Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1825-12-15

| IT.
slant as he good of commerce requires, and that
every supply OF uncertain water. and of bad u,,ali
| ty, would operate 10 the injury Of their canal
They add that IN like case. the assertions OF En-
gineers have net hinder.dth Rhone in 1886 from
overwhelming The guard banks towards Bcucarie
anu d->iros Ing the works they had opposed which,
caused great damage to the salt houses OF Pecais
altho all the examinations ent to show that these
guard banks were OF sufficient height and solidi,y
lhat an ihcontesibe principle in the duration OF "A
great Hydraui'ck work il, TO keep out waters sub
leet 10 bring gravel or mud, to rise over their
oanRs. hat the Aude is the most terrible river in
Lansuedoc The Engineers Themselves agree
hat IT rises sometimes twenty-six ZEE above its
| level"
may be told perhaps, as have been, that this
canal was only Intended to be used as an internal
communication In time of war. To this answer.
That whatever may have bee, the object; after bav-
Ing expended sbont ten millions OF dollars las
have been told) they were induced for the rea,ons
above mentioned, to abandon the prosecution OF the
canal down the Garonhe. and have con,euted
themselves with such navigation from Toulouse
10 bordeaux as we have from Lynchburg 10 the
head oil the falls above Richmond trust have
too much pride of country TO wish tha, Vireinis
| should yield an unbecoming confidence in the prac
tices OF any other country. ] am proud to think
that no people in the world are more can,ble of
thinking and acting for themselves than we are
Yet ask ii /, would be wise in us to disregard This
il nj p,s
very plausible, IT not demonstrably correct, Wbe
Their i, would be prudent 30 exhaust the resources oe
the State Ia an enterprise which mos, of its adyo-
Gates mus, acknowledge TO be a, least very Lazar-
dous, ii not extremely rash? Ard whether il viii
not be much better TO avail ourselve of the advan
taSes which nature has bestowed upon NJ in The
| navigation Of James River, by improvin, the
sloices TO high degree where they are suscen,;blc
OF NJ rising the level sheets of water tba, ar. In
lie lound between the rlpples, sometimes for miles
In some suitable places inund,ng the fall by dams
aud locks where they would not materially afIect
the lands or health of the neishbourhood (And
here would remark that there is " iie difference
between locating dam at the foot of a ripple 10
lnundate the fall; and raising one at the head of the
fd to height sufficient to ell a canal which ia
located as high practicable 10 put it GU, of the
| reach OF treshes) And when the fall is too great
20 DC overcome In thisway with propriety, / woull
have shot canal around it, as we have done i'm
the Blue Ridge.
In short would improve every part in that wav
which l. most eXpedient, having regard to all the
circumstances belonging to it, For this purpose
would e&-ploy agents of practical Skill ard conpe
tent scientific requirement; who could avail them
selves OF all the provisions of nature oseryin. the
convexiiies aud concavities of the shores and SO
directing their slices that when the water shall rise
above The ordinary level, it will have tendency
rather to keep them OPEN than to fill them I
have ilttle doubt that upon this PLAN the naviga-
| 'ion oil the whole river may at a comparatively
| moderate expense, be accommodated at all seasons
10 freight OF from fifteen 10 twenty thousand
eight.
by ms means we shall husband our resources
| and dlffdse their benefits the whole Common
wealth In JIst proportion, whilst our improy ements
VIII Weld an income commensurate with our ex-
penditures and our will be increasing instead
OF diminishing The work which has been hitherto
done In the bed of James River has been under the
drec'lon oil ignorant overseefs, and there ore we
ought not TO be surprised that it has not answered
| ouT expectations.
| understand 1t is in the contemplation Of some
OF me members TO propose to the present Lesisla-
ture steam boat naviga ion BY dams and locks
Although this would have some very important
advantages over a continued canal-viz: that it
would be much cheaper in its original construction:
would De kept IN order al les expence; and would
iiord equal benefit 10 the trade on each side of the
river; 1t ould render he low lands more liable 10
| inundation Because 10 whatever depth il would
RI Use the river in the shaowes, parts il would in
effect raise It's whole bed nearly, though not entire
~, 10 the same amount: and the inevitable conse-
qhence would be, 10 increase the magnitude and
the frequency of ireshes. 1t Is my impression that
IN all cases where rise takes place above dam,
across any stream, the water lies on an inclined
plane from the dam TO the highest point to which
te reiiuent wafer extends, and that this inclination
increase III IT appfoximates the highest ONT TO
which the dam will affect it, The water continue
ing to rise, the lower part OF the plane is gradually
increased in elevation Ill the dam ceases to have
any effect And further, that during the period
when the rise influenced by the dam the ACTIVITY
| Is Increased by the increasng elevation OF the
country above, which urges tie food with in
credSlng accumulation as II appro ches the obsta-
c'e which opposes its passage Whether these
| opinions, arising from my observations md
reflections, are warranted b. theories on torrents
or not, may be decided by those who are skilled in
them. In the case reported above when the alter
below the dam at Ambler's farm was 80 per cent
| higher, over common tide, than the dam itself 1t
was 100 per cent. higher Immediately above The
udin, Win an accIiVity increasing at the rate OF
IL inches per mile, to Tie distance of miles I'm
The river Whether this ascent from local causes
was greater than is usual upon streams under differ
ent circumstances, and influenced by these
local causes, Is not material Such was the fact
10 eject lock and dam navigation, but little re-
gard eau he had to the situation of the fiat land The
Gam must be placed where 1t IS nccessar, to answer
| the end proposed. Apply the rule above, and the
unavoidable resu must be, that moderate rises in
| the er, which would be harmless under present
circumstances, might throw the water upon the
lowest parts OF the low grounds, aud might not
only inJre or destroy the crops, but havea delete
rous effect upon the health of the neiglbourino
country: and the immediate effect would be. TO
nov The water back In the creeks and brooks |
am aware that these dams would be made much
ioweT than those which raised TO fill a canal
dnd being placed at the foot OF the rpples instead
OF the hetd they would be far less injurious in their
| consequences Nevertheless, although | should
nave no hesitation in preferrDg this mode of inn
pfOVemeni TO continued canal, should decide in
favour oil the mixed mode for the foregoing reasons
IL IS iarther TO be observed, that if further expert
ence should decide IN favor of the former. every
which il gd frrf bo