Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1850-04-02
From the London Times.
Direct Calais and MOaitan Railway.

The people of This country have been
recently edited by an American project
for connecting New York and the isle OF
Wight by a submarine electric telegraph.
Perhaps some of our readers experienced
liule jealousy at this signal display OF
enterprise and daring on the pant OF our
brelhren in The States. fsO, we can ca
silly restore their equanlmily for we assure
them no scheme ever yet conceived, eth
er at Washington or New Orleans, makes
any approximation in grandeur or audaci-
ty to a well-considered and elaborate
prospectus now lying before u.s. The OBJ
iect of this plan is, to be sure, nothing more
or less than simple line ofrallway, but
this line is 10 connect, by direct and
permanent way, the two stations OF Gala
is and Moultan.
Allowing few minutes for the subsl-
dence of the incredibly and bewiIdermenl
which such proposal will create, even
in mines familiarsed with the eXpanslbll-
irv of lrunk-lines, and the intrepidIty OF
projectors, we may proceed to make Tue
scheme lille more comprehensive Dbl
ficuties, ii is said, vanish when you close
with them, and perhaps some of those al
ready rising in the readers mind may
wear less formidable aspect when con-
templated from a nearer point oi view
I'm point Of fact, the distance between Eng
land and Tndiais of very fabulous andar-
ri6cial character, II used to be called 10,
600. ID 900 or even $4,000 miles. The
time consumed N traversingit has varied
from nine months TO three. Sir Arthur
Wellesley modestly stipulated for four,
rs the limit of the period within which
there should be always steady and con-
slant communication between Portsmouth
and Calcutta. AT the present time The
Journey from Bombay to Southampton is
usually performed in some 80 or 40 days
and there seems to be abundance OF room
lnr still further shortening the transit
For, after all, when we look at the plain
facts of the case, India is only some few
hundred miles further from us than !hr
United States, though we have come 10
consider the latter country as lying at our
doors, while we still regard the former as
one of the uttermost paris Of the earth.--
From Spithead to New York it is 2,S20
miles; Osrend to Hyderbad, on the Indus,
ii is only 3,8O5.
Most certainly nobody has ever looked
npon one of these lonIntys IS being only
600 miles longer than The other. but if
tie :. Direct Calais and Moultan" ever
comes into operation, the longer will be-
come actually the shorter Of the tTO.-
Now let us look at the several stages of
rhis very edifying journey. In the first
place instead of starring from Calais or
OstPnd. we NAV start frnm Vienna. for up
to that pontra lway communications MAY
he considered as alTeady y comp Plete. From
Vienna the line is, or was, arluaily open
to Pesth, but there We are stopped, and
the next step, therefore, is to carry 1t as
directly as possible 10 COnstaniinople.--
For this purpose it is projected TO take
due southwald course from Pesth, through
the valley between the Theiss and TIE
Danube, crossing the latter river little
below the junction Of the Drave, and en-
tering the European territories ofTurkey
lust bv Belgrade. From this point 10 Cos
,tantinonle intervcnes distance OF about
500 miles, over which The line will run
aronC the valley of the Danube, pretty
nearly + Nicopolis, when il viii make q
soulhward bend 10 cut the Balkan, apPa-
ren,ly bv pass of its own, llt,Ie north
west of Eskisara. After this the course
through Adrianople TO the Bosphorus Is
clear enough, and so we stand a; length
ON the BORDERS Of Europe and Asia, with
abou, one. third ofthe whole journey ac-
compIished, and 2,4OO miles remsining
before us-a lOngish stage, certainly, bui
not longer than will be in actual opera
ton in The United States before five years
are out.
Turkey in Asia is now to be traversed
from angle to angIe-Scutari TO Basra--
saving nothing, for the present, aboni Ihe
Straits. The line VIII pass over he mem
orable field OF Argora, The scene oil Bsla
ze,'s d f.al. and will then shoot With the
s,r.;,nes. Of an arrow between the El-
oh ates and the Tigris-the ancient reg
on f Mesopotorria. The ruins and relics
oc Nineveh will be brought close 10 hand.
Pabvlon and 3 ,gdad cana"t fail Of bemg
a1ract We stations, even for those who stop
sbor, Of Susa and EcbamHa; and, belore
we have well recovered from the sensa-
lions occasiUhed by the scenery, we shall
find ourselves on the coast of PersiAnGulf,
about > 500 hundred miles from our start
inc MORT IN the Channel. For the last
200 leagues the read wElhssc Iainthroygh