Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-02-12
Pacific Railroad.

The National Hltellgencer contains the fol-
lowing brief synopsis of the different PROPOSE
tions for a Pacific Railroad now before the
Senate:
The first of these is embodied in a bill re-
ported by Mr.. Gwin on the 10Th ultimo from
the select committee on the Pacific railroad;
the second was submitted, by Mr.. Davis on
the 27th, as a substitute for the former, and as
presenting the views of the minority of the
said committee and a third was offered by
Mr. Foot on the 2Sth. also as a substitute for
the first mentioned bill.
The bill reported by Mr.. Gwin proposes to
authorize the Executive of the United States
to contract for the transportation of the Gov
eminent mails, troops, munitions, supplies,
&C., by railroad and the erection of a magnet
ic telegraph from some point on the Missouri
river between the mouth of the Kansas river
and the Big Sioux, to the city of San Francis
co. on the route uniting best the qualities of
shortness, cheapness, and convenience. The
proposals for contracts are to be advertised for
period not exceeding six months in two pa
pers in each State and Territory and the Dis
trict of Columbia. and the contractors are to
state the time mot to exceed ten years. they
will REQUIRE to construct the whole road, and
what portion per annum thereof they Will
complete. They must also state the time with
in which they will surrender to the United
States that part of the road constructed
within the United States territory, and
the rate per mile per annum for carry
ing respectively, the daily mail both ways
and Government troops and supplies
The contractor whose contract is accepted
must deposite 100000 in the Treasury, to be
drawn out in sums of $4,000 each. so soon
as work to that value is performed. On the
completion of every section of twenty-five
miles the President of the United States is to
issue five per cent bonds of the United States
to the contractor at the rate of Sl2,500 per
completed mile, together with three-fourths of
the alternate sections of public land twenty
miles deep AUDITING the road. And, lastly,
the contractor shall keep books at all times
open to the inspection of the President or his
authorized agent, and shall infinitely and full
ly report in October of every year to the
Secretary of the Treasury. Not more than
twenty five millions of bonds are to be issued
in any event.
Mr. Davis's substitute differs from the fore
going chiefly in these particulars, viz: that it
Omits mention of any geographical limits
within which the railroad shall commence or
terminate. merely providing for railway COM
munication to connect ''the States of the At
lantic and Pacific;" that il makes no provision
for telegraph; that it proposes TO convey
to the contractor alternate sections on only
six miles of land on each side the road, that
it directly apprOpriates ten millions of dollars
out of the Treasury and as each twentieth
part of the whole road is completed and set
to work, the President shall advance one
twentieth (minus ten per cent? of this whole
appropriated sum, the reserved deductions to
De paid over when the whole road is compile
ted.
Mr.. Foot's amendment proposes to start
the proposed railroad from the junction of
the Bots de Sioux river with the Red River Of
the North, in the State of Minnesota, and
continue it to Puget's Sound, and thence to
San Francisco, in California. Its other pro-
visions appear to he in the main the same as
those of Mr.. OWNS bill
All the bills disallow the contractor 10 re-
tain possession of the granted lands longer
than ten years. If he shall not have dis
| posed of his ownership in them before that
time they revert to the United States.