The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1868-09-02
Commercial Rivalry between England
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Commercial Rivalry between England
i1s i'i and America .iis,oJ
Before the discovery of America, commerce
was confined to the Mediterranean sea, and
Greece, and afterwards Rome, were til ecom-
mercial centres of the world In the mid
die ages, those countries and cities which en-
joyed a monopoly of the trade with, Asia,
ranked far ahead of all Others in commercial
importance Among the principal of these
cities were Venice, Genoa, Florence, and
the German Hanse towns. After the dis
covery of the passage to the East Indies,
Portugal was the first commercial nation of
Europe until she was superseded s'by Hol-
land. Aftertie discovery of America, Com
merce spread her sails for wider cruise.
The Mediterranean dwindled intoa Europe
an lake, and its commerce was only of local
Importance. So long as Spain retained a
monopoly Of the American trade, she die
tated to the world. After tile de-
struction of11the "invincible Armada
England rose to be. queen of the seas.
The wealth of the world poured into her
lap and thus has England been able. not
withstanding her colossal and ever increas-
ing debt, to maintain her credit untarnish
ed under the most trying circumstances. =
!. But the political Importance of England
has been cut down. She no longer ranks
among the great powers and she is casting
her eye Eastward in anxious fear, lest her
commercial supremacy should he wrested
from her likewise. The completion of the
Pacific Railroad across the American CONT
nent threatens to divert the commerce of the
East from its old channel and make the
United States the entrepot between Europe
and Asia. England sees the danger and she
rouses herself for the conflict and enters it
with all the appliances which modern sci
ence and discovery have given her.
Of such vital moment was the construc-
tion of the Pacific Rail Road, that Congress,
even when the Rebellion was striking its
heaviest blows, extended its aid to the Com
pany and hastened the progress of the work,
which neither the Rocky Mountains or the
Sierra Nevada have been able to obstruct-
Meanwhile England has not been idle, but
has more than half completed system of
Rail Roads in the East which will afford
a still shorter and more rapid route between
Europe and China, in case China should
agree to open to English commerce the
Western boundaries of her vast territory.
than the American Pacific Road. But
only the ports of Eastern China on the
Paoitic nave Deen opened TO Europe; no
communication over land, across the West
ern boundaries of the Empire has ever ex-
listed, and this, apart from the fact that the
mountains are almost an impossible barrier
to all intercourse with the Eastern Indias.
The rapid progress of the Pacific Rail Road
towards San Francisco has contributed no
little to fastening the work in India.
Let US examine briefly the magnificent
plan of the English and see how near it has
been advanced towards completion.
We gather the following facts from a pa
per before US: .-.
The two principal commercial towns oe
the East Indies, which we need notice in this
connection. are Bombay ON the West coast,
and Calcutta at the mouth of the Ganges
on the East coast of the Peninsula. From
Bombay there is already Railroad $40
miles long, running Northward to the valley
of the Indus. Another main trunk runs
from Bombay North-Easterly. $40 miles of
which is also completed and the terminus of
which is to be Allahabad at the junction of
the Ganges and the Jumma. From Calcutta
| to Allahabad road is also to be constructed
and it is expected that by 1870 there will be
continuous railroad communication between
Calcutta and Bombay. To connect Calcut-
ia with Western China, a road is to be built
from Rangoon, at the mouth of the Ira
waddy, running northward, up the valley
of that river, and from this valley across the
boundary of West China, to some point on
the Yang-tse:. .Kang. The Yang tse- Eang is
$500 miles long, everywhere navigable for
steamboats,, and runs through the heart of
the Empire. This road will be iptersected
by road from Calcutta, running northeast
erly along the valley OF the Burrumpooter,
and thence eastcrly across the country The
distance from the upper part of the Burrum-
pooter to the upper part of the Irawaddy, is
only few hundred miles, and the distance
from the upper Irawaddy to the western
boundary of China is, about the same. III
Suppose these railroads completed, and
the interior of China opened to foreign COM
merce from the western, side. Then this
| line will be q much shorter one between
China and Europe than the route across the
American continent. The trip from Europe
to China (by steamer to New York. railroad
to San Francisco, and steamer to the east
coast of China) will require from so to Sc
days. The trip from Europe to China (by
steamer to Bombay, four weeks, by rail to
the Yang-tse-Kang, and 5000 miles down
~ ~ !" ''eoi""''o y" 'no e"s1 CoasI oi
China, say IA days more,) will make AZ
days in all; and should the Suez Canal ever
be reality, the time required would be
shorter.
The completion Of the Turkish Railroad to
the mouth III the Euphrates will make the
route fzom Europe to the East still shorter
and more expeditions than over the Pacific