| 118 MARYLAND HISTORICAL MAGAZINE
in the Susquehanna close to the Maryland line. This pre-
vented any improvements below Columbia, Pennsylvania, un-
til 1801 when, in return for Maryland's somewhat reluctant
permission to construct the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal,
Pennsylvania declared the Susquehanna River a public high-
way. 127
Maryland-Pennsylvania relations- were eased further in 1802
when the Maryland canal was complete enough for the gover-
nors of Maryland and Pennsylvania to inspect it. The two gov-
ernors agreed that the canal constituted " probably the most
important national work on this side of the Atlantic . . . [and]
that the great national object contemplated can never be real-
ized but by the joint exertions and under the joint authorities
of the two states of Pennsylvania and Maryland." -& III order
to gain Pennsylvania's co-operation, Maryland was to prevail
upon the Canal Company to relinquish its right to any tolls
on the river bed.129 Despite these fine words between the gov-
ernors, Pennsylvania's attitude remained obdurate. Canal Com-
pany officials attempted to remove obstructions from Pennsyl-
vania territory and were prevented from so doing by Pennsyl-
vania officials acting under the 1799 act which made this ille-
gal 1~° When it was found that Pennsylvania would not co-op-
erate in any way, the Susquehanna stock fell from £I,000 per
share to £500.131
In 1803 the canal managers announced that the route
through Maryland was officially finished. It was a rough and
irregular canal with many locks. Since the canal had been
constructed as much for the purpose of erecting water-powered
mills as for transportation, the canal tended to silt up. In time
it became almost as dangerous to navigate as the river, and,
because of its tolls, it was avoided in seasons when the river
was navigable. In addition the engineers of the canal had
made a serious mistake in cutting the canal too narrow and
shallow. Since the usual boats for carrying Susqehanna prod-
137Ibid., p.33.
1121 A. Md. Gaz., Nov. 18, 1802, p. 2, Governor Mercer's Communication to
the
General Assembly.
rse Md. Sess., 1803 c. 102 ending the company's tolls on the river bed and
in-
creasing its tolls on the canal.
1'o Livingood, p. 35.
1s1Ibid, p. 34.
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