“GOODALE S. WARE, called by the memorialists, and examined by Mr. Taber, testifies–He resided at Lockport; is master of a boat on the canal, and has been engaged on the canal about three years, most of the time.

Desponent last season, went down the locks at Lockport; the fly-gates leaked and threw a groat deal of water into his stern cabin; deponent asked Ladd how those gates came to leak, when they had been light in the spring, and were tight on the other side:  Ladd replied, that the Commissioners had ordered him to turn no more water through the race than to supply Bissel’s mill, and it was impossible to keep the gates tight when passing the water through the locks.

Desponent once arrived at the locks, and held up awhile, perhaps ten minutes, to get passengers, and another boat disputed his right to go first; Mr. Ladd said desponent should go first, because the locks had not been ready at the time the desponent arrived.

Desponent says the Rochester level was lower last year than previous years, from three to four inches lower than in 1829.

Cross-examined by Mr. Clark–He noticed this more particularly at Rochester, and between Rochester and Middleport, which is nine miles from Lockport; desponent was engaged the season of 1829, in carrying wheat between Buffalo and Rochester, and last season from Buffalo to Albany.

The water was lower last May than in previous years, and during the whole season: has seen a good head of water there last season, for part of October or last September.  Desponent has been in the habit of washing his hands from the sill of a waterhouse in Rochester, and has found the water there on such occasions lower than formerly.  The waste-weir west of Rochester had generally water passing over in 1829, but last season has seen none pass over: this was near a place called Warren’s.

Prior to October last, he saw, last season, the water up to high water mark only two or three times on that level: by high water mark, he means the mark of 1829 and 1828.  He has seen the water as much as four inches below the top of the wast-weir near the road culvert, and has not seen it lower than that at any time, except in case of a breach.  He cannot tell much by the waste-weirs, because his boat carries a swell.  He believes some of the waste-weirs were raised last season: one he noticed had been raised about 3 inches, near Medina, but the water never came up to the new piece by 3 or 4 inches.  There was a clothing mill near that, which got its supply from that waste-weir.  The water was generally 5 or 6 inches below the top of some waste-weirs.

(Signed, ) G.S. Ware

[A No. 280.] 12B”