Weekly national intelligencer., 1848-04-22
WASHINGTON.
Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and
inseparabIe.o
SATURDAY, APRIL %, ls4s.
ROAD. HARBoR, AND RIVER IMPROVEMENTS.


The recent debate in the Senate upon an appro-
priation for the repair of the Cumberland dam,
Ohio river, and the mastery argument in favor Of
the appropriation by the distinguished Senator from
South Carolina, have revived TO public notice the
provisions of the celebrated Ordinance of July,
1887, for the government of the Northwestern
Territory.
The waste lands Of the United States, which have
constituted that immense fund of national wealth
usually called the Public Lands, then the pro-
perty Of several States, and not National domain.
These lands were the disputed possession Of the
States of Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut.
New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and
Georgia. Those States, by various acts, ceded the
properly and jurisdiction Of these lands to the Unit
ed States, and from the lands ceded the greater
part Of our Western and Southwestern States have
been formed. The Ordnance of 1887 was for
governing part of this ceded territory. This Ordi
embraced certain fundamental principles, be-
ing principles involved in the contracts, treaties,
or acts Of cession, in the following words II is
z hereby ordained and declared by the authority
aforesaid that the following articles shall be con-
sidered as articles Of compact between the origi-
nal States and the People and States in the said
territory, and forever remain unalterable, unless
by common consent to witt Then follows an
enumeration of several distinct articles, and in the
4th article we find the following provision: The
navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and
the st. Lawrence, and the carrying places between
the same, shall be ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, and forever
free as well to the inhabitants of said territory as
to the citizens of the United States and those of
Z any other States that may be admitted into the
2 Confederacy, without any tax, impos or duty
therefor"
The F" "navigable waters = leading into the Mis-
sissppi are well known. So are also the naviga-
Bile waters" leading into the st. Lawrence. These
last in the territory over which the Ordinance ex-
tended are the great lakes, and no other. These
lakes, therefore, and their carrying places, are
g common highways and forever free" TO all citi-
zens of the United States, " without any tax, i'm
post, or duty therefor"
The idea, then, which has been advanced by
some politicians that the waters leading into the
Mississippi and the harbors on these lakes can be
improved by the States, and with the aid of GER
tain impost duties, is utterly faacious, and direct
ly at variance with the conditions upon which these
lands were ceded and accepted
The jurisdiction of these /" common highways"
is in the United States, and the United States alone
and, unless the United States make the improve
ments which these waters require, in order 10 rem
der " the navigation thereof safe and easy it is
much to be doubted whether it can be done, or,
in other words, whether any power but that of the
United States can do it. In this opinion we are
sustained, indeed, by the invariable practice of the
United States from the first improvement on these
rivers and lakes to the present day. And even the
United States, in their sovereign power over these
waters, cannot improve them by any {" tax, impost,
duty" laid upon any river harbor, or locality,
but only from the general fund Of the United States
as they are common highways forever free" for
the use and benefit of the whole country which
use can never be embarrassed by any 81 tax, impost
or duty" upon them-that is, upon any of the /" navi
gable waters leading into the Mississippi and the
ST. Lawrence"