The Arkansas banner., 1849-05-08
Mississippi aad Pacific Railroad. SreRiar io iks Cltisess ~ fAs Uar.sd Ssafes


 1rigusi thFteeH States, and capable of sustaining population Of thirty m,iliens of peeele
 The mildnees of the climate. the fertility of the soil, the agEcaliHrs and commercial advantages of the Oregon and California territories with theif eapaeioes hsrbors and sboye oil, the recent Bis eovsFies Of extensive gold mines aud other inex- hanstible beds of mineral wealth, are opening up wide field for adventure, and drawing thither the enfeFPrising citizens not only from ours bat from all countries To reach that distant eonntry lengthy, hazardous and turbulent sea voyage has 10 be encountered, else danRerOus paIhless land route has to be pursued: which, If no, remsdisd. must greatly retaTd the future settlement and pro- gress of those territories.
 Tbe people of the Uniied States with lively senss e4 the value Of possessions, are ihteutly and snxiOusiy considering the pFopriety of ccsS. stFuetjHgE new. speedy, safe and eeoRomcal chan nel of intsscommanicAton. ifh our Pacific basaer which shall rid the future settlement of the country ot the delays, cests and in2eiments which now retsrd emgraton, or all methods proposed a rail- road 10 be constructed, central from the valley of tho Mississippi to tire bay of San Francisco or Monterey, is most likely to meet with the deIlbe- rate sanction of majority of the American people The PFoJect Of constructing railroad from the Mississippi river 10 the bay of San Francisco or Monterey, a distance of fifteen or seventeen hun dred miles the greater part of the way wilderness surrounded by savage lfordes of Indians, at a cost not far short of hundred millions of dollars on ! casual view of the question, looks exceedingly vIslonary-H not to say impracticabe. Not SO however, to those who take a calm, statesma mike and comprehensive view of the subject iu all its ibearings--lpWard and outward.
 At an enormous cost not far short of twenty millions of dollars by virtue of the Ashburton and oaudaiouPe treaties, we have become owners of a territory in extent greater than rance and Great Britain united; embracing variety of soil, climate and production. Much the greater part of the country Is yet a wilderness Its natural aslvan- taQes. uOiWifhatandinN ths ,ta which wsyiay the emgrant. are drawing to it q population. When populated, the advantages and benefits flowing therefrom viii be IS great if not greater, 10 Chi, Peru. the Sandwich Islands Mexico. the South American States and the com mercial nations of Europe, than ourselves; be cause nearer and more accessible to them, and separated from Us, if not alienated, by stubborn barriers
 Le. the proposed road be built, and the distance which separates and alienates us will vanish. An ehterpr'siHg, virtuons and patriotic population wA rush onward. Our millions of waste acres will be purchased and peopIed; the manifold resources of the country deveopedE exports and imports fn- calculably augmented; fisheries on the Pacific aided and enlarged; our laws and institutions ex- tended; the naval and military energies and capaci- ties of the country strengthened and ncreased the bonds of fraternity interest and union ceIuented, aud the nation sggrandised Whilst all this is 70. ing on and increasing year after year, at incsI- cuabe rate, for ages to come, each and every eiti zen Of the republic, inevery department of occupa- ton and business, will be benefited. The millions expended in constructing ihe road in great degree will be paid 10 our own citizens. The mechanic in the long line of cities which will be reared will had hew theatre for his exertions. The mercsn- tile and manufacturing population of the north and east. the grain producing States of the west, the 1 cotton planting and surar growing States of the soath, will hnd new, steady, profitable and in essassg nsarke2 for their surplus wares and pFs- dnctions. The benehis flowing to the whofe country-and which have been but barely glanced at-wouid justify the construction of the road were it to cost five fold more than it will.
 w hen it is considered that a railroad te the Pa cine must inevitably open up new thoroughfare to the people of the United States to Europe to aIi nations for their trade aud intercourse with the west coast of this continent, with the Sandwich Islands, with the East lnGies. with China with Japan, with six hundred millions of people; better cheaper, safer and expeditions than any here totore discovered. the domestic view which has been taken of this subject sinks into insgn6eance and the human miud becomes bewitdsred iu con templating the magnitude and grandear of the en- terpriSe. The trade with Asia, with two- thirds of the human race which, il is said, has enriched ail countries that have monOpoized 1t; which has been struggled Tor by maritime nations for centuries over land and sea-over vast deserts, for many thousand miies~-DOw beckons to us and proposes
 In the race we are runBtnG with the commercial nations Of Europe the people of the United States are Coupeleu tO Lahs tue 0utSuA track. GrcdI Britain may be said to have the iusde. and 10 thi- may be traced. in some degree, her maritime pre- ponderaBce. We are indebted to an able report made by Hon. I. Butler King, chairman Of the Committee Naval Affairs to the 3a.h Congress. for very satisfactory table Of distances:
 From Liverpool to Calcutta, via Cape of Good Hope, Il is s,...... l6, 900 miles From New York to Calcutta, via
 Good Hope. e...................l7,0 ,00O From Liverpool! to Canton, via
 Cape HoTn,. 20sGO0 '' From New York to Canton. via
 Cape horn,. rn,........<....,-....2l 2l ,0c0 Y" From Liverpool 10 Valparaiso, via
 Cape Horn. ,......-............lll II leO From New York 10 Valparaiso,
 via Cape Horn, rn,................l2 l2 Goo |" From Liverpool 10 Saa Francisco,
 via Cape Horn. ...........T,5 500 " From New York to san Francisco,
 via Cape Horn,. ,.......+........ l9 poo In Illustrating position. New York has been eeHiTssted with Liverpool If seret our south ern sesports-sad bear in mind that our exports before reaching New York or onr other seaports, charged with inlaud freightage of from one to three thousa nd miles-he disadvantages we con tend with will be apparent. The sat.,e able report adds; [" Great Britain has mol eHy the ports of the coniiaent of Europe hef neighbors, but she is fifteen hundred miles, or two weeks nearer than we are to ali the other ports of the wofld; except the Atlantic ports of tbe American co outne ut north of the equator and the West lndies.' e This difference in favor of British commerce running through our entirc existence as a nation has been most serious obstacle for merchants aud navigators tS contend with, and has oi :iseh been vast item in favor of The profits on Bdtish ! capital"
 l By constructing the proposed road. shall com
 mereiay unite the waters of the Atlantic N ith the | Pseiiic--we shall accomplish enterprise which
 for tl-ee centuries has or less been desired hy i the leading powers of Europe. We shall do what Christopher Columbus attempting V hen he discovered word-fnd a tisret passage to l inc East Indies by going west. We sbaii, fot Eu. ropean commerce. with the of ,his con tineni-wtth the East india and China % in a voyage " out and home sherten the distance more than fifteen thousand miles. We shali enable them 10 GO in ess ihaa ninety days tha. sAich now con- sumes twelve months.
 By opening op this new passage 10 India the United staies will become centralized between the