The North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1834-1850, 1850-05-29

pitch and urpentine cotton, and lumber Of every de-
scrpton and of the finest material. The harbor hat
fourteen feet Of water its bar, nearly equal to tina
Of Charleston, and amply sufficient for the admission
of vessels for the expectation OF its produce has
at all times the greatest quantity of salt, sugar, coffee
and molasses, which it will be able to supply the
whole upper country with at much cheaper rate than
they purchased elsewhere. doubt not when our
Road shall be complete salt will be delivered at any
point short of Greensborough, from 80 to 40 cts. per
bushe The staple products of your county are Prin-
cipally tobacco and wheat; your tobacco, learn, is
now sold in the leaf. manufactured and sent to New
York, and there shipped for a market.
This Road will enable you to reach at small ex-
pense the markets of own State, OF to go South
if you may find it to your interest Your wheat you
sell for GO at home, and send to Petersburg at
cost of 40 cs per bnshe; whereas you will be able
to send it off by the Rail Road at an expense not ex-
ceeding one-ha that sum- and receive in return your
groceries for oneourth the price you now pay. These
are facts not be Denied and from which every farm
er can make his calculations as to his savings
upon every years crop. am no: to be told the freight
charged by our Rail Roads at present do not justify
these stateents-1 admit but even these are much
less than waggoning yet when our great Road shall
be in successful operation and present Roads Pa-
ced in proper order then both travel and freight can
be afforded such reduced rates as will justify what
l have stated. In Georgia the passengers fare mas
been reduced to three cents per mile and freight In
proportion, and the interest Of the Company has been
promoted by the reduction. Cheap fares have been
found to work we'll in New York, as we'll as in the
New England States, and indeed wherever they have
been tried.
Allow me to say word as to this investment by
the State as matter of profit. The freight must be
immense, passing as the Road will directly through
ten of our most productive Countless and carrying off
the produce of at least twelve others.
The way-travel, at low rates, with a population OF
from one to two hundred thousand, must be very
great-to which is to be added the throughtrave and
United States mail. The whole amount cannot fall
short of the estimate of intelligent gentleman. we'll
versed in such matters, to wit gross receipts $45O
OOO-from which. deduct for expenses and repairs
$l5OOOO, which will leave for profit $500 900 year.
ly, or a dividend of at least from 6 to rer cent
From the report of the Georgia Central Road it aP-
pears its gross receipts last year 1868 and
that of the Charleston Road to Augusta still larger
sum. 1t is be recoleced our Road is to be one OF
the connecting links from North to South with these
Roads. When the opponents OF Rali ikoads drect
our attention the CASTOR and Raleigh Road we IN
point to the present prosperous condition OF these
Roads in these objections, and tell them
for such was the fact-that both of these Roads few
years since nearly quite in as bad condition
that of the CASTOR Road But sir. this very Gas
ton Road, in its present situtation shows what
are the decided advantages Of the Rail Road system.
above all other modes of transportation. Take, tor
example. the crops of tobacco raised in Warren and
Granville which for the last season were estimated
at 5000 hogsheads OF this crop at least
were carried to market on this Road and that by the
middle Of April. And yet the past WINTER as you
know, has been a remarkably bad one, so much so
that it would have been nearly impossible tor this
quantity of tobacco to have reached Its market as
early as the present time. And let US see what has
been the saving to the farmers upon this single crop,
in these two Counties. In the first place, the price
of the article has been very high during the whole
season, they have had this advantage In the next
place, there has been saving of from So to ~ 81
on each hogshead, besides what has been gained on
their salt and iron sugar and Coffee And yet, strange
as it may seem, in these Counties, you will find
to a certain extent, the same prejudices against the
Rail Road system as elsewhere. l was told an an
ecdote, which strongly illustrates the extent OF this
prejudice. A farmer in the neighborhood OF the
Warrenton depot, had dispute with the officers of
the Road about a tree, which had been cut off his
land by mistake. He declared in his wrath, the Road
should have no more of his tobacco, but he would
send it to market by wagon. He accordingly en-
gagged wagner to carry three hogsheads TO re-
tersburg at 50 per hogshead. The wagoner. after
travelling few miles, was forced from the badness
of the roads TO throw out one Of the hogsheads and
to send it by the On his arrival at Petersburg
he found the tobacco there, and in the sale by the
commission merchant, there was in the account an
item of 81 90 for freight by the Rail Road The
wagoner forced to explain this item by telling
the fact and that the could have the savings
of 81 80, if he fit to take it. The farmer forgot
his anger, received the money. and as sensible man
resolved not again to be foolish as to send his to-
bacco by a wagner at increased price OF five
dollars. when he could have it carried by Rail Road
Mr.. Chairman, these prejudices against Rail Roads
must give way before the convictions OF the age ihe
example of sister States, we'll as the old world,
bear testimony the utility and advantages OF the sys
tenn refer you to Georgia, with 800 miles OF Road IN
successful operation-to South Carolina, with her
Roads penetrating every part of the State so as TO
bring the produce of every section to its commercial
capitalize Virginia, prosecuting the same policy 10
the extent of her means-to Maryland, with her great
Road from Baltimore across the Alleghanes to the
Ohio river-to New York and Massachusetts,. with
their expenditure Of thousands and their reward OF MIL
ions-to Ohio, and her still younger sister, Indiana
with her 72O miles of Rail Road, complete or in pro-
qress-and to our younger daughter, Tennessee, with
her turnpike roads and her fine navgable rivers, to
which she is now adding Rail Roads. Shall lcross
the Atlantic! You there find the same system carried
on by the most intelligent and enlightened nations, and
that upon much grander scale. England, the most
commercial and calculating nation in the old world,
thouoh she had her thirty thousand miles of turnpike,
has capital of 800 millions of pounds sterling ac-
tuay invested, and 5000 miles of Rail Road com,
plete. In France, Belgium, Prussia, Austria and
Germany, the system is carried on with the same
spirit and the same success Is this not sufficient to
satisfy every one not resolutey determined to resist
the light of the age! Sir we cannot, we should not
longer hesitate, if expect our farmers and men o'
enterprize to share in those advantages whcn the
people of other countries, we'll as our sister States
are now enioying. l ask that you tell me how you
expect the cultvators of our so-our growers OF to-
bacco wheat, and cotton, are to compete with the
farmers and planters of South Carolina on the one
hand and Virginia the other, 1t we shall remain
quiet and Inactive whilst their people are alive
every thing calculated to reward their industry!