$40,000, to permit vessels drawing 12 feet to work up through the channel at high water. He thinks that the channel would be permanent, and expresses the opinion that the proposed improvement is required only for the convenience of the Plymouth Cordage Company, and concludes that "the harbor is not worthy of improvement," as it does not promise sufficient benefit to commerce to justify the necessary expenditure by the United States. The river and harbor act of 1888 provided for an examination of "Goose Point Channel, Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts, to public wharf at Kingston." The report of the officer who made this examination will be found on page 596 of the Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1889. He, likewise, does not think the extension of Goose Point Channel "worthy of improvement." The scheme if executed will benefit one corporation only at an estimated cost of $40,000, and if extended to include other wharves and other interests, the estimated cost will not be less than $75,000, for which the General Government and the local interests would receive no adequate return. The river and harbor act of 1890 provides for an examination of "Kingston Harbor, with a view to its improvement." The same object is here sought, viz: A deep-water channel to the wharf of the Plymouth Cordage Company. I have endeavored to learn to what extent the general public will be benefited by the improvement demanded, aside from that which will accrue to the cordage company. Mr. G. F. Holmes, treasurer of the company, replies to my inquiries that owing to the extra rate of freight on account of being able to accommodate only the lightest draft vessels, the employés of the company have to pay an extra price for their coal.' In addition to this, our dock is used for the accommodation of parties who have no connection with our works, consequently any improvement in this part of the town would be for the benefit of the public and not for our exclusive good. Mr. Philander Cobb, ex-collector of Plymouth, writes: "There is no place, in my opinion, where an appropriation could be more judiciously applied to benefit commerce than the improvement of the harbor of Kingston and of the approaches to the public wharves of said port and of North Plymouth; all of the wharves are as public as any in Plymouth or Boston." I am satisfied that the wharf of the Plymouth Cordage Company is as public as any other, and that it is the wharf upon which the inhabitants of Kingston depend for transportation by water. It would appear that the benefits to follow an improvement of the channel leading to it will benefit the people of Kingston in affording better and cheaper facilities for transportation, while at the same time it will be a great benefit to the cordage company. The petitioners for this improvement state that— The duties paid by the manufacturers at North Plymouth and Kingston from July 1, 1886, to July 1, 1889, amount to $188,490.94. The records of the custom-house show that during the last years 98 foreign vessels of the burden of 100 to 1,500 tons entered with cargoes for the locality your petitioners respectfully request to have improved. A simple examination of Kingston Harbor is not sufficient to determine if it can be improved to meet the requirements, within a practicable outlay. There would seem to be sufficient in the above review to warrant my saying that the harbor is worthy of improvement, but a survey alone will enable me to determine if a channel adequate to the wants of the people can be made and maintained at reasonable cost through the channel leading westward from the anchorage (Cow Yard), into Kingston Harbor. An allotment of $1,000 is respectfully requested for this purpose. Brig. Gen. THOMAS L. CASEY, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. [Second indorsement.] Lieut. Col. of Engineers. U. S. ENGINEER OFFICE, Boston, Mass., November 6, 1890. Respectfully returned to the Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. In accordance with first indorsement hereon, I have the honor to state that in my opinion Kingston Harbor, Massachusetts, "is worthy of improvement." S. M. MANSFIELD, Lieut. Col. of Engineers. SURVEY OF KINGSTON HARBOR, MASSACHUSETTS. GENERAL: I have the honor to forward herewith a report of Mr. T. T. Hunter Harwood, assistant engineer, on the survey of Kingston Harbor, Massachusetts, made in accordance with Department instructions of November 7, 1890, and to comply with the provisions of the river and harbor act of September 19, 1890. A tracing of the survey is also submitted. The report of the preliminary examination is dated November 1, 1890, and I respectfully invite attention to it for a general description of the harbor, for its commercial importance, and the reasons for making the survey. The survey shows that to improve the channel leading to Rocky Nook Wharf, Kingston, so as to obtain 6 feet depth at mean low water in a channel 100 feet wide, would cost $15,000. A channel of these dimensions can be obtained leading to the Cordage Company Wharf in North Plymouth, the only one of any importance in the vicinity, at a cost of $10,000, as indicated on the accompanying tracing, and as stated in the preliminary examination such an improvement would benefit the town of Kingston. The estimate of the cost of this improvement is as follows: Total..... $9,000 1,000 10,000 I respectfully invite attention to the accompanying report of Mr. Harwood for the details of the survey and a general description of the harbor. Kingston is in the collection district of Plymouth, Mass., of which Plymouth is the port of entry; the nearest light-house is Duxbury Pier light. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Brig, Gen. THOMAS L. CASEY, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. REPORT OF MR. T. T. HUNTER HARWOOD, ASSISTANT ENGINEER. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Boston, Mass., May 20, 1891. COLONEL: I have the honor to submit the following report on the survey of Kingston Harbor, Massachusetts, made in November and December, 1890, in accordance with your instructions, and therewith a map of the survey drawn to a scale of 1:2000. TOPOGRAPHY. The distance between two triangulation points of the survey made in Plymouth Harbor in 1888 was taken as the base line of this survey. From this base, 10845.7 feet in length, a system of 9 triangulation stations was established along the shore. From these stations radiating ranges were laid out, on which soundings were taken. The high-water and low-water lines shown are from this survey. HYDROGRAPHY. The area covered by the survey embraces the channels of approach to the wharf of the Plymouth Cordage Company in North Plymouth, and Rocky Nook Wharf in Kingston, west of the Miles or South Channel leading to Duxbury; 108 ranges, aggregating 29 miles in length, were sounded, on which 9,417 soundings were taken, 1,512 of which were located by intersections from suitable shore stations. The bench mark is the sill of the canopy over Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, and is 17.24 feet above mean low water. DESCRIPTION OF CHANNEL AS DEVELOPED BY SURVEY. The Miles or South Channel to Duxbury starts from the west side of the common anchorage ground of Plymouth, Kingston, and Duxbury Harbors, known as the "Cow Yard," and extends westerly for about three-quarters of a mile, and then swings to the northwest toward Duxbury. At this bend the channel covered by the survey branches off, and continues in a west course for a further distance of 1 mile; then turning to the north it follows a tortuous course along the shore, at a distance of about one-half mile, to the mouth of Jones River in Kingston. This channel is 6 feet deep with a least width of 200 feet to east of Rocky Nook Wharf, where this survey ends. From this channel, at about one-half mile west of its junction with the Miles Channel, a narrow shallow channel branches off to the south leading to the wharf of the Plymouth Cordage Company in North Plymouth. A narrow 6-foot thread of water winds through this channel to within 800 feet of the wharf. The greatest continuous depth to the wharf is 1.7 feet. The channel leading to Rocky Nook Wharf branches from the main channel at its turn to the north, extends south about 800 feet, then, turning abruptly to the west, extends west 1,700 feet, where it turns north and follows along the shore to the wharf. The greatest continuous depth to this wharf is 1.5 feet. The banks of the channels are generally sharply defined in the flats through which they flow, the material of which is sand and mud. A comparison of these channels with those delineated on the U. S. Coast Survey manuscript map of 1870 proves them to be almost identical. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Lieut. Col. S. M. MANSFIELD, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A. B 26. ESTABLISHMENT OF HARBOR LINES IN BOSTON HARBOR, MASSACHU SETTS. a. HARBOR LINES FOR CHARLES RIVER, FROM MARKET STREET BRIDGE TO THE WATERTOWN DAM. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Boston, Mass., January 23, 1891. GENERAL: The Harbor Line Board for Boston Harbor, Massachu setts, constituted by Special Orders No. 38, Headquarters, Corps of Engineers August 13, 1888, at sessions held in this city January 22 and |