The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1850-08-21
RAILROAD DEPARTMENT.

THE materialistic tendency of the age is in
nothing so strkingly exhibited as in the inten-
sty of the desire to diminish the quantity oftime
necessary to pass from one spot of the earths
surface to another. The first railroad charter in
the United States was granted March 4th, 1926,
to Thomas H. Perkins, William Sullivan, Amos
Lawrence, David Moody, Solomon Willard, and
Grizzly Bryant, to convey "granite from the fur
mace lot, and from the granite lodges near said
lot, in Quincy, to Underwater in Quincy, or Mil
ton" The first railroad in the United States,
upon which passengers were conveyed, was the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, chartered Febru-
ary 25th, 1927, and which was opened to Eli
colts Mills, distance of thirteen miles from
Baltimore, December 2Sth, 1929. single
horse was attached to two of Winan's carriages,
containing forty-o persons, which were drawn
with ease, eleven to twelve miles per hour
Several parties of ladies and gentlemen, and al
SO several members of Congress, were present
at the opening. The number of miles ofrailroad
now in operation in the United States is about
seven thousand; eleven hundred of which are IN
the State of Massachusetts; one thousand in the
State of New York. and the remainder in the
States lying east Of the Mississippi. The in
crease of this species of locomotion may be con-
sidered somewhat remarkable, when we consider
that Benjamin Franklin, postmaster Of Philadel-
pha in 1743, in an advertisement dated April
14th of that year, announces "that the northern
post will set out for New York on Thursdays, at
3 o'clock in the afternoon, till Christmas. The
southern postsets out next Monday for Anna
polls, and continues going every fortnight dur
inc the summer season. At that time the post
between Philadelphia and New York went once
a fortnight now there are three daily lines OF
communication between the two cities. The
news of the battle of Bunker Hill was two weeks
reaching Philadelphia. William Ellery, dele
gate in Congress in Ill., occupied from Octo-
Der Goth to November 18th, in journeying on
horseback from Dighton, Mass, to York, Penn.
And Josiah Quincy, father and grandfather of
the mayors of that name, of Boston, spent thirty
three days upon a journey from Georgetown, S.
c., to Philadelphia, in 1878. The Newcastle
(Eng) Courant of October 18th, l712, adver-
tses, that all that desire to pass from Edinboro'
to London, or from London to Edinbro', or any
place on that road, let them repair to Mr.. John
Baltic 8, at the Coach and Horses, at the head
of Cannongate, Edinbro', every other Saturday;
or to the Black Swan, in Holborn, every other
Monday; at both of which places they may be
received in stage-coach, which performs the
whole journey in thirteen days, aoithout any
stoppage, If God permitD having eighty able
horses to perform the whole stage. Each pas
senger paying ga los. for the whole Journey
The coach sets out at six in the morning" Now
there is daily morning and evening train be-
tween the two cities, accomplishing the distance
(377 miles) in eight hours, at fare of e3 5s.-
And it was not till 1925 that daily line of stage
coaches was established between the cities,
accomplishing the distance in fortysix hours.
A letter can now be transmitted from St. Pc
tcrsburg, across an ocean and continent, to
San Francisco, in fifty days; feat which could
not have been accomplished, even so late as a
dozen years since, in less than two hundred
In 1890, the length Of the post-routes in the
United States was 1875 miles; at the present
time, it cannot be less than one hundred and
seventy thousand And in contemplating the
progress which has ensued, tits cause ofhumi-
aton that, as in the instance of other great in
ventions, so many centuries have elapsed during
which the powers of steam, an element almost
within the observation of man, were,
although perceived, unemployed. But reflection
upon the nature of man, and his slow advance
nent in the great path of fact and science, will
1T once hush the expression Of our wondering
regret over the past, while noblcr and more
cheering occupation for the mind offers itself
in speculation upon the future. The Hon. VIM.
Jackson, in a lecture delivered January 18th.
1929, at Boston, before the Massachusetts Char
table Association, stated "that the commission
ers upon the survey of route from Boston to
Albany, presented several calculations upon the
present travel and transportation; and have come
to the conclusion that the net receipts from the
use of the road after deducting expenses Of keep
ing the road in repair will amount to sum ex-
ceeding 100000 year. That the number of
passengers annually passing the road would be
$4,000, and the amount Of goods passing be-
s">>iA oH'oi, AAAoehy, alu Dtl lille SllOrL
Of $4,000 tons" In lo49 the net income of the
Worcester and Western railroads was over o.
million Of dollars; the number of passengers
transported over the Western Railroad was 959,-
o57; and the number of tons of merchandise
over the Western Railroad was 273,-
COS. If such was prophecy, and such is reality,
you may well take courage, good reader: for if
you should live to behold the centennial ami
versary of the battle of Bunker Hill, there will
probably be an hourly train of railroad cars be-
tween New York. Boston, and Philadelphia
daily line to San Francisco; daily line of steam
packets to Liverpool and another to Havana.
BRITISH VESSELS SEARCHING AMERICAN
The following has been taken from letter dated
Rio Janeiro, June 21st
"There are many persons here who antic-
pate trouble between the American and Brit 7
lsh governments, account ofthe unautho- |
rized license taken by the latter in boarding and
searching American vessels. An American