Mississippi Democrat. (Carrollton, Miss.) 1844-18??, 1846-07-22

sent, almost entirely upon our exports; and
1t requires no argument under such clrcum
stances, TO maintain the position that The in
terest OF our State will he most advanced
by freeing commerce from all unnecessary
burthens, and by measuring the value of
our purchases by the standard used in our
sales-the currency of the world.
BY the active exer:ion of our Senator
Speight, bill was passed through the Sen
ale, granting to the State of Mississippi
alternate sections of land to aid in the con-
stru1tIon of the proposed Mississippi and
Alabama railroad. 1t is scarcely to be
hoped that the House will act upon this
measure at the present session, but placed
upon the calender of unfinished business
| think 1t will become a law at the next
session of this Congress. have also no.
ped that at the same session a law would
be passed to enable the Postmaster Gene
raj TO make contracts for long term of
| years with railroads under construction,
by which the government would be secured
from the exorbltant charges monopolies
have it in their power to impose, and such
certainty conferred upon the value of rail
road stock as would greatly aid in the
completion Of an entire chain Of railways
from The Mississippi at Vcksburg 10 the
Atlantic, and to the metropolis of our
Union-a chain like system of nerves to
couple our remote members of the body
polite to the centre of the Union, and ra-
pidly to transmit sensation from one 10 the
other; or like great sinews uniting into
concentrated action the power q the right
hand and the lelt-the valley of the Mis-
sissippi ard the coast of the Atlantic
whenever the necessities of one or the
other shall require the action of both.
Much has been done during the past
winter to adjust suspended and conflicting
claims to land purchased from the United
States, and it is TO be hoped that the ac
ton of this Congress will relieve our peo
I'pe from the uncertainty and harassng de-
lays under which so many of them have
labored for years past.
The bill to graduate and reduce the
price of the public lands, will no doubt be-
come a law; and we may expect from it an
important increase TO our population and
State wealth; such as has been the result
in the northern portion of our State, where
under the Chickasaw treaty, graduation
system has been in operation, it is to be
supposed, will be the result of similar
graduation in those districts where the
public land has remained long unsold. The
coast of survey, now in progress along the
Gulf of Mexico, cannot fail to have an
important influence upon that portion OF
our State which borders on the Gulf, by
giving correct charts of the channels and
points of entrance safe for Coastng YES
seIs Beyond this, | anticipate that the
survey will establish as a TACT that the besl
point west of Cape Florida for navy yard
10 repair or construct vessels of the largest
class, is the Harder of Ship Island; and
further, that it will lead to the speedy es.
Enlistment of the necessary lights along
the coast and upon its adjacent Islands,
The difficulty of obtaining appropriations
for these has heretofore been greatly in
creased by the want of official iniorma-
ton. The Legislature of our State me-
i morialized Congress upon the propriety OF
re-opening the Pass Manchac. was full
Iy impressed with the propriety of he
f claim. Under more favorable circum
stances an appropriation for the purpose
might have been obtained; and yet hope
that we shall get survey and report upon
the contemplated work, in time for action
at the next session of this Congress.
Since took seat as your Representa-
tive in Congress, the country has been dis
turbed; its political elements agitated and
thrown into confusion; its peace with Eng.
land seriously endangered by question Of
boundary in what is known as the Oregon
, Territory. We have now satisfactory rea-
sons to believe that this question is AMIGA
bly, adjusted. The exact terms of the
agreement have not tra4spired; but i'll
general language it may be stated as set
tied on the basis of the 10th parallel Of
north latitude, with a temporary permits
: sion 10 the Hudson's Bay Company TO Ma
, vigate the Columbia River. That there
should have been a desire among our peo-
, pie generally 10 hold the whole Territory
! was but natural, and this lot merely from
: wish to extend our territory, but also
from a more credible desire 10 reserve as
far as we might the North American Con
tnent for republican institutions. AS few
will contend that this desire would have
I justified our Government in waging a wal
for territorial acquisition, the question was
narrowed down to this how far are our
rights clearly defined, ana how shall we
best secure what is clearly our own, anc
upon what terms shall we compromise fol
what is disputa bic? There were some
who claimed for the parallel OF $40 40
) N. l.. talIsmanic merit-that il was the
. | limo m which natrinticpo raouirod a., - ,xo
and short of which il was reasonable to
stop. This opinion could only rest on the
f superstition that by purchase from Spain