The Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1834-184?, 1844-09-12
TO THE HONORABLE, THE sENATE|
AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-
TIYES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBI, Ed

AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-
TIFES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED.
The Memorial ofthe undersigned, citizens
ofIndiana and others, would respectfully
represent unto your Honorable Body; That
by an act approved March ID, 1927, a Ger
lain quantity ofLand equal to one half of five
Sections in width on each side of the line of
The Wabash and Erie Canal, reserving each
alternate section ofland to the United States,
was granted by Congress 10 the State of In
diana, for the purpose of aiding fhe State in
opening said canal 10 unite at narigdbte
points, the waters of the Wabash river with
those of Lake Erie. By the first section of
said Act, 1t is provided; s'That said Canal
when completed, shallbe, and forever remain
A PUBLIC HIGHWAY FOR THE USE OF
GovERNMENF OF UNITED STATES, FREE
FROM ANY TOLL Of OTHER CHARGE WHATEVER
roR IN PROPERTY OF a UNITED STATES
OR PERSONS IN THEIR SERVICE PASSING
THROUGH THEsAME.n By the act of May
29th, 1890; there was granted to said State
t~wenty-nine thousand five hundred andtwen-
weight acres and seventy-eight hundreths
of the public lands, TO. be selected by the
Canal Commissioners ofsaid State of Indiana
from the alternate Sections reserved ia
the United States, in the division made IN
der the before recited Act of March End,
1927, in lieu of the aforesaid quantity Of
land before that lime sold by the Uni!ed
States and %permanently reserved by treaty
tojndiViduals and located by individual grants
before the division aforesaid. and which
would otherwise have become the property
.ofsaid State in virtue of the actabope refer
ed 10. By a further act of Congress,appoyed
June 30tb, 1884, it was provided; "That in
lieu ofthe lands sold or Otherwise disposed
of by the United States within the Stale OF
Ohio,and which would otherwise become the
property Of the State of Indiana by virtue Of
the grant made to that State under the act
of March End, 1927, tbs. State might select
an equal quantity of land from the ALLEVIATE
sections which would otherwise belong 10
the United States In the division under
said act, erfrom other lands in the neigh
borhood near the line oil the canal, as Should
be thought proper, andihe lands thus select
ed should be vested in. said State o. Indiana
and disposed of for the use Of said canal, as
other lands appropriated by the act first re-
Ecited.''
Uader these several acts Of Congress, the
lands donated by the General Government
to the State of Indiana, 'for the purpose Of
opening a canal tounite atNAvIGABLE POINTS
Ire waIers-af- the Wahash Riuar--4k-4A-A-
of Lake Erie" have been received by said
Estate and applied in accordance with the
terms Of the grant, 10 the construction of a
/ canal from the Maumee Bayyon said Lake,
to the town Of Lafayette on the River Wa
bash and the canal between said points has
Ibeen completed and is successfully naYigat.
ed. After the completion of the canal to
LAFAYETTE, the question arose, where is the
iYAvIGABLE POINT on the River Wabash al
which said canal shall terminate? The sub
ject was referred 10 the Commissioner Gen.
eTal of the Land Office, by him TO the At
%iorney General, audit was ultimately deter
mined. after a full examination OF the matte.
in all IFS bearings, and BY a liberal construc
lion of The act OF 2nd Of March, 1927, tha
Tere Haute, on the Wabash, was the navi
gable point on that river within the meaniD!
tof said act. Pursuant TO that decision,
lquantiiy ofland equivalent to that granted
by the ACT of March 2nd, 1927, that is 10 sa,
aoRe half of five %sctions in width on eacl
lside OF The canal" has been selected, survey
ed and partially sold 10 complete the cana
from Lafayette TO Terre Haute, aud tn
same is now under contract the whole dis
~tance. The canal VIII doubtless be compile
ed to Terre Haute before the expiration
1.-TWO years, thereby furnishing a complete an
perfect internal navigation from Toledo O
Lake Erie 10 Terre Haute in Indiana, a dI
lance ofaboutt three hundred miies-the lon:
rest work OF the kind in the United STATE
o and probably in the world! In the system
internal improvements adopted by The StaI
of Indiana in 1886, it was proposed TO col
meet "the Wabash and Erie canal" with Il
ESouthefn portion of 'the Central Canal" |
sr tmeans of the s.Cross Cut Canal" from Ter
Hauie 10 the Feeder Dam on White rive
al the town ofNewburry, in Green count
The southern portion ofthe "Ceniral Cana
x terminates at Evansville, on the Ohio Rive
r In the prosecution of this undertaking,
M large amount of money has been expendl
i. by the State, both on the "cross cut and I
"central canal" On the "cross-cut' tc
the Dam On Eel River TO Terre Hautes ad
lance Of Twenty-Five miles, most of the Wo
is completed. Including the dam, and as /
contractors on ''the Wabash and Erie cam
from Lafayette TO Teue EIaute, have C
uac,ed TO finsb this work also, in addili
10 the aWabash and Erie cana" between
points above mentioned, there is no do!
that their operations will be simulianeo
and that the portion of the "cross cut" tr
OF the dam on Eel river TO Terre-Haute and
icy Wabash and Erie canal TO the same POI
will be finished at the same fine. III
affording an internal navigation fJom Teie
tx on the Maumee Bay -(by means Of the '
bash and Erie aud The cross cut canals 10