Mr. RAMSEY. Mr. President, the bill before as )IOVidOSfor an examination and survey of the iunesotaand the upperMississippi rivers in order to ascertain the character of the obstructions to their navigation, and the means adapted and expenses incident to their re moval. The examinations are proposed to be made under the direction of the SecyWar by engineers of the Topographical corps, aided by the practical experience of river experts. They are to be made in accordance with a prudent custom, which requires a particular examination and an estimate before appropriating money for objects of improvement. In this way desultory and ine rdinate expenditures are avoided; useless or frivolous projects are detected; the merits ofevery proposition are thoroughly investigated, and congress is enabled to judge of the proportion between the cost of an improvement and its value. During the late war appropriations for the improvement of our great rivers and harbors were in a large measure suspended. That this economy, under the circumstances, was justifiable and wise few, I presume, will venture to disute and in view of the present condition of the Treasury all of us, Mr. President, will admit the necessity of restricting future expenditures in this direction to the smallest sums commensurate with the importance of the objects sought to be attained. In regard to the improvement of the Minnesota river, for the survey of which the bill, as originally introduced, appropriates $5,000, I will merely remark that if the result of the examination shall indicate that any very considerable sum will be required to render the river navigable at all seasons, except when obstructed with ice, I may not apply to the national Treasury for the money to make the improvement; but as the stream, though perhaps the most important tributary of the upperMississippi, flows almost entirely within the limits of the State of Minnesota, I may ask Congress to authorize Minnesota to undertake the improvement in such way as she may see fit, either in her State capacity or by a pen to private enterprise. For this reason, hff. president, I hope that the amendment to the bill which has been reported from the ComCommerce may be rejected, and that my honorable friendfrom Michigan, the chairman of the committee, will not urge its adoption in consideration of the im, ortance of the exami nation, and the very mo crate sum appropriated to make it. But, Mr. President, the bill further provides an appropriation of $20,000 for the survey of the upperMississippi river, from the Rock river rapids to the iead of navigation, a distance of some 500 miles, in order to ascertain some practical mode of making this portion of the river navigable for boats drawing 4 feet in those cycles of low water which occur with us at regular intervals and seem to be governed by certain and well defined physical laws. I hope that no Senator will be eterred from approving this appropriation by any apprehension that it will initiate alarge and uncertain expenditure; for I think that I shall be able to show that the improvement which is desired may be effected at a very moderate cost. What is wanted is a practical, sensible exami nation Or survey not a refined, scientific investigation of the remen and hydraulics of the river, which might prove curious rather than useful. If the De artinent to which this Survey is proposed to e intrusted will designate competent Officers who will be willing to consult practical and intelligent river men, I have no doubt but that the survey can be completed in a single season, and a feasible plan of improvement recommended which can be accomplished with little expense. The improvement of this great artery of commerce. Mr. President, is a national work. When peopleted it will so increase facilities for effecting ommercial exchanges and so reduce the cost of transit of the great staple products of the Northwest to the Atlantic and the Gulf, that no part of the country will lose by the improvement, but all will gain. I therefore ask the indulgence of the Senate while I present a few considerations sufficient, in my opinion, to commend the improvement of the upperMississippi river to the favorable consideration of Congress and of the country. In doing this I propose to enter into no discussion of the constitutional authority of the Government to make the improvement. I assume that the possession of this authority, in the broadest amplitude, has been most emphatically settled by a series of acts which have received the sanction of the people of the U.S and of every Dept of the Federal Government; and that in the discussions that have taken place in and out of congress upon the various provisions of the Con. stitution under which the exercise of this authority is claimed, and more especially upon the intent and objects of the framers of the Constitution in conferring on Congress the power “ to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the States, " the argument is exhausted. If the practice of appropriating moncv from the Treasury of the U.S. for the improvement of the navigation of the Mississippi river and its tributaries is of more recent origin than the practice of appropriating money from the same source to render navigation safe and easy on the Atlantic coast, it is readily an swered, thatin the earlier days of the Government but a very inconsiderable portion of the poulation of the U.S. iad passed the alleghany mountains; that steam had not then conquered a current too rapid for ase ending navigation; that by the treaty of SanLorenzo cl Real, in 1705, the southern boundary fthe U.S. wasfixed at the 31st egree of latitude north of the equator, and the western boundary in the middle of the channel or bed of the Mississippi river from the northern boundary of the States to the 31stdegree of north latitude; that thus the greater part of the valley of the Mississippi belonged to Spain, who claimed the exclusive right to naVigate the river south of the 31st parallel, and a right in common with us to the residue; and that, although by the treaty of Paris, of the 30th of April, 1803, Napoleon ceded to the U.S. the colony or province of Loui siana, with the same limits that it had in the hands of Spain, when it was ceded by that Power to France, by the treaty of StIldefonso, of the hit of October, 1800, conflictin claims and pretensions to portions of the erritory were not definitely adjusted until the Adminis tration of Mr. Monroe, when the boundary line between Spain and the U.S., west of the Mississippi, was fixed with precision by an article of the same treaty, in virtue of which the Floridas were acquired. Provision for the improvement of the sea board was made in one of the earliest acts of the 1st Congress, under the present Constitution of the U.S., entitled “ An act for the establishment of lighthouses, buoys, beacons, and public piers, " approved by President Washington on the 7th of August, 1789. Similar laws were enacted on the 22d of July, 1790, on the 3d of March, 1791, on the 2d of March, 1793, on the 2d of March, 1795, on the 30th of May, 1706; and since then, with a few special exceptions, provision for the same purpose has been made in the general appropriation laws. The history of this legislation 1 adoption of the constitution, and is thus summed up by President Jackson in his“ message of December, 1830: The practiceof defrnying out of the Treasury of the U.S. the expenses incurred by the establishment and support of lighthouses, beacons.buoys, and public piers. within the bays. inlets and bar bors, and ports of the U.S. to render the navuzntionthereof safe and easy is eoeval with the has beencontinued Without interruption or dispute." That the power under which these expenses have been and are being incurred is as applicable to the Mississippi river asto the Atlantic i coast, and is as full and perfect in reference to one as the other, is attested by the general course of legislation upon the subject. The earliest appropriation or the improvement of the navigation of the Mississippi river is to be found in an act of congress, approved 24th May, 1824. Since then ongress has at various times made appropriations for the imrovement of the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, arkansas, and Red rivers, amounting in the aggregate to $3, 703, 800. The latest legislation in the premises was in 1856, when appropriations were made for continuing the improvement of the Des Moines rapids and for removing obstructions in the mouth of the river, by a 2/3rds vote of both Houses of Congress, over the vetoes of President Pierce. Even those theorists who have admitted with the greatest reluctance any degree of authority in Congress to make what are commonl called internal improvements, have time an again conceded the constitutionality of such improvements as was follow the examination and survey propose in the bill before us. At a convention assembled in the city of Memphis, on the 12th of November, 1845, Mr. Calhoun, in considering how far the aid of the General Government could be invoked for purposes of internal improvement, said: “ As to the improvement of the valley of theMissis sippi what, then. can the General Governmentdo? the invention of Fulton has, if I may be allowed the expression, turned the Mississippi river and its tribu taries into an inland sea.of equal importnncain its navigation with the Chesapeakeand elawuro bay. It is. therefore, a matter cculiarly within theinris diction of the Federal government, and deserving in the highest degreeof its police and protection. This is It not a matter to be left to individual States is one of high national importance. We may safely lay down as arnlc. that whatovercan be done by individuals they ought to accomplish whatever is peculiarly within t a province of States they should afloat: and whatever is essentiallywithin the control of the General Government, itshould accomplish. I believe the free and uninterrupted navigation of these inland seas (soto s oak) is within the peculiar province of the General government." Again, the national importance of the improvement of the Mississippi river is discussed With great ability in an ela orate report made to the Senate by Mr. Calhoun on the 26th of June, 1846, from the select committee to whom the resolutions and memorial of the Memphis convention were referred. Though we may reject many of the conclusions of this report, and deem many of the distinctions taken to be unsound and delusive, we will not dissent from the unanimous opinion of the committee that Congress has the power, under the Constitution, to improve the navigation of the Missis sippi river; and that it is clearly embraced in the power to regulate commerce among the States. Now, Mr. President, having regard to relative population; to the respective amount and value of commerce, tonnage, and navigation; or to the general proposition that the internal trade of alnations greatly exceeds their external, I hold it to be undeniable thatthe appropriations heretofore made for the improvement of the Mississippi and its waters have not been in a just an air proportion to those for "DPIOYGments on the Atlantic coast. Without gomg into an minute calculation, it may be safely asserte that the expenditures for the one have very many times exceeded those for the other. To these expenditures upon our eastern frontier I ccrtainl interpose no objection, On the corfiary, approve of them all, believing the objects to be general, not local; nations, not sectional. I advocate no narrow, contracted, or selfish system of lo rislation; but I do claim that while vast. sums have been appropriated $39 for the survey, fortification, and improvement of the sea board, and for the support of a Navy to protect our ocean commerce, equal attention has not been accorded to objects of public improvement in the interior, standing on the same ground of constitutional authority and the same principles of public policy. The waters of the Mississippi drain an area of 1, 244,000 square miles. They are navigable by steam 10, 674 miles; and according to an estimate of Mr. Benton, are boatable 60,000 miles, of which 30,000 are comuted to unite above StLouis, and 20,000 be ow. The commerce which tloats upon these waters moves, not to a local market, but to the markets of the world. It enriches the whole Atlantic commercial region. It is a copious source of revenue to the canals, railways, and navigating interests of the East. The cities of Boston, NewYork, Philadelphia, and Baltimore are participators in it, in common with StPaul, StLouis, and NewOrleans. This commerce affects the exchan es of the world, supplies the elements by which alone foreign commerce can be conducted, and contributes to the customs revenue by furnishing the commercial marine the out ward bound freight which is to be exchanged for the return cargo. For internal trade is the foundation of foreign commerce, which is called into being and sustained by the domes tic commodities furnished for export. In another form, it is an extension of it, distributing its freights. Each react upon the other, and any attempted discrimination in favor of one to the reJndice or exclusion of the other defeats itse f. In the upperMississippi valley are situated the great food producing States. 4 of these States Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois, as well as the new Territories erected west of Minnesota and a vast region extendine north far into British North America, to which a railroad is now in progress of construction from StPaul are directlyinterested in the improvement of the upper Mississippi river. But are these the only parties interested? By the census returns of 1800 it appears that NewEng land raises barely a sufficiency of wheat to feed her population 3 weeks; and that for 6 months in the year even NewYork is dependent on the Northwest for her breadstuffs. The tables which are annually laid upon our desks from the Treasur Dept show that the products of the orthwest have, during the recent war, sometimes constituted as high as 70%. in value of all our domestic exports, exclusive of specie. Is not the proposition a true one, that in the same proportion the have contributed to the customs revenue an sustained the public credit? 1000 dollars worth of Minnesota wheat exported to Europe will purchase there in exchange $1,000 worth of duty paying articles. From the returning imports the Government, under existing tariffs, derives an average duty in gold of at least 30%., or Whatever, therefore, by cheapening existing rates of transportation, stimulates production, enlarges the asis of foreign commerce; and in the improvement of the navigation of the upper Mississippi, not alone the graingrowers and stock raisers of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois have a direct interest, but also the inland carrier, the eastern consumer, the ocean navigator, the consumer abroad, the foreign importer, the buyer of imported fabrics, the miners of Montana, Idaho, and British North America, and the national Treasur itself. The late civilWar, Mr. President, has so changed the character of our foreign commerce that the leading staples of the South no longer constitute, as formerly, the bulk of our exports. Food has for a number of years taken the place of cotton, rice, and tobacco, and it is reasonable to suppose that for some years to come the settlement of European balances will largely depend upon the exportation of food. I regret that this should be so. I regret that the industry of my own State is confined, too exclusively, I think, to the culture of grain. I hnow that owing to our distance from eastern and foreign markets this culture has been nnremnnerative to our farmers; that in exporting l the products of our harvest fields we are exporting the substance and richness of our soil; 1 and that if we continue so unprofitable a busiI messunder existing disadvantages, depending upon railroads for distant transportation, we must decline to poverty. Hence the pressing and patent necessity for improving the great natural artery which has been fashioned to our hands by the Almighty Architect. The cost of transportation by the Mississip river has been estimated at 3 mills perton permile, 1 while by railroads of ordinary grades the usual estimate is from 12 and a half to 13 and a 3rd mills. This gives a difference in favorof river transportationof more than 300%. The experience of the last 1 few years has demonstrated that bulky comI modities will not bear the charges of railroad “ carriage for any great distance. Where articles are perishable, or where time is an element of value, railroads can be used to advan tage; but the fact is notorious that during the gust year, with an average price for wheat in NewYork city of more than 2 dollars per bushel, the same wheat at shipping points on the Mississippi river in Minnesota has brought during the winter an average of but 85 cents perbushel; to us a ruine us disparity. Let me also call the attention of Senators to the fact that though nearly 4 million dollars have at varions times been expended for the improvement of ditierent portions of the Mississippi river and its leading tributaries, not one dollar of this sum has atany time been expended to improve the long line of navigable river which lies between the rapids of RockIsland and the falls of StAnthony, and which is the natural drainage of a region larger than all of western Europe, and as fertile as any upon which the sun shines. Without refer ring to the present rapid develoment of out lying settlements in Dakota, ontana, and British North America, all more or less interested in this improvement, I will cite from the U.S. census the increase which was had in population, in cultivated lands, in agricultiiraFproducts, and in domestic animals in the bordering States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois, from 1850 to 1860: 1 M E: 2 in. o" 98.2. int. Area of squaremiles Population, Population. 1860 172.123 770.881 Improved land. Improved land, whent, bushels.1850 f Who it, bushels. 2, 195, 312 15, 812, 020, bushelse orn. bushels. Outs, bushels, 1350. it, bushels, bushels, 130 e. bushels, 1800 124.259 889, 531 76, 055 901, 322 2, 150, 170 Barley. bushels, 1 1.216 210.692 Barlcy, bushcls Swine, head. 734 150.276 323.247 1.915907 399, 164 Swine, hend, Cattle, head. 181 21112 Cattle, head, 1800. Remarkable, Mr. President, as is the prog ress thus indicated in the decade from 1850 to 1SO in these 4 States, these returns but faintly show the present situation of the same States. Notwithstanding the decline of immigration, and the stagnation of business in many portions of the country during the war, l the material advancement of the Northwest! in the last 5 years has been unaralleled, by any equal period of peace. will not occupy the time of the Senate with statistics? of the increase, in population and productions } during the last 5 years, of the States of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois, but will contentimyself with submitting a few statements which will illustrate the progress of Minnesota in this [ period a State with which I am mest familiar, I and from which the growth of the other States I may be inferred. The State of Minnesota has 2, 746 miles of shoreline of navigable waters. 1 In 1865 the number of steamers registered at the single port of StPaul was 39, with a registered tonnage of 3, 088.52, with a carrying capacity of 4, 973 tons, and valued at $607, 500. The number of arrivals and depart ures of steamers at StPaul in 1865 was 2.117. 3 steamboat companies transact business on the upperMississippi the Northwestern Packet Company, from Dunleith and Du buque to StPaul; the Northern, from StLouis to StPaul: and the LaCrosse and Minnesota Steam Packet Company, from LaCrosse to StPaul. Details of the business done by the latter company in 1864 and 1866 have been furnished me, which I herewith submitq premising that by multiplying the sums total by 3 a sufficiently accurate estimate of the business upon the upperMis sissippi river in 1864 and 1805 can be arrived at: 1 ar Receiptsby the la Cross: and JIinnesola SteamPacket aampaayalLn Crone, Wisconsin, during the emanci! navigationof the year 1864f.rom March 20toNovember27. Shwpmg pomw Wheat, Flour. Shipments from LaCrosso.Wise onsin. by the LaCrouse and Minnesota bteamlacket company for thonsaom: etime as above to various points a ovo Lu. Merchandise, assorted.tons. lfi.fl l7 Salt. burrols. 11, 876 ilroad iron. tons. 10, 3. J From the mouth of the Minneso to the RockIsland rapids, the Mississippi is characterized by almo5t innumerable wooded islands. The main volume of the stream is confined to one channel, but branches from it ramify in various directions, forming sloughs, as they are generally named, and making its water course with inclosed islands, seldom less than a mile in width. The low water in the channel of the river is caused by the numerous diversions cre ated by these islands. Each slough subtracts a large amount of water from the main chan nel, and by decreasing the current allows the formation of deposits. To ascertain the cheap est and most feasible mode of stopping these leaks and rendering all the water in the river availablefor navigation is the object of the examination propOsed in the bill before us. That this can be done at avery moderate cost, and in a very simple way, I am well satisfied. In a paperprepared by a skillful engineer and by agentleman With an exlpeiience upon the river of more than 25 years. it is suggested that a line of piles driven diagonally and tilled in with fuse ines at the head of each slough, will so turn the force of the current as to cause permanent deposits of sand upon the face of the barrier, which, in a few years, will become self sustaining, and always secure such outlet against further waste. As this paper possesses much practical interest I will here ask the indulgence of the Senate while I read it: The time seemsio have arrived when theimprovement of the upperMississippi rivershould no longer be a problem vnthout a solution. The vast increase in the productions of the northwestern States their vast exportsoflwhent and other provisions and their correspondinginiportstipn of all articles exccptfood. demand that this question, 2ndin importance to none that has been before Congress since internal improvements were 1st mado a port and parcel of the palicy of the country. should be mot and an are this unnecessary.at this lii. ted ay, to speak of the Importance of the Mississippi river. that great spinal column through which circulates the vitality which feedsand snstuinsso lar c n. proportion of the people of this country and of iirope and without which civilisation would not have reachedbeyondthelakes lit this time. The intrrcsls of not only the States in the valley ofthls mighty river. but of the whole country. do mand that ctflcientmcansbeat oncetaken to remove the obstructions and furnish a free and adequate communication with the ocean. From lliuinc to Florida. from Minnesota to Loui siana, all are uqually interested in the question of chcu food: and any appropriation and expenditure fort o improvement of this river is of national in portance and equally benefitsall. When we comparefie vast production with the means of transportation. wo shall at once he sur pllSE Lalt the disproportiop eXlStlDB between them. licre are 3 lines of railways connce tingthoMis sissippi with the lakes, which are available in a grcutor or less de cc to Minnesota. Wisconsin and northern Iowa: t cse are. 1st, the Milwaukee and StPaul road, extending from Lil. Crorse to Mil waukee.which can receive and forward about 20,000 bushelsof wheat eachday, which will require some 60 cars for its trnns ortstion. which togetherWith merchandiseon passengers, is about the limit of its ability. with its presentfacilities for clevatinlr: 2nd.the Milwaukee 1nd Prai ric du Chien road. connectiu the points its name indicates, and whoseclcvntor as a possiblecapacity of 40,000 bushels perday: 3rd. the Illinois Control road. from Dunlsith to Frooport and thenceby the Northwestern road to Chicano, whose elevator has a possible capacity of 20,000 bushelsa day. Theroute by the wuy of Savannahand Rucinqistoo for down the river and its equipmentand facilities are too limited to be of much benefit or to exorcise an)vmarked effect on the general result; it is not thereforeconsidered in this connoction. The sumo reasons.but with increasedforce. apply to the RockIsland road. which has a.local business equal to its utmostcapacity. The Illinois Central road. for a greaterpart of the younis blockaded With freight from the Dubuque and Sioux City road and is forced to neglect its local business in order to furnish an outlet for the country immediately contiguous and cannot be relied upon for the transportation of a bushel or a pound from above McGrcgor. The Prairie dn Chien road has nt least half its capacity absorbed by the contributions of the Mc Grcgor Western road and at the present rate of increase, will in a.few years he unab o to move more than that connectionwill demand. We now someto the LaCrosse route. which is the principal outlet on which Minnesota and Wisconsin must depend nnnd while that road is nowtaxed to its utmost capacity, the question arises, what are we to do in the time to come? The capacity of all roads is vastly ineroased by layint! another track the entiro distance. but thercis no probability that the present owners of either of itnhge suupepheorn rooaudts lawyilfloermmbaanrykyineaarns teoncteormperi.seevreenquifiirt should ever be their polir. The Lnkc Superior roi, sbeuld it ever become a fact. will. in connection With the Minnesota.Valley road, open an outlet for 5 or 6 months in the year, and if the necessary accessories of elevators and alinc of propellers are provided. prove of immensevalue to the commerce of the Northwest; but the benefits arising from these lines of communication are necessarily locul.a.ndwill beconfinedto the country north and west of StPaul. The irrentmur kcts of the world arq situated at the outlets of navigable rivers. which in this country are at the East and South produce will not c omoup the Mississippi to reach the lakes at Superior. unless it is transported at a loss and no fact is better known and understood in transportation thon this.usuicl. that whenever you divert freight from Its only loci immte course. which is the mostdircct and the shortest, you have to compete With lines possessing these advantages and rates which are reinunprntive to the direct route prove losing ones to the indirect. The Minnesota.Central roadivill onlyndd to thoburdens now imposed upon the la Crosse and Prairie duChien routes to the lakes by cunning up a communication with such and productive part of Minnesota. Its continuation southand a connectionWith theNorthern Missouri railroad will open a line of communication with StLouis and furnish that great market to Iowa and Minnesota: but all experience shows that a railroad through a rich and productive country isjn afew years ardly able to transport more thIann it creates and develops. viewof thesefacts.what remains for the country but to make available the rent hichwsy prepared for us by nature and by ayu icious expenditure remder perfect that which nearly so already: that high way whose capacity is unlumtedmnd which can bear the mighty burdens of the 300 million people who will oneday live on its course? the nestion now is simply as w the best way of doingw iat all admit mustbe done: and on this point we be: to offerthe following suggestions as the result of our own experience confinned by that of many prominent river mon: 1st. asto the cause of the low water in the channel; this, it must be evident to all. cannot be because there is not enough water in the river. but bqennse it is spread over so vast u Width and divided into so many channels. From liluff to hluff.ii. distance of [NIH o noto 4 miles, this vrtst highwii spreads out, o CllllK many roiites diVided by islan s. sand bars and drposits of drift; ono. of course is better than all others. but oven this varies at different se asons and is liable to chnnsrcsuiul dungcrs. The islands which formso remarkable and picturesque a fenture in the up or Mississippi iir.lormod by primary denosits of san.yhich. by t in wonderful fecundity of nature. are soon covered with vegetation and pernniiiciiily divert the water from its direct course. llwry:lltll diversion reduces the volume of water, and consequently less riis the current. which clfect CllllrUSHlCWdeposits, and they.in turn.now islands.therebyinereasingand inultip g the difficulties. let usbear thesefacts in min.aud the remedyat oncesuggestsitself: close u theso sloughs or a sufficient number of them. direct the water into one channel and its immense VolumeWill opento itself an “unv exed courseto the son. Aline of ples driven diuipnally nndfilled in with fuseiucs at the head of one slough Will so turn the force of the current as to cause permanent deposits of sands upon the faceof the barrier. which in a few syuesatrzsi, inbiyngth.e growth of vegetation.will become self and always secure such outlet against fuTrthhiesrawsassetreti:on does not rest on more conjecture. but has boon verified by the oxperienoeof the sum iner of 180}.when the labor of 20 men. one day. in merely driving a few stnltesand filling in with brush. HUSH the water in the channel ten inches bgaettiwoenetonSr st.maalul bl oaantdsth Prine eugh.ewnhdi.cahnodtsheecrwuriesedenoauvlid not have reached above Prese ott. We do not pro050"!any case to attempt to change the channel of O river or did canals. but simply to stop the leaks and make all navigation. towater available for lluvjng thus briefly given our vi ews as to the obstructionse aused by diverted forces.we cometo the matter wherein the river cannot by its own force contribute to its own improvement. The Upper Rapids of the Mississippi. as they are knowa. extend from LeClaire in Iowa, to Davenport and consist of a series or succion of boulders and projections interspersedwith many reaches of smoothand deep water. For an averageof perhaps 3 months in each your these rupids are impassablefor loaded boats.ind all frei lit has to be taken over in barges and mligghtaers an reshipped at Davenport. Thereby cous vast loss in time and money. Addodto this is the RockIsland bridge. Strctching diagonally across the channel and which is never passedwithout danger and proves a perfect barrier in windy weather. The rocks proiccting into the channel of the river can ullbe removedand phfectly safe and deo navigation secured by the iudicious expenditure O a few 100,000 dollars. the most dangerous rock! in Hell Gate, East river, have beensuccessfullytaken o ut and in tact we neednot no so far for an i lustrotion. but look at the improvements made in the Lower Rapids. inspito. we may almost say of the stupidity and inclficioncy of the parties in charge. That rocks can be cut 08and removed from under water are indisputablo facts; that the Work can be done by contract rapidly and cheaply all will admit: and that all internal improvemeritsattemptedby the Government directly have been either failuresor comlcted at a cost vastly be endwhat the samewould have beendonef9r by individuals. are also facts. the differencein cost between the plan hero proposed and a canal pround the rapids. can hardly be estimated. Probab y the looks llpnc would by double the cost of removing o llobstructions and aside from that the delay in passingsomanybootsupand down. Wolllld causea lossin atcw yearsequalto the origmul out ay. Nature has given us this nobleriver almost perfect to our hands: it lin sliitherto answered our purppso vweitry Wtheollo. caenadnf, ubruntisthhed tiimi: cacishecao pmcine gmamnudniincaftaioent noiv is. when that line of communication must be made perfect and then the powerful tux.With its 4 barges laden with lll0ll 40,000 bushels of Awnhtehaotn. ycan float uninterruptedly from the falls ofbt. to NewOrleans and return laden with the cu in and cotton of the South. ultiply flllllOfldSas we may: stretch them from the East and the west and yet a few yearsfindsthem crowded with local businesllwhich thrir simple conStruction hnsdeveloped. Thollligsissip iisourchicf dependeiico; its capacity is unlimite: it requires neither switchesnor double tracks: it only requires a limited outlay to render it Iperfect for all time. G. A. AMILTON. v RUSSELL BLAKELEY. We the undersigned having had long experience in the naviiration of the upper Mississippi cordially approveof the plan proposedabove for its improvement. D. S. 8 H. L. n WILLI. EIlLh M univrnsox. EDWARD H. BEEBE. N. F. WEBB. These gentlemen are among the most enter prising and exerienced navigators of our western rivers, on where they are known, as the are throufliout the valley of the Mississippi, their a probation of the views of Messrs. Humillon Blakeley will commend the Inn to the favorable consideration of the ab ic and Itrust to that of the COngress of the U.S. Should itreceive the aprobution of the engineers to be detailed by to SecyWar, if the bill under consideration receives the favorable action of Congress, I am informed by excellent authority that 4 feet of water can always be obtained between StPaul and Prese ott, Wisconsin, and 5 feet below the latter (point to Dunlcith, ata probable 815not exceeing $250,000., As I believe I can best uccom lish my purpose in having the honorable comCommerce. who have now before them the bill from the HoRep making the d usual annual appropriations for the improvement of rivers and arbors, seep pt this bill as an amendment to that, I shall, i