The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1858-08-04

reminded the House tnat tne larger nuniDer
of immigrants attracted TO the diggings
would probably be Americans accustomed
to self-government, and that the best way
To keep them contented would be to give
them the form of government 10 which they
were accustomed. The value of Nancou-
/ ver's Island, as a point from which trade
could be carried on with China, the Eastern
Archipelago. and so forth, with the projected
extension of the railway which now co.,
meets the Atlantic with the great lakes, to
the Pacific coast, were also alluded to. The
bill will probably pass without opposition.
1t will settle at once the pretentions of the
IIudson's Bay Company and their agents.
They certainly have no rights over the gold
fields which are not in their territory, and
il has already been decided in Australia
that placer gold belongs 10 the finder, and
the Crown has only proprietary right over
the mines and their products excavated in
the regular way. The despatch of the colo
nial Sel rotary 20 Governor Douglas neither
permits or prohibits the license system, but
hints very strongly that the Crown will not
sanction any attempt to enforce the payment
of the tax.
The rights and privileges TO he given to
our citizens in these new regions is already
the subject of discussion between the Eng
lish and our own government; and the
British ministry evince "a disposition to
adopt the most liberal policy. The Cana
dians are already alive 10 the necessity of
direct communication with the new aurife-
rous region. They have a regular line of
steamships from Toronto to Fort William,
on the northwest coast of Lake Superior,
and bill has been introduced into the Ca
madam Legislature to build a route from
Fort William to the settlements on Red riv-
er. This route will be nearly all by water;
it will avoid the roundabout way by ST.
Paul-saving some eight hundred miles
The Minnesota people say that they win
jIin heartily with the people of Canada in
the policy of colonizing the western districts
of British America; and thatthe relations
of reciprocal trade should be extended
over that portion of the imperial posses
sions. Our reciprocity treaty only applies
now to Canada, Nova Scotia, New Bruns-
wick and the islands adjacent.
All these facts are pregnant with import
to the future of the United States. The
sceptre of political and commercial empire
has passed from the South to the Middle and
Western States. Southen statesmen have
in6ulgcd the hope that Cuba and Mexico
would one day fall into their hands and re-
store the pristine glory of their. section
But with the prospect before us of vast
empire in the Northwest, great agricul-
tural, commercial and mining country filled
with "a hardy, thrifty, industrious, intell:-
gent Popalatsdh English, Scotch and Anne
rican, all blended in one amalgam OF power
the North would maintain its supremacy
against sll possible acquisition of territory
in the South. The British statesmen ac-
knowledge that we have set them an ex-
ample of development, and that "a modi6-
cation of our system Of selt-government is
the best for their new colony. Win not the
American settlers ask for the whole loaf
when the half is so freely offered? May
we not safely predict that before many years
the boundary line of forty-ninc will be OBJ
( liberated, and that the war ciy OF 1874
"fifty-four forty without the fight. will
he heard on the other side of the line p
Minnesota and Iowa, as Mr. Roebuck saws,
are filling up to the frontier, and gold or
( no gold, the rush of immigration will soon
cover all the available lands between the
Red river and the mouth of the Columbia
/ The pioneers in this movement will be the
/ tronterSmen OF Nebraska Iowa, and Min
nesota, with progressive parties from Cana
! da, who will conquer the territory, not with
arms in their hands hut with the gold
/ rocker, the plough, the loom aud the anvil,
the steamboat, the railway and the tele
graph. Commerce and agriculture, Olsen.
! thralled by the influences OF free institutions,
will cause the new empire tospring into life,
full armed, as Minerva from the brain of
Jove. Its Pacific ports will be thronged
with ships of all natiousi It's rich valleys
will blossom with nature's choicest products,
while its grand rivers will bear to the sea
the fruits of free aud honest labor. Great
as have been the achievements of our West
ern pioneers, they all pale in comparison
with the magnificent work now before us
in which the united energies of two. great
and free people will be engaged heart and