New-York daily tribune., 1858-07-22

were 90 monstrous and notorious that hnauy 'ue
whole people rose up AID demanded that it 'nod'o
te made. A Whig Governor carried the measure
through the Legislature, and the Democracy
hovled So the rich tests which projected 81 innu'
mersble points along the works were thus onceie-
moniously snatched from their streaming mouths
The Delaware Diviiion went with the o1aen.
This caIal begins at Eaaton and terminates ..
BristOl, q distance of sixty miles Its nominal
original cost to the State was Sl,743,762' ou' !.
has been drag upon her finances from the ds' OF
its completion, Notwithstanding volume OF annuA
reports from Canal Com missioners, wherein tney
msenifed is doinss and sophisticated its figures 70
prove that if was realizing clear profit TO tne
State. /. was the only outlet to market for tne
Lehigh Compsry's coal, Of which during taa1
time it enjoyed complete monopoly. 1e' II
cortrued to be drain on the treasury.
Its receipts steadily diminished. Coal found better
outlets over lew railroads at cheaper reghts, and,
to preserve what trade it had, the tolls on the
canal were repeatedly reduced. Its capaclsy,
moreover. was for boats Of only sixty tuns; while
the Lehieh Canal could carry those of two hundred
tuns A heavy expenditure, to enable it to COM
pete with these railroads, became inevitable. But
no f.cts existed to encourage such an outlay.
There was 10 instance in Pepnsy lyanis Of canal
successfully competing with railroad IN the trass
portaton of freight. The Schuylkin Canal, whose
stock long stood at two huDdred per cent above par
was utterly ruined by single rsilrosd, the Phia-
delpb AID Reading. The Union Canal has been
impoverished by the rivalry of ro.ds, which car
RED away its business over new and more popular
routes. The Delaware Dvi,ion was rapidly coming
to the came finale. New-York was pushing long
iron tracks across New jersey into the very heart
of tte Lehigh coal.feld The Valley Railroad
opened with an immense coal freight, which has
been steadily increasing, and delivered at the new
basin at Trenton the numerous csrgoes which had
formerly passed down the Delaware Division to be
shipped at Bristol. Vessels thus shunned the
long reaches to the Cspes of Delaware, and the
dangerous coast of New.Jersey. Bristol, once
fourisbing under this trade, suddenly declined
in consequence Of its being withdrawn, and
wharf property there became unstable. Other
points along the car al ceased to flourish as it's
trade diminished, and it became evident that
q general collapse Of values was impending. So
lopg % the State held it, everything connected
with it advanced backward. Parties we're even
found who predicted that in few years the State
would be unable to give it away AL this decrep-
tude bad its origin in the miserable management Of
the State authorities and their employees, who
worked the canal for their own exclusive benefit.
There was therefore, no refuge from an almost
total loss except sale, Dor would it be safe TO ask
Zoo much for it. The sale Of the Main Line OF i'm.
bad been sadly buDgled only a few
years before. In 184I, it was ascertained that
$40 900 900 could be had for it, but the Democracy
insisted on having $50 0OO, 900, which they could
not get. In 1854, it could have been sold for
50, 600 coo, but they demanded S1O0OO,OO and
again they failed, as they really intended, to ac-
complish iale. In 1857, it really found pur-
chaser at s., 50O O00-thus losing millions Of dol
lars by their own selfish procrastination. The
warning was not lost on the late Legislature, whs
cleaned up all State ownership by selling the re.
mainirg canals for S3,5OO,OO0.
The purchaser was the Sunbury and Erie Rail-
read Company, by whom the Delaware Division
has just been resold for Sl,775, 900 to the club
of gentlemen referred to- Their enterprise and
shrewdness will doubtless reform the chronic abuses
of official management, and render the work uti.
mstely profitable. The club contains liberal
sp,iDkng Of Bank and Railroad Presidents. Mr..
Ephram Msr,h ia President Of the Morris Canal
Company. Mr.. J. G. Fell is President of the
Lehieh Valley Railroad. Mr. Morehead is Presi-
dent Of the Sunbury and Erie. Mr.. A. Pardee is
the lessee of the Hazleton Company's coal mines.
Mr. Chss. Henry Fisher is q wealthy and adventu-
rcus Pbiadelphian the depositary Of large amounts
Of foreign capital who dips deeply into Whatever he
aud generally comes out good deal
better than be went in. Messrs. Algernon S. and
Edward Roberts are wealthy Philsdelphians,
who grew suddenly rich in the wholesale drug
business, from which they are now retired. They
are heavily interested in Hazleton COAL and are the
sbrewdest kind Of caculatOrs; if hunt should be
ret up to find dollar it will be vi,ible TO them in
advance of all others. Judge Hepburn is largely
concerned in the coal region, and Mr.. Borie is
President OF tie Bank of Commerce. 1t is unques-
tionably strorg team and the purchase has been
shIewdly and quietly put through. They pay
SIS, 900 in cash, $40, ,0OO month for ten months,
$4,000 in G per cent. stock, and $1,000. 900 in
mortgage bonds. One halt the surplus over
81, 500, 900 goes to tie State.
But it has since been made apparent that one
wheel has al this time been working within
another. Everybody expected that the Lehgh
Coal Company would be the purchaser of the Dss-
ware Division. 1t is their grand outlet to market;
they have been clogsed and hampered in all their
operations BY the stupidity and mbecIity Of State