Virginia advocate. [volume] (Charlottesville, Va.) 1827-1860, 1830-06-11

the lmbankments OF thecanal so as to ensure their
Safety against injury from the INCREASED pressure
of the water these things bong done BY the
company, and the first dam put in by the com
pany with the understanding that tho advantages
and use OF tho water as afforded by the dam at
its pcrsent height shall not be impaired, lessen
ed or diminished to the injury of tho mills, and
also for the advantages which the mills may
occasionally have from the increased head of
water when the dam is raised-tho proprietors
are ceiling that the Navigation Company shall
hare free use Of their canai at all times far
the purpoee IF nOrigation ,ohcn IL can be had
aoahomt injury 20 tie masi!-that is to trans.
late this dark and circumlocutory sentence into
plain english, ifyou will build new dam (which
the crazy, lcaky state of our present dam will
soon compel us to do)-wll add two feet to its
height, whereby we shall get twice as much
water as we now have-strengthen our banks
so as to ensure them'against brcakng-engage
to let us have the exclusive use of our present
head of water and the benefit of all the addition
al stock which comes into the canal i'm copse-
quence OF this Improvement of the dam to be
applied to the new machinery with which we
mean to line the canal from top to bottom
place the locks below the Mills at tho lower
end of the canal whereby we shall be enabled TO
construct the machinery on the canal with.
out any interruption-give us the entire mas.
terry and command of all the water passing the
canal winch we must necessarily have by this
transpositlon OF the locks from above to below
the Mills-why, then we are willing to let you
navigate the canal What? Freely? No, by
no means, but sohcn iii can be done ,cithout
injury to the .HWS!!! Or i'm other words. when
zoe please to say it will do no injury and gra-
ciously allow the public to use il for navigation
Which is to say necer: for we must believe that
all the water in the canal, in its present state, is
required Tor the existing machinery This must
be taken for granted from the manifest anxiety
of the gentlemen to keep it, and the additional
stock of water put in by the works raised by the
Navigation Company, will be required for the
additional machinery which the gentlemen con.
template establishing on the canal-and then
the Navigation Company may have the balance,
that is, from four and one half feet Of water the
gentlemen will take four and one half feet. and
the Navigation Company, (to use n vulgar
phrase) may achiStie for the balance"
Ihis proposition to allow their canal to be
used Tor purposes OF navigation qualified with all
the limitations and conditions above specified
was gravely made to the public, who under the
order OF Albemarle Court authorizing the cree
ton of a dam at Shadwell had secured to them
a free and unqualified use of this canal for nav
CATION; that order, by which alone, the owners
OF the Shadweli Mills had the right of laying the
slightest obstruction in the way of the free ma.
Vigatlon OF the waters belonging to the public.
The gentlemen deare, they hope this will he
considered fair proposition on their part--tbev
are certain it would be generally SO considered
between individuals" The Board must, i'm cha
rity believe the gentlemen did not understand
the case. Two individuals, the one having all
rights, the other having none are compared to
the parties In this case, who have co-eaual and
cS'ordinate rights and where, although the
chancellor has said that one has prior and pri.
mary rights, he has never said that he has total
and exclusive in the subject in controversy. but
has also said that each must exercise his rights
so as not to impair or injure the rights of the
other.
The public hold at this time more rights un-
der the order of Court and the Chancelors oni
MON in the use of the canal and its waters than
the gentlemen offered to surrender in their boost
ed fair proposition. The public holds under the
order OF Court, the unconditional right to nayi
gate the canal. Under the Chancelor's opinion
they hold the right of using the water of the ca.
nal and to erect locks, quafied, il is admitted by
the declaration that they must not use their
rights to the destruction or moterial injury Of
the others rights but as counterpoise to this
the gentlemen are not to use their rights to the
injury of the public so tina, this condition i.
mutual and reciprocal and equally obligatory on
each.
Although the Board declined the PROPOSALS
they did not altogether renounce the hope of a
compromise with the gentlemen They there
tore determined that they wonld make another
effort to adjust the business, and deputed one of
Their colleagues to confer with the elder member
OF the firm This colleague was long engaged
in conversation with the gentleman & reported
ed, on his return, that had succeeded in the ne.
gociation. He stated the terms of agreement as
he understood them-one of the board nut Them
down in writing according 10 the report of their
colleague and according to his and their under.
standing the matter, and Immediately present.
ed this paper to the gentleman, not doubitDu his
acceptance oft This illusion, however, was
quickly dissipated. The gentleman very soon
declared that he would sign no paper which did
not contain an explicit recognition of his prior
and primary rights to the canal and its waters
for the use of the existing machinery and such
other as might thereafter be established and it
was then replied that tho Board would approve
none containing such rccognitions. 1t is not re-
collected that the gentleman made vain appeal
to the Chancelor's decree, or that he argued on
the subject of his rights &c. in the presence of
the Board IL is in the recollection of some Of
them that soon as it was announced that ell