OF THE CANAL COMMISSIONERS, COMMUNICATED TO THE LEGISLATURE', PRINTED BY J. BUEL, PRINTER TO THE STATE. 1820. Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Si y\k >i r B. Durst Old York Liurary To the Legislature of the State of New- York : hi obedience to the act, entitled Ck Jn act respecting navigable communications between the great West- ern and Northern Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean" passed April \5ih, 1IU7, the Canal Commissioners most respect fully Report — - In reference to the Erie Canal, — That the middle section thereof has been so far completed, during the past season, that large boats have actually navigated it, for the distance of seventy-five miles: and nothing has hindered such navigation through >ut the residue of the sect i n, for several weeks previously to the meeting of y«.ur honorable body, hut the getting in of frost. The important fact of the accuracy of the levels, from one end to the other, of this section, has been ascer- tained, by t'se most satisfactory and infallible proof — the admission of water. And when it is rt mem. bered that the length of our Rome summit is now extended to near sixty miles, this result, so gratify- ing on every account, cannot fail to beget strong confidence in the skill, and a just praise for the care, of our engineer. Having now witnessed the completion of a great number and variety of canal c infracts, with con- stant and anxious attention to the mode of their ex- ecution, in every stage of their progress, for the purpose of obtaining all the benefits suggested by Ht I experience, we expect, hereafter, considerable irn- provi merits in the maimer of conducting our labors. For a resolute ambition of success, and the appli- cati d of vigorous industry, we cannot hope that an equal number of nu n will ever be more dist in- guisLed than those who have hitherto been employ- ed. We have found, that in removing common earth, where the depth does not exceed four or five feet, and the ground js dry, t e plough and scraper can be used to greater profit than any other means of excavation with which we are acquainted. And the banks which are constiucted with scrapeis, from feeing constantly and uniformly h ave lied over by the cattle and men, dining the time required to raise and form them, are so thoroughly compacted as to be not much in danger of injurious settling, after they are once completed. A great proportion of our work has heretofore been performed with these instruments. But as both the western and eastern sections of the canal, will pass through but little wet land, in comparison with that which is traversed by the middle, the use of them hereafter Tvill be much increased. It was determined by the canal commissioners* -when they entered on the construction of the canal, that the inside slope of the banks should be such, that a foot perpendicular rise should ^ive not less than eighteen inches horizontal base. This slope is often adopted in England ; and in earth unapt to slip, it will answer ; but in clay, in light earth, espe- cially if it contains much water, and wherever sand predominates, a greater slope is expedient, The inside slope of the banks through the middle section, is generally such as that above indicated* There are however several places where it is great- er. And it is our intention for the future, except where peculiar c ircu instances forbid, to increase the slope. For besides diminishing the danger of hav- ing the banks slide into the bottom ef the canal, by diminishing their acclivity^, it requires but little ob- servation to become convince d, thai stlcfa diminution lessens the labour of forming the banks. This is true, when the banks are formed by shovelling and wheeling, but it is eminently so when the work is done by ploughing and scraping. A slope, of a foot rise to eighteen inches ba^e, is so strep, that it is difficult to drive cattle or horses up it, with a loaded scraper behind thern: and a? the excavation approaches the bottom of the canal, the difficulty of this operation greatly increases. Indeed, where scrapers have been used, the excavation from the bottom of the canal, at the edges has been left un- finished, with the adjoining banks also unfinished and very sloping, so that much labour with spades and shovels, was afterwards necessary to take out ihe earth from the boitom, and place it in the face of the banks, at the top, in order to their comple- tion : Or, if this labour with spades and shovels was saved, ihe earth in the bottom of the canal at the edges, was ploughed up, and the scrapers, after being loaded by drawing them lengthwise of the canal on the bottom, were drawn up the banks, at places of easy ascent left in them, about ten rods apart, for the purpose, and after arriving at the top^ were drawn lengthwise of the canal, lor some dis- 6 tance, arid then unloaded on (he inner brow of the bank. This last mode of completing the excavation and giving shape lb [be hanks, has been found the most economical; hut to both model the danger of slips is equally incidental, and greater than it is where the banks are formed by wheel barrows; becuu^e, in both the loose eailh, which is required to finish the inside face of the bank at the top, is always laid upon a sloping and hard trodden suifice, with Which it will not ?pe( (lily form a solid connection. Horses and cattle can draw loaded scrapeis, w ith- out much inconvenience, up a bank of which the slope is such as to give a base of two feet to a rise of one fool: and if the face of the bank is left hard, as it will be made by being travelled on in the process of its construction with the sc raper, there will re- main no doubt of its retaining its shape with very little impression from heavy rains. This is an ad- vantage of great importance, as it respects the ex- pense of repairs and the preservation of the beauty of the canal : and the increased slope, by giving a width of surface at the top water-line four feet greater than would be afforded by the slope origi- nally adopted, w ill also add to the facility of mo- tion on the canal. Wherever the canal line crosses lands abounding in springs, or very w et from any other cause, but so situated as to admit of draining, the spade and wheel barrow 7 are indispensible utensils, in any com- mon depth of digging; and one of our contract- ors, Mr. Jeremiah Brainard of Rome,, has invented a wheel barrow which, without being moreexpen- 5 sive than those in common use, is acknowledged by all who have seen it to be greatly superior to them. Its advance s consist in its being lighter, more du- rable, and much easier to unload. Experience has convinced us, that after the grub- bing and clearing is done, it is most judicious to car- ry the excavation, wherever it is begun, as soon as may be to the bottom ; and as the work advances to complete every part of the canal. Many jobs 'on the middle section have had three fourths, and often larger portions of the digging per- formed, and the banks nearly raised, but left with the earth sloping inwards from their outer extremi- ty, after which the contractor has transferred his la- bor to other parts of the job, intending to bring the whole into a similar state, and then to finish his work by taking out the residue of the bottom, giv- ing it the proper width, and dressing off the banks* From this course of management much evil has en- sued. The excavation from the bottom, after bak- ing for months in the sun, has alwavs been found much more difficult, ti e amount of yards has been materially increased by an unnecessary wa^h fr>m the banks, the labor m ce^sary to complete the banks has been augmented and after such labor has been bestowed, there is less beauty in the whole work, and it is more liab!e to injury. These evils will all be obviated, by completing the canal with as little delay a- possible after the ground :s broken. In all cases it is essential, that care should be ta- ken to secure a sufficient < rath from every par t of ti e excavation, otherwise the most injurious inter- ruptions will be sufficed from every shower. No person without experience ran be fully aware of the disadvantages 01 laboring in wet earth, If is luurh heavier, more tenacious and more slippiy than dry, and of course harder to load, harder to remove, and harder to unload: and a r ter it is unload d into a bank, much of it will rnn down so as to require a second removal The laborers who work in i! destroy more il« thes, live more expensively, are more exposed to sickness, and require higher wages, than other labourers ; the cattle and horses sooner fail, and there is more wear and leerol every implement. Hardly any expense should be avoided, winch is necessary to provide good draining. Some of our contractors have not been duly Bgneible of f his, and have lost more or less in consequence. By opening a dram wherever the excavati n is begun, and by completing the ca- nal as the work advent 1 s, the benefits of an ample dr.un will be secured to every part of the line. But this course of proceeding will also produce other good consequences. Tbe amount of money earned by the contractors, from the time of one payment to another, may be more accurately and easily estimated. The contractor will more readily understand the exact condition of I is business, as to profit and loss, and the workmen will be better able to secure themselves agVmst frauds or insol- vency, in their employers. With the greatest care to ascertain the quality of ihe excavation in any given section of the canal, previous to its beinsj let out, it is i possible to provide against the occur- rence of unforeseen obstructions in the earth, which must be paid fur at an equitable valuation, after 9 they shall be disclosed and overcome. The prac- tice of completing tlr canal as abuvementioned, would render these variations m>re satisfactory to all parties, because the precise nature and extent of such obstructions would be more clearly perceived, and the labor laid out upon them would be more easily distinguished from other labor. Our efforts have n w bnen continued so long, have embraced so great a variety of ope? at ions, and have actually given us an excellent na\ igation, for so great a distance, that we suppose the public mind is fully satisfied of the practicability of the canals. The original estimate of the middle section, ex- tending from Utica to the Seneca river, in the ag- gregate amounted to g],021,851 The real cost of its construction has been $1,125,983 Making an excess of expenditure over the estimate of $104,132 a little more than ten per cent. This excess has been produced chiefly by the following causes : I. The width of water in the canal, in all cases of embankment, was originally intended to be only thirty feet at the surface, and the estimate was made accordingly. These embankments have, however, all been made so as to give the common width of forty feet at the surface. This alteration has very- much increased the quantity of earth in those em- bankments which required filling in at the bottom; and as all the large embankments are of this charac- ter, it has added considerably to their expense. It was not adopted without mature deliberation and a 2 JO strong conviction of its being judicious. It was found that aqm ducts, road bridges, farm bridges, and a few other unavoidable causes of contracting the width of the canal nere of such fiequent occur- rence along the line, as to make it very desirable, for the sake of presenting no unnecessary obstruc- tion to motion through the water, to pre c erve the ordinary width in all places where it w as practicable. The plan of several oi the more artificial works has been alte red, always it is believed for the bet- ter, but so as to render them more expensive. Of this chss are the following, to wit, The aqueduct over Oneida creek. This was originally calculated to be made of wood — it is constructed of solid ma- sonry. The aqueduct over the Onondaga creek lias been greatly enlarged. It is built entirely of stone. The aqueduct over Nine-mile creek was original- ly intended to consist of stone abutments and piers with a wooden trunk. It is constructed exclusively* of stone, and has been much enlarged by raising the level of the canal at that place eleven feet. At th ^ Skeneateles outlet the original estimate embraced a dam, which has since been superseded by an aqueduct of solid stone work, which is also raised eleven feet above the original level. The aqueduct across the Ovvasco creek has been much enlarged, and a wooden trunk has been displaced for stone arches. II. Waste-weirs have been constructed in various places, where it was believed no sufficient provi- sion c » Id otherwise be had to discharge the sur- plus waters with which the canal would be filled by II the spring floods: and the aggregate extent of these is about two «h usa d fe-t. III. The most prolific source of unforeseen ex- pense- has been found in hard excavation ; and this we have had in many places, and in all the varieties of hard-pan, quick-sand, breccia, marl, gypsum and limestone. When the canal line was located by the engineer, he dug or bored into the earth in several places on every mile, to the bottom of the canal, for the pur- pose of ascertaining the quality of the excavation. Upon information thus gained he represented the character of the earth to be dug through, in his sec* tional maps. And when the commissioners entered into contracts, such maps, with the representations contained in them, were the basis of the prices sti- pulated to be paid by them. But they always gave verbal assurances to the contractors, that if in the progress of the work it should turn out, that the ex^ cavation was manifestly worse than it was represent- ed to be, then they would pay for the extra diffi- culty arising from that cause, such sum as the engi- neer should deem reasonable, over and above the stipulated prices. Under such engagements large sums have been paid. 1st. For hard-pan. On many sections of the ca- nal the earth has become harder, almost in exact proportion to the depth of excavation below the surface, and often harder than the earth bored or dug through by the engineer. Such earth has been of several descriptions : in some places, a hard tena- cious clay, closely filled with numerous stones; in others, and more frequently, a compact mixture of I? 3and and loam, very hard and filled with hlue gra- y< \. Mm h of these kirn's of earth Las been found in such eondition, that the most industrious men yrere unable to excavate more than three yards in twelve hours. 2d. For quick-sind. This is a most unmanagea- ble substance, and generally dangerous win rev* r it occurs. It has subjected us to ex'ra expense on several sections, riot merely by the necessity which it always induces, of performing the excavation two or thrf e times over, but als i by compelling us, in a number of places to make defences against it of tiiuber and plunk. 3d. For breceia. Patches of this have been fre- quently found, but they have not been large, ex- cept in a f^w places. The excavation of it is gene- rally more difficult than almost any rock of secon- dai v formation, and lias cost from fifty cents to two dollars per cubic yard. The largest masses of it have been e countered in places continually wet, by ^piin^s or small streams 4lh. For marl. In Madison, Onondaga and Cay- uga counties, many miles of t .e canal are carried through beds of tnarl, which, when it is first un- covered, is hard, and in appearance, stone of a slaty structure, but which after it is broken up and removed into the banks, by exposure to the air, crumbles, fit st into small pieces, and finally ii to a fine earth ; so that no one would imagine, after it has been a short time excavated, that it ever offered any obstruction to the contractor: and vet the excavation of it has cost from thirty to seventy-five cents per cubic yard. 13 5th. For gypsum. Fome extra expense has been incut red by the excavation of gypsum, on sec- tions 27 23, 59, and 63. Gth. For limestone. This has been found in great abundance, on sections 19, 22, 23, 24, 27, 30, 31, 32, 33, 37 and 40 ; and the expense of removing it has been from thirty seven and a half cents to one dollar per cubic yard. As an the eau^e of tbe-excess of expenditure over estimate, on the middle section, may be men- tioned, .IV. The want of sleighing ]^ s t winter. We had calculated upon great adva . ages for l he delivery of s vera! kinds of materials, particularly tin ber, plank, lime, sand and stone, by si ighing. The roads lea< ing to most pi::ces wh re these articles were wanted, are usually had in ihe summer sea* son. Recently made over a rich deep soil, and rou^h with frequent causeways, it was obvious that they would be almost impassable with heavy loads on wheels. But when the earth is froze q, ancl co- vered with a corii mo n winter y the expected benefit of sleigbing for their delivery: And much tabor had '^ i* expended in quarrying stone, felling and hewing timber, sawing plank, burning lime and hiring t< ams, to make the most of thtt benefit. But there was no sleighing till the beginning of March, and when at last the snow fell, it a fib i ded us no advantag s. It came in such quan- tities as very soon to take out the host beneath it, 11 and at so lat** a period as to be exposed to rapid melting from the inline -nee of the BUT). In the coun- ties of Onondaga and Cayuga, where most of the materials were required, it lay on the ground for three or four weeks, and was used most of that time, for sleighing, hut to no profit. The teams which had been engaged, could then, very few of them, be had ; for nobody is willing, Without strong ne- cessity, to be at the troubh; and expense of Tilting out teams for a few days' service of doublful emo- lument; and spring snows are seldom durable. — Most of the time while the sleighing lasted, all the materials were covered v\ ith snow, to an inconve- nient depth — no hard snow path could be formed — and the road was, in many places, miry. In truth, but a small portion of the materials were delivered sleighing ; and if the following season had not been uncommonly dry and favourable to wheeling, it is probable that no practicable efforts could yet have effected the delivery of them. That our stone structures might be permanent, we were fully con- vinced of the great importance of using large stone in their construction. Accordingly, those which we have had delivered, a great proportion of them weigh from one to three tons a piece, and some of them much more : but the expense of loading hea- vy stones into waggons or carts, must always be greater than that of loading them into sleds. From the combined effects of these causes, the delivery of our materials has cost us much more than we could reasonably have anticipated. Yo To prepare the foundation of the locks and J5 aqueduds, has been more difficult than was ex- pected. In order to give the same depth of water over the lock-sills, which is provided £>r elsewhere, our man- ner of securing the foundation requires that the excavation shall be sunk two feet below the bottom of the canal ; and in digging for these foundations, in several cases, where the earth down to the bot- tom w r as hard gravel or clay, we have found it be- low that, and within the limits of our excavation, to be quicksand. In such cases, we have been com- pelled to fill the bottom with bearing piles. And as these bottoms are about one hundred and thirty feet long, by thirty six broad, this operation has been attended with great labour and expense. At all the places of our principal aqueducts, at the locks, and at some of the large culverts, the dif- ficulty <;f constructing and maintaining coffer dams, and of bailing out the water, in addition to that of the excavation and pile-driving, which must neces- sarily be subject to many contingencies, has ex- ceeded our calculations. VI. Fencing the canal was not included in the original estimate of the middle section ; and yet we found this indispensable to the security of the canal, and have actually completed it on both sides, for nearly the whole distance. VII. The water proof lime, which has been used, during the past season, for the most of the mason work done on the canal, has contributed to swell our disbursements beyond our original estimates. This material has been discovered in the progress of our exertions ; and it will doubtless hereafter be 16 considered as nn article of prime necessity, through- out our country, for all hydraulic masonry. Mixed with clean stticioUf Band and water, and well heat- en, it constitutes a mortar, which will soon set, and thoroughly cement any work of stone or brick, in which it is used, under water. But in the first use of it we h ve been unavoidably subjected to many expanses which henceforth need not he incurred. AVe failed repeatedly in burning, pulve rising and miling it; but many trials have now shown us the way to succeed in all these operations. And all the masons in our employ, though for some time they were loth to uae it, from an opinion which they uniformly entertained of its being rf n» value, now regard it as a discovery of the greatest impor- tance. It sets much quicker, and b* comes strong- er in the air, (ton com non lime mortar ; and under water, where common mortar w ill not set at all, it begins to set immediately, and in a few weeks ac- quires givat hardness and tenacity. It may he quar- ried with the same labor as common limestone, and is known to occur in the greatest abundance, in Madison, Onondaga, Ca\uga, Ontario and Genesee counties: its colour is a yellowish grey, before it is burnt, and burning inclines it to a buff. Jt is softer than common limestone, and when burnt, about ten per cent lighter. It will not slack, but must be pul- verized by pounding or grinding, and when reduced to powd r, its bulk is not materially increased. The quantity of sand mixed with it should be about half that of the lime in bulk. Fiom its not swel- ling, by being pulverized — from t he exp nse of grinding it, and from the greatly diminished quan- 17 lily of sand which if will bear, it will he at once per- ceived, thai its use will always be attended with great r expense than that of comm »n lime. Still it may be used, at a v> ry small proportion of the cost of any other material n>w ktiown to answer the same purpose ; and as it abounds in the vicinity of the canal, it will probably soon supply a great amount of tonnage tor transportati n, by the de- mand which will arise for it,Trom without this state. VIII. Our efforts have been much retarded, and rendered more exp nsive, in completing the middle section, by sickness. For about thirty-five miles, the canal line runs at no great distance from the Se- neca liver, which in that part of its course, except at Jack's rift, is a sluggish stream. The waters of this river flow through a region of the rankest ve- getable luxuriance, which, in the spring of the year, they overspread to the extent of many thousand acres more than they do in the fall. In common seasons, the autumn brings with it some danger to the health of the people of this region. The ex- cessive and long continued heat of the last season, subjected them to extensive and distressing sick- ness. Between the middle of July and the first of October, about one thousand men, employed on the canal, from Salina to beneca river, were disa- bled from labor by this cause. Most of these men recovered, but the houses in which they were col- lected, for near three months presented a most dis- couraging spr ctacle. And although great exertions were made to supply the place of such laborers as became diseased, by fresh hands, it was impossible to prevent some jobs from being entirely abandon- 3 18 ed for several weeks. And where labor was never wholly intermitted, it was much less efficient, and the means of it were essentially lessened. The ne- cessary effect of this was, to protract the entire ex- ecution of the work, to a much later period than it would otherwise have been extended to, and this inevitably increased the expense. Late in the sea- son there were frequent interruptions of labor, by slight falls of rain and ^now* And these interrup- tions were particulaily injurious, in reference to much of the extra service done at this period. When the days had become short, and the earth was every where covered wilh mud, no resolution or ingenuity could make the work advance rapid- ly, in proportion to the means employed. Every effort was clogged. The excavation of difficult places, which had been left incomplete, was slow and laborious. And the performance of all those little job?, that could not be omitted in bestowing, the last finish upon the works previous to their ac- tual use, was attended with tenfold difficulty. It would not be reasonable to expect, that hu- man foresight could exactly adapt the provision of materials, to all the exigencies of works so exten- sive, various and unusual, as those of which we had the charge, in the first contracts. Some deficien- cies of this kind, were experienced, which it was expensive to supply. But the material supplies have all been made, and with the exception of a little lead, with which the iron cramps in some of the stone work, remain to be secured,— the coping of the Owasco creek aqueduct — some labor re- quired upon the feeder from Butternut creek — and / 19 two small embankments on the south side of the canal, which have not heretofore been constructed, only because they were not decided to be necessa- ry, until after water was admitted into the canal, the whole of the middle section has been completed. The expense of all these operations cannot proba- bly exceed three thousand dollars, and they will not obstruct the navigation, while they are going on. The side cut out at Salina, is one mile and forty- three chains in length, and it was estimated, as is stated in our report of last winter, to cost $6000, It has been entirely completed with great fidelity and beauty, at an expense of $6044 07 ; and being ad- ded to the middle section, which is near 94 and 1-2 miles long, we have an extent of 96 miles of artifi- cial navigation, commenced and completed since the 4th of July, 1817, at an average expense, per mile, including every thing, of $11792. In a canal of such length, passing through so great a variety of soils, and over such numerous streams, which afford the only possible channels through which several considerable lakes, innumerable springs, and a very extensive land drain, will neces- sarily discharge their waters, and which are yet, from the extent of uncleared land adjacent to them, subject to great obstructions from an accumulation of float-wood, and of course, wherever these ob- structions take place, to the pressure of a heavy head of water above them, and a current of proportionate violence below, it will not be prudent to calculate upon entire exemption from injurious casualties. A breach has been effected, and is now open, in the north bank of the canal, at Oriskany, which it will 20 take a fortnight in (lie spring to repair. Other breaches may be expected, though we have spared do labor in our pow r, which We deemed nece ssary, to provide agajixst thetn. And in addition to the secmiu which I he whole line derives from the man- ner in which it is constructed and guarded, we have divided it into five sections, and assigned to each an experienced and vigilant sopei i.itcndant, whose duty it is coris antly to watch for its safe keeping, and w henever dang- r threatens it of any kind, to use his iil.rn st means to ward it off. The ( anal commissioners during the pa.»t season, have limited their dishurs* ments for all labor in the actual construction of the (anal to the middle sec. tion. But they have employed exploring parties, on both the western and eastern sections, i eiween the Seneca and G< nese< rivers, Canvass White, Esq. 88 engineer, has iiad ihe charge <>f a pai t\, which has been engaged (or s< v- ral months in 1« veiling over and surveying different routes for the canal line. Tin se labors he has performed much to our satisfac- tion, and having pr< sented a ?iew of them to a meet- ing of our b »ard, held in October last at L tit a, we thereupon decided in favor of the louie oiiginally explored between those rivers, in ti e year J8j6: and a part of this route having first been definitively located, the acting commissioners, under the autho- rity of a resolution ot the board, proceeded to enter into contracts tor the construction of the canal, through about tuen y miles thereof. That portion of the line which i* let out, exten is from the east bark of ti e Gei.es e river to the town oi i';Jm\ra, from which, to Seneca river, we hope early in the 21 approaching season, to place the whole line under contract. The zea! for engaging in this work has suffered no abatement ; many of the old contractors, and other persons of enterprise and responsibility, have entered into agreements with us ; and very ma- py respectable applications are set ungiahfied. The t^ rms o^ these new contracts a?e at least as fa- vorable to the state as any heretofore obtained : and one of them requires that the whole work shall be camph ted b\ the first of September, 1821. These contracts are dated in December last, anr«ms execution. From the Genesee river to the Seneca, at the wes'ern termination of the middle section; there is a fail of near 130 feet; ard as every part ot a canal line may be better located in d scending than in as- cending a countn,ii was deemed expedient to com- mence this operation, and ti e construction of the western section, at the Genesee river. This expe- diency was r<^d< red more obvious by the considera- tion, that the place of crossing trial stream, and the canal level there, admit of but little variation. At the meeting of the canal commissioners above alluded to, it was resolved, th it while about 63 miles of the western section should be put in the course of construction, i6 miles of the eastern section also should be placed under contract. This distance extends fiom Utica to the foot of the Little Falls of the .Mohawk river, embracing the most difficult places on that section, above the Schoharie creek. Eight miles *>f it will be made in continuation of the Rome level, which before exceeded fifty-eight miles in length! and these eight miles have been contract: 22 ed for at reasonable prices, by good men, some of whom are no.v at work upon them. Valentine Gill, Esq. has been employed as engi- neer, with the necessary assistants, to explore the country, in reference to the best establishment of the canal line, from Gannet's mill pond in Palmyra, with which the old level was connected, westerly to the Genesee river, at a point about twelve miles south of Rochester, and thence westerly to Buffalo creek. The easterly part of Mr. Gill's line has been rej( cted, if) favor of the more northerly route ; hut lie thinks that a line from Rochester may be run southwesterly, so as to intersect with his line west of the Genesee river, and from the point of intersec- tion be carried through the counties of Genesee and Niagara, to a junction with the waters of Lake Erie, south of the village of Buflalo. The great objec- tion to a southern route, through the Holland pur- chase, is, the fear of a deficiency of water to supply it, as such a route must necessarily be carried far above ti e level of Lake Erie. Mr. Gill's summit level is about 94 feet above Lake Erie ; but he is of opinion, that it may be extended more than forty miles, so as to embrace the waters of Wescoy, of Allen's, of Tonnewanta, of Ellicott's, and of Little Buffalo creeks, which he thinks, in the driest season, would furnish a copious supply. In a country so new, and of which a great part is still covered by standing timber, the interests of the canal require, that great precau- tion should be taken in the definitive establishment of the canal line. It will be proper that other ex- aminations should be prosecuted through the coun- try west of the Genesee river, previously to a final decision of the route. The maps and report of Mr* Gill are herewith presented. In discharge of that part of their duty which re- lates to the harbor of Buffalo, the canal comm ; ssion- ers employed David Thomas, of Cayuga county, to make the necessary surveys, and report to them the result. This service has been faithfully rendered, and the practicability of the construction of a har- bor there, at a moderate expense, seems to be suffi- ciently established. The report of Mr. Thomas, together with his map and estimates of expense, is herewith presented. Whether such a harbor, when ii is constructed, should be paid for out of the canal fund, if appears to us that it would be premature to determine, before the route and termination of the canal is definitively settled in that neighborhood ; and we do not consider the surveys which have yet been made, as affording all the information which is desirable in order to such settlement. At an early day of the last season, it was feared, that the amount of money subject to our order, might not be more than sufficient to complete the middle section of the Erie canal, and that part of the Champlain canal which had been commenced. Hence we determined to confine our expenditure to these parts of the canals, except as to such sums as might be requisite to fit out and pay the necessa- ry exploring parties. Such parties, the legislature bound us to provide, for the examination of Buffalo harbor and the Oswego river. And if the canals were to be continued, it was obviously necessary that a part of their routes should be fixed beyond the limits contracted for, before those limits should 24 }ye entirely completed. For, otherwise, a wholg season would have heen lost lo tlx se undertakings, in the course of whieh the public* property connect- ed with them would have been wasting, the most ex- perienced and efficient contractor would have sus- tained great loss, in tools and other prepa»ations made with a view to their continued en^ajrement on the canals, and ilwy must have betaken themselves to othei employments. These results, and others equally pernicious, would have heen inevitable. The total amount of disbursements for exploring parties last year, is £8,400; But the unlbii seen cau c es of expense Ii * retofore indicati d as unavoidably Connected with bringing all our contracts to a « lose, have greatly exceeded our exportation : and we have been compelled to anticipate £i 22,500 of the funds of the present \ ear. Our contracts upon the middle section were all to have been fully performed by the fust of October last, and as soon as they W( re performed, all the monies earned upon them became due. If these sums had not been paid, every contractor would have been ruined: and anxious as we were, from the most pressing considerations; that of safety to the canal, which incomplete, would have been much more exposed to injury from the frosts of the winter and the floods of the spring; that of economy to the contractors, who could not be expected to quit their work when they had nearly accomplished it, and af- terwards return to it at great expense, because our disbursements were likely to exceed our estimates ; and that of duty to the public, who have a paramount interest in having the canal navigable as soon as pos- 25 iible, in order that it may speedily produce profita- ble returns, we could not hesitate to incur the re- sponsibility of such anticipation. The money was borrowed at six percent interest, and on the fifth of January last, cer tificates of stock were issued by the commissioners of the canal fund, to cover it. The interest of this money, from the time of its being loaned up to the time ofissuing the stock, amounts to §1 775 03, which sum we -solicit y>ur honorable body to authorise the comptroller to place to our credit, as we have paid it for the reasons above stated. Deduct $ 122,500 with the interst on loans of the preceding and present years, from $600,000, the a- mount of the permanent legislative appropriation, and it will be seen that little more than % 100,000 wall remain applicable to the construction of the ca- nals for the ensuing season. From this sum a fur- ther deduction, which may be considerable, but of which the amount is yet unascertained, must be made for the purchase of the rights of the western inland lock navigation company, with whose works we shall so interfere at Wood creek, whenever we fill our canal, as to render such purcSiase expedient, After these deductions, we think the money re- maining subject to our control, will not be adequate to the due prosecution of the canals. We therefore recommend, that so soon as the amount of money to be paid to the western inland navigation compa- ny shall be ascertained, according to law, it shall be paid by the commissioners of the canal fund in cer- tificates of stock, to be issued by them for that pur- pose, and bearing an interest of five per cent. And we further recommend, that there be appropriated 4 to the canale, by law, for the present year, in order to supph the <\ef\c\cncy of funds occasioned by (he anticipation afoiesaid, and in addition to th» amount of stock last above mentioned, the sum of $122,500 over and above the sums now appropriated to them. As fast as the canals are rendered navigabh, they will be lianle to injuries of vaious kinds. The banks may be broken, the fences may be thrown down, the waste uates may be opened or shut im- properly, the passage may be obstructed, and all the works may be it faced, and many of them es- sentially impaired, both by carelessness and by ma- lice. We therefore recommend the passage of a law, imposing suitable p< nalties, for every injury to whieh ti cv may be exposed. The experiment^ that have been attempted at na- vigation on i ur canals, have been eniirely satisfac- tory to every witness of them. The novelty of see- ing targe boits drawn by ho.ses, upon waters aitifi- eially conduc ted — through c ultivated fields, forests and s a amps, over ravines, creeks and morasses, and from one elevation to another, by means of ample, beautiful and substantial locks, has been eminently exhilarating. The precision of the lev> Is, the soli- dity of the banks, the regularity of the curves, the symmetrv of the numerous and massive stone works, the depth of the excavati u in some places, the extent of the embankments in others, and the i npression pr duced ev» rv where along the; line, by the visible effects of immense labor, have uniformly afforded gratification mingled with surprise. 1 he e se with wl ich the canals may be approached, and the faci- lity of transportation on their waters, will recon> 2? iiiend them to immediate and extensive use. And every result hitherto ascertained experimentally, in relation to them, fully justifies the lavor with which preceding legislatures have regarded them, and exhibits the most perfect and irresistible claims to the steady and liberal patronage of your honora- ble body. In reference to the Champlain Canal — During the last season the works on the Cham- plain canal have been prosecuted with zeal and ac- tivity, by the several contractors to whom they were committed. The locks, the waste weirs, the cul- verts, and the remaining parts of th^ excavation and embankment, have been so far completed as to ren- der the canal fit for navigation. On admitting the "water in December last, it was ascertained that both levels are perfectly correct. Owing to a deficiency of funds, the canal has not been fenced; and this, it is believed, is the most ex- pensive part of the work which remains to be done. A towing path along the margin of Wood creek is lo be constructed. There are two places ih the vicinity of the village of Fort Ann, where the canal passes on the slope of a clay hill, and where the earth below the canal showed a disposition to slip after the canal was filled with water. Xh as;, v res "were immediately taken to secure those slips, but the work was arrested by the frost before it was completed, and it will be necessary to finish it as early in the spring as practicable. The bank* of the canal admit but very little water to escape through them ; and it is believed that the solidity 22 and compactness which they will have acquired ii* another season, will render them impervious to wa- ter. The supply of water on the summit level has answered the expectations which had formerly been indulged; and it is believed, that with ordinary sea- sons a feeder will Dot be wanted in many years. Although the market at the present time is unfa- Turable for the lambering business, yet from the best information which can be obtained, it is ex- pected, in case no accident should happen to the canal, that nearly half a million of boards and plank will be passed through it the ensuing season. In the report of the I8lh March, 1817, the con- struction of the canal, from the lake to the Hudson, was estimated to cost $2oO,000. This estimate was made on the supposition, that the canal should be " thirty feet wide at the surface, twenty feet at the bottom, and three feet deep ; and the locks to be seventy- five feet lonj;, and ten feet wide in the clear." Since that period, for reasons which are as- signed in the report of the 31st January, 1818, the canal commissioners dnt« rmined to enlarge the di- me nsions of th<- canal, so tnat it should be forty feet wide at the sui face, twenty-eight at ihe bottom, and four feet deep, and the locks to be ninety feet long and fourteen feet wide in the clear. This enlarge- ment of the works aided about one third to the cost of construction, and the original estimate increased by the same ratio, would be g333,000. There has been paid already, towads the con- struction of the works, $232,268 86, and on account of appraisements which were n<>t inc'u led in the ri- oinal estimates, the sum of $33,876 4^. The addi- 29 iional expense of fencing the canal and finishing all the works, will not, it is believed, exceed $25,000 or $30,000, so that this section of the canal will be constructed for $ 2 >5,00 J or $2 i0,000, a diminution from the estimate of more than twenty-eight per cent In order to prevent any unjust impression from being made by the preceding statement, as to the comparative economy with which the middle section of the Erie canal has been constructed, it ought here to be observed, that when the original estimate of the expense of opening the Champlain canal was made, there were no such data of rn'mutn calculation before the Commissioners, as were furnished on the middle section of the Erie canal. From Utica to the Seneca river, the aggregate expense was made- up of a separate valuation of the cost of every mile, that is, there was a distinc t estimate for every mile of the grubbing and clearing, of the number of cubic yards of excavation, and of embankment, with the price per yard of each, and of the bridges, culverts, aqueducts and locks, wherever they were deemed necessary. While on the Champlain canal, it was ne- cessarily otherwise from the character of the returns made by the engineer, Col. Garin. These re rns did not enable us accurately to calculate the quantity of excavation or embankment, the number ot aque- ducts, culverts, waste- weirs or bridges. DE WITT CLINTON, STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER, SAMUEL YOUNG, MYRON HOLLEY, HEiNRY SEYMOUR, Albany, IdthFeb. 1820, 1 A«ff< !