Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1857-12-19
Arizona, incorporating with itsuch portions


, of New Mexico as theymay deem expo
5 dent. l need scarcely idduco arguments
, in support Of this Recommendation. w,
, are bound to protect he lives and tn,
| property of our citizens hhabiting Arizona
and these are now wih'ut any cflicien
: protection, Their pnsent number i
/. already considerable, aus is rapidly increas
! ing, Notwithstanding the disadvantag,
. under which they labr. Besides, tn,
q proposed Territory is believed to be ricl
y in mineral end agrimltural resources
7 especially IN silver and ,opper. Tie mail
OF the United States to oCalliornia are nov
: carried over it throughout its whole extent
and this route is known to be the nearest
, and believed to be tic best to the Pacific
! Long experience has deeply convinced
, me that strict construction Of the power,
| granted to Congress is tho only true, a.
: well as the only safe, theory of the consti
tuition. Whilst this principle shall guide
my public conduct, | consider it clear thai
under the var-makiug power Congrcs:
may appropriate money for the construction
of "A military road through the TerItorie,
Of the United s atcs, when this is absolutely
necessar, for the defence of any of the
States against foreign INVASION The con.
stitution has conferred upon G ,pgress
power 'to declare war;" "to raise and
support armies, ~" to provide and maint.in
! a navy and to call forth the militia to
"repcl ilvasions.' These high sovereign
powers recessarily involve important aud
responsible public duties, and among them
there is none so sacred and 80 impo atiye
as that Of preserving our soil from the in.
vasion of foreign enemy. The constitu-
ton has, therefore, left nothing on this
point to construction, but especially requires
that "tho United States shall pro ect each
of them he Statos) against invasion. -,
Now, if military road over our own Ter
| ritories be indispensably necessary to enabl,
us to meet and repel the invader, it fellows
as necessary consequence not only that
we possess the power, but it is our imper.
ative dutyto construct such a road. 1t
would be an absurdity to invest govern
mcnt with the unlimited power to make
and conduct war, and at the same time
deny to it the only mean: of reaching and
defeating the enemy at the frontier. With.
out such a road it is quite evident We
cannot "protect" California and our Pa
cifc possessions "agairst INVASION" We
cannot by any other means transport men
and munitions of war from the Atlantic
States in sufficient timc successfully 70
defend these remote and distant portions
of tie republic
Experience las proved that the routes
across the lsthmus of Central America are
at best but vocy uncertain and unreliable
mode of communication. But eron if this
were not the case, they would at once be
closed against us in the event of war With
a naval power, so much stronger thln our
own as to enable it to blockade the ports
at eitker ED Of these routes. After all,
therefore, we can only rely upon military
road through our own territories; and ever
since the origin Of the government Congress
has been in the practice CT npprppriating
mopcy from the public treasury for the
construction of such roads.
The difficulties and expense of construct
ING a military railroad to connect our
Atlantic and Pacific States, have been
greatly exaggerated. The distance Gu the
A riHena, rou c near the 32d parallel O!
north latitude, between the Western boun- |
dairy OF Texas on the Rio Grande and the
eastern boundary of California Cd the
Colorado, from the best exploration now
wi hin our knowledge, does not exceed
four hundred and seventy miles, and the
face of sEe country is, in the main, favara-
BILE. For Obvious reasons the Government
ought not to undertake the work itself by
means Of its own agents. This ought t.
be committed to other agencies, which
Congress might assist either by grants of
land OF money, or by both, upon such
terms and conditions as. they may deem
most beneficial for the country. Provision
might thus be made not only for tho safe,
rapid, and economical transportation of
troops and munitions of waF, but also OF the
public mails. The commercial interests OF
the whole country, both East aud West,
would be greatly promoted by such road;
and, above all, it would be a powerful
additional bond of union. And although
advantages of this kind, whether postal,
commercial, or political, cannot confer
constitutional power, yet they may furnish
auxiliary arguments in favor Of cxpediting
a work which, in my judgment, i, clearly
embraced within the war making power
For these reasons ] commend to the
friendly consideration of Congress the sub
ject of the Pacific railroad, without finally
committing myself to any particular route.
The report Of the Secretary o! the Trca-
sury will furnish a detailed st ltement of