Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Internal On the 5th of January, 1791, Gov. George Clinton, in his Annual Message, thus first broaches the subject of Internal Improvements by the State : " Our frontier settlements, freed from apprehensions of danger, are rapidly increasing and must soon yield extensive resources for profitable commerce; this consideration forcibly recommends the policy of continuing to facilitate the means of communication with them, as well to strengthen the bands of society as to prevent the produce of those fertile districts from being diverted to other markets." On the 5th of January, 1792, Gov. Clinton, in his Annual Message for that year, thus refers to this subject: " The Legislature, at their last meeting, impressed with the importance of improving the means of communication, not only to the agriculture and commerce of the State, but even to the influence of the laws, directed the Commissioners of the Land Office to cause the ground between the Mohawk river and the Wood creek in the county of Herkimer, also between the Hudson river and the Wood creek, in the county of Washington, to be explored and surveyed, and estimates to be formed of the expense of joining those waters by canals. I now submit to you their report which ascertains the practicability of effecting this object at a very moderate expense, and I trust that a measure so interesting to the community, will continue to command the attention due to its importance, and especially, as the resources of the State will prove adequate to these and other useful improvements without the aid of taxes.'' On the 7th of January, 1794, Gov. Clinton again recurs to this subject: " The northern and western companies of inland lock navigation, having, agreeably to law, produced authentic accounts of their expenditures, I have g...