Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1857-02-06
FRIDAY MORNING, ".-====--- FEnHo-

,,u % p,r,,,,,r :, ROGER A. PRYOR, EpIIoNe
FRIDAY MORNING, "--e- FEhHoN
yIRGINIAN INTERESTs-soOlnnSI.SSTrc
REsTS-NATI0NAL-lNih. lNihnHs.. -. ,,,.,
W. ~. .nnroach an important-'f not .ne noS.
,......-obeet TO be secured by the estaoi'n.heh'
'ar ~. c,..r Ferry Line That object Is 'he aver
'n1 ,-,A;o aud the mails across this continent
e'on y. rrrons and China, Australia, the East In
80 40. This traffic, in the aggregate' ID
'e., ~ ,.rosst one in the world. 1t we can se'
'a ~ .vsn A considerable amount thereof. then'
,d x;,l the destiny Of Virginia. the destiny OF the
~,u,b the destiny of the Nation itself, be less or'
oum.oribed than ever was contemplated by the Sd.
.,o;,y of Patrick Henry. In his brightest visions OF
the future, this farsseing Of genius beheld an
America feeble in power contracted In intellect, poor
in pro,peri.y, constrssted with that America which
,b, event 10 to loom up and overshadew, by the de.
velopmeut of the varied at her disposal all
the Powers and States Of the earth,
Private enterprise, aided BY such adventitlous In
fusnce a. the General Government can legltimately
and ;usty accord, will not fail to force rail- road
communication from the Western Texas frontier
,bronoh to the Pacific within the next ten years
40 rich, and 90 we'll to do, will take care that
,h link which s to connect Louisiana with New Mexi-
40 shall be completed by the time it is required to
n.rfaot an uninterrupted line between the Chesa-
make and the magnificent Bay of San Francisco
When this shall have occurred, then must the teas
and ,iIks of China, intended for European markets,
and the mails and the gold dust of Australia and the
travel TO aud from the Old World aud the East, be
conveyed upon this highway. The cost of transpor
aton for freghts may be greater than by the way Of
the Cape, but this will be more than oVeroalanced
by the immense diminuton in time. With rail
road from the Chesapeake to the Pacific and the At.
lsutc Ferry Line in operation it is believe that Lon4
don and San Francisco may be brought within twelve
days Of each other.
But by the time the Lsviathans can be constructed
the Chesapeake will be within six or seven days Of
the Pacific by another route. There will, perhaps,
within FIVE years, be daily communication from
Richmond to Ventose via the Gulf of Mexico
and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. A carriage
road across this isthmus, over which the tra-
vel will be performed in twenty hours, is said
to be rapidly advancing towards completion, and
preparations are being made for the commencement
of railway to be speedily laid down between its
terminal points. It is thus not unlikely, in view Of
the ub.marine telegraph line across the Atlantic,
whose proprietors confidently expect will be in opera
ton next summer, that intelligence can be conveyed
from any metropolis or commercial emporium in Eu-
rope to the Pacific in correspondence with steamers
ON the Gull, in four days tune, If not less. In this
case it 10 more than probable thst European sailing
shpsin the Ausrss East India, or China trade will
pensraly touch at Yentose to receive aud despatch
ms...ue, TO their owners and this would be succeed
ed in tho event Of such communication between
the two hemispheres the Steam Ferry Line by the
Transmission Of their cargoes by the isthmus the gulf
and Southern rail roads to the Chesapeake. That
such would be the interest of European merchants is
distinctly forsshadowed by the fact that much of the
traffic from the lower Pacific South American coast,
which formerly went around Cape Horn, avas itself
of the Panama rail road for expedition to its destna
ton.
90 certain is the protector Of the Steam Ferry Line
of the eventual diversion of the traffic and mail
ryiug between Great Britain and her Eastern posses
,ons, soross the country between the Chesapeake and
the Gulf by means of bis contemplated enterprise'
that he would prefer to receive the existing rates
mail matter, for conveying it, to any subsidy which
Congress is bsstowing for ocean postal services. To
give an idea Of what the traffic between the mother
country and Australia alone is and what, per cosss.
oxense, the mail communication must necessarily be.
come, We extract the following from late Liverpool
journal:
Victoria the Junior of the Australian colonies, has,
within the short space Of not much more than ten
wears, attained a commercial position much more
seucant than the majority Of the continental States
= Har n ara
ine1haustbe; yet she does not rely upon them, val
liable though they be. Her trade and commerce have
grown aud are growing with rapidity that borders
on the marvellous. Melbourne bay Is studded with
ships and steamers Of every clime. From the North
TO the South, and from the East to the West Chris
tians, jews, Turks, and infdels alike swarm TO this
wonderful quarter Of the British possessions Hence
Il s that during last year the total eIparts from VIC
large amount the United Kingdom received
EI0276 UOO and our other COLONIES II $4,000. The
yaue of the gold exported was 8 255 0O0 the whole
of which, with the exception Of f320 Oo0 shipped to
other British colonies. was received in this country
On the other hand, Victoria received In exchange
for her gold and other produce. articles from this
country to the value OF fi09420O0 and from onr
British colonies E4467 900; the total value of her i'm
ports being ELI, ,659,0GO. The colony Of New South
Wales, the elder of the group, sent US its produce to
the value of x2307 900, and to other colonies
El,6 900. The entire exports OF tie colony, in
Guiding those to foreign countries amounted to
"a ,OUO, of which sum f773,O00 was the value of
the gold produced in the country. But, again, we
have South Australia, which Is rlch IN lis own pc
oulisr way 1t cannot boast of gold or silver mnes;
but there s abundance Of "copper" and the agrcuture
and pasturape of the colony had proved and is sfi
proving il 10 DO most desirable resort for Industrious
and steady emgrants. As proof OF The growing I'M
portance Of South Australia, We may mention that
last year that colony was a customer to the manu-
facturero and producers Of this country OF goods 10
the value of e 628 000, and from our colonies OF
E392 200; while the South Australians sent us 10 re.
turn their raw material to the vauo OF tollOou, and
ed produce of the value OF E70S,UU0. Tasmania has
been long and favoraby known as desirable resort
for the British emgrant Gold has lately been DIS
covered there, and it bids fair to rival some OF the
opulsn and extensive commercial colonies ofthe
group Every day adds some new fact to demonstrate
that before century passes this quarter OF the world
will and pre- eminent in all that contributes to the
greatness of people. Churches, colleges ana schools
are reared with rapdity; cies are beauined, squares
aud streets laid out and public buildings erected with
rapidity and beauty that would shame the mother
country Internal improvements are going OIL rapidly
Railways will soon form net work over each OF the
colonies The electric wire is being laid down from
colony to colony In q word, every thing that can
render this portion of Gods creation far famed
pleasant and prosperous abode for the British em
grant, model Tor agricultural mining, and CONNER
cal industry, has been put in operation. To speak
Of the beauty OF the Australian landscape, to define
ate the brilliant plumexe of s feathered tribe the
resources and the capabilities Of all the colonies would
bs task of hercuean character. Suffice il to say
they uuequailed a. whole in any other part Of
the globe"
Great Britain, about six months ago, closed con.
tract with company to carry the mails from South
.unpton, via the isthmus Of Sues, to Melbourne in
about tfty days. This time can be shortened, by the
w.v of Milford, the Chesapeake, and T.huantepsc,
in all likelihood, from fifteen to twenty days.
To suoh az cannot believe in the consummation of
such achievements a. the projected Steam Ferry Line
oontsmplstes, let them not be 90 undesirable as to
endasxor to ipfnence those who are more hopeful to