The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1860-04-19

We have received from Hon. Samuel
r. Curtis, of Iowa, Chairman of the
House Committee of Congress on the
proposed railroad to the Pacific, copy
of the bill he has lately reported on this
subject. 1t is too long to copy entire,
but its great Importance will Justify
statement Of the main portions of the
bill.
Iti H. r. Bill No. 492, reported on
the Goth March, by Mr. Curtis, by
unanimous consent; the bill reading as
follows:
"a bill to secure contracts, and make
provisions for the safe, certain, and
more speedy transportation by railroad,
Of mails, troops, munitions Of war, mill
tary and naval stores, between the At
lantic States and those Of the Pacific,
and for other purposes
1t proposes to grant to a company,
the names of which are left blank, the
right of way from the Missouri River to
the Pacific, 200 feet on each side of the
road. So soon as fifty miles Of the route
are completed the Government is to
convey to the company alternate sec
tions of land for six miles on each side
of the road. The Government also
agrees, upon the completion Of each
section Of fifty miles of the road, to loan
to the company. by either Treasury
notes, or Bonds, at the rate of $4,000.
per miletO the 81 parallel of longi-
tude, and an increase of $4,000 per
mile between there and the l09th de-
gree. Provided, that the total of ad-
vances to the company shall not exceed
sixty millions of dollars. A telegraph
line is also to be built along the line of
said road. The company is to carry the
mails at a reasonable, rate also all troops,
munitions, &C., for the Government, at
the usual rates, the Government to have
the preference, &C.; company to keep an
account Of all the services rendered to
the general government, and the ad-
vances to be repaid in this manner.
The time for the completion Of the road
is left blank. The advance of the gov
ernment to operate as a first mortgage
upon the road and its furniture. Six
hundred miles of the road and telegraph
to be finished in six years. The iron to
be American, so far as practicable. IF the
company fails, it is to forfeit all the
grants, &c. OF course there are details
that we cannot enumerate.
OF the route the bill provides as fol-
lows STARTING from two points, one
on the Western border of the Stlte Of
Missouri, and the other on the Western
border of Iowa, with two cOnverging
lines bearing westward, and uniting
within two hundred miles of the Mis-,
souri, river, and thence proceeding by a
single trunk line, by the nearest and
best route to the Bay Of San Francisco,
or to the navigable waters of the Sacra-
mento, in the State of California"
Such are the general features Of the
bill of Col CuEtis, and which it is un-
derstood embodies the ideas of major
ity of the House Committee. We think
this, or something of a similar charac-
ter will pass the House at the present
session, but we do not expect it to pass
the Senate. We are satisfied that no
measure Of this kind eau pass that body
without at least embodying the project
of the Pacific railroad through Texas,
or what is known as the Southern route,
Between the various projects we shall
be prepared to see the entire subject
postponed for another year.
Four years ago both of the great po-
litical parties declared themselves in IA
vor of the railroad to the Pacific. The
Cincinnati Convention refused to adopt
this as one ofthe planks in its platform,
Virginia, and a strong portion Of the
Convention then, as now, opposed eve
rything Of the kind. But California re-
monstrated and threatened to bolt If the
railroad was not endorsed, and 50, to
keep the peace, the Convention, at a
subsequent period, adopted a resolution
that was intended to satisfy the Califor-