REPORT.

To the Honorable the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island,

etc.

The Board of Harbor Commissioners respectfully submits its Thirteenth Annual Report.

APPOINTMENT TO THE BOARD.

At the May Session of this General Assembly, His Excellency, the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, re-appointed J. Herbert Shedd of Providence, to serve as Harbor Commissioner for a further term of three years from the first of July.

HARBOR LINES.

The boundary line between the city of Providence and the town of East Providence, from the Central or Red Bridge to the old Washington Bridge, was made, by act of the General Assembly, a harbor line, in March, 1866. The objects, to which the line was referred for its location, are partly destroyed and otherwise uncertain and the commissioners have, after conferences with town officers of East Providence, and with the Mayor and Engineer Department of Providence, defined the line as nearly as practicable in its original position, and made reference to the U. S. Coast Survey Stations for permanent record. They will present a plan and description of this line to you and they suggest

that such location be confirmed and established as the true location of the boundary and harbor line, so far as it extends.

A petition signed by twenty-five citizens of South Kingstown asking that harbor lines be established in Washington County, is under consideration. A contention among the citizens has arisen at Narragansett Pier, on account of certain encroachments made there, and the commissioners have considered the matter of sufficient importance to order surveys of the shore from Little River to the lower pier.

A petition asking that harbor lines be established in the lower portion of Point Judith pond is under consideration. This question may be affected by the investigations now in progress by the United States Government in relation to a harbor of refuge near Point Judith.

A communication will be sent to the Governor and Senate, recommending the approval of harbor lines designed by the commissioners in Barrington river.

The Inter-State Commission appointed by Rhode Island and Connecticut to mark out lines limiting encroachments in Pawcatuck river, has not been able to complete its labors, and the matter will be made the subject of a separate report to you from the Harbor Commissioners.

ENCROACHMENTS AND DUMPING.

Continued vigilance is needed to restrain unauthorized encroachments on the public waters, and to lessen the practice of dumping ashes, etc., in places where shoaling and obstruction would result. Several obstructions have been removed, under direction of the commissioners, and others are receiving attention. The draw in the railroad bridge at India Point has been cleared to the full width of sixty feet required by law, and good lines of guide piling have been satisfactorily set.

The common dumping ground for general use is still maintained in the deep water east of Conanicut Island and south of Prudence Island, and no other dumping ground is authorized except under special permit for limited use and a stated time. A few such special permits have been granted in the past year.

OBSTRUCTIONS.

A communication was received from the Town Council of the Town of Bristol in relation to the removal of the remains of the steamer Empire State, which had been burned while lying at one of the wharves in the town. The attention of the commissioners had been previously called to obstructions caused by other wrecks of vessels and it was thought that some further legislation was desirable to provide a remedy in such cases. It was supposed that the State would not have, except by special legislation, the aid of the General Government in such matters where the wreck was within a marine league of the shore, but it appears that provision was made in the River and Harbor Act of June 14, 1880, for removal of such wrecks, and an amendment enlarging the power of the Secretary of War in such cases was inserted in the corresponding Act of August 2, 1882. The section and amendment are as follows:

"SECTION 4. Whenever hereafter the navigation of any river, lake, harbor or bay, or other navigable water of the United States, shall be obstructed or endangered by any sunken vessel or water craft, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, upon satisfactory information thereof, to cause reasonable notice, of not less than thirty days, to be given personally, or by publication at least once a week in the newspaper published nearest the locality of such sunken vessel or craft, to all persons interested in such vessel or craft, or in the cargo thereof, of the purpose of said secretary, unless such vessel or craft shall be removed as soon thereafter as practicable by the parties interested therein, to cause the same to be removed.

If such sunken vessel or craft and cargo shall not be removed by the parties interested therein, as soon as practicable after the date of the giving of such notice by publication, or after such personal service of notice, as the case may be, such sunken vessel or craft shall be treated as abandoned and derelict, and the Secretary of War shall proceed to remove the same. Such sunken vessel or craft and cargo, and all property therein, when so removed, shall, after reasonable notice of the time and place of sale, be sold to the highest bidder or bidders for cash; and the proceeds of such sales shall be deposited in the treasury of the United States, to the credit of a fund for the removal of such

obstructions to navigation under the direction of the Secretary of War, and to be paid out for that purpose on his requisition therefor. The provisions of this act shall apply to all such wrecks, whether removed under this act or any other act of Congress. Such sum of money as may be necessary to execute this section of this act is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, to be paid out on the requisition of the Secretary of War."

AMENDMENT IN RIVER AND HARBOR ACT OF 1882.

"The power and authority granted to the Secretary of War, under and by virtue of section four of the Act of Congress approved June 14, 1880, relating to wrecks and sunken vessels, are hereby enlarged so that the Secretary of War may, in his discretion, sell and dispose of any such sunken craft, vessel or cargo, or property therein, before the raising or removal thereof, according to the same regulations that are in said act prescribed for the sale of the same after the removal thereof; and all laws or parts of laws inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed."

Besides smaller obstructions which have been removed under direction of the commissioners two more important ones have received their attention. The Riverside wharf extending about eleven hundred feet into the bay from the easterly shore, has been abandoned and neglected, so that it has fallen into decay, while portions of it have been removed for the timber. The result is an obstruction which has caused considerable complaint to the commissioners who have endeavored to secure its complete removal, but they do not find persons who are, beyond question, responsible for its present state. The construction was originally built, for a considerable portion of its length, without authority of the General Assemby, but the work was done before a Harbor Commission was established. The commissioners do not see that they have authority to spend public money for its removal without a special appropriation therefor.

The wharf wall along the north side of the slip opposite Peck street,

in Providence, now the property of Alexander Duncan, has moved from its original position, so far into the slip as to cause damage to the opposite owners. Mr. Duncan has been notified to remove all encroachments beyond the original line of the wall.

LICENSES, ETC.

Licenses have been issued as follows:

No. 89. March 16, to the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad Company, to rebuild the draw to their bridge over Warwick Cove near Oakland Beach, in the town of Warwick.

No.

April 11, to the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad Company, to drive piles to protect the abutments of their bridge at Bowers' Cove, in East Providence.

No. 90. May 2, to the Providence Gas Company, to rebuild their bridge, wharf and coal stores at the South Station, near Rhodes street, on the west side of Providence harbor.

No. 91. May 21, to the Attorneys for the estate of Ebben Simmons, to build a bulkhead wall, and fill with earth, across the slip next north of the Point Street Bridge, on the west side of Providence River.

No. 92. May 21, to the Rhode Island Yacht Club, to extend the wharf at their club house on the west side of the bay, near Pawtuxet. No. 93. May 25, to John R. White & Son, to drive piles at their wharf on South Water street, between Packet and Planet streets on the east side of Providence river.

No. 94. June 27, to the Standard Oil Company, to build a sea-wall and bridge wharf, in the town of East Providence, on the east side of Pawtucket river near and south of the Red or Central Bridge.

No. 95. July 11, to J. A. Dailey & Son, to drive fender piles at the Jonathan Pike wharf, on South Water street, near Farthing street, in Providence, and to relay sea-wall.

No. 96. July 14, to the Continental Steamboat Company, to drive spring piles, for temporary use and subject to removal upon notice from