The Yazoo City Whig. [volume] (Yazoo, Miss.) 1844-1851, 1846-12-18
Atlantic and Pacific Rail-
Road.

:. i 4
Il is impossible to contemplate the rapid
progress we have made during the last twenty
Eve years. the vas. ness Of our internal i'm.
tie extension Of our commerce,
and the immensely OF our present and increas-
ing agricultural and manufacturing Interests,
without tho conviction that these beginnings.
in such vast field as America, are but the
daWnlngs ola period OF our history, before the
MONDAY splendor Of which oarp present bright
ness will dwlndle into moonlight. Our az,
ricultural and manufacturing resources are so
immense, our means OF. internal and external /
communication so easy, and our laws aud in- +
stilutions so happily adapted TO advancement
that nothing bur the most physical extraors
binary calamities, civil division and disunionl
can now arrest our progress.
And all this, too, we believe. would be real.
lied even if the field of our laboTs were con-
fined 10 America alone, and all our foreign |
relations were either imperative or quite sus-
pended. Bat, like all the rest of-the world, |
we IRE seeking toextend our foreign rela.
lions; and it is a singular fact that at The pref
ent day, as in all known preceding ages of
the world. the eyes of all are turned upon
India as the great storohouse Of the worlds
wealth, The great question Of the present
day, with all the great powers of the earth is,
how shall we improve and extend our con
Inection with India? What was Colum~
bus seeking when he left the old world On his
first voyage of discovery? Not America bat
India; and for ages before the same had been
the great object Of European navigators So
splendid were the wealth and commodities OF
the East that had been flowing in upon the
Greeks and Romans from the remotest ages,
that even a desire among them, nncORcerned
as they we're, was aroused for a connection
with India. Justinian made great exertions
toestaElish commercial connection by way
of the Red Sea, but he was unable 10 make
the necessary commercial treaties with the
nations commanding that route. and the trade
remained in the hands of the Persians, who
had received it fIom the Assyrians and Medes
The character and disorders of the nations
, about the Eastern extremity of the Mediter-
/ ranean have always rendered that Difficult;
route; and the discovery at last OF the Cape
of Good Hope and Cape Horn secured &c
: Western Europe free, but long, circuitou:
0 and expensive route. Not satisfied with this
: exertons have ever since. and are still max
n ling 10 discover more direct communication
e One grand object Of Humboldt a1d many 9th
i or European travellers was 10 discover some
easy communication with the Pacific across
The American continent England has made
:, repeated trials, at immenge expense, to force
- a passage to India by way -of the north pole
! and both France and England have made suI
= veys and explorations TO the Is;llmus Q
i, Darien TO accomplish the same object. Al
: have failed; and within the last year a ne,
- H. Al,
ed India more accessible--the project Of
great Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, III
honor of which is due 10 Mr.. A. Whitney
= Now York.
- A railroad of 50 gigantic description hi
been regarded by some as wild project, a
together impracticable; but such astonisl
ing things are done, at the present day, tn
!" it is difficult to declare ans thing will
Brought before Congress at lis last sessio
H. it met with favor The Committee on Publ
Lands, 10 whom it was referred, reported
unanimously in support Of the plan, after fl
discrimination Of the sublectin all its bearing
ht and the bill, introduced by them for the CO
III lsructiou of the road, passed to a second rea
70 ling, and, together with the Report oft
'.e Committee, was ordered to be printed
an the Senate. Such is the present state
lne Mr.. Whitney's railroad.
~. The Report Of the Committee demo
r,b strates, we think, pretty satisfactorily 1
&c feasibility Of the project; but we have alwi
r. believed that the route chosen by Mr.. WI
- nev is not the best one FOR such road; a
- in this opinion we are influenced mol less
! ;r the actual physical objections 20 his rou
- than by a consideration of all the great
I
:. as much interested in this matter as
~, 49, North, and besides a southern route VIC
Eel raal be in all respects easier, We think, than
49, of Mr. Whitney, from Lake Michigan TO
IN Pacific BY the way Of Fremont's Pass.
= Whitney's railroad would not, after all. c
, ~" plete the desired object thesconnectiO
~ the two oceans-for the lakes are, for
lion Of the year, closed, and il would be
..su' cessary TO add 10 MIR. Whitney's road ano
long line OF road, along the southern SD
from lof Lake Erie, from Buffalo to Chicago.
think single glance at the map will show any
that a far better route would be one
year New Orleans, or some point on Red K
nevt to the Bay Of San Francisco, on the Pa
/ ,,s or to the northern extremity Of The Gu
,cbia Califonia.
49, :. -, This would be a much sherter route,
y Hus .,.ll L. - ,neo q aarnrlafa
place besides Nse,ul ~. - = pn.0 NJ a.,
ICONS heesseni q - !. ;,,e )
rons. woug y, go q ~ ~, "a lie M
etn. woul9 NV ~, ~ e'.'g . ~ or ,bst &c The
demo- &c and Indies! In the course OF tins
# the ports Of The Pacific would grow up,
ii will The influx Of the wealth 81 the indies
ontest: opulent cities, Che whole line OF Foad
a ex- TEEN with wealth, and New orleans =
TX un- become the first city n America 1
ain or no Eanclful dreams ioi U 20 me letno'
eleat.' dark periods Of tne Wetia g llally
spFana up in Asa from the enjoyment
overn- same trade with India, trade which
blans vastly augmented, MAY mol this same
!; 1885,. cause. new Tyres, new Palnyfae, new