Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1866-03-10
HEHPEIS APPEAL
TIE PASSES OF THE m-IssIssIrPI.
letter from Gen. BesureEard.


NEw ORLEANS, La, Feb. 2, 1850
Dear Srs: Permit me to answer some
Of the objections / noticed to the bill foi
e~xcavating one or more Of the passes o.
the river. q.
J.. From the earliest surveys on recorul
tie passes have always had the same
depths Of water, T. e. from @ 10 10 leel at
ordinary low water. The mean udal
rise there il from IA to % inches, ayerag-
ing thus about Il inches. The W best
Of the SIX passes % the river nave gen
orally had from 14l 10 lo ieet water
AZ ordinary low tide. Al present
those two passes are b south
west psss and pass a pOutre.
About Twenty-Five 70 thirty wears
AGO they were the southwest and the
northeast passes some years before they
were the southwest and north passes
From these constant changes in the
principal passes, il would be ~iniudicious
70 limit the operations Of the company
70 auy q stated pass; for, q few years
hence, one Of the sbailowest might be
the most advantageous TO operate upon.
The bsrs move outward into the gulf at
the rate Of nearly n mile in fifteen or
sixteen years, and a remarkable fact Is,
that they maintain meanwhile their gem
erAl form or outline. Il is absurd 10 pre-
tend that they ever had more than 10
feet water at ordinary low tide.
2 ANY labor bestowed 90 he bars of
The river 10 deepen the channels, must be
constant for, 30 long a. the original
causes which prdiuCed those bars exist,
20 long Will The same depths Of water
return Immediately after b cessation of
work on said bars
s. About The year 1850 the Govern
mont expended $500 600 uselessly, endea-
vorinQ 70 deepen n Of the passes. In
1928 70 expended under my super
vision $4,000 10 deepen the southwest
nae Al first one, and then two
b7s-s we're employed on that work for
one wear. The contractors lost heavily by
thefr contract but fortunately made IL
I'd by the greater facility In towing yes
tssIs over the oar, which was considerably
fmDr1Ved. But, after the next rise of
ras river, the channel eXcavated filed
NJ almost entirely. I viii remark here
rhau the channels over the bars are al
wavs deeper Tnen the river is low than
when il is high, for obvious reasons.
About the year 1886, the General Gov
eminent expended S325.000 in a vain at
tempt 70 deepen the Pass a rOutre, and
70 rsdeepen the Southwest Pass,
Before the war, about :, 400, 600 tons
passed annually in and out Of the river
L IS TO be feared that il viii be many
wears before that tonnage viii reach
again 100000, which must be about
soua-v divided between the two princi-
pal passes. Oue-third Of this tonnage Of
each pass about $4,000 tons belongs to
vasseis drawing thirteen feet and less Of
watsr. these vessels could pass outside
~ the buovs Of the new channel, and
---r-nA -.# la ahnHsmaE SO Toll -
Thus only about 570.J00 tons would pay
ne fifteen p toll asked, which would
produce about SI0O. 500 per pass. and no.
81. ON0. 400. as d member OF the Legisla-
r1re has affirmed. Considering the great
risk Of failure. the large first outlay, and
D constant current expenses, even il
The work be successful, I believe the gross
revenue, as shown by the above figures,
viii be sufficiently moderate
s. The honorable member states that
he hsd been refused as u Of the six as
sociares in the undertaking. He is Ger
tairlv mistaken If he refers 10 my pro-
nose1 company. which is not yet formed,
and which viii not be organized until
after I shall have been empowered by
he stsra and Federal Governments 70
undertake the work The honorable
member probably refers % the company
whose bill wss presented In the senate a
fsw weeks since, asking IS cents per ton.
instead Of Is. I know nothing Of those
parties. I desire no monopoly or moth
ing which might injuTe the commercial
prosperity Of my native city. On the
CONTRARY. I believe I would benefit il
greatly By giving from Two 70 four feet
more water In one or more passes Of the
river, thus facilitating direct trade with
Europe.
Il viii always be impracticable to
OBTAIN regular and constant annual ap-
preparations from the State or Federal
Government 10 improve the mouths Of
the -ve-. Only private enterprise can
ever accomplish that desirable object
How is this % be done without proper
and encouraging legislation
II Boston, Philadelphia, OF New York
had only from sixteen TO seventeen and
s hair feet Of water at high tide over their
bsrl, how long do you suppose those OBJ
gUuClCus 70 their commerce would re-
main unren0ved2 The whole Yankee
and Southern people weuld be heavily
taxed 81 once, % give those cities AT least
twenty-five feet water over their bars.
could add a great deal more on this
subject, but I viii not tax longer your
patience.
Irsmaiu youn, very truly,
ct BEACREGARD.
To Col @ NLl-aDE0n. and other member Of
Ee Legislature View Orleans, La.