STATE OF No. 306. IN ASSEMBLY, April 11, 1840. REPORT Of the Canal Board, in answer to resolutions of the Assembly respecting the canal debts and reve- nues, and the enlargement of the Erie canal, &c. TO THE HONORABLE THE ASSEMBLY. The Canal Board has received the two following resolutions : ''In Assembly, March 7, 1840. '' Resol$)ed, That the Canal Board be requested to report to this House whether, in their opinion, any change can now be made, advan- tageously to the public interests, in the plan, dimensions or manner of execution of the work, adopted for the enlargement of the Erie canal, so as to lessen the expense of that work ; and also how long a period of time will be required to complete, most advantageously to the public interests, the enlargement of said canal ; and also what amount of tolls, at present rates, after deducting all expenses of repairs, superintendence and other charges, will in their opinion probably be received from all the navigable canals of this State, in each of the next seven years ; and also how much, in their judgment, the debt of this State can be increas- ed during the next seven years, without being obliged to resort to direct taxation or loans, to pay interest and defray the current expenses of the government ; and also at what period of time, and from what sources of revenue, the existing canal debt unprovided for, of $10,276,864, can be paid and extinguished without resorting to new loans or direct taxa- tion for that purpose." [Assembly, No. 306.] 1 2 [ASSEMBLY ^ • * *^ * ^ ^ In Assembly, March U, 1840. ^ itesolved, That the Canal Board, in addition to the matter speci- fied in the resolution of this House of the 7th inst. be required to com- municate to the Assembly their opinion of the extent to which aid may be rendered by the State to enterprises of internal improvement, by a loan of its stock, or otherwise, without impairing its resources to pro- secute the canals now in progress, and without injury to its financial arrangements." Full answers on the subject of these inquiries might embrace the whole system of internal improvement in this State, and our financial policy, in reference to its resources, present and prospective ; and might include those general and extended views which would reach to poste- rity. The resolutions themselves, however, so far as they relate to revenue and debts, refer to the next seven years only ; a period when the benefits of our internal commerce to be derived from an enlarged canal will but have commenced, and will have been scarcely felt. The three last inquiries in the first resolution seem intended to exclude con- siderations arising from the completion of the enlargement, and to con- fine the attention of the Canal Board to the present canals, in their pre- sent dimensions. Although only a partial and incomplete view of the whole subject will be obtained by such a mode of considering it, yet the Board will conform to the apparent intention of the Assembly, and in their answers to those inquiries will omit all consideration of re- sources to be derived from the completion of the enlarged canal. In the view which the Board has taken, it will be more convenient to answer the inquiries in an order somewhat different from that in which they are made, and which it is presumed will be equally satis- factory to the Assembly. The answers to all the questions depend, in a greater or less degree, upon that which shall be given to the third, relating to the amount of tolls which may be received during the next seven years ; and, indeed, until that is disposed of, many of them can not be answered at all, and none of them fully. The terms of that in- quiry are, " what amount of tolls, at present rates, after deducting all expenses of repairs, superintendence and other charges, will, in the opinion of the Board, probably be received from all the navigable ca- nals of this State, in each of the next seven years ?" It will be observed that the inquiry relates to tolls only, and excludes Tents from surplus waters, and all other income but the duties levied No. 306.] 3 upon the transportation of property and passengers. It is also confin* ed to the present rates, and therefore excludes from calculation any in- crease in the tolls upon any particular articles, which might be antici- pated by a modification of those rates. It is obvious that all estimates upon a future state of things must partake of the infirmity of all hu- man calculations. Absolute certainty, as to the future, is beyond the powers of mental ken ; and yet there are means of approximation to it, furnished in the experience of the past, which if carefully used and rigorously applied, will lead to conclusions as satisfactory as can rea- sonably be required in human affairs, and as certain as those by which prudent and sagacious men are governed in the transactions of business. To these means the Board have had recourse. They have repressed all fancy, stifled all conjecture, and have rigidly confined themselves to a cold and severe analysis of figures, and to the application of well known facts that no one can controvert. They wished to satisfy their judgments and not their feelings, and they have approached the subject in the spirit which might be supposed to actuate a timid capitalist in- quiring into the profit and security of a proposed investment. The means referred to consist of the table of moneys received and paid by the Commissioners of the Canal Fund on account of the Erie and Champlain Canal Fund, up to the 30th September, 1838." which was prepared by the former Commissioners and submitted to the Legislature on the 3d January, 1839. It is table 27 of the Assem- bly Document No. 26 of that year. The third column of that table exhibits the amount of tolls received in each year. This table is im- perfect in one particular only. It gives the amount received in 1831 for only 9 months instead of a year. This was in consequence of a change in the fiscal year at that time. In order to render it complete for the purposes of comparison, the tolls received in October, Novem- ber and December of that year have been ascertained from the books of the treasury and added to those of the 9 months. The object is not to obtain the whole amount of tolls received since the commencement of the canals, but to ascertain the amount received in each year, for the purpose of comparing it with other years ; and therefore the fact that the tolls of the three months referred to are included in the receipts of both 1831 and 1832, is of no importance. This table, thus cor- rected and completed by the addition of the receipts of the last year, as stated in the report of the Commissioners of the Canal Fund for the present year at page 7, Document No. 74, is the basis of all the esti 4 [Assembly mates of the Board ; and for that reason as well as on account of its importance, it is here presented. It should be remarked that it re- lates to tolls received on the Erie and Champlain canals only, and gives the amount, after deducting the expenses of collection, that is, the com- pensation of collectors and inspectors, and expenses of collectors' offi- ces. Table of tolls received from the Erie and Champlain canals from 1825, when they were completed, to the 30th September, 1839, after deducting all expenses of collection. 1826, $839,925 02 1827, 849,032 07 1828, 786,236 64 1829, 763,527 91 1830, 990,842 96 1831, 1,187,139 00 1832, 1,059,006 36 1833, 1,317,258 33 1834, 1,305,573 14 1835, 1,395,306 26 1836, 1,504,384 05 1837, 1,233,648 84 1838, 1,365,506 80 1839, 1,537,532 92 Up to 1831, inclusive, the tolls are given for the political year ; sub- sequently, they are given for the fiscal year, ending 30th September. The charges of superintendence are not deducted from the tolls receiv- ed, because those charges do not depend for their increase or diminu- tion upon the same causes that affect the tolls. Thus in 1836, when the tolls were $1,504,384.05, the charges of superintendence, &c. were $321,999 ; while in 1837, when the tolls were $1,233,648 only, the charge of superintendence were $376,357 ; upwards of $50,000 more than in 1836. This table, as already remarked, does not include the tolls received from the lateral canals. Those tolls are less than the amount of inte rest upon the debts for their construction, and the charges of collection, repair and superintendence. The deficiency is paid by the general fund, nominally, but really, by the revenues of the Erie and Champlain No. 306.] 5 canals, out of which $400,000 annually is paid to the treasur}^ ; g% ceeding by about Jf20,000, the whole amount of the deficiences the past year. This table, therefore, furnishes the income hitherto derived from the canals, without any addition on account of the tolls, or deduc- tion on account of the deficiencies on the lateral canals. From the materials furnished by the above table, the Board has en- deavored to extract a rule for computing the future tolls. It will be seen that it embraces a term of fourteen years, during which there have been various fluctuations in the business and currency of the country, and in which the tolls have indicated those fluctuations with unerring certainty. It is obvious that any calculation of future revenue which did not include and provide for similar changes, would be delusive. Hence, an estimate for one or two years, founded upon the receipts of the preceding year, would be unsound ; and one for such a long term as would prevent the fluctuations being felt, would be equally fallacious. It was desirable, therefore, to find a term of time, which would include the changes that should be provided for, and yet not so long as to be beyond the reach of existing causes. The term of seven years, indi Gated by the resolution of the Assembly, probably answers the purpose better than any other. Very great changes in the permanent sources of our trade, cannot be well anticipated within seven years ; while the preceding table shows that it is sufliciently long to include great fluc- tuations in the amount of that trade as affected by the general prospe- rity of the country. A table has, therefore, been constructed for peri- ods of seven yeari, founded upon the tolls received, estimating their in- crease at the rate of seven per cent in each year ; and the result of this estimate is compared with the tolls actually received in the year to which the estimate refers. For the purpose of illustrating, by example, and furnishing the opportunity to test its accuracy, the table is here given at large. In 1826, the tolls were $839,925 : in 7 years, at 7 per cent, they would be $1,251,488 In 1833, that is, in 7 years, they were $1,317,258 In 1827, the tolls were $849,032 : in 7 years they would be 1,265,058 In 1834, they were 1,305,573 Carried forward, $2,622,831 $2,516,546 6 [Assembly Brought forward, $2,622,831 $2,516,546 In 1828, the tolls were $786,236 : in 7 years they would be 1,171,492 In 1835, they were 1,395,306 In 1829, the tolls were $763,527 : in 7 years they would be 1,137,655 In 1836, they were 1,504,384 In 1830, the tolls were $990,843 : in 7 years they would be 1,476,356 In 1 837, they were 1 ,233,648 In 1831, the tolls were $1,187,139: in 7 years they would be 1 ,768,837 In 1 838, they were 1 ,365,506 In 1832, the tolls were $1,059,006 : in 7 years they would be 1,577,919 In 1839, they were 1,537,532 Total tolls received, $9,659,207 Total tolls as estimated at 7 per cent,. $9,648,805 It will be seen that there is a surprising coincidence between the es- timated revenue for any given seventh year, and the actual receipts in that year, and that the total of the actual receipts were greater than that estimated. With a view to test the principle of thus estimating for terms of years, tables have been made for terms of 5 years at 6 per cent, ten years at 7j per cent, and ten years at 8 per cent, besides the one above given, and which have been calculated in the same way. The results are shown in the following table. Opposite the year, the amount that would be received, according to the estimates, in that year, is giv- en in columns, stating the period and the rate per cent, and in the last column the amount actually received in that year is given. When the table of tolls received does not enable the calculation to be made for the given number of years, no result is carried out. No. 306.] 7 Year. For 5 years at 6 per cent. For 7 years at 7 per cent. For 10 years at 7^ per cent. For 10 years at 8 per cent. Actual amount received. 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835, 1836, 1837, 1838, 1839, $1,091,902 1 ,103,742 1,022,107 992,585 1,288,096 ] ,543,281 1,376,708 1,712,435 1,697,245 .4^1,187,139 1,059,006 1,317,258 1,305,573 1,395,306 1,504,384 1,233,648 1,365,506 1,587,532 _ 81,251,488 1,265,058 1,171,492 1,137,655 1,476,356 1,768,837 1,577,919 ^1,469,869 1,485,806 1,375,913 1,336,173 $1,511,165 1,528,257 1,415,225 1,374,349 The general comparative results are as follows : The total amount of the estimated income for the nine periods of 5 years, at 6 per cent, is « $11,828,101 The actual amount in these years was... 11,905,352 Total estim^ated income for the seven periods of 7 years, at 7 per cent, is 9,648,805 The actual amount received in the 7 specified years was 9,659,207 The total estimated income for the four periods of ten years, at 1\ per cent, is 5,667,761 The actual amount received in the 4 specified years was 5,641,068 The total estimated income in the four periods of 10 years, at 8 per cent, is 5,828,996 The actual amount received was, as before, 5,641,068 It is obvious, upon an examination of the foregoing results, that the nearest approximation to the actual income are those founded upon an estimate of seven per cent for seven years, and of seven and a half per cent for ten years. These are so nearly alike that they prove each other, and show that the rate of increase is in those proportions. It will be observed, that the greatest discrepancy between the estimated and actual income, is in 1837 and 1838, years distinguished for the depression of trade and the diminution of the tolls. The Canal Board is of opinion, that the estimate of an increase in any given term of ten years, at seven and a half per cent in each year, upon the original sum, may be safely relied on. It will be perceived that in the four periods of that term, which the returns enable us to test, the estimated increase is $26,693 more than the actual increase. 8 [Assembly Applying the same principle of estimate to the ensuing seven years, founded on the actual returns of the preceding years, the following re- sult is obtained : In 1830, the amount of tolls received was $990,843. In 1840, at an increase of 7^ per cent in each year, it would be $1,733,975 In 1831, the amount was $1,187,139. In 1841, at 7^ per cent per annum, it would be, 2,077,493 In 1832, the amount was $1,059,006. In 1842, at 7^ per cent, it would be 1,853,261 In 1833, the amount was $1,317,258. In 1843, at 7 J per cent, it would be 2,305,201 In 1834, the amount was $1,305,573. In 1844, at 7^ per cent, would be 2,284,752 In 1835, the amount was $1,395,306. In 1845, at 7 J per cent, it would be 2,441,786 In 1836, the amount was $1,504,384. In 1846, at 7 J per cent, it would be 2,632,672 $15,329,140 To enable the Assembly to judge of the estimates founded upon dif- ferent ratios of increase, the following table has been prepared, show- ing the probable amount of tolls in each of the ensuing seven years, at the different rates which hav3 been mentioned. Estimated amount of tolls in each of the next seven years, at different rates of increase, upon the amounts actually received in former years. Year when Amount at an in- Amount at an in- Amount at an in- Amount at an in- tolls will be crease of 6 per ct. crease of 7 per ct. crease of 7^ pr. ct. crease of 8 per ct. received. for 5 years. for 7 years. for 10 years. for 10 years. 1840 $1,813,898 $1,962,714 $1,733,975 $1,783,517 1841 1 ,955,697 1,945,304 2,077,493 2,136,850 1842 1,603,742 2,079,005 1,853,261 1,906,211 1843 1,775,158 2,241,532 2,305,201 2,371,064 1844 1,998,792 1,838,135 2,284,752 2,350,031 1845 2,034,604 2,441,786 2,511 ,551 1846 2,290,923 2,632,672 2,707,891 No. 306.] 9 For the reasons before given, the Board prefers the estimate founded upon an annual increase of 7^ per cent for ten years. It is a circumstance which commends this estimate to a favorable consideration, that while there is a steady increase in the whole term of seven years, it is not a regular and artificial one, but is precisely like those which have occurred, less in one year than in another ; and the proportionate increase is less than was actually realized in the same periods during the time of which we have returns. The best reflec- tions which the Board have been able to bestow on the subject, induce them to believe that sums not varying essentially from those above es- timated, upon an increase of seven and a half per cent for ten years, will be collected in each of the next seven years ; and that at all events the total amount of increase in that time, will not vary from the preced- ing estimate. Of course it will not be understood that the Board ex- pect these precise sums will be realized, but that the approximation to them will be sufficiently near to justify a general calculation. There are some general considerations calculated to confirm this belief. 1. There is an accelerated force acquired by the large amount to ^hich the tolls have already arrived ; there is a larger element of ex- pansion, and other circumstances being similar, there is every reason to anticipate a greater ratio of increase upon the $1,530,000 of present tolls, than upon the $763,527 that was collected ten years ago. Trade begets trade ; exchange of commodities will produce still greater ex- change, particularly as the commodities themselves augment. The channels of business furnished by the canals have become known, and are familiar. They are settled, and people adapt themselves and their transactions to them. The tendency of internal trade towards these channels is regular and steady, and seems independent of those causes which affect other interests. All experience has shown that the greater the facility afforded for the transportation of persons or property, the more familiar the avenues of communication become, and the more firmly and extensively the arrangements of business are established, the greater will be the increase of business done, even beyond what may be considered the natural sources of supply. 2. New channels of communication are continually opening to our great thoroughfare. Not only in our own State are these appearing in the region of country within reach of the canals in the form of roads, [Assembly, No. 306.] 2 10 [Assembly but in the Western States every new communication is made with special reference to the use of our great highway. Within the last few years, the Ohio canal, from Cleveland to Portsmouth, has been com- pleted, and we are but just beginning to feel its effects. In 1838, there arrived on that canal, at Cleveland, which is known to be the port on Lake Erie, that communicates directly with Buffalo, the entrance of our canal, 287,465 barrels of flour, and 1,229,012 bushels of wheat. Reducing the whole to flour, at 5 bushels of wheat to the barrel of flour, would make 533,261 barrels of flour. In 1839 there arrived at the same place, 264,887 barrels of flour, and 1,515,820 bushels of wheat, which being reduced into flour as before, shows 568,051 bar- rels of flour. This is more than one-half the quantity of flour deliver- ed at Troy and Albany. It is known that a large portion of the last year's crop has not come to market, which accounts for the small in- crease fiom 1838 to 1839, on the Ohio canal. Other canals are in progress in Ohio. Indiana is engaged in the prosecution of a work, second only in ex- tent and importance to our own Erie canal, which is to connect the rich valley of the Wabash with the southwestern extremity of Lake Erie, and which will open a direct communication with that lake from the most productive and populous portions of Indiana, and from an impor- tant part of Illinois. Of this work, seventy miles are completed and in operation ; and forty-four miles are in progress and will be completed by the month of June next; requiring only the sum of $100,000 for that purpose. The State of Ohio is pledged to continue the canal to Lake Erie, a distance of 90 miles within her own borders; and although her other public works are suspended or delayed, her Legislature has directed that this shall be finished at all events. Authentic informa- tion recently received by one of the Board gives confident assurance that the whole distance from La Fayette on the Wabash to Lake Erie will be completed during the present year. By the completion of this hnk in the chain, there will be established a direct communication be- tween the Erie canal and the lower portion of the valley of the Ohio. The rich products of this communication which binds together the citi- zens of Indiana, lUinois, Ohio and New-York, will be shared by them in common, and its effect must be to give a new and vigorous impulse to the increase of our trade with the west. In fact, every rail-road, ca- nal or other avenue that is opened to Lake Erie by the western States and territories is but an extension of our own canal. There are many other No. 306.] 11 facts bearing on this subject; but the Board content themselves with a general reference to this cause of increase ; barely remarking that no one acquainted with the character of the population of the great west will doubt their finding the most eifectual means to transport their sur- plus products to the inland seas by which they are surrounded. 3. An increase in the articles which constitute the freight descend- ing to tide water may be confidently expected. First, The article of coal. A rail-way has recently been finished which connects the coal mines at Blossbiu-gh in Pennsylvania with the Chemung canal, and thus opens a direct communication with the Erie canal. This coal is represented by those who have used it, as equal to the Pictou, for manufacturing and domestic purposes. It is bitu- minous, burns remarkably clear and free, and yields an intense heat. Persons interested in the mines assert that 1,000 tons can be excavated and delivered at the Chemung canal in a day. From inquiries made by the Board, it is believed that by a proper adaptation of the tolls, this coal may be brought even to tide water and compete successfully with the foreign article. At all events it can be introduced to a great extent in the manufacture of salt, and into domestic use along the whole line of the canal, and in places within a reasonable distance from it. This article has also been brought during the last year from Ohio and ex- changed fo^ salt. An enterprising individual engaged in this trade is of opinion, that by arrangements with the proper authorities of Ohio, reciprocil rates of toll may be established by us upon their coal, and by them upon our manufactured salt, which will so cheapen the transporta- tion of both, as to promote the consumption of both articles and materi- ally increase the canal revenues of each State. Second, The article of manufactured salt. There is a manifest in- crease in the quantity of this article. The returns of the last year show^ an increase over the preceding year of 9,593 tons cleared from the different offices; and although there have been fluctuations, yet there has been a steady augmentation. If fuel can be cheapened, there is little doubt that the manufacture will be augmented, so as to supply not only an extensive region at the west, and possibly it may compete with foreign salt, at tide-water. It is already successfully competing with the salt manufactured in the south- west. In the report of the Board of Pubhc Works in Ohio for the last 12 [Assembly year, some important facts appear in relation to this subject. In 1838 there was cleared at Cleveland to pass south on the canal, 63,465 bar- rels of salt, and in 1839, there was cleared at the same place 109,916 barrels ; an increase that can be accounted for only by the article being found better adapted for use than that produced nearer, and by its be- ing upon the whole cheaper. In tracing it through the returns from the different offices on the Ohio canal, it appears to be distributed very regularly along the whole line, and even at Portsmouth, where the ca- nal unites with the Ohio river, there arrived in 1839, 17,029 barrels of salt. It is evident from these facts, that our salt is destined to supply the Ohio market. How much further it will penetrate, depends upon the facilities afforded for its transportation, upon the rates of toll that may be imposed upon it, in this and other States, and upon the cheap- ness of its manufacture. The region which it now supplies, and those which it will probably supply, are increasing in population and agricul- tural improvement, and of course augmenting the demand for an article not of luxury, but of absolute necessity. Every bushel yields [a double • profit to the State : first in the duty of six cents upon the manufacture, and secondly, in the tolls upon its trainsportation. Thirdly, The articles of flour and wheat. As the western States and territories which must use our canals in conveying their produce to market, increase in population, and become exporters of their produce, the tonnage must necessarily increase. Without now pursuing this subject in its details, it will be sufficient to show the truth of the re- mark, and the justness of anticipated increase to a large amount, to refer to the instance of the State of Michigan. In consequence of the great flood of emigrants constantly pouring into that State, it became a market for the bread stuffs and other provisions of Ohio which were consumed by the new settlers. This continued until the last year, when for the first time, Michigan became an exporting State, and sent to Buffalo, wheat to a considerable amount. Thus a double ac- cession is made to our canal transportation. First, the wheat, flour, and provisions of Ohio, no longer finding a market at the west, must proceed to New-York. The annual statistical report of the Commis- sioners of the Canal Fund, communicated to the Senate during its pre- sent session, (Document No. 63,) particularly statement 8, shows 38,- 563 tons of flour arriving at Buffalo and Black-Rock, during the last year, and an inciease in the quantity over the previous year of 22,536 tons. The same cause must continue to produce the same results. Second. The new States, like Michigan, instead of being consumers, No. 306.] 13 will become exporters of their own products. As the lands are cleared^ as population increases, as additional laborers are employed in agricul- ture, these products must go on augmenting and multiplying to an ex- tent which it is impossible to calculate, and which can be limited only by the wants of a market. The eastern part of this State, the city of New-York, and above all, the New-England States furnish a market nearly as illimitable as the supply. The manufactures of the east fur- nish the equivalents of exchange for the bread stuffs of the west. The one must be fed, and the other must be clothed and provided with iron, glass, and other innumerable articles, the product of American labor. This trade to which we barely allude, and do not undertake to describe, must pass through our great thoroughfare. It appears to the Board, that it can only be necessary to ask the attention of any reflecting mind to this trade, to induce a fiim conviction, that so long as the physical wants of man remain the same, and the relative position of the east and the west continue, there must inevitably be a steady and regular increase in the tonnage of our canals, and of course in the income ; and for the reasons already given, this increase must be in a greater ratio in the ensuing seven years, than in any former period. There is one important consideration in this connexion that must not be omitted. The more distant the point at which any freight enters the Erie canal, the greater will be the tolls upon it. A ton entering at Buffalo pays more than double the amount that would be charged on it if entering at Syracuse. Of course, all the flour, provisions, and heavy freight which may be shipped from the west to Buffalo, is doubly valuable as a source of revenue, to that obtained east of the middle point of the canal. In this view of the subject, it will be seen that the increase during the last fourteen years in the revenues from tlie trade on the canals, which has been internal, and mostly confined to the pro- ducts of our own State, altogether fails as a measure of the augmenta- tion to be derived from the tolls on products from Ohio, Michigan, and other western and southwestern States. Again, the same course of remark is applicable to merchandise as- cending the canal. That which proceeds to Buffalo, of course pays a larger amount of toll than that which stops at any other point. In the proportion in which the western vStates furnish flour for the New-York market, will be their ability to procure merchandise. The tolls upon it are double those upon the descending freights ; and as it increases, the revenues from that source augment in this large proportion. 14 [Assembly There are other causes which may affect this question of increase ; but a desire to render this report as brief as possible, and to present those views only which are of a practical character, and bearing direct- ly and palpably upon the subject, induces the Board to omit the consi- deration of those causes. In reference to those which have been dis- cussed, viz. 1st, the accelerated increase in consequence of the large amount of business already done on the canals; 2d, the opening of new channels of communication with our great thoroughfare ; and 3d, an augmentation in those articles, which from their bulk and weight, and from their being transported the greatest distances, produce the largest amount of tolls, such as bread-stuffs, provisions, salt and coal, and the return merchandise for the western States, the Canal Board find every reason for believing that the estimate of the probable income for the next seven years, which they have given, will be more than reahzed. Indeed, it is their firm belief that those estimates are underrated, and that the arithmetical ratio of increase, which they have presented, is too narrow for the new, natural, and as they believe inevitable causes which will intervene, constantly accelerating the augmentation of business on the canals. The next inquiry in the resohition of the Assembly, which seems most properly to follow that already answered, is as follows : " At what period of time, and from what sources of revenue can the $10,276,864 of canal debt unprovided for, be paid and extinguished, without new loans, or direct taxation for that purpose ?" The above amount of debt is taken from the report of the Commis- sioners of the Canal Fund, at p. 33, where the whole amount outstand- ing is stated at $12,469,398 60 The sum for which provision is made, is there stated at $2,192,534 32 But from this should be deducted the amount redeemed since the close of the fiscal year, 24,975 38 . 2,167,558 94 $10,301,839 66 To which should be added the amount of the recent loan, 500,000 00 Present amount unprovided for, $10,801,839 66 No. 306.] 15 This debt becomes redeemable in the folio wmg sums, and at the fol- lowing periods : After 1st July, 1845, $2,362,535 66 do do 1846,-... 571,304 00 do do 1849, 87,000 00 do do 1850, 1,256,000 00 do do 1854, (recent loan,) 500,000 00 After 1855, 4,000,000 00 After I860, 2,025,000 00 $10,801,839 66 I'he only sources from which this debt can be paid, without new loans or direct taxation, are the revenues of the canals. The period of time at which it can be paid and extinguished, depends upon the sur- plus of those revenues over and above the present charges upon them, and- those which it is known will exist. Under existing laws, the following sums must be annually applied, from the revenues of the canals, to the following purposes : By chapter 356, of the laws of 1836, the Commissioners of the Ca- nal Fund are directed annually to loan to the treasury, $400,000 00 Out of tlys sum, the deficiencies in the revenues of the lateral canals, to pay the interest on their debt, and the expenses of repairs and superintendence, are to be paid. The interest on those debts being thus provided for, that on the loan for the enlargement of the Erie ca- nal, $4,000,000, and on the loan for the Oneida river improvement, remains to be provided for. This inte- rest amounts annually to 201,250 00 To which should be added the interest on the recent loan of $500,000, 30,000 00 Present annual charges, $631,250 00 Assuming the annual average charge for superinten- dence and repairs of the canals, not provided for, to be 500,000 00 The total animal charge on the revenues will be $1,131,250 00 16 [Assembly This estimate for superintendence and repairs, is believed to be much more than will be required. They have not in any year amounted to that sum ; and there is every reason for believing that they will hereaf- ter be less than they have been. The improved construction of the en- larged canal, with an express view to permanency, will render it less liable to injury ; and the manner in which the streams that heretofore emptied into it, are now conducted under it, will prevent its being filled up with the deposites of those streams, and will secure its banks from injury by their irregularities. The dangers anticipated from breaches, will thus be considerably obviated, while the establishment of guard- gates at convenient distances, will prevent any extensive injury ; and where the enlargement is not completed, old and decayed structures are or will be replaced by those of more durable character. There is there- fore no good ground for anticipating that so large a sum will be requir- ed hereafter to keep the canals in order. But, on the principle which has guided the Board, in all their estimates on this subject, of taking amounts that will certainly be safe, they have put down this expense at the above sum. According to the estimates before given of the amount of tolls which will be received in each of the next seven years, the total amount of the tolls received up to the 30th of September, 1846, will be $15,329,140 The amount of annual charges is estimated above at $1,- 131,250 per year ; amounting in seven years to 7,918,750 Leaving a balance of _ $7,410,390 The principal of the debt redeemable in 1845 and 1846, is 2,933,839 Leaving a balance of $4,476,551 The debt due in 1849 of $87,000, would of course be easily met by the revenues of that or the preceding year. The debt of $1,256,000, redeemable in 1850, would not amount to the surplus revenue of the year. The annual income for the then en- suing five years, even assuming that it would not be greater than that estimated for the year 1846, would be more than double the amount of debt redeemable in 1854 and 1855, which is $4,500,000; and the in- come of the intervening five years to 1860, would be three or four times the debt redeemable in that year, amounting to $2,025,000. No. 306.] 17 In answer to this inquiry, therefore, the Canal Board has no hesita- tion in expressing their opinion, that the existing canal debt unprovided for, can be paid and extinguished, without new loans or direct taxation for that purpose, from the revenues of the canals, at the respective pe- riods when the several portions of that debt become redeemable, and still leave a large surplus for other purposes. At the close of the fiscal year, 1846, in their judgment, that surplus, allowing for all contingen- ces, will not fall short of four milhons of dollars. With regard to the mode of paying the debt, its gradual extinguish- ment by the purchase of portions of stock in each of a few successive years, is preferable to the payment of a large amount in any one year. After seeing the view^s of the Canal Board in reference to the other subjects of inquiry, the Legislature will possess more materials for de- termining whether such purchase should commence previous to the time when any specific amount of debt becomes redeemable, or at, or subsequent tO; that time. The next inquiry which the Board propose to consider is the 4th, in the resolution "how much, in their judgment, the debt of this State can be increased during the next seven years, without being obliged to resort to direct taxation or loans, to pay interest and defray the current expenses of the government?" A subject of expenditure is stated in this inquiry, of which the Board has no other means of judging than such as are possessed by every member of the Legislature, viz : the current expenses of government. They are in their nature fluctuating and uncertain : the amount de- pending on the appropriations made by the Legislature. In the Comp- troller's last annual report, p. 7 and 8, the expenses of the government for the ensuing year, are estimated at $899,911 13 And the revenue at p. 7, at 479,450 00 $420,461 13 To the revenue should be added Balance of loan of §400,000 not paid the last year, see p. 21, The loan for the ensuing year, $456,021 17 $56,021 17 400,000 00 [Assembly, No. 306.] 3 18 [Assembly So that unless extraordinary appropriations are made, the means al- ready provided will defray the expenses of government. The debt which the General Fund owes to the Bank, Common School and other funds whose moneys it has used, do not form any part of current ex- penses. Should it be desired to make provision for those debts, or the ordinary debts of the treasury, it is believed that ample means will be found in the canal revenues to secure the interest on any loan that may be necessary, and to extinguish the principal. In answer to that part of the inquiry, the Board is of opinion that there can be no necessity to resort to loans or to direct taxation to defray the current expenses of the government, whether the State debt is increased or not ; and that no increase of debt will diminish the existing means to defray those ex- penses so long as the annual appropriation of $400,000 is made to the treasury. The inquiry of the Assembly, therefore, resolves itself into this : how much can the debt of the State be increased, without resorting to loans, to pay interest on such debt and on the existing amount of State stock ? In the estimate of the means of paying the debts of the State for the next seven years which have already been given, it will be recollected that the whole inter^est on the existing debt was provided for, and also the $400,000 annually to the treasury ; and that the balance of income only, after deducting all charges of superintendence, &c. was applied to the extinguishment of the principal of the debt ; and it will also be recollected that the surplus thus obtained, it was believed would amount in the next seven years to $4,476,551, after paying nearly three millions of debt which would be redeemable within that time, and all, that by the terms of the loans could be paid before 1849. This surplus, as it would be annually realized, would pay the inte- rest, at the rate of 6 per cent, on a debt of fifteen millions of dollars, incurred diuring the next seven years, as will appear from the following calculation : For 3 millions in 1840, at 6 per cent, the interest in that year would be $180,000 do in 1841, $180,000 to be added to the inte- rest of that year, 360,000 Carried forward, $540,000 No. 306.] 19 Brought forward, $540,000 For 3 millions in 1842, the like addition to the interest of that year, 540,000 For 2 milUons in 1843, $120,000 to be added to the inte- rest of that year, „ . . . 660,000 do in 1844, the like addition for interest of that year, 780,000 do in 1845, do do 900,000 The same interest for the year 1846, 900,000 $4,320,000 Or the same surplus will pay the interest, at the rate of 5 per cent, on a debt of twenty-one milhons of dollars, incurred during the next seven years, as will appear from the following calculation : For 3 millions in 1840, at 5 per cent, the interest of that year 8150,000 do in 1841, do 8150,000 to be added for that year. 300,000 do in 1842, do do do 450,000 do in 1843, do do do 600,000 do in 1844, do do do 750,000 do in 1845, do do do 900,000 do' in 1846, do do do 1,050,000 84,200,000 This mode of taking the aggregate surphis in the whole seven years, and applying it to the aggregate interest to be paid in the same time, is, in the opinion of the Board, to be more relied on, than to take the estimated income for each year and apply it to the interest of that year, because it provides for the fluctuations of each year by balancing them. It takes the years of depression and of advance, as the returns show they have heretofore been, and as they may be hereafter, and averages them. It undoubtedly may so happen, that the income of any given year, may not be equal to the average, and not adequate to pay the in- terest on the loans previously contracted, and at the same time justify a new loan to the anticipated amount. But if any reliance is to be placed on the history of the past, a depression in one or two years is sure to be followed by an advance in succeeding years ; and if any 20 [Assembly event occurs to disturb the natural and ordinary course of business, and calculated to prevent the anticipated amount of tolls, the Legislature will be 3iwaxe of such event and its consequences, and will hmit the amount of the loans for the year accordingly. It is to be observed, hov^rever, that in the above computation there are large surpluses, particularly at the beginning of the series of seven years, which, by being invested, will be in a course of accumulation, and that this accumulated amount is not taken into the account. Thus in the year 1840 the estimated income will be $1,733,975 Deduct annual chargeS; as before, 1,131,250 And the nett surplus will be 602,725 For that year the interest on 3 millions, at 6 per cent, is.. 180,000 Leaving the sum of $422,725 which being invested at 5 per cent, for 6 years, would pro- duce $566,491 Calculations have been made in the same way for each year, includ- ing 1846, from which it appears that these annual surpluses, with the proceeds of their investment at 5 per cent, after paying all charges and the interest on the debt of 15 millions, at 6 per cent, will produce, in 1846, the sum of $3,375,172; and that the same surpluses, after de- ducting all charges and the interest on 21 millions at 5 per cent, will, with the proceeds of their investment at 5 per cent, produce, in 1846, $3,753,880. Either of these sums will be nearly sufficient to pay the existing debt, which becomes redeemable in 1846 ; or, if applied to the payment of interest on new loans, they would justify such loans be- yond the amount already stated. But as these surpluses may be con- sidered contingent, the Board do not rely on them in their estimate of the amount of new loans that may safely be made within the next seven years ; and yet any view of the subject which did not include them would be incomplete, and they may fairly be referred to as con- tingent means for supplying any deficiencies in the estimated income, and thereby strengthen the confidence that may be reposed in those es- timates, which have been made independent of these surpluses. But it may be more satisfactory to see the estimated income of each year applied to the payment of the interest on the estimated debt, No. 306.] 21 which will be chargeable to that year ; and for that purpose the fol- lowing table is prepared. Estimated income founded on an increase of 7 J per cent in ten years for 1840, was , $1,733,975 The annual charge before stated, was $1,131,250 Interest on $3,000,000 at 6 per cent, 180,000 1,311,250 Surplus, $422,725 Estimated income as before, for 1841, $2,077,493 Annual charges, $1,131,250 Interest on $6,000,000, at 6 per cent, 360,000 1,491,250 Surplus, ' $586,243 Estimated income as before, for 1842, $1,853,261 Annual charges, $1,131,250 Interest on $9,000,000, at 6 per cent, 540,000 1,671,250 Surplus, 182,011 Estimated income as before, for 1843, $2,305,201 Annual charges,. $1,131,250 Interest on $ 1 1 ,000,000, at 6 per cent, 660,000 1,791,250 Surplus, $513,951 Estimated income as before, for 1844, $2,284,752 Annual charges, $1,131,250 Interest on $13,000,000, at 6 per cent, 780,000 1,911,250 Surplus, $373,502 22 [Assembly Estimated income as before, for 1845, $2,441,786 Annual charges, $1,131,250 Interest on $15,000,000, at 6 per cent, 900,000 2,031,250 Surplus, $410,536 Estimated income as before, for 1846, $2,632,672 Annual charges, $1,131,250 Interest on $1 5,000,000, as before, 900,000 2,031,250 Surplus, $601,422 A similar calculation upon a debt of twenty-one millions, at 5 per cent, incurred in the next seven years, shows the following surplus in each year above the annual charges, and the interest chargeable upon the year. In 1840, the surplus would 'be $452,725 In 1841, " " " 646,243 In 1842, " " " 272,011 In 1843, " " " 573,951 In 1844, " " " 403,502 In 1845, " " " 410,536 In 1846, " " 451,422 The irregularity of the surplus is owing to that of the income, which being calculated as before stated, upon the income of the preceding tenth year, varies with it. Upon these surpluses, after paying all charges and the interest upon the estimated debt of fifteen millions at 6 per cent, and also in the oth- er case, after paying the interest upon the estimated debt of twenty- one millions, at 5 per cent, the calculations herein before stated were made of the aggregate of their investment, at the end of 1846. The same calculation, of course, applies to this mode of determining the ability of the State to sustain a given debt, by applying the estimated in- come of each year to the interest and other charges payable in that year ; and there is the same reason to rely on the proceeds of such investment as a contingent means of supplying any deficiencies in the estimated income. No. 306.] 23 It may be shown that without any increase whatever in the tolls of the next two years, over the amount received during the last year, they will be sufficient to pay the interest of a debt of three millions, at 6 per cent, contracted in each of those years. The revenues of the last year, after deducting expenses of collection, were $1,537,532 The annual charges, $1,131,250 Interest on three millions, 180,000 1,311,250 Surplus, $226,282 Supposing the revenues for 1841 to be the same, $1,537,532 The annual charges, $1,131,250 Interest on six millions, ...„ 360,000 1,491,250 Surplus, $46,282 This view is presented for the purpose of evincing the entire safety of an estimate of three millions a year for the next five years, or of fif- teen millions within the next seven years, even at 6 per cent interest. But we trust that the certainty of an increase, at least corresponding with that which has uniformly prevailed since the completion of the ca- nals, has been shown to the satisfaction of every reasonable inquirer. That increase, founded upon a strict arithmetical proportion, in which no allowance is made for new causes of augmentaiion, has been shown to be adequate to the payment of all charges, and of the interest upon a debt of fifteen millions at 6 per cent, or twenty-one millions at 5 per cent, incurred during the next seven years, and yet to leave large sur- pluses, which, if invested, would reduce the existing debt to a large amount. In addition to all this, causes have been pointed out which must produce an augmentation of our canal revenues, much beyond the arithmetical proportion of former years. In the spirit in which this whole inquiry has been conducted, with a rigid determination to be go- verned only by facts, and constantly making large and liberal estimates of charges upon the revenues, the Canal Board has been unable to dis- cover any ground for doubting the correctness of the results above ex- hibited. In every view, therefore, which they are able to take of the subject, in their deliberate judgment, the debt of this State can be in- creased fifteen millions of dollars, at an interest of six per cent, during 24 [Assembly the next seven years, or twenty-one millions, at an interest of five per cent, without being obliged to resort to direct taxation, or to loans to pay interest, and defray the current expenses of government ; and they add, that there cannot, in their opinion, be a doubt that the revenues of the canals, during the intervening time between the making of such loans and the period of their redemption, if such time be the usual one of fifteen to twenty years, will be abundantly adequate to extinguish the principal. As the terms of the resolution do not require the reasons for this opinion, the Board abstain from giving them any further than by the remark, that they may easily be found by applying a principle of increase upon future income, similar to that which they have adopted in relation to the past. It is proper to remark that the present condition of the money market in Europe, justifies the behef that loans can be obtained to a reasonable amount at 5 per cent interest, by any State which can satisfy capitahsts that it has a steady income, independent of taxation, more than suffi- cient to pay interest on any sum it may borrow, and to extinguish the principal when it becomes redeemable ; and which also evinces its re- gard to public faith and justice, by appropriating such income to those purposes. A discrimination between the various American securities is made in England ; and while the stocks of States possessing no in- come, or one quite inadequate, are received with distrust, those of a different character will command confidence. It is believed that igno- rance of the resources of this State, or an incapacity to appreciate them, can alone prevent free investment in our stocks. As that ignorance is dispelled, the money which is constantly seeking permanent security, will demand our stocks, especially in the absence of any issued by the United States. For these and various reasons which might be suggest- ed, it is believed that 5 per cent stocks of this State can be negotiated soon at par, or nearly so. The Board has confined itself to the questions put, and has not, therefore, made any deduction from the revenue, to be applied to the enlargement of the Erie canal, or any other public works. It is very certain that the revenues from the canals will not alone be sufficient to continue the enlargement, and that a resort to loans to some extent will be indispensable. To exhaust all the income for that purpose, and re- serve none of it for the payment of interest on new debts, would pro- crastinate that work, and continue the embarrassments which it occa- sions to the navigation of the Erie canal, to an indefinite extent, and No. 306.] 25 thus postpone the period when its benefits, particularly in the augmen- tation of tolls, will be realized. Past experience has shown that it is the better economy to complete our public works as promptly as may be consistent with careful supervision and a due regard to the demand for laborers, and thus enjoy their revenues at the earliest period. For if these revenues exceed the interest on any debt contracted for the works that produce them, the sooner the surplus is realized the greater will be the ability to discharge those debts. The improvement would thus be made to pay for itself. In this view, funds which would be in- sufficient to complete any work, within a given time, if applied directly to it, would be more than adequate to sustain a loan which would finish such work, and enable it at the earliest period to commence the repay- ment of the cost of its construction. It is upon this principle that our canals have been constructed, and experience has justified its wisdom ; and if in the present condition of the public works, in reference to the system of internal improvement as a whole, and the just claims of dif- ferent portions of the State, the Legislature should determine that the sums to be expended on the enlargement, or any other public work, should be limited by the amount of loans authorized for such work, then the surplus of the income, after paying the present claims on it, and the interest of such loans, might be applied as a sinking fund, or in the gradual purchase and extinguishment of the existing stocks, before any large anfount should accumulate. The amount has already been stated, to which loans may safely be made during the next seven years, without a resort to direct taxation or to new loans to pay the interest; and it has been shown that a large surplus will exist, particularly in the earlier years of the series, which may be invested in some form. If di- rections were given to apply this surplus, whatever it might be, or a portion of it, to the purchase of outstanding stocks, its effects upon the credit of the State would be most beneficial ; while it would relieve the community from the consequences of drawing from banks or any other depository or borrower, a large amount at one time for the payment of such stocks. Another portion of it might be applied to the prosecution of the enlargement, or any other public work. Intimately connected with that part of the subject just discussed, is the inquiry contained in the supplemental resolution of the Assembly, as to the " extent tc which aid may be rendered by the State to enter- prises of internal improvement, by a loan of its stock or otherwise, [Assembly, No. 306.] 4 26 [Assembly without impairing its resources to prosecute the canals now in progress, and without injury to its financial arrangements." The enterprises of internal improvement referred to, must be, 1st, those undertaken by corporate companies ; and 2d, those which the State may be called on to execute. With regard to the first class, it is presumed that the aid of the State, by a loan of its stock, would not be asked or granted, without the reasonable expectation that the prin- cipal and interest of the stock would be faithfully paid by the company to which such aid should be extended. The only limitation to aid of this description would be prescribed by a regard to the amount of State stock which would be sent into the market during any year. It should not be permitted to exceed the natural demand, but should rather fall under it. So much depends on the state of the money market in Eu- rope, and that is so fluctuating, that no very accurate calculations can be made. The recent advices from England indicate great improve- ment in the quantity of money seeking investment, and in the rate of interest. Assuming that the direct loans of the State for the year will not exceed three or four millions of dollars, it is believed that the loan of its certificates of stock might be made to the amount of another million, without endangering the public credit or glutting the market. But in the opinion of this Board it is of the last importance that the time of selling such stock, the manner of such sale, and the price, should be regulated by the Commissioners of the Canal Fund, in order to prevent direct and vexatious interference with the loans which the State may make. With respect to loans of stock to companies which are not expected to pay the interest or the whole of the principal, they would amount to a direct debt, and may be be considered with the second class of enter- prises ; so subscriptions to the stock of any company would be abso- lute advances, and should be in the same class. The aid which the State may safely render in these cases, and in those where it is called upon to execute the work, depends upon the estimates of the probable amount of revenue in the next seven years, and upon the amount of prior claims upon such revenue. The Board is not aware of any ap- plication to the Legislature, now pending, to undertake the execution of any new work, except that of a rail-road between Ogdensburgh and Lake Champlain. The comparatively small sum which may be neces- sary to commence the preparations for that work, and which could be No. 306.] 27 judiciously expended the present year, would not be felt in the amount of loans which the pubhc exigencies seem to require. Having arrived at the above conclusions as to the financial condition of the State, for the ensuing seven years, the Canal Board will proceed to answer the question propounded to them by the Assembly which requires them to state, " whether, in their opinion, any change can be made, advantageously to the public interests, in the plan, dimensions or manner of execution of the work, adopted for the enlargement of the Erie canal, so as to lessen the expense of that work ; and also how long a period of time will be required to complete, most advantageously to the public interests, the enlargement of said canal." The object of enlarging the Erie canal is to remedy those defects in its present construction with which all are familiar who are connected in any manner with its trade or navigation. These defects have been so frequently explained in official communications to the Legislature, that it is not deemed necessary at this time to specify them in detail. Briefly they may be stated as follows : the canal has not sufficient width ; it is unnecessarily crooked ; and it is too shallow ; its struc- tures are feeble, and too small, and it is not well supplied with water. The present width of the canal is 40 feet on the surface, and 28 on the bottom, not permitting more than two boats to lie abreast ; and the locks, which ^re 15 feet wide and 90 feet long, are too wide in propor- tion to the width of the canal. The enlarged canal will be 70 feet wide on the surface, and 42 on the bottom, with double locks 18 feet wide, and 110 feet long. The original depth of the present canal was 4 feet ; but being left exposed on one side to the wash of the adjacent country, it has become obstructed by bars, and for several years has been gradu- ally filling with alluvial deposites, so that there is now but little more than 3 feet available for the purposes of navigation. The depth of the enlarged canal will be 7 feet ; and that depth will hereafter be fully maintained by securing the trench from alluvial deposites, by conduct- ing the rivulets and larger streams now discharging their sediment into the canal, through culverts passing under the bottom. The numerous cur- vatures m the present canal occasioned by unnecessarily adhering in its original construction to the hill side, will be materially diminished, and the line straightened, so that its total length will be lessened nearly ten miles. Double locks will be constructed throughout the line, thereby doubling the facilities for passing boats. The number of lift-locks, now 82, will be reduced to 74, by consolidating some of the lifts and dis- 28 [Assembly tributing anew the levels, by which they will be rendered much more commodious. The summit at Jordan, 11 J miles long, will be reduced to the grade of the levels on each side ; thus uniting three levels in one. The number of biidges will be diminished' nearly one-third. The locks and aqueducts, many of which were imperfectly constructed, and have become dilapidated, are to be rebuilt in a very durable manner, and sufficient strength and compactness will be given to the masonry to enable it to withstand the constant and heavy concussion to which it will be subject. The width of the aqueducts, now affording room only for the passage of a single boat, is to be doubled. The embankments are to be thoroughly and carefully constructed, and generally faced with walling, and their breadth is to be increased 2 feet. Guard-gates are to be introduced at short intervals to prevent the injury which brea- ches might otherwise occasion. A more ample supply of water on the western division, from Lake Erie to the Seneca river, a distance of 149 miles, is to be secured, by giving to the level between Lockport and Rochester an increase both of width and declivity ; and the channel through the mountain ridge at Lockport, now but 30 feet wide, is to be increased to 62 feet, wHh vertical sides. This arrangement will render it unnecessary longer to divert the waters of the Genesee river from the mills at Rochester, which has occasioned great injury to the manufacturing interests of that city, and a consequent loss of revenue to the canal. Capacious feeders, from the Black river and other sources, are to be constructed, which will insure a constant and steady supply of water on the middle division of the canal, where the navigation for want of such supply has been frequently embarrassed. Upon the channel thus enlarged, boats may be employed of at least three times the burthen of those now navigating the canal ; so that in lieu of a cargo of 40 or 50 tons, they will carry from 100 to 150 tons. Indeed, it is believed that their burthen may be increased even beyond that amount. The coal barges now navigating the Delaware and Raritan canal, the cliannel of which is 7 feet deep and 75 feet wide, carry from 180 to 200 tons ; and are of sufficient size and strength to be towed with safety across the open bay between New-Brunswick and New-York. The enlargement of the Erie canal must therefore operate to concentrate its tonnage in one-third only of the number of boats which are now required ; and as a necessary consequence, the total distance travelled by boats will be reduced two-thirds. The amount of saving which will ensue from this cause, will be appreciated by re- ferring to the commercial statistics of the canal. Upwards of 3,700 No. 306.] 29 boats are now registered in the Comptroller's office ; of which at least 2,500 are in active movement, during considerable portions of the year, employing a force of nearly ten thousand men, with a proportionate number of horses. The distance travelled by the boats in the year 1839, as sliown by the tables, was 4,778,850 miles. The concentra- tion of the tonnage in one-third of the present number of boats will therefore save an amount of movement equivalent to the traction annu- ally of a single boat 3,185,900 miles, and will effect an annual reduc- tion in human labor equivalent to that of at least 5,000 men ; and this large gain, which is calculated upon the present amount of our inter- nal trade, will be continually progressive, keeping pace with the future expansion of that trade. The large numbers of boats which in busy seasons now crowd the canal, produce vexatious and injurious delays, which are sensibly felt by all who are engaged in its trade or navigation. In every voyage between Albany and Buffalo, a large portion of time is necessarily lost in passing through the masses which congregate upon the eastern division between Utica and the Hudson River ; while in case of accident to the canal itself, the rapid and almost instant accumulation of boats which takes place, frequently several miles in extent, renders the channel impassable for a long time after the ori- ginal cause of interruption is removed. On the 11th day of May, 1835, the Legislature, in view of these defects and embarrassments, and of the increasing commerce of the State, passed a law directing the Canal Commissioners to enlarge the dimensions of the canal to such size as should be determined by the Canal Board. The dimensions were accordingly fixed, soon after the passage of the law, at 6 feet deep and 60 feet wide ; but after further and fuller examination, the Board reviewed its decision, and fixed the dimensions upon the present plan of 7 feet deep, and 70 feet wide. The plan thus prescribed by the Board has already been executed to a considerable extent. Contracts have been made for portions of the work estimated at ^1 1 ,454,903, under which pajanents have been made up to the 1st of April, 1840, to the amount of $5,600,067.51. The total cost of the work was estimated by the late Canal Commis- sioners, in their report to the Assembly, on the 30th March, 1839, [Assembly Documents of 1839, No, 339,] at $23,402,863.02. The Board are aware that apprehensions have been entertained that this es- timate may prove inadequate. While it must be admitted that large 30 [Assembly allowances should always be made for contingencies in an enterprise so extensive, arising from circumstances which cannot be fully foreseen or provided for, yet the evidence thus far, growing out of the actual construction of the work, and that too in its most difficult divisions, in- duces the Board to believe that the result will not vary materially from the estimate above stated. Assuming this estimate, then, as a basis, the following particulars in respect to the work, will furnish a view of its different parts. The ordinary channel of the canal, called the '''section ivork," will cost $11,270,771 67 The damages for land and buildings taken, 804,844 60 The mechanical structures," so call- ed consist of Locks, which are estimated at $4,981,586 83 Aqueducts, " " 2,022,706 78 Bridges, " " 1,266,653 00 Culverts, " " 841,677 95 Feeders, (including that from the Black river,) bulkheads, guard-gates, waste-weirs and weigh-locks, . . 702,572 12 9,815,196 68 $21,890,812 95 To this sum is added for contingencies, superinten- dence and engineering, 1,512,050 07 $23,402,863 02 Geographically divided, the work will cost : The eastern division, 108 miles, (by the new line,) from Albany to Utica, ...$10,132,254 11 or $93,817 per mile. The middle division, 96 miles, from Utica to the Seneca river, at Montezuma, 4,159,314 83 or $43,326 per mile. The western division, 159 miles, from Montezuma to Buffalo, . . 9,1 1 1 ,293 56 or $57,423 per mile. $23,402,863 02 or $64,910 per mile. No. 306.] 31 The remarkable disproportion which is exhibited between the cost per mile of the eastern division and that of the residue of the route, is owing to the fact, that a large proportion of the locks and other expen- sive structures are embraced within that division. Of the 74 pairs of lift-locks, from Albany to Buffalo, 46 are included in the 108 miles between Albany and Utica ; while there are but 7 between Utica and Montezimia, and 21 between Montezuma and Buffalo. Of the 4 large aqueducts, to wit, the two across the Mohawk river, the one across Schoharie creek, and that across the Genesee river, the three first are embraced in the eastern division. The cost of the ordinary running line of the canal or " section work," is divided geographically : The eastern division, 108 miles, $3,583,171 or $31,177 per mile middle " 96 2,157,835 or 22,477 " western 159 5,529,864 or 34,778 The greatest physical obstacle which the canal encounters, is in wi- dening the channel through the mountain ridge at Lockport ; at which point there is an expensive excavation in lock 2 J miles long, the cost of which will be $672,635. The expense of the enlargement is increased, to a certain extent, by the necessity of doing a portion of the excavation during the winter and early spring, while the navigation is suspended. The difficulties which arise from this cause, appear, however, to have been much ex- aggerated in the public mind. The portion of work necessary to be done during the winter months, embraces not more than one-fourth of the section work, and a part of the work upon the culverts and waste- weirs, and its expense amounts, in the aggregate, to not more than $3,000,000. It is stated by the engineers that one half of this sum might be sav- ed, if it were practicable to do the work in the summer : but as the amount thereby saved would not exceed $1,500,000, in the judgment of the Board, it would be wholly inexpedient to suspend the navigation of the canal for that purpose. Such a change " in the manner of exe- cuting the work," though it might lessen its expense to the amount above specified, would be in the highest degree detrimental to the agri- cultural, commercial and fiscal interests of the State. 32 [Assembly In respect to the order in which the different portions of the enlarge- ment are to be executed, the Board would state that the pohcy hitherto has been : 1st. To expedite the completion of the division from Albany to Uti- ca, upon which the line is subdivided, by numerous locks, into short and inconvenient levels, and where the gieatest embarrassments are experienced in the navigation. 2d. To rebuild, upon the enlarged plan, such of the structures on other parts of the line as are decaying and require to be replaced. 3d. To commence in season such other work as would be likely, from its magnitude or peculiar situation, to require the longest time in its execution ; and, 4th. To complete the line, without delay, through cities and princi- pal towns, and before the increase of buildings and the augmented value of land should enhance the amount to be paid for damages. Pursuing this policy, the following sections of the line of the canal have been put under contract : On the Eastern Division. 73 of the 108 miles between Albany and Utica. On the Middle Division, 2 miles through Rome, 2 do Syracuse, 11 J miles at Jordan. On the Western Division, 2\ miles through the mountain ridge, and 1 mile at the foot of the locks at Lockport. There have also been put under contract. On the Eastern Division. 36 double and 9 single locks, all the important aqueducts, and most of the smaller, structures. On the Middle Division. 3 double locks between Utica and Syracuse, and the 3 aqueducts across the Onondaga, Oneida and Nine-Mile creeks. No. 306.J 33 On the Western Division, 1 double and 4 single locks between Montezuma and Rochester, 5 double combined locks at Lockport, and the aqueduct across the Genesee river at Rochester. The cost of the work thus put under contract is geographically distributed as follows : On the Eastern division, $8,116,339 00 do Middle do 1,430,310 90 do Western do 1,908,253 10 $11,454,903 00 and every part of the work is embraced where any particular difficul- ty or delay in its execution is to be apprehended, comprehending, in the aggregate, 92 miles of canal, (including the excavation of the mountain ridge at Lockport,) all the important aqueducts, upwards of two-thirds of all the locks, and many of the minor structures. The residue of the work yet to be put under contract consists, in the aggregate, of 24 locks, viz. 9 between Albany and Utica, and 15 between Syracuse and Rochester, some of the minor mechanical struc- tures, and 269 running miles of sections, the length of which will, however, b6 considerably reduced by lessening the curvatures. The work on these sections of 269 miles is generally hght ; so that if it should become desirable, the whole might be completed within a peri- od of three or four years at farthest after it should be put under con- tract. Of the portion of 269 miles last mentioned, 35 miles are on the Eastern division, in detached sections, between Albany and Utica. Their estimated cost is $1,270,537 And that of the residue of the structures yet to be put under contract on that division is estimated at 839,526 Making a total of $2, 1 1 0,063 required in addition to the work now under contract on that division, and yet unfinished, to render the enlargement available from Alban}'- to Utica. The total amount of work now under contract on the whole line, as is above stated, is $11,454,903 On which there ha^ been paid 5,600,067 Leaving to be paid on existing contracts, (Carried for'd,) $5,854,836 [Assembly, No. 306.] 6 34 [Assembly Brought forward, $5,854,836 If to this be added the sum required, as above, to render the enlargement available to Utica, 2,1 10,063 It exhibits a total of $7,964,899 To complete the vv^ork on the Middle division, and thus extend the enlargement from Utica to Montezuma, will require, in addition, 2,729,004 $10,693,903 As to the time necessary, " in order to complete most advantageous- ly the enlargement," the Board would refer to the facts thus presented ; from which it will appear that in order to complete all the contracts now existing, an expenditure of $5,854,836 will be requisite. Stating this sum in round numbers at six millions, it may be expended at the rate of three millions annually for two years, or of two milHons annually for three years. If to that amount be added the sum requisite, in order to put under contract, and complete the residue of the work east of Utica, being as above stated, $2,110,063, or in round numbers two milhons, it will increase the sum to be expended to eight millions ; and that amount may be expended at the rate of four milhons annually for two years, or of $2,666,666 annually for three years ; or it may be une- qually divided, by expending three millions annually for the two first years, and two millions for the year succeeding. To extend the en- largement westward from Utica, and render available the whole line from that point to Montezuma, will require a further expenditure of $2,- 729,004, or in round numbers, three millions. But as the work on that division is light, and will not require for its completion more than a year or two after it shall be put under contract, it may be deferred until the completion of the line to Utica ; after which it will require an expendi- ture of a million and a half annually for two years. It is thus shown, that the completion of the work to Montezuma, will cost $10,693,903, including payment for work now in progress, and that it may be easily completed within the next five years. The division west of Montezu- ma, will require $7,203,040 in addition to the work now under contract, and may be finished within two or three years after completing the en- largement east of Montezuma. The contracts for work on that divi- sion already entered into, amount to $1,908,253, and will be executed within the next two or three years, embracing all the points of difiicul- No. 306.] 35 ty on that part of the line, which will facilitate the completion of the whole at an earlier period than that before indicated, if the resources of the State should be equal to the estimates already submitted. In truth, no physical obstacles exist, to prevent the execution of the whole of the work from the Hudson to Lake Erie within three or four years from this time. That it would be advantageous to complete it as soon as possible, is evident. But the rate of progress must, after all, depend on the resomxes of the State ; and the Legislature will be able to de- termine in each year the amount of work that can be judiciously under- taken, in reference to the means of the State as they shall then appear. It is not in the power of the Canal Board to give a ;more definite an- swer to that part of the inquiry which relates to the time in which the work can be completed most advantageously to the public interests. In respect to the inquiry whether any change can now be made ad- vantageously to the public interests in the manner of the execution of the work ;" so far as that inquiry relates merely to the style or mode of constructing the canal and its appurtenances, the Board would an- swer, generally, in respect to that part of the work now under con- tract and not yet actually executed, amounting to $5,854,836 : that experience on our public works has uniformly shown it to be vex a tious, embarrassing and difficult, to vary the details of existing con tracts, and especially after much progress has been made in their performance. The difficulties arising from the claims of contractors for damages for variations of the plan, are also much increased in the case of contracts for masonry, where subordinate agreements are usually entered into for the preparation and workmanship of the stone in all its stages, from the original quarry to its final position in the structure for which it is designed. In respect, however, to so much of the work now under contract as is comprised under the head of " section work," denoting thereby the excavation, embankment and lining of the ordinary channel of the canal, the Board are unhesitatingly of opinion that no change in the plan of its execution can now be made, or could ever have been made with advantage to the public. The volume of water to be sustained in the prism of the enlarged canal, requires that the banks which support it should be thoroughly and faithfully formed and carefully protected ; and the Board know of no- thing in the specifications accompanying the contracts for that por- tion of the work wliich can safely be dispensed with. 36 [Assembly With regard to the locks, aqueducts and bridges, the Board would state, that the masonry of all the s tructures which are now under con- tract, is in rapid progress. Some of the locks are in fact completed ; others nearly so ; and there is not, probably, a single instance in which the stone is not already quarried, and more or less conformed either in size or workmanship to the existing specifications. The aqueduct at Rochester, the most massive and costly structure on the canal, is now nearly completed ; and needs only its parapet walls for which the stone is already cut. That across the Onondaga creek is also finished. Upon the three large aqueducts on the eastern divi- sion, the aggregate cost of which is estimated at $704,565, work has already been done to the amount of $336,720. Upon the locks be- tween Albany and Utica, estimated at $3,187,649, work has been done to the amount of $1,777,429. From the proportions between the sums thus paid and the total estimated cost, it will be evident to all who are conversant with this description of business, that the masonry for these structures must now be so far advanced as to render it difficult, if not impracticable, at this time, to change the plan so as to effect any mate- rial diminution of expense. With regard, however, to the structures hereafter to be put under contract, the Board are of opinion that a cheaper style of masonry may be advantageously adopted. By permitting joints less close; by adopt- ing a coaiser style of face work, and a rougher class of masonry for bridges and culverts ; by admitting stone with greater inequalities of surface and less exact in the regularity of its form ; and by allowing a greater proportion of undressed backing in the lock walls, a considerable reduction of expense may undoubtedly be effected. Nevertheless, the Board are deeply impressed with the importance of rendering the struc- tures connected with the enlarged canal as permanent as may be rea- sonably practicable ; and no change should be allowed Avhich would materially impair their strength or durability. The time, however, which will probably elapse before putting any further portions of the masonry under contract, will afford sufficient opportunity to settle care- fully upon that mode of construction which will best promote the pub- lic interests. The great question, however, still remains : Can any change be ad- vantageously made in the dimensions of the present plan of enlarging the canal which will lessen the expense ? There can be but little doubt. No. 306.] 37 that by merely doubling the locks of the present canal as far west as Utica, and without enlarging its channel at all, the pressure of boats on the eastern division, now experienced, might, for a time at least, have been obviated. But the plan of the enlargement has broader and more enduring objects. It seeks what the present canal originally sought, to cheapen transportation, to lessen the labor of exchanging commodi- ties, to place the producer by the side of the consumer, and thereby to foster, preserve and increase the trade and consequent prosperity of the commonwealth. Will then the enlargement attain these objects ? and will the benefits be equivalent to the cost? For if it should appear that the money to be expended in enlarging the canal, can be in no way adequately remunerated, then it would be clear that a " change in the plan and dimensions " might be made advantageously to the public, by at once abandoning the undertaking. But on the other hand, if it shall appear, upon a careful examination of the present operations of the ca- nal, and their probable increase, that the public will be directly bene- fited by the enlargement, in a pecuniary point of view, to an amount equivalent to the cost, then the work ought to be firmly and steadily prosecuted. It becomes necessary then to ascertain, as precisely as may be, the extent and value of the trade now tributary to the canal, its different soiurces, and their probable increase. By ascertaining the results which the Enlargement will produce upon the several branches of our canal traffic, we shall be enabled to arrive at a satisfactory estimate of the whole. And in the first place, as to the saving in the cost of transportation, to be produced by the proposed increase in the dimensions of the canal, the Board would observe, that the question is somewhat complicated, involving details both practical and scientific. To deduce a precise mathematical result from such premises, is obviously impracticable. The opinions of experienced navigators concur, however, with the cal- culations of the engineers, that a saving must ensue of at least one-half of the whole of the present cost of transportation, exclusive of tolls. The actual cost of transporting a ton on the present canal, including every species of expense, except tolls to the State, is, on the average, nine mills per mile. The expense on other canals of similar size, is stated at about the same amount. On the other hand, it is ascertained, that on the Delaware and Raiitan canal, which has the same depth and only five feet more width than the enlarged Erie canal, the cost of 38 [Assembly transporting a ton is less than 4 mills per mile. The circumstance, too, can hardly fail to excite attention, that while the cost of drawing a loaded barge of 200 tons through that canal 43 miles, is but $14., the expense of towing the same barge by steam upon the navigable waters, from New-Brunswick to^ New-York, a distance of 40 miles, is $25. In truth the facilities which are presented by a deep and wide canal for economical traction, do not appear to be fully appreciated. After the most careful examination which the Board have been enabled to bestow upon this point, they have thought it safe to assume 5 mills, or half a cent, as the amount per ton per mile, that will be saved in transporta- tion by enlarging the Erie canal upon the present plan. Proceeding, then, with this rule as our guide to ascertain the aggre- gate amount of saving, it is necessary to find the amount of tons on the Erie canal, and the number of miles they are moved. The annual statistical tables of the commerce of that canal, furnish the amount of tons moving. By combining that amount of tonnage with the amount of tolls and their rate, we ascertain the distance moved with entire cer- tainty. A table has been accordingly prepared, exhibiting the results of this process, which is hereto subjoined. Those results are not only pertinent, and indeed essential to the pre- sent inquiry ; but they will also be found useful in the information which they convey of the extent and activity of each of the branches of our internal traffic, and in the facilities which they afford for estimating aright the comparative value and importance, and probable increase of each of its component parts. Without incumbering the present communication with all the minute and laborious details of this analysis, it may suffice to state broadly the general result ; that the tonnage proper, denoting thereby the tons shipped and moved upon the Erie canal, was 848,007 tons, exclusive of the contributions from the lateral canals hereafter mentioned ; and that the total average movement of that tonnage was 154 miles. The saving of half a cent per ton per mile being, for this distance, 77 cents ; that sum multiplied by 848,007, the number of tons, gives the re- sult, $652,965 as the aggregate amount which would be annually saved Carried forward, $652,965 No. 306.] 39^ Brought forward, $652,965 in the transportation of an amount of tonnage equal only to that now transported on the Erie canal. The above result does not, however, include the amount to be saved on the transportation of articles now transported on the Erie canal, which were first shipped on the lateral canals ; but the table above referred to es- timates the number of tons thus transported at 130,000, and the sum to be annually saved in its transportation, . _ 106,500 Making the total amount of annual saving, $759,465 It will be perceived that in the above computation no allowance is made for the constant and inevitable increase in the tonnage of the canal. By applying, however, the same strict rule of calculation adopted in the early part of this report, in computing the progressive increase of the revenue, to wit : seven per cent, for a period of seven years, or seven and one-half per cent, for ten years, we shall have, in 1846, an annual saving of „ $1,131,603 and in 1849, of 1,329,064 to be itself progressively increased from period to period, according to the onward march of our internal trade. 9 The Canal Board are aware that an impression has prevailed to some extent, that a falling off may be experienced in the tonnage and transportation, if not in the revenues of the Erie canal, from the dimi- nution which it is supposed may take place in the bulky products of the forest. Although it might be urged that the requisite supply of this class of commodities, as they are articles of necessity, will always be forthcoming, according to the demand for their consumption ; yet it can be shown that they might be totally withdrawn from the Erie ca- nal, without affecting either its tolls or its transportation, to any im- portant extent. The analysis above mentioned, which shows the several component parts of the traffic of the Erie canal, exhibits also their comparative ex- tent of movement, and their respective contributions to the revenue. Its evidence will be conclusive upon the point in question. It shows that of the total tolls on the canal, $1,377,060, paid in the year 1839, 40 [Assembly by 848,007 tons, the whole amount paid by boards, scanthng and tim- ber, was only $65,017, or less than one-twentieth part of the whole. Classing together the coarse and bulky articles falling under the heads of boards and scantling, timber, stone, lime, clay, firewood, gypsum and salt, they show an aggregate of 403,806 tons, or nearly one-half of the total tonnage, paying a toll of only $129,642, or less than one- tenth of the whole ; while, on the other hand, the remaining 444,201 tons, embracing mainly the finer and more valuable commodities, such as merchandise, flour, wheat, and other agricultural products, paid in tolls, $1,094,198. The impression, however, might arise, that although the lumber and other bulky articles might have paid but a small amount of the reve- nue, yet that they contributed largely to the amount of transportation. But in determining the amount of transportation furnished by any com- modity, the distance moved, as well as its weight, is material. If the weight remain the same, then the greater the distance moved, the larger will be the amount of transportation. For the same reason an increase of distance may be made to equalize a diminished amount of weight. To furnish an accurate measure of movement, the weight and distance must be multiplied together, and the result will denote the total move- ment, expressing it by the movement in miles of a single ton. By comparing the results thus deduced, we obtain a clear view of the re- lative amount of movement, or in other words, of transportation fur- nished by each class of commodities to the canal. This mode of com- putation has accordingly been employed in preparing the table before referred to. That table shows the actual comparative amount of move- ment in miles of each class of commodities, the tolls paid by each, and there is exhibited in another column the amount of pecuniary saving which each class of articles will experience by the proposed cheapen- ing of transportation. The total movement of the tonnage proper of the Erie canal, as shown by the table, and denoted by the movement of a single ton, is 130,593,000 miles, and the movement of each class of commodities denoted in the same manner, affords the means of ascer- taining its comparative value and importance in furnishing transporta- tion to the canal. Thus it is shown that the movement of boards, scantling and timber, supposed by some to constitute so important a portion of the total transportation, is but 19,003,572 miles, or one-se- venth of the whole, while that of merchandise is 29,134,170 miles, and that of flour and wheat 40,194,900 miles. It is true that an addi- No. 306,J 41 tional amount of moveiiienl may be estimated for the product of the forest, first shipped on the lateral canals and subsequently transported on the Erie canal ; bat that amount may be safely estimated as not ex- ceeding thirteen millions of miles, which added to the 19,003,572 miles above stated, produces a total of only 32,003,572 miles, and still leaves the proportion furnished by^ those commodities little more than one-fifth of the total transportation. The view which the table also presents of the pecuniar}- saving to each class of commodities by the proposed cheapening of the transpor- tation, will be interesting in enabling us to judge of the effect of thai saving in fostering the various branches of our internal industry, and thereby increasing the commerce of the canal. It will be obvious thai the large am.ount of benefit thus distributed will operate as effectually in promoting the production, consumption and sale of those respective classes of commodities as if it v/ere directly conferred in the shape of a pecuniary bounty or donation equal to the amountjsaved. In some instances it will appear that the benefit thus conferred will actually ex- ceed the amount of tolls now paid by the commodity benefitted. Salt, which pays in tolls $21,106, will be benefitted §23,388; boards and scantling, which now pav 843,265 in tolls, will be benefitted §71,968 ; while the leading articles of western trade, flour and wheat, staves and ashes, paying in tolls $427,387, will be benefitted 8^69,516, The efiect of such a stimulus in animating and extending the various branches of our internal industry, and in augmentincr the amount of tonnage which they will furnish, to say the least, would abundantlv supply any diminution in the products of the forest. So far, however, from a diminution of those commodities being likely to occur to any se- rious extent, it is more probable that the amount of those very products willj for a considerable period of time, be actually augmented by rea= son of the enlargement. But there is a branch of traffic in a bulky product, of great and ra- pidly increasing extent and importance, not now enjoyed by our canals, upon w^hicli the enlargement of the canal and consequent cheapening of transportation may produce effects of the greatest consequence to our fiscal interest-s. The immense bituminous and anthracite coal-fields of Pennsylvania, lie close upon the southern boundary of our State ; but up to the present time, the coal has been prevented from entering our borders by the want of adequate means of transportation. Since tlic [Assembly, No. 306.] 6 42 [Assembly close of navigation, however, the rail-road referred to in a former part of this report, has been connpleted from the coal-fields at Blossburgh, and is now in full operation, by which the bituminous division of this great coal region is directly connected with the Chemung canal, and through that canal, the Seneca lake and the Cayuga and 8eneca canal, with the main line of the Erie canal at Montezuma. The State of Pennsylvania is also vigorously prosecuting the extension of the North Branch canal, leading out of the heart of the anthracite coal district, on the Susquehanna, to the southern line of this State, near Tioga Point, at which place it may be readily and cheaply connected with our pub- He works by extensions of the present lines of the Chemung and Che- nango canals. Our experience hitherto in the transportation of coal on our public works, has been so limited, that we can hardly estimate, as it merits, the great importance of this new annexation to our canal tonnage. The whole amount of coal carried on the Erie canal in the year 1S39, was but 7,757 tons ; a quantity so small as almost to escape attention ; while in the same year, there were transported on the two great coal canals of Pennsylvania, (the Lehigh and the Schuylkill,) 674,270 tons; equal already to three-fourths of the total tonnage of the Erie canal. This large amount of transportation has moreover grown up almost en- tirely within the last ten years ; having increased from 79,973 tons, in 1829, to 333,210 tons in 1834 : and again, from that amount in 1834 to 674,270 tons in 1839. The extent to which a traffic in coal may be carried in a country densely peopled, and especially upon a channel of transportation so capacious as the enlarged Erie canal, can hardly be calculated. The demand which exists for that species of fuel in the interior districts of this State, and especially at the salt- works of Onondaga, is already very considerable, and it is hourly in- creasing with the progress of our population. If the enormous masses of this material, now carried annually on the canals of England, amount- ing to many millions of tons, be taken at all as a guide, we may safely predict that this branch of traffic will eventually produce results, not only to the treasury, but to the general prosperity of our common- wealth, of the greatest importance. For all commercial purposes, the diminution of the cost of transport- ation on a canal one half, is equivalent to a reduction of its length one half. In that sense, the enlargement of the channel from Albany to Montezuma (at which point the coal of Pennsylvania, sent through the No. 306.] 43 Chemung canal, will be received on the Erie canal,) will operate to re- duce the present distance of 206 miles, between these two points, to 103 miles ; and in the like sense, the completion of the enlargement from Albany to Buffalo, will abridge its total length from 364 to 182 miles ; and thus bring Lake Erie, with all its growing commerce, with- in half of its present distance from the tide waters of the Hudson. It is not the design of the Board at this time to attempt any compu- tation of the future growth of our western trade ; but it will be proper to state, that its progress thus far has operated greatly to increase the importance of the western division of the canal, and to render it neces- sary that every facility which may be required for the convenience of its navigation should be promptly afforded. The statistical tables of the canal commerce show that the trade west of Montezuma now pays nearly two-thirds of all the tolls of the Erie canal. In 1839, the ton- nage shipped west of that point paid $522,312 The toll on ascending merchandise consumed within that portion of the State, amounted to at least 115,000 And the toll on the 29,699 tons sent westward from Buffalo, was 190,073 $827,385 To which add the toll paid on the boats, estimated at . 40,000 9 And a total is exhibited of $867,385 While in the same year the total tolls paid upon the trade of that part of this State on the main line of the Erie canal east of Montezuma, was only $361,302 And including the toll on the boats, estimated at 20,000 $381,302 This large proportion of toll can not be acounted for on the ground that the population west of Montezuma furnishes a greater amount of tonnage in proportion to its numbers, than the population of the canal districts lying east of that point ; for in fact the tonnage shipped west of Montezuma was only 272,544 tons, while that shipped between that point and the Hudson river was 361,919 tons ; but it is because the articles of western commerce are carried a greater distance, and consist almost ex- clusively of commodities paying the highest rates of toll, and thus ope- rate in a compound ratio to swell their contribution to the treasur}\ The importance of this consideration, in estimating the fiscal results to be 44 [Assembly produced by the increase of our commmerce west of Buffalo^ will be readily appreciated. The preservation of our present trade, and the extension of which it is capable, are objects worthy of our niost zealous efforts. The idea has, however, been suggested, that the great objects proposed by the present enlargement might be attained by adopting dimensions less liberal, and that the size may now be reduced advantageously to the public interest by diminishing the depth of the canal to 6 and its width to 60 feet. Were this question a new one, and had no work been already done on the pre- sent plan, the question might possibly present a different aspect, and yet the policy of adopting this lesser size and smaller capacity might well be doubted, when it should appear that the pecuniary results in the cheap- ening of transportation would be seriously diminished. The saving by a canal of 6 by 60 feet, it is believed would be at least one fifth less than by a canal of 7 by 70 feet. The amount annually gained on the pre- sent trade would therefore, be reduced from $759,465, to $607,572, shewing an annual difference of $151,893, and that difference will it- self continually increase with the increase of the commerce of the ca- nal ; amounting in 1846, on the basis of computation above assumed, to $226,321 ; and in 1849, to $265,813, and so on progressively there- after. But the work of the enlargement is now so far advanced, that no change can in fact be made which will very materially lessen its cost. The line from Albany to Utica is so far completed, and the em- bankment so far formed, that it would in fact be more costly to reduce than to continue the present size on that division. A great proportion of all the structures on the whole line, and which are adapted to a canal of 7 feet by 70 are in progress, and some of the most important, such as the Rochester aqueduct, and many of the locks are now nearly completed. The cost of the section work not under contract west of Utica, does not exceed seven millions, and even if one-sixth of that amount (which, however, will exceed the actual proportion) could be saved, it would effect a reduction of little more than a million, to which if the diminu- tion in the length of the culverts and bridges is added, the total amount of saving would not exceed a million and a half of dollars. The inte- rest upon this sum at five per cent, being $75,000, or less than one-half of the immediate difference in the saving of transportation, by retaining the present dimensions, those dimensions cannot in the judgment of the Board be now changed " advantageously to the public interests." This expression the Board do not understand as relating wholly or No. 306.J 45 chiefly lo the advantages of a change in a merely fiscal view, but that it is to be taken in larger and more liberal sense, and as embracing the interests of the whole community, of the agricultural, manufacturing, navigating and commercial classes : in fact of all our population, wheth- er producers, carriers or consumers. ' That the interests of all these will be largely promoted by cheapen- ing the cost of transportation needs no arguments to prove. Whether this increase in consequence of the mere enlargement, will be such as to remunerate the expense of that work by creating trade, which would not otherwise exist, or by preserving that which would other- wise be diverted into different channels, is a question respecting which it is not possible to arrive at any certain and precise conclusion. When bounds can be set to the population of the interminable west, and when limits can be assigned to the results of its productive ener- gy, we may begin to calculate what amount of tonnage it will afidrd to our main canal. The revenue upon that tonnage, it has already been shown, must necessarily be greater than that derived from any other source. The doubling only of the present trade west of Montezuma would produce an increase of tolls annually, of §866,145. When we look at the regular increase of the trade w'ith the western States, from the infancy of our canals to the present day, and consider the reasons which exist for anticipating a greater proportionate increase in the next ten or'iwenty years, the expectation that it will be doubled or tre- bled in that time will not be deemed chimerical. If the estimates of the revenues of the canal for the year 1846, made in the early part of this report, should be realized, they will of course represent a corre- sponding increase in the amount of tonnage ; and calculations of that amount at a more distant period might be made, by applying the same rule of a per centage for a given number of years to find the tolls, and by these tolls ascertain the tonnage. The results of such a calcula- tion would exhibit very strongly the necessity of a canal of the largest dimensions, to accommodate the tonnage that would be thus indicated at the termination of twelve or fifteen years from this time. It should be remembered, also, that our hold upon the present trade on our canals and upon the sources of its supply, is not undisputed. The State of Pennsylvania and her citizens are endeavoring by an ex- tension of their main line from Pittsburgh to Erie, and by a branch to Cleveland, to secure the lake trade and divert from us the rich stream that flows from that direction to our canal. The facts that the lake at 46 [Assembly Erie, and particularly at Cleveland, is freed from ice much earlier in the season than at Buffalo ; and that from the same cause the Pennsyl- vania canals are opened for navigation much sooner than ours can be, give decided advantages at our expense. We have no means of coun- teracting those advantages but by diminishing to the lov^^est possible limit the expense of transportation ; and thus inducing a delay in for- warding produce, which will be compensated by a saving in the charges for freighting it. The enlarged canal will go far toward furnishing this compensation to an extent that will be a sufficient inducement for pre- ferring it to the Pennsylvania communications, It is very questionable whether a canal of less dimensions, than those contemplated for the enlargement, would accomplish the same purpose. Transportation on the canals of Pennsylvania, for any given distance, can be had as cheap as on our own. The disadvantages under which they labor are, 1 st, that of a greater distance from the place of shipment to the ports of either Philadelphia or Baltimore, and 2d, the necessity of two trans-shipments in passing over the Allegany portage and the Co- lumbia rail-road. These disadvantages are mitigated by the mildness of the climate, which opens their navigation at an early period in the season. In this conflict for the possession of the trade of the western lakes, the reduction of the price of transporting property for three hun- dred and fifty miles, one half, will have an important bearing upon the result. It therefore becomes an exceedingly interesting question, whe- ther the enlargement of the Erie canal should not be prosecuted, in or- der to enable us to retain that trade which now produces such a large portion of our revenue, and which promises for the future such great accessions. The struggle with our rivals may be close and severe, and we may need every advantage that may be fairly secured. The Canal Board, in their communication to the Legislature in 1836, (Assembly Document, No. 98,) give the following reasons for a canal of 70 feet by 7, 1st. That the idea of a second enlargement should not be enter- tained, in consequence of the derangement that would be incident to a change of its boundaries. 2d. That from the best calculations and observations that could be made, the greatest econonr y in the traction of a canal, would be found in one of 70 feet by 7. No. 306.] 47 3d. That the expense of transportation, exckisive of tolls, would be r«duced 50 per cent. After having once decided upon a canal of 60 feet by 6, the Board, on a review of the subject, finally changed it to 70 feet by 7. These are reasons certainly of great weight. Cities and villages will be adapted to the dimensions once fixed. The farmers and other own- ers of property along the line will arrange the subdivisions of their land, and will erect their buildings in reference to those dimensions. The vexation and injury to individuals, and the enhanced expense to the State, of any change in the boundaries of a canal, together with the in- herent difficulties of such a change, of which we have had some expe- rience, should admonish us against undertaking such an improvement on any scale that would be likely to require further alteration. The dimensions of such a work, obviously should not be fixed in refer- ence to its temporary use, but in view of a duration of time as extended as the durability of the work itself, and of an amount of business which in such a time would be likeh^ to need or seek the advantages it of- fered. In reference to the diminished expense of traction on a canal of large dimensions, and the general saving in the cost of transportation on such a canal, the considerations presented in a former part of this report, it will be se^n. corroborate and fortify the views of the Canal Board of 1836. The weight to which these remarks would be entitled, if the ques- tion of the dimensions of the canal was an open one, is much increased by the fact, that the plan has been adopted, that its execution has been commenced and prosecuted to a great extent ; that its abandonment would involve certain loss, and would materially aflect public and pri- vate interests, which have become identified with its completion. The question has, therefore, assumed a new aspect, and requires other and different elements to be taken into consideration in its determination. It has been shown in a former part of this report, that the comple- tion of the enlargement, as far at least as Utica, on the present plan of its dimensions, is demanded by prudence, the necessities of the naviga- tion, and by sound economy. If so large a portion of the canal be constructed of the dimensions of 70 feet by 7, while other detached parts have been already made of the same size, great inconvenience would 48 [Assembly be experienced in having other portions of it of reduced dimensions. Boats adapted to one size would not be accommodated by a difierent one ; and transhipments of property from one boat to another, would counterbalance all the advantages of using the enlarged portion. The diminution of the depth or width of a canal in one portion of it, is for most practical purposes, a reduction of the whole channel to the same dimensions ; and thus the great objects of a canal as an avenue of trade with the west would be so far defeated. No part of our State has so great an interest in a canal of large dimensions, as the city of New-York. If the views which have been presented are entitled to any weight, they must have shown that such a canal is essential to retain the business which is threatened by the rivalry of Philadelphia and Baltimore, and to divert from New-Orleans that stream of trade from more remote parts of the Western States, which natural causes would seem to have destined for that port. These considerations, and those which have been presented in other parts of this report, induce the Canal Board to express it as their opi- nion that the dimensions of the enlargement as at present contemplated, cannot be changed advantageously ; and that having abundant resourc- es to execute it, the public inteiest demands its completion. They would at the same time remark, that in their judgment it should be pro- secuted in such a manner as not to embarrass tlie resources, or jeopard the credit of the State, or interfere with the just claims of other works of internal improvement. The means which will probably be at our command for the next seven years, have already been exhibited. By a prudent use of those means, the work can be prosecuted steadily and gradually, so as to ensure its ultimate completion, and in its progress afford many essential facilities to the navigation. By the expenditure of ten or twelve millions within the ensuing five or seven years, the enlargement may be completed to Utica or Montezuma, and through the city of Rochester ; the double locks and aqueducts finished along the whole line, and the channel through the Mountain Ridge at Lockport, excavated, so that the work then remaining to be done would be the easiest and cheapest part of the whole. Such in the view of the Board would be the true policy of the State ; which would thus indicate at once, its confidence in its own resources, and yet a moderation in their employment, which would satisfy all our fellow-citizens ; dispel any apprehensions that may have been entertained of recklessness and pro- digality in expenditure ; confirm the confidence of capitahsts in our No. 306.] 49 prudence as well as in our ability ; and enable us, without the imposi- tion of any burdens upon the people, to diffuse blessings of incalculable value to them and our posterity, and establish a fountain of productive wealth, which would annually yield an income to be applied to the pro- motion of all the objects of good government. JOHN C. SPENCER, SAMUEL B. RUGGLES, O. L. HOLLEY, BATES COOKE, A. WHITNEY, WILLIS HALL, HENRY HAMILTON, DAVID HUDSON, GEO. H. BOUGHTON, S. NEWTON DEXTER, J. HAIGHT, L. BRADISH, Albany, April 9, 1840 [Assembly, No. 306. ) 7 50 [Assembly o to to to o to ?5 o to to to 53 ^ 8-H to o ■♦o CO -a g 2 ^ 5 • 02 OT c t; « J: S III « > s ^ ^ CJ O'^J>'^C30Q000O'^00OCyi'^O'^COQ0OCo:;•-lco<^lcoTtl^><;o OOOOOOCOOCOCOOOrfOOOCCiOCOOaJiO i-HCiWoo(X)cocoa)a5toOQOioa5QO-Hccoco coa5t-oa>a5r^oof-cDOOt--i^ococDO Ci o 00 W rt< rH -Tt^ W "> o S r to to ^ ^§ ^ to to 1-2 §1 (^■^ >o to Si to ^ Is CQCO r-* r-K Wi-H ,-criTt'0'-"'--''--ioO"«^oowO'~Goai!h' cot- 00 i> OJCit-OO No. 306.] o as in 00 00 CO CO o o o o O GO CO Oi O lO o i-i 00 00 I— CO "c o 05 0> O 00 00 -o CO o 00 CO 5^ !<; ST* to a o o o o o o o o o O C^Trt^ Cv? CO o o o o o o o o o o o o CO o o o a; O lO 00 00 rJH '"Tft lO 1— ( o o o CO 00 o 00 1— t I—I I— 1 lO r-H 05 OS O CQ iC lO o a (X) Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library