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HALIFAX, Jn. a FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1824.
F0L. Z
THE "FREE PRESS,"
By George Howard,
Is published every Friday, at
IrtKhri ijul,l,AKS per year,
consisting of 52 numbers, and in the
?.ini2 proportion for a shorter pe
riod. Subscribers at liberty to dis
continue at any time, on paying ar
rearages. Advertisements inserted at fifty
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first insertion, and twenty-five cents
each continuance.
Letters addressed to the Editor
must be lost fiaid.
NAVIGATION OF
THE ROANOKE RIVER.
Extract from the Report of the
Directors to the Stockholders
in the Roanoke Navigation
Company, on the subject of
locking into tie river at
JVchlon, $c.
At a meeting of the Stockhold
er's of the Roanoke Naviga
tion Company, held at Jf el
don on the 8th day of No
vember, 1S24, the following
resolution was adopted:
RESOLVED, That the Stock
holders not being fully represented
at this general meeting, (there only
being a bare majority present,)
and it being very desirable that
the opinion of the Stockholders
should be fully and fairly express
ed upon the question whether the
Roanoke Navigation Company will
accept the subscription cf 25,000
additional stock on the part of the
State of North-Carolina : this
meeting postpones the decision of
the question, whether they will
lock the canal at Weldon into the
river below, to be decided at a sub
sequent general meeting of the
Company; and do not, by publishing
tha Renortnf the. Presirleiit nnrl di
rectors, give their assent or dbsent
to the opinion therein expressed.
Report of the Directors, S'c.
Gentlemen:
At our meeting in May Inst,
a proposition made by the Board
of Internal Improvement of
North-Carolina, to subscribe
S25,000 to the slock of the
Company, on condition that the
same should be exclusively ap
plied to a lockage at Wcldoa
was laid before us, whereupon
it was
Resolved, That this Board
3iave no authority to receive new
subscriptions to the stock of the
Roanoke Navigation Company
on terms varying from the Char
ter." The reasons which influenced
the Board in
resolution are as follow:
The Charter of the Company
provides that new subscriptions
are to be made "at such times
and places and on such terms &
conditions," as the Stockholders
in general meeting may direct
(vide sec. 1.) This clause lim
its the general powers given to
the Directors in the 3d section,
and makes the Stockholders the
sole judges of the expediency of
receiving new subscriptions, as
well as of the time, place, and
terms upon which they may be
made. But bv acceding to
the act of 23d Dec. 1S17, the
Stockholders have consented
"that the State of N. Carolina
hall at any time have the right
io increase her subscription to
the stock of the said Company,
so that her whole interest in the
said stock shall not exceed the
.vim of SS0,000:" they have
therefore parted with the right
to prescribe the time and the
j. mount of the subscription on
com ins to this
does not exceed 80,000. But net so with regard to the terms:
nothing is said in this act of the terms, and it is presumable the
Legislature contemplated that in making the subscription the
State was to come under such equitable regulations as mMit be
established by the Stockholders for the government of new
subscriptions generally; and .this presumption gains strength
from the fact that an express provision of the Charter pla-cs all
the Stockholders, whether states or individuals, upon an equal
footing in proportion to the number of shares held by them
respectively. The Directors viewed the act of 1817 r.s barely
sccurins: to the State of North-Cnrnlinn n vJ-M
. V1 " iiilt IU lid
subscription equal to that of Virginia, and nothing more, ex
cept that there is no limitation as to the time it may be exer
cised; the right to annex terms remaining with the Stockhold
ers. They., (the Directors,) therefore, if they could legally re
ceive any subscription, certainly could have no authority for
receiving one which proposed to subject the Stockholders to
conditions, and under this conviction they thought it best to lav
me mauer over ior ine determination ot this meeting
Before approaching the main question, involved bv this op
position on the part of the Board of Internal Improvement, it
may not be improper to call your attention to a circumstance of
minor importance connected with it.
In the last Annual Report of this Board, the idea is held
out, that 625,000 is a sum sufficient to effect the nronoscd
:kage, while nothing is said of the material with which
the locks are to be constructed, and thi sum i nfTmA
to be subscribed on condition that it shall be exclusively annli-
ed to that object there are -14 feet of fall from the ba sin to the
river to be overcome, and it is believed that less than $1,000
per foot of lift will not be sufficient to effect the work with !
stone, while $10,000 is considered a sufficient sum to construct!
the whole chain, ot wood the stone locks heretofore construct
ed on this canal have cost upwards of $1200 per foot lift, while
in South Carolina, where the public works have been conduct
ed by tire state, similar locks have cost $1500. If $14,000 are
necessary to construct the locks of stone, and the state subscri
bes only $25,000 it becomes an important question with you
to determine whether you can conveniently supply the other
$19,000 in case the state's engineer should determine to build
of stone. If on the other hand he should determine to build of
wood, and an expense of only $10,000 is required, the difficul
ty ef having the state recorded on your books as a subscriber
for $25,000, while by your contract with her you have parted
with the right to demand of her more than M0,000 is involved.
Before acceding to the proposals of the Board of Internal Im
provement, it would seem to us proper that some understanding
should be had on this point.
We are opposed to the project of locking into the river at
Weldon, and we think it due to the occasion to state our views
on the subject.
From the first settlement of the lower Roanoke to the pre
sent day, boats of from 30 to 50 tons burden have been advan
tageously used from the foot of the fails to the mouth of the
river; these boats arc keeled and decked, draw from 4& to t
feet water, and are navigated by four or five persons; the boats
used on the upper river (above the Great Falls) are open bat
teauxof about 7 tons burthen, and navigated by never less than
3 men; these boats descend the river and canal from the moun
tainous districts to the basin at Weldon, which is situated about
300 feet from the river at the foot of the falls. It is proposed
by the Board of Internal Improvement, to induce the Company
to open a communication between the basin and the river by
locks, for the purpose of enabling the batteaux to descend into the
river and continue their voyage to its mouth, 100 miles lower
down, or leaving the river in the neighborhood of Williamston,
to conduct them to Washington by a canal contemplated between
those places. (Vide last Annual Report of Board for Internal
Improvement.)
The notion (which is popular in some sections of the country)
of throwing the river open by these locks, and giving every
place on its banks an equal opportunity lor competing lor its
trade is unreasonable; if the doing it merely depended on the
pleasure of this meeting, no doubt it would be done. But the
question is, shall we expend 25 or rather $44,000 to produce
this equality among places? If we show that the interest of
the Company, and the convenience of the public is best con
sulted by not locking in, we apprehend that no consideration of
advantage to any place will induce you to adopt the proposition.
Let us see the effect of the plan proposed by the Board for
Internal Improvements upon the price of transportation; the di
minution of which, with the facilitating of the commercial in
tercourse of the country, is the great object of internal navigation.
In considering this branch of the subject, we shall throw out
of view that part of the plan dependant on the Roanoke and
Tar river canal, as it is probable that canal will not be shortly
constructed, and confine ourselves to that which contemplates
the continuance of the batteaux to Plymouth.
The present cost of transporting an hhd. of tobacco from
Milton to Weldon, a distance of about 100 miles, is $5;
there being no batteaux regularly engaged between Weldon
and Plymouth, and consequently no established freight, we will
suppose that an hhd. might be carried from one of those places to
the other for the same price, the distance being about the same,
though it is well known here that the batteaux men greatly
prefer the upper to tne lower navigation; anu ior wnai carrying
they have done on the lower, they have had il the rale of $7
per hhd.
$5
62 i
I Freight from Weldon to Plymouth, by batteaux carry ine
about 7 tons burthen: b
rora hhd. tobacco, . -For
1 bbl. Hour,
The boats used between Weldon and Plymouth, and be
tween Weldon and Norfolk, are keel boats, have gcod
decks, and carry from 20 to 50 tons of produce. Freight
from Weldon to Plymouth by these boats:
For 1 hhd. tobacco, - - .
For 1 bbl. flour,
Freight from Weldon to Norfolk bv these boats:
f or l una. tooacco, .
For 1 bbl. flour, ' - . 50 cts. to 62 J
Thus bv usmz the larsre nole ho.it
from eldon to Plymouth, one half of the whole cost of trans
portation between those places is saved; and for the same sum
for which the batteaux can place any commodity in Plymouth,
the larre boat can place it in Norfolk. T)np nt n,;., r. ;.,k L
,v . - . . "uv lino 1U1IH5U a
siihicicnt reason in itself for not using the batteaux, and by
consequence for not locking into the river? Can it be imagined
that any one would of choice forward a cargo of tobacco toPly
mouth in an open batteaux at So per hhd. when they can et
it carried in a secure decked boat at $2:25, or give five for car
rying it to Plymouth, when they can get it to Norfolk for the
same money? If the locks could be erected in two years from
this day, it is not believed that at the end of that time one boat
in nuy wouiu use mem.
It is objected to the nlan of having a trnnsh?
of the produce from the batteaux to Ihn liro-p hnat that ,f ;
tended with expenses which locking into the river would obviate.
The expense of drayagc from the basin to the river
For 1 hhd. of tobacco is, -And
for other articles in proportion.
The cost of building these locks of stone will be at least
$-14,000, on which sum the Company is authorised by
the Charter to receive 15 per cent, per annum in tolls,
or ,;g,600. Suppose that 10,000 hhds: tobacco, or other
articles yielding a toll equal to 10,000, should pass thro'
these leeks in o:;e year, (which is mere than double the
quantity that ever has passed,) the Company must lay
a toll of - - 1 i 1
On each hhd. to get the 15 per cent. but suppose the
Company will be well satisfied to get one half of what
the law allows, then atoll of - -
Must be laid or even one fourth, then a toll of
Must be laid. This statement is made with the view of
shewing that the expense of lockage will probably be a
fair set off to the expense of portage.
s m
CO
33
With regard to the other expenses of transhipment at Wel
don, such as storage and commissions, if they could be saved
by locking into the river, they would accrue at Plymouth if
the battcajjxs used to that place; for the produce raised on
the upper Roanoke being generally of a description suited only
to the European markets, must be carried to a port with which
there is a European tracle. Plymouth having but a limited
trade of that kind, there must be a transhipment of the produce
at Plymouth on board of the coasting vessels which visit that
place, and it must be carried thence to some of the large mar
kets of the U. S. before it can he sold, it not being pretended
that Plynlouth has capital to purchase it. Upon either of these
plans there .must be an agency for transacting the business be
tween the grower of the produce and the purchaser, and the
question is whether it had better be at Weldon, 100 miles
nearer the grower and where it may be shipped direct to Nor
folka town engaged in the European trade, for $5 per hhd. or
at Plymouth, 100 miles further from the grower with the ex
pense of $5 per hhd. to get it there and the additional expense
of $4 per hhd. for getting it to New-York or some other town
engaged in the European trade. The advantage is certainly on
uic aiuu ui uuuu, wueuier yvu regard me convenience ol
the planter, the cheapness of transportation, or the dispatch
of business.
But neither of these plans meet the full approbation of the
Directors; their object is to rid the planter of all the expense
of transhipment, storage and commissions, and to bring a mar
ket as near to them as the nature of the case will admit. Town
making is no part of the business of the Company, but if in
arranging the navigation they should adopt a plan which while
it is best for this purpose, holds out the fairest prospect of
producing a place of importance in a commercial point of view,
such a circumstance should be no cause of objection to their
plan. The process of pole boat navigation below Weldon mjght,
by new-modelling the boats and increasing the number of them,
answer the purpose of getting off the surplus produce of the
country while it is owned by the planters, who are generally
satisfied to get their returns once a year and with whom wheth
er they are received a few months earlier or later is not a mat
ter of much importance, but it is too tedious and uncertain to
answer the exigencies of commercial men; the lifeof commerce
is a rapid exchange of commodities. If the produce is to pass
into the hands of merchants before it leaves the Roanoke, and
the supplies of goods for ihe country to take this direction, cir
cumstances the most desirable, whether you consider the inter
est of the Company or that of the community dependant on
this navigation, some more certain and expeditious mode than
the one now in use must be adopted; with the view then of sup
plying the existing defects, and of producing the most benefi
cial results, the Directors would recommend the introduction of
steamboat navigation on the river below Weldon. This is the
highest point to which steamboat navigation can be brought; it
is situated ct the foot of the Great Falls, which are barriers to
(continued on the last page.)
the part of the State, provided it i