Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1866-12-29

essary that they must be made, and when
maze, they vil have oil they can do - trans
port the products OF the country. The Hi
r ois river rnay be 80 improved as to allow
Of the passage VI the largest vessel, and
therefore the improvement Of the Illinois
river ought to claim, the preference; but
when Rock river 10 considered it will bs
found that it hes an abundance Of weter.-
A canal can bs constructed 10 u - "a 70
furnish lockaee for boats Of 500 tons. The
Erie canal Of New York has transported s.
600, 900 tons Of merchaadise per asoun |;
and il canal could bs nadc Of The lergth
end sixs Of the Erie canal, which weuld o.
comnodste IN equal amount Of tramc. when
al these improvements under consideration
shall bs made they viii bnog into use
On smount Of 80, 900 or 10000 0iles
Of internal navigation. The coasts Of the
Mississippi and Of the lakes are more in q
tent than ths ooasts Of the Atlantic and
Paeifle. The Government 10 spending money
al the time on the coast Of the Atlantic
and upon the coasts OF the
lakes. Should Il not spend some
thing on the coasts Of the Mississippi
When the State al New York asked for
congressional aid towards the completion Of
the Erie canal they signed petitions to have
the work done BY Congress- but It was all
in vain. New York had TO complete the ca-
nal at their own expense-an amount equal
to $40,00o,0O0 or Sbo. 100000. The ate
Of Illinois has now more land under cult
vation than New York. When a man is
asked TO make statistical prediction in re
gard to the products of the western states,
he can hardly ever estimate it. At Fond du
Lac, in Wisconsin, 2OO, ,O00, 900 feet Of lum-
Der are sold in year in Oshkosh IN equal
amount is sold, and when canal IL con-
structed along the Rock river, al that ium>
ber trade would come down this way. At
present the iron ovc Of Lake Superior ie
sent to Pennsylvania because coal y found
there; but if . canal were constructed irem
Green Bay to the mouth Of Rock river, tie
iron from that district would meet the coil
from Illinois; and large cities like Hr~
minghsm, in England, would spring up
somewhere along the route OF the
canal. Along the route Of the Rock
river improvement, there 10 no
place whore good building stone cannot be
obtaiued within three miles Of where It is
needed The proposed canal commences at
Fond du Lac. and proceeds by . direct line
to Lake Horizon both for navigation and
for reservoir. Il then leaves it and passes
from Lake Horizon "a miles to Watestown.
II then pursuss Rock river to this place.
The whole length Of the canal will be 1874
miles. Thechannel IS constantly interrupts
ed by slack water, and there are about 20
miles Of slack>water navigation in its length.
1t is almost exactly Is long a. the Erie CO.
nal, being only about ten miles less In
length. When the work 10 completed, Is
surveyed, it will have seven feet Of water.
In answer to a question whether the con-
struction Of the feeder, as proposed, from
Dixon TO Devils Slough, would injure the
navigation Of Rock river below Dixon, the
speaker thought it would have no injurious
effect The convention adjourned to meet
again at 9 12 clock.