DEAR SIR-Herewith find enclosed, an abstract of the receipts and disbursements of this company for the year 1846, which return I make to the Legislature in compliance with the fifteenth section of the act of incorporation, approved the 31st day of March, 1836. I enclose, also, a printed report for the past year. PITTSBURG, January 26, 1847. Respectfully yours, J. K. MOORHEAD, President. RECEIPTS. Personally appeared before W. B. Copeland, one of the aldermen in and for the city of Allegheny, Gen. James K. Moorhead, president of the Monongahela navigation company, who being duly sworn, deposes and says that the above abstract of the receipts and disbursements of the said company, are taken from the books thereof, and are just and true, to the best of his knowledge and belief. J. K. MOORHEAD. Sworn and subscribed this 26th day of January, A. D. 1847. Seventh annual report of the President and Managers to the Monongahela Navigation Company, presented January, 1847, with the accompanying documents. OFFICERS. 3 President-John B. Butler. Treasurer-Thos. M. Howe. Managers-John Anderson, Thomas Bakewell, Jas. W. Burbridge, Geo. W. Cass. Neville B. Craig, John L. Dawson, William Eichbaum, S. R. Johnston, Jas. K. Moorhead, R. C. Townsend. Secretary-William Bakewell. To the stockholders of the Monongahela Navigation Company: In presenting this the. seventh annual report, the board would take a retrospective view of the affairs of the company, shew what has been accomplished, and refer to what is yet in prospect. "An Act to authorize the Governor to incorporate a company to make a lock navigation on the river Monongahela," became a law on the 31st day of March, 1836. Under the provisions of this act, the company was organized February 10, 1837, and in the month of April following, the services of a competent engineer were engaged; but owing to high waters, and the derangement of the monetary concerns of the coun try at that period, the survey and exploration of the river was deferred until 1838; and on the 17th December of that year, locks and dams, Nos. 1 and 2, were placed under contract; and on the 15th of July, 1840, locks and dams, Nos. 3 and 4, were also allotted to contractors-but owing to the pecuniary embarrassments of the company, the work on the two last mentioned locks was suspended. In the spring of 1841, the failure of the Bank of the United States to pay the second subscription ($50,000) of stock to the company, the inability of the Commonwealth at that time to meet her subscription in any other way than by the issue of State bonds, which were disposed of at a ruinous sacrifice, the difficulty and pressure in the money market disabling many subscribers from meeting their engagements, and a general feeling of opposition, that (strange as it may now appear,) manifested itself along the line of this valuable improvement, and deterred many from engaging in its prosecution; such a combination of adverse circumstances entirely overwhelmed the prospects of the company for the time being, and not only caused a suspension of the unfinished portion of the work being locks and dams, Nos. 3 and 4, but so completely shrouded its future prospects, that the board at that time were unable to raise sufficient means to keep in repair dams, Nos. 1 and 2, which had been completed and opened for navigation on the 18th of October, 1841. During this period of suspension, a serious breach occurred in dam No. 1, which removed more than one hundred feet of the dam and washed out the river bottom, to a depth of nearly forty feet. The work in this dilapidated condition, was a nuisance to the navigation, and a source of mortification to its friends; with debts for construction and damages due to contractors and others, (amounting to more than forty thousand dollars.) who were loudly demanding payment. Suits and judgments accumulated against the company, and their personal effects were sold by the sheriff. When in the fall of 1843, the stocks held by the State in all corporations were sold at auction, the stock in this company was purchased by our citizens, and the purchasers made a proposition to complete the work to Brownsville, taking in payment the bonds of the company, payable in ten years after date; the works mortgaged, and the tolls pledged to pay-first, expenses and repairs, secondly, old debts, and thirdly, to liquidate the bonds. And to the successful consummation of this arrangement, you are now indebted for this magnificent improvement, which we believe to be equal, if not superior to any artificial navigation in the United States. We have now passed the second year since the completion of the work, and it is gratifying to be able to state, that at no period since the commencement of the undertaking has its prospects been so bright. The amount of tolls received during the present year, shew a great increase of business over that of last year, and must be regarded as an earnest of what is to follow. The trade of the Monongahela valley is rapidly increasing, the banks of the river are fast becoming lined with manufacturing villages, the coal business is just beginning to be developed, and from the great extent of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, which must receive their main supply from thence, we may expect its continued and rapid increase; [in fact, it is no great stretch of imagination to look forward to a period, when the tolls from coal alone, at the present very low rates, will pay interest on the entire cost of the work.] Another great source of revenue will be the iron trade, when that region of country is reached by the improvement. That part of our State bordering on the Virginia line, and the State of Virginia along the banks of the Cheat and Monongahela rivers, abounds with iron ore and timber; there are several valuable iron works in operation, but the difficulty of reaching a market, has prevented a more extensive development of the resources and wealth of this region. The great convenience afforded by our improvement and its complete success, has not been lost upon the enterprizing citizens of that portion of the "Old Dominion," and an application is now making to their Legislature, to incorporate a company, to make a slackwater navigation from the State line to Clarksburg, a distance of nearly one hundred miles, running through an exceedingly rich and fertile valley; and as this portion of the State has never received any benefit from former expenditures of public moneys, in the way of improvements, it is but fair to presume, that what they now ask, will be liberally granted to them, and that the State will subscribe a sufficient amount of Stock to put it within the reach of individual enterprize to complete the work. Should this be done, it at once becomes necessary, and it is now important, that our work be completed to the State line; and to accomplish this most desirable object, the efforts of this company should be directed. The great obstacle in the way, is the large indebtedness of the company, as follows: : The entire cost of the work, including engineering, damages, &c., The balance, together with the interest on the bonds and debts, has been paid from tolls. Therefore, about one-half of the total cost, is a debt still hanging over the company; the progress of liquidation for some years will be slow, as it consumes so large a portion of the receipts to pay interest; but as the principal becomes reduced, and the revenue still increasing, it will work more rapidly; and the board believe, that by the present regular process, seven years' receipts will entirely extinguish the debt, if no serious disaster happens to the work. In addition to the present indebtedness of the company, it has become necessary, owing to the great increase of business on pool, No. 1, and the fact that the coal boats wait immediately above that lock, in great numbers, for a freshet, either to extend lock, No. 1, to such a length as to be able to pass two pairs of coal boats, or to build an entire new lock. One of these alternatives should be adopted, to accommodate the trade, and by either we will remedy the present difficulty in passing that lock at low water. Should the first suggestion be adopted, the cost would be about ten thousand dollars, and if a new lock is built, it will cost twenty thousand dollars, which will increase the indebtedness of the company to that amount, as the revenues are pledged to the mortgagees, for specific purposes, and cannot be otherwise used, except with their consent. Such being the present financial condition of the company, it would be preposterous in the extreme, to think of extending the work to the State line, without aid from the citizens by new subscriptions of stock. But why should we not confidently expect such aid? The revenue received this season, would fully justify such an investment, for although the work, owing to the causes alluded to in the commence ment of this report, has cost from one hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand dollars more than it would have cost, if the company had been in possession of funds to have driven it through from the commencement; yet we find that now in the second year of its operation, the net revenue, after deducting expenses and repairs, is equal to six per cent. on the entire cost. With the prospect of a regular and heavy increase of business, so that we may look forward to our work shortly paying 10 per cent. per annum on the cost. Where then, we ask, could a better investment of money be made? The board would therefore recommend, that books be opened for a subscription of stock, to extend the work to the State line, and that as soon as one hundred and fifty thousand dollars be subscribed, the work to be placed under contract. It may not be deemed out of place in this connection, to advert to the fact, that an act of incorporation has been passed by the Legislature, authorizing the construction of a slackwater navigation on the Youghiogheny river; this is a subject which commends itself strongly to the favorable regard of the stockholders of the Monongahela improvement, as well as of citizens generally. The Youghiogheny passes through one of the finest agricultural districts of Pennsylvania, and its banks abound in extensive deposits of coal and iron ore, and when once that important tributary of the Monongahela is improved, it must add largely to the revenue of our improvement, and tend to swell the rapidly augmenting trade of Pittsburg. It will be recollected that our original charter contemplated building of dams not exceeding four feet in height, and it was then intended that the locks should be used during low water, and the dams would afford but little impediment to the navigation during high water; it was found however, entirely impracticable to construct the navi gation in that way, and the result of an application to the Legislature, was authority to build dams eight feet high, under which the works were constructed-by raising the dams from four to eight feet high, the project of passing over the dams was abandoned and an exclusive lock navigation substituted: that being the case, there does not appear to be any good reason, why the height of the dams should be limited otherwise than by the formation of the banks of the river, the expense of construction and general expediency. For instance, at some points on the river where the banks are high, or where there are hills on both sides, a dam of ten, twelve or even fifteen feet, might be constructed; and by this means the cost of construction would not only be greatly reduced, but the convenience and facility of using the navigation be promoted, for all time to come, by the reduced number of locks. And when it is considered that from Brownsville to the State line, a distance of 35 miles, the ascent is 41, feet, or about 14 inches per mile; whilst from Pittsburg to Brownsville, a distance of 55,45 miles, the ascent is only 33,55 feet, or about 7 inches per mile, the necessity of such a change becomes more apparent. It would therefore, be wise to ask the Legislature for authority to construct the dams to such a height as may be deemed expedient. Should this privilege be granted, the stock should be sought after, as a matter of speculation, as the investment required to construct the work would be greatly reduced, and would yield a large return in the way of dividends. 11 100 4 100 The permanency and stability of our improvement has been severely tested during the past season, by the tremendous accumulation of ice in the winter months, and a succession of high freshets during the summer, from all of which no material damage accrued to the work, thus establishing firmly the confidence of the friends of the work. For a more detailed account of these floods, see the report of the engineer. The improvements adopted by the engineer, Mr. LOTHROP, in the construction of dams, Nos. 3 and 4, have resulted most favorably; and the repairs on these works during the last year were very trifling indeed, amounting on both locks and dams to less than six hundred dollars. Dam, No. 1, required a much larger expenditure, owing to the breach spoken of in a former part of this report; the great depth and reaction of the water caused the stone filling to run out of that portion of the dam, and as this place had given much trouble, it was deemed expedient to make a thorough repair, which was done by putting in a crib twenty-four feet wide, and one hundred and sixtyfour feet long, extending entirely across the deep water, which was connected with the old dam, filled with stone, and the covering or sheething then extended over the whole. This repair, which was extraordinary, cost about six thousand dollars. Repairs at No. 2, about eight hundred dollars. The ordinary repairs for the entire navigation costing less than two thousand dollars; and we believe this sum per annum, will be sufficient for a number of years. For a more detailed condition of the work, I would refer you to the report of the engineer herewith; and also to the tabular statements of the inspector of cargoes, for a history of the operations coming under his charge for the year. In conclusion, it is extremely gratifying, that whilst the revenue has realized fully the highest estimate of the most sanguine friends of the improvement, this result is obtained by charging a rate of tolls greatly below that charged on similar improvements in this and adjoining States, particularly on the article of coal. For instance, the toll on one thousand bushels of coal, passing the entire ex- 66 99 say $2.91 7 36 9.00 11 85 66 Pennsylvania canal, So also of other articles, as may be seen by reference to the rates of toll established on the several improvements above mentioned. Or more than fifty per cent. The increase as will be seen by the inspector's statistics, has not been confined to one or a few articles, but has extended to almost every thing carried on the river, more especially coal and passengers. And whilst the local travel has greatly increased, it is highly gratifying to be able to state, that the number of stage passengers has increased from twelve thousand four hundred and fifty-two last year, to twenty thousand and forty-nine this year; all going to prove the increasing popularity of the route, not only as a medium of communication between the east and west, but also as a matter of convenience and accommodation to the inhabitants of the valley. Respectfully submitted, PITTSBURG, January 4, 1847. J. K. MOORHEAD, President. To the President and Managers of the Monongahela Navigation Company: GENTLEMEN :-Agreeably to instructions and in conformity with established usage, I have the honor again to submit for your consideration, a statement of such matters connected with your improvement as have fallen within the scope of my official duty, as your engineer, during the annual period, which is just about to expire, together with such observations and reflections as the occasion is calculated to suggest. My last annual report announced the gratifying intelligence of the entire completion of your improvement from Pittsburg to Brownsville, and left little more to the future, than the ascertainment of its results, and the demonstration of its capacity to withstand the vicissitudes of the seasons, with the ice and floods which so frequently |