New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-01-21
FROM WASHINGTON.
Wh,tney,s Railroad Contey Prisoners-tsa-
Dor NaphegyI and the spanish minister
c..-...-.-A.,,-. NJ The Tribune.

WASHINGTON, Saturday Jan 10.
Mr.. WHIrSEY delivered bis lecture on his "a
cifc Railroad project at the Capitol last evening
to a very respectable audience. His explanation
of the project, its opening Of the vast commerce
of the East, now to great extent mon0Polized
BY England its feasibility; the pecuniary and
other advantages accruing to the United States in
consequence of the settlement Of the Great West
incident upon the building Of the Road the in
creased value of Public Lands, and hnaily It's alb
solute necessity as a measure Of self defense, in
view ofthe new channels which commerce isseek-
ing-sll these objects, urged with considerable
degree of force and ingeniously comminsled with
the inherent sublimity of the theme ITSELF made
the lecture quite a taking affair
The principle upon which he proposes TO pro-
coed, that Of building the road with the proceeds
of the sale of alternate sections OF land, Is tue
same which Congress has adopted Ia otner IN
stances The only difference being In the nun
Der of miles width granted Such route as the
one proposed. through q new country, would OF
course require a very heavy outlay. Those who
care 10 calculate it can arrive at the reasonable
ness of the proposed scheme for themselves, by
calculating the cost of a road, say 1900 miles
long at $50 900 per mile, for instance, or whatever
the average cost Of railroads may be, and then
miles long by 90 wide Ii must be remembered,
in considering the above estimate of 81 per acre,
that no small proportion of the land is utterly
valueless The Government price, as every body
knows is 81 25. The Government, Mr.. Whitney
proposes, shall hedge itself around with wall OF
guarantees in addition to the main provisions OF
the contract.
The one great leading objection which appears
to this project u.s. that should thecontractor be I'M.
able 10 find market for the lands be progressed
il might nger for this cause foryears, as he would
have no capital to use in anticipation OF future
avails.
Should the Government undertake the work
upon the principle of appropriating alternate sec
tiops. il would have the means of proceeding with
it and could wait little for the lands to increase
in value If the lands are placed beyond its reach
in private hands by a contract impossible TO be
fulfilled, there would be dim prospect OF any
road within the existence OF the present genera
ton 1t is possible however, that 1t may be better
10 let Mr. WHITNEY try il, If there is no prospect
of its being done in any other way, as Congress
might come to his relief in any event as last re-
sort As an incidental advantage it would put
more land in the hands of actual settlers than any
land scheme yet devised as project Tor national
advancement its consequences are too gigantic 70
be conceived.
II will appear, when Senator BENToN's call for
the correspondence with reference 20 the CCntoy
Prisoners is answered, that the Spanish Govern.
ment promptly released them at the request OF
Mr. WEBSTER. The potency Of Mr. WEBSTER
request was a consequence OF his speech IN the
Senate last session, rebuking the Cuban propen-
sites of Senator YULER, and the maraudIng dis
position ofthe abettors of the Cuban invasion.
The Spanish Minister has recently been zone
out, of 81 POO by spurious Hungarian Patriot
lecturer named NAPHEGYI, on pretense of discov
ering another Cuban Expedition Rather expen
sive hoax. WoUTER Won TwILLER.