, 1862-03-06
THE GREAT WNT;;s>
-
DEf1HsE or TIE GREAT LAKES,
EalAReEa11r oF*;;; TN 1111seB lsD
H.. *nlcHlea1 clIlI. St:

.=.. II. .1lcHfee1 cAAlI. st. st:
lFsom the Philadelphia Press, I'll
We have read with much interest the report
of the "select Committee on the Defense of
the Great Lakes and Riyers,' Of which Hon
Isaac N. Arnold, Of Illinois, is chairman. To
this committee were referred those parts OF
PteEtdent- I1ucoln'B recent message, recou,-
mending dcfenses and Notifications on the
great lakes and rivers, the specific recou,-
meudation Of the President being, as will be
remembered, . belief e'that some Notifications
and depots Of arms and munitions, with har-
bor and navigation Improvements at~well-
selected points upon our great rivers and
iakcs would be Of great importance to our na-
offhe select committee is luminous and elabo-
rate. Many Interesting and startling facts are
developed, and we have the claiins OF the
great Northwest presented to the country as
lney have never been presented before. Mr.
Representative Arnold Is overwhelmed with
his theme, and he takes an enthusiastic delight
in displaying the rcsourccs and advantages Of
lis rich and fertile region. As we look upon
The pyramid of figures representing his argu-
mcnts, and see calculation after calculation
zhoTnE the population The we3th The ton
real estate and personal property, and the po-
itical power of the Northwestern States, we
feel humbled. And when We remember that
these things have come to pass, almost in the
span Of a single generation, that the first white
man born in the State Of Illinois is hardly old
enough to be grandfather, We stand ashast
at the. power and strength still to come, and
sec the glory OF the Empire and Keystone
States pass away to the shores Of the great
lakes and the Upper Mississippi The Vest
e1n States have been neglected children Of the
Union. They we're turned ont into the prai-
ries and forests to hew timber and dig the soil,
to navigate broad streams in rude boats aud
fight the Indians, and they attain the years of
manhood strong, burIy, uncouth, honest, and
aEectionate sons During the generation in
which their petted Southern brethren con
to that Union an empire greater than the Re-
public itself fifty years ago. And now, when
our good old mother is mcnaced by fratsicilal
hands. they are enduring privation and death
to yiEdicate her honor and punish her unaat-
.ura1 focmcn.
There is something imposing In the power
Of this great empire. There are immense in
land seas, covering eighty thousand square
miles Of surface, and surrounded By i've
thousand miles Of coast. On these coasts d
SaEt Population has come together. Look
at the State Of Illinois In 1s1a, the brave,
bal barous, eloquent, and ill.fated Tecumseh' >
roaned its uninhabited prai1ies, meditat-
ing var Upon the white man, In 1878.
wheu it came into the Union, there were
not 60,0M people within its limits. Now
its population is rated at !, III, ,753. We may
appreciate this fact more when we rcmcm-
6cr that in 1878 our own State Of Pennsvi-
.Tania contained ], SIS, LIS, and in 1850 it was
reported as numbering 22,9CG, $40. In twenty
years Chicago rises from 4 town contain
ing. 445B Inhabitants to metropolis num-
bsring loo,a63. Nor do We see any signs
Of sQrteit or languor; This territory is
point attained il the East. The wealth OF hi
nois, which was sl56, ,265, ,006 in 1850. is esti-
mated at $611, $50, ,282 in 1860, and some curl.
oIs statlEtician whose figures Mr.. Arnold
prints with pride, tells us that if the North.
western States were peopled Us lensely as the
1s3, 3,00o, 900, and If the average to square
mile was as large as ii is in England, the popu.
1ation would be nearly $500 ,00O These
Western States possess every element o1
strength and power. The people are brave,
Intelligent, and religiously loyal The land is
as fertile as the land Of Canaan with its over
flowing milk and honey. It is rich in the pro,
duets Of the soil, and rich in mineral treas.
ures. Nature has given the husbanlman and
merchant broad seas and nayigablc rivers,
while the enterprise of man has covered il
with railroads. tslegraphs, and canals.
INC interests OF IN empire as vast as the
empire OF the Wtst demand the earnest atten.
ton Of Congress. We must foster these
States if nc would reap all the benefits thci1
wealth and glory will bring to the Union here.
after It requires no argument of Mr. Arnold IS
seleet COMMITTEES to make this duty plain, for,
11dccd: the facts they give us render argument
unnecessary. They urge upon Congress four
distinct measures: The establishment ofshore
dctenst 8 at some commanding positions the
establishment of a national foundry on the up
per lakes, and naval dcpots on Lake Ontario
Eric, and Michigan !; the improvement Of har
bors on the lakes, and the enlargement of the
Til, ois. and Michigan canal. These shore
NF$HHEf2 a frr41 In ,,>+r. =.
Like Superior, commanding the Sault St
Marie canal; amilitary road on Lake Superior
from Glccn Bay to Marquette: the fortidca
ton Of the Straits Of Mackinaw, at the en-
trance to Lake Micfigan; the erection OF
laval depot on Lake 0ntario; and The fortii
cation Of Toledo Bay, Msumcc Bay, and Put
in.Bay, in Lake Erie. We heartily recommend
this plan. and particularly in relation to Tux
Straits Of Macklnaw and the Sault St. Marie
Canal The establishment Of naval depo
On Lake Ontario does not seem to be SO neces
sarT- With the Falls Of Niagara impeding al
| communication between the lakes, and tn,
abss nee Of any necessity for. such depot OF
LaEe Ontario, this recommendation NAV bi
| Safely postponed until more urgent public rca
| eors require it., The MackinaW Straits shoult
hc lu1ne distely fortified. In commanding
Lake Michigab, they command the riches
| r:dt cf The Western Territory, and, in the pos
scssion OF an enemy, would render the speed,
conquest Of that tsuitorr inevitable.
Without entering US fully into details as hIr
A1Ecld, We paEs over number OF his recon-
1nenda1ions- There is one Of great impor
lance, however, aud that is tie enlargement O
tie Illinois and Eie1iyan canal for military 9as;.
| poses. The proposed canal wonld extend IRON
Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river, ant
| would thus bring together tue two great sys
| terms OF Tater communication of our countrY
This Communication, SO vast,' says Mr. Ar
rold. "can be effected at small expense, ant
with NO lorg dc1ay- It is but carrying out tht
plan Of Nature. A ersut river T1sali1g the st
| La" rente in volume ut 10 distant da,
was discharged from Lake Michigan
lty the Illinois, into the Mississippi, 1t:
bsfss. IT'S currents, its islands, and deposit:
can sf1ll be easily traced, and it only needs
dee1'e ming Of TIC prrstnt clannel for few
miles 10 reopen magnificent river from Lakt
Michigan to the mississippi llsT1e necessit,
of such communication wobld be felt in tht
event Of war With England. It would enable
US TO bling from the Atlantic the means Of de
ferrlpg the lakes and rivers Of the West, anf
/ you'd hind the Gnlf of Mexico with the st
lawrence In an uninterrupted line Of commu
nieat.pn- -.
/ Mr.. Arnold and his associates on the con,
| Hlttee ka<e done lEeir work we'll, and il oul,
II mains for the House to take the proposition
sntmltted to it, and girc to the Northwestern
+ States thht encouragement and protection the,
| dcst1;x.