71DIViffElil =0
TOWANDA:
i2Jetinabaß Morning, Muth 21, 1819.
REPORT
COMMITTEE WAYS
& BEANS,
RELATIVE
TO THE COMPLETION
OF TH E
NORTH BRANCH CANAL,
ECM
AN APPENDIX,
BY A CITIZEN OF NORTHERN PENNSYLVANIA.
The liberal views expressed by the Committee of Ways
and Means to the annexed report. on the subject of completing
the North Branch - canal ; and the lamentable want of informa
tion which would seem to exist in tome other portions of the
State, in regard to the merits of that work. are deemed a suffi
cient apology, by a citizen of Northern Pennsylvania. for •
re-publication of the report in its present form The further
liberty has been taken, of appending tifew notes and tables.
which arc believed pertinent to the subjects discussed; and not
altogether unworthy the attention of iliceie i.ao feel any inter
est in the progress and prosperity of the old t• Keystone" Com
monwealth. ' W.
The Committee of Ways and Means, to whom
was referred the proposed iesumption of the work
nn the '• North Branch extension of the Pennsyl
vania canal," in pursuance of notice given, beg
leave to submit the following
SUPPLEMF.NTARY REPORT:
This canal. We find, was undertaken by the net
of the 9th of April, 1327, by which the Canal Com
mursioners were requited to locate and put under
contract, a canal up the valley of the Susquehanna
to Northumberland, and to examine and survey a
route from Northumberland. up the North Branch,
to the State line.* Ott the 24th of March, 1828,
the LeDslature directed the Canal Commissioners
to " locale and contract tor constructuq, a canal,
locks and other works • necessary thereM," from
Northumberland to the New York State line, on - the
North Branch of the Susquehanna,; thus making
about twenty years since this work was first under
taken by the State. In 1823, the canal was accor
dingly commenced and fift), -six miles of it, exten
ding from NOrthumberland to Nanticoke, at the
southern gorge of the valley of Wyoming, were
completed in 1830, at a cost of one million ninety
three thousand arid fifty one dollars and thirty-nine
cents. .1h 1830, that portion of the work extending
from Nanticoke to the mouth of the Lackawanna,
seventeen miles. was put under contract, and com
pleted in 1834, at a cost of three hundred and two
thousand twhundred and thirty-four dollars and
ms making the aggregate cost of the
whole work pto this point, one million three bun
Bred mid ni ety-five thousand two hundred and
eighty-livedollars and eighty-two cents.
• - The extreme north portion, called the " Tiog,a
line, - extending from the village of Athens, at the
State line, id Bradforvi ettunty, southward to Wyo.-
losing, in the same county, a distance of thirty-six
miles, was t ext placed under contract, in 1836.
The last port on contracted for, was the " 'funk
hannock linerextending between %Vyalusingcreek
and the Lackawanna river, a distance of fifty-four
miles, which was commenced in 1838.
From 1836 to 18.11, the work progressed with
great energy : , but in May of the latter year. owing
to her financial embarrassment, the State directed a
suspension of work on all the unfinished lines of
improvement, and the North Branch extension
shared the common fate. The whole eaten', of the
work above the month of Lackawanna (to which
point The canal is in operation) is embraced in one
hundred and eighty-five sections, and when thus
• suspended, sixty-two of these were finished at inter
vals, making altogether thirty-two and a half miles.
Three-fourths of the Work upon the other sixty-lour
sectlons, a distance of thirty-six miles, was also
done. The remainder fifty•nine sections, all light
work, a distance of twenty-five and a half miles,
were never put under contract. The following is a
RECAPITULATION.
62( sees. or 324 miles, finished.
64 4. or 96 ' three-fourths of the work done.
59 ' or 254 " all light work,not under enteet
94 miles
15
INCORPORATION OF THEN. BRANCH CANAL colitrAzor
At the next session of the Legislature after the
suspension of the work, the citizens of the North
ern countieti, whose best hopes of prosperity lay in
the completion of the improvemer ts in the valley
of the Susquehanna, demanded•that the Common
wealth should either finish .vrliat, in its present
ham, they declared to be a public nuisance, or give
it up to be completed by individual interprise. The
State yieldeil„and passed a law authatizing the' in
corporation of a corn pany,to finish that portion -of
the line extending from the mouth of Lackawanna
In the northern boundary of the State. Sulmegnent
lv, by a supplement to the original law, thirteen
tniies of the finished " Wyoming extending
from the - Lackawanna downward, to the mouth of
Solomon's creek, four miles below Wilkesbarre—
were added to tha work at first proposed to be giv
en up by the State. In June 1841. at Wilkesbarre,
it appears that the books for the subscription of stock
were opened, and the stock was all subscribed to
the amount of a million of dollars, which was the
capital of the company. The first installment of.
one dollar a share, was all paid. About one hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars of this stock was
subticribed by inhabitants along the valley Gf the
Susquehanna, and et izens of Philadelphia. The
remainder eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars
was taken by three or four individuals from New
York, claiming to represent other persons,. capital•
ists in that city. But the agreeable anticipations of
a speedy completion of the canal; based upon this
ready subscription of the whole of the stock, and
upon the statement of Ilieritidliiidtittle taking the
great majority of it, atthe titne—were doomed to
ultimate disappointment. Whether, as is variously
alleged by citizens of that reefed,' these persons
were speculators. the agents of others of the • same
kidney in New York city, who obtained possess
ion of the stock for the mere purpose of " fancy
speentatere—or whether, asothers have contend
ed, they were acting for another and rival work, s
not for us Itideternline. it does appear, however,
that the people 'of Northern Pennsylvania made
every exertion to get the company to co on with
the project ,• but as a majority of the stock, was
held abroad and that, trio, by persons who seemed
pre-determined to do nothing, the time fixed inthe
charter for its commencement expired, withimt any
effective action on the Part of those,ho then con
trolled its destinies.
Upon an application for that privilege, the 'Leg
islature, last winter, refused to extend the period of
commencing operations beyond one year; and then,
on terms which at once deprived the stock pf all
speculative irafile;- anditfie eortilatitir - iwas &me
quently dissolved. It is atated by citizens of 000-
era Pennsylvania,. that if kited not been bribe un
fortunate absorption of the stock by hands *inch
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would neither proceed to complete the work, not
part with it to others, the capital would - probably
have. been benefit's subscribed by their own ctn._
zens, and the canal finished. Such we have mend
to be an outline history of thismifinished improve-
ment, which the State, by the unanimous voice of
the citizens of the region through which it passes,
and many elsewhere, is again asked to complete.
A resumption even in part of the improvement
system, while the State is still deeply involved in
debt, and her credit but recently restored, is un
questionably a matter for the gravest reflection.
But the committee think considerations of superior
urgency, and of financial propriety, unite in favor
of completing the unfinished work on the North
Branch line; and thus, placingit in a situation to
reimburse some of the immense outlay already
made; to pay an interest into the State Treasury,
instead of abstracting yearly a large amount from it.
It is perhaps fortunate for the interests of the Corn
mon%, ealth, that the unwise bestowal of the val
uable improvement upon a company was not per
fected. The same regrets which are b eg ining to
be expressed at the abandonment of the Erie exten
sion, and the sacrifice of the four millions which
that work cost, would have resounded throughout
the State in deeper tones, and been expressed in
stronger terms, had the North Branch canal been
likewise thrown away into the hands of a private
corporation ; and bad the large sum already expen
ded upon it become the stock in trade of specula
tors, leaving the State only the record of the debt.
and the semi-annual demand for the payment of
the interest.
THE COST OF THE EXTENiIION TO THUS TIME
In estimating the expediency of resuming the
work on the North Branch extepsion, it is right to
look at the amount it has already cost our Treasn•
ry. In a report of a re-survey made in 1847, by a
late member of the Board'of CanatCommissioners,
Mr. Foster, he mys there has been' expended upon
what was termed the " North Branch extension,"
the sum of ttco millions four hundred and eiehty four
thousand nine hundred and thirtyinine dollars and
slily cents. On more critical examination, we find
-the sums appropriated to have berin in the follow
ing detailed amounts, at the dateinamed ; and we
have thought it expedient to calcplate the interest
on each sum respectively, for the purposeof show
ing more clearly the exact cost of the work up to
the present time:
' Ain't of appropriation. In't to uh time.
February 8, 1836, $150,000 00 ° $90,000
.January 9. 1839, 100.000 00 50,000
April 14, 11338, 300,000 00 145,000
February 3. 1839, 220,006 00 105,000
July 18,1839,' 406,000 00 175;000
July 11,1840, 600,000 00 262,500
May 4, 1841, 513,714 90 198,000
Total, 2,243,714 90 .
Damages, &c., 191 ,opo .000 Int. for '4l, 74,000
2 484,714 90 1,100,000
Add compound interest for 8 years, ' 880,000
Total cost of improvement to this time, 4.481,714
We have already said that the resumption, even
partially, of our internal improvement system, is a
subject for the gravest reflection. ;But the abandon
ment of a work of such high promise as the one un•
der consideration appears lobe—one on which so
much money has already been expended—is, in
our view, of still deeper. moment; and is a conclu
sion which ought not to be adopted, until every
reasonable effort %has been made to-escape it. Un
til this canal is finished no benefit can result from
the immense expenditure the State has already in
curred. She will continue to pay interest upon this
expenditure, wrung by taxation from the people,
instead of deriving the slightest income. If it could
be made sufficiently productive to pay even expen
ses and repairs, and a part of the interest, the State
would be gainer, although it may require a small
present sacrifice in going on with the improve
ment.
Every year there flows from our Stale Treasury
on account of this unfinished work, in the*.form of
interest at least one hundred and fifty thousand dol.
tars, calculating the principal at only Canal Com
missioner Foster's estimate of.toe cost. If nothing
be done, and the extension'remains in its present
condition, the interest which will have accrued and
been paid for it in,this view, in the course of the
next seven yearn l t will give an aggregate sum
equal to that now asked to finish the line. At the
expiration of seven years, we will not only have
paid one million one hundred thousand dollars
merely in interest, but the completion will then be
farther off than ever; because time and the ele
ments, with neglect, will have caused the improve
went to become still more dilapidated, required a
large sum than is now requisite, to put it in order
for business. in the mean time, the credit of the
State, and her ability to borrow a small amount of
money, will become even less than at present.
Staggering under a load of debt, and a. continually
increasing burden of taxation, to pay the intere.t,
in part, for unfinished and unproductive improve
ments---all prospect of the redemption of the prin
ripel is shot out ; all hope of ultimate liquidation is
at an end ; and capitalists will decline taking a loan
on nny terms, which has barely the pledge of the
!State for its redemption within a reasonable period.
In truth, the Commonwealth owes it to her loan
holders, as well as to the people of the north, at
once to take measures to push this work on to corn
pletion and profitable use. To abandon to ruin an
improvement of acknowledged plying resources,
that has already cost, in principal and interest, not
farfrom four millions and a half of dollars, becatise
it !feeds an expenditure done mi lion one hundred
thousand dollars more to put it in operation, is cer
tainly making wasteful use of our creditors' money ;
and it would not be surprizingif they' should des
pair of ever seeing it returned to Them again.
Rightfully mayrapitahsts tittubt the paying ability
efts State which thus acs; aml be, willing to part
with its securities at three-fonithstheirnotninal val
ue. It is a thriftless economy which gg buries half
its talents in the earth ;" or which proposes to re
store a broken credit by the exercise of neither
judgment, energy or emeMrixe, in developing the
vast resources of this great Commonwealth; but sits
1
1 down supinely, like a stolid agriculturalist, who,
with a fine farm and a rich :toil; refrains from pur
chasing a horse and.llough-with which to cultivate
it, lest he should run for a small' sum deeper in
debt.
The committee are farther , surained intheircon.
victions of the ihipoliey, in -a financial point . of
view, of thus sinking, hopeless of recovery, the un
mense outlay on the North Branch- of the Simile
hanna—by the facui and urguments of the friends
of the work in question',i n regard tri its becoming
speedily a source of rich end certain-reventiirtothe
Commonnrealth, 'redeeming ell it bu eiric tifid aid
ing to relieve the people from theturdrinvol tints
non, li is our duty,' in this ernmectinn;ta present
these facts and arguments for Wet consideration of
Ibis -Legislature.
What productions of our soit, - durindustrY, tWtitit
Skill, will slippy salfitarit Vomits to -re kel .this
work frniadithe 7 3 1% Wifkl„pigrit - Or cOtito,,, ""ivill
ni
they be V 0004441; at oewlkii ail 'ill, eiltate
,
Marketl . : .,
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY, ,AT TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., BY GOODRKII.
1.980 . .000
2.484,714
" ascianDLEss Or DrO/QECL►TIOW PROM ANY QVAITIeI."
Here a wide field opens•upon us. In the items
of emending tonage, going north, we may embrace.
First, and mainly—Anthracite coal, of the Wyo.
min and Lackawanna valleys.
Second.- , -Iron, including pig-iron and castings
from the furnaces, in the entire valley of the Sus-
qnehanna, and to a considerable extent ; eventually
from that of the Juniata.
Third.—Bittemutim coal.
Fourth.—Lime.
Fifth.—Alerctrandize, produce and miscellaneous
freight.
In the descending , tonnage may be included.
First.—Lumber from the Northern counties of
PennsylvattiN and those counties of New York,
bonienng upon the Chemting, the Conhocton and
Can isteo rivers
Secorel.—Gyprum 7 or plaster, from the . Cayuga
fake; and salt from Syracuse, Salina, Montezuma,
and other towns of the salt region.
Third.—Mibcellaneous height, produce, mer
chantlize,
The amount of these several articles of 'tonne
which would probably be transporetl on the emit,
can be best determined by adverting to the natural
and artificial resources of the country through which
it is to piss, and the immense chain of inland nav
igation, of which it fotims a cenral and uniting link.
The unfinished improvemen i. on the North
Branch of the Susquehanna, it will be remembered,
are between the mouth of the Lackawanna and the
northern boundary line of the State. From this to
Elmira is the 6, Junction canal," seventeen miles
in length. This link, we are assured, is provided
for : a company has been organized ander a very
favorable characterfrom the State of New York,
and only awaits the commencement of the Penn•
Sylvania work to begin their operations. Running
all the way. in the valley of the Chemung river, it
will be cheaply and expeditiously made. The
dam at the of Athens creates a pool, which
extends even beyond the State line; at this point,
and along the upper part of this pool, runs the New
York and Erie railway, which is to be - finished to
Elmira the ensuing summer.*
A certain connection is then made with the Che
mung canal. This canal unites with the Seneca
lake, which is forty miles in length, narrow, deep
and never frozen, lying precise) r in the requisite
direction ' is navigated by rueimbroads at all seasons ;
making, for its extent, the cheapest possible oven
ue ot transportation Seneca lake is connected by
canal with the great Erie canal of the State of New
York; so that when the unfinished lirie on the
North Branch is complete, there will be through the
heart of the two great :hates of Pennsylvania and
New York, an unbroken line of canal nacigaiirni,
uniting Chesapeak and Delaware trays with lake
Erie, lake Ontario, lake Champlain an all the other
vast inland seas of the north The Atlantic may
be reached through the gulf of St. Lawrence, or in
land down the Ohio and Mississippi to the gulf of
Mexico. If the mini recurs to the vast net-work
of canals and railways in each State, which will
thus be connected together in their very centre, it
is impossible to avoid the conclusion that this uni
ting link is a necessary, and must be a productive
improvement Indeed, we shall wonder why it
has been so long delayed. But we proceed to the
details of its prolable tonage:
AIiTiIiLkCITE COAL.
One of the articles upon which the friends of this
improvement mainly rely as an item of revenue, is
the transportation of anthracite coal northward into
the fertile and floutishing regions of central & wes
tern New Yin k, - and those of other States contiguous
to the great northern lakes. This countryorith the
exception of the State of New York; (of which we
shall speak hereafter,) may now be said to be On
ly in an incipient state of improvement. Its bound.
less forests have hardly began to recede before the
triumphant march of human industry. An immense
tide of emigration has for some years been setting
toward the west, and after overspreading the borders
of our inland seas, it will throw back upon the great
commercial emporiums on the seaboard, and upon
the inland cities in its path, a tin:responding reflux
of wealth and prosperity. At this time the country
embraced in our view contains a population Ofsome
four millions. Such a population enjoying the pro.
per advantages, will more than double in every fif
teen years. It now possesses but one available ave.
note to the Atlantic, for heavy transportation, if we
except the more difficult passage by the golf of St.'
Lawrence. It has none and can have none, which
will compete with the North Branch improvement
in the trade in anthracite coal, as will be seen by
reference to the local position of the mineral:
The great depository of anthracite in the United
• States, and the only one of any material value, is
Pennsylvania. An able geologist tin a recent work
describes this interesting region as a group of elon
gated hills, having axes ranging in exactconfoneity
to the base of the Allegheny mountain. When
viewed from the latter., they bear a striking resem
blance to those long railing lines of surf, wave be
hind wave, in long succession, which break upon&
flat shore. A century ago, this region was styled
upon our maps, the not un apt title'of the " wilder.
ness of St. Anthony." -Until within the last twenty
years, except in some.of its valleys, this region re
mained a stony solitude. But at length, the miner
entered this ride domain—canals have penetrated
it, railroads of the most costly description have trav
ersed it—basin after basin of its mineral treasures
(worth infinitely more than all the glittering . wealth
of California,) .have been discovered—tract • alter
tract has seen the establishment of collieries within
lines, until, in the course of a single year, 1847,
three millions of tans have been sent to tide wa•
ter, producing an aggregate of twelve millions at
dollars! From out commercial emporium alone,
eleven thousand four hundred soil thirtphine res.
sets cleared coastwise thole/in laden vrith eini&
lion and a quarter of ton" of coalfor the use of our
sister States : giving lo 'Philadelphia uptin - this One
ankh" nearly. half a' million greater tonespelhatt all
which arrived at the city of New yotir.liniri: the
rams period !
That sagacious tritternarri'De Vitt Clinton, beide
appositely remarked, 4 ' that vrithout coal are eriii
be no staple' manufactures i withent
there can berm flourishing tuternallnide ;:atidWitte.
out internal trade there ao elevation of ea
timid Masperity." lbw fulfy is this' remark' trite;
tamed by the late experience dl thiistatititiy-=leatr.
in oat of view the results in Eurtliatt.' 'Ah sectinit
plished engineerll of onr own State, has forcibly and
eloquently illustrated the various and progressive
uses of anthracite coal. g , 'This' (he remarks) is
erseutiallyfbe. ago otmumerce. and of ateum:-.-4he
foundations of which,are .our coal wines., In the
machine shop Ind factory; on the railroad, and vim,
al; on the rivers and the mean t —it. is steam- that is
heneekorth to perform the labor, overcome resis
tance, and.vanquish vow. It is not.for human in.
telleetto assign alimit to this power in- a, country
like our& A quarter of sit century ago,• there. were
not morethan-a thorusand Tons of anthracite,
attnpal
ly raised end Amato market; now the imam came
is. mere Than a~ diorama teas. per,day, arid corn,
pounding rapidly upon that. Zack -railway :equip
es.uuts.for tat track,Artgities apritats, and frequent.
ly for its stations. Each new steamer, .requiuss
coal to drive it—iron for its engine, sometimes for!
Uri liat—teidllvit teutirotcortf for . .eith 'On` - -if Iron
it ciattruntes:' Everrstearalxiaiibat ;Ist Jail
and, every. mkt Writ foireeditito theen interibr gprie
- - -
?Appesl4.—DjApinwtikii-TC. tiLea,ayloc.l4AppßoWtlp
14aiks alet, F AA . .
•
birth tonew emerprize, -new wants mad.:nersrenat.
merce. The manufacture of 'iron; a0.4)4 6 4 1K0504 -
sinn of machinery, - respire coal.—•Tha quantity ip•
Creases with the expansion of pttblie iinprattemeins;
these extend the area of civilizaticm, 'and
quent agricultural wealth. This wealthneeds trans.
portation.and this transportation need coal and iron,"
Applyhthis reasoning to the local position and nn
equalled resources of Pennsylvania, and how proud
and certain if her speedy triumph over the tempo.'
ary financial embarrassments which DM clog .her
onward path. A liule energy and firmttessrtf per-,
pose ; a searching revision of her system of tainat4Oup
andidl *ill be well.
Of the three distinct, yet corresponding mess, oc
cupied by the Pennsylvania anthracite coal_ fields,
that of Wyoming is the 'second in point Of size and
if the friends.of the North Branch improvement are
correct in their estimates;it Will in time be fi rst-in
point of 'salve and pro duction. We refer :to its'
having an exclusive market in the flourishing
re
gions we have glanced at—should the outlet we.
are considering be opened. The Schuylkill, or•
southern basins, contain one hundred and four thou.'
and 'sixty-four square miles, or one hundred
and lour thousand nine hundred and sixty acreti,--,-
The Mahanoy and Shamokin, one hundred and fa-.
teen square miles. or seventy-three thousand six
hundred acres. Wyoming, one hundred and eigh
teen square miles, or seventy five thousand five
hundred and twenty acres including the coal field
of Lackawanna valley. Professor Silliman suppos
es the beds of coal are continnonsthrough the whole
region : and confirms the conclusions of another
scientific examiner, Mr. Cist, who estimates the
entire depth of the coal strata and their attendant
rocks, at one-third of a mile—being altogether in
exhaustible for all purposes of `fuel. Mr. Loma. n.
in a communication to the 'geologieal society of Lem . -
don in 18-12, also furnishes details of the formations
of this region. lie estimates the coal 'beds at four
teen in number, and the aggregate depth at severity
or eighty feet.
The bituminous coal field el Bradford county is
also destined to contribute largely of its treasures
to the tonnage of the North Branch improvement.
This field embraces an area of ten by fifteen miles.
Intermingled with the cart strata, are rich reins of
areillaceous or clay iron ore. The coal is found by
analysis to be superior to the average of English
coal, by at least ten per cent. •'
and contains less vo
latile matter than that of the Allegheny regions.
There is then both varieties of mineral coal, inex
haustible mianfities, conveniently locarid along the
line of this improvement. In estimating the proba
ble inarketi, we should swell this report beyond res
limits, if we go into details in regani to the num•
erous cities and villages scattered throughout the
rich and populous regions of Western New York.
It is assnmed a+ beyond all question, • that through
the North Branch outlet, would be supplied all the
country lying west of the Chenango valley up to
Utica) with the line extended northivard to lake
°nein°, through the valley of Black river. This
line would comprehend about one half the geogra.
phierd area of the State of New York, embracing
some twenty-seven of its moat thickly settled cone
ties.l Within this region are no less than free nicer
porditd cities, Buffalo, Utica Rochester, Syracuse
and Auburn; and the number of inhabitants to these
counties at the next census, will be found to..be at
least a million and a half.
A letter from Mr. Allen, the present mayor of
Buffalo, dated January 27th, 1849, which has been
furnished the committee, estimates the presenfpopu
lation Odle city of Buffalo, at fifty thousand. The
same gentleman supposes the consumption of wood
in that city at Iwo hundred thousand cords; and
of coal at twenty thousand tons per annum. He
states that there are sixty steamboats running from
the port. besides a large number of propellers all,
or nearly all of which consume coal in „ ,, enerating
steam. The upper lake boats, he adds, " wdl
average about fifteen trips in tiseason, and consume
from two hundred to two hundred and fifty fens of
coal per trip. But as they procure at present the
most of it on the south shore of the lake, where it
is brought from Penusylvania and Ohio, and sold
cheaper than it can now be had at the,place, I have
not iuctuded it in my estimate ofconsumption here."
This take commerce isszemarkable feature even
in the giant strides of enterprise.,twhiehl our country
annually exhibits. The entire line oflakecoastex
tends about five thousand miles two thousand of
which belongs to Great Britain. 'Here are no less
than seven immense inlandseas, connected through
out their whole extent : lake Champlain connects
with lake Ontario, by the improvements on the
Ilichlieu find St. awrence rivers, and the Rideau
canal through Canada. Lake Ontario is doubly con
nected with Lake Erie by. the Wellsdid canal in
Canada, and the Oswego and Erie canal in New
York. Lake Erie with St. Vair by the - navigable
strait of Detroit. Lake St. Clair with Lake Huron
by the deep Wail of St. Clair. Lake Huron with
lake Michigan, by the fine wide strait of Mackinaw;
and with lake Superior by the strait of St. Wry's.
The commerce and tonnage of ,these lakes have
continued to double every five years, since there
have been means of estimating them. In 1847,
there eighty six steamboats in commission ; and of
shipping of all kinds, five hundred awl sixteen.—
Sixty of these steamboats belong to the city of Buf
falo, some of them are of two thine* tons burthen.
The entire value of this lake comnterce in 1847,
was about one hundred and thirty m ease( dollar's.
Well may Pennsylvania desire a tral and di
rect communication with. these dens of the
north; and well may Philadelphia. ire to parti
cipate in this trade, without payi tribute to her
great commercial rival.
The use of anthracite coal from Pennsylvania,on
the lakopy whenever the improvement W 6 arecon
sidering is made, , must be very , great- This coal
eam be tarnished. at Fluffiest stns fiv.e.dollers and
twenty five cents percton. It haa.beess mostswis
factorily.assertainede-byrexpariments on the.,Ohio
river heath-that the evpeusevof - bimminonsenal is
less than; Gyre half that of cord wood.. The price of
thiewariety of coal at •Buffillo, at. the present•time,
is stated by Mayor Allen, its the loner referred to,
at four dollars: Iled 'fifty elate-per ton. Now, the
evaporative power ofanthiseito, is fmat t wenny five
Snits half tothirty Mreeiter Cent greater than that
of bituminous:coal ; .and the bulk pc stowage is two
to onein favor oflie forum. •
Tire experience of the stoamboatson the Hudson,
(which-Are probably nearer the size ,of the lake
boats than any other i )gives,actonsumption - of about
thirteen-hendredlorm.oet annum each. • But sup,
pastille lake boats from Buffalo use, half of this
amount—the sixty steamboats alone would con
same thirty:thousand tens of anthracite. cad -per
annamt.; apreseni and-immediate 'want.
A 'letter from-Auburn, slated few weeks since,
'etas the averageprice of wood ionise city through.
out the:year; pt three-dollars per cent, - -Sometimes
itielawhigliseeii or seven dollar. The Opals
tion of Ssebeetbr trat-ttris time, atleati flirty five
•Mousandllhat-Of Utiery-folty thousand The
rage prieri-of wood itrtheee &Mr isiaxmr the-Mime
asilitestAntamrs: • " •. •
• ahotherletteri lahnefoirit titeeriMmitteet,frons
worentimmtettiaen ofSyreedie‘ita' presitertiopnlit
tiowieset toefirat sittaarnboesand. — aTtle:enrannt
of wood consumedie - thevitricmftwdt works in per
eitt efirritis , -Wei) -
Boring iliithekehlr%Priattritifitelinhig eilt, ia"atfoat
ziAlOrittAkr r of,r(eiteltif
" Yearg froirt tieeld,MM:
, - -
:'J~ S
SO
FMB
no. ,
d ktiluntsdollars and twenty five cents pe:,
cordP • ^
Mach ofthe mood -av Syracuse and the salt vil•
laps is brought by canal hem •ri distance of thirty
and forty miles; awl itstampanttively law pricer is
because the state) of Neva York charges • no toll en •
fuel used in Ike stmtvfrotere of sob. In lookirerat
the descending *Mei --we shall - again recut tu-the
iLrobable-eonsumptionefcctal in the manufsetureef
MU In Srecuite arid the salt villages, a fair esti
mate of tineconsumption is forty thousand . tone:
Without fulther - detaili upon *is bmtieh'ef the
subject; it must be hem whit we he're al
ready said. apeoially to any one acquainted with
Western New Vint, and the country bordering v i n
the lakes; who knows the islacity and high - prices
'cif 'Viet throughout 'all this banrishing regatta, thitl
the populous towns with Which ii thickly mu&
`a. 0 that two hundred Ybousand tons of anthracite
coat ‘4ll at once be required, and find a ready an
, hiel market from -the outset* • ~
The 'city of Boston, much more distant, and ata
cost of a dollar a ton more, consumes. annually for
manufacturing purposes; half this amount of Penn
sylvania anthracite. For all purposes, last yea!:
the received from Philadelphia, coastwise, after it
hail been transported one hundred miles on the
Schuylkill and Lehigh mprovements, two hundred
and fin eight thousam tons.
The bituminous coal of Bradford would also find
an extensive market iti this region. For smiths'
use it is now hauled by teams forty and fifty miles
into the state of New York. It is also pmfened by
many for ordinary dontestic•porposes. • .
The lime of ColuMbia county would supply-all
the country northward to the State. line.
Scarcely second in importance fo the coal ofPedn
sylvania, are her resources for the large and -stig
ma/fill manufacture of iron: and only second in
value to anthracite coal will it prove, in coutnbu
fing to swell the revenues of this canal when it is
completed, and a few years in operati nn. The iron .
business of the Union,- already great, is steadily
increasing. In 1845. the number of blast furnaces
had reached to five hundred and forty, yielding four
hundred and eighty-six thousand tons per annum;
the bloomeries, forges, rolling -and 'alining mills.
nine hundred and fifty—yielding two hundred and
ninety one thousand six hundred tons of biker,
hoops, &c.: blooms thirty thousand tons; castings,
machinery and stove plates, &c., one hundred and
twenty-one thousand five hundred tons. The ag
eTeeater value of these productions is estimated at
thirty four millions of dollars! Pennsylvania pro.
doves. it is said. more than one-half this amount.
Our furnaces alime, numberthree hundred and six
teen : of which forty-three are - for the making ' of
iron with anthracite coal ; 'producing about one hun
dred and twenty thousand tons of iron annually,
being more than one-third the total of pig iron man
nfactured in the United Stales. b ell may,. the
" Keystone State" look with a jealous cam to her
coal and iron interests When her immense re
sources are fairly developed. and all the nec es sary
outlets made, she will be able to produce coal, and
to manufacture irott sufficient nut only for half :he
United States, but for half the world—reven in. this
" iron age." Ode of those necessary elolotes wttla
seenito be the North Branca extewiimof the
iPenn
sylvania canal, In Western New York and on the
great lakes, a wide and profitable for P nn
sylvania iron would be opened by its couple t en.
A gentleman resident in that State, well inforMed
on the subject, and engaged himself in the iron bus
iness, assured an informant of the committe . , that
' not leas than forty thousand tons would be requir
ed, and be taken to market through this route.
Upon diligent inquiry in ihe limited time allowed
for this report, we can learn of but two fiimsees in
the northern part of New York (where most of her
iron is made) which manufacture pig iron for mar
ket. One, the Rossie furnace, -in St Lawrence
county, owned by George Palish, Emi l produced ,
in 1845, fifteen hundred tons of pig iron ; of this,
three hundred tons were made up into castings,
the remainder'was sold - at Buffalo, a distance of
three hundred miles •, and at Rochester, two ban
died and fifty miles off. The other furnace is at
Port Henry, on lake Champlain, and is owned by
a . mdemart of Boston, Mr. Gray. The quantity of
mg iron it produces annually ; we are unable to state,
but it is probably but little, if any, greater than the
RoAii•furrince yield/. .
Thus : to supply the'eneSurription .rif inin by three
quarters of a million of people, rich , and cnoaper
ous.there are but two native fumaces„ making an- 1
. , ,
nnally not t quite en much as one anthracite furnace
in, this &Alt! What a market is. here resew.
Led, ready, 40 be taken possession of by the iron
manufactures, of Pennsylvania, upon the opening of
this natural outlet from dre center of the iron:Paton
into the heart of a youthful empire to be supplied.
We should be able to entirely-con/mond this-mar
ket for our iron; because having a direct means of
communication and transportation, we could - easily
sell it much cheaper than that which is brought by
a circuitous route, and from a long distance. credit
- possibly be afforded at. , - Western' - New York is
mainly supplied at. present with iron frein New
Jerseyohe New England States, and Great Britain.
At Elreirs, New York, welearo, that sue mercan
tile establiehment sells 'two . hundred tens bf 'bar
iron every -year, bronght from Centre county, in
Pentnrylvania. It is hauled by teams torn kits
ton in Lycoming county, at an expense of nine dol
lars-per ton, having been delivered at Ralston,
which is twenty-five miles from Williaatspnrt,. by
the Bald Eagle and West Branch cannts amt , the
Williarnspod and Elmira, railroad. The two foun
dries in Elmira use annu ally six himdied _torts of
pig metal, and probably consumes two lumdtet)
tons decal. . Tin. Eagle you
,dry at . ,.Butlalia ern.
ploys seven hunclred tons ot i pig inettal, and,osisa
two Inindred toga-of Lehigh coal, et ten dollars per
lea- 414105Ceeery: town and., village .in Western
Issier, York ; have; similar eitabliehmentel erhapt
not in.alheases sq-extensive„ but in many,c them '
Green. more so. . To- supply . them animus. foun r
dries with pig i ,-would afford aa largelyi , Tema
iterating item of asceindkig- , tonnage; mot...less,
it may well.be p , drantheeatintale furnish;
and use-fray forty - thonaund tons anntrally.s ,
. .. pc.gclinEatin 011 1 agrApt tftpcflit.,.
One' obi-ions, advarhtge tie
_North llralteli irn
provernitit possesses, iiith.at of a relom freight, re
galar' and Certain,. Which' reduces , of course, the
emit of trarisportaben beith waya. The limithetrint
to, market from Bradford county annuailki*SafelY
estimated at twenty 'millions effect, 14 sayinothing
or that manufactured `higher Up - the Stisquehinps,
and in the, region traversed by the i.
(Amman. , .and
its bianclies AB this huddler ivoritit go'citithecinal
when eturinleted; becausedieriskialetwithe Nandi
are better for use, and -brute:a higher isricerin Mlir
ket—arenly..roPe3ing-i4a
m oortitutrieti, impious of
IIIMPoltttleo•
, , . • • -' .• ' ..-
if Pennsylvania' may cony'aliilaieli -- erseli 'upon :
hisi in eihtinstiVeli rotO" t 'hi dial". diitni,an May
New-Tett Point , with:pride- to , '' rdiunierons beds
of SYPlUM , lind , berliek and . .. oetitsealines.gin
many . finances, tlin;_grF '4 -of Weston' Net!, York
is auto:4-41:1164 ma : era. NOrth'ef
. die g re at
ridgitiilrliniiiitteniir` ,IClP•irkvereiti' thecotnitty
fironreastleanesti - edge rignennit eantimences;
mad berepalsisi, ono. ofentiooe. , . Oatha border
of . g l ig.p.
.. ~ ano : lo„rsEgionsolienuiei mien of
UT... est ...Tr• l l e = Nab lia° 4 2. o i eott Mt or
civil '' -di • "'''' Jae/idle iimiliriiiiiVllii?'iii
iliiiii
MEM
ME
11E=MIE
THE IRON TONNAGE.
t+►rßtagii~y~,~.
yfQ=Mni"
_;
r!:"
!Mill
cement is found. This valnabli fikesit is Wm& he
great abundance over thii=hne of to on* If*.
dred miles in. extent.
The principal-salint% ain situated- Oh' Ott , lafgei
elnarrthy level -amend Orionthiga -lake. 'Mere the
flourishing city of Syracuse and the sinallertewne
of Salina, Liverpool and G eJdes have spousttlp.
The quantity of gilt waterat the Onondaga salines
is inexhaustiblei-and :11,-tetioiskevattpply of fuel
could be had, the manufacture - might be extended.
, almost indefinitely. It at said that-small•treinie of
salt water break out in flume mound the aoexh.enst
end of the lake to Ihe mouili . of Nine Mile crick.
.ft`dimatue of ten miles The Fr.:tiling tiiiniou
that under the witoferof this ftittottl• et - mover! greki
depth, are large masses of fossil salt.
'The quantity manufsetured , lasi, year ; was four
millions seven hundred and thirtyjseven thousand
one htmdreil and twenty-sit betstePitt beingilearly
a million of bashelsincreaseoverthemminctoPn.
We have stated .the .price -of. -.wood at from fro
es. 4
dollars and fifty vents to three, dollars and twent -.
five cents—ifs Consumption - it one . thousitnrfCal s
per diem. One ton 'of anthracite is equait" ' - r
oordstof the wood ordinarilrased. Coal-eatt.,Ats
`delivered - by the..North*Branch mutest Uncork:Sims
and seventy-live cents and four dollars
-per
,ton.Att
Syracase. Whit is to prevent its 'hiking thilitiCe
-of wood altogether itt This roarket: titta grisaffy
cheapen the price of salt I Then, and , even- at pre
sent pdcas, all the country.bonlering -on .the,Sus
qrsehanna and its branches, would be auppiiga rifith
Onondaza salt, throusth the North Branch imitVe
ment. Nnr would - Ih *or tiny competition liere,
with the Pennsylvania Winer; for their market
intrat,ever - be found we of the AfieetcliY. - ~-,'
Gypsum and water tune, are colter prominent. at
tiehis of desc:entling:tOnttage. Largequantities of
gypstun. are now tilted in Permsylvartta, - 'aiid the
amount would be greatly increased wererite Wane
pcmation cheapened.- These items -we have put
down togetherin thirty thousandlons; an - amount
, Which would soon be doubled.
. RECAPITULATION.
200,000 ions Arilbratiti. lc toll 94 miles, $2.98.000
30.000 " Bituminous, lc • " 29,20 D
40.000 " Iron sod castings., 117.000
.10.000 " liypsum. say bOc. ; lb
20.000 " barrels of salt,
Umber. boards and shingles. 20,0110
60,000 miscellaneous tonna_e, • • 6%000
Estima aggregate of tot!,
cmccßir, IPE4ANCIAL
Ithas been well said. that shorten& isolated im
provements are keldorn productive . ; but .always in
this,coantrY as well as in _Ettrope, long clundo,.eod
railways afford the rjehest returns - for the cost and
labor of cripstinetion. Not only is the NorifillranCh
improvement a pin of the moat eitendedebnitrof
inland navigation in the.workl,bittiit-willalso bare
the advantages that have everywhere rePulled,4o
those works which - depended nialtily,fcr reienue
upon the transportation of the coarser
more bnikly articles of commerce.• The English
canals, and those' of . all Europe, empOltid in the.
transportation of coal rind iron, have gone: on_stea
'clily increasing in vatrie; some of the have •
reached a point of valuer - five times the costef con
struction. This, too, in Many instances, like those
of the Grand Junction cabal, between London and
Liverpool, and the bake of Bridiewater's canal,
between Liverpool and Manchester, where costly
and complete railways are running by their sidii.
The capacity of these Englirlucanals es much less
than those of Pennsylrani% and they are ererrpray
inferio4 in Regard.to theAtianaer of -construction,
In this country, the voposition is moot triumplata
!lttlfasirted•the" the cosoo of the-improvements on
Me Sehrtylii, on fife Lehigh and Delaware, and •
'the Delaware and Hudson canal. •
The Schuylkill navigation was opened in,. 1828%
and the -tolls upon anthracite coal the tint year
amounted to only nine thousand seven. handled
dollars on five thousand five hundred tens.- In 184-1,
after a steady increase each year, it had retched
the sum of four hundred , and eighty two thousand
four hundred-NW sixty dollar* upon five hUndied
and &slim:four thou;and'ai; ' hendred.rind anat.
P
two lons. -
The Delaware anclTlodsen &end iruseciinPleted
in 1829. The next yearn ther amount of coal which
passed over it, waseerserrthoortandttons. In 1817,
A coal transportation amounted -to near kour, hon.
dred thonsand feria . The profit:ea this . eoitiintny
must be verygrent---its dividends last- year to
ask= per ant: Ihrer, ; much remains ondivided,
or what areits at 'clnitulatione,Art !aids and improve
ments, ire have tui Ceitnin means 'Of ascertaining.
None of its stock in iti / the' market at arty~ riee;
tuni it may. well be suppose& to poems' one of the
MOM productive itnpresemeuts inthe Union. The
Lehigh- improvements show an increase to.an ex,
tent equally surprising. The first yen'', 1820; the
number of tons of cial . taken to.tharkct was. three
hundred and sixty-five. Itt 1811 therli Were"sen;
down the Lehigh in the -I‘,rr.,.wr%ate: six hundred
and forty-three thousand nine , hundred and 'mien . .
ty-one tons. ; It ,must, bkftltirtaiesg - 40r .eitY,fattlter
of
illustration .at the valuelose combs m this
country which firm avehnti fon'the coil trade, to ?O
vert ter the -Delaware-division tit the Pennsyleania
canal: his, so fur the only productire canal (re..
gar.ling the original-cost) in tlan.State.. :
It would, at any, hour; sell fora much Jaeger sum
than it cost—because it IS a coal currying canpl,and
and an outlet from the Lehigh Coal region. AnOth
.er advantage which the North Praneh Rita enjoys,
is its great, cap - aril pt transportation,, consequent
upon the Banal amount of lorkst;,, , nti lie 'enemata
paratlect "wherdettlared Win De." the ilolortestentrial
of-its Ivngtheand.ie havegyestleratliadts 1 4 1 3 411 Y
o;hero.f, its,r4cent.rhe unload:... lockaileaveraps
only two, feet we mile,„and - ,wlt rilit is trembensd
that twerittfeek of leek - Stela' ' reed equal to h
Z a
mile in distance; iti - theion tint irbilitarirfinftsorL
tenon, the .toctipted:4l .A tetp . ttlerf - referred, to ie fully
scuniintd. • ' - ' • '' '•
' l- in orderto - illustrate -inert, loveibly,lif Prelsible:
the value of this improvement ' s If Abet of
•
tonnage on anthmehe epattr,co r ec etwoci
Is
proper.tesunmit thelulltming ri
,nt um pritit
able revenue, and thirreiriliiffroni thist'il. elifern.
-Mr. Fogies eMitnetenf the amount i's rytei
complete the work, steeonling-.to-the.plats And
specifications which-had-been adoptedpt the time
the work was inspendedrwal, vow 4 illicit two
hemdred erubseventy/stivert thousand four hundred
end fifty t l tro thillarth and- eilluy-one ,eents. •We
take this as the nfaxiintrin cost of Completion ; es it
fs - probabla,•ir ilie - worf le mistimed; th e 'cluitipest,
phuis*ill'be4u 4 Opred. Soppeaing - then: iirratiart
numbers, she.completion tacos' one milliamlhren
hundred thousand dollars, and the coil, + a
we have assumed, ihe ecceunl Will itanetbast
• • -•
- . • .-
Stith tictia- itt. accotatrwakite,Camostiva
mount Advssixtl_ for4‘ F.4o.tp etton, 69 ,
Item, 1441 Y; 1856, ' ,
_. ". '• - lit'
Add intend ta it Of entryes" ,n 1 - i P ;lope
Total. - - .... - —LI 1,378,000
Cr , Wroilihr*lialioli:VOAXX.4 o 4 4 .,.. :.. vlBll.OOO
' 7 - " - iiiiiiiiiid6, , '" '' . L' ,--.-
.''''''. - '',-.• Al - 3: --- 1
boo
Interest
n tame one yeltri'•
3 1.2. '.1 , 4 .., ` ,. . 4.... - ''''' YS!': , .
ELT. PvtlP l4 ,P-451 , . ,
IMiNIZE
E!IMN3I
3
ME
%Ist KO
• .1..1‘A.e..,
" ""' ' i;:efitoo