The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-09-04

before were worth from seventy-elgnt 10 elgnty
cents on the dollar, have suddenly deprecated
to sixty and sixty-fve, while bonds without
coupons are slow of sale at even fifty. The
debt of North Carolina has been swelled to the
enormous sum Of twenty seven millions Of dol
lars, proper security is lacking, and the capi-
talists OF the North will scarcely touch our
bonds as permanent investment. There is
no man who believes that the Chatham Rail-
road spectators have any idea Of completing
their so-caled enterprise, even to our own
State line. Their means will be exhausted by
the reduction of more than half the value Of
their bonds in less than one year. South Caro-
lima must then herself either guarantee addi-
tional bonds to the amount OF two millions OF
dollars or the road will not be built upon her
soil.
When your State commences to saddle the
people with these burdens, at the beck and
nod OF the few intent on filing their own pock-
cts, and despite the real interests Of the mer-
camille and planting community Of the State,
especially when, as in the case Of the Chatham
Railroad, less than an hour is saved in time,
aud thirty miles in distance, "woe. woe, woe
unto you" You will go the way Of Tennessee,
whose credit has been reduced one hundred
per cent. in less tn n folr months; you will
follow in our own sad footsteps, and behold
your State staggering under load from which
there IS no relief save in reputation and
broken faith. The citizen will suffer; taxation
will be overbearing; enterprise will be checked,
and the capital that would naturally seek your
soil will look elsewhere for profit.
You make inquiry concerning the coal telds
and the relation Of the Chatham Railroad to
them. Ianswer that the road will not run within
ten miles Of them, unless present plans are ma
teriaIly changed. When reached, these fields are
BY no means'so valuable as the persons utter
ested would have the public believe. Some
coal has been taken out and shipped, but my
information is that the stratum ID deep, and
the best deposits can only be reached by shaTts
sunk from five hundred to one thousand feet
below the surface ofthe earth. IL this be the
case, there will be little inducemeDt to the
capitalist to expend his means when the same
expenditure elsewhere will produce an easy
and abundant yield of this material.
As to the guage Of the proposed" Chatham
Road, I fully agree with you that South Caro-
lima should imperatively demand guage that
corresponds with her present system, at least
until Cheraw is reached. Justice to that once
thriving locality demands that change OF cars
should take place at that point-that the COM
pany shops and locomotive depots should be
located there, and not that it shall be mere
station where the boasted "Great Trunk
Line" will stop no longer than at wood pile.
It will be an astonishing freak OF fortune II
the Chatham people should so blind the eyes
of your Legislature that in addition to char
ter, and an eventual loan Of credit, they also
secure the privilege of running their narrow
guage cars to the very centre Of your State,
and thus cause every other line which concen-
trates there to pay toll to this ambitious for
eigner. There are many strange things In
legislation, but this would overtop them all.
From the above commentary-which can
assure you reflects the views of our thinking
people-you may judge for yourself whether
we have confidence in the faith or ability OF
this corporation to perform oil they promise:
Their three millions Of bonds will at best yield
little more than one million OF dollars, and
without further aid from North Carolina it " i'll
be miracle if they reach even the North Car
olina line. What South Carolina will do in the
premises remains to be seen. My own impress
sion is that you should give your own people
the first chance.
Our mutual friend Townsend, OF the Cheraw
Company, labors under the hallucination that
the ten miles he has built towards the coal
fields will be absorbed by the Chatham Rail-
road and that he can obtain charter from our
Legislature to run line to Salisbury. Such
diversion of freight and travel would never be
permitted by Legislators practically interested
In the perpetuation or Improvement VI our
railroad system, and am positive that in the
fuve or tho opposition OF nearly every other
railroad in the State, our General Assembly
will grant no such privilege.
Very truly, your friend and obedient servant,