130 BINNEY'S CASE.

enacted, that the water, or any part thereof, conveyed through any
canal or cut made by the said company, shall not be used for any
purpose but navigation, unless the consent of the proprietors of the
land, through which the same shall be led be first had; and the said
president and directors, or a majority of them, are hereby empow-
ered and directed, if it can be conveniently done to answer both
the purposes of navigation and water works aforesaid, to enter into
reasonable agreements with the proprietors of such situation con-
cerning the just proportion of the expenses of making large canals
or cuts, capable of carrying such quantities of water as may be
sufficient for the purposes of navigation, and also for any such
water works as aforesaid.' (p)

The great object of this law was the formation of a new line of
navigation; but here a new subject is introduced; mills are provi-
ded for in connexion with certain canal portions of that line. 'Some
of the places, it is said, through which it may be necessary to con-
duct canals, may be convenient for erecting mills.' Any place on
the margin of this stream, at all convenient for erecting a mill,
must have the qualities which has been described; for, although
it may be said, that this expression may refer to the middle of the
river, or any place through which a canal may be conducted, of
which there may be a great number and variety along the line of
this new navigation; yet, in this case, we are not allowed to take
any such range; because, the claims of this plaintiff are expressly
confined to that space of land on the left bank of the river, exten-
ding from the head of the little falls to tide. Therefore, this
expression, so far as regards the claim of the plaintiff, cannot pos-
sibly refer to any other kind of mill-sites, than such as have been
described and designated by the diagram A B C. The places
spoken of are such only as have the natural qualities of mill-sites ;
they are not such as the new work may make convenient for erec-
ting mills, but such only as were so naturally at that time.

Again, it is said, that 'the persons possessors of such situation
may design to improve the same.' Whence it appears, that the
subjects spoken of are naked natural mill-sites; not any situation
on which a mill has been erected; but merely those which the
owner 'may design to improve;' and it must have the qualities
which have been shewn to belong to such a natural mill-site; for,
otherwise it cannot be regarded as a place c convenient for erecting

(p) 1784, ch. 33, s.13.