Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1859-03-02
THE PACIFIC RAILROAD.

Mr. President I have forborne to say anything
in regard to this bill up to the present time; and
rise for the purpose of protesting against this
whole scheme of Pacific railroad With other
gentlemen, l am free to say that desire to see
railroad connection between the Pacific ocean and
the eastern portion of the country. l DESIRE how
ever to see that improvement made as other i'm
proyements of similar character have been made
through other portions of our country. As the
country becomes settled, as there may be demand
between the intermediate points for railroad COM
munication railroads will be built; and whenever
the population and resources of the intermediate
country will Sustain road, it will be built as raj
roads are built in other portions of the Union -
Until that time, in my humble judgement, if you
had a railroad already constructed, it could not
sustain itself.
You here propose to undertake this immense
work and what guarantee have you that it is ever
to be completed or that when completed the Govern
ment is ever to avail itself OF the benefits that might
arise from it? Here is a work that will require
capital of some two hundred million dollars perhaps
and the only security you ask at the commence
ment is S50o0O0 A deposit Of 100000 that is
to be drawn out soon after it is deposited is all the
security that you have that that road will be
structcd 1t is true there is provision in the bill
which says that after the first sections of the road
arc constructed. the bonds issued for the eastern
and western divisions shall create a lien on the
whole road; but suppose the contractors so on and
complete the eastern and western portions of the
road as provided by this BILL and at that perioi the
contractors have contracted debts and under an
cution for the debts their interest is Sold what Secu
rty have you then for the payment of the bonds that
You have issued to construct the road, or for
veying The mails, or transporting the troops and
munitions of war of the United States? You have
10 security whatever. According TO the provisions
of this BILL when the eastern and western sections
&c ntr al ma h,,
levied the road or the contractors may convey it.
and the road is gone, and you are left without any
redress Does not every one that this is the ma
tural tendency of things? 1t is matter of spccu
lation and will be undertaken as such, and in my
humble Judgment, will be used as such throughout
The money that you pay under this bill and the
lands that you give are the inlucemcnt, and when
ever that nuccncnt fails they vii! avail themselves
of the speculation and leave you to look out for
yourselves Is not this the result of all such specu
lations in which the Government clnbarks?
Mr. President, in olicn time proposition to go
into sovereign State of this Union, by Congress-
and construct railroad would have been looked up
on as monsrous but here you authorize il contract
for building railroad in the sovereign States of
this Union without the permission of those States
and, pray, where do you get the power? Although
under the constitution Congress has the right to
tablSh post offices and post roads, it has always
been maintained most clearly that Congress had not
the right to make enter into contract for making
a post road. Here, though you claim the power of
making road. and using the money OF the Federal
Government in making contract for transportation
upon that road, upon vague contingency that at
some time war may occur, and you may have
necessity for transporting troops or munitions Of
war to California; mere contingency, the happen
ing of which may never occur and yet you are pro-
fe>sn. to be Srag out Statc-ri ght> strict conSti
tutona co!lstruc:iun>t>
We hear frequently i'll this body an alarm about
extravaganza. Rctrcnc!lment and reform is the a.-
der of the day; but Yesterday we had 1t. The Sen
ate almost voted unanimously that they in favor
of retrcnching and reforming the expenses of the
government; bul here up the Pacific railroad
bill, which, if adopted will in the end cause tie en-
pcnditure of hundred of millions of dollars; and
suppose the same gentlemen who vote for cconomi-
zing the expenditures of the Government VIII turn
round and vote TO increase them by this means.
They not only vote to increase them in voting APP
preparations for railroad to the Pacific, but they
20 for submarine tclegraphS, homestead bills addi-
tional pension bills, heaping upon the Government
an increase Of the public expenditure to the extent
of millions upon millions This is said to he all f.ir
and legitimate, and yet gentlemen proclaim TO the
country that they desire to rerench and reform the
expenditures Of the government. If Il little pea
yune elm of poor old soldier is before Us, it
SwerS to talk about economy, rctrcnchment, and re-
form but when it comes to millions anil hundreds
of millions, it is all very legitimate, upon vague
supro>iton that at some time in some way or 9TH
er war may occur, and we may have to transport
troops to the State of California That very precise
case may with regard to any other place in
the United States, or to any other location you may
name.
This, Mr.. President, in my opinion is departure
from the good old rule Of construction do not
think the trainers of the Constitution of the United
States ever contemplated that the Congress OF the
United States should interfere in the building OF rail-
roads. As have said | desire to see railroad to
California placed in precisely the same position 9th
or railroads are placed in. That railroad will be
built whenever the necessities of the country require
it to be built, by State and private enterprise, as
other improvements have been constructed: and I'M
til that time if it were completed, it would be
Improbable to the government and to everybody
else. | say above ALL if You desire retrcnchmcnt
and economy, this is one of the schemes You should
avoid for in the end is to throw the entire expense
of the road upon the Federal Government, and the
Federal Government will never derive much if any
benefit from it. 1t is not guarded in that way, as it
should be.
1t is perfectly obvious to any one who will exam
inc this BILL as before remarked, that the parties
may sell the road they may dispose of it. and leave
the Government without any remedy we may lose
all that VIC have invested in it. This is the view
tIkc Of the case Sir.
THE RESIDENCE OF Gen. CAss.-'rhe Washington
correspondence of a New York paper thus describes
the internal splendor of the mansion of the diStn-
guished head of the State Department in that city,
1.-The illustrious Secretary lives in brown stone
house. not far from the White House. which is about
sixty feet front and about seventy feet in depth
Gen. Cass is reported to be worth five millions dol
lars His house is beautifully furnished the settces
and chairs being covered with blue and white
damask silk. The marble medallions, statuary,
paintings and other features of which decorate
the walls and various inches in his house, are said
to be valued at four hundred thousand dollars
Among those gems of art arc the following Mar
bic Medalons of St. Peter and St Paul. which be-
longed to the Church of St. Peter, in Montorio,
which was built by Constantine over the spot where
St. Peter was crucified. They were bought by Maj.
Cass while on visit to General Oudinot the French
| commander Qriyinal mndallionS Of ,,hita raarhln