The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1866-02-01
Our western Territories.

While the Southern section of our
country is organizing itself and being or
ganizeG-whie one State after another is
doing all that is possible to resume posi-
ton in the Unioa-that other vabt sec
tion of our country which, in general
terms, lies West of the Missouri River, is
also actively engaged in political organi-
zatIon and material development. The
representatives of Colorado, as well as
those of Georgia, are knocking at the
doors of Congress and the members from
the State of Nevada, which mad no exis-
tence when Virginia went out of the
Union, now cast their votes upon her ad-
mission TO place in the National Couu-
ellis. But a few years since Kansas was
fearfully persecuted by South Carolina;
but the former may tomorrow exercise a
decisive influence upon the political for
tunes of the latter.
We have no accurate estimate OF the
growth Of our eleven Territories during
the war. But the fact that in nearly all
of them there were great discoveries and
developments of mineral wealth, just
about the time of its outbreak, has never
at any time ceased 20 exercise a control
ling influence in attracting population
aud capital As was natural, growth in
the different Territories has been iE pro-
portion TO the extent IN which the pre-
cious metals have been found. Old Ter
ritories like Washington and New Mexico
have had but moderate growth and are
apparently little nearer to attaining the
rank of States now than they were ten
years ago. Within that time, Nevada and
Colorado have sprung from chaos, have
passed through their infantile territorial
condition. and the former is now a State,
with all the immunities, privileges and
powers Of any other State while the lat
ter only failed of reaching the rank of
State last week from the fact that it had
| refused to confer the elective franchise
| upon the bakers dozen of negroes who
! have pitched their tents within it borders.
! We suppose it would be safe to estimate
! the population of al our Territories at
this time, excluding Indians, at between
| tLree-quarters Of million and million.
! 4 half of these inhabitants, we Judge, or
! say four hundred thousand, have moved
into them since lS60-far the greater
part overland from the Mississippi. They
are, as we have indicated, very uncqually
divided as regards the Territories-few
having gone to Arizona or New-Mexico,
| in the south few TO Idaho or Montana,
in the porth and the great bulk having
settled in the central belt, which includes
! Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada.
1t is this region through which the prin-
cIpaI overland route extends and it is
here that there are the most equable eli
mate and the most promising opportuni-
ties tor emigrants.
The basis of population in cur Western
| domain is of a remarkably composite
character. In New Mexico the inhabi-
tants are nearly all of the Spanish-Mexi-
can stock in Utah the Mormops are d
| coDglomerate Of all the peoples OF Europe /;
! In Nevada they have a considerable CHI
nese clement; in Colorado they have at
| least enough Africans TO lnfiuence its po-
litical destiny in Arizona the Indians
are twenty to one OF the whites but this
doomed race will doubtless in time suffer
the same fate here it has in other por-
! tions of the country. The vigorous beard
ed race which ruIas and dominates N the
old and populous States of the Union as
serts its supremacy in the far West, as
we'll as in the central or Eastern regions
and we can never for moment entertain
the theory, put forward by some spec
ulators, that there is danger of any Orlen-
ia! stock gaining ascendancy in aEy part
of our country.
What would aid more than all else in
the development of this rich and magniti-
cent region would be the Pacific Railroad
and to the pushing forward of this great
work the national energies should be di-
! rccted N y Times