New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-05-13
THE CANAL QUESTION.

THE CANAL QUESTION.
There are men who recently proessed
to be friends of the Speedy Enlargement of
our States Great Artery of Commerce and
Wealth, who now-when the work has
been ruthlessly stricken down--ask why
Gov. Hunt and his friends didn't take
counsel of their adversaries and attempt to
complete our Public Works by regular
old-fashioned Loan. To these we answer
that course was not taken, simply be-
cause the deadly enemies Of the measure
had taken care to block the pay IN the New
Constitution. Just read the proviso:
1yt Yu Sec. 10. "No deb. shall hereafter
be contracted by or behalf Of this State tor any
Canal or Railroad purpose unless such debt shall De
authorized by law for single rork or OBJECT TO De
distinctly specified therein and such law shall impose
and provide for the collection OF direct annual tax 10
pay and sufficient 70 pay, the interest on sucn dep
tails due and also SUFFICIENT to pay and discharge the
principal of such debt within eighteen years from the
time Of the contracting thereof"
Here, you see, is constitutional inhi-
bition of any one Loan, though ratified by
a vote of the People, for the completion OF
all our unfinished Public Works. There
must be four separate Acts, Loans and
Votes respectively-namely, l. For the
Erie Enlargement; 2. For the Oswego
ditto; 3. For completing the Genesee Ca
nal; a. For completing the Black River
Canal.
Now the farmer in Rockland, st. Law
renee or Delaware, is not merely required
by this provision to vote to contract debt
for completing Branch Canal in part OF
the State he never saw and with which ne
has no commerce, but he must vote 10 tar
himself to pay the principal and interest Of
that cork. The Rocklander must vote to
borrow, say One Million, for the Genesee
and Black River Canals, and to tax his
farm to pay Sixty Thousand Dollars inter-
est and like amount of the principal an
nually. Why should he do this }! The
Canals are abundantly solventif completed,
however they may drag if condemned to
fall behind the age. Put the Erie Enlarge
ment promptly through, and it will pay its
own cost and that of the Branches; but
while it is certain that the Enlarged Canal
would draw to its bosom most of the i'm
mense trade of the West, it is by no means
so clear that the unenlarged Canal may not
fall off in tolls, owing to the superior in
ducements afforded by rival channels.
When boat drawn by two horses can
bring one hundred tuns of produce from
Buffalo to Albany, as cheaply and easily
as one can now bring forty, there will be
an immense increase of transportation on
our Canals.
Now look at the practical case An
Onondaga or Genesee farmer wants the
Erie Canal enlarged, bat don't see why he
should be taxed to pay the total cost OF it
in eighteen years when it will pay tor
itself in less time--so he votes No; or if
he don't he certainly will on all the
Branches. His vote is determined, not by
hostility to the Works, which he approves,
but to the Taxes, which he deems needless.
So every man, who does not realize that
he has direct personal interest in each Of
the Works, realizes that he surely has such
an interest in defeating them, so as to
avoid the Taxes. And, as he is not likely
to feel an immediate personal interest was
sure to be defeated, not through opposition to
the Works, but through repugnance to the
Taxes. This dead-fall was set on purpose.
Gov. Hunt, therefore, proposed the only
practicable plan for Fastening the compile
rion of our Canals before 1860 or '65. Had
he adopted the plan now commended by
his adversaries, the several Works would
have been made to beat each other, under
the pressure of needless Taxes imposed on
purpose to secure this result. He chose
the only path open to him in proposing to
let the Canals complete themselves. Now
that his plan has been crushed by the de-
vices of those who always did and always
will hate Internal Improvements, we shall
see what we shall see. Perhaps d party
necessity may impel the Loco-Focos of
Delaware, St. Lawrence, Otsego, &C., to
tax themselves for the purpose of complet-
ing the Canals. We shall be glad if such
is the result. But if Gov. Hunt and his
friends had originally chosen this method,
no such party necessity would have been
recognized as existing, and the Canal
Loans would have been voted down
through repugnance to the Taxes they
involve. If the Canals shall ever be COM
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