It was therefore resolved on June 9, 1883, that
in the judgment of this board it is desirable to select as proper and necessary to be reserved for the purpose of preserving the scenery of the falls of Niagara and of restoring the said scenery to its natural condition, the following lands situate in the village of Niagara and the County of Niagara to-wit: Goat Island, Bath Island, the Three Sisters, Bird Island, Luna Island, Chapin Island, and the small islands adjacent to said islands in the Niagara River, and the bed of said river between said islands and the main land of the State of New York; and, also, the bed of said river between Goat Island and the Canadian boundary; also a strip of land beginning near "Port Day" in said village, running along the shore of said river, to and including "Prospect Park" and the cliff and debris slope, under the same, substantially as shown by that part coloured green on the map accompanying the fourth report of the Board of Commissioners of the State Survey, dated March 22, 1880; and including also at the east end of said strip sufficient land not exceeding one acre for purposes convenient for said reservation, and also all lands at the foot of said falls, and all lands in said river adjoining said islands and the other lands hereinbefore described.
By the adoption of the foregoing resolution, the area of a reservation was preliminarily defined. A commission of appraisement was installed. As was to be expected the claims for the condemned land were about four million dollars. The awards, however, amounted to $1,433,429.50 only. Some interesting and important questions were raised as to the rights of the riparian owners to use the power afforded by the Niagara River for hydraulic purposes and to receive compensation therefor. Upon this basis the owners were prepared to present claims aggregating twenty or thirty millions of dollars. After full argument and careful consideration, the commissioners of appraisement rejected all such claims, except where the water power had been actually reduced to use and used for a period long enough to create a prescriptive right. They held:
(1) that Niagara is a public stream, and its bed and waters belong to the State; (2) that as against the State private riparian owners have no right to encroach on its bed to divert its waters or to subject them to the burden of manufacturing uses, unless they have acquired such right by grant from the State or by prescription.
The preamble of the Preservation Act[14] which was to make Niagara free read:
Whereas, the State Engineer and Surveyor has completed and submitted to this board a map of the lands selected and located by it in the village of Niagara Falls and the County of Niagara and State of New York, which, in the judgment of this board are proper and necessary to be reserved for the purpose of preserving the scenery of the falls of Niagara, and restoring the said scenery to its natural condition; now, therefore, it is Resolved, etc.
On the morning of July 15th the Seventh Battery unlimbered its howitzers to salute the rising sun with a hundred salvos. The day unfortunately proved dark and foreboding. A storm burst in the morning and drove the crowds to shelter, and the last drops had hardly ceased pattering, when the hour of noon, the time fixed for the ceremony, arrived. The grounds of Prospect Park were wet and the trees shook their water freely in the light breeze, but some thousands collected on the grass around the pavilion, notwithstanding these disheartening circumstances. When President Dorsheimer, however, began his speech the sun smiled through the clouds, and the day thereafter was perfect overhead.
