Vincennes Gazette, Volume 14, Number 4, Vincennes, Knox County, 27 June 1844 — Page 1

I " TRUTH WITHOUT FEAR," VIK,AE, 6E)IAI A, TSUJkaSDAY IOU.I3 JI .M: 27, 1811.

rvmii?Mo. Son?.

T. v.y.v.t tli a I ' i he v :Ln.k. i i'ho 'II -to - Q '; 'v :7 a. V t : "!r oi:r c i f nil!.; thi-. ' W . .Kick.' No utile Matty Van was Poiked aside;. For tbey could not mount the fox astride,Hts tail stuck out toa far from his back, To run with ease on a dirty track. Get out of the ay, A-c. Taniei Buchanan and oMfrtcwart They could not draw the Locofoco cart, For the wheels weie dry for want of use And nothing would move 'em but Polk. tool juio. Get cut of th way, Ac. Th Locofjcos were afraid of Caa-i Because ho grabbed at httl Texas, He jumped at ihe tempting bait too soon. Fit he couldn't ?'eep clean with that nw brom. Get out of the way, vtc. Now pior old Dick, though brnre in fight. Wag Polked aside for Silas Wright; But Wright couldn't etand that Polking o fun, So he lt liia old friend Dallas run. Get out of the way, &.c. The Loco's stomach used to turn, wc think. At the thought of Whu's hard rider drink. Hot Polk-Tuot bittera they're onlied to taste And they swallow it down with an ugly face. Get out of the way. Now ail their Pulks at our old coon Is firing with pop-guna at the moon; For Eaat and West the country 's rising For Harry Clay and Frelinghuy en. Get out of the way. &.c. Mr. Fic:Cl:n, fn ra the elert (Jommitit-e on the subject, tnad3 the following 15 E I O K T : The SeUct Comniltec, to whom had been rcjcrrtl certain memorials of sun try citiini.of Indiana and other States, iVc praying a grant of land to ena'dc fh- Stafc of Indiana to ccslrvct thr Cross-cut and southern portion of the Central canal to connect with the d 'abash and Erie canal and the Ohio river, as also the Senate dill providing Jar the same, ask leave to report: After n. patient investigation, the committee have not been able to discover any good reason to arrive at a different com-lu-sion from that of the two appropriate committeeb of the House which hnve had the subject in charge. In fact, the committee find lliis canal project so ohjectionablewhen presented as en object of national bounty, hat they wculd deem themselves recreant to their trust if they should give their consent to the reportingof a bill. The institution of committees was designed (or the purpose of investigating and deciding upon the merits f propositions that may be presented to the House. Convenience, if not necessity, required this. Committees, thn, are bound to exf.mine into and decide, according to the merits, such proprositions as may be submitted to them, and not to give their sanction to measures they cannot approvp. !f committees were to pursue a diff-rent course, tt would he nvich better that their appointment hereaf'er -should be discontinued, as they would be rather calculated to mislead, ihan to enlighten and give a proper direction to the legislation of the House. Tiie committee, however, from the great importance of the subject, and the grent anxiety of iu friends, feel bound to make known the reasons that induced them to decide adversely to the prayers of the memorialists. The committee July appreciate the vast importance of the national thoroughfare, in e military and commercial point c f view, connecting the 'navigs' le waters of the Wabash and T.ake F.rie ' The ereat utility of this thoroughfare hs.9 been clearlv shown in the report of the Committee on Roads and Canals (House Rep. No. U2'2) of the present session. To render this thoroughfare what nature and former legislation intended it, any legitimate means in the power of the General Government might well be bestowed. ilere the question arises: What constitutes this thoroughfare? ia the Cross-cut. and southern portion of the Central canal a part of it, or has it ever been considered so, either in et3te or national legislation? To ascertain these fact. it will be neoes-j aary to consult the history of legislation upon this subject. The ordinance of 1787 established the Wabesh and Miami of Lake Erie, with the portage between, a public highway. With a view of improving and perfecting that highway for 'he benefit nf the people and of the Government, an act of Congress was passed in 1824. (see U. S. Laws. vol. 7. p. '2i5,) atithorixing the State of Indi ana to open a canal through the publie lands, to connect the navigation of tht rivers If abash and Miami of Lake Erie. With the same view, t further ct rr

Conr- w na-S'id in IS'27. (see U. S. Laws, vol. . pqge granting to the Sta'e of !r.t r a, to aid her in opening a

cau.d to un.i 'er.v of the r w :i i:j ! -theW V v great ;c-f navigable points, the wa:?r IVabask icith those of . nowing clearly (as has been -' jr acts of Congress) that -s a corfspoijcnt part of this thoroughfare, anJ assuming at a I ii,:i :uv (he Wabash was a navigable river r. I nst from some point, to be ascertained : dxed by the State of Indiana. These grant- w re accepted by the State of Indiana; -t $ Jt. ie 23 !, 1829, by act of her Leu' -!, .if that date, the western tcriirnatton f ,'ie Wabash and Erie canal 'nr. in nth ,-i -vr Is, the 'naritrab'e point " the i i i - V fixed at the mouthof r- " !, t:r. relying upon ?!.- General Government to remove all obstructions below that point, agreeably to surveys that Ind been made of the river bv the engineers of the United Slates. In 1S3" (see Law s of Indian?, page C) the Legislature of tliat state passed an act to provide for the prosecution of the Wabali and Erie e;mal and other purposes, (commonly called the 'survey act.") The lnth section of this act provided for 'a Kiivey and estimate of the costs, cvc, of a continuation of the Wabash and Erie canal, from Lafayette to Terre-II aute.' IJv the same act. section 10. the canal commissioners were required to locate a route of a canal, from a fuitable point on the Wabash and Erie canal, thence by way of Muneietown, on the west fork of White river, via Indianapolis, to a point at the junction of tho White rivers; thence to a suitable point on the Ohio, if practicable; otherwise, to some point on the Wabash.' The termination of this projected canal was ultimately fixed at Evansville, on the Ohio, and was termed the Central C3iial. This survey a-rt provided for no connexion between the Wabash and Erie canal and the Central canal, except at the northern termination of the latrer. A survey, however, was made that year, by individual enterprise of a route of a canal from the termination of the Wabash and Erie canal to the mouth of Eel river, on the Central canal, which w.3 afterwards termed the ( 'ro;i oil iMtial. Emm t - 3ot it evidently appears, that mi the nrivj n-, projection of the Central canal, it had n o.niexion with the continuation of the U , .sh und Erie canal; that its object rn.isi ;,av nen to render commercial facilities to the White river valley, the central portion of the State. It is true that, in th internal improvement act of the State of Indiana of Is3t5, the Cross-cut canal wa3 provided for; but in no legislation of that State, or of the United States, have this and the Central canal been considered in fact or in name a portion of tho Wabash and Frie canal, or a pan of that njiionnl thoroughfare, as a substitute for the Wabash. So far from it. that same act of 183 5 provided for the removal of obstructions to navigation in the Wabash river, below the point fixed for the termination of the Wabash and Erie canal; which was met with a similar enact ment on the part of the State of Illinois. For a very full and conclusive exposition of this matter, the committee would refer the extensive correspondence of the board of internal improvement, and other authorities of Indiana, under the direction of the Legislature of that Slate, with the Hon. James Whitcomb, a citizen also of that State, ihen Commissioner of the General Land OtTice; upon which, and the report of the Hon. O. II. Smith, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Lands, an act passed in 18 Jl, granting or conferring certain tracts of land to the State of Indiana, for the construction of the said continuation of the Wabash and Erie canal to Terre-I?3ute, fixed, as staled in that correspondence, as its 'final termination.'' (See Ex. Doc. House of Reps. No. 32. 3d session 25th Congress.) As the document referred to is rather voluminous, a few exiracts are subjoined. In reply to en inquiry of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, 'whether the proposed new addition to the canal was to co meet the Wabash river t Terre Haute?' the president of the board of internal improvement of that State, under date of September t27. ls37, wrote as fol. lows: (see page 7 of said document.) 'The Wabash and Erie canal, as extended under the law of this State f-om the mouth of the Tippecanoe river to TerreHauie, terminates in a basin at the latter point, and its immediate connection with the Wabash river by means of lockage. The line adopted by the board of internal improvement, with slight variations, is the one surveyed by Dr. Chailes T. V hippo, an experieneod and scientific engineer, in 1S35. From the above bnsin, the canal (celled the Cross-cut) will be extended so as to inte'sect the Central c.tnal on the west fork of White liver, at or near the mouth of Eel liver. The .3d section of the law of thisState. providing for a general system of internal improvement, directs the extension of the H abash nd Erie canal from the mouth of Tippecanoe to Terre Haute; and, in addition to the uniting cf tht, canal with the river at Teire H tute, the board i3 authorized (if the public good shall require it) to connect at intermediate points. This last provision, however, evidently has refn n -q-.-?r: r d ' tlon'-i w.tr pow

er, & not to any ad vantage that might accrue richest valleys of the globe, comprising to navigation. It is not contemplated to more than two-thirds of Indiana and a have any connexion with the Wabash ex- third of Illinois; carrying upon its bosom cept at Terre Haute.' j to market the immense and rioh prodik:The reason assigned for this further lions of this extensive region for this proextension of the canal to Terre Ilnute, is jected artifl isl communication, contrary

disclosed in said correspondence, in a let Iter of the Hon. A. L. White, (see page j'Jot said document,) viz: 'it will be teen, therefore, that, at the time of making the original selection, all

parties acted under lhtt supposition that i canal; and that they- were entitled to the the channel of communication was to be; bounty of the Genf-ral Government, as a perfected throughout, by tlie improves tent pari of the national thoroughfare designed of the river below the mouth of Tipr ".-i by the acts of Congress of 1824 and 1827? canoe. But as this expectation has b'enj Why, after a point has been 'finally'' disappointed, (whether by a change in thJsettled for the termination of the Wabesh policy of the Government, or by other : and Frio canl, is the bounty of the Genecauses, it is unneee.-sarr to inquirO e , ra! Government asked for i'3 extension

necessuv. .1 z ...rib:-.- et-.-ii?un o. thASo.i,-. iai aiiies-itirtner, so so -n alter the

canal has at leith become apparent; and the State may present her claim, founded in equity and jostire, for a corresponding extension of the grant of lands to aid the work.' The Hon. IL F. 1'utler. Attorney General of the United States, (page "6 of said document,) sas--; The great object of the law was to promote the opening of a communication from th lake to the navigabb', iraters of the If'abash. Nothing short of this will ellectuate the intents of iis authors, or secure to the United Slates the benefits intended to be derived from it. 'If, therefore, it should be found, by further investigation, that, to secure a convenient and useful means of communication between the navigable waters of the rii cr and those of the lake, the canal should he extended to Terre Haute, then I think it not only competent for the Staie of Indiana, within the true meaning of the act of Congress, but due on the part of that State to the United States, that sue!) an extension should be made.' Which selection of the 'naviqable point' he conceded belonged to that Slate. Governor Noble, in his letter to the Commissioner of the General Land office, (pages 12 and 13 of said document,) speaks of the means that had been used to ascertain and determine ibis -navigable point.' He writes thus: Your long residence, and the share you have had in her counsels, make you so familiar with the interests and policy f this St te. thai 1 need only to allude to a few particulars to make you acquainted with theobjeetof ihiscommunication. Soon after we entered mho ihe Union as a State, the construction of a canal, uniting the navigable waters of the ITabash with those of Lake Erie, was the favorite object of our legislation. 'Our active operations, as you know, commenced on the summit, and continued westward, pursuing the course of the W abash. During the intermediate period, examinations have been made by an engineer of of the United States, and by our own, to determine the capacity of the Wabash f r navigation; and for the want of water in its channel at is ordinarystage, to allow a permanent commerce, we have found it best to continue the work down the stream in the language of the act, to a 'navigable point at Terre Haute. For like reasons, the authorities of Ohio, to arrive at a navigable point, have eX tended the line below its first point of intersection with the waters of Lake Erie. The work, in its onward course to meet an uninterrupted navigation, has been lo. eated and placed under contract to Lafayette, and th preliminary surveys are now completed to Terre Haute.' The Commissioner of the General Land Office, (page I of said document,) in hi" letter to the Secretary of the Treasury upon this subject, stated: 'It is objected, that, if the right now claimed is conceded, there is no security against the Slate's making a further extension to the month of ihe Ohio, (quere. Wabash?) as the State of Ohio has already extended her part of the canal to a bay of Lake Erie. Hut the law of Indiana, extending the route to Terre Houte, does not quvifv it as fixed only 'for the time being, as was trie case in the two previous laws indicating the temporary location. The termination at Terre-IIaule, fiuciilnc ia iini,ofcl It' I t ll OnWllOl' nnnol W m v. o t ia v,iuu'.ah.u v till aiM'kUV;! OlJCllj to be constructed at the expense of the State, (to-wit, the Central canal by ihe Cross cut.) which Extends to tho Ohio river at Evansville, above the mouth of the Wabash, and renders the apprehended extension lo the latter place wholly superfluous. It is also expressly stated by the authorities of the State, in their correspondence. that'Ae termination at Terre Haute is to be regarded as final.' 'It becomes, therefore, scarcely necessary to add. that the supposed impolicy of extending the canal to the mouth of the Wabash ha3 nothing to do with the abstract question of right.' It appearing, then, that the IT'abash has been recognized in all state and national legislation a3 a component part of this thoroughfare, & in fact, the most prominent feature in it it may well be asked, how and when originated an attempt to divert this great national highway from the channel created by nature, and adopted uniformly bv legislation, from the commencement of the action of the Stale or National Government upon the Bubpet? Why, at this late period, abandon one of the noblest rivers cf ths west one that dratne. bv itself and tributaries, one of thf

to all former course of legislation?

IIow and when was it proposed to have the Cross-cut and tne southern portion r.f tha Central canal adopted as part of it, or as an extension of, the Wabash and Frie last 'final termination?' What new lights have induced this new application? The first intimation of a desire for the aid of the General Government to construct the Cvrpss-cut and Central canals, is found in thepreamble and joint resolution of the Legislature of Indiana, passed January 21, lSf. Much of its importance to the General Gevernment and otherwise appears to be. predicated upon the contingency of a fai'mre to improve the ff'abash, as appears from this extract: 'It will not only be of great utility to the citizens of those Slates, bm w ill be, when completed, of great national importance. Not only the right of transportation being reserved to the United States, but the fat r ility will thereby be accelerated; for, un less this link be completed from TerreHaute to Evansville, the- transportation between, these points, in the summer season, (which must be done by an(,unlcss the Wabash river be improved.) would in a few years (in time of war) cost the Government more, by far, than the completion of this work entire.' It may as well be remarked here, that the States of Indiana and Illinois, by their concurrent legUlaunn. had undertaken to make this improvement of the river and that, too, before any ether work of either State, fiom the greater urgent necessity; and that from 182 neither State had failed, up to the present time, to ask aid, either in money or lands, to perfect this great national thoroughfare by the improvement of the Wabash. " A further joint re olution of the Legislature wa passed January lo, 1 814, asking all the unsold lands in the Vmcennes laud district for the c nstruction of these canals, termed in the resolution the 'Wabash and Ohio canal.' The Legislature of Indiana, however, at the same session-, passed resolutions still soliciting aid for the improvement of iho W abash, end. at the last session, fora grant of land, as well for the northern pardon of the Central, canal, as for the southern division of it. That the Legislature of Indiana did not intend the Cross-cut and Central canals as a substitute for the Wabash in this great national thoroughfare, is evident from the three several joint resolutions to Congress in favor of its improvement, passed by the Legislature; and al the same session grants of land were asked for th t canals. The language in thef preamble of one of which is very express upon the subject, thai no such thing was in contemplation. In the preamble and resolution of December 20, 1812. this declaration i made: 'The If 'abas i river is a reserved national highway, and is an indispensable link, from its junction udlh the Ohio to the IVahash and Erie canal, in the great chain of water communication contemplated to accommodate the trade of an immense population between two commercial emporiums New York and New Orleans. It appears, then, from tbe whole history of the case, as fr as national and state legislation is concerned, to the present time, that the Wabash has ahvay3 been declared to be a component part of this great national thoroughfare; for the construc tion or perfecting of which, ihe faith of the United States, and of tne States of Indiana and Illinois, has been either directly or indirectly pledged. It appears, further, that, from the act of Congress of 1824, before and after divers surveys of said river, and with a full knowledge of the same, it has been always assumed that the Wabash was a navigable stream, and had a 'navigable point,' from which, to its mouth, with some comparatively slight improvement, the river would fully answer the ends of the Government and the exigencies of commerce. This river being adopted and continued as a portion of the thoroughfare, is it not asking too much of the United States to furnish means to construct another ch?nnel so near, and running parallel with it. and which, when constructed, would not be used as a part of the thoroughfare, provided the Wabash (as has always been assumed) would answer all the purposes for which it had been recognised as a part of that great national highway ? No one will hardly contend for this. The true issue is this ; and the only ground, as the committee believe, upon which the claim for the bounty of the U. States could with any reason or justice be predicated, is disclosed in the nseciorials and w hich, if net suiismed bv proof or fact". th prcpo?fd t"?n?h rn cocieid-

ered in no other view than local, and not isville, or upon Hits weMorn rivers go.itrproppr subjects for national aid. The me- ally, in a svstem of low-water navig-uion mortal, sis a,sert "that so far as the Unit- From the r'epoit of Lieut. Col. S. H.Up ed States a-e concerned, the stoppage of topographical engineer, contained in said the canal at erre Haute, on ths iVabash, document, (pages If 8 and 119.) the folrenders it perfectly unless as a ' public lowing extracts" are made, showing clearhighivay for the use nj the Government.1 ly his position, viz: ' The Wabash river (as h known to all ac-j 'Judging now from appearance on the quainted with it) is not navigable, on mi bars and shoals of the Ohio, both above average, for more than four months in the and below the falls at Louisville, and from' year. The obstructions at theVrapids of . the low water depth of the basins ami that river prevent the passage of boats, 'pools intervening between thm, I feel one year with another, longer than the pe- j warranted in th eopinion that a permanent nod above stated; and even if these were ; low-water depth of two feet across Rll removed, such is the scarcity of water in the bars and shoals of this river, may fairlr the river itself, that it is doubtful wiietheribe deemed moderate and reasonable; while

it count ne navigated more than one-halt, of the year, h then appearing ihat the If 'abash has na navigable pnint'm all sea sons, even below the rrphl of that river. uu:i ui us comuence wnn ine utuo; ami n being impracticable to extend the canal !, V r : . . n , , i! to tne mouth ol the Wabash would it not be in accordance with the spirit of the ori gmal grant, and mhnltely more advantageous to the Government and people, to make the Ohio the termination of the canal ?" Here, then, f r the fir-t time, it is broadly asserted that the Waba-h has no navigable point; that, as a portion of the great national thoroughfare, the Wabash river 'is perfectly useless;' that from the act of Congress in 1824 to this time, the General Government, and the States of Indiana nd Illinois, have been legislating in the dark and upon false as-umptions; that the executive officers and engineer had been saying here was the navigable point, and there was the navigable point, of the Wabash; when, in fart, there wa none from its head-waters to the mouth. Now, notwithstanding the former course of legislation upon this subject, if it should be made clearly to appear if conclusive evidence had been produced to the committee to show that all former views fivorab'e to the Wabash had been incorrectly formed; that the river is not. and cannot, with any reasonable expe: diftire. be made to answer tfir; purposes i,f the Government and of commerce betwen the termination of the Wabash and Frie canal and th Ohio river, then it woul become ne, cessary to abandon the natural for some artificial channel of communication, if one could be found practicable, that would answer a better purpose, say the Crosscut and Central canal. However, not one particle of evidence ha been adduced in support of this position. On the contrary, the reports f four different surveys of the river show, to the entire satisfaction of the committee, that as good a low water navigation of the Wabash, from the termination of the Wabash and Frie canal to the mouth of the river, can be obtained at one-third the estimated expense of canal to the Ohio, as can be obtained upon the Ohio above and below the falls at Louisville, within any reasonable expenditure. Rut, as the broad assertion lias been so often made within a short period, as togain credence with some, that the Wabash is not susceptible of being so improved as to answer the purposes of this great national thoroughfare, the committee feel bound to tnter somewhat at large upon this subject. Upon what evidence is th;s question to be detetmmed? the assertions of individuals interested in having it superseded by the canal, (who, perhaps, have never seen the river.) and those indi viduals having no knowledge of river improvements? 'I nese assertions, as appears from the uumerous memorials signed fr the river, and the proceedings of numerous public meetings held in favor of improvement, are met with a decided and full denial by thousands of people living near it, and beet acquainted with it at al! seasons. The committee however have looked to a higher species of evidence the reports of scientific engineers in the employ ol the General and the State Governments, who have made careful examinations and surveys of the river. The commiil ee have instituted a comparison between those surveys and those of other engineers upon rivers connected with the Wabash, with a view of ascertaining what was the proper standard of low-water navigation on those rivers, and whether ihe Wabash could be brought within that standard. The result of their investigation upon this branch of the subject has been as fdlow s, viz: D, Burr, esq., in his survey of the Wabash, under the concurrent Ipgishtion of Indiana and Illinois, in 133, (page 8,) stales 'In devising nodes for the effectual navigation of the Wabash, some difficulty occurs in determining the depth of water which shall be provided for that purpose. For three months in the year, there is not commonly in the Ohio river, above and below i's confluence wiih the Wabash, for boats over the bars, more lhati from two to two and a half feet water, and this season (13N) less than iwo feet; and this depth serves for the navigation of the river for small steamboats, and for the descending flat boat trade.' Upon examination cf t'.e reports of of fliers of ths Topographical linre.au, of their operations upon the n es em w aters of the past year, (see Fx Doc. No. 2. II. R. 1st setf. 28th Cong.,) it appears thai it was no: ti3e&id expedient to aireixipt to gain a greater depth than uvrt feet noths Ohiv), above and below th f-'.

at ihe seme time. I ihink th nmnii..!,;!,'

ty of securing a greater depth, in extrtmrj low water, very doubtful, if not quit ihopt !r?s, ia the t.s ai any means that can i at present, or tor rnanr years to come, be . applied to the attainment of such an cbjet.' '. .xpfrtence which is the surest and safest guide to improvements, is daily showing the propiiety or utility of enlarging the bearings or horizontal dimensions o'' steamboats, and cf reducing their depth, in order that the tonnage, or their capacity for freight nd passengers, may remain the same, while their draught is greatly reduced. Siesmb als of from sixty t one hundred tons burden have been cot-,, etructed, with a draught, when lorwied, not exceeding twenty inches or two foet; and no doubt is entertained that boats of much heavier burden, and cf the same, or even a reduced draught-can and will shortly be built and brought in to general use. Wiih such boats, a continued navigation may ba kept up on the Ohio, interrupted only during the prevalence cf ice in the river.' In another part cf the same report it is further stated: 'In all we have to offi r touching the low-water navigation of the western rivers, we shall keep in view the practicability of forming and keeping open channels of a sufficient widih and depth to admit the free passage of boats drawing about two feet of water, which, in the opinion of (he hest and most experienced judges ol western navigation, is the utmost that should be aimed at in providing for a genera! svstem of low-water navigation. With such a draught and depth, boats laden with passengers, light freights, and mails, will no doubt be able to pass and repass on all the rivers herein considered, (Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri. Arkansas, and Tennessee.) in the lowest ptages of water; a: l thus steam navigation may be maintained during the year on all parts of these rivers, except during the periods when they aro blocked up with ice.' Captain John Sanders, in his surveys of the upper Ohio, adopts the same as :he maximum depth of water for low-water navigation, that is deemed practicable upon that rive above Louisville. This, then, being the standard for lowwater navigation, upon the Ohio and otli r western rivers, this inquiry nrises: W hether the Wabash, from the point fixed for the termination of the Wabash and Erie canal as the 'navigable point,' affords such a navigation at all times; or. in cae it should not, whether it is susceptible of suHi improvement, within a reonab'e e:;pr: diture, to bring it within V at standard? The Wabash is navigable for steamboats certain portions of the year (some four or five months) far beyond th derigtiatd point a distance of near f'"'0 miles; but; like the Ohio, from certain obstructions, that navigation, a? low stages of water, is impeded. The obstructions in tho Wabash like those in tie Ohio, pppeajs from several surveys that have been made, can be removed; and, when removed, those surveys show that the Wabash wi'l furnish equally a- good a low-water navigation as ihe Ohio. The n .ture of theee obstruction aic somewhat similar. The Grand rapids a:. to the Wabash, whatthe falls at Lonisv.dle are to the Ohio; though by no lopana n difficult or expensive to overcome. Th ' following description of the nsvigahdtty . f the Wabash, without improvement, i found in thf reports of sid Burr, of hti surveys of said river, in 137 and 183:?.--lie states in hi' report, contained in thr; annuai report of the board of internal im provement of the state of Indiana. 5 i : T!i:tt. with 1 ' r .1 exceplir-n. from (ueir 500 raiie above the niouili of the Wabsshj to within 11 miles of ihe junction of White rie:, to the shosU vf Little Rock rapid, the Wabash Las a rnild cuirent, of good width, and t!eiah:y wt-Ti defined bank, which confine he water 1 their natural bed, except in time of fl."oj.-. Ti.n Wabash below White liver, for the bmall c!aof Ohio steamboats, is caiigatile the greatest p,t of each year, hnd fot much longer periods than it is above, owing more to a eerie of shoal from the Grand rapida'to Littio Rock, than to tha want of water from thence to Lafayoite and Delphi. .fany inquiries relative to the length cf time in which the ordinary stcambont navigation can be lined annually on the Wabash, haie been ma le above and below the confluence of Whit river; but. fiom the conflicting statements, it i difficult to form an opinion. Th timo arie. doubtles, in different years. During the present year, there can have been hub- or m time when ihe water has been too low, for sniall stcanboat to ascend to the lap'd. A steamooat of 'ordinary light draught c;unt there the last r.f October, when the water waa depressed probably as jW as it had been tt any time chrin the snnime fail ce&son; and could it hfv r-a .: Ur for ten m;!? 2 , r,; , ., r '