[ 32 ] 90 
cess of Erie, thi'ong^tl with navigation even before it lias reached th» 
Lake. And althf>n.e;h the capacity of that canal for business may be in- 
creased byjiarallcl locks, and other means, there are limitations to its 
power, set hy (he command of water it possesses. Ever since the 
commencement of that work, tlie western counties of New York hav© 
been increasinf^ greatly in population, and there will be no 7iccessitif 
for business from Ohio and Michigan to ensure a competent revenue 
from Eric canal. The very facts which sliew the wisdom of that un- 
dertaking, })rove that the Western states may find it pre-occupied. 
The nearest customers must always have the preference. They are 
jn possession. Nor would a canal thi-ough Pennsylvania be less oc- 
cupied. 'I'liis .state, besides being e<pially fertile, possessfs iron and 
coal. She is favored by itature w ith great rivers, whose coui'ses con- 
verge to the Ciinal route, asid must, when etfectuated, pour into it a great 
accession of transport. 
It is evident, therefore, tliat the General Government has an inter- 
est in tise success «d" tiie state Governments — in the effectual and ex- 
tensive influence of their public v/orks. w ith which its own co-operates, 
to the same great end. To each it must be best that they should yield 
a fair income. The revenue isnot all in thepublicgood produced; those 
Mho use canais can well afford to pay tulls; they ai-e benefitted in a 
inuch higher ratio than that charge upon the increased valae of the 
property transported; nor would it be JuJ>t, in good policy, not to mak© 
the income, in time, not only secure the perpetuity of the way. but 
the interest on t.he investment, which it would most certainly do, at 
very moderate rates. If as many boats were to enter as has been as- 
sumed in the calculation of the water, it would be 5 X 12 x 2 = 120. 
If twenty-five tons, then 1:20 x 25 = 3000 pev day. if 200 days. 600^ 
000 tons, at two cents a ton a mile, is 3,900,000 dollars, the canal 
being at least 326 miles. 
Finally: in reviewing the whole ground, the Allegltany raountaia 
stretching through the centre of tlie Union, so far from being a bar- 
rier to tije most economical form of communication, is, in fact, to bo 
rather considered the great laboratory of that element, which is essen- 
tial to this branch of tlie internal improvements in contemplation of 
the General Government. 
The next division of this communication is in relation to the route 
of canal between the Ohio and Lake Erie, also respectfully submitted. 
JOHN L. SULLIVAN, 
Member Bil. Inter. Imjrrovcmenis^ 
Washington^ Februavy 3, 1825. 
MecoriRoi^ance of the countnj beticccn the Ohio and the Lake, 
While the investigations were proceeding on the summit ground, 
the Board made the reconnoisance of the country between the Ohio 
»nd Lake Erie, in order to designate the most suitable route for a, 
coinmutucation bctwcyen these waters. 
