, 1859-07-29

through Turkey, might be disastrous a'
well 10 our commercial as 10 onr politca
Interests, were no timely means taken tc
ut utl aiSe the evil by securing a cOmmuni
, cation in another direction. 1t is very true
} that the bulkier classes Of our merchandise
might continue, as now, to be sent round
the Cape, and that the employment of n
line Of steam transport ships OH that route
as proposed by MeSsrs. Croskey, might MA.
terially facilitate the transit, as well oI
heavy merchandise as of troops, under or
dinary circumstances; for, as it is, the for
wnrding of goods by the Egyptian overland
route is only suited for comparatively light
articles The vital object, however, is to
secure railway communication TO the nj.
most possible extent between this country
! and our possessions, and our marketsi in the
East, or, the route thither changed, the fur
West, as it would become to ns, and 10
have that railway communication wholly on
our own ground secure alike from the as
saults Of enemies and from the gross extor.
tions Of such friends as the Pasha of Egypt,
who mulcts the customers of the Peniusulur
and Oriental Steam Packet Company in
; the sum of R8 per ton, for conveyance be-
tween Alexandra aud Suez, thus bringing
up the total expenses from England 10
Bombay, Madras or Calcutta, TO the high
figure Of esq per ton of forty cubic feet,
besides per centage put on for value.
Under these circumstances, it is especial
ly gratifying to reflect that We have the
means Of completing a through transit
from England to India and the East, so far
us railways are concerned, entirely within
our own possessions. The great question
Of the Interoceanic Railway that, despite
all difficulties, is to connect the Atlantic
with the Pacific, between Halifax aud Van
eouver Island, has more than once beeH
emphatically urged upon public attention
in these columns. One great difficulty, by
many persons deemed ins1perable, seemed
to present itself in the vast range known
as the Rocky Mountains, whose frowning
precipices were supposed by the large class
who take things for granted TO form an i'm
passable barrier between the praires Of the
Saskatchewan and the new Colony Of Brit
ish Columbia, that new Liverpool, which
we confidently expect TO see rising up with
J IN few years on Vancouver Island. Hap.
PLY, however, as the result Of the scientific
exploration of the route which has beer
made by Capt. Palisser aud DR.. Hooler
all question of obstruction in the passage
Of the Rocky Mountains is completely set
arrest, and there is clearly shown to be no
practical difficulty in the way Of the speedy
construction Of a railway to the Pacific
through British North America. The
highly influential gentlemen who form the
direction of the Northwest Transportation
Company, and who, as such, have under
taken to open up route between, in the
FIRST instance, Lake Superior and the Red
River settlement, seem to consider that
some years must necessarily elapse before
a direct railway communication eau, under
the most favorable circumstances, be esiab-
lished; but we trust that malurer obserVa-
ton Of the subject will render them more
. confident as " the feasibility Of efIecting
railway communication ITSELF The Ameri.
cans are more go-ahead folks than we in
their speeulations, no doubt; but it has yet
10 be shown that we are not as energetic
aud effective as they when practical and
practicable object Of clear utility Is set BE-
fore us. In no respect have the people Of
the United States manifested greater power
of development than in the extension Of
(, railway intereommunication. OF this pow
er, Mr.. Oliphant, in bis amusing work on
"Minnesota and the Fur West" gives au
emphatic illustration in the case Of the
railway traffic Of Chicago. In 1859, be
Z tells US, there was only one railway, forty
miles long, into that city; but when be re-
visited the place in 1855, nearly 20 rail
ways radiated, either directly or by con-
! nection, from Chicago, with an aggregate
/, length Of two thousand Eve hundred miles
Teach from one to three hundred miles
! long, passing through aud opening up new
aud fertile districts" Now, the distance
between Fraser river, in British Columbia,
/. and the western head Of Lake Superior, i
! only fifteen hundred miles; and although
! there certainly do not exist on the route
those already created towns which in the
. States served as feeders for the various
railways, there do exist throughout the line
the new and fertile districts" which, ae'
cess TO them once furnished, will give birth
to towns that will amply feed the railway
of themselves, to say nothing Of Canadian
nutriment; while there exists, moreover, OIL
this side, the greatest powers Of supply o.
, oil manufactured goods known in the world
, and, on the other side, six hundred milliouI
Of people ready, now or proximately, to b'
customers for those goods. Along thii
, line the commodities Of the East and thos'
Of the West will be interehanged with g
rapidity now impracticable, for the distance
between, say Canton and London, will b.
, lessened by not fewer than Eve thousand
|. three hundred and fifty miles, Of which
! moreover, a considerable proportion will b
, represented by railway transit The objec
, is one Of such Importance in every point o
: view, that we trust the government OF hon
will lend their hearty aud liberal supper
!. to its promotion, in whatever way may
found most expedient, and this supper
i should find jealous cooperation on the par