Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1823-01-30

4 NSI'ta4 VI tliS IlNCk ny tue COtlitiNsStCl
ers, it was ascertained that at the tial
ofthelr examination OF it thercwas nc
a sufficient depth of water for tie Ma
vlgation of boats drawing even six in
ches 1t is true that at their session
of eighteen hundred and two, the Ma
! ryland legislature, passed law Goun
deG upon the idea that the potonla,
Company had accomplished the obiec
of their incorporation, confirming t,
that Company all the rights and pri
Wedges conditicnally granted in the
the charter. But it is extremely ap.
parent, that to absolvc from an obliga.
ton, requires equal or paramount pow,
er, TO that which imposed it, and oil
course neither Virginia nor Maryland
could singly release a condition,
which the Potomac Company had
bound themselves 10 both to perform.
The act Of the Maryland legislature
can therefore only be considered as
Migratory and indeed that legislature
itself seems so to have considered it,
TOR in the year 1909, seven years after
the passage Of thesconiirmatory act, it
passed another law extending to that
company, time of completing the navi
CATION ogfhe river. The commission
ers upon fully consultation donot deem
1t prudent or eXpedient, to give fur.
tl,er aid to the Potomac Company The
only alternative therefore that remains
is to divcst them of their charter and
adopt some more eifectual mode of
improving the navigation of the river
nor can this procedure be regarded as
harsh, when daily considered ; the law
and justice oft, it is presumed, have
been made manifest will it be an in
jury to the stockholders look at the
exposition OF their affairs marked CA
furnished by the company itself; see
the annual amount of their tolls, and
in the present defective state Of
their navigation. which they have no
means Of improving, can it ever be in
creased : dcducts from it the expense
OF repairs and contingencies as sala-
rles TO clerks and toll gathcres and
then compare it with the amount OF
their debts or even the annual interest
OF those debts, and visionary indeed
rnust be that man who can expect ever
TO draw cent ofproft from such stock
with such resources can such debts
ever be redeemed? The fact is, The
Potomac Company are preciselyin the
situation Of all other chartered compa-
Mes, who fail in their undertakings;
their expected profits have evcntuated
in loss and disappointment.
It's due however TO that company
to state, that although the errors IN
der which they labored in the princi-
pies and practice of Improvements in
navigation have been great end have
caused a useless expenditure Of large
sums still they acted with the best
lights heretofore possessed by the best
informed persons in our states. They
have not only expended the whole of
their original stock in attempts 10 i'm
prove the river, but nearly all their
tolls with the exception ofthelr neces-
sary annual expenses, have been ap-
propriated to the same purpose. And
this failure to accomplish the objects
oftheir incorporation. may be fairly
attributed to want of information on
the subject at the very early period OF
our existence as a nation, when that
company was formed.
The Journal of notes made by the
commissioners of the condition OF the
navigation and depth OF water taken
from day to day, as they descended
the river, is hereto annexed, marked
&C. from which it will be seen. that
the river to Goose Greek, which has
been ascertained TO be one hundred
and fifty seven miles long, is in nc
section of ten miles, at all navigahle
in low water by loaded boats o.
any kind or dimensions, and for more
than eighty miles distractions from
shallow sufficient to stop Il skiif, are t,
be met with on an average division o.
that distance every half mile.
| PRESENT STATE OF THE NAVIGATION.
1t has been stated ana is believed
by many persons, That the river Polo
mac in its present condition is naviga
bic nearly half the year. The Poto
nIac Company are required 10 Civ,
a low water navigation Of u foot deer
throughout the year, This circum
stance and the idea entertained of tn
| possibility of combining the waters il
the bed ofthc river to narrow sluice
have confirmed this opinion. TIL