Year: 1879

will b. unspeakably grateful but in one
way or the other life aud property must be
projected.


THE uar;ea River Improvement.


The citizens OF New York have reason to
be surprised and impatient ut the neglect.
or a. least the dila:oriness. Of the Legisla-
iure in the important matter Of the Harlem
River improvement. II is a matter Of vital
interest to this city. All the necessary
surveys were made last year by General
Newton. the accomplished engineer. who
has better knowledge Of the photographic
conditions of New York commerce than any
other man living. Gcncial Newton made
report OF his surveys to the War Department
in December. and expressed his opinion that
the land needed for the ship canal to con-
meet the Hudson and Harlem rivers would
not be donated by the private owners. lie
had taken pains 30 ascertain the boundaries
and owneEship Of every piece of property
which includes any par: Of the route OF the
ship canal aud had addressed circular to
the proprietors. soliciting gin to the gov
ernment OF AS much as may be needed tor
the canal The replies he had received
were sufficient 10 show that tho land would
not be gra.uitously surrendered to the gov-
crnment. A part OF II could not be given
and the remainder would not he. Some of
il is held in trust. ami the trustees have
no right to give away the property of
their wards. Even owners who know that
their adjoining property would be bene-
fitted by the construction of the ship canal
refuse 10 give what they hope will sooner
or later be bought


General Newton strongly advised against
the purchase Of this property by the sov-
ernment. Tie proposed ship canal would
be SO immense a benefit to the city and
State of New York that the country at large
will never justify the government, in
purchasing the strip Of land needed
for excavating its bed. Congress has
made an appropriation Of iour hun
dred thousand dollars for this important
work, on the condition that nothing
shall bo paid for the land. The city could
well afford 10 purchase and make gift Of
it to the United States il there were no bet
ter way OF procuring IL. B1t this method
would not be just nor expedient. The
owners would put an extravagant fancy
price upon their land, and unless the city
would consent to be swindled years might
pass before any agreement could be reached
as to the value Of the property, whereas
with the money already appropriated by
Congress the work ought TO be begun at
once and pushed forward with vigor. Be-
sides, there would be no equity In paying
anything to tho owners of adjoining prop
erty. If man owned merely the few square
OF the canal lie ought to bc paid its iair
value; but if he owns adjoining property
on either side of it he would be benefited
tenfold the value Of the land taken, and
there would be no justice in paying him
cent.


The land needed for the ship canal should
be condemned by the State for public use.
like any other land needed for indis-
pensabls improvements, and then be pre-
sented by the State to tho federal govern
ment. The constitution requires that in
oil such cases a just compensation shall
be paid to the owners. The law on
this subject should be framed on the
model Of the law for the Central Park
and the law for the Boulevard. Both OF
those acts required that part of tho ex-
pense should be assessed on the neighbour
ing property benefited. An application
oil the same rule to the land leeded for the
ship canal would reduce the expense to
nothing, because the benefit to tho adjoin.
ing property will be altogether greater than
the value Of the land taken for the inn
provcment


The Legislature ought to act on this sub
iect without further delay, in order that the
work Oh the Harlem River improvement
may be commenced this spring.