Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1839-05-23

and the Point of Rocks, with a view, as Is gene,,l
" believed, OF FIRST consulting the local iniere,. :.
the Mills, for a subscription in stock or sam nm
then coming in conflict with the canal at the po..,
Of Rocks, and pre-occupyipg the right Of usv On
the balance OF the route TO Cumberland-thus rpr'
ming a course Of sixty two miles (includins Il.
branch 10 Frederick, which we have the au,bo,;,s
Of Baltimoreans for saying might have been rs.,
ched in forty-seven miles on q different route. ana
at a cost not exceeding that which was incurred;
constructing the road TO Ellicotis mills alone. NJ.
8 this all. We tell him that the Company ma
yer would have received the States aid upds,
the act Of 1896, but through the exertions Of Il.
people Of Washington county" and that the Con.
pany never v ould have received one dollar unde,
that act, if ii bed not acceded 10 its terms sps
conditions, which il has since grossly violated. (,
taking the money intended to be expended uno,
the territory Of the State that gave il, and expepd.
ing it upon a foreign territory. We tell him ,h.,
the STATE of Maryland has plighted its faith 10 n,
sister State of Pennsylvania and obligated itseIffo,
a valuable consideration 20 perm II a connection b.
" cen the great works Of The two States at or pe,,
Hugerstowu or Willlsmsport, in Washington c.gn.
ty-and that the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road
Company became, by It's own voluntary action.
party to the compact, which compact it has sincs
not only violated, but forced the State upon whose
bounty it exists, also TO violate. We tell him
these things are all ue-th If the Baltimore and
Ohio Rail Road Company had acted honestly or
fairly with the people of Washington county,
with the people of the City of Baltimoie-or with
the State that cherishes and sustains il. its rosd
would have passed through the heart of Washing.
ton county, and Hagerstown would have been
point on it-that the people of Hagerstown-"ths
people of Washington cocnty'--are now the vic.
tins of the insincerity and bad faith and blind Do
lie; Of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road Comp..
ny; and, ifthis insinceri,y, bad faith and blind 20.
| hey, could ruin them, they would be a ruined peo.
pie.
Are they then to be stigmatized Nth the charge,
of unfairness and seLfshsess, because tley are not
sufficiently craven to submit in silence to the mul.
tiplied and heavy wrongs under which they are
sufferingl Are they to be thus stigmatized because
they cannot play the Spaniel and caress the hand
hat smites them7 No. No. 1t cannon be-
Our friend would not have lifted his pen against u.
if he hal known the extent and the enormity Of our
wrongs-the cruelty and the injustice with which
we have been treated by those from whom we had a
right TO look for better things,
We never contended for the ~propriety Of making
Hagerstown and Boonsborough points on the road,
after it had reached the Point of Rocks; but we con.
tended from the first that Hagerstown should be
poinl-,hat Nature had made it so.-We never
wished to impose any " odious and restrictirer pro.
Uision'' upon the Company; but if the Company
thought proper to accept Of the States money upon
this !" odious and restrictive provision it ough,
not 10 have violated it afterwards-it ought to have
adhered to the provision" upon which it agreedto
receive the money, however "odious and restrc-
tive" 1t should have refused to receive the mon.
ey upon this "odious and restrictive provision or
receiving it, should have faithfully applied it under
the provision. There is no middle ground.-No
excuse for the violation of faith in the cause.
Our friend is mistakenin supposing that the
Company intends to forfeit the million of dollars
1t intends no such thing. Ii thinks ii can consul
mate the fraud il has commenced. We speak adj
visedly. We know it. But we know further, TINT
I will not accomplish its object without some trou-
BILE. We know that it must he backed by tho
sanction OF the highest Judicial power Of the State
before it will be permitted to rest upon its laurels
ingloriously won, If won at all.
We do not say that the route om Harpers Ferry
by Msrtinsbutg may not be shorter than that by
Boonsbofough and Hagerstown. When discussing
The merits of the whole routc-the whole question
we cannot be induced to begin ut Harpers Ferry
or at any other intermediate point, even for the &C.
communication of a friend.-We must begin at Bal
timore and we must end at Cumberland; endif
we do this We never can touch Martinsburg by a
line approximating nearly to straightness. What
Martinsburg may gain west of tho Ferry she has
more than doubiy lost east oft. So much then
for this point of our friends argument.
If The Editor ofthe Gazette cannot comprehend
what we mean by the " peculiar advantages 10
which he refers, the people Of Baltimore can, and
do already else why The complaints Of loss oftrade
and travel because of the supposed operations OF
the Rail Road between Hagerstown and Chambers
burgl They can comprehend it-they already leei
it in the loss of their country trade-and yet they
are only beginning slightly to sip the top ofihe bit
ter cup the dregs Of which they will ultimately have
to swallow, TO the last particle, unless they put a
check rein and a stiff Bit upon their Rail Road
Company.
Our friend must not misunderstood MS. We ne
yer supposed that Virginia would object to the con-
nection of the Pennsylvania works with those Of
Maryland, upon Virginia territory. BY no means
We rather suppose she would invite ana couft IT,
But, we do know md the Baltimore and on~
Rail Road Company knows, and even our frieudo o.
The Gazette must know, that the connection could
be formed at less expense and shorter distance IN
Wand than it can be in Virginia. The longer
the road the greater the expense, the more dhhcu-
", of course, there viii be in accomplishing the con-
nection. This fact the Baltimore and Ohio Kah
Road Company very well understands and never
has lost sight ot-and this, we repeat, is one grand
reason why it has of late been so much afraid OF
Maryland territory, and so much in love Win the
territory Of Virginia.
Having thus slightly touched upon the poin'sot
general bearing in the Gazette's article, we shall in
conclusion, taking a passing glance at that point
which presents Martinsbusg prominently, and es-
pecially in the picture-and which appearsin TINS
attitutle.-"T The only difference will be, thstinstead
of the connection being formed at HageIs'own, or
at all events in the County of Washington, il VIII
be formed ut Martinsburg, or at all evens IN the
County of Berkeley" Not quite so fast. This y
rather predetermined. The Pennsylvanians are 4"
sharp, ightsa. to run from Hagerstown nlnete"
miles South, and then, for aueht We know, to-
twelve or fourteen miles North West, 70 gains
point that they can reach by running a straight ne
of sixteen or seventeen miles--lt - not Probate
we think, that they will run a line of something me I
thirty miles, more or less, in locating a rsed thssf
they can make over another route If abouthali tho
The prospect of Martinsburg blooming
the poirt of connection, is therefore, just shout as
bright and cheering as that of H~agerstown-so that
it is not worth our while 10 quarrel about Ae mat
ter,
We bid heller re.erva our energies and resout-