Ferries and Bridges 201 



any one had a right to abate it. An appeal to the Supreme 

 Court was decided likewise, and, finally, the Court of Errors, 

 on an appeal to them, affirmed the decisions of the lower courts. 

 Chancellor Walworth, who wrote the opinion, said, among 

 other things: 



"The Harlem River is an arm of the sea and a public 

 navigable river; it was a public nuisance to obstruct the 

 navigation thereof without authority of law. The act of 

 the Legislature did not authorize the obstruction of the navi- 

 gation of the river in the manner in which it was done by the 

 dam in question." 



The Renwicks were obliged to be satisfied with this decision 

 of the highest court of the State and did not carry the matter 

 to the Federal courts. 



April 16, 1858, the Legislature directed the city of New York 

 and the county of Westchester to erect and maintain a free 

 bridge across the Harlem River from a point near the end of 

 Eighth Avenue, Manhattan, to a point at or near the terminus 

 of the Macomb's Dam road in the county of Westchester. 

 The commission appointed to carry out the provisions of 

 the above act were also directed to remove the dam and ob- 

 structions in the river, and to make it navigable to its natural 

 capacity. They paid to the Campbell estate, then the owner 

 of the dam and bridge, the sum of $18,000 for all property 

 and rights, including the approaches to the bridge on both 

 sides of the river, and the privilege of using the waters of the 

 Harlem. In 1861, the wooden bridge was completed and 

 thrown open to the public. The expense to the city and 

 county, though in the original bill limited to ten thousand 

 dollars each, finally amounted to over ninety thousand dollars. « 



1 How strange it is that public work can never be done for the estimated 

 cost, or for the contract price, or within the prescribed time! It is not 



