manager of the vast property here, and in other parts of the United States, which belongs to him; always happiest when he has it in his power to be of use to his tenants, or to those with whom the care of his estates leads him to be connected. He is now advanced in life; and the only individual in the United States to whom, on account of his great property, and the veneration with which they regard him, the people have since the revolution continued the title or distinction which his family had previously enjoyed. Even official distinctions are now on the wane in this country.

The great possessions of the patroon have hitherto passed undivided to the eldest son of the family; but it seems to be understood, that the present proprietor, who has a large family, intends to divide them among his children, as is almost universally the practice in this country, and according to the disposition of law since the revolution, where the proprietor does not otherwise divide his property.

Near the residence of the patroon is the great basin of the Erie and Champlain canals, thirty-two acres in extent, the river being let in between the shore and a pier 4300 feet in length, consisting of eight acres, connected with the city by drawbridges. The canals are works of which the State of New York has great reason to be proud; but it is only by comparing them with other similar works, that their magnificence can be judged of. Their whole course is within the State of New York, that of the Erie Canal, westward by the valley of the Mohawk, and of the Champlain Canal,

northward by that of the Hudson. The length of the former is 363; of the latter, 63 miles; in all, 426 miles. They were commenced in July 1817, and completed in October 1825, in eight years and four months. The object of the Erie Canal is to form a communication between New York and the internal, or Mediterranean seas of North America, and through them to the great western country of the United States, and the rivers Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri. The object of the Champlain Canal is to form a communication through Lake Champlain, and the river Richelieu or Chambly, with the St Lawrence and Canada.

The Erie Canal includes 83 locks 90 feet long, and 18 aqueducts, one of which is about 1200, and two about 800, feet in length. The canal is 40 feet wide at the top, and four feet deep.

The valley of the Mohawk offered great facilities for the construction of above 100 miles of the Erie Canal nearest to Albany, and that of the Hudson, the highest summit level between which and Lake Champlain being only 140 feet above the tide in the Hudson, afforded advantages in forming the Champlain Canal almost unparalleled. But those natural resources might have remained comparatively little noticed and little known, but for the zeal, public spirit, and indefatigable exertions of the late De Witt Clinton, governor of this State; a man who seems to have in the most disinterested manner devoted himself to the developement of its means of improvement, and to whom alone the merit of having the canals constructed at this period is truly

to be ascribed. The soundness of his views was long questioned by very eminent persons connected with the State; but it has been fully proved by the complete success which has attended the execution of the undertaking, as well as the financial scheme on which it was founded. The whole expence amounted to about nine millions of dollars, and the revenue for the year 1827 was 859,000 dollars. The memorial which Governor Clinton prepared for the New York Legislature in the year 1816, recommending the immediate construction of the canals, as preserved in Dr Hossack's valuable and interesting memoir of the life of Governor Clinton, is quite a model of such a composition. Perspicuous in all its parts,-pointing out, first of all, the prodigious importance of the appeal submitted to the Legislature,— enlarging on the great duty of the government of every State to improve the means of intercourse between its different parts,—and then applying the views, which had been fully explained and illustrated, to the object of the memorial by most lucid statements, and ample information, especially by detailed references to similar works which had been completely successful, notwithstanding very formidable obstacles, both natural and in point of money.

The eloquence of the concluding part of the memorial sufficiently authorizes its being here recorded: "It may be confidently asserted, that this canal, as to the extent of its route,-as to the countries which it connects,—and as to the consequences which it will produce, is without a parallel in the history of mankind.

The union of the Baltic and the Euxine; of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean; of the Euxine and the Caspian; and of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, has been projected or executed by the chiefs of powerful monarchies; and the splendour of the design has always attracted the admiration of the world. It remains for a free state to create a new era in history; and to erect a work, more stupendous, more magnificent, and more beneficial, than has hitherto been achieved by the human race. Character is as important to nations as to individuals; and the glory of a republic, founded on the promotion of the general good, is the common property of all its citizens.

"We have thus discharged with frankness and plainness, and with every sentiment of respect, a great duty to ourselves, to our fellow-citizens, and to posterity, in presenting this subject to the fathers of the commonwealth. And may that Almighty Being, in whose hands are the destinies of states and nations, enlighten your councils, and invigorate your exertions, in favour of the best interests of our beloved country."

This memorial, presented on the part of the citizens of New York, in February 1816, was, after much opposition, referred by the legislature to a committee of five, who were directed to take the necessary measures for exploring the line of country; for estimating the expence; for ascertaining how the necessary funds could be raised; and to apply for donations of land and money. Governor Clinton was president of the board, and presented their reports in February and March 1817. The

bill authorizing the construction of the canals passed the legislature on 15th April. The first meeting of the commissioners was held on 3d June, and the work was commenced on 4th July, all in the same year, 1817. The bare reference to dates shows the energy with which the commissioners prosecuted the undertaking.

The work was not long successfully carried on, before the State of Ohio, a state, the first settlement in which was not made until several years after the separation of the colonies from Great Britain in 1783,-followed the example of the State of New York, and began to consider how Governor Clinton's great project of completing the communication to the western rivers of America, by a canal from Lake Erie to the Ohio, was to be effected.

They obtained plans and estimates, which, before proceeding, they transmitted to Governor Clinton for his opinion and advice. The governor's reply to the communication was most satisfactory; expressing it to be his decided opinion, that, as no insurmountable physical difficulty was in their way, they had no question to consider, but the designation of the most expedient route; because, as the canal through Ohio State would, in connection with the Erie and Champlain Canals, form a communication between the Bay of New York, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of St Lawrence, the advantages were in every point of view sufficiently obvious; this line of internal seas embracing within its influence the greater part of the United States, and of Canada.