The following Letter was addressed by Doctor Coventry, of Utica, to his Honor, the Mayor of

New York.

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TO THE HONORABLE THE MAYOR, RECORDER, AND CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.

"GENTLEMEN,

"Having been deputed by our fellow-citizens of the West, we beg permission to join with you in celebrating the completion of a work, which has elevated the character of our common country, and which will remain a triumphant trophy, to all the friends of free institutions, of what freemen can accomplish, when their energies are conducted by knowledge and real patriotism; a work which, by uniting the Lakes to the Ocean, within our country, has burst the barrier of the mountains, removed every pretence for sectional jealousy, and created a bond which the hand of time cannot sever. The Erie Canal insures to us a reward for industry, to our posterity and antidote for idleness; to the future inhabitants, the fertile lands of the West; the incalculable blessings of law, religion, morality and virtue; the legitimate offspring of knowledge and industry. Nor is it, in our estimation, the least valuable of our acquired privileges, to have in the future, our prosperity closely identified with that of this City; our connexion with which has always been our proudest boast; the value of which privilege we have but lately learned justly to appreciate; for in this place we were first taught to believe, that man might live in mass and continue virtue. We have witnessed (and we confess with wonder) that an immense population may pass a day in rejoicing and festivity, and exhibit a self-respect that forbade even the appearance of vice and depravity. Who, in former times, ever witnessed a scene similar to that of the fourth instant, without observing a single instance of inebriation, or hearing a sound that would shock the chastest ear.

"A visit to your admirably conducted philanthropic institutions filled us with admiration. We have seen your delinquents, as it were, snatched from perdition and restored to a society, to which instead of being a curse, they may yet become valuable members. We are now fully convinced that the judicious philanthropist may convert a dense population (too often only the sinks of depravity) into the chosen abode of science, industry, and virtue.

"To the enlightened and patriotic Magistracy of this respectable city, we beg leave to tender the acknowledgement of our sincere gratitude, for the unabated attention and unwearied exertions, to render our visit pleasant. We must be permitted most respectfully to assure the gentlemen collectively and individually, that on our return to the bosoms of our families, we bear with us the most lively and permanent sense of their kindness and flattering attentions, and that among the lessons taught our children, will be to cherish an ardent friendship for them. By the completion of the Erie Canal, we esteem her future destiny as place beyond the control of chance. With sentiments of esteem and respect, we are,

November 10, 1825.

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City of New York, Mayor’s Office, Nov. 17, 1825.

TO ALEXANDER COVENTRY, ESQ.

"SIR,

"Your letter in behalf of the Committees deputed by our fellow-citizens of the West, to join with us in celebrating the completion of the Erie Canal has been laid before the Common Council of the City, which has instructed me to acknowledge the receipt of your very friendly and flattering communication.

"The people, and constituted authorities of the City of New York, have felt the most lively gratification in the opportunity afforded them of joining with their brethren of the West in commemorating the final accomplishment of a work, which, while it affords an honorable testimony to the enterprise, skill, and perseverance of the people of the State, secures to them the most important and permanent advantages, and places their prosperity upon the firmest basis.

"The extensive line of internal communication now completed, has more than ever identified the interests of our City with those of the West; and I trust that if there ever has subsisted a feeling of jealousy or rivalry between them, it will be lost in the practical exemplification of that intimate and palpable union of interests, which is now become apparent in the consummation of the event we have just commemorated together. It is hoped that the example of what has been done by the State of New York, alone and unassisted, may induce sister States to rely upon their own vigour and resources for the completion of similar undertakings, rather than upon a doubtful construction of the Constitution, or the surrender of rights, the loss of which may more than outweigh the benefits derived from their –relinquishment.

"The reception given to the Committees was due to their individual characters – to the occasion which procured to us the honor of their visit – to the liberal hospitality and kindness with which they received the representatives of this City at Buffalo, and, above all, to those feelings of brotherhood which, at the moment of celebrating the union of the waters of the Lakes with those of the Atlantic, received, I trust, a new impulse, and produced a more vivid impression – a deeper conviction of the ties of interest, of patriotism, of glory, that it is hoped will ever subsist, not only here, but throughout every portion of our common country.

"Without disclaiming those honors which are justly due to my fellow-citizens, for the manly decorum, the respectable propriety, with which they conducted the ceremonies of the fourth instant, I cannot but express my perfect conviction, that the same decorum would be exhibited, on an occasion appealing so forcibly to their feelings of honorable pride, by all my fellow-countrymen of every community in these United States. At the same time it cannot but be highly gratifying to the citizens of New York, and to their constituted authorities to know, that you and your enlightened associates, have justly estimated the effects of their various public establishments, on the moral condition of the inhabitants. That these, by their humane and corrective influence, extensively contribute to insure domestic tranquillity, and a habitual reverence for the laws, and thus greatly diminish the vices especially incident to populous cities, cannot for a moment be doubted.

"In bidding you, and the respectable Committees in whose behalf you have spoken, farewell, permit me to express my own, and the feelings of those I represent on this occasion, in wishing to you and your colleagues prosperity and happiness.

"I cannot but cherish the pleasing hope that the bond of friendship now happily uniting our fellow-citizens of the South and the West, may be perpetuated by an interchange of benefits, of mutual kindness and confidence.

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IN COMMON COUNCIL,

The following Letter was received from Absolum Bull: –

HONORABLE WILLIAM PAULDING, JUN. MAYOR OF NEW YORK.

"SIR,

"On the day preceding our departure from Black Rock, Judge Porter, of Niagara, forwarded to us four barrels of Apples, raised in his orchard, some two or three hundred yards from the Falls, with a request that they might be shipped on board of the Canal-boat Niagara, and two of them presented to the Corporation of Troy, and the other two to the Corporation of New York, as specimens of the fruit of that country.

"Our boat was however so nearly loaded as to prevent our taking but two of the barrels, one of which we have in conformity to his request, delivered to the Corporation of Troy, and the other we now beg leave to present to you.

Whereupon Resolved, That the present be accepted, and that the Clerk return the thanks of the Board for the same.

New York, Nov. 1825.

"SIR,

"The barrel of Apples from your farm at the Falls of Niagara, which you have been pleased to present to the Corporation of the City of New York, have been received, and I have been desired by the Common Council to assure you that they have accepted your present with very great pleasure.

"As an evidence of the fertility of the country, the facility with which its valuable products may be conveyed to this City, and as a commencement of an interchange of kind offices between the citizens of the West and of New York, your present attaches to itself feelings which give it no ordinary value.

"AUGUSTUS PORTER, ESQ. Niagara."

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GIVEN BY THE CORPORATION ON BOARD THE STEAM-BOATS AS THEY

WERE RETURNING FROM THE OCEAN.

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FIRST – "The great event which we this day celebrate – it is a proud moment of the genius and patriotism of a free people."

Second – "The State of New York, unaided and alone, has achieved a work which will cover her with imperishable glory."

Third – "Our Sister States of the Union – their interest is our interest and their prosperity our prosperity."

Fourth – "The Sovereignty of the States the palladium of our liberty, and their union the anchor of our Republican Institutions."

Fifth – "The President and Vice President of the United States."

Sixth – "The Senate and House of Representatives of the United States."

Seventh – "The Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the State."

Eighth – "The Senate and Assembly of the State."

Ninth – "The present Canal Commissioners and their Predecessors – they have identified their names with the noblest work of the age, and have secured to themselves the approving voice of their country."

Tenth – "The Canal Engineers and their Associates – their science marked out the path from the Lakes to the Ocean. It is the pride of the Republic to call them her native sons."

Eleventh – "The Fourth of July seventeen hundred and seventy-six, and the Fourth of July eighteen hundred and seventeen. Two great eras. The first gave firth to all that is wonderful and moral in war; the other has produced a stupendous effort of the arts of peace."

Twelfth – "The Union of the Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean – a great link of that chain which is destined to bind together in one common fate all the States of the Republic."

Thirteenth – "Our Friends and Guests."

Fourteenth (given standing) – "The memory of ROBERT FULTON, whose mighty genius has enabled us to commemorate this day in a style of unparelled magnificence and grandeur."

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Transcribed from the original text and html prepared by Bill Carr, last updated 5/25/99.