The Text

The legislature shall not sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the Erie canal, the Oswego canal, the Champlain canal, the Cayuga and Seneca canal, or the Black River canal; but they shall remain the property of the state and under its management forever. The prohibition of lease, sale, or other disposition herein contained shall not apply to the canal known as the Main and Hamburg street canal, situated in the city of Buffalo, and which extends easterly from the westerly line of Main street to the westerly line of Hamburg street, nor to that portion of the existing Erie canal between Rome and Mohawk. The prohibition of lease, sale or other disposition herein contained, shall not apply to the barge terminal canal lands situated at the foot of West Fifty-third street and the Hudson or North river, known generally as pier ninety-three, North river, in the borough of Manhattan and city of New York. All funds that may be derived from any lease, sale or other disposition of any canal shall be applied to the improvement, superintendence or repair of the remaining portion of the canals.