Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1851-02-19


inpeded By snow aud ice1 The obs,rtetons %
navigation BY way Of The New York csnslsb iess
&c: show an average or the last twenty yeap l2l
days for each year, and that the Hudson obs,ruc-
ed ninety-one days on the average for the sane pc
Rod. On the Pennsylvania works the Instructions
will be sboas the same as Of lllA6{adson. Will any
one pretend to argue that any Improvement subjecs
10 such drawback, and these al The minimum num-
bcr of days. can compete with an improvement such
as otrsi Cerainly nol.. Besides the advantage We
possess in an uninterrupted use Of our improvements
in the winIer, compare The difference in The cos, Of
construction, the cost Of right of way, the wear and
tear, motive power, depo.s &c. in our favor, Over
any Of The Improvements North of ours. Il is as
certainsd now beyond all question, that our slave
labor is decidedly, cheaper than free labor to tho
North in building Railroads, &c. il can be proeur-
ed at about half the price usually paid to whe Iasot
ere, and is rsIiabls not subject to strikes, riots,
&c. Consult If you choose any Of the intelligent
contractors on tie Lynehbufg aud Tennessee road,
as the truth Of this assertion. The land damages
ON this Central route will be scarcely worthy ofcon-
sideraiion, vixen compared with the heavy amounts
paid TO the Norh where lands are much more vslu.
able. The physical difficulties on this route, inclu-
ing the tunnel and the heaviest masonry, bridging,
cutting, &c. along the Valley Of New River, and
scaling the AIleghanies. dwinde into insignifcance,
when you compare them with those which were en-.
countered, and SO successfully. overcome, by New
York enterprise in building the New 7 ork and Erie
or Dunkrk Railroad This road is some 300 miles
IN length, and extends through the Southern counties
Of the State, and the most mountainous portion Of
New York. Time forbds my going into detail Of
its cost-and if the immense difficulties overcome
in cutting through mountains Of solid rock, building
parape walls Of incredible height and thickness a
long precipitous clifs-5ridgins innumerable mount
ain streams with impetuous and Irresistible torrents
that required spans of unhcard-of length One al.
most shudders at the idea Of being carried at tho
rate of 45 miles an hour over such q wild and pic
uresque country, as ,ha, penetrated by this road
a country, too, differing much from that penetrated
BY the Virginia Central Road. In this, there are no
rich deposits Of soal, and iron, and SALT which await
Developments aud in immediate proximity to the road.
There are no fountains Of fe-res:oring wafer, that
bubble up and sparkle in every glen, for hundreds Of
miles by the way side, inviting ihs invalid and tho
care worn from the hamlet aud the palace ta seek
health and pleasure IN their chrystaI depths There
are none Of the immense slopes of productive and
fertile land Of the valley and tho uplands, inviting
the herdsmen and vine dresser, every where 10 b
found between this and the beautiful Ohio, on this r
rie aud Dunkrk road All isbleak and barren in COM
parison: yel the mine Of wealth is al it's Western
less products Of the Valley Of The Mississippi And
this. Mr.. Speaker, is the golden fleece for which So
many "Argonarc expeditions" are fitting out. Shall
wait until the opportunity to recover j; is lost 10
us3 would earnestly hope not.
II Boston, which lies remote, can successfully
compete with New York. force her to enlarge her
capacities TO reap This immense trade, and expeud
millions on millions herself to obtain portion OF it,
will we not find it to our interest 10 stretch our
hand aud pluck, as we may do, she largest portion
of il
If New ! ork, with countless millions invested iB
her Albany and Erie Railroad and Erie Canal, finds
the latter too SMALL and necessity to widen it to
ship canal, to float that commerce to her wharves,
but must needs build an iron road along her bulling
cliffs If all these conduits are insufficient, and the
Hercuean work Of building the Dunkirk Railroad
must yet be incurred, why, lie. me inquire, will Vir-
gnia set with folded arms, until the opportunity IL
Iost1 If Pennsylvania will invest in her great Gen.
tral Canal and her Psburg Railroad. the millions
they cos 10 pour part Of this trade upon Phladel.
phia will Virginia be safe in spending the pa,ry sum
Of Ten, millions Gf il cos, SO much in building up
her own townss
I Maryland, noble ille Mary land, God bless her,)
heardly large enough to constitute, John Randolph
would say, an extensive pea-pa.ch, will ponr ou,
upon the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Bal,i.
more and OHIO Railroad the millions necessary 10
their construction, will Virginia suffer her Canal and
this Central Road to terminate abruptly against The
Allegheny
II South Carolina-,he noble chivalric Palmetto
State-will vapour and talk large about dissolving
this Union, yet at the same time spend millions 10
rive, the chains which bind her to II, in securing 10
Charleston parof the commerce Of the Great Valley
will Virginia-,his good old mother Of us all-con-
tinue to languish and pine and loose her Federal
strength, when by acting op different policy, she
might regain her pristine inatences Shall Georgia,
too build up Savannah--dot her territory over with
factories, enhance The value OF her lands, bring out
her hitherto a.en, minerals, and increase her popua
tion by spreading network Of ofraiIroads-the main
arteries Of which stretch away towards the MIssis-
sppi,whs. Virginia contents herself in adopting oil
Imaginable kinds of resolutions boasting OF her past
r.nown, and usurps the place Of Congress in drsct.
inS the affairs OF the General Government
Suffer me 10 revert again 10 the immense induee-
ments held out to US, to do now and to do promptly,
what we ought to have done long since. Kentucky
and Ohio have been anxiously watching our legsla-
ion, as it regards this connection win the Ohio
They will not continue in the uncomfortable sus-
pense OF hope deferred They will find connections
with the road North and South OF us-and trace
once diverted into these channels cannot be wrssied
from them. St. Louis and Chicago wiIlsoon be con-
neced with Cincinnati, by Railroads now in pro-
gress Of construction. ST. Louis 10 connecting hide
pendence, too, with the Mississippi. Build this Gen.
trail Road, and you will have more than one third Of
the grand Atlantic and Pacific Railroad hnishsd,whicb
must, a, no distant day, connect Norfolk, and San
Fancsco. Look atthe map, and you will find that
Norfolk, ST. Louis, SANTA Fe and San Francisco are
all between The 37h and 39th degrees Of North la.i-
tude Let Chicago or S. Louis either be the termi-
nus, or rather the commencing point Of that road.
which must and piH be rnade, and extend to San
Francisco or San Diego, and you will Ind the COM
merce Of the world poured over Il to Norfolk. II
must be so Iii. proposition TOO plain to reonire
demonstration. Europe and Africa are on one side
Of us, Asia on the other Europe three thousand
miles. with population Of 260,00OOO0: A.i. on The