Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1855-11-02

/. thus appears, that IN the House OF
nearly the same number Of members, New
York has in twenty years lost I, and this
State 3, while Ohio has gained ,, and that
Pennsylvania during the period gained
steadily on her northern neigLbor.
Taking the last period: while Pennsyl-
vania gained !, New York lost and Ohio
remained stationary.
What, then, will be the course in future
years? To enable US to answer this ques-
tion, it is necessary that We inquire into the
causes of the rapid increase of New York,
as compared with ourselves, and how far
those causes now exist in relation to either
State.
New York was admirably situated, The
Hudson cut the Allegheny range Of noun
,ains, and to enable her to afford to large
portion of her population the advantages
Of cheap transportation, it was required
only that she should make the Erie Canal
through a country as favorably situated for
the purpose as ary Of similar extent per-
haps in the world. The canal brought with
il, both manufactures and trade. Towns
grew up, and were enabled to make their
respective shares of railroad from Albany
to Buffalo, and next branches were made
in every direction, opening up nearly all
the counties throughout much more than
half the State The city grew, and next
came the Erie railroad, giving two routes
through the State; and then branches were
again made, and the result was, that, at
the last census, nearly every county IN the
State had already been placed within few
hours distance Of its capital city.
With us, it was far otherwise. While
our neighbors could readily and cheapiy
turn the mountains, We were required to
scale them, and to do this in defiance of a
federal policy that had, time and again,
destroyed almost all the men among US
who had exerted themselves for the dcvel
opment Of thc great mineral resources of
the State. The consequence Of this was,
that at the date of the last census, the only
single line of railroad that crossed the State
was the one leading from Trenton to Will
mington, and all the remaining ones,
exclusive of those within the coal region .
and intended as feeders for the Reading
railroad and Schuylkill and Pennsylvania
canals. consisted of those from the city to
Columbia, Reading and NorristowE. Sc
veral others had been partly constructed,
but the companies had failed, and the
roads hAd been in great degree abando-
ned. There, then, only five years since,
existed no single road by which men could
pass from east to west within the State;
and when the judges Of our Supreme Court
had to meet in this city, four out Of five
ce them were obliged to 60 outside Of the
State, two of them coming here by way of
New York, and two by Baltimore.
In the time that has since elapsed, how
ever, there has come total change Cover {
the spirit of our dream" and, instead Of
being obliged to go outside of the State {
ourselves, all Of our neighbors are seeking i
to make their way through it. The Cen t
,ral road has given US a line to the Ohio, ]
aud made Pittsburg the center of great .
network of roads, by which our State has i
been rendered one of the most important L
channels Of communication between the d
East and West The reading line has +
been eHteuIe1 :. Ca'.av;.,l, ,Wi.l.ansI, ri, il