The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1849-10-26
THE ST. LOUIS CONVENTION.


ton. By yesterdays mail we received copiou
supplies of ST. Louis papers, which furnish Us tn,
details of the proceedings of the 18th, 18th and I7tE
The attendance appears to have been very large
We did not count the number Of Delegates who's,
names are published in the papers, but there mus
have been nearly thousand, representing clever
States. One member, c. G.. ,Laihrop, Of New Or
leans, represented Louisiana, and another, A. X
Williams, of st. Lawrence county, represente,
New York.
The Convention met in the Rotunda Of th
Courthouse of st. Louis, at noon on the 18th
Abner T, Ellis, of Yincennes, Ia, was teTnporar
Chairman; and Col. Stewart, Of Chicago, and a
b. Chambers, Of st. Louis, Secretaries. The dar
was spent in arrangements, the order and rules 0
business, and appointing committee to report per
manent officers They reported next morning, ahc
their report was adopted, as follows:
PgesideHt-STEPHEE A. DoUgLAss of Illinois
pied dentsMsssTs Totem Of Pennsyivana: Sam
q Iowa John Blddle, Of Michigan a. X. Williams. d
| NeW ork Easton, Of Kentucky Henry 3. Geyer Of
Samuel Emerson, Of Indiana &C. O. Isthrop was aided
ni gcg FIs5ioeRt loT L9gsa1a Lien Many feJ V
slppi T. Elder, loT Maryland E. Steele. for the lem.
Gn yenii9n and each was the sole Delegate from the
n sserstaTies Me,sr. a, B. Chambers, of Missouri; A.
| E Stewart, Of Illinois; ~. 3; Wallace Of Iowa W. G
Minor, oil Missouri and A. Mitchell, Of Kentucky.
Mr.. Douglass unfortunately got involved in a
controversy, in which he thought the rights of his
State were affected, and on the 18th he resigned
his seat as President in order to be mors active on
the floor. Mr.. DARslE, Of Pennsylvania, was ap-
pointed to succeed him as President
A Committee on Resolutions was appointed on
| the 10th. A great many propositions and Tesolu-
tons were offered, laid on the table, Withdrawn
or referred to the committee. The following, how
ever, vas unanimously adopted by the Convention
before adjournment:
RESOLVED That this Convention does consider the prime
OBJECT Of us appointment and meeting be- 10 elicit an eK
preston OF the public opinion and the public will ara as
ment Of aiOad and telegraph connect the comm eres
Fl we ATaate and Pacific oceans for the benefit Of
Unon Ihat we deem the establishment Of such road and
eegsph l9 9e an entess entirely worthy Of the prompt
decisive end liberal action Of the National Iegsa uTe That
emphaCally called for by the national INTEREST," That
It belongs TO- and is Obligatory Congress take such
and power Of this great nation
The result of the labors of the Committee on
Resolutions was the report on the 17th of the fol-
lowing series, offered by Mr.. S. Mason, of Ohio,
Chairman
l. Resokyed That this Convention is its spirit and OBJ
Interests 70 serve Or promote but having heart interests
a Resooei That the duty of the Congress of the
IN, Gnltes states to make immediate provision for the eonsnc
MIA, with branch road TO Oregon iIOn such MONT II ba
Mississippi valley, the frontier Of the States rs may be
n iSSaS ,iSR s4anlasq9a and saYs2s u Rs tsf
Charleston Richmond, Baltimore, Pbladephia, lew York.
and Boston, tending TO- and connecting with me hSSsspp
valley only parts of the great whole which the General
Government asked to cOnsummate by the Mississippi and
ms prepared for Dy uniting all interests guarantee the per-
a. RcsO4Bed That as important MEANS as necessary
and preliminary the construction Of such railroad 1t Is the
fist duty of the American Congress Immediately upon rs
assembling together TO make provision LOT he
of military posts from the western confines Of our Western
States TO Pacific ocean, that these posts should be ea0
lshed lumeousY in al! proper places nor "a nh
each other, and that civilized and pToductVe settlements
of the pubo lands by extending ample protection to the
settlers and the transport Of heir stores, mechaudse
foTded typographical engineeB for the immediate re
connOance and survey Of our vast poens' Iesdlas
facilities of travel Immediately formed for OnT czens across
ouT own territories from the Atlantic to the Pacific shores
& Rssoped That the Congress of the United States be
memOrszd to construct authorize the constTucuon q
national line OF telegraph along me route when nlay pc de
temined by national authority for the great railway to
6. Rssofsed, That committee of five be appointed by
the President of this Convention 9 prepare and pp;n an
operation in procuring such action On me part q
yentiOn.
After very brief discussion on these resolutions,
they were set aside on the proposition of R. W.
Thompson, of Indiana, by the adoption of the fol
lowing substitute:
ResOped That in the opinion of this Convention, it the
duty Of the General Government to provide at an early period
for the construction OF hdlliohu
RssSi1sd That in The Opinion Of this Convention grand
trunk railroad with branches to st Ions Memphis ana
Chicago, would be such central and national one
Rssqgsd That a. Pa S n 6 @
buttons, and to request the concurrence oil sad Convention
therein
At this stage of the-proceedings communica-
ton was received from the Committee of the Mem
phs Convention, inviting the ST. Louis delegates
to Memphis, and proffering them the hospitahties
of the city 1t was entered on the minutes and re-
ferred to a Committee of Fifty.
Our report of the doings of the Convention ends
here. The Republican, of the 18th, expressed the
opinion that nothing more would be done but to
adjourn that morning
On the second day of the Convention, Mr.. Ben
ton was called upon to address that body, and he
made, what is described by friend and foe, as an
| extremely interesting and able speech. In the
course of that speech he introduced two letters from
| Col. Fremont, which are new and important We
| COPY them from the St. Louis Organ. Mr.. Benton,
in speaking of them said that for several years Col
! Fremont had been endeavOring to trace suitable
pass through the Rocky Mountains, for railroad
south of the South Pass and that high up the val
| lev of the Rio Del Norte there is Pass which
| wagons have passed through, and that he has
| made his mind up in favor Of the route up the
! southern Kansas river, across to the valley OF the
Rio Grande, through the southern settlements oil
the Mormons in the Great Basin; thence down
! Humboldt's river, and through the Sierra Nevada
mountains, into the Sacramento valley, witt
scarcely any inequality of profile; the Who'll,
route being between the latitude of 80 and 800
which degrees of latitude embraced Washington
City, ST. Louis, the Bay of San Francisco, and sew
eral great commercial cities. He said the Legis
lature of Virginia had taken up the subject OF
railroad from the city of Richmond to the Obi
river; passing through the Blue Ridge up the val
ley of the Virginia, and across the Alleghanie
to Guyandotte on the Ohio; and that this roa
would tap the great Pacific Railroad. He spoke
the contemplated road from Charleston, s u,
the Ohio river, and others that would connect vii
this great road.
He expected Government to build this great roa
to the Mississippi river, and that the States woul
then take it up and continue branches to every pa
of the Union. He expected it would be constructs