The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1851-08-28
River Mails.

and OF course, OF man correspondence, -
north and south, between ,iiiferen, parallels
Of latitude rather than cart and west, be-
tween different parallels of longitude be-
cause 'atifudes moro than loDgiiudes, vary
natural productions ami exchnngabls COM
inodites, aflording commercial material to
transport. Some causes have operated and
are operating to reverse this natural law Of
trade abd communication, on our continent
The capital of the northern Atlantic cities,
their indom'tahls business energy, the con-
ceu,ration there, Of nearly all the foreign
Commerce of North America, their gigantic
works OF internal Improvement reaching out
westward, their manufactures, MI these
causes combined, draw our trade eastward
across rivers and MOUNTAINS. Nursing sla-
very and the plantation, the South has left
Commerce & Manufactures, TO her North
ern rival, and state after state and territory
after territory, in aud beyond the valley 81
the Mississippi, Is drawn into the absorbing
vortex of New York commerce. The
South certainly cannot he blind 10 The fact,
that all the states Of the Mississippi valley,
are her natural customers and that she
ought 20 be their customer. With this no =
hle river, upon the bank of which we are
now writing, penetrating this continent from
the Gulf of Mexico TO a high northern lati-
tu'le, navigahle by large steamboats, TO ST.
Paul. and spreading on, navigable trbuta-
ries 10 all direct;ons--wirh the products OF
every cline, growing abnndanlly upon its
shores inviting an exchange, and unbound
Ell resources Of coal and other mineral
wealth in its banks, it seems incredile that
there should he so it,ls trade anil inter-
course 6etw een the extrernes--that we fur
nish so little to rhs South, and that the
South furnishes so little to us-that every
pound of their cotton, comes to us through
| the Eastern cities-that New Orleans buys
her potatoes, my, even her ice, of New
| England-that we never obtain from there
as we ought to obtain, abundant supplies,
lay steamboats,, Of lemons, oranges, pine
nipples, bananas and oil other tropical fruits,
in exchange fer our poultry, eggs, butter,
cheese, veal, laml's, ana every other pro-
due, in which the North West abounds.-
II our trade with The South were once open
ed as it ought to he, no, all the railroads
thar could be built between the Eastern cit
les and the. Mississippi, could ever divert
The main current of trade out Of its natural
channel up and down The great valley. To
open this trade properly, some things ought
to be done by Congress, which have been
long, shamefully neglected, in a way that
The North West will be likely to remember,
in the day Of its approaching power. If
hundreds of thousands Of dollars, can I've
paid for transporting mails from New York
to San Francisco, or any where else coast
wise, that may he desired, is il not high
time to establish ma;lboats, regular, rapid
mail boats, between New Orleans aud ST.
Paul, through the very heart Of the CONT
nens! Such bonts, Of light draught and
with powerful engines, should be construct
ed so as to carry the mails through, from
! New Orleans to Saint Paul in Q days, sup
plying all important Offices along The river,
carrying passengers and such precarious
! tropical fruits as the trade would soon be
! found to afford an abundant market for, and
returning again to New Orleans in 8 days
more, with mails and passengers, and such
Injuries Of our northern cline, as,would be
found most saIeable in the South Three
such boats IN commission, would supply
regular weekly mails, the whole length of
the river, at no great cost to the Govern
ment; and would soon make this great river
one of the most lucrative mail routes on the
continent-we should then have vastly more
intercourse by travel, between the South
and the North w est-with this regular and
rapid mail communication, instead of send
ing and receiving our New Orleans cores
pondence via New York, our business OPP
eratioDs South, would be vastly facilitated
and new articles OF trade would be excbang-
ell, of great aggregate value. But another
Thing auxiliary to this river trade, Con-
gress ought 10 do in justice to The South
and the North West: and that is, to make
ample, immediate appropriations. to rem
der navigation practicable, safe aud easy,
a, all stages Of water, across the Upper and
the Lower rapids of the Mississippi. II
we were member of Congress, we would
thunder for this in the ears of Congress,
loud enough to shake down the walls OF
the Capitol. Give US mails. Give us un-
obstructed navigation. Give us access to
our natural market. The West asks this
of the East and of the South. You will
lose nothing by being just md even gener-
Gus TO The West. Remember ! day of
reuibuIion is at hand, when the Grea,
West will "make up her jewels"
The Peoria people behaved nobly on the
occasion of The terrible accident " hich hap
pened there Saturday week, to the steamer