The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1860-11-16
Benton on Communication be-
tween the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans,

Oceans.
aSuch was the extent and solidity of
the Roman roads-a single line of road
above four thousand Roman, and equal to
three thousand seven hundred and forty
English miIes-and the four thousand
cities of the empire all connected with
roads of equal solidity besides. The
road which we propose is only half the
length of one chain of theirs. | mention
them for their magnifccnce-their gran
deur-and as presenting an example wor
thy of our imitation. The road 1 pro-
pose is necessary to us, and now. We
want it now. The state of our posses
sions on the Pacific demands it. The
time to begin has arrived All the neces-
sary information is on hand. The means
are ready. The title to Oregon is set
tied, and a government established there,
and population is growing up. California
is acquired people are there: and gov
ernment. We have fleet on that coast.
troops there and going. Streams of pop
ulation are concentrating there. Since
the discovery of the New World by Co.
lumbus, there has not been such an un-
settling of the foundations of society.
Not merely. individuals and companies,
but communities and nations are in COM
motion, all bound to the setting sun-to
the gilded horizon of western America.
For want of an American road, they seek
foreign routes, far round, by sea and land,
to reach by an immense circuit what is a
part of their own land. Until we can get
q road of our own, we must use and sup
port foreign route; but this is tempo
rary resource, demanded by the exigency
of the times, and until we can get our
own ready. Never did so great an OBJ
iect present itself to the acceptance of a
nation. We own the country from sea to
sea-from the Atlantic to the Pacific
and upon breadth equal to the length Of
the Missssippi-and embracing the whole
temperate zone Three thousand miles
across, and half that breadth, is the mag
nifcent parallelogram of our domain
We can run national central road
through and through, the whole distance
under our flag and under our laws. Mill
tary reasons require us to make it /; fol-
troops and munitions must go there. Po
litical reasons require us to make it i
will be chain Of union between the AT
lantic and Mississippi States. CONNER
cial reasons demand it from us; and hers
1 touch q boundlcss field, dazzling ant
bewildering the imagination from its vast
ness and Importance. The trade Of tho
Pacific ocean, of the western coast o
North America, and of eastern Asia, viii
all take its track: and not only for our
selves, but for prosperity. That trade o
India which has been shifting its chan
ncls from the time of the Phenicians tt
the present, is destined to shift once more
and to realize the grand idea Of Colum
bus. The American road to India vii
also become the European track to thai
region. The European merchant, as wei
as the American, will fly across our con
tinent on straight line to China. The
rich commerce of Asia will flow through
our centre. And where has that com
merce ever flowed without carrying
wealth and dominion with it? Look al
it's ancient channels, and the cities which
it raised into Kingdoms, and the popula
tions which upon its treasures became re
splendent in science, learning, and the
arts. Tyre, Sidor Balbec, Palmyra
Alexandria, among its ancient cmporiums
attest the power of this commerce to en-
rich, 10 aggrandzc, and to enlighten ma
tions. Constantinople, in the middle
ages, and in the time of the Crusades
was the wonder Of western Europe; and
all because she was then thoroughfarc
of Asiatic commerce. Genoa and Venice
mere cities, in later time, became the
match of Kingdoms, and the envy of the
kings, from the mere divided streams Of
this trade Of which they became the
thoroughfare. Lisbon had her great day,
and Portugal her pre-eminence during the
little while that the discovery of the Cape
of Good Hope put her in communication
with the East. Amsterdam, the city of a
little territory rescued from the sea, and
the Seven United Provinces, not equal in
extent to ono of our lesser States, became
great in arms, in letters, in wealth, and in
power; and all upon the East India trade.
And fondon what makes her thn COM