country were advertising their holdings widely. The general feeling that there was a further West which was fertile, if not better than even the Mohawk and Hudson Valleys, is suggested in a law passed March 2, 1798, which contained a clause concerning the extension of the Genesee Road:
"And be it further enacted That the commissioner appointed in pursuance of the act aforesaid, to open and improve the main Genessee road, shall and he is hereby authorized and empowered to lay out and continue the main Genessee road, from the Genessee river westward to the extremity of the State. Provided nevertheless, that none of the monies appropriated by the said act shall be laid out on the part of the road so to be continued; and provided also that the said road shall be made at the expense of those who may make donations therefor."[1]
The mania which swept over the United States between 1790 and 1840 of investing money in turnpike and canal companies was felt early in New York. The success of the
- ↑ Laws of New York, 1798, ch. XXVI.
