New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-12-30

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE UNITED STATES
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS
Commercial Prospects Of New Orleans.
From the Cincinnati Gazette.1


New ORLEANS, December 2O.-Situated al
the embouchure Of thirty thousand miles OF
interior navigation, the Crescent City finds
itself outstripped during the recent as dur
ing the previous two decades in population
and other elements Of wealth, by the Queen
City, 1000 miles from the sea. upon a river
which Mr. Randolph has damned to ever.
lasting fame" as dry all summer and frozen
all winter. 1t has always been contended
that nature intended those great natural
channels-the Ohio and the Mississippi
riyers-tOr the conveyance Of the commerce
of the great West; that they are the
avenues to which all plains incline, and
where, by aid of steam applied to vessels,
large portion of the trade and movement
of the country must always be found: and
that all other channels of communication
must contribute and constantly in
crease the commerce of these great
natural thorOughfares. But this inten-
ton of nature has been very much upset
during the last ten years by our civil war
and ky the rapid development Of the rail-
way system in the Northern States, in con
nection with the steam lines from New York
and Boston to European ports. All here
hope for a great revival Of the commerce
upon our old natural highway, as there is
revival already in the commerce between
New Orleans and Liverpool. In this con-
nection it is gratifying to find that the able
writer of the Gazette, "E. d. NJ" is Of the
opinion that ''there is no more need Of the
South going to New York to trade than
there is for the fifth wheel OF coach. Its
great ports should be open for the trade of
the world, and the basis Of that trade
should be the West, and especially the
valley of the Ohio. Everything which the
South needs is here, and everything which
the West needs is there"
The South is beginning again TO "use its
own ports" as E. ID. NJ. recommends. Al
ready New Orleans has five lines Of steam
Liverpool, and two to Prussia Bremen and
Hamburg), go that there are constantly
floating in our harbOr. from steamers as we'll
as sailing vessels, the flags Of Britain and
Prussia. A new steamer of the Liverpool
and Mississippi steamship line has just ar
rived on her first voyage. She is called the
Memphis, was built on the Clyde, as were
most of the others in all these lines and is |
a first class steamer Of $500 tons. The ex-
tension and improvement of these lines to |
Liverpool and Germany are becoming very |
Marked showing that the commercial world |
again admits this to be an excellent route
for the products Of the great West and
South to take. 1t is only to be regretted
that SO little enterprise is shown in improv-
The iron barge enterprise here looks very
much like failure; at the last meeting of
its organization this seemed evident,
and subscriptions to the stock had
reached no higher figure than previously
Therefore, though
louisiana is capable of supplying every
thing which Ohio does not produce, yand
Ohio everything which is needed in Louisi-
ana, if the Ohio river continues in its pres
ent condition for want of the necessary en-.
terprise to fill it with water, and greater
effort is not made for cheap transportation
IN the Mississippi, the railways operating
between the seaboard and the Mississippi
will continue to carry the freights away
rom us. Great as has been the improve.
nent in river craft, it has Jagged far behind
hat OF railroad improvements. 1t is eighty |
7ears since the first steamer descended the
ohio from Pittsburg to New Orleans: a
,reater improvement should now be seen
N Fulton's model. We are a slow-going
,eOple down here. 1t is now sixty-tive |
ears since Aaron Burr descended these
ivers. 0stensibly at least TO occupy and
ettle his lands on the Ouachita, and still
he connection of New Orleans with that {
ich country III her own State and Arkansas I
J SO limited that all the trade thereof is t
!lreatented to be averted from us to Mem |
his and elsewhere.
The only improved prospect now that q
lew Orleans has for an extended commerce s
the certainty of her railroad direct to |
exas being completed at an early day. G
his certainty is had by the New York q
apitalist, Charles Morgan, having just
ken controlling interest in this enter
rise. Not only will the road now CON
ructing via Donaldsonville be complet ted,
ut Mr.. Morgan's own road of eighty miles
est to Berwick Bay will be continued. SO
J to tap the former at Nermilionyille. A
'anch also from the latter point will be
Ilt to Shreveport, tapping the Eastern i
acifc. But how slowly our Southern A
ads grow 1t was III lSji-nearly twenty 81
'ars ago-that celebration was had OF a
e opening of the first seventeen miles of II
is read And those who participated in Ct
e celebratiOn-the editors of the Gelta e;
i'd Crescent and others-were iubilant Il
er the thought that then were made the a
st revolutions Of the iron wheels one day 81
rumble upon the distant shores of the fl
lcific. Alas, even the old Sabine has not '
t been traversed by the iron horse But II
are thankful now that at no distant day to
will he n,