The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-11-04


vice was accepted"
THE ORIGIN AND OBJECT OF THE OVER
LAND NAIL.
We are gratified to find the Washington Un-
ion coinciding with the views expressed by us
two weeks ago, as to the real utility Of over
land mails to the Pacific. We shaved that
overland stages cannot convey the great mails
and passengers from the Atlantic to the
Pacific 90 cheaply and expeditiously as steam
ers for even by the Isthmus of Panama, which
is 1000 miles longer than that by Tehuantepec,
the mails and passengers are conveyed in
twenty three days from San Francisco to New
York, which il the minimum of time by the
overland route from San Francisco to st. Louis.
We at the same time stated it as our opinion,
that the real utility of these overland mail lines
is the encouragement they afford to overland
emigration and settlement by the way.
The Union, few days subsequently, express.
es the same idea as follows:
1.-THE object, then, of the overland mail, was
to settle every fertile spot along it's route from
San Francisco to St. Louis, and to Memphis
That Was and is its great object. And it will
surely be accomplished, If yet another thing ID
done-if the route is thoroughly protected from
the incursions of the tribes. Not the occupants
and drivers of stages, not the carriers of the
great overland mail of the Government, merely
should be protected, but the country they
traverse, and the settlers who till the land, dig
the silver and gold, extend the settlements, in
AhsAnjksxsuaA;ie1D tho~Anwnr a
The Union continues: I'm
at seems to be appropriate to the occasion
to briefly allude to the origin and the object Of
the overland mail between San francisco and
the Mississippi river. All will recollect the
earnestness with which leading statesmen have
pressed, during several years, various measures
intended to secure an early construction of q
railroad to the Pacific coast, from the Missis.
sippi river, by some route lying within the
United States. No one has been able to frame
| bill which could secure the support of ma.
jority of both branches of the National Legisla.
ture and the approval Of the Executive. Every
bill devised contained what proved b be in
superable objections; all, one after another,
failed. No man, no party, could agree upon
bill which would command the support of q
majority of Congress.
ut was under these circumstances hat Sen.
ator Rusk brought forward the sections, which
were embraced in an act, authorizingthe Post.
master General, if he thought proper, TO estab.
lish an overland mail to California The pc.
culiar wording of the sections was dictated by the
embarrassing circumstances which lad pre-
vented Congress from authorizing the .onstruc.
tion of q railroad. If the sections had-equired
the overland mail to be conveyed ovr either
the 32d, 35th, or 42d parallel route, tey could
not have been enacted by leaving theluestion
of location to be decided outside of ths halls of
Congress, success was won for the frinds and
partisans of each route fully appreciated the
importance of building up line Of Settlements
across the continent. If line of stues was
established by the Government, and regular
thoroughfare opened through he contry, the
interior would be promptly settled. he route
selected, and peopled, would be lilly to be
Was to be selected; and, a. each partyesteemed
its particular route far the best, the riends of
all the routes voted for the enactnsot of the
law in question.
"And, besides, all parties felt tat much
= precious time was being wasted tat, while
, the subject was being debated in Cosress, set-
4 Elements in the vast prairie wildeness and
amid the mountains ought to be foflng; and
! that, whilst the American authosies we're
squabblng over partisan subjects, apthe mere
+ question of the location of the railNd route,
the British were not only rapidly apppriating
to themselves the chief part of thelseamship
e commerce of the world, but we're al actually
y preparing, in order to extend and cdaect their
&c steamship routes, to construct 6rG1lass rail.
e road across the American contint, from
,, Halifax to the Pacific ocean, throuc q region
far less favorable than ours TO such Gghwsy.''
n 1t is admitted by the Uaios, thaso bill for
At the establishment of a mail to the Psic, which
If fixed the route, could at once be ode agree
n. able to the President and Congress The only
alternative, therefore, was fer Coness to give
i, the President a carte blanche. Aaajority o.
B. Congress would have decided om line "a,
OF north of the one selected for event Phelps, Of
n Missouri Pro Slavery man to the Aek bone,
rs Vas compelled, in Difference 10 thsice of Mis-
~ souri,, to avow himself in favor of aAlbuquer
ID que route. But Congress was indsd to trusl
sc to the Presidents discretion, and uresult haa
be been the selection of q route a. 4. national
~ and far less available, if we look me ulterio1
he purpose, q Pacific railroad, as wei be tina,
nj proposed through British America
40 The Union, while stating the Gin of the
Southern overland route to be the ,cursor Of
id railroad, admits that one me which
Dir prompted it was the spprehensis that the
as British Government might antisas MS by
building Pacific railroad throuaAs posses
ut. sions! This ia very singular Mment for
lat the selection of q Southern sectissr route, on
el, the parallel of 80 or 800. For a4giand is
q to rob us of the Pabi6c trade byAsd north
-. of 49,, where is the difficulty of ading one