|
16
The vast bodies of land now ceded to us by the Indians must
open a new and extensive field of commerce, of which the
River Potomac must necessarily be the principall channel],
not to mention the very lucrative Skin and furr Trade which
this must make our own whenever we chuse to make use of it.24
Perhaps reflecting the uncertainty of western settlement, Semple did not
predict how much commerce could be expected.
In his analysis of what would need to be done along the Potomac
to make it navigable, Semple pointed out that iron forge owners had
already started some work on the river. Semple's proposals for the
remaining work demonstrated a thorough understanding of the latest
English river improvement projects. Where the Johnson plan merely in-
volved clearing the Potomac of the most easily removable obstructions,
Semple proposed a more complex undertaking of flash locks and by-pass
canals. 25
In addition Semple suggested the relatively novel idea that
rather than merely providing indirect benefits from easier navigation,
a larger number of subscribers could be attracted to the river project
by guaranteeing dividends from collecting tolls on the improved river.
"Thus at the expence of L5000," he concluded, "the best channell is
opened for inland trade that can be possibly had in British America."
This channel would make water transport costs about one-third those of
existing overland carriage. These lowered rates approximated those on
English rivers of the ti me.26
Semple communicated with George Washington, who together with
Richard Henry Lee (both of whom had became Ohio Company stockholders),
24 John Semple's Proposals for Opening the Potomac, George Wash-
ington Papers, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Original spellings have been retained in ail quotations.
25Ibid. See chapters two and three for details of Semple's proposals.
26Ibid.
|
