The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1861-01-25

necessitates its being sent back to the
House for concurrence, and to this extent
delays and possibly defeats its passage. One
of the amendments offered by Mr.. BRAGG,
Of North Carolina, requires that all acts of
incorporation obtained from States and Ter.
ritories through which the road passes,
"shall be submitted to and approved by
Congress-" the other, proposed by Senator
BENJAMIN, provides that under no circum-
stances "shall the corporation organized ex-
ercise any banking powers, or issue any
paper intended to be circulated as money
During the debate on the bill, on the 18th,
Senator RICE was assiduous in his labors to
defeat it. We quote from the Globe the
objections he set forth to some parts of the
bill:
On examination of the bill, find that
there are many defects in it, some of which
| think the friends of the bill themselves
would like to correct. Some have been al
luded to. l shall only allude to one or two
others. The bill proposes to give the odd
sections OF the land upon the route, one mile
10 width on each side, to the company. The
road will pass through very large extent
of Indian country, in which the title to the
land has not been extiDguished. 1t will
pass through the Pixies Peak settlement;
and should it pass through the center of that
settlement, it will deprive thousands of the
pioneers there of their homes. 1t is true, the
bill says 'unoccupied lands :" but according
to the laws, no land within the Indian coun-
try can be lawfully occupied; hence that
provision amounts to nothing. In its pres.
ent shape it will deprive thousands of hon.
est settlers, who have made roads and have
built up an empire of their own in the will
derness, after all the hardship and suffering
they have endured, of everything they have.
l think an amendment should be made in
regard to that. am sure the friends of the
bill must have overlooked that important
point.
dislike, also, another provision in this
bill, which says that the rails and all the
iron work shall be of American manufac-
ture. That is nothing but the protective
tariff. 1 think the tariff question is of such
vital Importance that it should be brought
before the Senate by itself, and not be thus
mixed up with provisions of bill like
this.
There is another slight omission, I think,
in the bill. 1t says the rails shall "be of
good quality and size" Now, who is to
judge of the quality and size? Why, sir,
you cannot find State in the Union that
will charter railroad without specifying
the size of rails and the number of pounds
to the yard; but here, while you are throw.
ing away 500, 100000, you are leaving it
to few irresponsible men to say how much
the rails shall weigh to the yard, and of
what quality they shall be. Nor is there
anything said here in regard to the gauge
of the road. There is not, probably, road
within the limits of the United States, the
gauge of which is not specified in its char
ter.
Here is another clause that strikes me as
little singular. 1t is 10 the third section.
1t provides that the roads shall carry call
the mails, troops, seamen, Government
stores" &C., "until the whole amount of
money and accruing interest advanced by
the United States to said corporation or
corporators shall be reimbursed by services
so rendered" These $100,000,00O of bonds
to be issued must be redeemed by the Uni
ted States in thirty years; the United
States must provide the interest; and yet
the corporation or corporators have until
the angel Gabriel shall blow his horn to
refund the money to the United States, if
they please. No time is specified. There
is nothing binding upon them whatever.
They Can take thousand years if they
like, provided we cannot get it out in SER
vice. Why, sir, we all know that the SER
vice the road will render will not pay the
interest upon the bonds.
The bill provides that, for certain dis
tauce, $4,000 mile shall be paid, and then
goes on increasing the amount to be paid
per mile until it reaches the enormous
amount Of $4,000. Why, Mr.. President, q
railroad can be constructed and put into
operation from the head of Lake Superior
to the Rocky Mountains for $l5, 900 mile.
These corporatOrs are to receive from twelve
to forty six thousand dollars q mile for just
80 much of the road as they see fit to build.
They can commence on the east and build it
to the mountains, over country that needs
little or no grading and no heavy bridging /;
and when they get to the mountains they can
stop, put their money in their pockets, and
say they have concluded not to build the road
any further. They can likewise commence on
the west and run to the mountains, and re.
ceive from twelve to forty>six thousand
dollars mile; and when they come to
where the work will be costly they can
throw it up. There is not word, not q
clause 10 the bill to do anything whatever.
They get everything and grant nothing. I
do think that Senators should consider we'll
measure of so much Importance and even
the friends of the two routes shDuld weigh
the provisions OF the bill we'll before casting
their votes. 81
Here is another clause which is very mod
estIy put 10 little proviso: i
Pro ided, That $20o,0O0 in like bonds shall
be added to the gross sum for every years re-
duct,on of the time of completing the work,
payable as the bonds befora named.
BY other provisions Of the bill they have
fifteen years 10 which to complete the road.
We all know that this road, if it is to be
worth any hing to the corporators, il it is
ever to pay anything, must be completed
within eight Or ten years; because. until
l. III L q 81 4