-

'

i; j

		."
	■		.

:

it • ' .

•■•	\
\":
		\
.
\ %

i

: ......

'

	..
c	■
	.

:

:

-

I

■ ■

V-

MEMORIAL

OF THE CITIZENS OF CINCINNATI.

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES,

RELATIVE TO THE NAVIGATION

»

OF THE OHIO AND MISSISSIPPI RIVERS.

(Euutttttctti:

PRINTED AT THE DAILY ATLAS OFFICE,

OPPOSITE THE POST OFFICE.

1844.

At a meeting of the Committee of the Citizens of Cincinnati, held on the 22nd January, 1844, it was

Resolved, That a new edition of the Memorial of last year, with such additions as subsequent information and experience may have rendered advisable, be prepared forthwith, and trans- mitted to Congress.

JAMES HALL, Chairman.

Henry Hayes, Secretary,

WESTERN NAVIGATION.

A meeting of the citizens of Cincinnati, for the purpose of Memorializing Congress on the subject of removing the obstruc- tions from the Western Waters, was held at the Council Cham- ber on Friday evening, Nov. 4th, 1842,

Micajah T. Williams, Esq, Chairman, Joseph Graham, Secretary.

On motion of James Hall, Esq., the following gentlemen were appointed a Committee to draft a Memorial to Congress :

James Hall, T. J. Halderman, E. S. Haines, Paul Anderson, E. D. Mansfield, J. C. Vaughan, J. G. Woodin, Lewis White- man, S. W. Hartshorne, P. Rogers, George Carlisle, Robert Buchanan, Joseph Pierce, Sen., Jedediah Banks, Henry Hayes, M. T. Williams and George Graham, Jr.

Resolved, That the same Committee be authorized to corres- pond with any Committees that may be appointed at other places in the West, in reference to the improvement of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, with a view to procure a concert of action among the friends of the measure ; and also to correspond with members of Congress and other influential persons, whose co- operation may be desirable or necessary, and that the said Com- mittee be fully authorized to adopt all measures, which, in their opinion, may be expedient, for the promotion of the important object of the meeting.

Resolved, That the said Committee be authorized to call an adjourned meeting of the citizens, for the purpose of reporting said Memorial when ready for signatures.

M. T. WILLIAMS, Chairman.

Joseph Graham, Secretary*

At a meeting of the citizens of Cincinnati, held 21st Decem- ber, 1842, Lewis Whiteman, Esq., was appointed Chairman, and Henry Hayes, Secretary.

Judge Hall, from the Committee appointed on the 4th ult., reported the draft of a Memorial to Congress, on the subject of the Navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, whereupon the following resolutions were unanimously adopted : —

Resolved, That the Memorial just read be adopted ; that it be signed by the Committee which reported it, printed, and trans- mitted to Congress through our immediate Representatives in that body.

Resolved, That copies of the Memorial be transmitted to the several State Legislatures now in session, by the same Commit- tee, with a view to procure the sanction of those bodies to the views expressed therein.

LEWIS WHITEMAN, Chairman.

Henry Hayes, Secretary.

MEMORIAL.

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled, the Memorial of the people of Cincinnati, in the state of Ohio, represents as follows :

Your Memorialists, in common with all the inhabitants of the Western and South Western States are deeply interested in the trade and navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. In- habiting a country of great magnitude, and unsurpassed fertility, rich in all the products of nature, and of unbounded resources, our commerce, already great, is daily swelling in value and impor- tance. The plain of the Mississippi extending from the 29th to the 47th degree of North Latitude, embraces not only all the pro- ductions of the temperate zone, but many of those of the frigid regions of the North, and of the sunny climate of the tropic ; so that those who inhabit the shores of this gigantic River and its tributaries, carry on already an interchange of domestic products and manufactures, which in itself constitutes a most extensive traffic, and includes a great variety of the staples of commerce. But when to this is added all that we export to foreign markets, and import for home consumption, the variety and value of this immense internal trade, will be found to assume an importance which should recommend it to the serious attention of the x\merican people, and the National government.

In estimating the importance of the Navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, it is necessary to invite attention to a few prominent facts, which we shall collect from the most authentic sources. The region drained by those rivers and their tributa. ries, extends from the 29th to the 47th degree of North Latitude,

6

nnd from the Allegheny to the Rocky Mountains; and the por- tion of that territory already inhabited, and organized under civil government, may be stated, with sufficient accuracy, in round numbers, as embracing an average length from North to South of 12 degrees, and a breadth of 10 degrees, which would .give an area of 432,000 square miles. And it is worthy of remark, that such is the wonderful fertility of this country, its mineral wealth, its abundant resources, and its advantages of climate and navigation, and so great are the enterprise of its people, and the increase of population from abroad, that any rational statement of its limits or its wealth, founded upon evidence, must fall far short of the truth. It is a new country imbued with all the characteristics of a vigorous youth, and possessing extraordinary elements of expansion and improvement. Every day is extending its limits, filling up its vacant places, and developing its latent resources, and not a season passes which docs not open some new channel of commerce, or some hidden source of wealth. Everything is growing and changing, ripen- ing and increasing; and any collection of statistics, in regard to such a country, must fall short of the reality, because our data must be taken from the records of the past, and we must lose the accumulations which are rapidly growing up around us.

The region in question is no less than the Great West, a wil- derness fifty years ago, but now an important integral portion of a great nation. It contains nine States and two Territories, and parts of two other States. The aggregate population of all the States and Territories bordering on the navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi, is 8,437,779; or, if we include only one third of the population of Pennsylvania and Virginia, for the portion re- siding west of the Allegheny Mountains, we have an aggregate of 6,461,892, which is a little over one third of the population of the United States. We approach the Congress of the Uni- ted States, then, with a claim in which, under the most narrow view of the subject, one third of the American people are obviously and directly interested, and in which a majority of the population of the Union are interested, if we include the whole of the inhabitants of the States which border on those rivers. But we hold this to be a very inadequate view of the question

of interest; for such is the magnitude of our trade, and the in- timacy of our relations with the Atlantic States, that there is scarcely a corner of the Union which is not bound to us, by a constant and reciprocal interchange of commercial advantages. Three of the Atlantic States, have been engaged for years, in rival exertions to secure the advantages of the Western trade, and have expended millions of treasure in the endeavor to attract that trade to their respective seaports. Another great State has recently embarked in the same patriotic contest, with a spirit which shows how high an estimate is placed upon the prize. Which of these States is not directly interested, in the transportation of merchandise throughout the whole length of our Western Rivers? Which of them can view with indiffer- ence a question that involves the facility, the safety, and the cheapness of navigation, upon these great channels of com- merce? After constructing by the most lavish expenditure, rail-roads, turnpikes, and canals, leading to the West, does their pecuniary interest cease, and their patriotism die, at the termini of their gigantic works, and have they no further concern in the merchandise, or. the passenger, which has passed their bounda- ries? These questions are easily answered. Those who pur- chase our products are interested in every tax upon our industry, and they who supply us with foreign merchandise or manufac- tured articles that we consume, are concerned in' all the facilities for transportation, by which their market is rendered accessible. Whatever affects the cost of freight and insurance, concerns all mutually, who participate in the interchange of commodities.

Of the millions of property floating annually upon the western Waters, much is owned directly by citizens of the Atlantic States, and of the hundreds of thousands of passengers who crowd our steamboats, a vast number are inhabitants of those States, who are drawn hither by business, by curiosity, in the pursuit of pleasure, or in the search of a new home. The subject, then, is not one of local concern, or sectional character; and in asking Congress to expend a liberal portion of the public treasure, in removing the obstructions from our great Western highways, we believe that we represent the wants and interests not merely of eleven States and two Territories, but of the American people*

8

We invite the patronage of the nation, to a great central chairt of National inter-communication, which pervades nearly the whole Union, having its connections with the Ocean through Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and New Orleansf and extending its advantages westwardly, throughout the wilder- ness, to the extreme frontier.

Every tax upon the products of the country must he paid either by the producer or the consumer, or it must he divided between them, and whatever adds to the cost of our imports, it is so much taken in some shape from the pockets of the seller or buyer. Where these burthens are of such a character as to afford employment to a portion of our population, it is some consolation to know that what is taken from one class is given to another; but such is not the form of the tax upon our com- merce which forms the subject of this memorial. We deplore the loss, the utter annihilation of property. We deprecate the existence of obstructions in our navigation, which cause un- necessary expense by delay, by destruction of property, by risk, and consequent precaution. All that is thus taken, is so much wrested from the hand of industry and enterprise, and given to the devouring element. It is lost to the country. Individ- uals suffer more or less, but no one is a gainer. The destructive hurricane purifies the atmosphere, and the carcasses that moulder on the battle-field enrich the soil, but the wealth engulphed in the bosom of the waters yields no fruit, nor does the corpse of the hapless voyager mouldering in an obscure grave, on the borders of a western river, add a flower to the wilderness.

The length of the rivers which we propose to have improved at the National charge, is worthy of consideration. Without burthening this Memorial with unnecessary details, upon a subject of general notoriety, we may state in round numbers, that the length of the Ohio, from Pittsburgh to its mouth is 1000 miles, and that the length of the Mississippi from the Falls of St. Anthony to the Ocean is 2000 miles, giving an extent of 3000 miles for the principal rivers, the improvement of which we ask, by the general government. But in showing the National character of this navigation, and its importance in comparison

with that of the Ocean, we add for the navigable length of the Missouri 3000 miles, and for the aggregate navigable extent of all the tributaries which pour their freights into these principal rivers 6000 miles more, making the whole extent of navigation 12,000 miles. The policy which would consider a connected chain of navigation of 12,000 miles in extent, and spread over an area of 432,000 square miles, of unexampled fertility and boundless resources, as of local or sectional interest, mast be nar- row indeed. But if we are to consider the extent of this naviga- tion, in competition with the line of the sea coast of the United States, for the purpose of vindicating our claim to a proportionate share of the protection of the Government, it will be necessary to double its length, as our navigation has a double coast, and we have 24,000 miles of river shore, inhabited by American citizens, who are as much interested in the trade of these rivers, as any portion of the American public in that of the Atlantic.

Large as the interest would seem, which is indicated by these figures, it is even greater than we have stated. In order to form an adequate idea of the importance of these great rivers, as chanals of commerce, we must embrace in our view the whole of the great system of intercommunication of which they are only connecting links'. They are but parts of a great whole — important fractions of a magnificent system. Their most obvi- ous and direct connection is with' the great northern lakes, avast chain of inland seas, surrounded by a productive country, and already whitened by the sails of a most valuable commerce. We cannot better illustrate the magnitude of this trade, than by quoting from a speech recently delivered in Congress by a member from Ohio.

" Mr. Giddings attributed this neglect of Western commerce to its silent and gradual growth. Until after the purchase of Louisiana it scarce had an existence, and the people on the seaboard had, even to this day, no adequate conception of its extent and importance. The American flag had first been raised on Lake Erie, within his personal recollection, on board of a small schooner of seventy tons, in 1796. In 1802 the first Government vessel was launched there. Previous to 1815, the arrivals at Buffalo, now the queen city of the Western Lakes, were so few as not to be recorded — they were then 395 — they now exceed 4,000. The first steamboat was built in 1818; there 2

10

were now on Lake Erie alone 64 steamboats. After going to some extent in these statistical details, Mr. Giddings to give Southern gentlemen a more adequate conception of what the Western commerce really was, went on to state that in 1842 the State of Ohio alone had built vessels of a larger aggregate amount of tonnage than Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, with Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee in the bargain. Was a navigation like this entitled to no regard, no protection at the hands of Government? Including ships, brigs, and craft of all descrip- tions, there were 400 vessels now navigating these lakes above the Falls of Niagara. The first steamboat built at Chicago was in 1832; and in eleven years the tonnage of that port had grown up to 117,000 tons.

" On a lake coast exceeding five thousand miles there had been bestowed by the Government but §2,400,000, (while in Delaware harbor alone it had spent §300,000.) Of this coast two hundred and forty miles belonged to the State of Ohio, and it had received but §423,000. Lake Erie had no natural har- bor on all its southern coast, insomuch that Perry's fleet had to lie for protection under some little islands near the head of the lake. The mouths of the rivers were open in the spring, but as soon as the freshets subsided, the strength of the stream was no longer sufficient to force its way into the lake; the consequence of which was, that by mid summer a bar of sand was deposited all across the mouth of the harbor, so that a man might walk across dry-shod. When a good harbor had been made by pro- jecting parallel piers into the lake, as at Cleveland, vessels of six or seven hundred tons could enter at all times without the least difficulty.

"Mr. Giddings here went on to enumerate the harbors where improvements of this kind had been made or commenced, but all abandoned in 1838, in consequence of which all that had been done went to ruin, and some of the harbors were entirely closed. From 1825 to 1838, these improvements were made the care of the Government, and appropriations were from time to time made and economically applied. The people were satisfied and grateful; but in 1838 the very tools necessary to preserve what had been done were publicly sold; the Government expressly recommending that these works be abandoned. The people then learned what they had to expect."

The Buffalo Commercial Advertiser furnishes the very interest- ing statistics below ; showing the amount of Merchandize and Fur- niture which passed that great Key of the Lakes, in the past year. Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois all receive goods through other routes. Michigan receives hers almost exclusively through Lake Erie.

11

The Tolls show conclusively that the stream of Emigration is to Wisconsin; but that Ohio is the great consumer of merchan- dize:

" The quantity of merchandize and furniture arriving here and passing westward is one of the best criterions of the growth and prosperity of the interior. In connection with our table of Canal Exports, we gave the aggregate of merchandize received. The ultimate destination of this property and the families accompanying it, exhibits fully the leading points of emigration during the past season.

"Of the merchandize Ohio has received much the greatest quantity; while the heaviest aggregate of Furniture has gone toward Wisconsin. The annexed Table shows this:

Exhibit of Mdze* and Furniture passing Westward in 1843.

Mdze., lbs. Furniture, lbs.

Ohio,. 29,056,865 1,384,372

Michigan, 16,505,281 1,492,627

Illinois, 6,954,903 1,275,377

Wisconsin, 5,730,523 2,630,190

Indiana, 4,511,301 249,936

Pennsylvania, 152,023 51,664

The exports of wheat and flour, from four ports upon the lakes, viz: Cleveland, Detroit, Sandusky and Chicago, in 1843, amounted to the following aggregate: Wheat 1,894,992 bush- els, and Flour 812,903, worth about four and a half millions of dollars.

The value of all the exports from Cleveland alone, for the year 1843, was fve and a half millions.

The states immediately adjacent to these lakes, and directly interested in their navigation are New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, all of which have been enumer- ated in a foregoing part of this memorial, as being directly interested in the navigation of the western rivers, except New York and Michigan. These two states contained together, in 1840, a population of 2,641,188, which added to that of the states whose borders are washed by the Mississippi and its tributaries, gives a total of 11,078,967, and shews the important fact that eleven out of the seventeen millions of the population of the United States are directly interested in these two great links of the vast interior chain of communication.

Nor is this the only form in which we recognise the intimate

12

connection of these parts. If we take our position at the busy harbor of Buffalo, and behold her quays crowded with mer- chandize and passengers; if we extend our observation along the great railway and canal to Albany; and thence by the Hud- son to New York, and the railway to Boston, we behold an inland thoroughfare of unrivalled extent and magnificence, crea- ted by a vast expenditure of treasure, and an unsurpassed exer- tion of genius, enterprise, and public spirit; and we see this long line of transit crowded with a busy throng of human beings and rich freights of merchandize. To what end were millions of dollars expended in the construction of these highways, and why are they thus frequented by busy thousands of human beings? It is the road to the West; those countless tons of freight are the products of our rich plains, or the returns of foreign merchandize which are destined to traverse our lakes and rivers. It is a part of that great inland trade, which has grown up within the memory of living men, and has become the pride of our country, its paramount interest, the muscle and sinew of its power.

We cannot separate these interests. It is impossible to con- sider these great arterial channels, without perceiving their connection with each other, and tracing their ramification to the utmost extremities of our country. The West is no longer a frontier; it is the heart of the Union. This is not only geo- graphically true, but it is true in every sense. The centre of population, of production, and of consumption, is here. We furnish the greater portion of the exports and consume the greater portion of the imports, that make up the sum of the foreign commerce of the nation. Our rivers are no longer margined by silent forests; cities, towns, villages, and cultivated fields, enliven their shores, and bear testimony to the industry, resources, and refinement of the country.

We have said that the Ohio and Mississippi are but parts of a great chain of inland communication. Their tributaries pene- trate every Western State, and disseminate throughout the whole of our broad plain, the advantages of this navigation, and should Congress carry forward, with the spirit worthy of a great nation the work of improving the Mississippi and Ohio, it will not be

1°

«J

long before every river in the West will be cleared of obstruc- tions, by the action of the general or state governments — and the magnificent spectacle will be presented to the world of an uninterrupted inland navigation of more than twenty thousand miles in extent, within the bosom of a great continent, far re- moved from the sea coast, and independent of the estuaries and inlets of the ocean! .

i Nor is the conception of this great highway complete, until we trace it to its extremities. In the south it connects with the Gulph of Mexico in latitude 29, in the north it falls into the St. Lawrence, communicates with the whole southern boundary of the Canadas, and stretches off into the Atlantic ocean in latitude 50; and it extends through Lake Superior, through a long chain of Lakes and Rivers, far beyond the utmost bounds of civilization in the North West. On the East it connects itself by canals and rail-roads, already mentioned, with the sea ports of the eastern and middle states, while on the West, its advantages are extended by the long channels of the Mississippi, the Mis- souri, the Arkansas and Red River, beyond the inhabited regions of the United States. From large portions of our country, it is the highway that must be traveled to Texas, to Oregon, and to Canada; it bears the freights intended for our commerce with Santa Fe, the products of the fur trade from the regions of the Rocky Mountains, and the traffic with all the Indian tribes upon our borders. Such is the character and magnitude, of the grand thoroughfare, which we ask the nation to open and improve by its treasure, and such the trade for which we invoke the parental care of the government.

The number of steamboats employed at this time in naviga- ting the Mississippi and its tributaries, is 450. The average burthen of these boats is 200 tons each, making an aggregate of 90,000 tons, and their aggregate value at §80 per ton, is §7,200,000. Many of these are fine vessels, affording the most elegant accommodations for passengers, and which will com- pare favorably, in beauty of model, completeness of finish, and all other particulars, with the best packets in any part of the world.

The number of persons engaged in navigating our steam-

14

boats, varies from twenty to fifty for each boat. The average is about thirty-five persons, which will give a total of 15,750 persons embarked in this navigation.

It appears from the Reports of the Louisville and Portland Canal, that more than 700 Fhitboats have passed that canal in one year. At this rate there cannot be less than 4,000 descend- ing the Mississippi, and allowing five men to each boat, there are 20,000 persons engaged in this branch of the navigation. The cost 'of these boats is $420,000, which, as they do not re- turn, is an annual expense, and the expense of loading, navigat- ing and unloading them is $960,000, making the whole annual expenditure upon this class of boats $1,380,000.

In 1834, the number of steamboats in existence, on the Western Waters, was 230, and they were estimated to carry 39,000 tons. The expense of running them was put down as follows : —

60 boats, over 200 tons, 180 running days, at $140

per day, $1,512,000

70 boats, from 120 to 200 tons, 240 running days,

at $90 per day, 1,512,000

100 boats, under 120 tons, 270 running days, at

$60 per day, 1,620,000

Total yearly expenses, $4,645,000

This calculation, applied to the present number of boats,

would result as follows : —

110 boats, over 200 tons, 180 running days, at $140 per day, $2,772,000

140 boats, from 120 to 200 tons, 240 running days,

at $90 per day, 3,024,000

200 boats, under 120 tons, 280 running days5 at $60

per day, 3,240,000

Total, $9,036,000

This sum may be reduced to the different items producing it,

in the following proportions : —

For Wages, 36 per cent., equal to $3,252,960

For Wood, 30 per cent., equal to 2,710,800

For Provisions, 18 per cent., equal to 1,626,480

For Contingencies, 16 per cent., equal to 1,445,760

Total, $9,036,000

15

■

To this is to be added, for Insurance, 15 per cent.,

on $7,200,000, §1,080,000

Tolls of the Louisville and Portland Canal, 250,000

Interest on the investment §7,200,000, at 6 per cent. 432,000 'Wear and tear of the boats, 20 per cent., 1,440,000

Total, §12,238,000

Add for the Flatboats, as above, 1,380,000

Total annual cost of transportation, §13,618,000

The rapid increase of this commerce may be seen from the following facts : —

Previous to the adoption of the steamboat navigation, say in 1817, the whole commerce, from New Orleans to the upper country, was carried in about twenty barges, averaging 100 tons each, and making but one trip per year. The number of keel- boats employed on the Upper Ohio, could not have exceeded 150, carrying 30 tons each, and making the trip from Pittsburgh to Louisville and back in two months, or about three voyages in the season. The tonnage of all the boats ascending the Ohio and Lower Mississippi, was then about 6,500.

In 1834, the number of steamboats was 230, and the tonnage equal to about 39,000 tons; and in 1832, the number of boats is 450, and their burthen 90,000 tons.

In 1832, it was calculated that the whole number of persons deriving subsistence from this navigation, including the crews of steam and flat boats, mechanics and laborers employed in build- ing and repairing boats, wood cutters, and persons employed in furnishing, supplying, loading and unloading these boats, was 90,000. As the number of boats has doubled since that time, the number of people directly engaged in and about this naviga- tion is not less than 180,000; but who shall place a limit to the numbers who are beneficially interested, in a business which distributes its millions of dollars for wood, its millions for wages, its millions for provisions, its millions for machinery and the labor of mechanics, and which transports a commerce whose value can only be computed by hundreds of millions?

The whole number of steamboats constructed at Cincinnati in 1843, was 45; the aggregate amount of their tonnage is 12,035

16

Ions, and their cost §705,000; which gives an average of 267 tons for each boat, and about §16,000 for the cost of each.

The models of these boats, as well as their finish and accom- modations, evince a progressive improvement upon the boats of former years. They have more length and less draught, and are faster than the last generation, while the hulls are more staunch, though they contain less weight of timber. The cabins are not so gaudy and expensive as those of the old boats, while they are greatly superior in comfort and convenience. The average cost is about seventy-two dollars per ton, which is a great reduction from former prices.

All the work of these boats is done at Cincinnati, and gives employment to Boat builders, Carpenters, Joiners, Engine ma- kers, Blacksmiths, Coppersmiths, Painters, Upholsterers, Cabinet makers, Chairmakers, and some other mechanics.

There have been steadily employed at the Cincinnati Ship Yards, during the year, in the heavier portions of the work : — 320 Hands at the Boat Yards, 200 Joiners,

200 Engine and Foundery-men, 50 Painters,

770

Within the same year, there have been built at Louisville, New Albany and Jeffersonville, 35 boats, of 7,406 tons, which cost §700,000. These boats would cost §20,000 each, would average 211 tons, and would cost about §95 per ton.

And there have been built at Pittsburgh, in the same year, 25 boats, of 4347 tons, of which the cost is not given. The average tonnage of the boats is about 173 tons.

The aggregate of the boats built in 1843, is nearly as fol- lows : —

Cincinnati,

Louisville, New Albany & JefFersonville,

Pittsburgh,

Add for all other places,

26,788

BOATS.	TONS.
45	12,035
35	7,406
25	4,347
15	3,000

17

The whole tonnage of the Western boats previous to 1843,

being 90,000 tons, and the annual loss by destruction and

superannuation being 20 per cent., the decrease by the latter

cause for 1843, was 18,000 tons, and the increase 26,788 tons,

' making a net increase of 8,788 tons.

It will be seen, that we have placed the tonnage of our West- ern boats, at 90,000 tons. This was considered to be the real aggregate of the tonnage, when the first edition of this Memo- rial was prepared, in the winter of 1842 and '43. We have, since that time had access to official returns, published under the sanction of Congress, shewing the tonnage of the West to have been much larger, even at that time, than we stated it to be; but as we had based all our calculations on the amount stated by us, we have not, in this edition, altered the statement alluded to, but shall add such additional information as we have obtained.

By the official returns, it appears that the whole Steamboat tonnage of the United States, on the last day of September, 1842, was 218,994 tons; which may be divided as follows, set- ting down the figures as we find them in the returns, and only transposing them so as to arrange them under the appropriate heads : —

West.	Tons.	NorthWest.	Tons.	Other.	Tons.
New Orleans	, 80,993	Buffalo,	8,212	New York,	35,260
St. Louis,	14,725	Detroit,	3,296	Baltimore,	7,143
Cincinnati,	12,025	Presque Isle,	2,315	Mobile,	6,982
Pittsburgh,	10,107	Oswego,	1,970	Philadelphia,	4,578
Louisville,	4,618	Cuyahoga,	1,859	Charleston,	3,289
Nashville,	3,8L0			Newbern,	2,854
			17,652	Perth Araboy,	2,606
•	126,278			Apalachicola, Boston, Norfolk, Wilmington,	1,418 1,362 1,395 1,212
				Georgetown,	1,178
	•			Newark, Miscellaneous,	1,120 4,767

76,064 The Steamboat tonnage belongs to the internal commerce of this country, as we have no steam vessels engaged in foreign commerce, except two or three in the Gulph of Mexico. Of the whole 218,994 tons, it appears that two-thirds belong to the West; and as a portion of the other tonnage is employed on

routes leading to the West, and connecting with our highways, 3

18

the commerce of the West may he safely stated as amounting to more than two-thirds of the commerce of the Union.

Estimating the numher of steamboats from their average tonnaere, there must be one thousand in the United States, of which six hundred belong to the West.

The table of tonnage above given, shows where this vast com- mercial marine is employed. First, on the Valley of the Mississippi: next in the city of New York, and then on the Lakes. From the port of New York there are some 70 or 80 steamboats constantly running; while on the Lakes there are hundreds. In the Valley of the Mississippi the number of steamboats now employed is equal to the whole number of those employed in England proper. This will appear from the following statement extracted from McCullough's Gazetteer of the steamboat tonnage of Great Britain in 1834: —

Steam Ships, Tonnage*

England, 434 43,877

Scotland, 105 13,113

Ireland, 84 17,674

British dependences, 49 8,032

Total, 722 82,716

It appears then, that the steamboat tonnage of the Missis- sippi Valley exceeds by 40,000 tons, the entire steamboat tonnage of the British Empire. In other words, the steamboat tonnage of Great Britain is only two-thirds that of the Missis- sippi Valley. The magnitude of this fact will be best seen by considering that the entire tonnage of the United States is but two-thirds that of Great Britain; showing that this propor- tion is exactly reversed in western steamboat trade.

Not only is the building of steamboats increasing every year, but every year is opening new channels of trade and naviga- tion. In the last year the river Platte was navigated by a steamboat for the first time, and it will not be long before the Yellow Stone, the Arkansas, Red River, and the Missouri, will employ more boats than are now floating on the Mississippi.

In estimating the value of the property floating upon the Ohio and Mississippi, at one time, or within any given period, much

19

must be left to conjecture, as under our happy form of govern- ment no portion of it is subject to entry at a custom-house, or liable to any official registry, which would place on record the accurate statistics of this commerce. But we are not left en- tirely without data, from which to form an estimate approxima- ting the true amount. We know that this trade is carried on by means of 450 steamboats, of 90,000 tons burthen, some of which, as the larger boats running to New Orleans, from the more distant ports, make from eight to fifteen trips per year; the boats carrying the vast trade from Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Louisville, to and from St. Louis, make thirty trips, while a great number of boats ply between less distant points, and make their trips more frequently. If, however, we suppose that the average number of trips is twenty, our whole number of boats have the capacity to carry 1,800,000 tons per annum. To this would be added the freights of 4,000 Flatboats, carrying, at an average of 75 tons each, 300,000 tons, and bringing the whole annual tonnage to more than Two Millions, if the steamboats always carried full cargoes, which, however, is far from being the case. But the fact that our boats are capable of carrying that amount of freights, and that they find sufficient- business to keep them employed, forms an important link in the series of facts, from which we form our estimate.

The actual amount of imports into New Orleans, by the de- scending trade of the Mississippi, is another important element in this calculation. This we obtain from a list published an- nually in that city, and obtained from the daily reports of the Wharf Masters, of the packages and merchandize actually landed.- Taking the year from September 1, 1841, to August 31, 1842, estimating the supposed contents of the packages of which the contents are not actually stated or known, and affixing the present reduced prices, we find that the imports, as stated in this list, amount to $35,764,477 36.

Another mode of deciding the amount of this trade, is by reference to the number of sea vessels arriving at the port of New Orleans, which may be ascertained from the reports of the Custom-house. These are not at this moment within the reach of your Memorialists, but can be commanded by Congress. But

20

we state on the authority of the newspapers of that city, that the shipping in port at one time, in December 1843, amounted to upwards of 600 — all of which are employed in carrying away the staples of the West, while their crews consume a large amount of products, not included in the list of staples. The country which employs 600 ships in bearing off its products, by one outlet, while it exports largely in the opposite direction, by the Lakes, Canals, and Rail Roads, can be neither small in ex- tent, nor inconsiderable in its wealth, industry, and resources.

This list, it will be perceived, includes only the more impor- tant articles of commerce; but those which are not embraced in it, would amount to a very considerable annual sum. It does not include live stock; yet horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs are shipped to New Orleans in immense numbers; and the amount of poultry, eggs,* vegetables, and other provisions, carried to that market, from the most distant parts of the Mississippi Val- ley, is great beyond the belief of those not conversant with the facts. New Orleans, it will be recollected, is situated in a Southern climate, and in a planting country, where but a scanty supply of food is raised for home consumption, and it is a seaport at which the number of vessels congregated at the business season, is greater perhaps than at any port in the Union, to say nothing of the large number of Steamboats, and other river craft; and the supplies of provisions for that city, and for the shipping and boats lying there, are floated down the Mis- sissippi. A variety of manufactured articles also, such as ma- chinery, furniture, and many fabrics of iron, tin, copper, wood, and leather, are not included in the list referred to. Cincinnati alone manufactures sugar-mills for the Southern market, to the amount of §'200,000 per annum, a considerable portion of which are shipped to New Orleans. Nor docs that list include any merchandize or produce which is landed without the limits of the Municipalities, which would include the cargoes of many steamboats, and a still larger portion of the lading of flatboats. Neither does it include shipments of specie, nor the money car-

* It is a fact that one individual at Cincinnati has negociated drafts through the Banks to the annual amount of from $20,000 to $25,000, for the proceeds of eggs shipped from that place to New Orleans.

21

ried in various forms on board of steamboats. We arrive tben at the conclusion, that the whole annual value of the arrivals at New Orleans by the river, from descending boats, is not less than fifty millions.. After making this estimate, we were gratifi- ed to learn from an authentic source, that an intelligent commit- tee of gentlemen at New Orleans, making an estimate recently, from the same data, arrived at the same conclusion.

To this is to be added the trade to that part of the Mississip- pi, called "the Coast." The shores of the Mississippi, on both sides, from the mouth of the Ohio downwards, receive supplies of live stock, provisions, machinery, farming implements, cabinet ware, tin ware, saddlery, and a great variety of fabrics, from the more northern States. The population thus supplied, is not less than one million of souls, who receive all the luxuries, and most of the necessaries of life, by way of these rivers.

A still more important addition, is the trade which passes from town to town, and from State to State, throughout the West, and which is independent of what are termed exports or imports. It is difficult to form any adequate idea of this trade, but we who see it going forward, and witness the gigantic means required to keep it in operation, know that it forms a large item in the estimate of our trade and industry. The pop- ulation of the Western plain was nearly seven millions at the enumeration made in 1839 and '40, for the Census of 1840, and the trade to which we now allude, is that of an enterprising people, whose numbers may^ow be assumed as fully seven mil- lions, scattered over a continuous but vast region, embracing a great diversity of soil, climate and products, and affording the materials and facilities for an almost unlimited interchange of commodities. The furs and lead of the Northern portion, the iron of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, the grain, the salted provisions and live stock of the Middle region, and the sugar, cotton, and tobacco of the South, would alone furnish the elements of a vast internal commerce.

The manufactured articles consumed in the West, are now made, to a great extent, within our limits, and transported to every part of our country, and of course the raw materials which are employed in these fabrics, enter largely into our

22

freights. At Cincinnati alone, by an accurate enumeration made for the year 1841, it appears that there were 10,647 work- men engaged in mechanical and manufacturing employments, and that the annual value of their products was $17,432,670 And the amount of provisions, in addition to those included in the above estimate, passing through our city from the interior, was computed at 6,000,000

Making, $22,432,670

After deducting the consumption of our city, and the articles which are shipped to New Orleans, there will remain something over $10,000,000 of manufactured articles which are transport- ed to various markets within the Western States, and nearly all of which float on our rivers.

The manufactures of Pittsburgh, do not vary greatly in amount from those of Cincinnati, but in the $17,000,000 set down for Cincinnati, are included five millions of provisions and other articles which find a market at New Orleans, and which are included in the estimate of the imports to that city, while the labor and capital of Pittsburgh are more largely invested in fabrics of iron, glass, &c, which are distributed widely through- out the west. The shipments, therefore, from both places, to other parts of the West, may be safely stated at twenty-five millions. Louisville and New Albany would furnish five millions more to this head; and if three points on the Ohio furnish thirty millions of articles to the trade within the Western States, it cannot be an unreasonable calculation to allow, for the raw materials imported into those places, and for the whole of this branch of trade carried on between all other places in the West, including St. Louis, forty millions more, making for the whole of this interior interchange of commodities an aggre- gate of seventy millions of dollars, which added to the fifty millions exported through New Orleans, would give a grand total of one hundred and twenty millions, for the annual amount of the productions of the Western States, which are freighted upon the Ohio and Mississippi. This calculation we find cor- roborated by that of an intelligent committee at St. Louis, which is the more satisfactory, as the vastness of the commerce

23

centering at that point, and the great extent of country through which the operations of her enterprising citizens are carried, affords them the best data from which to form a deliberate opinion.

To the above amount is to be added the value of the imports of Foreign Goods, which are floated to their places of destina- tion upon the same waters. And here it may be stated with sufficient accuracy for the present purpose, that if our exports to New Orleans amount to fifty millions of dollars, our returns from the same point will equal that sum, while the imports from the eastern cities, by the way of Wheeling, Pittsburgh, and the Lakes, embracing a large proportion of all the European goods used in the West, will amount to an additional sum of fifty mil- lions per annum, making in all one hundred millions of imports.

In making these estimates, we feel satisfied, that if the statis- tics of our trade could be ascertained, they would greatly ex- ceed our estimate, and that we may safely assume the aggregate value of the property floating on our great rivers, to be two hun- dred and twenty millions per annum.

The imports into the United States from Foreign Nations, for the year 1841, were $127,916,177, and the exports $121,851,803, and when it is recollected that in estimating our interior trade we have based some of our heaviest items upon data collected three years ago, that all our values are calculated at prices great- ly reduced, and that our whole country, with its trade and pro- duction, are in a state of rapid progression, it will be readily seen that this interior commerce is fully equal to our commerce with foreign nations, that its character is equally National, and its protection equally essential to the common benefit and ad- vantage of all the States.

It is also true, that of the foreign goods imported into the Uni- ted States, the West is the most important consumer, and that besides our direct contribution to the National revenue in the cash paid for lands, we pay a large proportion of the imposts on foreign merchandize ; and that we furnish a larger proportion of the public revenue than any other part of the Union, while the proportion of the National expenditures made among us has been comparatively trifling.

24

We do not make this comparison invidiously, but in vindica- tion of our just rights. We have seen the treasures of the American people lavished in bountiful appropriations, for surveys and defences of the coast, for the improvement of the harbors, for the erection of light-houses, for the building of Cus- tom-houses, for astronomical observations, and various other pur- poses, in aid of the Navigation and Commerce of the Ocean, not only without regret, but with a willingness to contribute free- ly to whatever may conduce to the general prosperity. But while sustaining our just proportion of the expenditures for com- mercial purposes, upon one boundary of the Union, and for the benefit of one branch of the National wealth and enterprise, we claim the appropriation of a like proportion of the public trea- sure, for the protection of another branch of commerce, equally National, and alike important. We claim it as the equitable right of a numerous population, who have built up a great internal empire by their own wealth and labors, with little aid from the common purse, who defended it during the perils of the war with their blood, and are daily enlarging its boundaries and resources by their industry, their patriotism, and their public spirit. We urge it, as the true policy of a wise people, in reference to their own future prosperity. The West is the centre of the Union, the citadel of its power, the great living fountain, whose boundless resources are destined to sustain and enrich the Nation. Here will soon exist the millions who will govern our vast Republic, and the treasures resulting from the labors of an energetic people, which must circulate through every channel of commerce and industry, to the remotest boundaries of our dominion, and to every land to which the American flag shall find access; and here should the Nation lay broad and strong the foundations of its future greatness.

We may fairly refer to the prospective increase of this trade, as it is obvious that it must not only be great, but beyond the- compass of any reasonable calculation. The vast amount of unsettled land of the finest quality, and the tide of emigration which is rapidly pouring in^ leave no room to question the speedy growth of the country, or to doubt that its agricultural products will be multiplied in an increasing ratio.

25

Another great interest is growing up among us, which will vastly accelerate this process. Already we manufacture largely. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, to say nothing of other points, stand prominent among the manufacturing towns of the Union; and nature has scattered over our land with a profuse munificence, all the elementary principles and materials required for the sus- tenance of manufacturing industry. The most important of minerals, iron, is found in Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio, and doubtless may be found in other places, of the most superior quality, and admirably adapted to every purpose for which that metal is used. Lead is equally abundant. Cotton, hemp, and wool, are among our staples. The country abounds in water power. The cotton of Mississippi can be delivered at Cincin- nati nearly as cheaply as at New Orleans, and there is no place in the Union where the laborer can be supported with greater comfort and economy. The pittance which elsewhere will barely procure the necessaries of life, will here spread his table with its luxuries. With beef and pork at 2 cents per pound, wheat at 70 cents per bushel, corn at 12| cents per bushel, potatoes at 25 cents per bushel, turkeys at 25 cents, chickens at 8 cents, coal of the finest quality at from 6 to 10 cents per bushel, and wood at §1.50 per cord, we must take this branch of industry from any country having a more sterile and less genial climate. The raw material, the motive power, the provisions, are here; the market for the manufactured article is here ; and the labor will come, whenever we say that we are ready to give it employment.

We cannot forbear from quoting some valuable facts, which are contained in a late number of Hunt's Magazine, in which the writer shews the immense amount of the agricultural pro- ducts of the United States — of which the West is known to furnish the greatest proportion : —

"Of the amount of the several species of agricultural products yielded by the country, we are furnished with full data by the statistical returns, which although perhaps not entirely accurate, present as complete a statement as could under the circumstan- ces, have been furnished. By a table compiled from these returns, it appears that we have produced during the year

4

u u	Barley, Oats,
	Rye, Buckwheat,
u	Indian Corn,

26

ending the 1st of June, 1840, the products, a statement of which we here subjoin, with their amount."

LIVE STOCK.

Horses and mules, 4,333,069

Neat cattle, • 14,871,596

Sheep, 19,311,374

Swine, 26,301,293

Poultry of all kinds, estimated value, §9,344,410

CEREAL GRAINS.

No. bushels Wheat, 84,823,272

4,161,504

123,071,341

18,645,567

7,291,743

377,531,875'

VARIOUS CROPS.

No. pounds Wool, 35,802,114

" Hops, 1,238,502

" Wax, 628,303

Bushels Potatoes. 108,298,060

Tons Hay, 10,248,108

Tons Hemp and Flax, 95,251

TOBACCO, COTTON, SUGAR, &C

Pounds Tobacco gathered, 217,163,319

" Rice,' 80,841,422

« Cotton gathered, 790,479,205

" Silk Cocoons, 61,552

" Sugar made, 155,100,809

Cords Wood sold, 5,088,891

Value of the produce of the Dairy, $33,787,008

" « Orchard, 7,556,904

Gallons Wine made, 124,734

Value of home made or family goods, §29,023,380

He also states as a fact which has escaped the observation of many, that the Indian corn raised in Tennessee is nearly three times the amount raised in Pennsylvania, and more than four times the quantity produced in the great State of New York, and yet Tennessee, in the north, is hardly looked upon as an agricultural State.

Tables are given which shew that two-thirds of the crop of Indian corn is raised in the slave-holding States — and of this quantity but a very small portion is exported. It is the great staple for the food of all classes — and for beast as well as man. In these States, a comparatively small amount of wheat is raised though the crops of oats are large. The great wheat growing

27

"States are Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia, though it is known they have been greatly gained on the past two years by Illinois and Michigan.

The great corn growing States are Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, Illinois, Alabama, Geor- gia, Tennessee being the greatest. In 1839, she raised 44,986,- 000 bushels. Tennessee therefore is the banner State in corn, Ohio in wheat, and New York in oats ; while in the aggregate of these three principal grains, Ohio is the banner State of the Union— Pennsylvania rating No. 5 in the list. New England stands very low in the scale, in both corn and wheat, and not very high up in oats. Massachusetts and Connecticut are both below Delaware in their product of wheat and corn.

The crops of 1842 are estimated at 800,000,000 bushels, the whole of which in price would average about the average selling price of corn, or 40 cents per bushel; which gives the enormous aggregate of $320,000,000, as the worth of the pre- sent year's grain crops, exclusive of rye, buckwheat and barley — which, according to the same calculation, is worth about $16,000,000 more, giving a grand total of $336,000,000 ! ! This is indeed a great country, and in nothing greater than its agri- cultural resources, which, are but partially enumerated above, and which, too, have hardly begun to develope themselves."

If there is any truth in figures, we have here abundant evi- dence, that agriculture is the paramount interest of the country, the source of its commerce, the fountain of its wealth. The West is by far the most extensive, fertile, and productive part of the Union and furnishes the most valuable portion of these products; the vast amount of which corroborate the estimate we have made of the value of our trade. And we add, the further inference; if the products of the nation be so great, how important the great central avenues by which they must find a market!

If the Western rivers are thus important to the American people, in reference to the facilities afforded to them in their commerce and private concerns, as individuals, it is not less so to them in their political capacity. Of the amount of popu- lation which we have set down as inhabiting the countries watered by these rivers, 4,053,731 are inhabitants of the States containing the public domain, and in which the Nation is directly interested as the owner of the soil. How many of those inhabitants would now be settled upon lands purchased

28

of the government, had not the country heen made accessible by the application of steam? The reply is obvious. Of all the elements of the prosperity of the West — of all the causes of its rapid increase in population, its growth in wealth, resources, and improvement, its immense commerce, and gigantic energies, the most efficient has been the navigation by steam. Had it not been for the widely diffused facilities of commerce, afforded by the Mississippi and its numerous tributaries, ages would have rolled away before the great wilderness of the West would have been penetrated by the foot of industry; and had not the noble conception of Fulton, carried out by the skill of the American Mechanic, and the energy of the Western people, brought the steamboat into successful operation, the productions of these rich plains must have continued to be floated laboriously to market by the insufficient means of the barge, the keel, and the flatboat, while our imports would have come to us burthened with a cost of freightage which would have limited the amount to an inconsiderable traffic; and the commerce of the Nation, with its resources derived from imports, would have been pro- portionably depressed. The sales of public land would have been comparatively small, and the millions which have enriched the public treasury from this source, would not have existed, as a branch of the National income. Without the navigation by steam, it is not probable that the proceeds from this source, would have exceeded the cost of the purchase and sale of the public lands, with the contingent expenses of protecting, survey- ing, and bringing them into market. The government is still the largest proprietor of the soil of the Western States, and is the party most largely concerned in interest, in every improve- ment which developes the resources, stimulates the industry, or enhances the value of land, in this region. Can it be doubted that an improvement in the navigation of our rivers, which would disarm it of its dangers, and decrease its expenses, would not produce those beneficent effects, or that the government would not be the greatest gainer from an expenditure which would in- crease her revenue from Foreign imports, enhance the value of the public domain, and enlarge the Federal population?

The amount of the lands owned by the government, within

29

the States and Territories, exceeds 300,000,000 of acres, and that owned west of the Mississippi and Arkansas, exceeds 750,000,000. One thousand millions of acres constitute the vast domain, penetrated and intersected by our great rivers, rendered accessible by our 600 steamboats, and made valuable by the industry. of our seven millions of inhabitants.

The value of the public lands sold, and paid for, in the eight years, from 1834 to 1841, inclusive, was $73,832,008 47, and deducting the sales in Michigan, Alabama, and Florida, which do not lie in contact with the waters proposed to be improved, the amount of sales in the States directly interested is $55,940,- 569 09. Nearly fifty-six millions of dollars then, have been drawn from these States within eight years, a portion of which has gone to the support of the General Government, and the remainder distributed pro rata among all the States of the Union. If the western people pay annually to the Nation a revenue of seven millions of dollars, for the purchase of the lands they occupy, what proportion of that sum should be appropriated by the Government, in its capacity of a land owner only, for the keeping up the highways which render those lands accessible, and give them the greater part of their value ? And what pro- . portion should it appropriate as the proprietor of the countless millions of acres yet unsold, the value of which is daily enhan- ced, and indeed their entire marketable value almost wholly created, by the industry of the western people? If we should succeed in demonstrating the necessity of improving this naviga- tion, or the expediency of the measure as a question of interest, can there be a doubt, that the Government, as the largest proprietor of the soil, should bear her just proportion of the expense?

But the Nation has another important interest in this im- provement. The Report of the Postmaster General, dated December 2, 1841, shows that the mail is transported within the Western States, by Railroad and by Steamboat, 587,309 miles, of which the portion carried by Railroads is not specified, but is too inconsiderable to be worthy of deduction. Large as this number of miles may seem, it is small compared with the extent to which the transportation of the mails by water, might

30

be carried, if our navigable rivers were so improved as to afford water for the passage of boats uninterruptedly during the dry season. The rapidity, safety, and cheapness of this mode of transportation, recommend it so strongly, as to 'leave little doubt of its adoption, wherever the navigation is such as to render it practicable ; nor can there be a rational question, in our opinion, as to the duty of Congress, in reference to the improvement of those great arterial highways, through which the mails must flow, under any complete and thoroughly efficient administration of the Post-office Department.

Nor is this the only department of the government, which is interested. A line of military posts extending along the whole western frontier, from the Southern to the Northern limits of the United States, derive all their supplies of ordnance, small arms, military stores and provisions, by means of these rivers, which also afford the facilities for the transportation of troops. In the eager competition among the numerous places in the West, whose citizens are applicants for the site of the proposed Western Ar- mory, the relative accessibility of these points by the larger navigable rivers, is dwelt upon as a prominent topic, showing distinctly the sense of the community, on this subject. We have not the data at hand, to show the amount of property, and the number of lives, annually embarked in this navigation, by our government, but there is no question that the stake is large, and the cost of transportation great; for although provisions, and some other articles, are delivered by the contractors, at their own risk, at the places of consumption, the cost and risk of trans- portation, form parts of the prices, and are actually paid by the Government.

In case of a war, by which our coasts or borders should be assailed in any direction, the importance of this navigation, to the public, would be vastly increased. If the coasting trade should be rendered unsafe, a large amount of the commerce between the States which now floats upon the Atlantic, would necessarily be thrown upon the interior channels of communica- tion, and would pass along our great rivers, which would become, if such is not now their character, the great central highways of the Nation. As the rivers in question, occupy a .central

31

position, in reference to the whole Union, and are now connect- ed with all its extremities, either hj their own tributaries, or the noble works constructed by the States, they would become the principal ways by which troops and munitions of war, would be transported to the points of danger; and not only the safety of the navigation, but the completeness and celerity of the access from point to point, would become eminently important to the Nation. During the last war, New Orleans was defended in part by gallant volunteers from the interior, and that city would have fallen but for the timely arrival of arms from Pittsburgh. And in any future war, the Western plain must be the centre and main body, upon which the Nation must rely for support, and from which men, and arms, and provisions, must be drawn, to sustain either extremity of the Union which may be threaten- ed from abroad. . .

But even now, the Mississippi is the great arterial highway for the transit of passengers between the extreme points of the Union. At this time the actual cost of a passage from Philadel- phia to New Orleans, upon the mail route, by the railways and roads along the Atlantic sea board, is, for a single passenger $94, while the expenses of a single passenger, between the same places, by the route of the western rivers is but §36. If the great western route, impeded as it now is, by obstructions in the navigation, burthened with tolls, and taxed by exorbitant rates of insurance, is the cheapest channel of intercourse, between the north and south, by more than one half, can it be doubted that it will become the chief thoroughfare when it shall have received the improvements of which it is susceptible? Setting aside then, the safety and advantage of the greater portion of the American people, which we think the government ought not to disregard, these rivers claim the attention of the National Legislature, as affording the most important link in the chain of post routes, and the most useful military highway within the hounds of the Union.

The importance of this navigation, and of its improvement, has not heen overlooked by the States, which are most imme- diately interested. On the 27th January, 1817, a resolution was passed by the Legislature of Ohio, inviting the co-operation

32

of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Indiana, in measures for the improvement of the Ohio river. The invitation was promptly responded to by Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ken- tucky; and in 1819 a thorough examination of that river was made by Gen. Blackburn of Virginia, Gen. John Adair of Ken- tucky, Gen. E. W. Tupper of Ohio and Walter Lowrie, Esq., of Pennsylvania, who made a joint report to their respective Legislatures, under date of November 2, 1819, accompanied by elaborate drafts and plots. It is believed that the several West- ern States have caused surveys to be made of many of the rivers within their boundaries; Ohio has improved the Muskin- gum, and Kentucky is now engaged in making slack water navi- gation upon Green river, Kentucky river, and Licking; Indiana and Illinois contemplated the improvement of the Wabash, and caused surveys to be made for that purpose, and the attention of the General Government has been urgently called to the Upper and Lower Rapids of the Mississippi.

If it be asked, why the improvement of the Ohio and Missis- sippi, has not been undertaken by the States whose borders are washed by these streams, it might be inquired in return, why a few States, of which these rivers form the boundaries, should assume a work of such magnitude, and of so obviously a national character. As well might the States on the sea board, be required to erect light houses, and to improve the harbors of the seacoast, as the Western States be left to open the naviga- tion of those great rivers, which separate States, that are declared by the supreme law of the Union to be public highways for all the States, and upon which no single State nor combination of States, can place an obstruction, or collect a toll. Being public highways for all the States, and not lying within the territory or civil jurisdiction of any one member of the confederacy, the navigation belongs to the whole American people, and is a proper subject of National legislation.

But there are obvious difficulties in the wray of any joint or several action by the States, in relation to this work. If under- taken by the States singly, it would be difficult to assign the limits within which the labor of each should be expended; if by all jointly, the diversity of population, wealth and interest^

33

would embarrass and probably defeat any attempt to apportion the expenditure. Popular opinion would vary as to the time, the manner, and the magnitude of the disbursement — and while all the States would be equally able or willing — or that the unanimous action of their Legislative bodies could be obtained.

The financial resources of the Western States are limited, and have already been taxed to the full extent of their ability. Populating with unexampled rapidity, and spread over a vast surface, their unavoidable expenses have been great, and their exigences suddenly created. In older communities public im- provements have grown up imperceptibly with the increase of population, wealth, and refinement; but here, an energetic and civilized population, accumulating rapidly in a wilderness, were obliged to create the institutions, the public works, the facilities for intercourse and civil government, to which they had been accustomed. Within fifty years we have created and reared up, civil institutions and monuments of public spirit and social enterprise, which in other countries have been the work of centuries. We have organized Cities, Counties and States; we have made Roads, Canals, and Railways; we have built Court Houses, Jails, Schools, and Churches ; we have covered a wilder- ness with productive farms, and flourishing villages. All this has been done by a people, who brought little wealth into the country, from the products of a virgin soil', and the labors of an enterprising population. The State of Ohio and its citizens have nearly completed 765 miles of Canal, and artificial slack water navigation, at a cost when all the payments shall have been made, of 9£ millions of dollars, and 667 miles of Turnpike road, at a cost of 4 millions of dollars, besides about 70 miles of Railroad. The expenditures of Kentucky upon Turnpike roads, and slack water navigation, have been very large; while Indiana and Illinois have expended millions of dollars in attempts and preparations to extend great systems of artificial communication throughout their widely spread territories.

And we respectfully- suggest further, that it is essential to a successful prosecution of this great work, that shall be carried on, not only 'with the treasure of the Nation, but under the di- rect supervision of government officers. The magnitude of the 5

34

undertaking, and the wide extent of territory through which it must be conducted, requires that there should be unity in the plan, skill in the execution, and rigid economy in the expendi- tures, to give it the full efficiency of which it is susceptible. The government has the command, in its able corps of Engin- eers, of all the talent, experience, and scientific knowledge, requi- site for the work, together with the posssession of able reports and estimates, already made, in relation it is believed, to every branch of the desired improvements; and in the known fidelity and efficiency of these officers, the public would have a pledge that the expenditures would be made under a well matured system, and with reference to public utility, instead of being prostituted to sectional partialities, or private speculations.

We are gratified to perceive that our views in regard to the agency by which this great work shall be effected, are in accordance with those of the General Government, and that an experienced officer, who has the confidence of the country, has been entrusted with the execution of the preliminary surveys. We hail this measure as an earnest that something is to be done, and that it will be done under right auspices. We ask nothing but what is practicable, and reasonable — nothing but what will be honorable to the country and perma- nently useful to the people; and as we desire that every dollar which may be appropriated to a purpose so truly national and so nobly munificent, shall be faithfully applied, we hope to see this work entrusted only to the most responsible hands, and conducted with the most rigid economy. And we feel relieved in regard to the duty of furnishing the statistics requisite to sustain our petition, by the knowledge, that several Engineers of great ability have been employed industriously during the past season in making surveys; and by the belief, that their reports will furnish all the information desirable, and in a far more perfect form than we could give to it.

The obstructions in these rivers consists of rocks, bars, and sunken logs or snags. There are a few points on the Ohio river, where rapids are created by ledges of rock; the most important of these are at Captina and Buffington's Island, and Le Tart's Falls, the Falls of Ohio, and the Grand Chain;

35

&hd there are points where the navigation is not safe for as much water as is contained in the channel, in consequence of the existence of projecting rocks. The removal of rocks, and the improvement of all the rapids, except the Falls of Ohio, could be easily accomplished. With regard to these rapids, and to the whole subject of the obstacles in the upper portion of the Ohio, we beg leave to refer to an able report made in 1835, by Lieut. G. Dutton, of the U. S. Engineers, which will be found on file in the War Department*

The most important obstruction in the navigation of the Western rivers, occurs at the Falls of the Ohio, which is too well known to require description. A fall of 25 feet in two miles, caused by a ledge of rocks extending across the river, renders this obstacle impassable for steamboats, except during the high floods which occur Usually in the spring, and continue for a few days only at a time. These rapids were formerly avoided by a laborious and expensive portage, extending from Louisville to Shippingsport, a distance of 2^ miles ; but they are now passed by means of a Canal. This work which was intended as a facility to our commerce, and a benefit to the whole people of the West, has signally failed in accomplishing the purpose for which it was constructed; and as the government of the United States, with the beneficent view of patronising a work of pub- lic utility, became a partner in this Canal, it cannot be thought invidious to call the attention of Congress to its deficiencies. The objections to this work are :

1. The contracted size of the locks, which do not admit the passage of the largest class of boats. #

2. The insufficiency of the construction of the Canal, which being deficient in width and depth, causes great delay, and often serious injury, to passing boats.

3. The enormous and unreasonable tax levied in tolls.

With regard to the first objection, we remark, that the Louis- ville and Portland Canal was intended to be a National work, and stands connected with the commerce of the whole West. During the greater part of the year it affords the only outlet for the productions of the larger portion of the Ohio Valley, and the only channel of ingress for the valuable imports of the same

36

region. Such a work should have been constructed upon the most liberal scale, and its benefits have been extended to every class of the community. This is unfortunately not its character. After many years' experience, in the navigation of our rivers by steamboats, it has been ascertained that boats of a great length arc those of the greatest speed, and best suited to the navigation of our rivers, and the character of our trade. But the length which has been found most convenient, is greater than the dimensions of the locks of this Canal; and thus the boats which are best adapted to the trade between Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and other ports on the upper Ohio, and St. Louis or New Orleans, are excluded from that commerce, and a smaller class of boats, which are much less profitable, is ex- clusively employed.

The second objection is one of not less forcible application to a work of this magnitude. The width of this canal is such, that steamboats cannot pass each other, within it, nor can a loaded boat work her way through but by a protracted and laborious operation. As two boats passing in opposite directions cannot enter the canal at the same time, the delays encountered here are very great, and add materially to the heavy tax paid more directly in the form of toll, while the scanty dimensions of the channel both in width and depth, exposes boats to the continual danger of injury. If there were no other objections,, therefore, to this ■ canal, it is insufficient in point of size, and does not afford the facilities required for the trade at this time? and must become every year more objectionable in this respect, in consequence of the rapid increase of our trade.

To estimate fully the validity of this objection, it should be stated that these delays occur almost daily, during the busy sea- son, and vary from a few hours to a whole day. The expenses of such a boat will be somewhere from $50 to $'100 per day, and that amount or any large fraction of it, occurring only at each alternate trip, would in the course of a year form a large item, in the account of a single boat; but which multiplied by the number of boats which suffer by the delay, would give a sum total of actual loss to the commerce of the West, more than sufficient to pay for the annual repairs and custody of such a

3?

canal. It is proper to add, that these vexatious delays, are in- separable from the nature of this work, which is constructed on a scale too limited for the purposes of its creation, or rather, whose dimensions, originally deemed sufficient, have been out- grown by the increase of the trade; and that we do not suggest them as evincing any delinquency on the part of the Company.

The insufficiency of this Canal is by no means attributable, as a matter of censure, to the Stockholders or their officers. — We speak of it only in reference to the wants of our commerce. The work was commenced under the most discouraging circum- stances, and was carried forward in the face of formidable ob- stacles, by an exertion of great enterprise and perseverance. It is a great and useful work, and affords facilities to commerce, which in comparison with the ancient mode of transporting goods round the Falls by portage, cannot be too highly appre- ciated. It is proper also to state, that before the dimensions of the locks were decided upon, the largest boats then afloat on the Ohio were measured, and the locks were made, as was supposed, of sufficient capacity to pass every description of river craft. The model of our boats has, however, been since changed, and the locks are now found to be entirely too small; while the vast increase of commerce has rendered the canal itself inade- quate to the great purpose of its construction.

But the third objection, is that which is complained of as most grievous, and which demands the prompt interposition of Con- gress. In presenting this important subject to the serious con- sideration of the National Legislature, and the public, we shall proceed to shew the amount of commerce which passes through this Canal — the amount of tolls received by the Company — the exorbitant profits in which the government participates as a Stockholder — and the unjust burthen imposed upon the owners of vessels navigating the Ohio river.

38

The following table, taken from the Reports of the Company $ shews the number of vessels which passed the Canal, and the receipts of toll, from 1831 to 1843, inclusive : —

Abstract of the Boats that have passed, and Tolls received on the Louisville

and Portland Canal.

	Steam Boats.	Flat & Keel Boats*	Tons.	Amount Received
1831	406	421	76,323	$12,750 77
1832	453	179	70,109	25,756 12
1833	875	710	169,885	60,736 92
1834	938	623	162,000	61,848 17
1835	1,256	355	200,413	80,165 24
1836	1,182	260	182,220	88,343 23
1837	1,501	165	242,374	145,424 69
1838	1,058	438	201,750	121,107 16
1839	1,666	578	300,406	180,364 01
1840	1,231	392	224,841	134,904 55
1841	1,031	309	189,907	113,944 59
1842	983	183	172,755	95,005 10
1843	1,206	88 4,701	232,264	107,274 65
	13,756	2,425,567	$1,227,625 20

The original subscription of the United States, to the Louis- ville and Portland Canal, was $235,000, by which the Govern- ment became the owner of 2350 shares of the Stock. In June 1833, a dividend was made in stock, for the amount of profit on the tolls up to that time, and interest on the money expended up to the time of opening the canal; of which the proportion of the United States was 552 additional shares, making the wrhole in- terest of the Government 2902 shares. The remainder of the stock, 7098 shares is owned by individuals, making the whole number of shares 10,000, and the capital §'1,000,000. On this stock, the United States has received in cash dividends $258,- 378, being $23,378 more than her original subscription and en- tire advance in money.

It thus appears that the Canal, in twelve years, has more than paid for itself in dividends. The objection, however, is not that individuals should reap a profit on their investment, to which they are justly entitled; but that this useful and necessary facil- ity for passing the Falls, should, by being placed in the hands of individuals, be the means of levying a tax on the trade of the river, so heavy as to be a burthen. To shew that this tax is in- tolerably high, we state the following conclusive facts: A steam- boat owned at Cincinnati, and plying regularly between this city

39

and St. Louis, is obliged to pass through this canal. The boat being of 300 tons' burthen, and worth $24,000 when new, has heretofore paid for each passage through the locks sixty cents per ton, or $180, and supposing the number of trips to be thirty in a year, the tolls will amount annually to $5400, which is over 22 per cent, on its cost, and in five years, the full term of life of a Western Steamboat, will have exceeded the first cost of the boat. The toll, however, has lately, and since the above state- ment was first made, been reduced to fifty cents per ton, and a boat of 300 tons will now pay but $4,500 for thirty trips, and will not expend her value in tolls in less than 5i years.

We state another fact, the particulars of which we have re- ceived from an authentic source, and which corroborates the instance given above. A boat of 190 tons, owned at Cincinnati, has been in the habit of making her trips from this city to St. Louis and back, in two weeks, and has passed the canal four times in one month. Her toll, each trip, at $60 per ton, was $114, and her toll for one month was $456, or at the rate of $5,472 per year, which is nearly half the value of such a boat. It may be said, that no boat makes 48 trips, or even 30 trips between St. Louis and Cincinnati in a year, as the ice or low water would obstruct the navigation at some seasons, and at others the boat might pass over the Falls. But this is no answer to our argument, the object of which is to shew, that during the season in which we use this canal, we pay an exorbitant tax, which reduced to a yearly rate, would swallow the value of a boat in a few years.

This is a practical view of the subject, in regard to which there can be no doubt. The passage between St. Louis and Cincinnati is regularly made in from three to four days, and if three days be allowed for lading and unlading at each place, which is more than is required, the fair time for the trip, both ways, will be two weeks. This is in fact about the average time consumed ; and during seasons in which the canal is used, these boats do actually pass the lock four times per month. The toll being now reduced. to 50 cents per ton, a boat of 200 tons, whose value, at $60 per ton, is $12,000, will pay for each pas-

40

sage through the locks, $100, or at the rate of $400 per month, and $4,800 per year.

The navigation of the Ohio helow Cincinnati, and of the Mis- sissippi below St. Louis, is not obstructed by ice and extreme low water, more than four months in the year; the navigation is open eight months, during which time the boats between Cincinnati and St. Louis may,and actually do run, and are actively employed. The freshets which enable them to pass over the Falls, are few, and of short duration, and should not be taken into view, in any estimate made for practical purposes; the toll, if any, should be such as the owners of boats could afford to pay throughout the season, and so certain that it could be calculated in advance as a regular item in the expenditure of the boat. Now if a boat passes the canal four times in a month, or thirty-two times in eight months, paying 50 cents per ton for each transit, she will pay sixteen dollars per ton, in the eight months which are comprised in the running season, and in four seasons she will pay sixty-four dollars per ton, which is the full value.

The capital invested in steamboats in the West, we have shewn to be $7,200,000, which must be re-produced every five years, as that is the term of the existence of a boat; and if this capital be subject to a tax of from 20 to 30 per cent, in tolls, and 18 per cent, insurance, those boats which pass the canal, will, in five years, pay double their cost, in freight and insurance. In other words, a steamboat engaged in the regular trade between Cincinnati and St. Louis, which cost $25,000 when new, must earn $75,000, to pay her cost, insurance, and tolls, over and above her ordinary expenses, before she can begin to make pro- fits for her owners. This expenditure is only reduced by the occurrence of freshets which enable the boats to pass over the Falls, or by occasional trips to other ports-*

While our trade is burthened by this enormous tax, we have shewn that, for the use of an insufficient Canal, the stockhold- ers are reaping a high annual interest upon their investment, amounting probably to an average of 12 or 13 per cent; and the government of the United States is a partner in the gains of the profitable stock, having already received for their subscription of $235,000, cash dividends amounting to $258,378

And stock amounting to 55,200

$313,578

41

So that the government has received back in dividends §78,578 more than her investment, and is the holder of nearly one-third of the shares, of this money making corporation.

We repeat that no liberal man would object to paying a fair interest on the investment of those public spirited individuals, who have completed this useful work, at their own risk. And however any may object, they have vested rights, which deserve respect, and around which the law has thrown her conservative sanction. The public voice, however, has condemned the levying of a tax on such a highway, and the high rate of the toll has increased the general dissatisfaction. To remedy this evil, an act has been passed by the Legislature of Kentucky, authoris- ing the Canal Company to appropriate the net annual income of the Canal to the purchase of stock, held by others than the United States, at a rate commencing at §150 per share, and increasing annually by the addition of the interest on the value of the stock; and when the whole shall be purchased, to surrender the Canal to the United States, on condition that the work shall be kept in repair, and that the tolls levied shall be no more than sufficient to pay the expenses of the custody, repairs, &c. There is a further condition, that the United States, after taking possession of the work, shall report annually to the Legislature of Kentucky, the amount of the receipts and expenditures, and making the latter body the judge, whether the conditions of the law are complied with.

The stock of the Canal, having become a safe and profitable investment, the inducement to the acceptance of this law, is by no means strong, and it would doubtless have been rejected, had the stockholders consulted only their present interest. But the universal condemnation of a tax, which all unite in pronounc- ing insupportably burthensome, indicated to them in significant language, the impolicy of provoking a high spirited people, into an exercise of power, which might, by diverting the commerce into other channels, render their work of little value. They reluctantly consented to carry the act into effect; and they have reported that 471 shares were purchased from the profits of 1843, and that 500 shares will be purchased in 1844.

But will the United States await the tardy operation of this

42

law, and will she accept the trust offered by it? If the net receipts of a year will only purchase 500 shares, it will take fourteen years to buy 7,000 shares, at the same price; but as the price of the stock is to be annually increased, it will take longer. If the locks are to be enlarged, by the company, and other improvements made, which are urgently and imperatively demanded, and these expenditures deducted from the annual receipts, it will take at least twenty years, to complete the pur- chase, and bring about the desired reduction of tolls — a delay, to which the Western people are not willing to submit. And if the requsite improvements arc to be delayed until the change of ownership shall be consummated, the just expectations of the Western people will be disappointed, for no unnecessary delay, not the delay of a year without unavoidable necessity, will be viewed with complacency by those who are interested ~n this navigation.

Neither do we suppose that the United States will accept the work, on the conditions imposed by the law of Kentucky, and hold it subject to the supervisory power of that State. The proposition is unreasonable, and will hardly be insisted upon, when its objectionable character shall be pointed out.

We respectfully advise, we earnestly solicit, that an appro- priation be made without delay, for the purchase of this Canal, at a price conforming with the value which the stockholders have placed upon it by accepting the terms of the law above alluded to; and that measures be taken to procure the repeal of any law of Kentucky, by which the control of that State over the work is reserved. This purchase can be made, as will be seen from the above data, for a sum not varying far from one million of dollars; and by a further expenditure of from three to four hundred thousand dollars, in making a new set of locks, to be additional to those now in operation, in deepening the Canal, and in widening it in two or three places to admit the passage of boats, the requisite facilities for surmounting this formidable obstruction would be fully and promptly supplied. The Canal might then, either be supported by the United States and made free, or a small toll might be imposed, sufficient to pay for the repairs and requisite attendance. That toll would probably not

43

exceed Jive cents per ton, or one-tenth of the tribute which is now levied upon the industry and enterprise of the Western people.

Your Memorialists, in making this recommendation, are influenced in some measure by the consideration that this work can be purchased as cheaply as a new Canal could be constructed, of similar length, and equal efficiency, and that such being the case, good faith suggests the purchase of the property from the individuals who hold it under the sanction of a law of Kentucky, and in partnership with the government of the United States, rather than the construction of a rival work by which the value of this property would be destroyed. They believe also that they would arrive at the object of this Memorial, sooner, by the purchase and improvement of this Canal, than by the tedious process of constructing a new work. But if this purchase cannot be effected, or can only be accom- plished at an unreasonable price, or subject to burthensome conditions, or vexatious delay, then we respectfully recommend the construction of a new work, upon the most eligible site, to be selected by the Engineers of the government.

It has been suggested that this improvement might be ef- fected by excavating a channel through the Falls. The practicability of this plan, has not been demonstrated, and even if a safe passage of the Falls could be produced by cutting through the rock, we should deprecate the attempt. The natural dam formed by this ledge of rock, being removed, a series of rapids or bars in the channel above would probably be produced, which would greatly injure the navigation.

The Upper and Lower Rapids of the Upper Mississippi, pre- sent formidable obstructions to the navigation of that noble river, and impede the access to one of the most productive and beauti- ful regions of the habitable globe. These impediments, consist- ing of ledges of rock which lie across the river, are extensive, and during the seasons of low water, render this fine river wholly impassable for freighted boats, which are obliged to be unladen and lighted over the rapids; and causing the expense of freight- to increase by double and three-fold, at such seasons. Yet they are of such a character as to be susceptible of removal at a

44

comparatively small expense. Above these rapids the river is navigable to the Falls of St. Anthony, distant from St. Louis 900 miles. In their vicinity, and beyond them, lies a wide ex- panse of country, embracing a large portion of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, of incomparable fertility and inexhaustible re- sources— a region of prairies teeming with vegetative power, and ready cleared to the hand of the husbandman. Equally adapted to the growth of wheat, the rearing of cattle, and the produc- tion of wool, — this country already, though in its infancy, affords a large surplus for exportation; and so vast is the extent of its rich lands, that the increase of its staples is great, beyond con- ception. The country over which thirteen years ago, the militia of Illinois chased the bands of Black-Hawk, and in which the Sauks, the Sioux, and the Winnebagoes contended for mastery, furnished during the past year the freights for 244 steamboats and 55 keels!

In the same region are lead mines, in prosperous operation, which supply annually to commerce, 40,000,000 pounds of lead, included in the above estimate, worth One Million of dollars, and supposed to be capable of supplying that metal, in sufficient quantities to meet the demands of the civilized world; while the copper mines recently opened, are also becoming valuable. To shew further the productiveness, of a country so recently a wil- derness, and still only known in that character to most of the American people, we state that in 1840, nine counties in the southern part of Wisconsin, produced 197,225 bushels of wheat, 25,966 head of cattle, 45,136 hogs, and 7,564 tons of lead. If such are the products of a small and remote district of a newly settled land, how prolific must be the broad region in which it lies? How impossible to calculate the wealth of the Great West, when single counties estimate their products by such imposing figures!

It appears from data kept at St. Louis, that the navigation of the Upper Mississippi was clear of ice, in 1841, eight months, in 1842 eight months and seven days, and in 1843 seven months and eleven days. As the navigation of this vast region is closed by the immutable laws of nature during four months of the year, the duty of the government is the more imperative, to keep it

45

open during the other eight months, into which all the business

done upon its waters must be crowded.

The arrivals of boats from the Upper Mississippi, at St. Louis,

during the last three years, were as follows : —

Steamboats, Keel Boats*

1841 143 108

1842 195 88

1843 244 55 The emigration to this favored region is great; the completion

of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which may now be looked for at an early period, and the connection between the Wiscon- sin and Fox rivers, which cannot be long delayed, will give it peculiar attractions; and as the proprietor of by far the greater part of the domain, the government is invited by interest, as well as by duty, to open the navigable channels of the country, and thus accelerate its settlement, and promote the sale of her own lands.

But we advocate the improvement of this river, as well as the Illinois, the Wabash, and the Ohio, with the more confidence, as two of them are already connected with the Lakes by canals, and the other two will soon be similarly connected, and they are thus emphatically great national highways, connecting the North and the South, the East and the West, and bringing distant and apparently discordant interests into harmonious co-operation.

The bars in the Ohio may be classed, — first, into those formed of hard and apparently permanent gravel; 2nd, shifting or loose gravel; and 3d, shifting sandbars. These bars have been mi- nutely surveyed, on several occasions, by officers of the Unit- ed States, whose reports furnish all the information which may be desirable in regard to them, and preclude the necessity of any detailed description in this memorial. It may be remarked, how- ever, that while these bars present serious obstacles to navigation in low water, they seem also to serve a valuable purpose in an- other respect. The Ohio through its whole course, has in general a gentle and equable current. In low water, the river is resolv- ed into a series of ripples or dams, with extensive basins of slack water between them, varying in depth from two to five fathoms. It would seem as if Nature had formed these bars or dams, for the purpose of collecting the water above them, and thus form-

46

ing a succession of navigable pools. Following this indication, it would seem desirable, not to remove • them, which is perhaps impracticable, but to pass them by some form of artificial chan- nel, which would not greatly change the depth of the water above. Experiments having this object in view, have already been made under the patronage of the government, by constructing wing dams from each side of the river, so as to confine the current within narrow banks, and to give it a sufficient volume of water to wash a current for itself. A work of this character was con- structed about eighteen years ago, by Col. Long of the Topo- graphical Engineers, at Henderson bar, 200 miles below Louis- ville; and similar dams have since been constructed, at French Island, Three Mile Island, Scuffletown bar, and the Three Sisters. These were among the shoalest and most difficult places in the Ohio, and they have been greatly improved. We have little doubt that this mode of improvement, when prosecuted upon a scale consistent with the importance of the object, and the libe- rality of a great Nation, and reduced to system by a careful attention to the results of experiment and observation, will be found successful, to a considerable extent. It is supposed that it may prove abortive in some cases, from a tendency of the sand when washed from one place, to deposite itself in another im- mediately below, and thus form a new obstruction. This might occur in some, but certainly would not in all instances; and if the original obstruction can be removed by art, the new creation may also be removed by the same, or some other means. It may also be suggested, that many of these bars, supposed to be the most difficult to affect by permanent artificial improvement, are composed of shifting sand, through which channels are easily cut, which would remain open during the season of low water, but would be filled up with the same species of loose sand, du- ring the floods of the winter. It may be worthy of experiment, whether at such places, channels might not be opened annually, and kept open during the season, at an expense, trifling when compared with the value of the service. Small vessels, propel- led by steam, and supplied with machinery for scooping out the sand, would open channels sufficiently deep for the smaller class of steamboats, with great facility, and they might run from bar

47

to bar throughout the season of low water, without incurring any formidable expenditure.

The Ohio river, though not obnoxious to the full force of the sarcasm of the distinguished Virginian who described it as frozen one half of the year, and dried up during the remainder, is sub- ject to vicissitudes, which seriously affect the navigation, and demand the national attention, from the double consideration of the magnitude of the evil, and the vastness of the means required for its correction. If the work can be done at all, in a manner worthy of the energies of a great people, and permanently ad- vantageous, it must be done by the National Government.

When the waters are low during the summer and autumn, this majestic river dwindles to a small stream, and becomes compara- tively useless. Among the hills of Pennsylvania and Virginia, it is seen rippling over bars of gravel and ledges of rock, through which boats of the lightest burthen, with difficulty find a passage. Further down, a series of sandbars, extending in some places from shore to shore, and in others projecting from the margin of the river far into its bed, render its navigation almost impractica- ble. Steamboats constructed for the purpose, and navigated by skilful pilots, ply at this season with difficulty. Many are grounded upon the bars, from which perilous situation, some are relieved by great labor, attended with serious delay and expense, while others remain exposed to the elements during the re- mainder of the season, and are either lost or seriously injured. — The larger boats are wholly useless during this part of the year; and of the hundreds of noble vessels that are actively plying at other seasons, freighted with rich cargoes, the greater portion are now idle.

As a general rule the water is lowest during the months of July, August and September, but the autumnal months are frequently dry, and in that case, the river remains low until the winter. We call attention to this fact, as showing the long period during which this valuable navigation is destroyed, or so impeded as to be attended with great expense and risk of loss.

Throughout the winter the frequent changes from cold to moderate weather, produce rains and thaws, which occasion a

48

series of freshets, and afford ample supplies of water. The change from the severe cold of the winter, to the higher tem- perature of the spring, is usually sudden, and causes the precipitation of vast floods into the channels of our rivers. The snows which cover the Allegheny Mountains, along their whole western exposure, from the borders of New York, to those of North Carolina, arc rapidly melted, and the whole of this mass of water thrown suddenly into the Ohio, which now attains its greatest depth and volume. In the great rise of 1832, the water rose at Cincinnati sixty-three feet above low water mark; the sectional area was 91,464 feet, without inclu- ding its extension over the lower parts of Cincinnati and Covington; the number of cubic feet discharged per hour was 2,998,529,714, and the velocity of the stream was 6| miles per hour.

One of the important consequences of these great floods is, the creation of obstructions in the form of logs and trees, which are swept from the bank and precipitated into the stream. The snags which cause the destruction of so many boats, are formed of large trees which are thrown into the channel, by the crumbling of the banks, or the force of the current. The base of the stem, and the mass of roots, rendered heavier by the earth which adheres to it, sinks to the bottom; the top of the tree floats, and is thrown into the direction of the current; the foots become imbedded and firmly fixed; the smaller branches decay and drop off, and the large limbs remain, pointing down the stream. When these sunken trees are concealed beneath the surface, they are very dangerous to boats, which, rushing upon them with the momentum given by a powerful steam engine, seldom fail, when they strke, to have the hull perforated, and the boat sunk.

This branch of the subject has already received the attention of the government, and the results of the experiments instituted have been entirely satisfactory. The snag-boat, constructed under the direction of the government, has been successful in removing these obstacles, at a very trifling expense, and with great facility. The boat is of simple construction, yet has such power, that the largest tree, however firmly fixed, is removed in

49

a few minutes. A number of these ingenious vessels were em- ployed for several years, with such success, that thousands of snags were removed from the Ohio and Mississippi, the most dangerous places were rendered perfectly safe, and the whole navigation made completely free from this formidable evil. In the year ending in September 1833, 1960 si*ags were taken up from the Mississippi, and the chances of danger diminished by at least that number. The crews of the boats were employed within the same year, when the water was too high to permit their working on the bed of the river, in felling the overhanging trees, which stood on banks liable to be undermined; and remo- ved 10,000 trees, which must soon have been precipitated into the current.

From 1822 to 1827, the loss of property on the Ohio and Mississippi, by snags alone, including steam and flat boats, and their cargoes, amountedto $1,362,500. The losses on the same items, from 1827 to 1832, were reduced to $381,000, in conse- quence of the beneficial action of the snag boats, and those losses were still further reduced in the years immediately suc- ceeding by the diligent prosecution of the same service.

We are not aware of the causes which have induced the dis- continuance of this valuable service, but we know that the con- sequences have been most disastrous. For several years past, the appropriations for the snag boats, have been so small as to render that service wholly inefficient, and the snags have accu- mulated with fearful rapidity in all the western rivers, while the increasing amount of commerce, and number of boats, have swelled the danger and the losses to an appalling extent. In the memorial of the citizens of St. Louis, recently published, it is stated that "in the year 1839 there were forty steamboats lost; forty-one in 1840; twenty-nine in 1841; and in the year 1842, the number is said to be twenty-eight — making a total in four years of one hundred and thirty-eight boats." The estimate here given for the latter year, is far short of the truth, for since the date of this memorial, at least fifteen steamboats have been lost; indeed, while preparing this memorial, a single mail from the southwest, brought intelligence of the loss of five boats,

7-

50

four more were added to the melancholy list, on the following day, and three more by a subsequent arrival.

Between the 11th of September and the 15th of October, in the year 1842, the losses on the Mississippi, between St. Louis and the mouth of the Ohio, a distance of only 180 miles, were $234,000. Within the succeeding seventeen months, there have been lost 72 Steamboats, worth $1,200,000, besides their cargoes, which were of great value.

The losses paid by the Insurance Offices in Cincinnati alone, on boats and cargoes, during a period of five years, from Novem- ber 1837 to November 1842, including only the losses by obstruc- tions in the navigation, and excluding all losses by explosion, collision, fire, and other causes, have been $442,930 89. As Insurance is made also at Pittsburgh, Louisville, Nashville, St. Louis, Wheeling, Natchez, New Orleans, and at some of the smaller towns, the above sum might be multiplied by seven to arrive at something like a fair approximation of the losses sus- tained by underwriters, from the dangerous condition of the navigation, and the result would be three millions of dollars, or six hundred thousand dollars per annum. If to this be added the losses from the same cause, on which there was no Insurance, the amount would be not less than one million of dollars per annum. One million of dollars per annum is actually taxed on the commerce of the West, for losses sustained, in consequence of obstructions, which might be wholly removed, by an appro- priation by Congress, of a comparatively trifling sum! An additional fact shewing the danger of this navigation, is, that many offices have declined to insure the hulls of boats, and such risks are only taken on the best boats, and at rates varying from 12 to 18 per cent; the insurers are said to lose money at even these enormous rates. The amount then, of the annual -risk, on the $7,200,000 invested in steamboats alone, is more than one million of dollars.

The most fruitful causes of these losses are the snags; a species of obstruction which we have shown to be completely within the control of the government; and we therefore re- spectfully urge the propriety of an immediate and energetic action by the government, in reference to this subject, by the

51

construction of as many snag boats as may be necessary, and an annual appropriation, for keeping these boats in the regular service of the Nation, from year to year.

We have thus far not touched upon the exposure of life, occasioned by the inattention of government to this dangerous navigation. There are employed on the 60 steamboats, and the 4000 flat and keel boats, that float on the Ohio and Mis- sissippi, not less than from 45 to 50,000 persons; and as all the steamboats carry passengers, there are several hundred thousand, not Western citizens only, but citizens of each and every State in the Union, annually exposed to delay, expense, inconvenience, and jeopardy of life, from the causes indicated in this Memorial. And who shall count the value of their lives? Shall the lives of the free citizens of an enlightened Nation, be weighed against the amount of an appropriation in money, which would insure their safety? The Romans paid the highest civic honors to him who saved the life of a citizen; and if we admire the principle which dictated this policy, what should be the conduct of a christian and highly civilized Nation — a Nation of unbounded resources and untiring energy, in reference to a work ' of comparative insignificance, but the neglect of which involves daily and hourly the lives of many citizens? The American people have reserved in their Constitution the right of passing from State to State, and of transporting their property throughout the Union; and can it be doubted that the government should facilitate the exercise of a right asserted with such provident care? To an enter- prising, commercial, and highly social people, who travel so continually and so extensively, no subject can be more impor- tant than that under consideration.

It might not be proper here to enter into a minute descrip- tion of a steamboat disaster on the Mississippi. The peculiar character of that mighty river, the irresistible force of the current^and the steep and crumbling nature of the banks which afford but few safe places of landing, surround the di ' li ig of a boat on these waters with fearful dangers. When a steamboat heavily laden, and crowded with passengers, strikes

52

upon a snag in the night, and is engulphed in a few minutes in the stream, the scene is terrific beyond description; the loss of life to some of the more helpless of those embarked, is inevita- ble, and the danger to all appalling.

It is not be disguised that many losses occur from the in- sufficiency of steamboats and their machinery, and from the culpable rashness, negligence, and ignorance of those who have them in charge. This a subject which has excited much public attention, and has even occupied a prominent place in the discussions of the National Legislature. The result of the most careful inquiries has produced a general conviction on the minds of those conversant with the subject, that while we have many fine boats, managed with as much skill and prudence as those of any other country, and in which the passenger enjoys the highest degree of safety of which such navigation is sus- ceptible, there is connected with the remainder, an inex- cusable want of care of the lives intrusted to them. The unavoidable accidents to steamboats, are few, in comparison with losses occasioned by neglect and bad management, and by obstructions in the navigation.

To discriminate among these causes of loss, and apply the remedy, is a matter of no small delicacy and embarrassment, but it is one which would be stripped of much of its difficulty if the natural obstacles which endanger the navigation were remo- ved. At present, the great number of steamboat losses, blunts the public sensibility in regard to such catastrophes, and wearies and baffles that spirit of inquiry which would investigate the causes of these disasters; while it affords a ready excuse for those, who might otherwise become the objects of public con- demnation. If the river channels were disarmed of their terrors, and the safety of boats was made to depend entirely upon the fidelity and skill of their construction and management, the pub- lic would demand a much greater degree of security than is now expected, and the owners and officers of boats would be held to a higher degree of responsibility. A wholesome moral effect would also be produced by the action of the Government. So long as the government, regardless of its parental and conserva- tive character, remains a cold and indifferent spectator of the

53

destruction of life and property, so long will life and property cease to be regarded with care by the thoughtless portion of its citizens. In a country where public opinion is the sovereign law, and where so much of that public opinion flows from the legislation created by itself, a tender sensibility for the life of the citizen, and a decorous respect for his property, is peculiarly demanded from those, who in making the laws, influence the morals and sentiments of the people.

In conclusion, we commend this whole subject to the early and serious attention of Congress, and pray the adoption of such measures as are demanded by the urgency of the occasion, the vast exposure- of life and property, the greatness of the interests involved, the honor and advantage of the American people.

JAMES HALL, Chairman, T. J. HALDERMAN,

JOHN C. VAUGHAN, E. D. MANSFIELD,

E. S. HAINES, J. G. WOODIN,

PAUL ANDERSON, S. W. HARTSHORNE,

M. T. WILLIAMS, P. ROGERS,

ROBERT BUCHANAN, JOSEPH PIERCE, Sen.

GEORGE CARLISLE, JEDEDIAH BANKS, LEWIS WHITEMAN, Henry Hayes, Secretary.

•

•

1

.

II ■

!

W ) I

'

i

r

-

r "■ ■ • ' t, ■

£

,

■ ■
•&-
liajS'
:22SS 1 vqp*- i
■H
S8 '		1

^^^^Immb

■•

•■

:

j

**

. '.

I

'

.

•

^

■■ -

|

1

'

i

l

■■