Mr. HOWE. Mr. President, up to the present time we seem unanimously agreed that this canal about the falls of Niagara ought to be built. So far as the debate has proceeded, there is no op position to that. The Senfrom Ohio antithe Senfrom Kentucky think it ought to be done at another time; the Senfrom Iowa thinks it ought to be done in another way. I have only to say that if the canal is to be built at all, it must be built at some time and in some way; and the time can be nowhere so well fixed as in the Congress of the U.S.; and there is no better opportunity to fix both the time and the way than the present, new that we have the subject before us. Mr. President, if it is not expedient, if it is not wise for the nation to help build a canal around these falls, there never was a time when it was proper for the nation to do it. if it will not make the nation richer instead of poorer, the nation has no business to do it in aid of commerce. In aid of the defenses of the country, it might. be proper to do it; but as a commercial measure, it' it will not make the nation stronger instead of weaker, it is not proper for the nation to undertake it. If it will make the nation stronger instead of weaker, there never was a time more proper to do it than this, because there never was a time that the nation needed it so much. Now, as to the manner of doing this thing; if it is to be done at all, it must be done by the nation directly out of its own Treasury, for its own use, and by the employment of its own agents, or it must be done by ties authorized by the nationsomtoeprivate par o it. The Senfrom Iowa thinks it had better be done by the nation directly. Upon that question it would be very proper to take the sense of the Senate; and it he had moved to commit this bill to the ComCommerce or any other committee with instructions to report such a bill, we could have the sense of the Senate upon it. That proposition, I believe, was submitted to the House ot'Representatives, and the HoRep declined to entertain it, but thought it better to employ to some extent private enterprise, and for the nation to act in aid of private enterprise in the execution of this work. Int hat opinion of the HoRep I entirely concur. Thereby you secure these 2 advantages: 1st, it is my deliberate opinion that up ate corporation will do the work more eco omically than the Government can or ever did do a work of the kind in the world; and 2nd, you have the opinion of private capitalists who are more jealous and more wntchi'ul and more particular as to what enterprises they put their money into than Congress is as to what enterprises it puts the Treasury of the nation into. You have their judgment upon the feasibility of this enterprise. And although you pass this bill tomorrow, no dollar of money will ever 0 out of your Treasury unless individuals shit 1 1st be found with sufficient confidence in this enterprise to put.actually and truly 2 millions of their money into it, two' millions which they have paid in for stock, not which they have' borrowed; 2 millions for which they have taken the stock of the company, and nothing else. vUntil such a company as that shall be found, you will never pay a dollar; and when that is done, you will only advance $200,000 as often as the company advance $300,000. You advance 2 thirt s of what shall thereafter be put into the enterprise up to $6,000,000.