1ound ‘nsuficient, a iurther act was pussedc On the 6th Of April, 1860, Nnposing a further cax | Of half a mull on the dollar Jur two years, and ap. propriating $1,113,117 uF the tiree eniargement: , und expressly ‘to furnish au additional au ample supply of water ou the Rome level’ (where it was peculiarly ueedeu), “‘suillcienc to make 1t- at ail times seven fees deep.” | In the Legislature of 1859 a great desire waa | manifested to ascertain without delay the extent Of the Ovstractions in the canals and to optun some defluite mfurmation for estimating at least approxymately the probable cost o! securing tle seven ieet depth of water, and especially for as- certaining, by some uverring test, whetuer auy considerable portions of the quantiues required to be excavated Jor completing the enlargement to the prescribed depth and paid for as having been compieted, had veen iradulenuy or carelessiy lett unexcavated 10 the bottom of the canals, it ied to the passage Of an act on the 19th of April, 1839, on the recommendation of any of the canal navie gators at Bulfaio, and sustaumed by tne |.ersevere ing efforts of tne Fon. E. s. Prosser, of that ciuy, aud then a member of the Senate, in which act ® sagacious anc stringent section was inserted in respect to the powers aud duties of tne Canal Commissioners, in the following word: SxctIoN 9.—So long as any canal in this State shall be let and under contract—[ihe brie Canal was tous ter aud under contract tor repairs for some time Letore the p gaye of the act, until the Close of the yoar 1573. |—(o be kept in repairs in pursuance of \aw, it shail be the duty to draw at least tour inches more water than oiher bouts are permitied to draw; such Uoat so laden shail be rua through the whole jength of such canal, as often as ones mn thirvy days, day une night, aud be weighed aod meas: ured at every welgh lock, aid the wembt or cargo and dratt ut water stated on the clearance; a report of every such trip or passage shall be made to the Auditor of the Canal Veparticent without delay, aecompaied by a (uli copy of the clearagce and the mdorsements thereon, and temenut of ail uh asioned by ovstructions in the navigation Lot wacer and the cause thereat. ‘The Auditor shall keep a full record of ail such reports, and mouthly publish « briet statement of the same i tate paper. sued by our State not only retarded result so long uestred, but has actually imposed upon ail the property in every portion of our territory, | however remote frum the canals or our great commercial cities, a Serious amount ot direct tax- | ution, they may resolve, in the thoaghtfal phrase of Scripture, so aptly quoted on another occasion. to “come to tacmsel Ves,” and prosecute noiurther | measures Jor destroying the railways within their | territory, SO Vituily Necessary or cheaply carrying tue products of thelr industry on its Way to tae seuvourd, The intelligent communities which have gone out so largely irom var Atiantic States must be luily aWare lat, apart trom the city of New York and its metropolitan dependencies, no part of the Americau Union 1s, or ever can de, more largely and Viially benetitea by every practicabie im- provement in the navigation of our trunk canals tau their own great seat of industry, It weeds bat a (ew 0 the prominent tacts to show how largely and unceasingly the Erie Canal, wiih ail its sport comings, abevery stage and amid all the lights and saadows of its evential progress, has been used vy this vast and pioductive region during le term oi lorty years LOW unger review. WORK OP THE CANAL The “values” of tue property coming from ana Of the property sent tO those Sates in return, through tue Erie a, In Loe first seven tuis term, 1rom 1836 to 1843, were 4m the ven years from 1843 10 1853. iu the teu years (rom 1953 to 1863, In the ten years Irom 1863 to 1873, +284, 785, 099 Total........ tees te eeee ee ee ee $2,985,855, 942 And all this while large and constantly mereasing INasses ol Lieir products and property were seek- ug the Central ahd Brie Railways. Without proposing tu the present paper to ex- amine at large the Vasc Commercial ana fiscal re- sults involved fi the pending stroggie for pre- emineuce between ta 1b May suNicientiy stimulate any prover efforts to save @ just portion o) revenue for the great | canals planned by te wisdom of our lathers tw state tbat during the last ten years | ty which tue Brie Canal carried © ts last Danied amount of $1,284,755,099, the Erie aud ranWays carried, in tue aggregate, OY, 72s 7u2 |OnS Ol ireignl, Including DOT “way” | and “tarougu,” Showing @u uveruge Of 6,972 342 Wns annually, A sipgie boat of (ae size now ib | side of and and the water routes, | In obeuience to the requirements of this act, the Canal Commissioners, alter a deiay of more than @ year, appointed :nomas Colden Ruggles, » civil engineer O1 experience and abihty, aud oF singular activity and perseverance, to persoually supervise und direct three of the monthly trial ips, iu boats specially laden as specified in the law. Of these three trips, one was made duriag the season Of Navigation of 1860, wud the other two in the succeeding season oj 1861. ‘Lue par. Uculars of each, speciiying the soundings mad the impediments encountered. and the delays ex- perienced, were fuily reported to the Canal Aadte tur, WhO published Ove Or more Of tue Teporcs iB the stute paper. ‘Tue soundings were easily and inexpensively made by means of an imsirument designed by the engineer, and attached to the the boat nearest to tue middie of e Channel, which 1odicated, on a graduated piate we, the exact depth of every running toot of the canal, 34 mies in lengtb. Tne expense paid by the State for caca of the trial trips dia not exceeu $250, Tne hoats vemg duly ladep, ag directed by the act, drew five ieet and ten inches of water. A Cupy Of the report in respect to the lust of tne three trips, Which Was made in September, 186) Was printed with the aanual report nade by tne Canal Commissioners tu January, 1862. (Assembly documents of 1suz, No. 9%) That report o1 th engineer 1s now reprinted with the preseut paper jor the particular eXamination and information ot | the mem rs 0. the Coamber of Commerce and others wuo may be engaged or interested in th Navigation of the canuis or in the hisivry oO: Lely progress. DEPTH OF THE WATER. For the generai purpose of the present paper, which Ig to furzisu ali toe attainabie information in respect to the eXtent ol the obstiucies preven ing the State and the country trom obtaimng tho | great boon of seven ieet oi water, the main sub. | Jeot of tue stiuggle of the last lorry years, It may be enough to point to that portion ol the report which condenses details aod techaical portions in | the general statemeut, tha of 349 imues of the Erie Canal, tie depio of water, im September, 1961, Was ound to be as follows :— In various portions aod In various locauties baying au aggregate lineal leugih of emhtees quiles, tue depid of Water Varied irom 5 8-1U leet te q | 6 Stu feet, In otuer portions, baving an aggregate lines) ea emery more uaa 44000 buss. } CONTINUED ON ZENTH PAGR