The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-05-31
BALTIMORE.
MONDAY, MAY 81, 1858.

The Great Southern Pacific Railway has fallen
upon evil DAYS When the project was 1rst star'eu'
backed he tbe magnificent land grant conditonaly
awarded 70 the Company by the state OF leA''s' !
the completon of the road was regarded as beyond
=, opestion of doubt. 1t was to divert the eh're
commerce of the Pacific from the old lnter-oceanic
routes, crowd the Southern ports with sea-golng
sbns build up the Southern cities and bring about
an eracuaI change in the old order of things. The
enterorisa WAS boldly conceived and vigorously in
ouourated At its head were RoRERT }. WALKER
and JOEL G. SEVER, Neither of these gentlemen
we're possessed of much money, but what they
lacked Of capital they made up i'll confidence -
When the books were opened in New York Mr..
WALKER promptly subscribed for ten millions of the
stock, and Mr., SEVER for five millions. After
this exploit TO quote the language Of an indig-
nant stakeholder, ''they went home TO dinner, got
drunk, and then went back and subscribed for
further similar amounts SO dashng an operation
gave unusual notoriety to the project, even if it
failed TO impress the public with a favorable idea
of its sodty Quite number of other speculative
individuals, poor in purse but rich in hope, came
eagerly forward and registered their names for
thousands of shares of stock that was expected to
cost nothing and would, therefore, realize large
profits on the investment. The master fishermen
having thus skillfully baited their hook, threw
temptingly abroad among the financial currents
of Wall street, but the larger fish-the capitalists
eyed it suspiciously askance, and would not rise
to the lure: while the smaller fry venured 10 NIB
e---,'''' 60 Viueu the barb But if
the salmon, and the salmon front of tIo Nh
would not bite there was at least oood ,r,,,l,
hshng at the South; so the ANGLERS wound -, a.:
reels, packed up their rods, and with Il choice Sc
lection of taking flies, and an ample store of
ground bait' and landing nets" set out upon
their journey In Kentucky and Louisiana they
met with fair success, and won golden opinions
from all sorts of men," These golden opinions
took the form of hard cash TO an amount
ranging from half a million to a million
of dollars, and with this sum in hand or avail
able, the Southern Railway TO the Pacific was
commenced in earnest. The southern stockholders
counted up the value of the Texas land grants and
in imagination beheld themselves millionaircs.-
The merchants of New Orleans antciDated a ne
riod when the Crescent city would become the en-
ep0t of the gold Of California and of the rich pro-
ducts of India and Cathay. All other routes TO the
Pacific were to yield precedence to the Great
Southern Railway which was to cross the Texan
pralres treighted with passengers from the Pacific
the silks and teas Of China the tin Of Banca and
gums and spices from the Indian Archipaago.-
Cautious men shook their wise heads; but the en-
the road already begun and on both sides of it. rs II
~c,1 a. H.
construction. What could be palmer than that?
Under such favorable circumstances how could a
failure be possible? And besides the subscriptions
TO the stock al the South were there not millions of
dollars subscribed at the North. and were not the
subscriptions to that vast amount of stock under
stood to have been paid up? Under what happier
auspices then could so important a work of inter
nal Improvement have been inauguratcd? Let the
Deita answer these too confident Intermediates
Some months since, the Southern stockholders
'having discovered the wholesale villany that had
'been practiced in New York, took the manage
'ment into their own hands One of their first
movements was TO throw overheard the holders of
" paid up stock, upon which the Company had
never realized any money. This lighteued the
load; but the burthcn was still too heavy to be
borne. Only twenty miles of the road had been
completed. Near a million dollars had been used
upland debt OF quarter Of a million remained
"A deed Of trust was executed to secure this debt
The stockholders were called together in New
Orleans to provide for this obligation and the
Committee to whom The subject was referred. re-
ported in favor of selling the road to pay the debit
and recommended that the stockholders throw
hon ocnlr h. IL
by the terms Of the contract with the State of
Texas, III becoming owners Of the road become also
owners of the land grants in proportion 10 the dis
lance to which the road is completed Some of
the stockholders were, however unwilling to sub
ject themselves to so heavy a loss as the whole of
their investment, and proposed thar an effort
should be made TO compound with the creditors of
the road at the lowest possible amount they would
be willing 10 take Mr.. PmCE, while fully exon
Grating the Southern Directors from all blame
emphatically declared that the whole stock taken
was not worth Zone chaw of tobacco" and sucb
seemed to be the general impression of all the stock
holders present, but the meeting adjourned without
coming TO any practical conclusion \ second
meeting was subsequently held with similar re-
suit, and the final issue will most probably be that
the road will be sold sometime during the comino
month"; the twenty miles of completed road will be
turned to local uses; and the Great Southern Pa
chic Railway project with all its gorgeous future.
and in solemn mockery of the ambitious aspirations
OF ITS too credulous friends, will share the same
fate as the Mississippi Bubble the South Sea Scheme
the Tulip Mania, and many other magnificent
speculations that in times past have except the
Of IN tbo
hope