The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-10-24

ere AaNC0
.at Fort CaswelE the Notifications IN
course OF construction In 1893 have been
completed and added to. and there Is no
reasonable doubt of the ability OF the
fort To stop the entraI~e of N.Y. snip
that can navigate the channel
Identified with our CITY and It's PEG
pie by seven years residence n oy
social ties which have bIoadened his
personal influence. this soldier and gen.
tleman will be greatly missed by his Of
fetal and personal friends. and especial
" by the members OF II committee on
river and harbor impf ovenents, VIII.
whom he has been intimately assHciateo
in this work. whose kindly wishes Will
follow him TO his future home in Men,
phis.
Resolved further. That a copy OF
these resolutions. indicative of our ap-
probation of the work OF the engineer
corps. and OF our esteem for Captain
Lucas, be sent to the chief OF
at Washington"
President Chadbourn said: YOU have
heard the resolution submitted by the
river and harb0r committee = motion
to adopt these resolutions IS now IN
order"
Mr.. C. ]. Boney novel the adoption
Of the resolutions and the motion was
seconded by Captain ". Is. Kenan.
The president then called for re-
marks:
Mr.. William Calder said: Il did not
hear the first of the resolution. / would
k to ask if there is airy effort to be
made, or if any mention is made of an"
attempt to retain Captain Lucas IN Ills
present position. II it IS 4 possible
thing to bring anything to bear TO that
end, l am very sure that tLIs meeting
will be glad to make such an effort and
most GLAD if il should plcve successful"
AR w L yUTrfh 90 al .'Hrp.a RnrnIlif-
tee discussed hat question among
themselves to some e<t-lt and with
Captain LUCAS. and finally came TO the
conclusion that IL would he possibly best
not to make that effort / would K
to explain that Captain Lucas has a
printed order Of removal, n on &C
count of the army regulations. we DEEM
ed it best under the circumstances not
70 make any attempt 10 do so. The or
ders when once published are very rare
ly changed"
MI. H. K. Nash said: Il only wish to
gay before you put the motion a few
words TO express my own appreciation
of the work done by Captain Lucas
here. 1 nave had much interest in the
depth of the water. for oLr shipments
have depended upon water enough to
get vessels here. Since Captain Lucas
came we nave had an increase each
year and now any vessel ne ,dca here
can come. Sometime AGO I had 4 tele-
gram asking me if / could charter a
vessel drawing 10 feet 10 load here. l
replied at once. Send your vessel and
this was because Capt. Lucas had given
us this. 1 had intended to offer a reso-
luton to this chamber asking that Cap
tain Lucas be kept here. but as the COM
mittee say that they hal discussed this
question with him. 1 VIII simply say
hat we all regret that he has TO leave
us, and endorse all the committee has
said"
Mr.. H. G. Smallbones said: NO one
will regret more than : 10 that Major
Lucas is to a US. l have been asso-
ciated with him, both DIS superintendent
of the Clyde Steamship Company and
individually from the title he has been
here. From the first he was always will
ing to furnish Us with charts and blue
prints, and also look the trouble to no.
tify US of any change IL the channel,
which he was not compelled to do, and
while / regret very much indeed that he
is obliged to cav us, still he leaves the
river and bar in such shape that his sue
| cessor will ave no trouble except to
follow up the lines he mas aid out"
Mr.. H. w. Malloy said: - want to
endorse the resolution and to say to
Captain Lucas that while we so much
regret his leaving us. We trust he VIII
retain his interest in Us and in the pro-
jects which he has proposed and which
have remained incomplete, not from
any failure on his part. but simply be-
cause the money was net appropriated.
We hope that Captain Lucas will have
a delightful home in Memphis and that
he Will make friendS-W2 know he will
! but he can find no truer or warmer
friends than those he leaves in Wilml G.
ton, and we hope he will retain the in
| tereSt he has always manifested IN us.
Nn hone fIrthar My IDr0CI1nnf that
within -four years the army will permit
his making his home with us again"
President Chadbourn hen remarked:
Il hin if Captain Lucas will consent
to do SO. that perhaps it would be wei.
if he would make US i short :tatemtnt
of about what has been accomplished in
the river and harbor during his admin
istration, also about what he hoped
could or will be done with our harbor
improvements in the future years., and
what will be the prospect Of our having
the work accomplished"
Captain Lucas aid that lie would do
| So with pleasure and said N part:
When 1 anne here in 1899 the pres
ent project for the Cape Fear river. to
obtain a channel twenty feet deep at
| mean low water and two hundred and
seventy feet wide. had been dopte
and was in process of execution. At
that time some of the shoals had been
dredged to the full extent. but the en-
tire channel had not been cut, and It
has been a pleasure to me, interested as
l am in the growth of his place, to
have gotten a clear twenty foot cat all
| the way to the sea. You have a chan
mel practically n hundred n fifty
feet wide and twenty feet deep at low
water.
The deterioration that has occurred
on accoun of the failure of the pro-
posed river and harbor bill OF 1yU1 has
resulted in the formation of shoals
which are now being removed, and In
the course of the next few months the
channe will be restored to it's best pre-
vious condition.
Il am sorry 10 say the appropriation
made at the last session Of congress is
not sufficiently large to nab our office
to go ahead and widen the channel &c
its proposed maximum Of two hundred
and seventy feet; that VIII have to al
fr further appropriations.
In the gale of October 1899. there was
so much damage done 10 New Inlet