New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-02-04

m
~ ~ no a,ienut nor vss IL their ApprJpns e
,eee % Indicate The particular rorks on Sbicb The
fupds of the State vh%tbsr obtiieet " o,h OF H'
wise should lie expended. except TIA, tneJ e-rh ny
rscommspded the completion, Trh al q. - 10
ns,cb % he enlargement Of the Erie anal La tfnts
ibsir only duty wa. II possible, 20 yerfJ inc Hnn-
r,ry If the report 81 the Canal Comm'-sDnrrt' hna
nso. n ain whether the revenue OF three hiOlS
they bad predicted, could reasonably De e' 80 -
Tbis wa. matter witch the Co nriitee were ONO az
ta,,o 20 .rsrire ard they accordingly Attempted, u
~. b.,t Of their ability, 10 survey ard anhtHe tos
sl,.Is Of the commerce from shich thst ocreaes o.
the revenue was exp ~ffei. -. -,
Iis ,rpe tbat 10 thi. .1Auirstion the qu-st1 "a Of
commerce xss regarded a. paramount ara tnst o.
,veru. coupArstyeiY subordinate; but II vas, hoE-
.rtlsless expressly assrmed that "the state N'ill
"tAke care 10 reserve from that commerce -ucu 81
amount Of revenue the interests OF the treasury
AID III. general welfare Of lis citizens should re-
onire." No one though. Of coub'ug the snihc'rEcy
az The revenue IL the necessary amount q" commerce
could be sbOvn, or imagined That the Sac NVaNi
ever r.self reduce the revenue below the tain ner.
by the treasury siih less ths' is"oI.i eNsl
10 II. diversion into rival channel The whole quss-
ton, then, the probable extent OF the comneIee
bat that was the very point on which the cohtendng
political parties iur amentsly Offered.
Now. what was the precise amount Of the dih'r-
cree = How widely were they spsrt The CoGiaAI-
tee Of Ways and Means, after aitentytly e1amtins
the topography srd Resources oi TIE Western Sasss
adjacent 70 the lakes reported that the Ere Caoal
we're duly enlarged 81 10 extend the ares OF rs "a
s1eI &C. those Lake States would furnish It, IN 1871
al snnna, commerce Of $1,000 WO-that ls 70 cay
that their whole commerce would be 500 goo 90 bat
Il az $50 0C0 coo Of the amount would employ the NJ .
sssippi az chanel Of transportation ard that .hi
residue sli0 coo, go would seek the enlarged Efla
Canal. This was the statement upon which the par
tee took Issue the opponents Of the speedy enlarge
meut loudly decrying az e1rsvagsnt, visionary AID
deusiye.
The frs. Official assault was made By the State Cor
troer in 1899. in his annual report TO the Legislature
TIE undersigned has intention, IN canvassing thai
document 10 treat its distinguished suthor with any
unkindness or dsrespec'. II, in surveying the I'M
mense and rapidly. expanding future, Mr. Flag 'eu
somewhat short Of the full reality, be did bat follow
the example o; predecessors no less iusTious thau
Gov Morris ard Robert Fulton, both Of whom, ia
their dag and generation sgnay failed 10 fully esil-
mate the commerce and the capacity OF the canal.
Mr. Flag after elaborate examination Of the sub
iect estm iied at only S.S - tho commerce tor
1850 which the Committee of Ways and MesDs Sd
fixed al $40 eco 000 and thereup0n teduced te nee
essary inference, that the Committee Of Ways aud
Me4Is had exaggerated the amount Sill ,5N,OOO-a
conclusion which was instantly caught up and reechoed
through the State by partisan journals aud political
orators Of every size shape aid quality. For several
yesrs il furnished the leading theme tor denunciaon
and defamation in political assemblies of every sort
srd degree, even invading Legislative assemblies ana
Constitutional Conventions.
In the course of biz argument, Mr.. Flsgg also con-
tended that the report Of the Committee was alacions
in including the products Of the forest portion Of
the commerce to be expected from the Western States,
and support of that objection adducsd the fact, that
only 31j5 TINS of products OF that description had
rescued Bufslo in the preceding year.
Tie question from its very nature, evidently was
one which nothing but the future could decide. That
future has now arrived, bringing the fact with IL
And what il the fact
The Canal had been only partially enlarged or i'm
proved by tie year 1885, bot under the psraiyzilg
effect of the Stop Law Of 1872, ana Of its legitimate
offspring the Constitution OF 1916, bad lain prosr4te
or ieebly struggling for life. Bat shortly after the
year 1851, and after the Executive Message of Gov.
Hunt recommending amendment Of the Corsttu-
ton TO permit loan Il n completing the work, ard the
adoption OF substitute by the Legislature, author
ling the issue of Canal certificates for JUOOUD, It's
capacity far increased by the expenditure of
that amount, that in the year 1888 the commerce of
the Western States passing through 1t attained the
Of sl36 j9S, 'S thus coming within Bur millions
of the estimate Of the Committee of 1893, and trans
cendpg the estimate Of the Controller Of 1899
than one hundred and eight millions.
But this was not ell The States in question in the
year contributed large amount of products I'm
cudirg TIE rchandse in return TO the NewYJrk Cen
trail ilrosd the spOrtation OF which railroads
the State in 1893 had either prohibited subjected to
canal tolls. statement of the precise amount for
that particular year is not now at hand, but the
amount for 1873 D3 iOS tuns, with value OF AZ
least $40 900.
Nor was the Controller any correct in his pre-
dctiop that the canal would not any consider
able amount of the products OF the forest from the
Western States. Within the last twenty years the
forests within borders have so far disappeared
that those Of TIE remote interior have
lily taken their place. The amounts of their products
received at Btifalo and TOnawsnda on the Niagara
River in 1857 IA year, too, of unusual depressionl
were no less than 1873 659 tunswhile the amount at
Oswego, mainly contributed by the Western States
and Canada, wac III, i7S tuusbelng 81 ,lU tuns IN
all.
Here then are the facts ridculed for so many years
tic sr0ie5 b.y anhp ALT nd
belong to history, and If there be any truth in
human affairs clearly established than another by
actual experiment II 49, that the Assembly OF 1873 and
it, Committee Of Ways and Means did not overesmste
or exaggerate the prospective amount of the CON-
Of the Western States to pass through the Enc
Canal, and do not deserve aud never did deserve, IN
any degree, the senseless and Uninterrupted abuse
which blind, party hatred has 80 unsparngy heaped
upon them.
The rapid development of our canal commerce in
respect 10 the products Of the forests Of the West
a subject worthy Of the attention of the Legislature,
apart from the particular theme now under examna-
ton. Ii may become very material and perhaps
redeenpg feature in the finances of the canals The
prCpOrti.n already contributed by Canada and the
West is more than one-,hird Of the whole amount OF
the products Of the forest Excluding ordinary hre
woodl carried all the canals, including even the
Cham plain ard the ratio is constantly and rapidly in.
creasDg ID favor OF the West.
The true question is not, as was supposed by the
Controller in 1882 whether the products Of the forests
Ot the more remote interior Will Dear the cOel OF Trans
pOItatiOn through tie Erie Canal, but what amount
that interior is capable Of supplying, and how long it
will be abe to continue the supply. the best intor-
nation which has yet been obtained, seems 10 estab-
sh the fact that the forests of Michigan and Canada,
having convenient access TO the lakes and through
them the canals probably furnish from thirty to
forty mhors of tuns. considerable portion Of that
amount viii necessarily be diverted to the Western
markets which have other supply, bat if Ore-haf
shall reach the canals OF this State and proper rate
.f Col. hal la tain AZ 1rf i'm
portant influence in extDguishing our present canal
debt.
The property Of every description carried on the
canals in le8, ,337 3j7 tuns, and paid IN tolls
Z = IL I'D in ~ LEl