﻿540 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  was 
  only 
  temporary, 
  and 
  allowed 
  damages 
  on 
  that 
  basis 
  between 
  

   Forestport 
  and 
  Lyon 
  Falls. 
  In 
  1854, 
  however, 
  the 
  auditor 
  refused 
  

   to 
  pay 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  drafts 
  presented 
  in 
  payment 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  claim, 
  

   maintaining 
  that 
  the 
  appropriation 
  was 
  permanent 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  

   commissioners 
  had 
  no 
  authority 
  to 
  settle 
  on 
  the 
  basis 
  of 
  tem- 
  

   porary 
  diversion. 
  After 
  litigation 
  the 
  Court 
  of 
  Appeals 
  sustained 
  

   the 
  auditor. 
  

  

  Following 
  this 
  decision, 
  sixty 
  -two 
  claims 
  for 
  permanent 
  dam- 
  

   age, 
  aggregating 
  f 
  600,000, 
  were 
  presented 
  to 
  the 
  Canal 
  Appraisers. 
  

   Hearings 
  on 
  these 
  claims 
  continued 
  from 
  July 
  to 
  December, 
  1858. 
  

   The 
  evidence 
  showed 
  that 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  persons 
  had 
  made 
  

   claims 
  who 
  were 
  not 
  users 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  power 
  in 
  1849, 
  and 
  on 
  this 
  

   basis 
  the 
  Canal 
  Appraisers 
  rejected 
  forty 
  of 
  the 
  claims, 
  finally 
  

   awarding 
  on 
  twenty 
  -two 
  of 
  them 
  the 
  sum 
  of 
  f 
  91,108. 
  

  

  The 
  claimants, 
  however, 
  appealed 
  from 
  these 
  awards 
  on 
  the 
  

   ground 
  that 
  the 
  Appraisers 
  in 
  making 
  their 
  award 
  of 
  damages 
  had 
  

   not 
  taken 
  into 
  account 
  the 
  full 
  amount 
  and 
  flow 
  of 
  water 
  to 
  be 
  

   supplied 
  to 
  the 
  Black 
  river 
  by 
  the 
  construction 
  and 
  maintenance 
  

   of 
  the 
  reservoirs 
  designed 
  to 
  limit 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  water 
  of 
  said 
  river 
  

   by 
  the 
  'State, 
  as 
  contemplated 
  by 
  the 
  act 
  of 
  1836, 
  and 
  which 
  reser- 
  

   voirs 
  were 
  in 
  process 
  of 
  construction 
  and 
  would 
  soon 
  be 
  completed 
  

   so 
  as 
  to 
  supply 
  a 
  quantity 
  of 
  water 
  nearly 
  adequate 
  to 
  the 
  wants 
  

   of 
  the 
  'State, 
  as 
  now 
  completed, 
  and 
  thus 
  return 
  to 
  the 
  claimants 
  

   the 
  water 
  of 
  which 
  they 
  would 
  otherwise 
  have 
  been 
  deprived. 
  

  

  In 
  explanation 
  of 
  the 
  foregoing 
  statement 
  of 
  the 
  Canal 
  Commis- 
  

   sioners, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  remarked 
  that 
  in 
  1850 
  Daniel 
  C. 
  Jenne, 
  at 
  that 
  

   time 
  Kesident 
  Engineer 
  of 
  the 
  Eastern 
  Division, 
  acting 
  under 
  in- 
  

   structions 
  of 
  the 
  Canal 
  Board, 
  made 
  a 
  report 
  on 
  the 
  Black 
  river 
  

   diversion, 
  in 
  which 
  he 
  said 
  that 
  unless 
  an 
  amount 
  of 
  water 
  be 
  re- 
  

   turned 
  to 
  Black 
  river 
  equal 
  to 
  the 
  quantity 
  diverted 
  heavy 
  damages 
  

   to 
  water 
  power 
  would 
  ensue, 
  the 
  amount 
  of 
  which 
  would 
  be 
  almost 
  

   incalculable. 
  Based 
  upon 
  this 
  report 
  the 
  legislature, 
  by 
  chapter 
  

   181 
  of 
  the 
  laws 
  of 
  1851, 
  provided 
  for 
  the 
  construction 
  of 
  reser- 
  

   voirs 
  on 
  Black 
  river 
  of 
  sufficient 
  capacity 
  to 
  supply 
  the 
  Black 
  

   river 
  canal 
  feeder 
  with 
  such 
  quantity 
  of 
  water 
  during 
  the 
  summer 
  

   months 
  as 
  shall 
  be 
  necessary 
  for 
  the 
  supply 
  of 
  the 
  Black 
  river 
  and 
  

   Erie 
  canals, 
  and 
  shall 
  give 
  to 
  Black 
  river, 
  as 
  nearly 
  as 
  may 
  be, 
  

   as 
  much 
  water 
  as 
  ordinarily 
  flows 
  therein 
  during 
  the 
  summer 
  

  

  