- 
1308.]. 
a small party of them had most wickedly 
gone into a house in Bow-street, and in 
feu of protecting, had broken open, the 
wine-cellar, and drunk there so greata 
quautity of liquor, as to have been taken 
out very nearly. senseless. These will of 
course be made a proper example of. 
In every former case, these corps have 
been particularly useful, in keeping the 
ground clear for a considerable  dis- 
tance, admitting no persons within 
. their lines, but such as should convince 
them of the propriety of letting them pass, 
and giving free passage and safe conduct 
to the neighbours removing their effects, 
They could also be well employed im 
watching and keeping clear the lines of 
the hose. 
Tn order also to cause an early assem- 
blage of all persons on the first sight of 
a fire, the tocsin should be rung, a drum- 
boy should be every night in every watch- 
house, and turn out with his drum, and 
beat the call all round the spot. Links 
should be ever kept in every watch-house, 
and sent out to the plugs or pumps at 
the first alarm, and also to shew a light 
along the line of the hose to prevent per- 
sons inadvertently treading on them. Vi- 
gilance should now be “ the order of the 
day.” Lam, Sir, Your’s, &c. 
London, PHILANTHROPOS. 
September 20, 1808. 
— 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
REvoRT of the SECRETARY of the TREA- 
surny, in obedience to 4 RESOLUTION 
of the sENATE of the UNIVED STATES 
of xorTH america, relative lo PUBLIC 
ROADS and canats; printed in April, 
1608. 
PPE general utility of artificial roads 
t and canals, is at this time so uni- 
versally admitted, as hardly to require 
any additional proofs. It 1s sufficiently 
evident that, whenever the annual ex- 
pense of transportation on a certain route 
in its natural state, exceeds the interest 
on the capital employed in improving the 
communication, and the annual expense 
of transportation (exclusively of the tolls,) 
_ by the improved route; the difference is 
an annual additional income to the na- 
tion. Nor does in that case the general 
result vary, although the tolls may not 
have been fixed at a rate sufficient to pay 
to the undertakers the interest on the 
capital laid out, They indeed, when that 
happens, lose; but the community is 
nevertheless benefited by the under- 
juking. The general gain is not contined 
Public Roads and Canals in the United States. 
329 
to the difference between the expenses 
of the transportation of those articles 
which had been formerly conveyed by 
that route, but many which were brought 
to market by other channels, will then 
find a new and more advantageous di- 
rection; and those which on account of 
their distance or weight could not be 
transported in any manner whatever, 
will acquire a value, and become a clear 
addition to the national wealth. Those 
and many other advantages have become 
so obvious, that in countries possessed of 
a large capital, where property is suffi- 
ciently secure to induce individuals to 
Jay out that capital on permanent under- 
takings, and where a compact population 
creates an extensive commercial inter- 
course, within short distances, those ims 
provements may often, in ordinary cases, 
be left to individual exertion, without 
any direct aid from government, 
There are however some circumstan- 
ces, which, whilst they render the facility 
of communication throughout the Umted 
States an object of primary importance, 
naturally check the application of private 
capital and enterprize, to improvements 
on a large scale, . 
The price of labour is not considered 
as a formidable obstacle, because what- 
ever it may be, it equally affects the ex- 
pense of transportation, which is saved 
by the improvement, and that of effecting 
the improvement itself. The want of 
practical knowledge is no longer felt : and 
the occasional influence of mistaken local 
jnterests, in sometimes thwarting or giv- 
-ing an improper direction to public im- 
provements, arises from the nature of 
man, and is common to all countries. 
The great demand for capital in the 
United States, and the extent of territory 
compared with the population, are, it 18 
believed, the true causes which prevent 
new undertakings, and render those al- 
ready accomplished, less profitable than 
had been expected. 
1. Notwithstanding the great increase 
of capital duriug the last fifteen years, 
the objects for which it is required con- 
tinue to be more numerous, and its appli- 
cation is generally more profitable than 
in Europe. A small portion therefore is 
applied to objects which offer only the 
prospect of remote and moderate profit, 
And it also happens that a less sum being 
subscribed at first, than is actually re- 
quisite for completing the work, this pro- 
ceeds slowly; the capital applied remains 
unproductive for a much longer time than 
was necessary, and the interest accruing 
, during 
