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II it '1 AND North-Carolina State Gazette, Ouri ire the plant of fair delightful Peace, Unwarp'd by party rage, to live like Brother THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1810. No 548 EIGH ? 4. .1; PORT Elf SPEECH on .,-Tni L IMPROVEMENTS. rrB:u avy 3. 1'. P RTfR, I have risen. , urpor of asking the atten- f he House to a subject, than .'' 1 mav confidently sty, there is v 'n' dut :egards our d mcstic poii r important' r which more loud r ith U r the interposition of the Nj , r .! l. t:i l'ure I :U;;ect 'o w hich I allude, is the jr.iprrvemcnt of the U. States S ard canals Ami I intend, be t',.v i to offer a resolution, the oi w hie h v ill be to ascertain the f the H n sr in relation to he n v "f apj ropriati g a part of :!ic '.and to such implements. '. ? m mr habit of trrsM3ssintr I 5 I 1 . 1 n.-inire of 1 he House, and I I lU- tv apolov will b- r q ir d f.-r j . tnt 1 tr.ay occupy in ptesentmg t rai kw f this subject, as . -v :t,y ce of it seems, in my opi- j nd. I know that the tim !iette is preciotu -I am awate arc many matters connected - f ri in ela'ions, that h ve . riaims t it attention ; nut tney i..Tnj not to exclud tvrrv other ': ni legislation. I have the ho- i. p rofit a portion of the coun .. -n ,s ih ;i a little affected . r t t o'limtrcial relations as .11 uf it. Unit' d S'atts ; and yet w-,, with f.reat attention .n.t inte t th varnus plans and proposi .v n are diiiy submitted and ds ' ! 'k. H tisc, and with which 1 t ne is .lm jst exclu ivi !y . c firmrt'ion and set ,itv ' to i . 1 1 1 t . .t. .. 1 .i.i v nn v itt.oiiall proper cccasi :ns i .ili t mv constituents as bouiul ... 1 -t it!i tluir persons and their r . j'u 1 1 th. last extremity, the r, , ot ihe merchants of this fun ; ( ) itu o'!er hand, I have a rip, hi v . t hat il-.e gentlemen whorepre- r rat r.-.i::i!einieres, will not only '. v! : p enre the prop-sition I am s .Haiit, but that they will -,k xr, br the fair opjH.irtun'ty, I in- 1 . them, xf proving the sin- ! I t t professions which we -fen and so loudly made or .- hi vor of 'he agricultural in rtntlftn n tell us that com i v h' h md-maid of agricul- I t ! r i r zeal to protect j r sii-.5 merely from a desire ; c , Iim. ugh is instrumentality . rr s-s of agriculture. 1 i t s 1 n the siti- trity '.r tlvse i n r the orreclne'-s of the ti.tv a-, rr . but it u to : K'iiOl i L r. the g-ntkmtn win oe 1 . v:.v a dirrct tncouragt " -rtr.re, ts to da it indi ' : e nn -dium of commerce. 1 i 1 M 1 t ' rh u d that a bill was j 1 i uti on your table, ftom ! . f-nbtacing the subject of -ttiis. Wh t course this j !. i iktn, or what may be ' L:te ia that Hote, were it ( 10c to c njrrtuie, it would J !tr nv tstate in this place, t c present s ate ot my n ' ! tt soh'jict- I maintain v ' cc -use 1 hid some lit le ; ' . ;r g it in the form in ; , t is on your table, and in appeal eil m the Se m c.use it theietoie. shew-, f a ; ictical moie of. cany. ! s i the resol'ition into t f : 1 .ut.- beg tin 1 1 ustT to bear a ,'ri mis .f llut bill, i;. nervations which I am il. .u ti thee ot)'ervations ions e a ta gain the ear of s- bit- 'hit s me of the vi ws n ') u to t.ke f this subject i ted as '00 txt ravug ut a ! :hat 'lu y may at first 1 . -; c r.otce of aflcrt alion, 'V-Mr it w;!i !e recll c:ed ''J ct is in itseii of vail mag ' vx t r t ; and that, in older ' 1 Wi'h ...y degree ot jus I n n ttsjr) to consider it i . ' ihr g- c ai and toTerspin 4 wai h i, is c delated to pro- pci nut toe, tn th. fir-t plate. . that g' syst. m ol x-' li n, su-vii a isfc mrrm. " t bul intr'-duccd tnt the iy .n oti ct of the fust " t ) h f.itu pr -sp-ntv 01 considered as a measure j of political economy, but as a measure of state policy it is indispensible to the preservation of ihe integrity of this go vernment. The United States have for twenty years past been favored in their exter nal commerce, in a manner unequalled j perhaps in the history of the world, Our citizens have not only grcn rich, but , they have almost gone mud in pursuit . oihis commerce. Such have tj .cn its temptations, as to engage in it almost, the whole of the floating capital of the country, and a great part of its enter prise ; and every other occupation has been considered as secondary and sub ordinate. This extraordinary success of commerce has been oing pattiy to our loed situation, partly to the native enterpr ze of our citizens, but primarily to the unparalleled succession of events in Europe. The course of these evmis, bef .re sr propitious to our interests, h ts of late very mateiialy changed, and with it has changed the tide of our commer cial prosperity. I am f ir however from be!i. v.m: that t hi sudden reverse may ttol eventually prove -fortunate for the tru ' interest of ilu U. S. Th-- ernbur-ra-snv nts, which the b'.lli:;r; v.l h .v thrown in the w y of cur txietn I r n mc'.r, have turned1 tin aUenti t o! tat p.ople of this country to their own in lern.d resource. And in vtt wing these reS jttr. es we pi rceie with pride that there is no count tv 01 tarth, which in the IVri lity of its o 1, the extent and vri ?y of its climate and productions j affords the means of nuti nal wealth and I greatness in th me isure they arc en ; y ved by the pe tijdcot the U. hljtrs. II '. ihee means arc properly fost- red and ; cncour;'g'd by a liberal and enlightened ; ooln v, we shall ftu.n be able not only d fetid our indt -nei.dence at home, uiuch however 1 .continently trust, uc hive now both the ability and the dis position to do, fiotwiths a- thtig the n at that are attempted to be exi iu d on this subject, but we shall be able to potect our foreign commerce against the unit ed power of the world. One great ob ject of the system i am about to pra pose, is to unlock these internal resour ces to enable the citizen of one p;rt of 'the United b a.es to exchange his products for th se of another, and to op-n afgr ;it ioter al tommerce, which is acknowledged by all wno profe-s any ; ki!l in the science of political economy I t.. be much more p 0(1 bl : and jrlvan- j tage us, than the uio-t fav ed exter nal commerce which w could enjoy. The system, however, has another ob j ct in view no' !es important. j The people of the V. S. are divided ; by a geographic ;! line into two great j and distinct actions The people who j ' live along the A lantic on ihe east side ; r 1 .ii : . I ...I 1 'lie uieiraoy inouu auia, ;ihi wnu i 1 1 mr rc t K t K r- ir r- t rl KsPQ 1 f f n T- I chants, mainilactut ers nd agricultural ists, and those who occupy the west si !e of those mountains, who are exclusively agriculturalists. This diversify and supposed contrariety of interest and pursuL between the people of these two great divisions of country, and the dif ference of character to which these oc cupations give tise, it has been confi deutly asserted and is stdl believed by many, will lead to a separation of the Ut.it. d 5 ates at no very distant day. In my humble opinion, sir, this very di versity of uitcresl will, tf skilfully ma naged, be the means of producing a ciarer and nioie intimate union of the states. It will be obviously fur ihe in terests of the inteiior states to exchange the. great sti'pius products of their lands, and the raw materi ds of manu factures for the merchaad xe and manu factured articles of the eastern states ; and on the other haod 'h interests of he merchants and manuf ictureis of the A1 lantic will be equ tliy promoted by this internal commerce and it is oy promoting this commerce, by en eourair.g k facilitating :his intercourse, it is by p oducing atnatual dependence of interests between these two great sections, and by these means only, that the U. S. can ever be kept tog-.th. r. 'I he gieat evd, and it is a serious one indeed sir, und.r which the inhabi tants of the western country lab ur. a- rises Ir .m the want of a maiket. There is no place where the great staple artt. t ies for the use of civilized life can be produced in greater abundance or with greater ease. And yet as respects most f th- luxuries and m ny of the conve niences ol life, the people are poor They have na vent for their produce at n me ; because, bei ig all agr'u ultural ii.s, they produce alike the same arti cles with the same facility ; and such is the present dini ulty and expence of transporting their produce to an Atlan- tic port, mat little benents are realised fron that quarter. The single circum stance, of the want of a market, is al ready beginning to produce the most disastrous effects, not only on the in dustry but upon the morals of the inha bitants. Such is the fertility of their lands, that one half of their time spent in labor if sufficient to produce every ar tide, which their farms are capable of yielding in suiTk ient quantities for their own consumption, and there is nothing to incite them to produce more. They arr therefore, naturally led to sp-nd the other part of their time in idleness and dissipation. Their increase in num bers, and the ease with which children uie brought up and fed, far from en couraging them to become manufactu rers for themselves, puts at a great dis tance 'he tin e, when, quitting the free dom and independence of masters of lhe soil, they will submit to the labor and confinement ol manufacturers. This, sir, is the true situation of the we ,,n ag-i' uhitralist. I becomes then an nb'M. of national importance, t..r on weighing almost every other that can OiC.upy the attention of ibis House, to enquire whether the evils i'-cideni to this slate of thinr:-, may not be remo ved, by opening ; cent navigable canal from the Atlantic to the western states ; and thtis promoting he natural connec tion and inte rcourse bet ween the fermei and-the merchant, so h-ghlv conducive to the inteitsts of both Thisbtings me mote immediately to the object ot the resolution which I shall have the ho nor to submit. And I mu-s' btg the indulge uce of he House while I ttemp to shew, -by a georraphiral detail, m only the importance bu the practi. abil ity of such a navigation. The g tat ranges ot mountains, con tinued from the circular mountain i Georgia, on the sou'h, to th Mowiiawk river in the Slate of New York, on th no th, intercept and destroy the navig -lion t)f all the rivrs which discharg into the Atlantic and uppioach the wes tern country. But when you have pas sed these mountains from the Atlantic, that country, opens a scene of natur-d internal navigation unequalled in the world. The face of the country h so uniformly level as to make almost every small stream by w hich it is intersected, navigable for boats of considerable size The chain of western lakes, extending from the nor;h eastern extremity of lake Ontario to the south western termina tion of lake Michigan, affords now an exce llent navigation, for vessels drawing ten fee: of water, of fourteen hundred miles in extent uninterupted, except ri a 1 v. T" by the tans ana rapids ot INiagara, a distance oi only eight miles. To the south and west of these lakes the waters o: W'thin short distances of, and are inter locked by the waters of fhe lakes. Th." lands along these dividing waters are generally level ; and the rivers are na vigable and might be connected by short canals at little expense. I wiil men ion some of the principal points at which these connexions might be formed. On the south-western part of LakeE rie, in the State of N. York, there is a portage of eight miles from that lake to a small lake, called the Chatauqua. The Chatauqua is the reservoir or source of one of the branches of the Allegany ri ver, and this stream is navigable from the lake to Pittsburg, on the Ohio, for boats of thir y tons burthen. The wa ters of the Chatauqua are higher than those of Lnke lLiie, to which there is a giadual and regular descent of land ; and a canal might be opened between them at a very moderate expence. On the botitli side of Like Erie in P nsylvania, there is another portage of t5 miles, over an artificial road, from Presque Isle to French Creek, another branch of the Allegany, and which is al so navigable for boats carrying two hun dred barrels. Over these two portages was sen, eluring the last summer, more than 0O 000 bushels of salt, manufac tured in the interior of the State of N. Yo:k, and transported through Lakes Ontario and Erie, across these portages and d,own to Pittsbuig, for the use of the inhabitants of the Ohio and its tn butaty streams. This salt trade was commenced about seven years ago, and t has been encreastng ever since, at the rate of twenty-five per cent, a year ; And if the great Itne of navigation, to ' 1 T 1ft . . . . which I shall presently call the atten- tion of the House, were opened, they people of the Ohio, and its various wa ters would be supplied with that great and necessary article of life, fifty per cent, cheaper than it now costs them. About loo miles to the West of Presque Isle, in the State of Ohio, the river Cayohaga opens a good bo. t na vigation from Lake Erie, to within six cr eight miles of the navigable waters of the Muskingum : and I understand that a communication is about to be o- j pened between them, either by means jot a canal or an artificial road, under the patronage of the Legislature of tha1 Slate. About 150 miles still further to the west, in the Territories of Michi gan and Indiana, other communications may be formed between the waters of the Miami of Lake Erie, and the Wa bash and Miami of the Ohio- At the Soiioh Western. extremity of Lake Michigan, the most inconsidera ble expence would open a canal between I the waters of that lake, and the Ilinois ! river, one of the principal branches of j the Mississippi. Naure has already made th s connection nearly complete ; and it is not uncommon for boats, in the spring of the year, to pass from the Like into thy Illinois, and thence by the wafers of the Illinois and M ssissippi to N w-Orleans, without being taken out of the water. Further to Ihe North, a connection might be famed with nearly the same facility, between the waters of the Fox river which discharges into Greet) Bay. and the Ouisconsing, another branch of the M'ssissippi : nd the lands adjacent to these rivers ore said to be uncom ino ly rich and f-rtile. From this view of the western coufiH ry. and the great extent of i its natural internal navigation,' we perceive the ad vantages to be derived by opening it to die Atlantic by a great canal ; and we discover likewise, at the same time, that it is not very important to the in habitants, by what line this canal ap proaches them, as their interest would be almost equally promoted by any route that might be adopted. I presume how ever, there can be no doubt on this point. The Allegany mountains have aunt form elevation of about 3000 feet above the levej of the tide, Their bases, to gether with those of their parallel ridges, occupy a distance, transversely o a bout 100 miles. They present a o r rier to the opening of any continued na vigation from the Middle States to- the Western country, which, jf not far beyond the reach of art, it is . certainly beyond that of our present national resources to surmount. An inspection of the map will at once point out this leading fact. To unite the highest navigable waters on each side of the mountains, by good roads, is all that cani for some years' c perhaps for some centuries be attempt ed ; and very valuable communications' may be opened in this way. To the South 8c West of these moun tains, the river Mississippi affords an in valuable descending navigation to the in habitants of the vast countries which it traverses But, such is the great extent of that river, and the uniform rapidity of its current, that great doubts are en tertained whether it can ever be made a valuable ascending navigation. It cer tainly cannot, in the present state of the science of navigation, even with the improvement of the Steam htat To the North, still more important difficul ties present themselves in the naviga tion of the St.Lawrence. One of these is found in the great rapids of that river, and another in the severity of the cli mate, wfiTch is such as to shut up the mouth of the river with ice, for six or seven months in the year. The only, practicable route for an ascending navi gation to the lakes, is by way of the Hudson and Mohawk, in the State of New-York, the Hudson being the only river whose tide waters flow above the Blue7 Ridge or Eastern chain of Moun tains. The Mohawk ?rises in the le vel lands of the Western Country, ih the vicinity of Lake Ontario, whence it takes an Easterly direction for about 140 miles near to Albany, the seat of go vernment of the State of N.York, where it passes around the Northern extremi ty of the Western chain of the Allega ny Mountains, and falls into the Hod son. From 'hence the two rivers uni? ted take a Southerly course, and break ing through the East chain of Moun tains, commordy called the Blbe Ridge, at West Point, fall into the Atlantic at New-York. The Hudson is navigable from N York to the mouth of the M ... kawk, a distance of 170 miles, for sloons drawing from eight to ten feet of wa ter. The Mohawk is a river of re- spectable size, and' for the most part of its distance deep and navigable ; but its navigation is occa sit r.a ?.y intetrup ed by falls. A'canal of any extent m ay be made along the margin of this liver, and supnlied with its waters, as high as Rome, which is one hundred and twen ty miles from its mouth. From Rome a canal of mile in length, overbLnds which do not rise more than nine feet above the bed of the river, will connect it with the waters of tike Ontario, down which t he canal may be continued (about sixty miles) to the Lake. The highest elevation of this canal at Rome, would be less than 400 feet above the tide waters of the Hiidson, and less than 900 above the surfac of Lake Ontario. The whole expence of this canal, from the Hudson to the Lake, is estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury, in his ve ry able report to the Senate, of April 1808, on the subject of roads and canals, at 2,200,000 dollars and. I will take the liberty to recommend to the members of this House the perusal of that report, a containing a fund of the most useful geographical and other information, which, on every subject of political a conorny, that gentleman is so eminent ly qualifi d to import. From the place where this canal wou d connectwith Lake Ontario, there is a ship navigation of 2 hundred miles to the falls of Niagara. A canal, with locks sufficiently large for the vessels which navigate the Lakes, might b o pened around these fills, at an expen e, estimated by the Secretary of the Trea sury at 1,000,000 of dollar s. From the Niagara river, there is again a ship na vigation to evety part of Lake Erie. It is presumed that, a canal might be o pened from Lake Erie to the Ohio, for he sum of 500,000 dollars, and ano'hef canal cut around the falls of the Ohio , for the like sum of 500 000 dollars : & v from the falls of the Ohio there is a good navigation of near two thousand miles to the gulph of Mexico. And thus, sir, for the sum of 4, 2 CO ,o 00 dol lars, a great circumnavigation might be formed, embracing the principal part of the United States and their territories and connecting in its course by navi gable waters, the whole of the western St Atlantic countries This csnal would open to the navigation of the Atlan ic, on the lakes alcove f inclusive of Lake Superior, the navigation to which is npvr obstructed by a short rapid in ihe dyer St. Mary's, which connects it with lake Huron ; but waich obstruction might be removed by an eKpence of 30 or 46 thousand dollars) I say. sir, it would open to the navigation of the Atlantic on the lakes above, a coast of between 5 and 6000 miles of as tfine and fertile country as any in the World, And it would open on the Mississippi and its various waters, a country net less fer- J me ana sun more extensive. How ma- ny hundred millions of dollars such an operation would add to the solid wealth of the western country, I will not ven ture to conjecture : But, sir, I may w.ell say, there 13 no wort in the power of man, which would give such life, such vigor, such eriterprize and such riches to the citizens of that country, as the execution ot this canal. Theinhabl tants near the lakes would have a direct communication to and from New-York, by means of the canal, and the effect cf it would be to double the price of their proauce, and to add three or four hun dred per cent, to the valucof their lands The people of the Ohio and Mississip pi would descend -with their produce to N.Orleans and to any port on the Atlnn- ' tic, whence they might return with the articles received in exchange, by way of Hudson & the lakes, to their own homes. The idea of benefiting the people of the Ohio and Mississippi to eny great extent' by this Northern navigation may perhaps, at first, appear visionary ; but I can state it as a fact, that even at this time, under all the disadvantages of that route, goods may be transported from the city of Nw York, by the way of the Hudson and the lakes to any part of the Ohio, and to all those parts of the Mis sissippi above' its confluence, with the Ohio, at as cheap a rate as they can be transported from any poft on the At lantic, by any oihea route. The effect of opening this navigation would then be to reduce the price of transportation to those parts of the Country it feist fif ty and probably seventy-five per cent Another important advantage indexes dent of the general commerce of the lakes ypuid be felt in the reduction o at least fifty per cent- iri the piice "of 1 't 1 HI 1. .1 I
The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
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March 22, 1810, edition 1
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