The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-05-21
Tn. Pr..,dsnt's Progress.
IcoaREspospsscE OF THE REPUBLIC
New YORK, MAY IL.

of the Presidential tour westward, and the incl
dents of the Inauguration of the Erie railroad,
has taken off the sharp edge of expectation, and
deprived all the historiographers Of these great
events from astonishing newspaper readers by
narratives of the sayings and doings that took
place during the accomplishment OF the great fact
of the opening Of the road.
One Of the great delights of the imposing cele-
bration was, that grand ceremony, in which
the actors the PREsIpEsr of the United States,
and some of the most distinguished men of the Re-
public, should be completely ceremonie. But,
if there was no ceremony, there was no necessity
for it; and as formality is only an incumbrance,
when good behavior il an instinct,
happily too practical people to adopt any of the
dead usages OF the past, from which no present
proftcan be reaped The only mark of distinction
bestowed upon the PREsrDENr was placing him in
CAR the roof Of which decorated with "bits of
striped bunting;" his only attendants servant
to look after his luggage, and private secretary
But there needed nothing more to distinguish him
from the other guests this occasion than the
thusiastc greetings which he everywhere received,
and the cordial good feeling and manly respect
which all his fellow passengers accorded to him. AT
Dunkirk, where everybody except the President
and Mr.. WEBSTER slept on board OF the steam
boats which the railroad company had chartered,
it particularly edifying to the polished and
gentlemanly SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, and the
bland POSTMASTER GENERAL, good noturedly fall
into the ranks, and with genuine democratic sim
plicity wait for their turn at the public wash bowl
and towel. During the whole route there was not
the slightest evidence of GOODNESS or incivility
manifested towards either Mr.. FILLMORE or the
gentlemen of his Cabinet who accompanied him;
and if there be any political hostility to him along
tha If pfieaty tha
verses, il was sectually suppressed on his appear
ance. His fine commanding form and agreeable
address at once gained him the sympathetic
CARDS of the people who then saw him for the first
time. The only act Of rudeness which witnessed
during our two days. journey on the road, was
| committed am sorry to say, by one of the gentle
| sex. At one of the small towns where stopped
to water, in the beautiful valley of the Chemung,
| after the PRESIDENT and MIR. CRITTENDsN had
made short addresses to the people, there was still
a craving for more speeches and, 1t having been
noised about that ex. Governor Seward in one
of the cars, there n call for that gentleman,
who directly stepped out upon the platform As
soon he commenced speaking, pruce-lookng
lady, with pink hat, who stood near, gave dis
dainful toss of her head, and saying. loud enough
| for the Senator to hear, "Who wants to hear a
woolly!" walked of to the other end of the train
This was the only exhibition of political nsperiy
| that saw heard of; and the only instance of
rudeness the part of the crowds who gathered at
the stations we passed to greet the rstran through
and pay their respects to the Chief Magistrate of
the Union.
One cannot but be struck with the difference be-
| tween the ceremonies of opening the Glass Palace
to the public in London and the ceremonies Of open
ing the Erie railroad. The queen, with all the
pomp and parade which belong to regal authority
surrounded by soldiers and men. at arms heralded
| by trumpets and blazing with diamonds, assisted
at the opening of the temporary show; while the
! President, dressed in plain suit of black, with
nothing to distinguish him from any other citizen
unaccompanied by guards, mingled socially and
unostentatiously in the crowd, who had been invited
with him to assist in the opening of the longest
icst, and most important railroad that has yet been
constructed upon the face of the earth.
The Glass Palace would be an insignificant object
by the side of the magnificent Stavacca Viaduct
over which the Erie railroad passes; and the road
itself, in its relations to tho world, makes the great
glass house appear in comparison but mere toy.
| Among the gentlemen who assisted at the "nau-
guration" Commodore Penny, whom, be-
| lieve, have not before alluded to. AS we were
rushing at the rate of foGty five miles hour
| a bridge that spanned deep ravinc, whose sides
locks, the commodore observed to Governor GRA-
that he could not help thinking of the accident
on board the Princeton, when President TYLER and
his Cabinet were out on experimental excursion.
The mention Of the Princeton just at that moment
| caused rather uncomfortable sensation, and a
gentleman who sat near observed that sitting be.
| tween a commodore and member of the Cabinet
was too suggestive OF danger; so no stepped into
the next car to avoid the possible consequences of
| mishap.
| My engagements not permitting me to remain
from home longer than Saturday, ! was reluctantly
forced to decline an invitation to accompany the
President and his suite to Buffalo, where genuine
western welcome awaited them; SO was fain to
join tho company of exilcs from Erie who, to the
| number Of about two hundred and fifty, turned
| their backs upon the waters of the great in
land ocean and rushed eastward to the Atlantic
The route back was almost brilliant and joyous
as it had been in going TO the Lake; and those who
stopped to rest at Elmira and Binghampton were
feted in the most liberal and hearty manner by the
hospitable people of those beautiful towns.
Among tho passengers out to the lake, apart
from the Presiden. and the members of his Cabinet
who were the real lions Of the occasion, no one ap-
peared to awakcn more interest, or produce SO de-
cided an impression, Senator DOUGLAS, from
Illinois. He prophecied that within twelve years
many of those who then accompanied him would
join him in making the first trip on railroad to
San Francisco; and, although he was laughed at, at
first, he succeeded in convincing the sceptical Of
the reasonableness, if not certainty, of his prophe
cy The Senator can hardly be called enthusi-
asst; but his cool calculations, and seemingly exact
estimates of what must inevitably happen in car
rying forward the great works of internal improve
ment, which have all received an impetus from the
completion of the Erie railroad have the magnets
ing effect Of enthusiasm upon his auditors, and
gain him converts among class of men whom
mere enthusiasm could never touch.
The PREsrpENr ia expected here on Wednesday,
on his way to the capital, much to the dsappoint-
ment of his friends in New England, who had been
anticipating visit from him. S. X. S.
/ From the Philadelphia american and Gazette.
The Treasury Department..
Our private dispatches from Washington on