The person charging this material is re¬ sponsible for its return to the library from which it was withdrawn on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN i5 m DEC 1 3 ’<37i MAR 211<|99 L161—0-1096 •SPEECH M l-HVs •HON. JAMES A. McDOUGALL OF CALIFORNIA, ILLUSTRATING AND ADVOCATING THE GREAT PACIFIC RAILROAD ■Delivered in the United States House of Representatives, on the 29th day of May, 1854. The House being in Committee of the Whole on the state of the ii'Union— Mr. McDOUGALL^of California, said: Mr. Chairman : The bill now before the committee has been post- ;ponkd, from lime to time, for nearly two weeks. I have consented to :;this, not for the reason that this measure was of less importance to the ^country than other subjects presented for consideration. In my judg¬ ement, and I believe in the judgment of the country, this subject is the Imost important one that has claimed the attention of Congress in peace¬ ful times since the establishment of the federal constitution. My object Mas been to secure for it the calm and just consideration of this body ; [and, with that view, I have sought to sever and withdraw it from the [agitating controversies that have disturbed this hall during a great por¬ tion of the present session. I now ask of this committee, and I earnestly ask of them, that they will give their calm and serious consideration to this great question, for |the purpose of justly and intelligently determining what action in the premises is demanded by the country, and what duty, if any, is de¬ volved upon this Congress. I regret that the rule of this body limiting the time of debate, renders it impossible for me to discuss the various and complicated questions that relate to, and directly bear upon, this subject. I will endeavor, however, to state distinctly the nature of the measure presented by the select committee, and then state briefly some of the leading facts upon which I found the conclusion that the construction of a railroad to the Pacific through our own territories is a present political necessity, and of the very first commercial and pecuniary importance. I shall leave to honorable gentlemen, however, to deduce what they themselves conr sider legitimate conclusions. The select committee from which this bill has been reported, was organized at an early day in the session. After much deliberation, and with great care, this measure was matured and presented to the House. While the committee adopted many of the features of the bills herer- 2 tofore passed, making grants for railroad purposes, it was thought, for many reasons, advisable in this instance to guard with additional, indeed with the utmost, care, the interests not merely of the government, but, what is of more importance, the interests of the people. THE BILL. The bill reported makes no grant of lands, but provides that grants shall be made upon conditions named. In other instances, grants have been made directly to the States; the lands have been parted with by the federal government without any guarantee for the execution of the work. By the terms of this bill, the lands are not to be parted with until a complete guarantee is furnished, and then only as the work 'progresses. And here it may be proper to remark, that with the road itself the government has nothing to do, either as proprietor or director. The office of the government is simply to demand proper assurance that the road will be constructed within a reasonable time, and that the business of the government will be done by the road upon the most'ad¬ vantageous terrtis. The work itself, its location, control and manage¬ ment, is left to private enterprise, or to those who, by advancing the capital, thereby entitle themselves to control its results. The Secretary of War is directed to advertise for sealed proposals, and to offer a concession of alternate sections, and a transportation contract, in consideration of the construction of the road and the trans¬ portation of whatever may be required for government purposes. The proposals invited are to state— 1. The time in which the parties propose to complete the work, to¬ gether with what extent thereof they propose to complete in each year. 2. The.time in which such parties will surrender the road, free of cost, to the United States. 3. The sum, not greater than six hundred dollars per mile per annum, which the said parties will receive and take for the use of the road, for all purposes, by the government; and, 4. The guarantees such parties will furnish for the construction of the road and the performance of their contract with the government. With the acceptance of the most favorable proposal, and the con¬ summation of the contract growing out of such acceptance, the relation of the government to the road ceases, except as a party stipulating for a specific use of the road when constructed. I have stated that the parties proposing to construct the road are to stipulate for the time when they will surrender the same to the govern¬ ment. By the eleventh section it is provided that upon such surrender, “so much of the line of said road as lies within any of the States of the United States shall vest in and become the property of the State or States within which the same is located, subject to the use of the United States for postal, military, and all other government service, and/<4ub- ject also to such regulations as Congress may impose restricting the charge for transportation thereon; and all other States organised there¬ after upon the line of said road, shall acquire the same rights, subject to the like provisions and restrictions.” By the terms of this provision the committee has sought to avoid all 3 questions of collision between the federal government and the State sovereignties. Under no circumstances can the federal government have anything to do with the direct control and management of tha road within the organized States. The idea of the erection of a vast landed monopoly has been sug¬ gested as an objection to this enterprise. To meet this objection, tha bill provides that one-half of the lands conceded shall be sold in five years, and the remainder in ten years, after the patents issue; and in case of failure to make such sales, the remaining lands are forfeited to the United States. That all objections that may be urged against this bill have been met, I will not assume. It is not in human skill, in a matter of this sort, to obviate even all just objection. It has been said, and said truly, that “ there is nothing so good but that there is some touch of evil in it.” No bill can be framed to accommodate all opinions, or to obviate all objections. The question before the committee has been, what plan was most free from just objection, and that plan they have endeavored to present. When a better or more perfect plan shall be presented, for one, I shall stand ready to adopt it. > CONSTITUTIONAL POWER. # I have presented the general features of the bill, and I now call, the attention of the committee to two of its provisions; and, first, the pro¬ vision providing a grant of alternate sections. I do not propose to make an argument before this committee on this point. The question has been already ably disoussed upon this floor. I cannot avoid, however, calling the attention of the committee to the language of the constitu¬ tion, which provides thatCongress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations respecting, the territory or other property belonging to the United States.” If this grant of power does not vest in Congress the complete jus disponendi in the property of the United States within the Territories, I would like to learn from some of the astute expounders of constitutional law where they find the limita¬ tion to the grant. The term “dispose,” used in this relation, is the largest term known to the law, and the power to “ dispose” is the largest power that can be exercised over a subject. If the government should make a grant without consideration to A, and afterwards make a grant of the same premises, for a consideration, to B, would any one undertake to maintain ejectment upon the last grant, against the first grantees. Whatever may be thought upon the subject here, the country has not yet produced a lawyer bold enough to affirm the proposition in any of the courts of the Union. I can understand that there is a just distinction between what Congress has the constitutional power to do, and what Congress may rightfully do. The powers of Congress, how¬ ever broad, should be only exercised for legitimate and constitutional ends; beyond that limit we do not invoke the action of Congress in the present instance. I will not say anything further upon this point, ex¬ cept refer to one high authority—the great head and front of those who bold to a strict construction of the federal constitution—and one whom, 4 as a follower of the same school, I recognise as high authority. In conversing not long since with one of my honorable friends from Vir¬ ginia, he insisted that both Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison were latitu- dinarian in their views of the constitution. I inquired of him who was the exponent of his school. “Mr. Calhoun,” was his very prompt reply. I quote Mr. Calhoun on the gentleman, and advise him that upon this subject Mr. Calhoun has been full and explicit. At the session of 1845-’46, Mr. Calhoun, as chairman of a select committee, to whom was referred a memorial from the Memphis con¬ vention, made an elaborate report to th$ Senate, from which I read— “Your committee will next proceed to consider that portion of the memorial which relates to the communication by railroad between the valley of the Mississippi and the southern Atlantic States. They re¬ gard works of the kind as belonging to internal improvements, (that is, improvements within the body of the States,) and as such, are, in their opinion, not embraced in the power to regulate commerce. But they are, nevertheless, of opinion that where such roads or other works of internal improvement may pass through public lands, the United States may contribute to their construction in their character of proprietors, to the extent that they may be enhanced in price thereby. This has usually been done by ceding alternate sections on the projected line of such works; and it is believed that no mode of contributing, more fair or better calculated to guard against abuses, can be devised. That Congress has a right to make such contributions, where there is reason¬ able ground to believe that the public lands will be enhanced in pro¬ portion, under its right to dispose of ‘the territory and other public property of the United States,’ your committee cannot doubt. In making this assertion, they hold to the rule of strict construction, and that this power, like all the other powers, of the government, is a trust power, and, as such, is strictly limited by the nature and object of the trust. In this -case, the rule requires that the lands and other public property of the United States should be disposed of to the best advantage; and where that can be done by contributing a portion to works which would make the residue equally or more valuable than the whole would be without it, as is supposed, they hold it would be strictly within the rule. Your committee go further. They are of the opinion, not only that Congress has the right to contribute to the extent stated, in such cases, but that it is in duty bound to do so, as the rep¬ resentative of a part of the proprietors of the land to be benefited. It would be neither just nor fair for it to stand by and realize the advan¬ tage they would derive from this work, without contributing a due pro¬ portion towards its construction. It would be still less justifiable to¬ re fuse to contribute, if its effect would be to defeat a work, the con¬ struction of which, while it would enhance the value of the land be¬ longing to the public, and that of individual proprietors, would promote the prosperity of the country generally.” No argument can be put in stronger terms than this. No authority can be presented on this subject, giving as high a sanction; and Against the doctrine, I believe no name can be produced that has yet won either juridical or legislative fame. 5 POLICY OF THE MEASURE. I might here enter into a discussion of the policy of these grants. I might cite the grant which secured the construction of the Illinois and Michigan canal, by which the waters of the northern lakes were united with the waters of the Mississippi. That work has furnished whole States with a profitable market; on its banks numerous cities have sprung up; and at its northern terminus now stands what is already the queen city of the West. It would be a bold man who would now assert that both government and people had not profited largely by the grant to aid in the construction of this work; and what has proved true in relation to this gram, has also proved true in relation to the subse¬ quent grants made by the government for similar purposes. The grants proposed by this bill lie mostly in what is now the inac¬ cessible country of the interior. Not more than one-fifth of the land along the route is at all available to the government, and cannot be until some such work as is proposed is constructed. New Mexico, Utah, and all the country lying about the central mountains, is now, and must continue to be, valueless—must be a burden and a barrier, until it is opened up to communication and to commerce. Push a railroad through that country, and the hand of labor will conquer the inhospitable wil¬ derness ; and instead ol lonely mountains and plains, deserted by all but a few wandering savage tribes, there will be flocks, and herds, and smiling farms. Towns, and cities, and States will spring up ; and this confederacy will stand, not severed by the deserted desert land, but united by living brotherhoods—communities of men. GOVERNMENT CONTRACT. There is another feature of the bill to which I propose to call the attention of the committee. -Tt is the provision for a contract with the government for the use of the road for all government purposes. The bill fixes a maximum of six hundred dollars per mile per an¬ num for this service. It is not proposed that the government shall pay this amount, but that it will pay the amount, not greater than the one named, which parties will contract to receive for the service. If the maximum should be paid, it would still be a most economical contract for the government. The government is now paying for semi-monthly mail service be¬ tween the Atlantic and Pacific about $1,000,000; but a short time since, my friend from Tennessee (Mr. Churchwell) introduced a bill providing another semi-monthly mail service, and for the payment of $2,400,000 per annum in the event the trip could be made in ten days. He thought his proposition a reasonable one. This bill will secure a daily sei vice, and a transit in seven days. Upon a careful examination, I esti¬ mate the cost of military transportation to New Mexico and the Pacific at $1,7-39,014. The cost to the government of keeping up its whole naval communication with the Pacific by Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, of outfitting, discharging, and supplying everything required for that service, and the loss of service to the government during these long voyages, it is impossible to estimate with any accuracy, but I as¬ sume that it is not less than $1,000,000 per annum. The government now, in a time of peace, for inferior and inadequate service, is paying nearly the sum of $4,000,000 per annum for the same service which this bill proposes to secure to the government at a cost of not more than $1,200,000. I wish it distinctly understood that the contract proposed by the bill is an economical one for the government; that it will effect an immedi¬ ate and large saving to the federal treasury, to say nothing of its econ¬ omy in the event of war or other disturbance requiring the strong arm of federal power on the Pacific. I will say nothing further now of the provisions or merits of the bill under consideration, but ask your attention to the political, social, and commercial considerations which give importance to this measure, and render the work proposed a present national necessity. In entering upon this portion of my subject, I may be permitted to say something about the State which I have the honor ill part to rep¬ resent. The geographical position of California is, of course, well understood. It is known to occupy the utmost confines of western civilization. It is known to be a country traversed by mountains rich with gold, and by valleys of remarkable fertility. It is known that among those mount¬ ains and valleys has sprung up, as it were in a day, as if spell-created, a powerful State. These things, as isolated facts, are known; they •have forced themselves on the recognition of the country ; yet, while these general facts are known, I cannot avoid the consciousness that to most persons on this side of the mountains, to most persons within this hall, California is substantially a misunderstood if not an unknown land. I do not propose to make this committee familiar with either the constituency or the interests I represent. I shall content myself with the exhibition of a few facts bearing directly upon the subject now un¬ der consideration. CALIFORNIA. The State of California has now a population of 300,000 persons; and from the fact that they are almost exclusively effective men, they may be considered fully equal to any other population of 700,000 in capacity, either for labor or enterprise. The city of San Francisco has a population of from 50,000 to 75,000 persons, and is already second only to New York in point ol commer¬ cial importance, while in the amount of her tonnage she is competing with the second city in the Union. It has bfeen said that “ money is power.” The gold of California has been the master-power that by its force has seemed to realize the fabled birth of the ancient Tyre, said to have sprung perfect, with pal¬ ace and temple and busy mart, from the foam of “ the great sea.” The gold fields of California have proved rich beyond any known par¬ allel. Within the last five years they have produced over $300,000,000. 7 Within the past year over $80,000,000 in treasure, the products of our own rivers and mountains, have passed out of our golden gate. If I remember right, during the great currency controversy, about 1835 and 1836, the estimated amount of the entire specie basis of the currency of the United States was $80,000,000. The State of California con¬ tributes annually to the currency of the country an amount equal to the entire real currency of the whole Union eighteen years ago. In 1833, the entire exports of the United States, of her own domestic products, were but $69,000,000. Out of the golden gate we have exported, within the past year , more of the domestic products of California than was ex¬ ported by the whole Union twenty years ago. As late as 1S45 we exported, of our domestic products, but $98,000,000, including all articles of exportation—cotton, tobacco, sugar, and the fabrics of our manufacto¬ ries. California exports nearly as much as the whole Union did eight years ago, just before our gold had entered into, stimulated, and swelled our commerce. Again, during the year 1853, there was imported into ban r ran- cisco, from the Atlantic seaboard, 423,230 tons of merchandise, for its own and its dependent markets; amounting in value to not less than $100,000,000. It must be understood that the market of ban Fran¬ cisco is not limited by the State of California. It embraces the entire coast from Acapulco to the Russian possessions, and all the islands that possess a commerce as far as the coasts of Asia. The remark I have now to make is, that the market of San Francisco is as large a market for the Atlantic coast as the whole foreign market of the United States eight years ago. . , While upon this subject, I may as well state a fact incident to the commerce of California, which may serve somewhat to disabuse gen¬ tlemen upon this floor of the impression that California is a burden upon the federal treasury. F or the last four years the customs col¬ lected at San Francisco have averaged $2,500,000; during the year 1851, over $3,200,000 was paid for customs at that port. These amounts have been principally paid upon direct importations from abroad, while more than, two-thirds of our foreign merchandise pays duty in the Atlantic cities; so that the people of the State of California have in fact paid annually into the federal treasury over $7,000,000. While the people of the Atlantic States pay two dollars per capita per annum into the federal treasury, the people of California pay over twenty dollars. As liberal as the federal government has been to California, it should be remembered, -that while in her infancy, just sprung out of chaos, with scarce her wings adjusted, she has returned more than she ever received from the parental bounty; besides having poured out upon all these States treasures of wealth that have given an impulse and a support to agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, felt everywhere, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Northern lakes. While the mineral wealth of California has heretofore constituted its most marked feature, it must not be understood that the treasures of the mine constitute its only claim to consideration. No part of the Union, not even the rich bottoms of the Mississippi, equals in fertility the valleys of that State. I know of no other soil that yields such rich 8 returns to the labors of the husbandman. And this soil is not confined, as many have supposed, to a few scattered valleys, but constitutes a large proportion of the superficial area of the entire country. With a fertile soil, there is a uniform, invigorating, and salubrious climate—a better climate than that in which were bred the men of old Rome—a better climate than that of Italy. I expect, sir, to be charged with ex¬ aggeration ; but I state the fact. There is still another feature which I do not wish to overlook. I speak of the great bay of San Francisco. Far-seeing and intelligent men for the past century have there lo¬ cated the point where was to grow up a great city, which would hold the keys of the commerce of the Pacific, and command the rich com¬ merce not only of that great ocean, but of the ancient East. In five short years the foundations of that city have been laid, and already ves¬ sels freighted to and from her wharves are to be found upon every sea, and in almost every port of the civilized world. I have made these statements—presented these facts; I have asked for them the attention of this committee; and I now ask whether Cali¬ fornia, her interests and necessities, may not justly demand the atten¬ tive consideration of this body, and of all those who hold the powers of the government in their hands. POLITICAL NECESSITIES. And now, Mr. Chairman, what is the position and what are the ne¬ cessities of California? From this seat of the federal government California is distant 3,000 miles ; deserts and hostile tribes intervene. There is no way through that intermediate country except for parties who go armed for war. For all purposes of commerce and government there is noway; there is none even for an army in time of war. No man of military skill would undertake to carry a considerable army from the Mississippi to the Pa¬ cific by land. The sea, the fearful, treacherous sea, must be relied upon; the dangers of the tempest and the pestilence must be encoun¬ tered ; and then a transit must be made through a foreign country, through a people that are not our own people, and who impose upon us every species of exaction and outrage. Of the perils of the sea we have had a recent instance in the terrible fate of the victims storm-swept from the deck of the San Francisco. From the pestilent atmosphere encountered in crossing the continent within the topics, but few entirely escape; and I hazard no departure from truth in saying that that poison-charged atmosphere has destroyed a greater number of the lives of our people than were sacrificed on the battle-fields of Mexico. Is it known to this committee, or if known, is the fact a ppreciated, that we here are further from California, that more obstacles intervene, than intervene between us and where war now rages on the banks of the Danube?—that we could more readily place an army upon the banks of the old Euphrates than upon the shores of the bay of San Francisco? Such is the fact. California is a familiar name; but it is a distant land, sir. 9 I ask of you r sir, I ask of this House, and I ask of the country, whether, with such obstacles to communication, it is expected that the government at Washington can fulfil its offices on the coast of the Pa¬ cific? The arm of the federal government is not strong enough—the eye of the federal government is not far-seeing enough, these obstacles continuing, to govern California. Gentlemen may ask me, is not California governed? I will say, and say truthfully, we have not had, and we have not now, anything more" than the mere shadow of a government under the federal constitution. But for the fact that we are an American people, and have learned how to govern ourselves, and but for the vital efficiency of our system of sovereign States—each State vital in itself—we would now be to this Union what the State of Sonora is to the republic of Mexico. And if this evil continues, I suppose we will continue to govern our¬ selves. We are a loyal people, we people of California; we will con¬ tinue to pay our millions of tribute, for the sake of our early faith, for the sake of the household gods that yet look down upon the fires of our early homes; and we love our eagle and our starred banner. And then it is true, that the further one wanders from his own home and friends, the more his heart warms to them; and this is so with us, and therefore we will continue to pay tribute; and, instead of protection and government, we will take a few appropriations for custom¬ houses and federal officers, the machinery of taxation and not of gov¬ ernment. I repeat, we have not the benefits of the federal government in the State of California. We have had upon our mountain borders numer¬ ous tribes of hostile Indians. Against their hostilities the government was bound to protect us; yet there has not been an effective military force in our State sufficient to make head against a single tribe. The consequence has been the sacrifice of the lives of hundreds of our citi¬ zens, and the State has been compelled to maintain her own frontier at an expense of nearly a million of dollars. This much as to past pro¬ tection ; and now as to the future. Our present position is well under¬ stood in this House. Whether we consider our relations to belligerent Europe, or our relations to the government of Spain, it is clear that we cannot contract for a single month of peace. In case of conflict, where would a hostile power strike us? Strike us where we could be struck most certainly, and where we could be struck most securely. And I state here, that any second-rate power could effectually cut off the com¬ merce, destroy the cities, and for a time crush the rising greatness, of our whole Pacific coast. This might be done before the arm of this government could be felt on that coast, were it ever so potential. Would England thus expose her Indies to become the prey of an enemy? Cali¬ fornia is the Indies of these Atlantic States. But suppose this government could furnish all the protection re¬ quired. To maintain and defend that coast in time of war for a single year would cost this government $50,000,000. This statement is not made inconsiderately ; it is no exaggeration. It would cost this gov¬ ernment *$50,000,000 to defend that coast a single year. Supplies, troops, arms, everything, must make a voyage of 17,000 miles. The fact is, it cannot be disguised; it must be recognised that with 10 the present means of communication, the federal government cannot furnish federal protection to California. What I have said about the want of the military arm of the govern¬ ment in California is almost equally applicable to every one of its de¬ partments. There is no proper administration of the public laws of the United States in. California, for causes which, for want of time, I will not undertake to specify; but the evil is primarily attributable to the want of facilities for communication with the government at Wash¬ ington. The furnishing of postal facilities has always been regarded as one of the most beneficial offices of the government. Although the govern¬ ment is at large expense, yet we have but little more than the name of postal facilities in California. The mail business of California is mostly done by private expresses, at a cost five and ten times as great as that fixed by law. The mails fail to answer the necessities of the country, because those necessities are not understood by the head of the Post Office Department at Washington. Our public lands, those demanded now for present settlement, are unsurveyed, and under the system adopted by the department here they will not be surveyed for ten years to come. For ten years our people will have to wait before they can secure their own proper homes. This, sir, is an age in California. The difficulty again is, our necessities are not understood. There is one, and but one, office of the government well understood and well performed. We have excellent custom-house officers. They will permit no smuggling. They will faithfully see that every cent of federal impost is paid into the federal treasury. It will be perceived that these are evils against most of which we cannot legislate. They grow out of the administration, rather than out of the constitution of laws. Yet some of them are evils of legislation. How are these evils to be avoided ? With the present obstacles intervening between the Atlantic States and the pacific, how can the interests and necessities of the Pacific be understood or appreciated by the body of Representatives on this floor? The action of this body must depend upon the faith of representatives in the local representation; the degree of that faith must be subject to a thousand accidents of proclivity and opinion, in the confusion of which we can hardly hope for anything like complete legislation. I have made these remarks principally as the preliminary to the statement of the proposition, or rather the conclusion, that the estab¬ lishment of railroad communication across this continent is a political necessity, and that without it this government will continue to be utterly unable to perform the offices imposed by the federal constitution. If I had time, I would discuss this proposition more in detail. I •will remark, however, here, that this attempt at government in California costs the federal treasury nearly $4,000,000 per annum for the single item of transportation, including the military, naval, and postal ser¬ vice—a sum equal to the interest of the entire cost of a complete double¬ track railroad from the Mississippi to the Pacific. In case of war, it would cost the government each year an amount sufficient to construct a single track. If no war transpires, in the same time it would take 11 to build the road, the government will, if it undertakes to fortify the coast, expend more money on those fortifications than the road would cost; and one railroad would be worth more for the defence of that coast than all the fortifications that could be constructed from the sea of Cortez to the straits of Fuca. I have but glanced at some of the considerations that make this en¬ terprise a political necessity. I will now call your attention to its com¬ mercial importance. In doing this, I shall not deal in magnificent pic¬ tures of results in perspective, but with present facts. COMMERCIAL AND ECONOMICAL CONSIDERATIONS. And first, I affirm, and will undertake to show, that the want of a railroad to the Pacific operates a direct loss to the people of the United States in time, property, and money, each year, equal to the annual expenses of the federal government—a loss that in two years would be more than equal to the entire cost of a complete railroad to the Pacific. I will endeavor to give the facts and figures. During the year 1853 there arrived in the port of San Francisco from the Atlantic ports 443 vessels, with 423,230 tons of merchandise; the merchandise having a value, as I have stated, of not less than $100,000,000. Most of these freights arrived by clipper ships, and the average cost of freight was not less than $30 per ton. The average time consumed was about five months; during this time the merchandise was dead capital, and properly chargeable with interest, which call 5 per cent. It is well understood that the injury and loss not covered by insurance upon almost every article of merchandise that in the course of a long voy¬ age has to pass twice through the tropics, amounts to a very consider¬ able per cent, on its value. Flour, pork, beef, sugar, molasses, cotton and woolen fabrics, clothing, and indeed almost all articles of merchan¬ dise, from a variety of causes incident to the voyage, arrive in San Francisco either less in quantity or injured in quality. This loss has been averaged by our most intelligent merchants at 7 per cent, on the value of importations. These charges and losses in the shipment of merchandise by the way of Cape Horn may be thus stated : Insurance on $100,000,000 merchandise, at 4 per cent $4,000,000 Interest on $100,000,000, at 5 per cent. 5,000,000 Losses on $100,000,000 merchandise (not covered by insurance). 7,000,000 Freight on 423,230 tons, at $30. 12,696,900 Making an aggregate of.. 28,696,900 It is estimated, and fairly estimated, that during the last year 110,000 passenger transits were made to and fro between the Atlantic and Western States and the Pacific coast, including travellers by sea and land. The average cost to each has not been less fhan $250, and the average of time consumed not less than 40 days ; and if the value of time consumed is estimated at $2 per day, the following statement may be made: 12 Cost of transit for 110,000 passengers, at $250 each. ... $27,500,000 Time, 40 days each, of 110,000, at $2 per day. 8,800,000 Making an aggregate of.. 36,300,000 There is, besides what has been stated, the Isthmus transportation of $60,000,000 of gold-dust, and not less than 2,500 tons of other freight. Gold-dust pays 2 per cent, freight and 1 per cent, insurance, and the cost of other freights by the Isthmus route is $500 per ton; making— Freight on $60,000,000 of gold-dust, at 2 percent..$1,200,000 Insurance 1 per cent. - . 600,000 Freight on 2,500 tons besides gold-dust, at $500. 1,250,000 Making an aggregate of.. 3,050,000 There still remains the amount paid by the federal government for the transportation of its mails, military and naval stores, officers and troops, which I have already estimated at $3,739,000. If these aggregates be taken together, we have : Charges and loss on merchandise by Cape Horn___ $27,696,900 Charges and time of passenger transit. 36,300,000 Isthmus freights. 3,050,000 Government transportation. 3,739,000 In all... 70,7S5,900 This enormous amount is the tax now paid by the people of the United States for transportation and travel between the Atlantic and the Pacific; and it is to be considered, sir, that this is not a burden assessed alone upon the people of California. It is a burden upon the people, and a tax upon the industry and enterprise of the people of every State, and upon all classes of our citizens. I will now compare the amount thus charged upon the countiy with the amount of charge and loss in doing the same business and transporting the same number of passengers by railroad. A railroad 3,000 miles in length would connect any one of the At¬ lantic cities with San Francisco. I will first inquire into the cost of carrying freight per ton over this line. A single engine will draw 100 tons in addition to the cars. In Hunt’s Merchants’ Magazine of July last are tables taken from the American Railway Times, said to be prepared by one of the most experienced and intelligent managers, and from those tables it appears that the cost of running a full train of cars is but 33 cents per mile, or $990 for 3,000 miles, \yhich makes the entire cost of transportation to the pro¬ prietors of a road but $9 90 per ton from the Atlantic to San Fran¬ cisco. The same article states that the Reading road carries coal 100 miles for $1 per ton, although the cars go back empty, and that the cost of the round trip of 200 miles is but 38 cents per ton. It also states that the Baltimore and Ohio road carries coal 200 miles at $2 per ton. I am informed that, as a general rule, when the income of a 13 road is 100 per cent, greater than the running expenses, it is a paving road. I also understand that the expenses of a road are diminished in proportion to the amount of its business and the length of its line. If this be so, merchandise can be transported from the Atlantic to San Francisco at $19 80 per ton, a sum much less than what is now charged for Ocean transportation. But, assuming the charge upon this long and continuous line the same now charged on the Reading and the Balti¬ more and Ohio roads, which is over 200 per cent, on the running cost ol the road, I will proceed to state the charges and loss upon the amount of business between the termini. There will be no damage to merchandise by exposure or climate, and insurance will be but merely nominal, the time of transit need not be more than ten days. Passengers would not pay more than $50 . each, on an average, departing from their various points. Gold dust would go as freight, with an additional charge for its protection, and the amount of that would be about 125 tons per annum. Assume the cost of that item at $300 per ton, and the statement can then be made as follows i Cost of transportation of merchandise, 425,730 tons, at $30, $12,771 900 Interest 10 days on merchandise, £ per ct, on $100,000,000 333,000 12o tons gold dust, at $300 per ton. -17 110,000’ passengers, at $50 each... "**’;'!}*/: 5 500 000 10 days time of passengers, at $2 per diem. .. 2 200 000 Government transportation, 2,000 miles, at $600 per mile’ l^OO^OOO Making an aggregate of.. 22,042,400 f, r °n,T ld be thuS receivin g $19,471,900 for passengers and fre^hts—full 20 per cent, on its cost, and more than sufficient to support it with present trade and travel, and, at the same time, making a clear saving to the country of forty-eight million seven hundred and F ° uu Y THREE TH0USAND FIVE HUNDRED dollars. extrava g ant >* b ^t, extravagant as they may appear, they fall within the truth. If they are questioned, I ask who¬ ever questions to correct them. Now, sir, f wish it understood by this committee, and I wish it un- derstood by the country, that the want of a railroad to the Pacific is a the , countr y of a sum sufficient to support the whole machinery of the fedeial government—a sum sufficient in two years to build the best San fWh railr ° ad la th e world all the way from the Mississippi to , nSi , An< V WIS n lt .i Urther understood, that, apart from the ofnoffil a T P ° f 0Ur P r Clfic P° ssessi °ns; apart from all questions ° riff 1 "f ess,t /i apart from the illimitable promises of the future, the coumrv P resent com ™ercial and economical interests of the country demand the construction of the road. I will go further—I 'feel that I am justified in going further, and asserting thatft is not only demanded by th e interests, but it is demanded by the people of the coum _y. 1 will even take issue with some of my honorable friends from Virgin a and insist that it is demanded by their people. Upon this mbject the country has already been aroused; concerning its merits ey ave already become intelligent; from every cabin of the West, 14 from every workshop in the North, from every precinct and village in the South, the deliberations of this body upon this subject are being watched—watched earnestly; and I assure you, sir, that if we fail or refuse to act riow, there will be those placed in our stead more prompt and ready for the work. PRACTICABILITY OP ROAD. Mr. Chairman, I have been told by gentlemen on this floor that they would support the measure if they believed it practicable, but they doubted the practicability of constructing a road to the Pacific. I wish to say that' the practicability of the enterprise is not’ doubted by any one personally conversant with the difficulties to be overcome. I have crossed the continent myself; 1 have crossed the central region from the waters of the* Atlantic to those of the Pacific, on different lines, and on foot, and examined the country with reference to its practicability for * railroad purposes. Several routes have been surveyed with complete success; and I make no departure from truth in stating that there are several feasible routes for a railroad to the Pacific ; and more than this, that there is more than one route offering greater facilities than was offered for any extensive line that has been yet constructed either in this country or Europe. Nearly the whole route would lie along level plains and table-lands, already graded by the hand of Nature. No mountains need be encountered; but few considerable streams need be crossed ; there is no obstacle but the unpeopled wilderness. The enter¬ prise looms up into threatening proportions, because it lies in the dis¬ tance. Embrace it; closely consider it; and it loses all its Herculean features. Within the past year between two and three thousand miles of railroad have been constructed in the United States, requir¬ ing as much capital as is required for this entire work. When In¬ diana and Illinois have completed their railroads now in progress, they will each have a thousand miles more of road than is required for this entire line, besides having hewn through the solid rock a way uniting the northern lakes with the groat father of waters. If the en¬ ergy and enterprise of two poor almost bankrupt Western States has been sufficient to secure the accomplishment of such results, it seems to me to be a coward spirit that would startle at the project of a road two thousand miles in length ; a road in which the enterprise and in¬ terests of the whole republic are concerned ; one which is not only to bind the confederacy together, but which is to bear the treasures of many nations along its track. It is a work that can, and must, and will be done. The only question is, when and where shall it be com¬ menced?—when and how shall the initiative be taken? I ask of this committee, I ask of this Congress, that we take the initiative here, now, without any unnecessary delay. FOREIGN COMPETITION. I wish now to urge upon the committee the importance of prompt ^action in this matter. „ It is now but a brief period since we established a commercial 15 position upon the Pacific : until then, nearly all the commerce of that t ocean was in the hands of European merchants; for two or three years they even controlled the commerce of San Francisco. Sinc« then, the boldness and enterprise of our own merchants have been steadily driving them out of the field of competition, and now we con¬ trol the trade of a greater portion of our American coast and the Pa¬ cific islands, and are maintaining a successful contest with England for ascendency in the ports of China. This course of things has not been disregarded by England; she has watched our advances with a jealous eye, and was preparing to take decisive steps to regain her lost position, when arrested by the more stern demands of war. The road now being constructed by England, uniting the Indus with the Ganges, was designed but as part of a system of roads by way oi the Rhine and the Danube to Constantinople, thence by the head of the Persian gulf, through India and China, to the coast of the Pacific. I understand that just previous to the recent disturbances, England was negotiating with the Porte for the right of way through the Tur¬ kish dominions. The line from Halifax through the British possessions north to Frazier’s river, on the Pacific, is a project seriously contem- E lated by our northern neighbors, and in it they have the support of eavy English capital. Russia also has an eye to the Pacific, and has been pushing her works rapidly towards the East. In the midst of these projects, Europe has been suddenly driven from all the pursuits and enterprises of peace, leaving this republic (the only great commercial power not engaged) undisturbed by the accidents and calamities of war. All enterprise but ours is now par¬ alyzed. England has entered the lists against a powerful and equal ad¬ versary. The paths of peaceful enterprise are now ours alone. This is the time—-let us not neglect it—to establish a complete commercial ascendency throughout the world. I call upon this body, and this body will be responsible to the country if they refuse to take advantage of the time and the occasion. CONCLUSION. If, Mr. Chairman, I possessed the true spirit of inspiration, or the strong conception of the poet, I would like to picture the vast conse¬ quences to result to this republic from the construction of this great work. I would like to picture the consequences that would follow the opening of the great way sought for by the adventurous Genoese—the way long struggled for by English enterprise, against all the obstacles of polar seas—the western way to the Indies. I would like to exhibit the commerce of the world centralized within our own borders—the wealth, the energy, the enterprise, the civilization, and the opinions of the world radiating from the centre of our great American republic to the most distant lands. I would like to describe our republic as hold- |ng the ancient East and W est in either hand, and from her centre of Empire making laws regulating the commerce and the intercourse of the whole of the commercial world. It does not require the vision of the prophet to foresee these results, as consequences to the union of the two oceans by an iron way across our republic, and on the great line of civilization; but it does require the inspiration of the poet justly to describe the great results to be achieved. I have but one word more, Mr. Chairman. I recur again to my own people. In their name, in the name of your brethren beyond the mount¬ ains, in the name of those upon the distant shores of the Pacific, to whom you owe the obligations of brotherhood, of protection, and of government, give us communication, give us union, give us govern¬ ment ; allow us to stapd beneath the standard of the stripes and stars as one people, with a common hope and a common destiny. You may deny us all we ask, you may deny us union, you may deny us protection, and you may deny us government; you may leave us alone, girt in by our mountains and the sea; 1 say to you, sir, in our valleys and upon our mountain-sides we will build up the homes and altars of a powerful race; there, upon the shores of the great Pacific, we will lay the foundations of a majestic empire. Among those hills and valleys inhabit an indomitable people. Foreign power may dor a time paralyze, but cannot conquer them. Their great destiny is already fixed. I say, sir, we have the power to achieve our destiny unaided and alone. Alone we feel the power to do it; but no wish is father to that thought. We would be brethren. We ask, if you would call us brethren, greet us as such—reach out your arm towards us, and let it be an arm as strong as iron, and let us unite in g, fraternal and iron grasp. The passage of the bill submitted to this House will build the iron road—will be the extension of that iron arm. We will grapple iron hands upon the summits of the central mountains; and when there we grasp these iron hands of ours, this nation, from its Atlantic to its Pa¬ cific shores, will send up such a voice as will make all the silent air tremulous with triumph.