42 Fourth Annual, Report of the 



by the State itself. It is tlie owner of the bed of the stream 

 beneath the waters of the St. Lawrence and Niagara rivers, and 

 is likewise the riparian owner of lands adjacent to a large amount 

 of available power, and it has also created much available power 

 through the construction of its canal system. With respect to the 

 large navigable streams the State has full jurisdiction and con- 

 trol over the same, subject only to the paramount right of the 

 Federal Government to control the same in the interests of navi- 

 gation. It likewise has jurisdiction over our inland rivers to 

 the extent that the waters therein cannot be diverted for power 

 purposes, or the flow thereof obstructed without the authority and 

 consent of the State. !No person can be said to own the water 

 which flows in these streams. All persons have a limited right 

 to the use thereof, dependent upon the purposes for which the 

 same is to be employed. These rivers are considered highways 

 for the use of the public. The riparian owners are powerless to 

 exclude the public from the use thereof for such and other pur- 

 poses. It is for this and other reasons that the water powers of 

 the State have come to be regarded as a natural public resource. 

 Any State policy with respect to the utilization thereof must 

 recognize the rights of the public therein and reckon with this 

 established sentiment. 



So far the State has established no definite policy with respect 

 to its water powers. From time to time it has granted to private 

 individuals the right to divert water for private purposes. There 

 is a growing sentiment opposed to such grants. The people of the 

 State are beginning to realize that these vast resources are too 

 valuable to be given away. The exploitation of water powers by 

 private persons is no longer regarded with favor. The people feel 

 they have not received adequate benefits from the grants that have 

 been heretofore made. 



The Conservation Commission, mindful of the fact that the 

 Legislature has imposed upon it the duty of devising " plans for 

 the progressive development of the water powers of the State 

 under State ownership, control and maintenance for the public 

 use and benefit, and for the increase of the public revenue," has 

 advocated that the State itself develop its unused water powers 



