Vicksburg weekly herald., 1878-04-12
The Texas PacIac hallway.

LETTER OF HON. n. N. T. HUNTER, tP
VIRGINIA, TO SENATOR LAMAR.
The following letter, addressed TO
Senator Lamar by the Hon. X. N. T.
Hunter, Of Virginia, sufficiently tx-
plains itself;
RICHMOND, VA, March l6, 1873.
To the Hon. L. @. q. Lamar, U. s. Senate,
Washington, u. c.:
DEAR SIR-When addressed you let.
ter year ago on the subject Of the Texas
Pacific railroad, It seemed 90 evidently a
great National enterprise in itself and all
its surroundings that scarcely doubted
but that II would be taken up with alRcrity
BY the General Government; but still Il
fingers on the list OF great unexecuted en-.
teTprises! Why s'it? Toe waste OF great
opportunities 10 as much or more a ain " lth
nations as with individuals, and soon or
late 10 to be accounted for vt the bar Of
public opinion. England, which has so
iully taken the place Of Old Rome as a
great national renovatOr aud visionary
alone seems fully aware Of the great part
which she 10 called upon to take. Those
mighty forces Of nAtu e-v lcanic fire and
the coral reef have scarcely time to it up
new abOdes tor man ana new seats Of EN- {.
pire before England Is man ully nvert.
ing them to the highest human uses. The
cannibal Of New Zealand ard Fiji Is relln.
gushing his primal habits, and the haunts
over which be ,amed In savage freedom
are now devoted to the cultivation and
growth IT the raw material to drive the
British loom, thus minislering trnm his
scarcity stock Otus,tul habits and naScent
arts to the COED Of mankind. Australia,
that new continent with strangely iuves ted
nature, Is last becoming another seat of
empire, and the wild native Is Developing
into Il new being and becoming eful
man under the careful handling Of her
present masters. The East, under her
management, Is no longer immutab but
enc Is writing a Christian EngIish civiliza-
ti0n rs a Pai npsest across the r mains OF
the Hind 20 an the Mogul, Prosperity
aud po ser must attend the steps which
high benevOlence and for human i'm rove
ment The railroad and the telegraph have
subOrdinAted the camel and the Tartar
courier to their swifter agencies, not only
in the universal kast but especially IN
those provinces entirely subject tO-Brilish
rule; and nearly ali the lmprOv ement we
see 10 due to the ability and sSill OF Brit.
ish enterprise. Well dOes she deserve N
prosper when she makes such use OF her
fortune aud her opportunities. And how
10 ii With our GOVERNMENT Have we done
nothing 70 rival all this. or even to show
that We aredescended from q common an-
cestry?
We had like chance with her 10 our on.
portunity u complete and use the Texas
Pacific railroad. Theory and tO some ex.
tent experience, have SHOWN that It was
the very neXus which was to form the BOND
through which the old world and the new
were to exchange their commodities, their
arts, their thoughts, their civilization aud
their religions II was new link Of L.
man communication, whi3h once put IN
use would stir up more than half he
would's population "frOm Indus TO the
Pole" aud quicken the growth OF mankind
itself.
Judging the fu ure by the past, new na-
tiOns would spring up here at home In
favOring climates and fruitful soils. An
abundant crop VI new fruits OF the II b,
new veins OF valuable metals, a rapid Iu-
telnOw OF valuable exchanges, and wealth
In a thousand new tOrms would, ae it
seems to me, diversity and increase the
resources OF the country upon the compile.
tlOn Of the work. II has bcen thought,
an doubtless Is, a great point to secure a
competing line. II there be much longer
delay 1t Seems to me that the danger Of
destroying this Chtnce Is Increased. liza
great LOney power should accumulate,
with e contrary interest, its chances
through the various State Legislatures
that are being formed, by hostile legisla.
ton an In Other ways nigh. enable Il 10
effect its purposes.
But Why delay tue mattery Why should
such opportunities tr tie production ut
wealth and tue InClcAEe Ul political power
be allowed t. lie dominant In how many
WAYS does increased empire minister 10
political hapniOess and pOwcrY That the
pr, sent iarIf has contributed much tib
my OPthinn) 10 iu ure ani drpgess v.r i,cb.
/ le Is obvious enOu b. but tar greater
would We been Its misch efs II the mag.
nitude Uf our empire had not increased
and diversified the demands VI onr Inter-
mai commerce,
How much greater would have been IL,
relief II t. e Texas Pacific road hal done
but 1.-THE OF Its work ln ministering to
the growth OF our population, and diyersl.
iyiGg our resources and commodities.
That such would be the effect OF cOmplet.
ing the line, few, presume, would doubt.
Why should the Congress OF the United
States hesitate 70 enter upon the work
Can there be q doubt that 1t would act as
a competing line with the other Pacific
Ioutesi DO not Its own nature and the
auspices under which Il is conducted and
managed guarantee that such will be its
character, and 10 not that character essen.
tial to its efficiency; Does any man doubt
that 1t passes through much more favor.
ing climateY !s II not shorter than any
projected rOuteS
Gov. Brown, in his mastery argument,
asserts that the Texas Pacific line is
shorter by many miles than any other. Is
this deniedi Think not. It's grades, to ,,
believe, are admitted to be easier than
those OF the more NOthern latitude. Its
communications with foreign countries
are admitted 10 be easier and more profta.
Bile than those OF any other route, Why
then delay TO execute the work any long.
err Sectional considerations alone, Il
seems to me, should determine Congress
TO act at once. The question OF sectional