The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-18 00:00:00

TilE PAQII7C RAILWAY

(From the Anglo-American Timis.)
Simultaneously with the annountement that the
fast rail had been laid on the line connecting New

York and Sacramento, the Peninsular and Oriental
Company advertise an acceleration in their coin-
muncation with Japan. Notwithstanding the pains
taken by the Economist, followed by the Fortnightly
Review, to re-assure the proprietors of that great
Company's Stock, it is evident that the Directors
feel the quickening spur to save their China trade.

Their steamers now run direct between Hong Kong
and YOkohama, thus dropping Shanghae, by which
five days will be saved homeward and two out-

ward. Unfortunately for the European traffic over
the Union Pacific Line the directors of that Cor-

potation, having become involved in the endless
litigation, recrimination, bickering, and squabbling,
the fate of everything with which the Erie comes in
contact, have not been able to forward its interests
in Europe, and were it nq„t for the Anglo-American
nines Europeans might be left to guess that there
was a shorter, healthier, and more agreeable Western
route than the Eastern, now so long in operation to
China.' The great railway, however, being fir fished,
through tickets must be arranged to Japan and
China, and we may expect that in conjunction with
the Pacific Steamship Company measures will be
taken to let.the public on this side know the advan-
tages the route offers, and the cost at which the
traveller will be carried. We have alluded to an
article in the Fortnightly Review, which is of much
interest, writtQn by Dr. WILLIAM A. BELL, who was
one of a party employed on the survey of the Kansas
Pacific Line through Arizona, New Mexico, and
California, of which the particulars are already in
the Press, and, judging from this extract the nar-
rative cannot fail to be of interest.

"So extensive a surveying expedition was probably
never before organised. The total length of the routes, accu-
rately chained, levelled, and surveyed by instruments, was
no less than 4,464 miles, and a considerable distance more
was examined, and the various elevations barometrically
obtained. And these explanations were conducted mostly
through a country inhabited by hostile Indians. Every
party had to be guarded whilst at work by a body of
cavalry, and every surveyor carried his fire-arms by his
ide, and his surveying instruments in his hands. Nor
were these precautions unnecessary, for although the sur-
. _ _

veyors escaped to a man, they had to fight more than once
for their lives, and many of the escort were killed on

the way."
The first scheme to lay a railway across the conti-
nent followed the gold discoveries in California,
which itself followed the cession of the territory by
Mexica after the war. In 1850 surveys were com-
menced, but it was not till March-, 1853, that the War
Department was directed byAct of Congress to cause
surveys to be made from the Mississippi River to
the Pacific Ocean, to report on, and recommend to the
Legislature, the best route. Under the authority of
Mr. JEFFEP.SON DAVIS, then Secret'try of War,
eleven bulky volumes were published with the re-
sults, tracing five paths, of which that gentleman

favoured the last, the most Southern, as might have
been expected. Dr. BELL thinks Mr. DAVIS had,
however, many excellent grounds for preferring the
road from Preston on the Red River, in Eastern

Kansas, to San Francisco, which would ernphat
tally have made the Pacific Railway a Southern
the line. The political troubles which culminated in
rebellion radically changed this with many oth3rques-
tions, for the idea got into the Northern mind that
it was necessary to bind California to the Eastern
States by iron ways if the Pacific slope was to be
preserved to the Union. Had the line Mr. JEFFER-
SON DAVIS favoured been constructed before the war,
California in all probability would have been added
to the seceded States ; and the North not only saw
the necessity for a railway, but that it should pass
through the heart of the loyal States. While the
war was at its height, and the Union armies in a
train of disaster, a bill was introduced which char-
tered three companies, after a fierce contention be-
tween striving interests whereon money was lavishly
expended ; the Union Pacific working west from
Omaha, the Central Pacific east from Sacramento
to meet it, and the Union Pacific (Eastern Division),
now called the Kansas Pacific, to connect with the first
before entering the Rocky Mountains. The last road
was commenced in 1863 ; the Union Pacific broke
' ground in July, 1865, but at first got on so slowly that
only 40 miles were constructed up to February, 1866;
while the Central Pacific began work in June, 186 i,
their operations being characterised by extraordi-
nary vigour, stimulated by a. lavish
ahgnednoefrotshitey,sbtaotte.h
on the part of private individuals
The litre now opened is the
junction of the Union
Pacific and the Central; and it illustrates the
The stru
Newateggl
s,
ySt
superior energy of the Northerner.
was Chicago and the north-west,
mckiedle b
York, against St. Louis and
backed by Philadelphia; and it is the former com-
bination that has achieved a rapid success, while the
Kansas Pacific, though first commernaclead,ll:aansthaugnegfiwraes.
This instead of resultingfromnatud a,
of fofthiermre,clfaoirmtahbeleOdmesaehrataßooraedr
accomplished inh a
spseitreie
passed throng
an eleiation more than 7,000 feet above the sea,
blocked, as is now certain, for winter weeks together
by snow drifts. Nor that only. So rapidly did the
Central Pacific push its work, that it dashed over
the Sierra Nevada regardless of grades, protecting
the line from snow by sheds extending twenty miles,
leaving the surveyors to discover a pass, showing
this labour to have been worse than ill directed. It
is asserted that so expensive is the task of convey-
ing goods lip steep inclines that it will eventually be
necessary for the company.to carry their line through
this pass, abandoning the . expensive work already
completed. Dr. BELL considers the road the sur-
veyors have.traced for the Kansas Pacific by way of
New Mexico and Ariidna to be in every respect supe,
rior. lie says it will be shorter than that Salt
Lake, without a tunnel, or obstructions, from snow
in the winter ; the highest range can be crossed 'at
an elevation of 4,008 feet above the sea, and
the steepest grades are but half those ,of the
Central Pacific; the country instead of desert, being
fertile and rich in all that gives wealth to settlers.
But it is the Northeria*Pacific that offers the gre.ltest
alvantage.:=. The report to Con.zress describes the.
territory west of Minnesota as the finest,land on
the Ainerican continent, alike superior in climate
and soil, and 'possessing advantages over even such
r north
rich States as Illinois. That a line so fa
should passthrough 'so genial a climate may surprise,
4b
8u
tthf oprasroarl
eel uhna
se xnpoltatihneewd
irnetaesrosne
vi tesr
tl
yi moaf tte
healongs the.t
e rn
States much further south. It' would be possible to
proceed from New York 2,480 miles by steamboat
towards Portland on the Pacific, leaving but 82a—miles
to go by rail. Near the border of the British pos-
sessions the line' will run for 1,500 miles to Puget's
Sound, opening Territories surpassing iu natural ad-
vantages the rich Prairie lauds. Dr. BELL accepts
the statement made by the Economist of the time to
Hongkong by the Eastern route via Bombay when
the railway system of India is completed; and he
believes that though some passengers may prefer to

proceed to China via New York and San Francisco,
the opening of the Suez Canal would not only pre-
vent any chance of the transport of goods that way,
but were it not for the enormous duties levied in
New York would still keep for the Eastern road the
carriage to America of silks and teas. What is
meant by the completion of the railway system
across India we know not, but some confusion
appears to exist in the mind of the original writer
about a road from Bombay across Hindoostan as
a link to China. We cannot see how this would
materially economize time, but were a few hours
saved, it would be at such a cost of health, com-
fort, and money, as to make it a dear bargain. Dr.
BELL says New Zealand will be brought within 37
days of London ; San Francisco being 700 miles nearer
to' Wellington than is Panama. He adds that the
line running from New Zealand to Panama has
been discontinued, and a new one opened with
San Francisco. We were not aware of any such
arrangement, for, although the line between Pa-
nama and Wellington has failed, no new one that
we know of between San Francisco and Wellington
has as yet been opened, and in this respect Dr. BELL
is, we believe, premature in his statement. But
our proposition made long ago has been discussed
in San Francisco, and will probably be carried out, of
connecting both Auckland and Sydney with the
Feejee Islands, and the Feejees with the Sandwich
Islands, to which a regular line has long been ply-
ing from San Francisco. This is the true road to the
Southern Pacific, and mint quickly be brought into
operation. The effect of the opening of the Pacific
Railway will soon be shown, and there is little use
under the circumstances in speculating thereon,
but we believe the directors of the Peninsular and
Oriental Company have good reason for advertising
extensively the reduction in time to Japan, and
working to make people believe that the Eastern
route is still superior to the Western, notwithstand-
ing the opening of the Pacific Railway. A weekly
emigrant train will, in the first instance, be estab-
lished across the Continent at low rates, to be in-
creased with the demand. These charges are given—
from New York to Chicago, 960 miles, £3 15s. ;
Chicago to Omaha, 496 miles, £3 10s. ; Omaha to
Salt Lake, 1,070 miles, £8; Salt Lake to San Frm-
cisco, 775 miles, £l5 10s.; total, 3,299 miles,
£3O 15s. ; from Oaklands to San Francisco being
6 miles, the total distance is 3,305. It is, more-
over, said, that on the Ist July the cost of the
through ticket will be reduced to £23. The Panama
route from New York to California is cheaper and
easier travelling ; but, although the charge must be
considerably more, those who can afford the splen-
did accommodation provided by the cars the rail-
way company are now procuring, will not find the
jourrey so fatiguing as an English journal predicts,
and already passengers are announced to have tra-
velled from Washington to Sacramento in eight
and a half days.