The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-01-31


Cspjtal in her center, and her Railroads be-
gan to run from the east and west to the
CAPITAL. st. Paul and her neighbors st.
Anthony and Minneapolis must remain the
commercial. Capitals and emporiums, then
let st. Peter be the political and legislative
Capital, and the association Of these apos-
tolic centres will equalize the advantages OF
location and wealth to the north, south, east
and west in Minnesota. FXt
If the Constitutional Convention should
divide Minnesota by nsrth and south line.
St. Peter will then be the convenient and
accessible centre of the state and population.
The settlements north of 46o 3O lat, are
sparse and must ever be so, for observation
shows that immigration is following the
western parallels from Chicago. The soil
and climate forbid heavy population for
many, very many years, north of Az ~
lat. To the north of that line the country
is mostly covered by pineries, discouraging
and as we all know almost unfit for agricul-
ture and consequently for settlement, while
all the lands south Of the line are exclusively
agricultural. Therefore, the people and their
welfare and convenience are the objects to
be satisfied in the location Of their political
Capital The object and policy of locating
a Capital is "to do the greatest good to the
greatest NUMBER" and you may divide the
state north and south, or east and west, the
large majority Of the people and their rep
resentatives must reside south of AGO 30,
and consequently must be best accommoda-
ted, and their pecuniary, social, commercial
and political advantages best promoted by
having the Capital at St. Peter. Five years
from the present day draw line west from
the Mississippi river on the parallel of 45e
3O', and it will be found that the country
south of that lire will have population Of
half million of people. Thus public con-
venience will require the location of the
Capital at the point indicated.
According to the present estimated popu-
lation of the counties, the west side of the
mississippi river will be entitled to seven
ty-five out of one hundred delegates in tie
constitutional convention, and il an equal
apportionment was made according to popu-
fion for Senators and Representatives, to the
next Legislature, the west side would be en-
titl;d to three fourths, and the East side,
one fourth, of the Representation, and three
fourths of that majority would be south OF
the Minnesota river. The Capital is rot to
be located with any reference to the centre
of mere broad acres, or square miles, unless
they arc inhabited and improved by citizens.
Neither square miles, nor the land lying be-
tween certain geographical lines constitute a
state, but it is the people that inhabit that
land, and have settled upon that soil, and
thus it is that If the North and South line be
adopted St. Peter must still remain the cen
tire of population-the centre Of political ref
resentation. Had the people of the state of
Texas located their Capital with sole ref
erence to the centre of the area of square
miles within their borders it would have
been placed at Austin, two hundred miles
west of its present location, but one half of
their territory is vast waste plain, almost
entirely uninhabited, and must probably so
remain for years. Thus it is with Minnesc-
ia north of Acc 30, great portion of which
is yet held by Indian title.
Fix the Capital at st. Peter and all the
west side of the Mississippi river would feel
the beneficial and immediate effects of rise
in all their real estate, mercantile and other
interests. No sooner would such location
be made, than the new Territories west, and
the citizens on the Missouri river, would
look to a speedy connexion with it, and
thence to the various points on the Missis-
sippi river, from Brownsville in Houston
county to Crow Wing in Morrison county,
to get to New York by way of Lake Superb
er in the North, and to Chicago and Milwau-
kee in the South, and to ST. Paul, st. An
tho: v, and the St. Croix in the centre.
The new Territory of OAK otah, on the
West and Nebraska on the Southwest, stand
in need, and especially so, of our lumber to
build their houses and fence their farms, and
for these and many other reasons will seek
the earliest opportunity to reach us. Nor
can such chain Of political, social, or COM
mercial reasons be effected by having either
North and South line or an East and West
line, except that an East and West line
would tend to build up, by means of a net
work of railroads, the southern and central
parts of the State, while north and south
line would, perhaps, extend population in a
measure towards the North West but in
either case St. Paul must remain the central
monetary and commercial emporium, and
for that chief reason cannot long remain the
political centre, nor does she indeed need it.
INDEX.
WoMEN's INFLUENcE.-An amusing incl
dent occurred on Third street Yesterday af.
ternoon exemplifying the influence of wo-
man over the rougher Sex under peculiar cir
cumstances. A young man from the coun-
try who had become considerably exhilerat-
ed, probably by looking into the bottom or
various tumblers which had been temptingly