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 $600,000, were presented to the Oanal 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 $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 Kesidcnt 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 tlie Black river and 

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

 ;is much water as ordinarily Hows therein during the summer 



