Class I 154.50 26.39
Class II 131.19 15.49
Classes I and II 146.94 22.85
Class III 103.90 14.02
"Both real and personal property were greatest in Class I, Class II was
second in both, and Class III was third in both. Class I of Section C
was first in both real and personal property; Class II was second and
Class III was third in both real and personal property. This section
shows the same relations that we find in Section B.
"The location of the real and personal property in the three sections
considered indicates very clearly that the personal property was massed
along the waterway; in Class I and as the distance increased from the
waterway the personal property diminished."
Of the improvement of land Mr. Winden remarks:
"It may be stated that there was a slight tendency for the improvement
of land to increase concomitantly with the increase in population; but
the topography of the country and other elements entered in to such an
extent as to nearly destroy this parallel growth. The improvement of
land is much more stable and less likely to sudden and great changes
than is the population. For this reason we would not expect to find as
large a per cent of improved land in proportion to the population in
Section C as we would find in Section B, nor as large a per cent in
Section B as in Section A; because Section A is the oldest in
settlement, and Section C the youngest. The per cent of improved land as
a whole in the three sections supports this conclusion. But in comparing
the various classes of each section with each other, however, we do not
always find the greater per cent of improved land in the region of the
most concentrated population. In Section A, in 1820 and 1825, a larger
per cent of land was improved in Class II than in Class I, while the
population in Class I was much greater than in Class II. In Section B
in 1835 Class II had a larger per cent of improved land than Class I
while the population was nearly twice as great per square mile in the
latter as in the former. A somewhat similar condition also existed in
Section C. In 1820 and 1825 both the population and the per cent of
improved land were greater in Class II than in Class I; in 1835 the per
cent of improved land was still greater in Class II but the population
was much less than in Class I. The above conditions indicate that the
population and also the wealth increased with such remarkable rapidity
in Class I along the entire watercourse independently of the
topographical conditions and in spite of natural disadvantages. They
also indicate that the concentration of population in Class I was much
greater than the population per square mile taken alone would seem to
indicate. This is especially true of Class I in 1835."
The effect of the canal on live stock is thus summed up:
"During this entire period Classes II and III raised more stock in
proportion to their population than did Class I. At the beginning of
the period in 1820, Class II in Sections A and B and Class III in
Section C raised the greatest number of horses. Class III in Sections B
and C and Class II in Section A raised the greatest number of cattle;
Class III of Sections A and C and Class II of Section B raised the
greatest number of sheep. At the close of the period in 1835, Class II
in all three sections raised the greatest number of horses, Class III in
Sections A and C and Class II in Section B raised the greatest number of
cattle. Class III in all the sections raised the greatest number of
sheep. It is thus clearly seen that the area of the least concentration
of population was the region in which stock-raising was most extensively
carried on. By this it is not meant that there is a smaller amount of
stock raised in a given area, where the population is dense than in a
sparsely settled region, but that there is a smaller proportion raised
to the population."
Mr. Winden's summary in connection with the study of aliens and
foreigners is most interesting:
"It is thus clearly seen that if New York State received her just share
of all the classes of emigrants arriving in the United States during
this period, she would have added to her population, a strong, useful
and able-bodied class of men who would aid her greatly in her
development.
"Why this region of concentrated population, the towns along the Erie
canal, should contain such a large part of the foreign element is
probably due to numerous causes. This was a region of great activity and
growth; a place where there was room for unskilled as well as skilled
labor of all kinds; it was along a direct route of transportation and
travel to the great and growing west and a foreigner knowing nothing
about the country and having no definite destination would stop along
the route wherever he could make a living. Although chance may have
largely determined the location of the foreigners in this new country,
his old environment was also an important factor in determining his
place of settlement. He came from an old and well settled region in
Europe where the population was concentrated and the country often
overcrowded and in coming to America he would tend to seek a region of
somewhat similar characteristics. He found these conditions with the
exception of an overcrowded population in the densely settled country
immediately along the Erie canal and the Hudson.
"In turning to the New Englander in New York we find a people of an
entirely different education and character from that of the foreigner.
This is seen most strikingly in the choice of their location. They were
shrewd, frugal, and hardworking farmers who left their New England homes
because they failed to supply their wants. In seeking a new home in the
west they naturally followed their old occupation and for this reason we
find the larger part of them in the rural region. In Class I of Section
A, 4.1% was of New England birth; in Class II 2.7%, and in Class III,
5.2%; in Class I of Section B, 5.7%, in Class II, 9.7%, and in Class
III, 10.1%; in Class I of Section C, 10.1%, in Class II, 10.3% and in
Class III, 11.7%. The New Englander also tended to shun the large
cities. In Albany 5.1% was of New England birth, and in Utica 7.8%,
while in Class I of Section B, in which these two cities were situated,
5.7% was of New England birth. In Buffalo 9.3% was of this origin and in
Rochester 9.6% while in Class I of Section C 10.1% originated in New
England.
"The preceding discussion leads us to the conclusion that the foreigner
was massed in the region of concentrated population and especially in
the cities, and as the concentration of population diminished, the per
cent of foreigners decreased. In other words, along the Erie Canal lay
the larger part of the foreign population. Of this foreign population in
New York State, the larger per cent was born in Great Britain and her
dependencies, and this class was chiefly found where the population was
thickest. The New Englander constituted a larger part of those born in
other states of the Union and they were found chiefly in the rural
regions."
In his study of politics as presented in the territory traversed by the
Erie Canal Mr. Winden raises most interesting questions. We quote him in
full, appending his notes:
"Turning now to the political aspect in New York State during this
period we find a complicated problem. In the election of 1830 there were
two important parties. Summing up the principles for which these two
important political parties of New York stood in this election, we find
that the Anti-Masonic or National Republican party opposed the Masonic
order;[43] supported Clay's American policy of protection and the
extension of the internal improvement system;[44] catered to the
workingmen[45] and opposed the administration of both the national and
state government. In other words it was like all new parties, gathering
to its fold all the radical elements by adopting some of their
ideas.[46] In the campaign which followed they made an aggressive
canvass, making the most of the Morgan outrage. The Republican, or
Masonic party, as it was called by the Anti-Masons, tried to be
indifferent to the Masonic order and disavowed all support of it;[47]
opposed the American system and did not advocate an extensive local
improvement system[48] and supported the national and state
administrations. They conducted a defensive campaign against the
accusations of the Anti-Masons.
"Before considering the vote of the election it is necessary to take a
hasty view of the social and economic conditions of the state at that
time. Morgan had disappeared in western New York four years before and
this had caused a great local opposition to the Masons which had spread
throughout the state and even into neighboring states. The internal
improvement movement had assumed stupendous proportions; the state had
completed four canals within the last seven years; the Champlain in
1823, the Erie in 1825, the Oswego in 1828, and the Cayuga and Seneca in
1829. And the people were clamoring for more. Just after the completion
of the Erie canal in 1825, petitions for other canals had poured in from
almost every county in the west.[49] Thus it can be safely said that the
entire western part of the state was in favor of internal improvements
at public expense.
"Now considering the vote, we find that Section A gave a large majority
to Mr. Throop, the Republican candidate. In Section B he also received a
majority but not as great as in Section A. In this section an important
fact is noticeable, Classes II and III gave a smaller majority to Mr.
Throop than Class I. These two classes having no canals thus expressed
their desire for some means of communication. Section C cast a large
majority in favor of Mr. Granger, the National Republican candidate. The
result in Section C was just what we should expect. Class III of this
section which was in most need of some means of communication voted a
much larger majority in favor of Mr. Granger than Classes I and II. The
cities, however, gave a majority to Mr. Throop, Utica casting a larger
and Albany a smaller majority than the class in which they are situated.
Buffalo also cast a majority in favor of Mr. Throop, although the class
in which it is situated cast a majority in favor of Mr. Granger. (See
table.)
"Thus it is clearly shown that the people largely voted for the
respective candidates because they stood for economic principles which
were of direct interest to them.[50] The most densely populated east
determined the election and Mr. Throop, the Republican candidate, was
elected by a vote of 128,842. Mr. Granger received 120,361 votes,
mostly from the west and rural regions which were demanding internal
improvements, while Mr. Williams, the candidate of the dissatisfied
Working Men's party, received 2,332 votes.[51]
ELECTION OF 1830
_Throop_ _Granger_
Section A
Class I 60% 40%
Class II 62 38
Classes I and II 60 40
Class III 60 40
Section B
Class I 58 42
Class II 54 46
Classes I and II 57 43
Class III 55 45
Section C
Class I 44 56
Class II 44 56
Classes I and II 44 56
Class III 39 61
Cities
Albany 54 46
Buffalo 52- 48+
Utica 60+ 40-
"In the presidential election of 1840, strictly economic principles were
not prominent. The Whig National convention met at Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, December 4, 1839, and nominated William H. Harrison of
Ohio and John Tyler of Virginia for President and Vice-president
respectively. They conducted the campaign with unbounded enthusiasm,
attacking Van Buren and his financial policy with great energy. Although
they adopted no platform, they favored loose construction, the American
system of protective tariff, and internal improvement by the national
government.
"The Democratic national convention met at Baltimore, May 5, 1840, and
adopted a strict constructionist platform, denying the power of Congress
to carry on internal improvements,[52] to protect manufactures, to
charter a National Bank, or to interfere with slavery in the states. It
unanimously renominated President Van Buren, but left nominations for
the Vice-presidency to be made by the various states. The simultaneous
appearance of the 'Panic of 1837' and Van Buren in the presidential
chair produced the belief in the popular mind that he was the cause of
that unfortunate financial distress. The vote in New York is likely to
indicate the two following facts: where the financial distress was
greatest and the region most favorable to internal improvements. Van
Buren carried Section A, with the largest majority in Class III.
Recalling that this was a rural region, very stable in its population
and valuation, we see that it would be least affected by financial
distress. Classes I and II of Section B were also carried by Van Buren,
but the rural region, Class III, was carried by Harrison. Section C was
also carried by Harrison, with the largest majority in Class III. The
large cities also gave a majority to Harrison and although Albany and
Utica are situated in a class which cast a larger vote for Van Buren
they gave a majority to Harrison; and even Buffalo gave a greater per
cent of its vote to Harrison than the class in which it is situated. The
large majority in Class III of Section C may be accounted for by the
enthusiasm for internal improvements in this region and the majority in
the cities by their opposition to Van Buren because of the great
distress they were subject to during the Panic of 1837.
"We find the state issues and results of the election somewhat similar
to those of the national election in the state. The Whigs nominated
Governor W. H. Seward and the Democrats nominated Mr. Bouck. The Whigs
advocated internal improvements upon a large scale, while the Democrats
advocated retrenchment in this work. The Albany _Argus_ of September 25,
1840, states of Mr. Seward, the Whig nominee for governor: Departing
from the democratic policy of enlarging the Erie canal by means of its
revenues only, he has urged upon the legislature, its 'more speedy'
enlargement, at all hazards, and the creation of a debt for that
purpose--a debt which alone will absorb all our revenues, leaving the
principal to be paid by direct taxation. He has recommended that state
work be undertaken, the cost of which will involve the people in debt of
at least $40,000,000. In addition he has urged upon the legislature
loans to corporations--of the credit of the state to an indefinite
amount--for almost every mad scheme speculators might suggest.[53]
"Summing up the most important internal improvement works for which Mr.
Seward advocated state aid, we have, the enlargement of the Erie
canal,[54] the Black River canal in the counties of Oneida and Lewis and
joining the Black River with the Erie canal, the Genesee Valley canal in
the counties of Broome, Chenango, Madison, and Oneida joining the
Chenango river with the Erie Canal (the two canals last mentioned would
unite Lake Ontario with the Susquehanna River), and the Hudson and Erie
Railroad previously mentioned. Turning to the results of the election we
find that Section A gave a large majority to Mr. Bouck with the greatest
per cent of the vote in Class I, and the least in Class III; Classes I
and II of Section B also cast a majority for Mr. Bouck, but Class III
and all of Section C gave a majority to Mr. Seward. Class III of the
last mentioned section gave the largest per cent and Class II the next
to the largest per cent of the vote to Mr. Seward. Recalling that the
Hudson and Erie railroad was to pass through the entire length of the
southern part of Class III of Section C and also through Class III of
Section A, we see the cause of the increased vote above the neighboring
classes for Mr. Seward. (See Table.) The conclusion to be drawn from the
above fact that the rural region which was most desirous of obtaining
some means of communication had cast the larger per cent for Mr. Seward
who supported an extensive system of internal improvement, is that
economic conditions largely determined the vote.
ELECTION OF 1840
_For Governor_ _For President_
_Seward_ _Bouck_ _Harrison_ _Van Buren_
Section A
Class I 44% 56% 47% 53%
Class II 47 53 47 53
Classes I and II 48 52 47 53
Class III 46 54 46 54
Section B
Class I 47 53 49 51
Class II 48 52 47 53
Classes I and II 48 52 49 51
Class III 50+ 50- 51 49
Section C
Class I 53 47 53 47
Class II 54 46 52 48
Classes I and II 53 47 52 48
Class III 55 45 56 44
Cities
Albany 54 46 55 45
Buffalo 55+ 45- 56 44
Rochester 55 45
Utica 52 48 52 48
"In conclusion it may be stated that the Erie Canal was a great stimulus
to the growth of population and the increase in valuation of property
along the entire waterway of the Hudson and Erie Canal. The greatest
activity, however, was felt west of the head waters of the Mohawk along
the canal proper. This concentration of population tended to turn the
attention of the people away from rural pursuits and resulted in their
congregation in cities where they developed a commercial life. Along
this line of dense population the immigrating foreign element gathered
in large numbers while the New England settlers confined themselves to
the rural regions. The political effect of the canal was to produce a
great enthusiasm for internal improvements which was the main political
issue in the state during the following years. The western part of the
state and rural regions at a distance from the canal clamored for
further improvements which would benefit them, and accordingly cast a
majority of their votes for the candidates who stood for an extensive
internal improvement system while the east opposed them. It should also
be mentioned that in each section with the exception of Section A in the
election of 1830 and the presidential election of 1840, the region with
the largest number of foreigners cast a greater per cent of its vote
for the conservative candidate than the region containing the greatest
number of New Englanders. Thus it is clearly seen that political life is
largely influenced by economic conditions and the character of the
people."
CHAPTER VI
THE CANAL FUND AND ENLARGEMENTS
No more important question was proposed to the commissioners in 1816
than the one which asked them to ascertain where the money that was to
build the Erie Canal was coming from. Of course a loan must be made and
the commissioners at once began casting about for information. William
Bayard inquired for loans in Europe, but no answer was now at hand. "The
Committee entertain no doubt," was the tentative reply in 1817, "but
that as much money can be obtained in this country, as may be required
for the canal, on the credit of the state, at an interest of 6 per cent
by the creation of a funded debt, and that ample funds may be
appropriated for the payment of the interest, and the gradual
extinguishment of the debt without the imposition of taxes." The
commissioners applied to those states which, it seemed, would be most
benefited by the canal, Vermont on one side and Ohio and Kentucky (!) on
the other, and to the United States. "But if no extraneous aid should be
afforded," the commissioners concluded with threatening menace, "it will
at all times be in the power of this state to levy high transit on the
articles transported to and from those states and the territory of the
United States, and thereby secure eventually, a greater fund than can
possibly arise from any present contribution from those quarters." In
order to facilitate gifts in lands or money, the commissioners scattered
blank forms of cession and bequest throughout the country; "one form
relates to gratuitous grants of land for the ground through which the
canal is to pass, and the other is a contribution to the fund for making
it. Agents have also been appointed in Vermont and Ohio for the same
purpose." It was reported that nearly all the land necessary for the
canal throughout its entire length would be ceded by the owners to the
state for the purpose. In concluding their report for the year ending
February 15, 1817, the commissioners affirmed that "their
investigations have shown the physical facility of this great internal
communication, and a little attention to the resources of the state will
demonstrate its financial practicability. And they may be permitted to
remark, that unless it is established the greater part of the trade
which does not descend the Mississippi, from all those vast and fertile
regions west of the Seneca lake, will be lost to the United States."
This report is signed by De Witt Clinton, S. Van Rensselaer, Samuel
Young, and Myron Holley.
The needs of the canal were of course outlined in the estimates of
expense of building; the estimated cost of the Western Section,
according to James Geddes, was $1,801,862; that of the Middle Section,
by Benjamin Wright's figures, was $853,186, and that of the Eastern
Section, Charles C. Broadhead estimated at $2,271,690. The total
amounted to $4,926,538 or five millions in round numbers. The committee
of the legislature advised the organization of the Board of
Commissioners of a Canal Fund, to borrow $1,500,000 at six per cent
interest. The annual revenue of the canal was estimated at $924,000 and
the expenditure $547,000.
William Ford, chairman of the joint committee of the legislature,
addressed De Witt Clinton on March 8, 1817, asking him to outline a
financial system for a canal fund. Clinton's scheme, which became the
basis of all New York's canal building, is thus sketched by Mr.
Sweet:[55]
"1. Borrow $1,500,000 on the credit of the State, by the creation of a
funded debt, with interest at six per cent, principal reimbursable in
twenty years.
"2. The said Committee shall keep an account of all moneys received for
the said fund, (which moneys shall be kept in the treasury), and shall
pay over, from time to time, such moneys as shall be required for the
execution of the powers committed to them.
"3. The said Committee of the fund shall, as soon as the whole or a part
of the said works be completed, have power to establish and receive
reasonable tolls.
"4. The annual application of $60,000 of the moneys arising which the
State may derive from the sale of unappropriated lands, shall be pledged
for the payment of said debt and the interest thereof. And they shall
have power to apply any unappropriated money in the treasury to make
good any deficiency or suspension in the payment of said funds.
"5. The said Committee shall, at the opening of the next session of the
Legislature, report a plan of finances for the execution of the whole of
said canals, and also of a sinking fund for the extinguishment of the
debt.
"In this same communication it was stated that 400,000 tons of freight
were carried annually on the Hudson River.
"Thus De Witt Clinton laid the foundation of our canal financial system.
He estimated that ten million tons annually would be carried upon the
canals; that the cost of a ton for transportation from Buffalo to Albany
would be $3.00."
The expenses of the engineering department to April 2, 1817, had been
$14,462, and the total for exploration and surveying $42,957. The act
to provide funds for the canal and also funds for the redemption of the
funded debt of the state was passed April 21, 1818. This law authorized
the comptroller to sell certain three per cent United States bonds, and
to apply the proceeds to the redemption of the funded debt; the
comptroller was ordered to borrow one million dollars at six per cent
after advertising for proposals for the same. The governor was empowered
to appoint a cashier of a New York bank to issue certificates of stock,
the principal to be redeemable until 1823, taxed at one mill on the
dollar; state deposits were to be made in any bank in New York that
would loan one million dollars. The act of March, 1819, authorized the
borrowing of $700,000 yearly for the building of the canal; on March 25
this was reduced to $600,000; an assessment of a tax upon all lands
within twenty-five miles of the canal, formerly made, was at this time
suspended. By a law of April 7, 1819, the commissioners were again
authorized to borrow a sum not exceeding (together with the net income
of the canal fund) $600,000. The board of commissioners of the canal
fund was now reduced to three members (January 20, 1820) at a salary of
$2,500 each. To meet the extraordinary expenses of 1819, as previously
detailed, the commissioners were empowered, April 12, 1820, to borrow
$122,500 at six per cent interest; three fourths of this was to be
equally divided between the Eastern and Western sections; the remainder
was for the Champlain Canal. The first tolls were levied on the Erie
Canal July, 1820; in that year $5,244 was collected, $450 of it from the
old canal of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company at Little Falls.
By a concurrent resolution in the legislature, the comptroller, A.
McIntyre, was allowed to put into execution a plan for a sinking fund
for the extinguishing of the canal debt, January 12, 1821. He took, as a
basis of his calculation, a debt of $5,905,456 and a revenue of
$210,000; the loan of $600,000, with revenues, was to be continued as
heretofore. By this plan the debt was to be extinguished in 1842, at
which time the revenue, it was estimated, would be about $580,000, and
the canal tolls, $150,000 beyond expenditures for repairs.
"If these estimates of revenue and of the expense of making the canals,
be correct, it results that the canals will be completed in 1830, and
that the canal loans will be discharged in 1843." An act dated February
9, 1821, authorized the commissioners to borrow one million dollars in
both 1821 and 1822. Nothing can be more interesting than the financial
estimates, the fears and doubts and the staunch firmness of these
directors of the Erie Canal. In almost every case the estimates of
expenses fell far below the actual cost; often the expenses ran thirty
per cent above estimates; on the other hand the most optimistic
commissioner never, in his most enthusiastic moment, realized what a
tremendous income was to be received from the Erie Canal when it should
be completed. Far as expenses ran ahead of estimates, they never
exceeded them so far as the actual income of the canal exceeded the
estimated income. This cannot be more clearly indicated than by a table
showing estimated tolls and those actually received, from 1826 to 1834:
_Year_ _Estimated (1826)_ _Received_
1826 $500,000 $492,664.00
1827 550,000 786,244.64
1828 600,000 838,412.00
1829 650,000 861,302.00
1830 700,000 943,545.35
1831 750,000 1,091,714.26
1832 800,000 1,085,612.28
1833 850,000 1,290,136.20
1834 900,000 1,179,744.97
---------- -------------
Totals $6,300,000 $8,539,377.70
In only these eight years, it will be seen, the receipts exceeded the
estimates by nearly two and one-quarter millions. In many places these
estimates had been laughed to scorn. It will be difficult to find in all
the commercial history of America a more splendid success, and it will
be quite as difficult to find an instance where success was more richly
deserved.
Between June, 1817, and October, 1821, the sum of $2,893,500 was
borrowed for canal work, the lenders advancing $91,202 in premiums; the
yearly interest was $159,580. The tolls of 1821 amounted to $23,000. It
will be interesting to notice on what these tolls were levied; the list
includes 44,723 barrels of flour, 17,068 barrels of salt, 43,078 bushels
of wheat, 1,061,844 feet of lumber, 71,000 bushels of lime, 9,993 pounds
of maple sugar, 85 tons of butter and lard, 772 tons of gypsum, 2,500
tons of merchandise, 47 wagons, and 10 coaches. The rates of toll per
mile in 1821 were as follows:
_Article_ _Rate_
Salt 5 mills per ton.
Gypsum 5 mills per ton.
Flour, meal, etc 1 cent per ton.
Merchandise 2 cents per ton.
Timber (square and round) 5 mills per 100 solid feet.
Boards (planks, and reduced to one inch) 5 mills per 1000 solid feet.
Shingles 1 mill per 1000.
Bricks, sand, lime, iron ore, and stone 5 mills per ton.
Fence rails and posts 2 cents per 1000.
Wood for fuel 1 cent per cord.
All fuel for manufacture of salt free.
Boats for transportation of property 1 mill per ton of capacity.
Boats for carriage of persons 5 cents per mile of their
passage.
Staves and heading for pipes 1 cent per 1000.
Staves and heading for hogsheads 7 mills per 1000.
Staves and heading for barrels 5 mills per 1000.
All articles not named 1 cent per ton.[56]
The large amounts handled by the canal commissioners during the building
of the canal will indicate the great responsibility that lay on their
shoulders; between 1817 and 1822 the amount paid out by Myron Holley was
$1,799,425.58; by H. Seymour, $833,335.70; by S. Young, $554,641.19.
By a law passed March 29, 1823, the commissioners were authorized to
borrow $1,300,000 and also $120,000 to pay interest on the canal bonds.
The tolls collected the year before amounted to $60,446.89; in this year
they ran up to $125,991.76; $77,593.26 was collected between the Seneca
and Utica, and $27,444.09 between Little Falls and Albany. On April 12,
1824, the commissioners were authorized to borrow one million dollars to
complete the canals. In this year ten thousand boats passed the junction
of the Erie and Champlain canals; 157,446 tons of freight were handled
and $294,546.62 was received from tolls. The following table will show
the exact number of miles that was completed in the years from 1820 to
1824 and the tolls received from the canal alone:
_Year_ _Miles completed_ _Tolls_
1820 94 $5,437.34
1821 94 23,000.00
1822 116 57,160.39
1823 160 105,037.35
1824 280 294,546.62
The expense of building in these years was:
_Year_ _Expense_
1817-21 $2,004,523.53
1822 1,184,468.73
1823 1,941,962.37
1824 1,785,447.84
------------
Total $6,916,402.47
The debt incurred, including the amount required for completion and
payment of all claims at the close of the year 1824, was $7,700,000.
This estimate proved approximately correct, the total cost being
$19,255.49 per mile, a trifle over one-half of the cost per mile of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
The success of the Erie Canal, shown by the tolls received from 1825 to
1834 ($8,539,377.70), was more than its promoters had expected; indeed
it was so great that the enlargement of the canal was rendered
imperative within a decade. This was first urged by the citizens of one
of the jewel-cities made by the great waterway--Utica. The memorial now
reported to the legislature by E. F. Johnson called for a steamboat
canal from Utica to Oswego (Lake Ontario) which was to be extended to
Albany; the proposed depth was eight feet, width fifty-eight feet on the
bottom and ninety feet on the surface, the locks one hundred and thirty
feet long by thirty feet wide. "On the Erie Canal," the memorial urged,
"the cost of animal power is 12 per cent greater than steam power on the
Hudson for flour, and 42 per cent greater for merchandize; agricultural
products, including ashes, 21 per cent greater on the canal than on the
Hudson river. The Erie canal is small, and the traction of boats that
navigate it is from 30 to 45, and most usually 40 per cent greater than
would occur on a canal of the most favorable size for the boat used....
That a canal boat, 104 feet long, 16 feet wide, drawing 7 feet water,
would carry 200 tons, and require a lock 115 feet long by 17 feet wide;
the sectional area of boat below load water line 108 feet. The gross
load of a schooner, with its own weight, would be 350 tons. Canal boats,
constructed with reference to freight merely, will generally weigh in
the ratio of their cargo as 4 to 9."[57] Engineer N. S. Roberts in a
report dated January 17, 1835, said: "The present canal admits boats
13-1/2 feet wide, 3 feet draught, 80 feet long, displaces 80 tons water,
weight of boat 30 to 35 tons, cargo 45 tons. Size of canal, 28 [26?]
feet bottom, 40 feet surface, 4 feet depth cross sec[tion] = 136 [132?]
sq. feet. Enlarged canal to reduce cost of transportation, 43-3/4 per
cent must be 33 feet bottom, 48 feet top, and 5 feet deep, cross
sec[tion]: 202.5; width and size of locks: 15×110 between gates,
admitting a boat 102 feet long, 13-1/2 feet wide, and 4 feet
draught."[58]
After examination, the canal board determined to make the canal seventy
feet wide on the surface, seven feet deep; the locks were to measure
110 feet between quoins and be eighteen feet deep. It was estimated that
a canal of these proportions would save fifty per cent of transportation
charges exclusive of tolls.[59] The enlargement construction law was
passed May 11, 1835; the act called for the construction of "double
locks thereon as soon as they should deem it for the public interest;
the dimensions of the canals and locks to be fixed by the Canal
Board."[60]
The new canal, seventy feet wide by seven feet deep, was divided into
four sections. The first was from Albany to the eastern end of the Rome
summit; the estimated cost of this section for enlargement was
$2,864,335.96. The second section ran from east end of Rome summit to
Jordan; estimated cost, $1,194,804.74. The third lay between Jordan and
Rochester; estimated cost $2,739,139.51. The portion from Rochester to
Buffalo comprised the fourth section, its estimated cost being
$4,518,575.85. The total estimated cost, after adding ten per cent for
contingencies, was $12,448,856.06.[61] Twenty-one double and three
single locks were planned between Albany and Schenectady; one double and
three single at Little Falls; two double and one single at Syracuse; one
single lock at Lyons; two single at Lockville; one double and one single
at Macedon. On January 1, 1838, these were all under contract, at a
contract price of $3,035,087.[62] One year later contracts to the amount
of ten and one-half millions for the whole work of enlargement had been
signed. The commissioners were authorized by an act passed April 18,
1839, to borrow four millions.[63] The work went on rapidly. By April 1,
1842, the Rochester aqueduct was completed, at a cost of half a million;
the north tier of the locks at Lockport was in use in April of the next
year. The total cost of the works here was $610,978. In 1845 twenty-nine
out of forty-nine double set of locks between Albany and Syracuse were
completed and ninety-eight miles of the new enlarged canal was open for
use; the cost for this portion was $3,685,438. The total cost of
enlargement contracted for prior to April 1, 1842, was $9,361,442. By
1850 the cost had run up to fifteen millions, which was distributed by
years as follows:
_Year_ _Expense_ _Year_ _Expense_
1835 $31,810.70 1844 $418,692.06
1836 53,218.83 1845 155,130.43
1837 636,312.17 1846 70,012.35
1838 1,163,196.12 1847 62,331.30
1839 2,237,785.74 1848 634,573.08
1840 3,234,749.66 1849 1,000,323.97
1841 2,518,309.72 1850 1,365,695.00
1842 1,521,152.51 ------------
1843 530,801.54 Total $15,634,095.18[64]
This enlargement was completed in 1862 and is legally known as the
"enlargement of 1862." When completed the canal was 350-1/2 miles long;
it had seventy-two locks, measuring 110×18 feet, of which fifty-seven
were double and fifteen single. The building of double locks did not
cease until 1875.
Further enlargement of the Erie Canal has been almost constantly under
discussion. In 1863 State Engineer Taylor suggested gunboat locks
twenty-six feet wide and two hundred and twenty-five feet long, with a
depth of seven feet. What was known as the "Seymour Plan" was brought
forward by State Engineer Seymour in 1878, which called for a deepening
of the canal to eight feet by lowering the bottom in some places and
raising the banks in others. State Engineer Sweet proposed a ship canal
across New York, eighteen feet in depth, in 1884. In 1892 the subject of
enlarging the canal was considered by Congress,[65] but nothing was done
until 1895 when the "Nine Million" act was passed by the New York
legislature, granting about half the sum asked for by the state engineer
for improvement.
The work was begun in 1897 and consisted of deepening the canal to nine
feet in the waterway and eight feet over structures. The work went on
through 1898 when the appropriation gave out and it was suspended.
But before the passage of this act an effort was being made to secure
recognition at Albany in order that the subject of enlargement might be
more thoroughly studied before the state should be committed to any
policy; and even after the general assembly had voted for the
expenditure of nine millions of dollars, yet the men behind the scenes
were not dismayed, but with greater determination their work was carried
on.
The story of initiative work, of the arousing of public sentiment, the
obtaining of recognition of those in power at Albany, the years of work
expended and of thousands of dollars obtained by voluntary subscription
for the carrying on of the work can never be told in detail and could
only be told by such men as Mr. George H. Raymond of Buffalo and his
associates. But that their work was efficient time has already proved.
The first official recognition of the necessity for radical enlargement
or total abandonment (this latter being a natural deduction from the
former) was the passage of an act by the general assembly of the
state[66] authorizing the governor to appoint a commission "to examine
into the commerce of New York, the cause of its decline and the means
for its revival."
Governor Black appointed Charles A. Schieren, Andrew H. Green, C. C.
Shayne, Hugh Kelly, and Alexander R. Smith to constitute what was
officially known as the New York Commerce Commission but was usually
called the "Black Commission." This body of men submitted a preliminary
report to the legislature of 1899[67] and continued its investigations
under authority of an amendment[68] making, in 1900, a most exhaustive
report thereon.
Long before the final report of the "Black Commission"[69] was submitted
Theodore Roosevelt was governor and taking active steps to assist in the
solution of the "canal question." A "Committee on Canals of the State of
New York" was appointed. The following quotations from Governor
Roosevelt's letter of appointment written to Francis V. Greene on March
8, 1899, are self-explanatory:
"I am very desirous of seeing the canal policy of the state definitely
formulated. As you know, the nine million dollars designated to deepen
the canal to the depth of nine feet has been practically expended, and
it is reported that sixteen millions additional will be needed to carry
this scheme through, while at the same time, certain experts have said
that the scheme, when carried through, will not be satisfactory....
"I desire the opinion of a body of experts, ... I have decided to ask
five of the citizens of New York, whose reputation in these respects
stands highest, to act with the Superintendent of Public Works, Col.
Partridge, and the State Engineer and Surveyor, Mr. Bond, to make the
necessary investigations.... The other four gentlemen will be Major T.
W. Symons, Hon. John N. Scatcherd, Hon. George E. Green and Hon. Frank
S. Witherbee....
"The broad question of the proper policy which the State should pursue
in canal matters remains unsolved, and I ask you to help me reach the
proper solution."
This committee submitted a report to the governor, under date of January
15, 1900, stating "That the canals connecting the Hudson River with Lake
Erie, Ontario and Champlain should not be abandoned, but should be
maintained and enlarged." The report contained many maps, documents and
tables, and offered convincing arguments. The consideration of the two
reports, viz., the Black Commission and the Roosevelt Committee, by the
next general assembly resulted in the passage of "an act directing the
State Engineer and Surveyor to cause surveys, plans and estimates to be
made for improving the Erie canal, the Champlain canal, and the Oswego
canal and making an appropriation therefor."[70]
The work thus authorized was carried out and a report, comprising a
thousand pages of printed matter and thirty-four plates in atlas form,
was submitted to the general assembly the following year.
One of the clearest statements of the conditions which led New York to
face the great work of enlarging her canal is contained in a letter
written to Governor Odell by William F. King, President of the
Merchants' Association of New York, as follows:
"I wish to call your attention to what, to my mind, is one of the most
important public improvements that can be made for the benefit of the
people of this State, namely, the improvement of the Erie Canal. It must
not be forgotten that formerly the minerals, the products of the farm,
the production of cotton, lumber, coal; in fact, all raw materials, were
brought Eastward to be turned into manufactured goods, and shipped West.
Today what are the conditions? The goods are manufactured ready for
market right in the States where the raw material is found. The
consequence is that these self-same States have grown so rapidly and so
much in wealth that it behooves our people to realize the importance of
the Erie Canal to the manufacturing industries, and the farming element
of the State.
"The widening and deepening of the Erie Canal means continued prosperity
to the manufacturing industries of this State. It means that the raw
material will come to our different towns, villages, and cities at an
extremely low cost, and that we will then be able to compete with the
manufacturing industries of the great Middle West. Unless this is done,
there is but one alternative, that this great State lose its commercial
supremacy, which would also mean a great loss in population. People must
be employed. If they cannot secure work they will go to that market
where their services can be utilized at good wages.
"The farmers of this State must remember that conditions have changed in
regard to the products of the farm. Eastern farmers cannot, because of
natural conditions, produce grain and meat products as well as Western
farmers can. Therefore, Eastern farmers cannot profitably compete in
these products. They think that cheap grain and provision freights from
the West to the seaboard give Western farm products a still greater
advantage, and therefore are opposed to them. That may be true; but will
choking the Erie Canal, so that the New York Central Railroad Company
can maintain high local freight rates on manufactured products and
high-class traffic, keep Western farm products from reaching the
seaboard as cheaply as now? We can prevent Western grain and provisions
from passing across the State of New York, and the present railroad
policy is rapidly doing it; but the only effect will be to send the
traffic through Canada and by rail routes to Boston, Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Newport News, Charleston, and especially New Orleans and
Galveston. That will greatly harm this city, but what good will it do to
the New York State farmer?
"The true market for a large part of this State's farm products must be
local and the demand must come from the creation, development, and
prosperity of local industries throughout the State, and these, in turn,
depend upon cheap freight rates such as the Erie Canal will insure.
Those cheap rates will enable the important cities of central New York
to obtain iron ore, and coal as cheaply as the lake ports and the
Pennsylvania towns now obtain those raw materials, and will give the
manufacturers of those cities a considerable advantage in freight
charges upon products intended for export. Factories in the midst of
farms, with cheap freight outlets, is the ideal condition for industrial
prosperity. This condition will reach its highest point by development
of the Erie Canal.
"It is the duty of the people of the State to avail themselves of that
which nature has provided, the greatest waterway in this country, if not
in the world, the Great Lakes. The connection of the Erie Canal with the
Hudson River also means a connection with the East River and turns Long
Island Sound into an outlet of the Erie Canal, by which freight from the
great West can be transported to the Eastern States. With the Erie Canal
improved, New York would become the greatest harbor in the world. It
would bring about a continuance of the enjoyment by this city of the
import trade of the nation. It would also make New York the outlet for
the export trade of the United States with other countries, making New
York city not only the greatest financial center, but also the greatest
commercial city. We have about 110 miles of water front available for
shipping. This water front should be made available for additional
shipping, so that the export trade could be increased, making New York
city the center for export trade the same as Liverpool is in England.
This can only be done by the improvement of the Erie Canal.
"It is for you, if you are reëlected Governor of the State, to advocate
a referendum to allow the people to vote for the building of a 1,000-ton
barge canal. The party ignoring this issue is, to my belief, doomed to
defeat. The people throughout the State are aroused to the importance of
the question. They are determined to be allowed to vote on this
question."
[Illustration: MAP OF THE ERIE CANAL, SHOWING IMPROVEMENTS PROPOSED;
FROM REPORT OF FEBRUARY 12, 1901]
The referendum was discussed, the necessary laws passed, the project
submitted to the people and by a majority of nearly a quarter of a
million the state voted to expend $101,000,000 for the rebuilding of its
canals with a prism 12 feet deep, 75 feet wide on the bottom, and 123
feet at the surface of water, capable of floating economically a barge
of 10 feet draft of 1,000 tons capacity; with locks 328 feet long and
28 feet broad, capable of passing two boats, 150 feet long, 25 feet wide
and 10 feet draft.
Thus, in brief, was inaugurated the largest work of its kind in our
history, an artificial waterway to connect an inland lake and river, the
entire expense to be borne by a single state.
For the very boldness of its conception and the magnitude of its
realization it demands our respect. As the old Erie Canal heralded a new
epoch in the commercial history of America, is it not possible that the
new Grand Canal will be the beginning of another new epoch in this new
century? A study of the map of the new canal appended will show, for one
thing, that New York is going back to the old idea of canalizing rivers.
Instead of building a canal beside the Mohawk, for instance, her
engineers will canalize that river. This is in direct opposition to the
advice sent by Benjamin Franklin from England to the Pennsylvania
promoters of inland navigation at the close of the Revolutionary
War;[71] it is an indication of the great advances in engineering
science since the days of Smeaton, and is made possible by the
substitution of the screw propeller for the mule and tow-path. It is by
this means that the Ohio River is to be made a great artery of
commerce.[72] With steamers fitted out with low pressure engines it is
estimated that freight can be transported profitably on the Ohio at an
astonishingly low rate with which no land method of transportation can
ever dare hope to compete. The new project of New York, therefore,
brings back all the old-time dreams of early American promoters--of
Washington's for the Potomac, of Morris's for the Mohawk, and of Robert
Morris's for the Susquehanna. If modern engineering can make the
canalization of one river a success, it can of hundreds of rivers. No
sooner was the Erie Canal a success in 1825 than Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Maryland and other states began canal building. No sooner had New York
voted in favor of her thousand-ton barge canal than Ohio again followed
by passing an act looking toward the improvement of her canal from the
Ohio to Lake Erie. Does New York again lead the way to a new field of
national development by means of canalization of rivers at the beginning
of the twentieth century, as she did by means of canal-building at the
beginning of the nineteenth?
Appendixes
APPENDIX A
ACT OF APRIL 17, 1816[73]
I _Be it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in
Senate and Assembly_, That Stephen Van Rensselaer, De Witt Clinton,
Samuel Young, Joseph Ellicott and Myron Holley, be and they are hereby
appointed commissioners, to consider, devise and adopt such measures as
may or shall be requisite, to facilitate and effect the communication,
by means of canals and locks, between the navigable waters of Hudson's
river and lake Erie, and the said navigable waters and lake Champlain;
and in case of the resignation or death of any of the said
commissioners, the vacancy thereby occasioned, shall be supplied by the
legislature, in the manner in which senators of the United States, from
this state, are directed to be chosen.
II _And be it further enacted_, That the said commissioners shall choose
one of their number, to be president of their board, and shall appoint a
fit person for their secretary, who shall be allowed and paid such
salary as the said commissioners shall deem proper and reasonable: And
the president of the said board of commissioners shall have power to
call a meeting of the same whenever in his opinion, the public interests
require it; and the said board may adjourn from time to time, to meet at
any time and place they may deem most conducive to the public good: _And
further_, the said commissioners shall have power to employ such and so
many agents, engineers, surveyors, draftsmen and other persons, as in
their opinion may be necessary to enable them to fulfil and discharge
the duties imposed upon them by this act; and to allow and pay the said
agents, engineers, surveyors, draftsmen and other persons, for their
respective services, such sum or sums as may be adequate and reasonable.
III _And be it further enacted_, That it shall be the duty of the said
commissioners, as soon as may be after the passing of this act, to cause
those parts of the territory of this state which may lie upon or
contiguous to the probable courses and ranges of the said canals, to be
explored and examined for the purpose of fixing and determining the most
eligible and proper routes for the same, and to cause all necessary
surveys and levels to be taken, and accurate maps, field books and
drafts thereof to be made, and further to adopt and recommend proper
plans for the construction and formation of the said canals, and of the
locks, dams, embankments, tunnels and aqueducts which may be necessary
for the completion of the same, and to cause all necessary plans, drafts
and models thereof, to be executed under their direction.
IV _And be it further enacted_, That the said commissioners or a
majority of them, shall be, and they are hereby authorized and required
to make application in behalf of this state, to the government of the
United States, and of such states and territories as may be benefited by
the said canals or either of them, to the proprietors of lands through
or near which the said canals or either of them, may, or may be proposed
to, pass, to all bodies politic and corporate, public or private, and
all citizens or inhabitants of this or any other of the United States,
for cessions, grants or donations of land or money, for the purpose of
aiding in the constructing or completing of both or either of the said
canals, according to the discretion of the several grantors or donors,
and to take to the people of this state, such grants and conveyances as
may be proper and competent to vest a good and sufficient title in the
said people to the lands so to be ceded or granted as aforesaid, and for
the purposes above-mentioned, it shall be the duty of the said
commissioners to open books of subscription in such and so many places
as they may think necessary and expedient, and under such rules and
regulations as they may from time to time establish: _And further_, it
shall be their duty to ascertain whether to any and to what amount, and
upon what terms loans of money may or can be procured on the credit of
this state, for the purpose aforesaid.
V _And be it further enacted_, That it shall be the duty of the said
commissioners to make, or cause to be made, with as much accuracy and
minuteness as may be, calculations and estimates of the sum or sums of
money which may or will be necessary for completing each of the said
canals, according to the plan or plans which may be adopted and
recommended by them, for the construction or formation of the same, and
to cause the said calculations and estimates, and all surveys, maps,
field books, plans, drafts and models authorised and directed by this
act, or so many thereof as may be completed, together with a plain and
comprehensive report of all their proceedings under and by virtue of
this act, to be presented to the legislature of this state within twenty
days after the commencement of the next regular annual session thereof.
VI _And be it further enacted_, That the treasurer shall, on the warrant
of the comptroller, pay to the order of a majority of the said
commissioners, out of any monies in the treasury, not otherwise
appropriated, any sum or sums not exceeding twenty thousand dollars,
and for which the said commissioners shall account to the comptroller of
this state.
VII _And be it further enacted_, That the act entitled "an act to
provide for the improvement of the internal navigation of this state,"
passed the 8th day of April, 1811, and the act, entitled "an act further
to provide for the improvement of the internal navigation of this
state," passed June 19th 1812, be and the same are hereby repealed.
APPENDIX B
ACT OF APRIL 15, 1817[74]
_Whereas_, navigable communications between Lakes Erie and Champlain,
and the Atlantic ocean, by means of canals connected with the Hudson
river, will promote agriculture, manufactures and commerce, mitigate the
calamities of war, and enhance the blessings of peace, consolidate the
union, and advance the prosperity and elevate the character of the
United States:
_And whereas_, it is the incumbent duty of the people of this state, to
avail themselves of the means which the Almighty has placed in their
hands for the production of such signal, extensive and lasting benefits
to the human race: _Now, therefore_, in full confidence that the
congress of the United States, and the states equally interested with
this state in the commencement, prosecution and completion of those
important works, will contribute their full proportion of the expense;
and in order that adequate funds may be provided, and properly arranged
and managed, for the prosecution and completion of all the navigable
communications contemplated by this act:
I _Be it enacted by the people of the state of New York, represented in
Senate and Assembly_, That there shall be constituted a fund to be
denominated the canal fund, which shall consist of all such
appropriations, grants and donations, as may be made for that purpose by
the legislature of this state, by the congress of the United States, by
individual states, and by corporations, companies and individuals; which
fund shall be superintended and managed by a board of commissioners, to
be denominated "the commissioners of the canal fund," consisting of the
lieutenant-governor, the comptroller, the attorney-general, the
surveyor-general, secretary and treasurer, a majority of whom with the
comptroller shall be a quorum for the transaction of business; and that
it shall be the duty of the said board to receive, arrange and manage to
the best advantage all things belonging to the same fund, to borrow,
from time to time, monies on the credit of the people of this state at a
rate of interest not exceeding six per centum per annum, and not
exceeding in any one year a sum which, together with the net income of
the said fund, shall amount to four hundred thousand dollars; for which
monies, so to be borrowed, the comptroller shall issue transferable
certificates of stock, payable at such time or times as may be
determined by said board; out of the said fund to pay to the canal
commissioners hereafter mentioned, the monies so to be borrowed and the
income of the said fund, reserving at all times sufficient to pay the
interest of all monies that shall have been borrowed by the said board;
to recommend from time to time to the legislature, the adoption of such
measures as may be thought proper by the said board for the improvement
of the said fund, and to report to the legislature, at the opening of
every session thereof, the state of said fund; and that the comptroller
and treasurer shall open separate books, and keep the accounts of the
said fund distinct from the other funds of the state.
II _And be it further enacted_, That the commissioners appointed by the
act, entitled "an act to provide for the improvement of the internal
navigation of this state" passed April 17, 1816, shall continue to
possess the powers thereby conferred, and be denominated "the canal
commissioners;" and they are hereby authorized and empowered, in behalf
of this state, and on the credit of the fund herein pledged, to commence
making the said canals, by opening communications by canals and locks
between the Mohawk and Seneca rivers, and between Lake Champlain and the
Hudson river; to receive from time to time from the commissioners of the
canal fund, such monies as may be necessary for and applicable to the
objects hereby contemplated; to cause the same to be expended in the
most prudent and economical manner, in all such works as may be proper
to make the said canals; and on completing any part or parts of the
works or canals contemplated by this act, to establish reasonable tolls
and adopt all measures necessary for the collection and payment thereof
to the commissioners of the canal fund; that a majority of the said
commissioners shall be a board for the transaction of business, each of
whom shall take an oath well and faithfully to execute the duties of his
office, and shall report to the legislature at each session thereof, the
state of said works and expenditures, and recommend such measures as
they may think advisable for the accomplishment of the objects intended
by this act; and in case of any vacancy in the office of commissioner,
during the recess of the legislature, the person administering the
government may appoint a person to fill such vacancy until the
legislature shall act in the premises.
III _And be it further enacted_, That it shall and may be lawful for the
said canal commissioners, and each of them, by themselves, and by every
superintendent, agent, and engineer, employed by them, to enter upon,
take possession of, and use all and singular any lands, waters, and
streams necessary for the prosecution of the improvements intended by
this act, and to make all such canals, feeders, dykes, locks, dams, and
other works and devices as they may think proper for making said
improvements, doing nevertheless no unnecessary damage; and that in case
any lands, waters or streams taken and appropriated for any of the
purposes aforesaid, shall not be given or granted to the people of this
state, it shall be the duty of the canal commissioners from time to
time, and as often as they think reasonable and proper, to cause
application to be made to the justices of the supreme court, or any two
of them, for the appointment of appraisers; and the said justices shall
thereupon, by writing, appoint not less than three, nor more than five
discreet disinterested persons as appraisers, who shall, before they
enter upon the duties of their appointment, severally take and subscribe
an oath or affirmation, before some person authorised to administer
oaths, faithfully and impartially to perform the trust and duties
required of them by this act, which oath or affirmation shall be filed
with the secretary of the canal commissioners; and it shall be the duty
of the said appraisers, or a majority of them, to make a just and
equitable estimate and appraisal of the loss and damage, if any, over
and above the benefit and advantage to the respective owners and
proprietors or parties interested in the premises so required for the
purposes aforesaid, by and in consequence of making and constructing any
of the works aforesaid; and the said appraisers, or a majority of them,
shall make regular entries of their determination and appraisal, with an
apt and sufficient description of the several premises appropriated for
the purposes aforesaid, in a book or books to be provided and kept by
the canal commissioners, and certify and sign their names to such
entries and appraisal, and in like manner certify their determination as
to these several premises which will suffer no damages, or will be
benefited more than injured by or in consequence of the works aforesaid;
and the canal commissioners shall pay the damages so to be assessed and
appraised, and the fee simple of the premises so appropriated shall be
vested in the people of this state.
IV _And be it further enacted_, That whenever, in the opinion of the
canal commissioners, it shall be for the interest of this state, for the
prosecution of the works contemplated by this act, that all the interest
and title (if any) in law and equity of the western inland lock
navigation company should be vested in the people of this state, it
shall be lawful for the said canal commissioners to pass a resolution to
that effect, and that it shall then be lawful for the president of the
canal commissioners to cause a copy of such resolution, with a notice
signed by himself and the secretary of the said commissioners, to be
delivered to the president or other known officer of the said company,
notifying the president and directors of the said company that an
application will be made to the justices of the supreme court, at a term
thereof to be held not less than thirty days from the time of giving
such notice, for the appointment of appraisers to estimate the damages
to be sustained by the same company, by investing in the people of this
state all the lands, waters, canals, locks, feeders, and appurtenances
thereto acquired, used and claimed by the said company, under its act of
incorporation, and the several acts amending the same; and it shall be
the duty of the justices aforesaid, at the term mentioned in the said
notice, and on proof of the service thereof, to appoint, by writing
under the seal of the said court, and the hands of at least three of the
said justices, not less than three, nor more than five disinterested
persons, being citizens of the United States, to estimate and appraise
the damages aforesaid; and it shall be the duty of the said appraisers,
or a majority of them, to estimate and appraise the damages aforesaid,
and severally to certify the same under oath, before an officer
authorised to take the acknowledgement of deeds, to be a just,
equitable, and impartial appraisal to the best of their judgment and
belief, and shall thereupon deliver the same to one of the canal
commissioners, who shall report the same to the same court; and if the
said court shall be of opinion that the said damages have been fairly
and equitably assessed, the said justices, or any three of them, may
certify the same on the same report, and the amount of the said damages
and the expenses of the said appraisal shall be audited by the
comptroller, and paid on his warrant by the treasurer out of the canal
fund; and the people of this state shall thereupon be invested with, and
the said canal commissioners may cause to be used, all the lands,
waters, streams, canals, locks, feeders, and appurtenances aforesaid,
for the purposes intended by this act.
V _And be it further enacted_, That for the purposes contemplated by
this act, and for the payment of the interest and final redemption of
the principal of the sums to be borrowed by virtue hereof, there shall
be, and hereby are appropriated and pledged, a duty or tax of twelve and
a half cents per bushel upon all salt to be manufactured in the western
district of this state; a tax of one dollar upon each steamboat
passenger, for each and every trip or voyage such passenger may be
conveyed upon the Hudson river on board of any steamboat over one
hundred miles, and half that sum for any distance less than one hundred
miles and over thirty miles; the proceeds of all lotteries which shall
be drawn in this state, after the sums now granted upon them shall be
paid; all the net proceeds of this state from the western inland lock
navigation company; all the net proceeds of the said canals and each
part thereof when made; all grants and donations made or to be made for
the purpose of making the said canals; all the duties upon sales at
auction, after deducting thereout twenty-three thousand five hundred
dollars, annually appropriated to the hospital, the economical school,
and the orphan asylum society, and ten thousand dollars hereby
appropriated annually for the support of foreign poor in the city of New
York.
VI _And be it further enacted_, That from and after the first Tuesday of
August next, there shall be paid and collected in the manner now
directed by law, upon all salt to be manufactured in the county of
Onondaga, a duty of twelve and a half cents per bushel, instead of the
present duties, and the like tax or duty of twelve and a half cents per
bushel upon all other salt to be manufactured in the western district
of this state, which shall be collected by the superintendent of the
salt springs, until otherwise directed by the legislature; and for that
purpose, he shall have a responsible deputy residing at each place where
salt is or may be manufactured, with the like powers and subject to the
like duties as his present deputies; and that all the provisions,
forfeitures, penalties, and restrictions contained in the laws relative
to the duties upon Onondaga salt, so far as the same may be applicable,
shall be in force for the purposes of enforcing the payment and
collection of the tax or duties upon salt hereby levied and imposed. And
further, that the said superintendent, instead of a yearly report to the
legislature, shall make a quarter yearly report to the commissioners of
the canal fund, and pay into the treasury of this state, on the first
Tuesday of February, May, August and November, in each year, all the
monies collected by him during the quarter preceding each of those days,
deducting in addition to what by law is now allowed to be deducted, five
per cent of the duties collected at all other salt works, not situated
in the county of Onondaga, and two per cent of the duties upon Onondaga
salt, as a compensation for collecting and paying over the same.
VII _And be it further enacted_, That it shall be the duty of the said
canal commissioners, to raise the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars, to be appropriated towards the making and completing of the
said canals from the Mohawk river to the Seneca river, and from Lake
Champlain to Hudson's river, by causing to be assessed and levied in
such manner as the said commissioners may determine and direct, the said
sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, upon the lands and real
estate, lying along the route of the said canals, and within twenty-five
miles of the same, on each side thereof: which sum so to be assessed and
levied, shall be assessed on the said lands and real estate adjacent to
the said several canals, in such proportion for each, as the said
commissioners shall determine. And the said commissioners shall have
power to make such rules and regulations, and adopt such measures for
the assessing, levying, and collecting the sum or sums of money, either
by sale of the said lands or otherwise, as they shall deem meet, and the
said assessment shall be made on said lands, according to the benefit
which they shall be considered by the said commissioners, as deriving
from the making of the said canals respectively: _Provided_, That such
rules, regulations and measures, shall before they are carried into
effect, be sanctioned and approved by the chancellor and judges of the
supreme court, or a majority of them: _And provided further_, That if
any company or individual subject for such tax, shall subscribe any
money or other property towards the completion of the said canals, the
amount of such donation or voluntary subscription, shall, if the same is
less than the amount of the tax, be deducted therefrom, and if more, he
or they shall be entirely discharged from the said tax.
_And be it further enacted_, That from and after the first day of May
next, the aforesaid tax upon steamboat passengers, shall be demanded,
taken and received, by each captain or master of every steamboat
navigating the Hudson river;[75] and that during each month thereafter,
in which such boat shall be employed for the conveyance of passengers,
it shall be the duty of such captain or master, to cause to be delivered
to the comptroller of this state, a return or account, sworn to, before
some officer authorized to administer oaths, stating the name of the
boat, the number of trips made by such boat during such month, and the
whole number of passengers conveyed on board such boat, at each of the
said trips, over one hundred miles, and the number conveyed less than
one hundred miles, and over thirty miles, and pay into the treasury of
this state the amount of such tax collected during the time mentioned in
the said return, deducting three per cent thereof, as a compensation for
making such return, and collecting and paying over the said tax: _And
further_, That in case of any neglect or refusal in making such return,
or collecting and paying over the tax as directed in and by this
section, the captain or master so neglecting, shall forfeit and pay the
sum of five hundred dollars, besides the amount of the tax so directed
to be collected and paid over, to be recovered in an action of debt in
the name of the people of this state, and for the use of the aforesaid
fund.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] It is said that the strange name of the city on the Ohio River,
Wheeling, is derived from a word _Wheelen_, also meaning "a head on a
pole" in another dialect.
[2] _Historic Highways of America_, vol. viii, p. 184.
[3] _Historic Highways of America_, vol. xii, p. 97.
[4] Mr. Watson's _Journal_ is included in his _History of the ...
Western Canals in the State of New York_ (Albany, 1820).
[5] _Id._, pp. 20-21.
[6] _Laws of the State of New-York_ (New York, 1792), vol. ii, ch. xl.
[7] _Laws of the State of New-York_ (New York, 1793), pp. 13-17.
[8] _History of the ... Western Canals in the State of New York_, p. 85.
It must be remembered that Watson was writing from memory in 1820; in
general his authority may be considered excellent. We have indicated
inconsistencies by interrogation points.
[9] _The Report of a Committee appointed to explore the western
waters ... for the purpose of prosecuting the Inland Lock Navigation_
(Albany, 1792).
[10] Our source of information on these early Mohawk improvements is
_Report of the Directors of the Western and Northern Inland Lock
Navigation Companies in the State of New York to the Legislature_, 1796.
[11] _Id._, p. 9, _note_.
[12] _Id._, p. 16.
[13] MS. _Letters on Canals_ by Philip Schuyler and Simeon De Witt,
1793-94, Lenox Library.
[14] _Historic Highways of America_, vol. xiii, ch. 2.
[15] _History of the ... Western Canals in the State of New York_, pp.
92-93.
[16] _Id._, pp. 93-94.
[17] Sparks, _Life of Gouverneur Morris_ (Boston, 1832), vol. i, pp.
497-498.
[18] _Id._, p. 498.
[19] _Id._, pp. 498-499.
[20] _Laws of the State of New-York relative to the Canals_ (Albany,
1825), pp. 38-39.
[21] _Id._, p. 42.
[22] _History of the ... Western Canals in the State of New York_, p.
67.
[23] M. S. Hawley, _Origin of the Erie Canal_, p. 20. Clinton gave
Hawley great credit for his part in promoting the Erie Canal idea--p.
21.
"He [Hawley] was at Colonel Mynderse's office in 1805, attending to the
shipment of some flour to market, by the circuitous and uncertain route
then in use. Himself and Colonel Mynderse conversing upon the
necessities for better facilities, Mr. Hawley said: 'Why not have a
canal extend direct into our country, and benefit all--merchants,
millers, and farmers.'" Hawley then pointed out on a map that Lake Erie
could be made a head of water. "A change having occurred in Mr. Hawley's
business, he spent the winter of 1806 and 1807 in Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania, and not knowing when he would return to Ontario county, he
sketched the first essay, and to preserve it from oblivion, as he said,
he procured it to be published there, on the fourteenth day of January,
1807, in the newspaper called the _Commonwealth_."--_Origin of the Erie
Canal_, pp. 23-24.
[24] _Id._, pp. 69-70.
[25] _Public Documents relating to the New-York Canals_ (New York,
1821), pp. xlix-l.
[26] _Laws of the State of New-York relative to the Canals_, p. 47.
[27] _Id._, p. 67.
[28] _Laws of New York_, 1814.
[29] _Public Documents relating to Canals_, pp. li-lii.
[30] "Memorial of the citizens of New-York, in favor of a
Canal-Navigation between the great western Lakes and the tide-waters of
the Hudson, presented to the Assembly February 21, 1816, and ordered to
be printed."--From _Laws of the State of New-York relative to the
Canals_, p. 122.
[31] The Middlesex Canal was twenty-seven miles in length and joined
Boston Harbor at Charlestown with the Merrimac River. It was
incorporated in 1789, begun in 1790 and opened in 1804. Its cost to 1815
was over half a million. It was thirty feet wide at the top, twenty feet
wide at the base and three feet deep. The rise from Boston to summit
level was one hundred and four feet and the descent to the Merrimac,
thirty-two feet. It included twenty locks, seventy-five feet long, ten
feet wide at the base and eleven feet wide at the top, capable of
locking a boat of fourteen tons. The income from tolls beginning with
$7,000 in 1808 had increased to $25,000 in 1815; land beside the canal
had increased in value one-third, and New Hampshire timber at once
became worth from one to three dollars per ton standing, which before
was worth nothing. The success of this canal must be considered as
having something to do in the promotion of the Erie Canal.
[32] See appendix A.
[33] The material for the earlier portions of this chapter is largely
from the annual reports of the canal commissioners from 1816 to 1825
contained in _Public Documents relating to the New-York Canals_ (New
York, 1821), pp. 103-185, 311-333, 344-365, 429-450, and _Laws of the
State of New-York relative to the Canals_, vol. ii, pp. 60-78, 95-118,
150-180.
[34] Appendix B.
[35] M. S. Hawley, _Origin of the Erie Canal_, pp. 41-42; Hawley's
source of information was Judge Platt, one of the Council.
[36] _Id._, pp. 42-43. Cf. p. 143, referring to the change of route at
Rome and consequent dissatisfaction.
[37] Sparks's _Writings of Washington_, vol. ii, pp. 341, 342.
[38]_Public Documents_ (1821), p. 403.
[39] For elaborate account of this celebration see W. L. Stone's
_Narrative of the Festivities observed in honor of the Completion of the
Grand Erie Canal_ (New York, 1825), and local histories.
[40] W. L. Stone, _Narrative of the Festivities observed in honor of the
Completion of the Grand Erie Canal_, p. 321. This monograph has been
used extensively in describing the celebration festivities.
[41] _Id._, pp. 320-321.
[42] _The Influence of the Erie Canal upon the population along its
course_, bearing the imprint of the University of Wisconsin, 1901.
[43] Hammond, _Political History of New York_, vol. ii, pp. 369, 378.
McMaster, _History of U.S._, vol. v, p. 109.
[44] Freeman's _Journal_, Cooperstown, Otsego County, New York,
September 20, 1830, p. 2, c. 2.
[45] Freeman's _Journal_, August 16, 1830, p. 2, c. 6. Seward,
_Autobiography of W. H. Seward from 1801 to 1834_, p. 78.
[46] Hammond, _Political History of New York_, vol. ii, p. 396.
[47] Hammond, _Political History of New York_, vol. ii, p. 397.
[48] Jenkins, _Political History of New York_, p. 363.
[49] The following counties sent petitions to the Legislature: Tioga,
Steuben, Yates, Ontario, Wayne, Cayuga, Seneca, Tompkins, Chenango,
Broome, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Herkimer, Lewis, Jefferson, and
Chautauqua. (_Laws of the State of New York, relative to Erie and
Champlain canals_, 1825, i, pp. 279-281.)
[50] This fact is supported by Mr. Jenkins in his _Political History of
New York_. He says: "Mr. Granger received a very heavy vote in the sixth
and eighth districts; and it is probable his friends had confidently
expected that the Chenango canal interests would secure his election.
"The sixth Senatorial district to which the feeling in favor of the
Chenango canal was mainly confined, gave Mr. Granger more than 2,000
majority. Notwithstanding it had given 6,000 the other way in 1829." The
majority for Mr. Granger in the eighth district was nearly 13,000.
[51] Jenkins, _Political History of New York_, p. 372.
[52] W. N. Holland, _Life and Political Opinions of Van Buren_: Attitude
toward internal improvements, pp. 269-274.
[53] This is probably a reference to such loans as were authorized to be
made to the New York and Erie Railroad. The New York and Erie Railroad
was incorporated in 1832 and in 1836 the legislature authorized a loan
of the credit of the state to the company for the amount of $3,000,000
subject to certain restrictions, some of which were that the route of
the road should be through the Southern tier of counties in the state,
one-fourth was to be completed in ten years, one-half in fifteen years,
and the whole of it in twenty years. The road was to begin at Tappan,
Rockland County, on the Hudson, pass through Goshen, Oswego, Elmira, and
other towns and end at Dunkirk on Lake Erie.--Tanner, _Canals and
Railroads of the United States_, 1840, p. 74.
[54] Lossing, _Empire State_, p. 493.
[55] _Documentary Sketch of New York State Canals_ by S. H. Sweet
(Albany, 1863), p. 104.
[56] _Laws of the State of New-York relative to the Canals_ (Albany,
1825), vol. ii, pp. 13-14.
[57] Sweet's _Documentary History_, pp. 198-199.
[58] _Id._, p. 201.
[59] _Id._, p. 207-208.
[60] _Id._, p. 204.
[61] _Id._, p. 205.
[62] _Id._, p. 210.
[63] _Id._, p. 213.
[64] _Id._, p. 326.
[65] _House Reports, No. 423, 54th Cong., 1st sess., 1896_, also, _No.
1023, 55th Cong., 1st sess._
[66] _Laws of 1898_, ch. 44.
[67] _Senate Documents_, no. 23.
[68] _Laws of 1899_, ch. 494.
[69] _Report of the New York Commerce Commission_, Albany, 1900.
[70] _Laws of 1900_, ch. 411.
[71] _Historic Highways of America_, vol. xiii, p. 25.
[72] _Historic Highways of America_, vol. ix, pp. 213-215.
[73] "An act to provide for the improvement of the internal navigation
of this state," passed April 17, 1816. From _Laws of the State of
New-York relative to the Canals_, vol. ii, pp. 184-186.
[74] "An Act respecting Navigable Communications between the great
western and northern lakes and the Atlantic ocean," passed April 15,
1817. From _Laws of the State of New-York relative to the Canals_, vol.
ii, pp. 358-364.
[75] Suspended. See act March 30, 1820.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.
2. Obvious errors in spelling and punctuation have been corrected.
3. Footnotes have been moved to the end of the main text body.
4. Images have been moved from the middle of a paragraph to the closest
paragraph break.