Mississippi palladium. [volume] (Holly Springs, Miss.) 1851-1852, 1852-03-04

nessee, passing through the North-easi
corner of our State. When our citi.
zens complained of this act of injus-
tice, the President of the company
$50 he stated in a public speech in Hol
! ly Springs) without the order of the
board of directors, placed corpse o
engineers on the Holly Springs route
who passed over it very hastily and
imperfectly, and then the chief engi
neer went on to make out his estirna.
tes, and recommended the Lagrange
route, for the reason that it was IC
miles nearer, and would cost $685..
900 less than the route chartered Dy
the Mississippi Legislature in 1850,
through Holly Springs.
In January, 1851. taesboard of ti-
rectors met at Huntsville to locate the
road, at which time there was no di.
rector present from Mississippi
There were there, however, delegates
from the counties Of Marshall, Tippah
and Tishamingo, who endeavored tc
convince the board that Justice had not
been done the Mississippi route; and
they proposed TO the board to have il
rcsurveyed at once, at our own ex-
pense, without delaying the operations
of the company. They were inform
ed by the board that no new survey
could change their determination and
the board went on, in the face of their
remonstances, to make contracts for
building the road by Lagrange.
A convention was held at Ripley, in
March 1851, composed of delegates
from the counties of TiShamingo, Tip
pah. Pontotoc and Marshall, and this
convention proposed re-survey OF
the Mississippi route: and if it should
turn out to be impracticable or un-
profitable, by reason of an increase in
cost and distance over the Lagrange
grange route, without any remunera-
tive increase of income or traffic, then
we would withdraw our opposition, and
let the company build the road where
they pleased.
In July, 1851, the board of direc-
tors met again, at Florence. in Ala
bama, and the proposition was sub
mitted TO them again in writing, that
they might fix a tine for themselves !;
and if the citizens of North Mississip-
pi did not, within that time, raise $780,
900, in addition to about 100000 in
stock that our people had already Ia
ken, we would then hold our peace,
and they could go on to build the road
where they wished to. This PROPOSE
ton was also rejected by the board of
directors.
The citizens of Memphis, after the
subject had been discussed on both
sides, in public meeting in May, 1851,
decided in favor Of the justice of our
claims, by passing resolution in favor
of a re-survey of Holly Springs route.
Two of the most influential newspa-
pers published in Memphis, the En-
quirer and the Express, openly and
warmly advocated our claims. linen
ton these facts to show that our course
is not dictated by factious opposition
to this great enterprise, because we
could not control it to suit our whims
and prejudices; but that others, and
they not interested, at least in our be-
half, thought that we had right and JUS
tice on our side of the question.
The effect of building the road where
the company wish to build if, would
be to break up the communication now
existing between our Northern coun-
ties by means of the daily stage, to
transfer our capital our population,
our trade and our revenues over into
Tennessee. The effect of running a
railroad upon the border of State, as
is proposed in this case, is very differ
ent from running one directly out OF
one State into another, or OF running
a road through different points in the
same State. In these cases, the State,
as whole, receives the same amount
of benefit; and it is only a question
whether one portion or another OF her
own citizens shall be most benefited
But in the cese of this road ,othe ques-
ton is, whether Mississippi and her
citizens, or Tennessee and her citizens,
shall reap the benefit. The State of
Virginia, under similar circumstances,
forced the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-
road TO run within half mile of the
Ohio river, and keep within that dis
tance of the river some twelve miles TO
Wheeling, without ever being permit
ted to touch the river or form depot.
Pennsylvania, in the case Of the great
New York and Erie Railroad, which
run for considerable distance near
her borders, when the road was forced
to 60 some twenty miles within her ter
ritory, compelled the company to pay
her $4,000 per annum for this right of
way through these twenty miles OF her
territory.
If this road runs on the chartered
route of 1880, it will benefit 36,69S
more of our citizens, than it would on
the Lagrange route; il will extend its
influence to nearly 100000 acres of
land that it would pot upon the other
route. According to authentic statics,
the gain by running this road upon the
Mississippi route would be. in ten
years,
Adding to our population, $4,000
Increase in value Of lands, $3,7I5,S4O
Increase of taxable property 100000
Increase in products. 81 900
Saving in the cost OF
transportation. ...2OO,OOU