New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1857-01-26
fFron the London Post, Dec 81
Tne French Government and tn Ala to

| From the London Post, Dsc ss1 s5
The French Government ana Il. Aia 70
Railways - X : -
M Rouher, the French Minister for Pubic works.
Commerce and Agriculture, has addreesed ~ the
Emperor report on what has been done IN railwavs
up to the present time, and what is needed for tie
current year. II closes by recommending the an1oapt
to be sanctioned as the issue Of new scrip for 1857
small when compared with the gigantic capitals of
our great railway companies, but i isa great sign Of
health and activity that 50 Considerable an amount
should be considered in works OF this nature under
the existing circumstances of France.
This is wide difference between the effect and
the power Of our insuIar railways and the great con-
tinent lines Of France-lines which open the routes
to the Mediterranean and the Adriatic on the one
side. and the Baltic on the other A man may
90 now by railway five hundred and fourteen miles
and go thence across the most beautiful country IN
through Frankfort, Berlin and Pomernia to bant-
zic, OF be may visit Warsaw o. Cracow. With al AL
the Pyrenees, Paris is now in direct railway COM
munication. There can be no doubt that this vast
mass Of money laid down in iron and expended in
steam is Of the great signs Of the prosperity Of
country The progress of railway works Of real utility
is at once the symptom Of health and the source Of
vgor. The rapid communication between towns that
istence-the quick interchange ofideas between men,
foreignefs by natural posion-are the great civzes
of the world. Those who can command the lines
where the quick pulse Of the steam engine coins gold
on the iron rail- do most in the advancement of their
age. In England we have business, commerce, I'M
portant manufactures, vast exportations all packed
transit is everything to Us. We are using our utmost
energy and strength to be quicker than our neighboss
to make productions available before all Others,
BY the speed with which we turn them out Our
lines true command great routes ofcontinentaI
travel but they are the channels BY which We reach
every corner of the globe. II j. no wonder, therefors
that for years past the face Of our country -
covered every available quarter with network q
iron-that the scream Of the railway whistle s heard
in places which would have been pronounced impracs
ticable Of old-that the sea is brdged over by the
Till France enjoyed firm government, which
knows what it will do and sees how it is to be done,
very little effected in commanding the great lines
which it possesses. In February, 1S4S the extent OF
the line worked was ], $50 kilometres, Or about 125I
miles,. 1t remained stationary during the time of
trouble-during the three years Of doubt, of msgv
ing, Of agitation succeeded that date. Enter
prise slept and money was grasPed tightly by al J!po
| could eommandit, when one knew for day what
Commerce was parayzed. From 1851 till 1854 very
different state Of things arose. A. the END OF ls54
the line worked had increased to s05 miles In the
Of 1850 the great trunk ans nom q Il, aara 20
rapid road for the commerce of the Mediterranean.
We learn further from the report that the extent OF
line remaining tG be finished a sa at hs q
IL 250 about 1855 miles out OF 03O in progress.
1t is curious to observe how instantly and how GER
tainy the Improvement in the government OF France
acted on the investment Of money in railway works.
From lS4S to 1851 the annual outays of the compa-
nies were two millions sterlingthe contributions Of
the State to their aid were three millions From 1897
the annual expenditure by companies rose to elght
millions six hundred and forty thousand peunds-the
government aid fell to the yearly rate of SIX hundred
and eighty thousand Such has been the effect on the
private enterprise Of France of the empire OF Napo-
leon III 1t is an effect at which England may well
rejoice not merely in the spirit Of generous friend
ship at the prosperity of noble ally but also IN
mere selfish satisfaction at state Of things so iS
portant to her own interests To see France conhrm-
ed in her successtrusting in her government-bend
ing her energies and taxing her resources to the de-
yelopment of her internal works-occuped with max
9 ing herself firm and stable power, should be the
h first wish-of every Engfshman. ~
1t is of the greatest consequence to our commerce
to comfort, to our peace and security that France
should have hand to rule and to guide her in Who's
movements she can thoroughly trust. How strongly
this is now the case cannot be better shown than ie
the immense spring which the energies of France
have given in the last few years. New life has been
given to her capital. The hands Of her people have
hastened to unloose for the national loans the savings
which they had grasred Her cities lave sprung forth
in new splendor.. Her army, side by side with the
u British has obtained peace by just and formidable
war She has now leisure and funds to carry out hel
railway network In 1855 and in 1856 the private
terfse of the country contributed eight hundred anG
twenty eight millions of francs 1t was assisted by
10 the State with thirty millions of francs in the two
+. years. We publish with the utmost pleasure docu
i ment which gives such good evidence OF what France
% has been and of the causes from which she has suf
u fered and which furnishes such convincing proofs Of
the strength that she really possesses and of the
. perty and success that she now seems to hold firmly
within her grasp.