every session thereof, the state of said fund; and that the comptroller and treasurer shall open separate books, and keep the accounts of the said fund distinct from the other funds of the state.
II And be it further enacted, That the commissioners appointed by the act, entitled "an act to provide for the improvement of the internal navigation of this state" passed April 17, 1816, shall continue to possess the powers thereby conferred, and be denominated "the canal commissioners;" and they are hereby authorized and empowered, in behalf of this state, and on the credit of the fund herein pledged, to commence making the said canals, by opening communications by canals and locks between the Mohawk and Seneca rivers, and between Lake Champlain and the Hudson river; to receive from time to time from the commissioners of the canal fund, such monies as may be necessary for and applicable to the objects hereby contemplated; to cause the same to be expended in the most prudent and economical manner, in all such works as may be proper to make the said canals;
