The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1852-08-28

psh H. saw esonaby il ought not to be made an
exception. Now. the Rappahannock y exactly one OF
these Why cannot the Stale OF virginia improve
that river or5NrEN l
know not what this Improvement will cost, can
the Senate know. Ii this amendment be adopted, and
incorporated into the BILL and the bill becomes law,
we order survey 10 be made at expense OF 80, 600
That is comparatively nothing; bat the Improvement Of
the river may cost 100000 or may cost vi 100000
cannot tell how much. | shall vote against the appro.
priaon. because, understand II, when II is granted
and survey is made. there an implied pledge that the
Rappahannock is river OF sufficient dignity tojustify the
n,eposilion OF Congress, and 10 induce Congress 10
brace IL within the category OF the lawful objects oil lis
do not to say that Il is an absolute pledge
The object OF the survey s TO ascertain what u wanted
do not mean that when the survey IS made, the result
may not induce Congress or the department to decline
gong on with the work but mean lha, oy approprla-
ling for survey, there is an implied pledge that you
going on to make the improvement 80 with regard to the
other appropriations Tor surveys which the committee
propose to incorporate into the bill
The debate which took place upon this subject the
other day eminenty instructive The moment we
got upon this question-to wit, what special points
should be selected for Improvement gentlemen all
around the chamber got up and exclaimed, Our section
OF the country has received OF the fostering OF
the government" Gentlemen from the lakes said, "You
" We have been passed by" The West complained that
neither the bill the amendments contained any fit
appropriations for the great mississippi valley, which
North and elsewhere on the Atlantic coast had been
provided for. And thus the scramble began We heard
these clamors from nearly every quarter That VIII De
the whenever you introduce bill here for this pur
pose and that is the vice OF the system There will be
scramble; and then combinations the nature and elect
of which upon the political morals or the treasury OF The
country, need not stop to paint. II is that which is
destined to crush it, do not know but that it would be
better Tor the opponents OF this except within very
narrow limits TO vote Tor every one OF these amendments
the bill. and let the doctrine to its full extentto
its inevitable Of destruction in the lapse OF few
years, for that would be the result has been The re-
suit heretofore 1t was the result when the Maysvle
airy character as to sectional distribution have like ten
dency. AT one time you got up an immense system oil
Notifications, by which the coast 10 be rendered i'm
preguabe. AT last complaints came in from all parts,
and the expenditure enormous. and the plans and
estimates for the future Were so formidable that the gov
eminent dropped the whole scheme at once, and many
works then undertaken remain from that day TO ills un
| finished H III
We bad in the State have the honor TO represent
most striking illustration OF this. We began (before the
days OF railroads large and extensive system OF canals
and undertook TO remove distractions in rivers The
object was to clear out all the great public highways OF
| commerce and make them nayigabe. The Legislature
resolved to expend the money of the State freely but
after we had made some progress IN IT. what did we
hndi Why, from remote corners OF the State gentlemen
came, with clamorous petitions, demanding that their
section should not be overooked and at length we had
! Black Mingo making bargain with Salkehache, and
for the Improvement OF his swamp the other would go
for The improvement OF his creek and so on, uh by
means of these combinations, large appropriations were
secured for portions of the State which nobody had
| heard of as channels Of commerce and trade.
This brought the system to closes but it was not I'M
i'll very large ouays had been made, and various unim
porant objects had received large appropriations Money
misspent. and there lie the objects of it. There lie
Canals made in places where there was necessity for
them They are there now, converted into ill.races,
and streams partially cleared again obslruced That -
precisely the result that will take place here oresee if
this state of things goes The government will ex-
pend. under this BILL million and half this year, and
when you add in the amendments OF the committee l
suppose the bill will figure up 10 about ~, 500 900.
| MIR. SEWARD The committee only propose to add
MT. DESAUSSURE The senator from New York
says the committee only propose to add $4,000 to The
appropriations in the bill We'll, next year we shall be
asked 10 vote two or three millions more My friend,
the distinguished senator from Illinois, says that ia carry
out certain great works which press upon his mind as
highly important S5,0o00oo would be necessary, think
in the OF year 10 these operations and having
gone and improved one half OF these rivers TO GER
tain extent shall be crowded with applications from
every part OF the Union to expend immense amounts OF
public money upon mprov ements OF no general concern
until at length crisis will come, the affair will reach lis
eliminating point, general exclamation will burst from
the people, the whole scheme will be arrested, and nearly
all the money will have been wasted. That will be the
| result
Sir. desire to know why the States cannot improve
their nversi desire 10 know what is the dlil-
Guilty in the way OF their doing Was intended that
when entered into this compact Of union, any more
power should be granted to the federal government than
indspensaby necessary 10 carry on the great pur-
poses OF general commerce and national defence Are
mol those the two great objects for which the federal
government was formed Whenever we go beyond the
extent necessary TO carry those powers out appears TO
that violating the constitution, and transcend
lag the purposes OF the Union Most of the objects OF
appropriation contained in this bill are entirely within The
competency of the States. 1 suppose il will not be de.
MED by the candor OF the honorable senator IRON Massa
chuses that nearly every one, II not every one oil The
amendments proposed TO this bill by the Committee on
Commerce such entirely within the competency
of the respective States. Why the States not able
TO accomplish these works! Let us take, for example
the Rappahannock river there any other States in
teres,ed In The that rver plying up as Tar
as fredericksburg but Virginia. Ia any other State in
the State OF Virginia eec, this improvement OF her own
water course, lying entirely within her limits, and
leading TO her own town.
Then there is the Taunton river, in Massachusetts,
and the Cape Fear river North Carolina Why should
the States clear these rvers There rivers in
my own State upon which we expended great deal OF
money, but we have dropped them all and one reason
why we have dropped them is because railroads are
snperseng canals and the OF the Davgabe streams
Alter you have expended innense upon the canal
around the Sault Ste Marie and in cleaning out the
rivers proposed in this bill you will have 10 abandon
the works. because they will be superseded by railroads
The rivers of the country, which formerly used to be
garded the great highways OF commerce, Except per
haps, the Mississippi, and some others OF that class will
10 be regarded condus 10 carry oil the waste
from the surface OF the earth. remember to have
ned before a committee of The House Of Commons. in
the day OF canals. he called upon for opinion
in relation 10 some nver-how II was capable OF being
improved, and where a canal should be made. He
repudiaed the river; and such an enthusiast for
canals that he asked, at length, what he supposed
rivers were made fori There is doubt, said he,
that God Almighty made them to feed canals" AL;