Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1855-05-01
NASHVILLE AND NORTH WESTERN RAILROAD
COL. GARDENERS SPEECH

We rarretted to see so few of our citizens present
to hear this gentleman on Saturday night at the
Court House-al;ogether we have never heard a
more conclusive speech the subject Of Railroads
and regret that cannot report it in full, as we
could not take notes, or indeed devoteeo much
space to it We shall therefore conine ourselves
to rapid sketch of some of his leading points.
COL G. spoke of Railroads as the improvement
OF the sge-polhic1ly, commercially and in mill
tary point of view.
He stated that in the last % years the the United
States had constructed about D. 600 miles OF rail-
way, more than ell the rest Of the world and at
cost Of between and zoo millions-he regretted
that his native State, Tennessee had as yet done
so little in Railways and proceeded to point out,
clearly and concusively the increase in the value OF
Real Estate AMI population of number of States,
which had embarked most extensively in this kind
of improvement. We cannot here give his stats
tics, but we doubt not that were they printed and
in the hands of our citizens generally, they would
set them to thinking. They tended to show most
clearly an immense profit to the several States it,
stanoed by bin, derived from official reports
Tennessee the fifth State of this Union showing the
ty had increased Orer sirty million Of dollars
even under The great disadvantage of the want of
improYements-thus showing what iadust,y could
do, even in the absence of enterprise.
The speaker next alluded to number Of cities
which had been built up by railways, giving their
Increase in commerce and population by the census
returns; amongst others be mentioned Chicago as
L,v,r0 mine ,,;tb .k.I
by rail-Mlwaukie, Toledo indianapolis and Column
bus. He asserted that no city could ever attain
hereafter any very great commercial importance
without such improvements-even if situated on
lake or sea shores or the best navigabe streams
Alluded to the uncertainty Of the navigation Of the
Cumberland river, annually becoming less reliable,
and spoke of the great importance of the Nashville
and North Western Railroad as bringing Nashville
into correction with the Tennessee and Mississippi
rivers, with the former about eighty miles in dis
tance, and at point where never less than three
feet Of water was known. He spoke of the i'm
1nense trade of West Tennessee now almost ex-
clus,vely enjoyed by Cincinnati, Louisville and St
Louis, and Of that section as being almost sierra
facogHit to Nashville He demonstrated clearly that
Nashville with railway connection would get very
nearly the whole Of this trade, the Ohio and upper
Mississippi being subject to obstruction by low water
and ice fer large portion of theyear while his road
offered transportation every day in the year of gro
cees AMI other goods-facilities Of transportation
he said, were all that was needed to secure all
their benefits to Nashville.
He sad and very truly, as we think, that with
out manufactures Nashville would never be city
of $4,000 inhabitants-to make Of her a manufac-
turing city he spoke of cheap supplies OF coal by
the Nashville and Chattanooga, and Nashville and
Henderson RailrOad-of iron by the Nashville and
North Western road, and of lumber and cheap sub
sistence by all the roads radiatng from this city
He urged the completion Of al, and especially of
his road. We hope orr city will think well and
wisely Of these things.
Weunderstand Col. GARDNER designs to speak
sgain on Wednesday night at o'clock, at Engine
House, No 4, Capitol Ill., and we hope he will
have good audience. Let every one attend.