Cheraw gazette. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1835-1838, 1837-09-06

pervidlng benefits winch nef future pros
perrv will diffusc over the whole State.
The ultimate success of the Charles on
and Cincinnati Rail Roadis no longer the
subject Of sccp,icism and ungencrous pro.
nhccics Of faction. 1t. must succeed, and'fs
effect on the commerce Of Charleston, 10
constituting it the great emporium of South
crn and Western trade, is as certain as the
uniform and undertaking effect Of any phy.
scaI or moral cause can be.
In this event, the merchandise OF South.
and North Carolina. must of course be
bought there. The produce ofthe country
must be sent there in return, and the Che
raw and Wacamaw Rail Road will DO the
TRANSFORMATION of district Of country treble
in extent 10 that which now depends on the
navigation ofthc Peedec. And if this hope
were our only resource, it is with pride and
satisfaction that we would stake tberewards
Of our enterprise on The results Of the Char.
lesion and Cincinnati Rail Road. We
would most willingly identify the success Of
the two undertakings, and abide the result.
With regard to the physical practicable:
~ of or project, the opinion Of MIR. White
is relied on with great confidence as more
assuring to the community than any oPln-
i. ion that we woud express. There is proba-
bly, no section of country of equal extent in
the Atlantic States, oyer which Rail Road
could be constructed at so small an expense,
whether we regard the absence of natural
.obstruclions, or the chcapncss and excel.
lence Of the necessary materials. With
the exception ofthc Greatand Little Pee
dees, there is scarccly single water course
the whole route which deserves .consldera-
tion as an item in,he estimates Of cos. Tim.
ber of the very bcs: kind, for the wooden
supcrs:ructure, is convenient 10 every point,
and will cost little more than the mere labor
of. cutting and hcwiug.
The surface of the country is almost
perfect level, and the soil so light that the
excavations and cmbankmen:s necessary TO
remedy occasional inequalities, are Of com.
parat vely tri1lng expense.
On the whole, it is the uncqulvocal opin-
ion of your Commissioners, that the pro-
I iected Rail Road from the town of Chcrlw
to the Wacamaw is highly cxpediert and
practicable in every point of view.
And now, having discharged the duties
you were pleased to assign to us, imperfect
ly we are aware, but with zeal and with the
best ability we possessed, your Commits
sioners beg leave, in conclusion, to address
you q few words on the course 10 be pur
sued at this peculiarcrisis of affairs.
Less than.fve months ago. We assembled
to consider the propricty OF undertaking a
work of great and acknowledged public
utility. At that time, and for several years
antecedcnt to it, our State had enjoyed an
.unexampled degree ofcommercial and agr-
cultural prosperity, and the zeal and energy
of her citizens in the institution Of works Of
public improvement, was beginning TO be
proportionate to the extent Of her re-
sources and the manifest wants of hcr
commerce. We felt then, that the
Peedce country had the ability, we knew
it had the determination, to prosecute
successfully, an undertaking so loudly de-
nlandcd by the necessities Of its existing
commerce. so fruitful of the elements otnew
wealth and Increased prosperity.
But the aspect of affairs has changed !
1t little matters what was the cause whether
the bad policy of an infatuated government,
the rash spirit Of over'raIe and speculation.
or an inherent defect and tendency to de.
rangement in the monetary system of the
country whether either, or all of these
causes combined, have produced the effect,
it is certain that the country labors under
pecuniary embarrassment, wholly unprcced.
ented in the annals of its finance. True.
the difficulties did not commence here, and
have not been felt by us in the full extent
of The disastrous ruin and bankruptcy which
had spread far and wide overthe largcrpor-
ton of the confederacy. But SO closely in
terwovon are our commercial relations, so
nicely constituted is cur monetary system,
that the arrangement of a single part must
disturb the operations of the whole machln-
cry. We could not, therefore, reasonably
expect to escape entirely. the pervading mis-
fortunes Of the country. But happily, we
have had so little connection with the fiscal
agents Of the Government, and have been
so slightly infected with the mania of spec
ula,ion, that we have participated in these
embcrrassmen.s only in such degree as
was Inevitable from our commercial rela-
tons with those States in which they origin
ated, and where they have inflicted such
e. erwhelming calamity on every class of
society. we have no fear that they can
become aggravated with US. and their only
effect will be a temporary depression Of
trade and slight restraint ofthe resources
which would have given us an immediate
ability commensurate with the zeal and en-