No. IV. Proofs that my improvements on the batture were not dangerous, but, on the contrary, would have been highly useful to the city of New Orleans. We, the subscribers, captains of vessels now lying in the port of New Orleans, do certify, that we have examined the canal constructed, and nearly completed by Edward Livingston, Esq. on the batture of the suburb St. Mary; and we are of opinion, that the said canal, when completed, will be of the greatest use to commerce, by affording a convenient birth for ships and other vessels; and that similar canals, constructed along the whole front of the said suburb, particularly when stores shall be erected on the sides, will greatly facilitate the lading and unlading of vessels, without the expense of cartage. And we are further of opinion, from examining the current of the river at high water, that the said canals will not render the current more rapid, or the harbour more inconvenient or less secure; but, on the contrary, will afford both convenience and safety so the shipping. SAMUEL ORR, ship Baltic, of Portsmouth, N. H. E. C. GARDNER, Western Trader, of Philadelphia. LEVI JOY, Yorkshire, of New-York. CHARLES COFFIN, ship Rover. HENRY SAYWARD, ship Flora. A. P. WALSH. THOMAS POLLOCK, commander pro tem. Revenue Cutter, Louisiana. W. M. HARRIS, Amiable Lucy, New Orleans. Z. BUTLER, Perseverance, of Philadelphia. New Orleans, SIR, I hope you will excuse my not answering your note on the subject of the works you had begun, in the front of the suburb St. Mary, sooner; however, I hope my answers to the queries contained therein, are still in time. To the first I answer, that I have seen the canal, as well as the other works you had commenced, and the plan exhibited in the coffee-room. To the second, as to the effect the completion of the plan might have on the harbour, it is almost impossible for any one to say; it is time only can decide that question. But I have no hesitation in saying, that I cannot conceive what injury the shipping can ever receive from the completion of the plan. To the third, whether the canal, in its present imperfect state, has not been found a safe and convenient harbour for boats, every honest man will answer in the affirmative. What water there may be in the canal I cannot say; but, I think there must be at least ten feet; and I am very sure, that any craft lying therein, is less exposed than at the levée. I do believe, that the completion of the plan would be of great advantage to the trade of the western country, in securing the boats from the gales to which they have hitherto been exposed. There is not a year in which a number of them are not sunk; but if the works alluded to were completed, they would be out of danger the moment they arrived. I remain, with esteem, S. B. DAVIS. New Orleans, April 4, 1809. SIR, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 10th ult. and should have replied to it at an earlier date, had not my duties compelled me to be absent from the city from that time until the 25th; since which period I have waited in expectation of an opportunity of seeing your plans, and thereby having it in my power to express to you my opinion fully on the subject. As they have not been presented to me, and not knowing the person in whose possession they may be, or to whom I should apply for the necessary information, to enable me to answer satisfactorily all the interrogatories you have, in so flattering a manner, proposed to me, I felt it my duty to inform you of the same: in order (if time should admit) that the person charged with them may present them, and give me suitable explanations; at present, sir, I can only answer your third, and part of the fourth questions. "Third: Whether, in its present imperfect state, the canal already made, is not a safe retreat for the river craft; and, whether you do not think it will continue so during months, when high winds mostly prevail in these latitudes?" "Fourth: Whether this canal, at the present season, and, when completed, at all seasons of the year, would not be a very safe birth for the gun boats of the United States; and whether it would not be a very great accommodation to the service, if two or three such canals were constructed, with adjoining stores for the rigging, &c. of the navy?” Answer: As a proof that the canal commenced by you, is considered not only a safe, but very convenient retreat for river craft, I shall only state, that at all seasons of the year, when the height of the water will admit, it is filled with river craft, and chiefly those which prefer a secure situation, to enable them to make their repairs, and to preserve cargoes of great value; and a similar convenience for the gun vessels, would certainly be a very desirable object. The effect the completion of your design would have on the currents, as I have not seen the plan, I cannot presume to state; appears to me, however, that it must already have tended, in a small degree, to increase the eddy on the New Orleans side of the river, and, of course, made the current more rapid on the opposite. Whether this is an advantage or disadvantage to the shipping lying at the levée, I am equally at a loss to determine; and am doubtful whether it does, in any way, affect that part opposite the centre of the city. If it is a disadvantage, it is one I have never yet heard complained of by mariners. An advantage, I should suppose, would result to the city, by the increase of land occasioned by the deposit in this eddy, and the consequent safety of the levée; but on the opposite side of the river, the effect must be the reverse; the river will certainly make encroachments there, as the land on the city side increases. This local effect, however, can be considered of little moment in a river that is constantly shifting its bed; and if this was not produced, by the projection of the levées, for the formation of your canals, it appears to me it would be produced, in a short time, by that constant deposit which has already formed, and is daily increasing that part of the batture which appears the cause of so much contention. For it is a well known fact, that when the No. XVIII. 2 P land on one side of this river increases, the opposite side, a little below, is swept away by the current; and this earth is deposited in the next eddy, to form a new point. Thus the river will forever change its bed; and the trifling increase or loss of a few acres of earth on either side, cannot be considered of sufficient magnitude to balance the smallest improvement of utility to navigation or commerce. As respects the convenience or inconvenience that the completion of your plan would offer to vessels ascending or descending a river of such length, and so full of obstructions and difficulties as this, I cannot consider of any importance; the comparative extent of your plan, taking it on its largest scale, and all its conveniences and inconveniences, must, in this respect, be really so diminutive, as to render them objects of no note. If it did present obstructions or conveniences to ascending or descending, the extent of them could not, I presume, be more than a mile, the part of the extent of the Mississippi. There is, however, an evil existing, the removal of which would certainly be hastened. The batture now in dispute, in high water forms a shoal, on which vessels frequently ground. If canals are cut there, and levées hove up, the evil will no longer exist. I can say nothing of the enormous sums which I should suppose had already been expended there; and not knowing the extent of your plan, I cannot form an idea of what it would cost to complete it. It, however, appears to me, that the expense that would be necessary in its present state, to clear out the annual deposits of the river, would be very considerable. Excuse me, sir, for not answering your questions in the order they are placed by you; and I regret that the imperfect idea I have of your plans, should have prevented me from giving detailed answers to the whole. I have the honour to be, your obedient servant, Edward Livingston, Esq. SIR, New Orleans, April 6, 1809. Since I had the honour to write you on the 4th inst. I have seen, at the exchange, your plan of improving the batture in the upper Fauxbourg; have this day examined said batture carefully, and find, that it will always cause a strong eddy below, improved or unimproved. This shoal has but the depth of a few feet of water on it, in the present state (which is nearly the highest) of the river; and as the water which covers it is nearly still, the effects on the currents and eddies must be nearly, and perhaps quite, as great as if levées were thrown up on it; and, indeed, I cannot discover, that any evil could result to the port, should it be improved agreeable to your design. In a few years, the great deposit of the river will certainly produce the same effects as your contemplated improvements. And the only objection I can conceive, is the vastness of your plan. The expense to effect it would certainly be enormous; but, if completed, I am of opinion, it would be an object extremely desirable to all persons having property afloat in such frail vessels as the craft that descend this river; and if the design should be carried completely into execution, the upper Fauxbourg would be handsomely ornamented, and the value of property much increased in the part now least improved. I have the honour to be, with great respect, |
