New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-04-23

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i,,slf and sivethe State OF New ork con1roi iof-
ever Of that great and growing commerce. -
The amount which is now devoted 20 'nv W.
in each fiscal year is nearly eight hunhrvu 80
sand dollars. Even Il this amount Snou'u - g.
tnued the work Of enlargement cou.V uo. t ~ 81
ished, in the manner hitherto AcOP'S"'
teen or twenty years. 49,, !,
But meantime crest, competing WORKS arc ~
progress on every side. IL is not only RON tno
Railroads Of our own State that the lana ~
compettion TO fear but from the WORKS oy "uNu
tie Government of Canada IS seeking 70 ensr0ss
the carrying trade Of the West, snc f'nl s'1lua'
xnrks now In PROGRESS through the states upon
our Southern border The expense OF treleht
upon the Cana at its present capacity cannot 90
reduced below & certain point. The m'AimTIu
cost Of Transporting barrel OF Hour from LaAs
Erie to the Hudson River, is no" fNeniy t%9 ~.
fir0 tenth cents. But it can be demonsUaseo' ha'
Flour from the Western States can reach New
VorL AZ cbssper rate than this, Increased as
this must be BY the tolls which the state I'M
poses1 by our own Railroads, and stlll cheaper
by other works in process Of construction Inc
Canal, then, must inevitably lose business uu'e's
its capacity be enlarged and every doiisr OIL
business lost retards the completion oil us en-
largement
On the other hand, if the surplus revenues de,
voted 10 its enlargement can be anticipated, II
money can be procured, or work done anu pald LOT
out of these revenues as they shali come 10 mere
after as is proposed to be done by tins DILL tue
enlargement can be completed az once, the rates
Of freight can be reduced, al feaE OF competition
will be at an end, the surplus revenues Will De IN
creased, and the enlargement viii have PAID Tor
itself before 1855 r,--
These statements are susceptible OF perfectly
conclusive demonstration Ii the Canal shall DC
enlarged the cost Of sporting a barrel OF Hour
from Buffalo TO Albany will DO reduced from
tnenf2.tcO cents to NINE cents and the trelBn1
mon other articles will be diminished IN proper
non The CANA will then, OF couse, monopollZe
all the heavy commerce OF the Northern ctaIes'
Ii will secure for its own channel the increase
Ia trade which the natural growth OF the w est
will involve And the surplus revenues VIII De
decreased accordingly,
The Report of the Committee on Canals in the
Assembly contains tabular statements ana cacu'
lstions upon this subject which are worthy OF at
tention. 1t is there shown, IN the most conclu'
live manner, that making oil possible allowance
for contingencies, supposlng even tnat the rate Vi
increase in business established by the experience
fthe past is TO diminish, and allowing 8 falling
fl. in consequence OF the reduced tolls on wheat
and -four, equivalent TO one treJN OF the agsre-
gate revenue,-tie SNypiUS reUenue irM HereTthe'
hss BIZ the year ls66,-HAyE PAID EVERY DOLLAR
OF THESE CERTIFICATES, AND LEFT A BALANCE
on TWELVE MILLIONS IN THE FuND Nay more,
it is shown with equal certainty, that II there
should not be an increase o single dollar IN the
business ofthe Canals. the expense OF the enlarge
ment would BY the year lS7i be tuly pald by the
surplus revenues, and balance OF nearly two mil
lion be lett in the Fund
1t is not easy to see how intelligent men can
shut their eyes to facts So conclusive these, and
oppose. with SO much malignity aud by such dos
pefate means, a measure so clearly conducive %
the best interests Of the State The Constitution
requires the completion Of these canals IL hasset
apart an annual revenue, as e trust iund, ous oil
which that work must be done. II that revenue
Ill L., hxsh hahn OIL mi 4 Tas
ceved, fifteen or twenty years must be consumed
in the work the State meantime Will lose the IN
terest OF the money invested.
From a statement appended to the Report OF
the Canal Committee of the Assembly II appears
that there has been expended In the enlargement
Of the Erie Canal, up to and including i5So, the
The interest on that sum to 1884, ....,. l5654os5
Supposing The work s 70 proceed as II mss aone
hitherto, by the application OF the surplus rev.
eLues yearly. as they accrue snd 20 ne COM
pleted in 1866 there should be added 20 .ne
above The interest from 1894 10 1901 Twelve - s,o ooo
yehS In - II O0O O0O
The further COS, Of completing me wor. 90 100000
rotsI cost OF the
The total cost OF enlarglng the Erie Canal, by the
process adopted hitherto, is thus shown to be more
than SIXTY. FOUR MILLIONS Of dollars Is It not
time to adopt a different policy 10y which this
enormous outlay may be rendered available at tue
earliest possible period You will see 10y the
ally sunk and rendered unprOductive for fifteen
years or more, by the wretched system of carry
ing on the enlargement Of the Canal by dribets
and in patches. Livery man must perceive that
BY expeditiDg the work, vast amount would be
actually saved to the State.
And yet, when a proposition is made TO COM
pete that great work, and TO expedite, by ten or
twelve years, the time when the State shall de-
rive largely increased revenues from its use-by
simply anticipating the surplus revenues devoted
by the Constitution to that specific object, and
when it evidently meets the wishes OF a IN ajority
Of the people, and Of their representatives, in the
Senate, it is resisted by the minority, by proceed
iDgs unparalleled in the history OF American
States
The whole case may be clearly illustrated by a
familiar analogy. Suppose Il farmer, holding
bond and mortgage which yields an annual inter
est of one hundred dollars, had partly built
house which be desi. ned to rent, and which it
would cost a thousand dollars to inish and that
be wished TO finish It solely from the proceeds Of
bis bond and mortgage. If he were to expend
upon it each year the amount Of the revenue de-
voted to it, it would take ten years to finish it, he
would lose the rent meantime, with the interest
of his money, hls house would decay almost as
rapidly as be could build it, and be would gener.
ally be regarded as tit for Lunatic Asyl um. Yet
this is precisely the policy which the opponents Of
this bill insist must be pursued by the State IN
regard 10 her Canals. II the farmer, in the case
supposed, were 10 finish the house at once, pedg-
ing the interest Of his bond and mortgage as il
should come in, for the payment OF labor upon it.,
or Of certificates representing that labor does
any one suppose that he would have incurred
a debt, in the legal and Constitutional mean;
ing Of that term,-a debt for which his whole
property could be held, or that be had mort.
gsged his farm by pledgiDg the interest of
the bond and mortgage? Yet this is the
pretext set up against the analogous case Of the
Canal bill under consideration. 1t proposes sim
ply TO sell certificates emitting the holder to pay
ment from the Canal revenues when they shall &C.
crue, and from no other source whatever IL pro-
poses with these certificates 10 pay for work done
upon the Canals. Ii simply makes the revenues
OF l-56 pay for work done in 1854, just the re.
Venuea of 1880 have already been applied 70 pay.