Mr. CLARK. I do not know liow that may be. but such is not my information. I know that people who were rich before the war and before the flood swept through their country are now impoverished; they are this present summer unable to cultivate their land because it is continually overflowed. When the memo rials on this subject were referred to the select committee from whom this amendment comes, and they came to the consideration of what had best be done, I asked GenlHumphreys and I asked also General Canby to come to me and give me some information in regard to it. They both came. They both came and they both assured me that in their judgment it was entirely beyond the power of the people living in that country to recover themselves or years; that unless something was done by the General Government the; must suffer. I saw at once that the national Government would not be willing to do what would be re aired to put these levees at once in repair an reconstruct them; that is to say, I did not believe the national Government would be willing to expend 4 or 5 million dollars at once; but LARK. Mr. President, I agree with, it. did seem to me and I think the same was the view of the committee that we might appropriate something which should make a beginning; that we might hold out the hand of encouragement to that people down there, and say to tigm, “We will not see you swept away by flood and by the operations of war, and not be willing to show to you that the Government will cherish the whole country as a part of its own.” I thought, and the committee thought, we might expend about a million and a half of money. I asked GenlHumphreys if with a million and a half of money we could construct permanentle vees, so that they would be of use to the country. It was said by gentlemen from that region that $1,500,000 would hardly do; you must make these repairs to that extent that they will not. be swept away by the flood when it. comes on in the recurring season; you might keep the water out, and to do it you must do it at once. Whcn I called GenlHumphreys to me he assured me that he could, with $1,500,000, do a vast deal of good. I asked him to state to me in what way he would do it and he sent to me afterward a report, which I will read in part to the Senate: Wilsnisoros, June 26, 1806. Dean Sm: At your request I submit the followin memorandumconcerning t a re air of the levees o the States of Missim'ippiand ouisiana. s arkansas levecs, just. above the Louisiana boundary line, form part of the protection tom, of the Tonsas bot and must be repaired if that bottom is protected. to be HnVinR $1,500,000 to expend I should recommend for the state of Mississippi the repair:. In Tuiiicacounty, of the 6 breaks named in myreporttoltllfSecyWar, 460,000cubicyards, at 35cents, $101,000. It will be seen, Mr. President, that this report of GenlHumphreys is based upon actual estimate for the dilIerent levees from place to ilace. It is not any general estimate to get a arge sum out of the Government. 1. In Tunica county, of the 6 breaks namedin my report to the SecyWar, 400,00 cubi yards, at 35cents., 1til,000 In Couliomy county, the Yazoo Pass breaks, 130.00coubic yards, at 60oeuts. The 7 otherbreaksin this county, named in my report. 140,000cubic yards, at 40 An4do0t, h0eo0break in the Lewis Sw cubicyards, at 40cents. 3. In Bolivar county the Prent., y theSwan Lake route, 1%,000cubicyards, at 40cents. The Boliver Bend breaks (greatly enlarged during the presenthigh wnlcriind sincemy report.to the SecyWar was made) 100.00coubic yardsnt40cents. The I'instern break, 70,000cubic yards, at 40 CPI]F. 4. In Washimfilton county the Miller’s Bend break. (as this break was only partially closed before the jiresent high water, it has returned to its origine l dimensions) 100,000 cubic yards, at 40cents. 5. In Issaquenuc. ounty the chrisfmasbreak. 100,00coubic yards.at 40cents. 40,000 Total for the State of Mississippi. 78,000 40,000 25,000 40,0“) The effective repair of these breaks will protect temporarily some 300,000 acres cultivated cottonlands, producinga haloto the acre. Senators will see that if we uppropriate this money the crop in one year, W11.)tie tax we have laid upon it, would repay it all. Then he goes on to estiniate the breaks in other places: For the TensasbottomI will not detain the Senate to run through these various levees, because they will perhaps not be more intelligible than the mere name that would be given with the estimate. It was the opinion of General Hum hreys that something should be done in or or to enable this country to recover itself, and that with a million and a half of money we might be able to do much good in that regard. I also received a letter from General Canby, who most of the Senators know as a very prudent and a very cautious man. It is dated ] use 80, 1866: Wasumomu, D. 0. Jim: 30, 1866. Sin: I have the honor, in reply to your verbal inquiries of the 27thinstant, to state: 1. That an ellieiont systemof loverson the lower Mississippi is essential to prevent a consideriiblo part of the State of Mississippi and ll, very large art of the tState of Louisiana from becoming an absolute was a He says this expenditure on the reconstruction and repair of these levees is absolutely necessary to prevent this country from becoming an absolute waste. In both of these States the lands subjectto over tflroicwtsa.re in the most productive sugar and cotton dis2. nomTichaalltythdeonweorbkycan bemost elIlciently and mo the Gencral Government and should be placed, until completed, beyond the control of th0 Stateor other local authorities or indi VltIllul interference.The cost of restoralionmr rather of reconstruction, ennonly be estimatednfterucare ful surveyol the line on both banksof the river and on a part of thqcourse of someof its tributaries and aliluents. It Willcrrtninly exceed$3,000,00a0ndwill probably reach80,000,000 I ask the attention of Senators to this statement that I am now about to read of General Canby, because he has been down in that country, he has given the subject his attention, and is a man of good judgment: 3. Neither of the States of Mississippi or Louisiana are at present or will befor severalyears.in a financial condition that will enablethemtoundertakeand out this work without the aid of the General Government. 4. If the work of reconstructioncannot beunder taken by the Government, the repair of the mostim portant parts havin referenceto the amount of work to bedone and the extent and iroductiveness of the country to be protected will o of immense valueto the States interested by weirding otT the dan ger of inundation until they are in a condition to undertakethe work for themselves. 5. An estimate of thesum required. if the work is limited to such repairsasareof immediateundpress – ing iiccessity, mustbein great incasuro conjectural. In thespri $011805 it wasestimatedthatthe repairs of the Mississippi levees within the lirnits of the State of Louisiana could have beenmade for the sumof $200,000.This estimatewas based upon the reports ot tho parish tirovost marshals, of the engineers employed by the U.S and by theState, and in cimlupdreedssinmictsiit elements the employment uf troops, the cfited, of labor from the plantations to bebeli and the use of the material that had beenue cumulnted in the Army de ots. At. a later period a new estimate was made cm racin the levees in the State of Miss ippi. excluding the use of the impressedlabor or Army material, butincluding, to a reduced extent, the employnent of troo)8. The sum required ruthen estimated as 8800.000. 'his estimate wasbasedin part upon the suinr data as the 1st. but mainly upon the estimates of Major General Ilum plireys. n the estimates to be made now, contract service or hired labor must be wholly relied on, and an allowance must bOIXHNIOfor the damagedone the levers by breaksor washing during the recent floods. Thesetwo elements will. in my opinion. increasethe amount of the above estimate at least 50%., making 81,;0l,000 as the sum required for such re pairs to the leveesasare immediately necessaryto preventinundatimis. Very respectfully, sir, your obedientservan t. ED. It 5. CANDY. Major General Volunteefl. Hon. Daxgn. CLARK, U.S. :Senator, Wanhinglon, D. C After the 1st letter of GenlHumphreys I received another from him, in which he says he had learned that the levees in some places had been very much washed and the cuts very much deepened since he made his former report, and that he hardly thought $1,500,000, or what the committee have reported, would be sulficient; but the committee did not see (it. to increase their recommendation of the amoum. to be appropriated by the Gencial Government, and they still adhere to $1,500,000. Now, Mr. President, if we suppose that GenlHumphreys is correct, and that the building of these levees at the Yazoo pass would protect 300,000 acres of land which would yield a bale of cotton to the acre, allowing a halo to weigh about 400 pounds, the tax that would be laid upon that cotton in one year would be double the amount you propose to appropriate. About the same amount of land would be protected by the building and reconstruction of the levees in the State of Louisiana, or about 300,000 acres, and that would give you as much more. And it is stated further, that if there could be a thorough construction of levees up and down the banks of the Missis sippi, about 7 million more acres of land would be brought under cultivation in time which would give you a bale to the acre, add in to your present crop of cotton about 7 million bales, or an amount larger than we have ever had at any time. If, then, you look at this matter in an eco nomical point of view, if you look to see what isto be paid out from the Treasury and then look to see what is to come in return into the treasury, it is for the benefit and advantage of the Government to make this outlay. But there is another point beyond that which was alluded to in the report of the committee, which has been alluded to by the Senfrom Illinois, and to which he does not give much consideration; and that is, that at a time when that country is impoverished, at a time when it is cast down, at a time when we are excluding their representatives and not admitting them to this floor, I desire to hold out the he] ing hand of the Government to that peopI that they shall realize that they are still liVin under a Government which cares for them. I do not know how we can do anything better. I want that people to feel that they are a part of the Union, that they are to bestill a part of the Union, that they are to have the benefits of the Government, and I am willing to be a little in advance. Before we collect the taxes, Iain willing to take the money of the Treasury and pay for the repair of the levees on the Mississippi in this way, in a way of encouragement to that people. I do not propose to enlarge on this matter, Mr. President, because it was before the Senate some time ago, and the report made by the committee has been before the Senate, andI propose to leave it to the votes of the Senators. I have not much difficultyin findin a ground upon which we can go in making! is appropriation; and that is the improvement of the river, which is perfectly a constitutional matter. If Senators will examine the engineers, they will all say to you that in order to carry out the rubbish and matter that is floated down the river it is necessary to confine the river within its banks, and if you sutfer the levees to be broken down and sulfer the water to go into the swamps in Arkansas or up in the higher parts of the river and then come back to the current bringing more rubbish and more dirt into the river, you form a bar at the mouth of the river which eiTectuallyobstructs its nav iation. I in aired particularly in regard to this matter 0 GenlHumphi eys, and he told me that he had examined it with great care and there was no doubt of that result; so that if you will protect 'our river and have it open to commerce an navigation for time to come you must necessarily build these levees in order to protect the river, if you lay entirely out of the account the plantations and the land on either side. I do not proposeto trouble the Senate further, but am wi ling to rely on the yeas and pays upon the adoption of the amendment.