A BRIEF STATEMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 CONCEENING THE 
 
 HELL GATE PILOT 
 
 I 
 
 MONOPOLY. 
 
 j • 
 i 
 
 — — " Nothing extenuate, 
 Nor aught set down in malice." 
 
 I 
 i 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 DOAK & CO., PRINTERS AND STATIONERS, 37 PEARL ST. 
 
 1868. 
 
 f 
 
F 
 
 SEYMOUR DURST 
 
 -± ' 'Tort nlemv .^m^erdam- Je Hanhaians 
 
 FORT NEW AIASTERDAM. 
 
 (NEW YORK) , 1651. 
 
 y^hen you leave, please leave this hook 
 
 Because it has heen said 
 "Ever thing conies t' him who waits 
 
 Except a loaned book." 
 
 Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library 
 
A BRIEF STATEMENT 
 
 OP 
 
 EXACTS 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 HELL GATE PILOT 
 
 MONOPOLY. 
 
 — " Nothing extenuate, 
 
 Nor auffht set down in malice." 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 DOAK & CO., PKINTEES AND STATIONERS, 37 PEARL ST. 
 
 1868. 
 
BRIEF STATEMENT OF FACTS 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 HELL GATE PILOT MONOPOLY. 
 
 To THE HONOKABLB THE LEGISLATURE OF THE StATE OF 
 
 New- York : 
 
 During its session for 1868, the Legislature of the State of 
 New- York will be asked to enact certain amendments to the 
 present so-called Hell Gate Pilot Law. The following brief 
 summary of facts is respectfully submitted, not for the purpose 
 of informing the legislative mind, but to aid it in arriving at an 
 equitable conclusion concerning the subjects connected with the 
 proposed amendments. 
 
 During each year, about 33,000 vessels pass through the nar- 
 row channel of the East River, known as Hell Gate, to and from 
 the City of New- York. The most difficult and dangerous parts 
 of the channel are found between Woolsey 's or Lawrence's Point 
 and the lower point of Blackwell's Island. The distance is 
 about three and a quarter miles. The straits on either side of 
 Blackwell's Island are about one mile in length, and about three 
 hundred and fifty yards wide. In these waters the tide runs 
 with a velocity of about eight and one-half miles an hour. As 
 there are many rocks and numerous shoals, some skill in naviga- 
 tion is required to conduct vessels safely through these waters ; 
 and the great number of vessels that pass over this highway 
 make it necessary that uniformity of seamanship and the utmost 
 rapidity, consistent with safety, should be used. Sailing vessels, 
 owing to the narrowness of the channel, are often compelled to 
 remain several days at either end of the straits referred to, await- 
 ing a fair wind — very often at the expense of a great portion of 
 the cargo which they bear to or from New- York. This evil can 
 
4 
 
 not be overcome hy the most skilful sailing-master or pilot ; sieam 
 alone can secure to commerce that rapidity of transit which adds 
 to the wealth of the Empire State. The Hell Gate Pilot is at 
 the mercy of both wind and wave, and the merchant may see his 
 cargo perish within sight of his warehouse unless the tug-boat 
 rescues it from that stagnation which an unfair wind begets in 
 Hell Gate Channel. This fact, years ago, induced many enter- 
 prising citizens of our State to invest a large amount of capital — 
 money, muscle, and brains — in the proper means to aid those 
 who were compelled to pass through the waters referred to, and 
 were subjected to the dangers of shipwreck and loss of cargo. 
 More than $2,000,000 were devoted to this purpose, and not less 
 than two thousand men employed in the tow-boat business in and 
 about said waters. A tow-boat would make about two trips each 
 day through Hell Gate, and convoy from three to six sailing ves- 
 sels each way. No adverse wind delayed the shipmaster ; the 
 tow-boat was the power which subdued this commercial adver- 
 sary, and added millions to the wealth of our State. Those who 
 guided the tug-boats were skilled in navigation, thoroughly con- 
 ^versant with the waters through which they must pass, and had 
 the experience of years in educating themselves for the vocation 
 assumed. Before they were entrusted with the wheel, they 
 served a regular apprenticeship, generally commencing at the 
 bottom of the sailor's ladder, and earning promotion by intelligent 
 appreciation of their duties, ere they were advanced to any of the 
 responsibilities incident to the convoying of untold wealth over 
 the waters where the fatal rock and dreaded shoal remained per- 
 petual sentinels. The result was the pride of those who projected 
 the enterprise. Safety, speed, and a very moderate tax upon the 
 owners of vessels, made the new system a grand success ; and 
 where scores of ships had been stranded, or lost on the rocks, 
 while under the control of Hell Gate pilots, the stranding or loss 
 of a vessel while under convoy of a tug-boat became a thing of 
 such rare occurrence, that it was esteemed almost an impossibility. 
 Many masters of vessels had passed through these channels for a 
 score of years, and were as competent to act as pilots as any per- 
 son whose services could be procured ; and, indeed, more so, 
 on account of their familiarity with the peculiarities of the 
 craft which they guided. These men, in fair winds, chose to 
 navigate for themselves the waters leading from New- York Bay 
 
5 
 
 to Long Island Sound ; and when tlie wind placed its embargo 
 on tliem, tliey committed tlieir charge to the tug-boat, and thus 
 secured respite from the otherMnse enforced idleness. The Hell 
 Gate pilots — a body of men who have invested about S2,000 in 
 cockel-shell boats to board vessels —assuming exclusive control 
 of the waters referred to, procured the following enactments of 
 the New-York Legislature : 
 
 A.CTS. 
 
 Sec. 6.* Any of the said Hell Grate pilots, who shall pilot any 
 vessel through the channel of the East River, commonly called • 
 Hell Gate, may demand and receive from the master, owner, con- 
 signee, or agent of said vessel, the following fees of pilotage, to 
 wit : For every sloop and fore-and-aft schooner, one dollar and 
 twenty-five cents for every foot of water such vessel may draw. 
 For every square top-sail and stay-sail schooner, one dollar and 
 seventy-five cents for every foot of water said vessel may draw. 
 For every hermaphrodite brig, brigantine, and full-rigged brig, 
 one dollar and seventy-five cents for every foot of water said ves- 
 may draw. For every ship and bark of one thousand tons burthen 
 and under, two dollars for every foot of water such vessel may 
 draw ; and when over one thousand, and not exceeding one thou- 
 sand five hundred tons burthen two dollars and twenty-five 
 cents for every foot of water such vessel may draw; and when 
 over one thousand five hundred tons burthen, two dollars and 
 fifty cents for every foot of water such vessel may draw. 
 Any pilot who shall perform any additional pilotage, be- 
 sides that of piloting through the channel of the East Eiver, 
 commonly called Hell Gate, and pilot the same vessel to 
 Execution Rocks, or Sand's Point Light-house, in Long Island 
 Sound, outward bound, or who shall board any vessel at or to 
 the eastward of Execution Rocks, or Sand's Point Light-house, 
 in Long Island Sound, on her inward passage through Hell Gate, 
 shall be entitled to an additional compensation of seventy-five 
 cents per foot for every foot of water such vessel may draw. 
 And any pilot who shall pilot a vessel inward, by the way of 
 
 * As amended by § 1, Ch. 115, Laws 1865. 
 
6 
 
 Hell Grate, shall be entitled to a preference in the pilotage of the 
 said vessel outward bound, providing the said voyage be by the 
 way of Hell Grate. And further, from the first day of ISTovember 
 to the first day of April, in every year, every such Hell Gate 
 branch pilot shall be entitled to demand and receive for every 
 ship, bark, brig, square top-sail and stay-sail schooner, the sum 
 of three dollars ; and for every fore-and-aft schooner and sloop, 
 the sum of two dollars, in addition to the rates of compensation 
 for pilotage hereby established. And any master or commander 
 of any vessel, who shall give to such branch Hell Gate pilot an 
 untrue account of the draft or tonnage of his vessel, shall forfeit 
 and pay the sum of fifty dollars, to be sued for and recovered by 
 the Board of Port Wardens of New- York. 
 
 Sec. 7.t Any of said Hell Gate pilots, who shall first tender 
 his services, may demand and receive from the master, owner, 
 or consignee of any vessel of the burthen of fifty-five tons and 
 upward, navigating the said channel of Hell Gate, to whom he 
 shall have tendered his service as a pilot, and by whom the same 
 shall be refused, whether inward or outward bound, one-half 
 pilotage for every foot of water such vessel may draw, which 
 half pilotage shall be the one-half of the rates of compensation 
 established by the sixth section of this Act. But such half 
 pilotage shall not be chargeable to any vessel under fifty-five 
 tons burthen sailing under a coasting license, and shall not be 
 chargeable more than once for the same passage to any vessel. 
 And in case any such vessel under fifty-five tons burthen, navi- 
 gating the said channel to or from the port of New -York, shall 
 make the usual signal for a pilot, and shall refuse to receive on 
 board or employ such pilot, when he shall have tendered his 
 services, then the master, owner, or consignee of such vessel 
 shall pay to such Hell Gate pilot, such half pilotage from the 
 place at which such pilot shall have so ofiered his services. And 
 any pilot who shall pilot any government vessel through the 
 said channel, shall be entitled to receive ths same compensation 
 therefor, as is now provided by law for like services in piloting 
 such vessel to or from the port of New-York, by the way of 
 Sandy. Hook. 
 
 Sec. 9 I If any person other than a branch Hell Gate pilot 
 
 t Amended by Ch- 115, Laws of 1865- t As amended by Ch- 115,. Laws of 1865 
 
7 
 
 sliall pilot or tow for any other person, any vessel of any de- 
 scription, or board such vessel for that purpose, (except barges, 
 vessels of less than fifty-five tons burthen, and canal-boats act- 
 ually used in navigating the canals,) or shall offer to pilot or 
 tow any such vessel in the channel of the East River, commonly 
 called Hell Gate, without the aid of a branch Hell Gate pilot on 
 board, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and may 
 be prosecuted therefor, in any county of this State, adjoining to, 
 or in which said offence may be committed ; and on conviction 
 thereof, shall be punished for every such offence by a fine not 
 exceeding one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceed- 
 ing sixty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. And 
 all persons employing a person to act as a pilot through Hell 
 Gate, who is not a branch Hell Gate pilot, shall forfeit and pay 
 the sum of one hundred dollars to the Port "Wardens of the 
 Port of New-York, as provided by the foregoing section Sixth. 
 Nothing in this section contained shall be construed to prevent 
 one of the crew of the vessel, except when in tow of a steamer, 
 from piloting said vessel through the aforesaid channel, nor im- 
 pair or affect the seventh section of the Act hereby amended, 
 save so far as the seventh section is amended by Section second 
 hereof." 
 
 By these it will be seen that the regularly licensed captains 
 of tug-boats have the pleasant privilege of allowing their 
 boats to rot in idleness, or test the hospitalities of a jailor in 
 Queens, Westchester, Kings, or New- York Counties. And in 
 addition, those ship-masters who sail through the waters of Hell 
 Gate, have no choice regarding pilotage. They must take Hell 
 Gate Pilots when they need a guide, and also take them when 
 they can be of no service by reason of adverse winds. In the 
 latter case, when the shipmaster is asked by the Hell Gate Pilot 
 to entrust his vessel to the pilot's care, he replies, " You can do 
 me no good, the wind is against us. I intend having a tow-boat 
 take me through Hell Gate." The pilot immediately demands 
 half-pilotage, and shaking the law in the captain's face, forbids 
 him employing a tug-boat under penalty of fine and imprison- 
 ment. And the pilot of the tug-boat, licensed by the United 
 States, and compelled by the laws of the United States to serve in 
 Hell Gate Channel as well as elsewhere, under a penalty of $300, 
 
8 
 
 is by the State law liable to imprisonment for misdemeanor if he 
 pursues his ordinary avocations. The result is, one of these 
 laws must be over-ridden, or the tug-boat pilot must retire from 
 the business in which he has spent the best years of his life. 
 Not only this, but the result so injurious to commerce, and so 
 absurd in its features, is brought about by a monopoly, neither 
 ornamental nor useful. The following leading editorial, clipped 
 from the New-York Evening Post, of July 26, 1867, illustrates 
 some of the beauties of the late legislation : 
 
 THE HURL GATE PILOTS AND THE PUBLIC. 
 
 [From the Evening- Post, July 26, 1867.] 
 
 The policemen who stand on Broadway and politely pilot 
 ladies, children and infirm old gentlemen across the street, are 
 very useful persons. They raise a finger, and instantly the long 
 train of wagons and omnibuses stops ; the most furious driver 
 reins up at a gesture from a bluecoat ; and what is usually an 
 impassable barrier, opens for a brief space and lets through a 
 waiting throng. It is because policemen are only human that 
 they show, perhaps, the least bit in the world more attention to 
 a pretty woman than to a homely one : it is but natural that a 
 pilot should prefer to guide a trim, clipper-built craft. 
 
 But suppose the legislature should pass a law forbidding any- 
 one to cross Broadway except on the arm of a policeman, and 
 providing that any one who should cross the street on the arm of 
 a citizen should be condemned to imprisonment and a heavy fine ? 
 
 Let no one say the supposition is too absurd ; for the legisla- 
 ture has already done just this thing. The East River is a sort 
 of marine Broadway, and the place called Hurl Gate is about as 
 difiicult for vessels to get through as Broadway, at the corner of 
 Fulton street, is difiicult for men and women. Because of the 
 difficulty and danger of the passage, experts have for many years 
 off'ered their services to shipmasters to pilot them safely ; and 
 these services, as they were useful, have been well paid for. 
 
 Of late, however, owners of vessels have discovered that they 
 could economize time and lessen the risks of the passage, by 
 using steam ; and a number of tug-boats have been employed in 
 towing vessels through the strait into the sound. This is a kind 
 of expedient, like the bridge across Broadway. 
 
9 
 
 But the Hurl Gate pilots, finding their services less required 
 by shipmasters, by reason of the use of steam, procured the 
 passage of a bill by the legislature, commanding every captain 
 passing through Hurl Gate to use a pilot, even though, having 
 employed a tug-boat, he did not need a pilot, and punishing the 
 violators of this law with a fine of one hundred dollars and 
 imprisonment for sixty days ! That is just as though the Com- 
 mon Council had commanded that anybody who crosses Alderman 
 Loew's bridge should do so only on the arm of a policeman. 
 
 Such a law is absurd and unendurable, oppressive and 
 tyrannical to the last degree. The tow-boat owners have brought 
 a test case under it before the courts, which can scarcely help 
 but decide in their favor ; for to decide for the pilots would be 
 to say that anybody, John Smith or Jack Eobinson, may block- 
 ade a highway, and levy toll upon those who pass through. 
 
 We advise the tow-boat owners to go a little further ; let them 
 ascertain the names of the persons who introduced this law, the 
 committee which recommended it, and the members who voted 
 for it, and publish them, so that tfie public may know who it is 
 that misuses the powers and trust of a legislator, to oppress and 
 obstruct industry. 
 
 What is, in effect, the argument of the pilots and of those 
 who passed this ridiculous law 1 They claim a right, on the 
 part of a class, to benefit by a natural obstruction. Hurl Gate 
 is a dangerous strait ; a stranger, passing through it in a sailing 
 vessel, may be glad to avail himself of the services of one who 
 knows where the rocks and shoals lie, and which way the 
 currents set. But suppose he chooses to pay for the help of a 
 tow-boat ; he does not then need the services of another pilot ; 
 the danger is so much lessened by the greater command over the 
 vessel, gained by the use of steam, that the master of the tow- 
 boat is a safe guide. But, say these people. You must still take 
 a pilot on board and pay him— for doing nothing. The pilots 
 and their friends, in fact, protest against the use of steam : they 
 might as sensibly protest against the shining of the moon. 
 
 Indeed, we wonder it has not occurred to them to protest 
 against the action of the government in blasting away the 
 obstructions which formerly made Hurl Gate so difficult a 
 passage, that we have seen a hundred vessels lying above and 
 below the strait, waiting for slack-water to slip through, because 
 
10 
 
 wlien the tide was running, tlie attempt was too dangerous. 
 Why do not the pilots sue the United States for an infringement 
 of their rights ? Every rock removed makes pilots less neces- 
 sary ; every obstruction cleared away by the government makes 
 it easier for any stranger to pass safely through the Gate. If 
 this law is right which compels vessels to take and pay for a 
 pilot, whether they have use for one or not, then the government 
 is clearly doing an act of injustice, or of supererogation, in clear- 
 ing the passage." 
 
 The foregoing statements are in no way exaggerated, and a 
 glance at them seems sufficient to meet all the pleas of men who 
 play the parasite and ask to be paid for it. In striking contrast, 
 we find the rules which govern another class of pilots — those 
 of Sandy Hook. Section 29, of Act of our Legislature, regu- 
 lating pilotage, commences with the following words : " No 
 master of a vessel under three hundred tons burden, belonging to 
 a citizen of the United States," and licensed and employed in the 
 coasting trade by way of Sandy Hook, shall be required to 
 employ a licensed pilot." Owning about thirty boats, valued at 
 not less than three hundred thousand dollars, these men render 
 such efficient service to the shipping and commercial interests as 
 to make them entitled not only to public confidence, but to 
 public gratitude. They have boats of from eighty-five to one 
 hundred and thirty-five tons each, and make voyages of hun- 
 dreds of miles distance, cruising for from one to three weeks. To 
 them, the weather is no drawback ; they are no parlor play- 
 things, but energetic, courageous men. And their courage is 
 often tested when cholera, yellow fever, or other pestilence is 
 passenger of the vessel the pilot is called to board. Taking his 
 life in his hand, he never hesitates in the good work of saving 
 ship and those who have entrusted themselves to his keeping. 
 At other times furnishing provisions to vessels whose crew or 
 passengers were in distress, and asking no other reward than the 
 consciousness of doing his duty to suffering humanity. The 
 records of Sandy Hook pilotage show as much heroism as the 
 tented field exhibits ; and the occasional wreck of a pilot boat, 
 with its entire crew frozen to death, shows how much these men 
 venture in their necessary calling. Such men appreciate their 
 
11 
 
 own wortli, and are as generous as they are daring. Too high- 
 minded to thrtist their services upon vessels where no guide is 
 necessary, they give exemption to all vessels in the coasting 
 trade up to three hundred tons burden. They know that cap- 
 tains who have sailed our coast for years, are familiar with all 
 the harbors, and they do not ask them to pay tribute where no 
 gain follows. They fully understand the result of assessing 
 unnecessary and burdensome taxes upon on.r commerce, and, 
 therefore, exact no protection against that rivalry which honest 
 competition begets. And here the sailing master of our smaller 
 crafts protests against the pecuniary distinction which the Hell 
 Gate pilots make. If a tow-boat, under the present law, convoys 
 three to six sailing vessels through Hell Gate, each of the sailing 
 vessels must have a useless Hell Gate pilot on board. Not only 
 presenting a ridiculous exhibition to all practical men, but sub- 
 jecting the sailing vessel to double fees, and for what? The 
 Hell Gate pilots return no revenue to the State ; their property 
 is subject to no assessments ; their time — it would be absurd to 
 speak of labor — freed from any embarrassment, except such as 
 attends the "gentleman of elegant leisure." When such a class 
 ask protection, the petition seems pitiful. Contrasted with the 
 Sandy Hook pilots, it will be seen how much consideration they 
 deserve at the hands of our legislators. We speak plainly, for 
 there is a vast commercial interest involved in this question. 
 Double assessment on the sailing vessels that pass through Long 
 Island Sound, will soon destroy the trade which has so long 
 poured its wealth into the lap of the Empire State. Our mer- 
 chants cannot meet double expenditures without visiting the 
 additional and useless cost upon the consumer, and thus a class 
 is petted and made rich at the expense of those who are com- 
 pelled to diminish the quantity of food required for their family 
 that this burden may be met. Is this just 1 Is it liberal 1 Is 
 it statesmanlike 1 Is it in the spirit of constitutional liberty ? 
 
 In procuring the passage of the State law, the Hell (xate Pilots 
 had in view their personal advantage alone. The protection of 
 commerce, might by indirection, be one of the incidents, but was 
 not the primary object of their legislative shield. This is seen 
 in the ignoring of Harlem Eiver, a strip of water where large 
 numbers of vessels are navigated, each requiring assistance ; and 
 the failure to enlarge the "ring" of pilots. Forty-five men 
 
12 
 
 cannot pilot 300 vessels through Hell Gate waters to the Battery, 
 provided the men are all able to do duty, in less than two or 
 three days ; and very frequently such a fleet of vessels require 
 immediate guidance through these waters. The consequence is 
 that injurious delays are made for the express purpose of fillnig 
 the pockets of these men who are in many cases, of no possible 
 use. More than this, the shipmaster who gives his craft to the 
 charge of any of these pilots, has no chance for redress, in case 
 of mismanagement, whereby he loses vessel or cargo. To levy 
 on the pilots' cockle-boat would be farcical, and to expect any 
 other compensation, would be the height of hopeful absurdity. 
 Notwithstanding the many accidents that have marked the labors 
 of these pilots, who has ever heard of one of them being censured 
 or discharged? And on this point, it is well known that when 
 pilots run the vessel aground, that they have in charge, they 
 generally abandon her or call for rescue upon those tow-boats 
 which they have attempted to place in perpetual quarantine. In 
 a portion of the waters to be navigated by Hell Gate Pilots, 
 innumerable ferry-boats ply between the cities of New- York and 
 Brooklyn ; and to avoid collisions, steam-power is almost indis- 
 pensable. This will readily be conceded by any one who has 
 ever taken a trip over the route suggested, and noted the moving 
 panorama of commerce ; and the ferry-boat pilots regard the tow- 
 boats as insurers against loss of vessels and life. To the hun- 
 dreds of passengers crossing on each of these ferry-boats, this 
 subject is of vital importance ; and the safety of millions of 
 lives should have some consideration, when weighed, against the 
 paltry dollars which the Hell Gate pilots exact for occasioning 
 the risks alluded to. 
 
 During the winter months, with ice floating through the waters 
 referred to, any attempt of the Hell Gate pilots to take vessels 
 over this route would be futile; and with the present unjust 
 law, tug^boats cannot be employed, unless the managers of each 
 boat is willing to run the risk of both fine and imprisonment. 
 Already about thirty of the tug-boat pilots have been indicted 
 for misdemeanor, and several subjected to fine and, imprisonment 
 for exercising the common right of earning a livelihood by the 
 sweat of their brow. And all this is done at the expense of the 
 mercantile and agricultural interests of the Empire State ; for 
 every impediment to commerce takes away from us a part of 
 
18 
 
 those elements of prosperity and power which tend to make New 
 York the metropolis of the Avorld. That this wrong is duly 
 appreciated, is evidenced by the appeal of more than one thou- 
 sand shipmasters, covering some two hundred thousands of ton- 
 nage, as well as a large number of the prominent mercantile 
 firms of New-York City, to the Legislature, for relief from this 
 oppressive monopoly. They ask to be allowed the privilege of 
 employing such assistance as they may deem necessary in their 
 business ; and that they may not be charged additional rates for 
 inferior service. The pilot charges $12.50 for guiding a sailing 
 vessel of a certain burden, which can be towed for from eight to ten 
 dollars by the tug-boat — a difference of nearly thirty nine per 
 cent, in favor of the latter — which is the better mode of navigating, 
 through the waters of Hell Gate. Why should the shipmasters 
 be debarred from securing the best and cheapest means in con- 
 ducting their business ? What have they done that the State 
 should make such a distinction in pvmishing them for doing what 
 is commendable in every other branch of business, mercantile or 
 agricultural 1- Why should these men be plundered for the 
 exclusive benefit of a class of persons who may have been useful 
 in the past, but whose present vocation is scarcely commendable 1 
 Legislation should be general, and no man or body of men should 
 have privileges guaranteed by special acts, which injure nearly 
 all other citizens of the State, either directly or indirectly. 
 
 That this is not stating the case beyond its bearings, is seen 
 by the way in which the violators of the Pilot Protective Law 
 are punished. The men who complain of injury to their peculiar 
 trade, are subjected to no expense in legal proceedings. They 
 are so far advanced beyond the common limits of responsibility, 
 that the people must pay while they inaugurate legal inquisitions. 
 In Queens County, the people have been subjected to immense 
 costs in these proceedings, and for what ? First, to drive com- 
 merce from the State, and next, to fill the pockets of forty five 
 men, whose days of usefulness were numbered when Fulton 
 made vessels go against wind and tide. This great wrong should 
 be remedied, otherwise every class of business will demand the 
 same kind of legislation, and the people will find the already 
 burdensome taxes doubled, to allow one class of citizens to prey 
 upon the balance. Is it not shameful, that such a system 
 is tolerated in this nineteenth century ? Do we boast of democ- 
 
14 
 
 racy, with such an aristocracy, supported even at the gates of 
 our great metropolis ? Are we to continue the stultifying spec- 
 tacle that other states may sneer at our hypocrisy ? Or are we 
 to establish a precedent, which New Jersey, Connecticut, Ehode 
 Island and Massachusetts may follow, and thus almost destroy the 
 great trade by which every citizen of the state is in somewise 
 benefited ] Surely statesmen will not shut their eyes against such 
 palpable injustice, nor wait until the house falls before they take 
 means to prevent its ruin. We need not argue at length the vital 
 importance to the farmers of our State of a repeal of the law re- 
 ferred to. They are reading, thinking men, and know the 
 penalty of prohibiting trade. They realize the penalty incident 
 to additional fees imposed upon the shipping interests. Every 
 penny paid to the carrier in excess of the necessary compensation, 
 is so much taken from the pockets of the producer ; and if in 
 addition to this continued pilfering, the farmers are compelled 
 to pay courts, officers and lawyers to protect and encourage the 
 men who thus plunder them, the Goddess of Wisdom will not 
 write her edicts upon our statute books. 
 
 We will not insult the intelligence of our legislators by 
 extended reasoning upon the facts presented. They carry with 
 them the "prayer for relief" which common justice presents; 
 and we believe it will not go unheeded. If the vast interests 
 involved in this question are considered, the future prosperity 
 and greatness of our State aimed at, and the broad catholicity of 
 Eepublican government preserved, this special and odious class 
 legislation will be expunged and enterprise encouraged. Shall 
 this not be done 1 We ask, in the name of equity and that spirit 
 of progress which should mark the legislation of a State whose 
 motto is ''Excelsior." 
 
 The Ship Ownees' Association of New-Yobk, fully 
 realizing the importance of legislation on the subject set forth 
 in the foregoing statement, have taken the following action in 
 relation thereto : 
 
 At a regular meeting of this Association, held at the rooms 
 No. 50 Pine street, on Wednesday, February 12 — Mr. Edward 
 Hincken, President, in the Chair, and Mr. Thomas S. Sandford, 
 Secretary — the following preamble and resolutions were unan- 
 
15 
 
 imously adopted, and the Secretary instructed to send a duly 
 certified copy of the same to the Chairman of the Committee on 
 Commerce and Navigation of the Senate of the State of NeAv 
 York: 
 
 Whereas, The waters of the East River and of Long Island 
 Sound are a national highway, and should be free to every 
 citizen of the United States ; and whereas, the Legislature of the 
 State of New York has imposed restrictive penalties on the 
 navigation of the said waters, which tend to diminish and destroy 
 commerce by subjecting it to a double burden ; 
 
 Resolved, That the provisions of the State law requiring 
 vessels navigating the East River, and passing through Hell 
 Gate, to pay half pilotage for the offer of services not performed, 
 is an onerous burden on commerce, unnecessary for the safety of 
 property or life, and hostile to the fundamental principles of our 
 Government. 
 
 Resolved, That the provisions of the law requiring vessels 
 passing through said waters, when in charge of a tug-boat pi'o- 
 pelled by steam, to employ a licensed Hell Gate pilot, and 
 subjecting the Captain of such tug-boat to fine and imprisonment 
 for a violation of the same, are also an oppressive burden on 
 commerce, and create an odious and expensive monopoly, as well 
 as occasioning unneccessary delay to vessels needing such steam 
 power. 
 
 Resolved, That the employment of steam-tugs for the purpose 
 of conducting vessels through the waters named, has proved not 
 only economical to ship owners, but has added to the safety of 
 the navigation. 
 
 Resolved, That the restrictions referred to are unjust and 
 oppressive, and this Association respectfully ask the Legislature 
 of the State of New-York, now in session, to repeal the same. 
 
 On motion of Mr. George M. Clearman, the Chairman was 
 further authorized to sign, in the name of the Association, any 
 general remonstrance on the same subject.