The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1847-09-11
sPc<rs or Mr.. Webster On the Opeu,ux #
enee srsee Nssshera Railroad a. Grafton.
n. ~. ...


The Importance Of the road In q national res
poet, II 40 other consideration, is sufficient re
son Tor proper notice Of the commemorate,
OF lis completion, so far al it will make a con.
tihuo"s line OF Railroad from Georgia TO Mon.
treal. " '''0''
The road has been strongly and we'll built. .,
an average cost from Concord to Copneci;cur
Of 100000 per mile.
The people had assembled from the ad,,ce,,
towns in large numbers. After the collation.
conducted on strict temperance pri,cipl., Mr.
Webster spoke as follows:
/ u am very happy, fellow citizens To be her,
on ms occlsion-to meet here the Directors n,
the Northern Railroad, 1.-The Directors of vo,;.
Gus DINER Railroads connected wit, it below
ana such number of nv feiiow-ciiizens, in.
naoi'ah's OF This part OF the State Perhaps my
| pleasure ana my surprise at the success Of thi,
grest enterprise SO far, the greater from the
fact OF my early acquaintance with this reyion
and all lis localities
But, gentlemen, | see the rain is becinn;nc
10 descend fast and pray YOU TO take shelter
under some Of these roofs (Cries of $50 ON.
| 90 on, never mind us")
in my youth anu early manhood have fra.
'crs"i these mountains along all the roads or
passes which lead through or over them We
are on SMITHS River, which, while in College. |
had occasion TO swim; even that could moi al
many rough and tedious miles Ia get over it,
At thaf day, steam, as motive power, actipp
on waller anG land, was thought of hy noboiy :
nor were there good practicable roads i'm thi,
part OF the State. AT that day one must have
trarersed this wilderness on horseback or ON
foot. so late when l left college there was
no road from river to river for a carriage tit for
The conveyance of persons. we'll recolleci the
commencement Of the turnpike system. Til.
"a fipg at fia a..
winch led from Lebanon 10 Boscaw, was re-
garded as a wonderful The chan,pian In
me Legislature OF this great enterpr rise was
Benjamin J. Gilbert, then a lawyer al Hanover
always most arniable and excellent man. ana
now enjoying hcalthful old age in the CITY of
Boston. think he is - wears old. Heis well
known to the elder inhabitants Of this county.
aud am glad of this opportunity 10 aliude 10
hlm as highly valued friend of long standing
81 remember 10 have attended the tir,t meet.
ing OF the proprietors of this turnpike at And
over. IL was difficult to persuade men that i,
was possible TO have a passabe carri,ye ro,a
over these mountains. | was too youpy ana
too poor To he a subscriber. bat held the prox-
les OF several absent subscribers, and what
lacked in knowledge and experience, | made I'D
zeal, and as far | now remember INV fir,
speech after left college was in f,sor of VIVA,
Vas thea regarded as great and almost iinprac.
tiealie internal improvement. 10 wit: the max
Ing Of a smooth though hiily road from Connec.
iicut River, opposite the mouth of the White
River to the Merrimack River at the month of
Contoocook. Perhaps the most valushie re-
suit Of the making Of this and other turnpike
@as the communication of knowledge upon
road-makiDg among the peope--for in u few
years afterward, great numbers Of the people
went 10 church, Ia electoral and oihe meetings
IN chaises and wagons, over very toerable ROADS
The next stage after turnpike was canal. Gov
sullivan, DIR. Dexter, Col. Baldwin and other
eminent citizens Of Massachusetts, had planned
! the MiddleseN Canal, connecting the Nerri-
mack River at Paviucket Falls, near where
Lowell now is, with Boston. And a canal was
! built round those Falls also, to complete water
conveyance TO Newburyport. Great expense
was incurred siterward la locking the various
| falls higher up the river, until at length the
/ river was made navigabe for boats a. high up
as Concord. This was thought TO be a great
and most usefi achievement, and so indeed il
Wa. Bus vastly greater WAS now approach
ing. the era of steam. That is the invention
which distinguishes this age. The Application
| Of steam 10 the moving of heavy bodies on the
water and on the land towers above all other in
ventions OF this or the preceding age. as the
| Cardigan mountain now before lifts itsei
! above the htile hiilocks at its base.
..Fellow-citizens, can We without wonder
! consider where We are and what mas brought rs
here Several of this company eft Boston and
salem this morning. They passed the kesr-
sarge on tho left, the Rag2ed Mountain on the
/ tight. have threaded all the valleys and corg-S
and here they now are at 2 o'clock, at the foot
of the Cardigan Hills. They probably went to
the market this morning. orderdered their din
ner-, wen. home 10 a leisure breakfast, and 81,
cut. Here they now are, enjoying the coalla-
/ siau nf t.ll ~ a..
hour when their families are dining at home
By the wuy, if they had thought ft--and i,
would have been happy thought--they might
have brought us few FISH. taken out of the sea
at sunrise this morning. and We might here en-
! lOy good iish-dinner a. our friends are now
! enjoying at Phillips Beach or Nuhani. Thi.
would have been rather striking chowd-r Al
the fcot of Cardigan Hills wouid have been
thing 10 lie talked about.
I Fellow citizens, this Railroad NAV be sale
| TO bring the sea to your doors. You cannot,
I indeed, snufi it's salt water, but you will boii
snuif and taste it, best products, fresh 4.
! those who i've on its shores. cannot conceive
of any policy more useful to the great mass o.
the community than the policy which establish.
ed these public Improvements. Let me say
feliow-citizens, that in the history Of human
inventions there is hardly one wei calculated
as that Of Railroads TO equaize the condition o
men. The richest must travel In the cars, TO-
there they travel fastest; the poorest trave
in the cars, while they could not travel other
wise. because this mode of conveyance ccsts bu
little time or money. Probably there are In tn
multitude before me those vino have friends n
such distances that they could hardly have Wis
itei them, had not Railroads come to their as
| sis.anc 10 save their tine AMI TO save their ex
pense. Men are thus brought together as neigh
bors and acquaintance who live two hundre,
miles apart.
w. sometimes hear idle preyudices express
cd against railroads because they are close cor
porations; hut so from the necessity of the Cas-
they necessarily must be. because the track o
a railway cannot be road, upon which ever,
man may drive his own carriage. Sometimes
it is true, these Railroads interrupt or annoy in
dividuals in the enjoyment Of their property
for these cases the most ample compensation
ought 10 he made. have myself had a It'll
taste of this inconvenience. When the direc
tors Of the railroad resolved to lay il out upoI
the river "a. | must say they were very wise il
doing) they showed themselves little too low
ign 10 me. coming near my farm house, tia
the thunder of their engines, and the screams o
their stcsm- whistles, to say nothing OF other in
conve niences, not little disturbed the peace sn
reposs Of lis occupants. There is beside a
awkward and ugly cmbankment thrown u
/ across my meadows. IL Injuries tho locks Of III
fields. But have remarked, feow-ciiizens. tina
Railroad directors, and Railroad projectors, M
no enthusiastic lovers Of landscape beauty
handsome field or lawn, beautiful copses and a
the gorgeousness Of forest scenery, pass for III
tie i'm their eyes. Their business is TO cut nm
: slash, 10 level or defsce finely rounded fell
: and 81 up beautifully winding valleys. The
are quite utiitarian in their creed and the
practice. Their business is to make "A good ro;,