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32D CONG.....2D SESS.

Reciprocal Trade with Canada-Mr. Townshend.

(being about the average crop of Louisiana,) gives a carrying trade about equal to 1,000,000 bales of cotton, although the net proceeds will not exceed the net proceeds of 230,000 bales of cotton.

There is another view of the subject that may be fairly taken; it is this: there are now from sixty thousand to seventy thousand hands employed in the cultivation of sugar in Louisiana. Destroy that cultivation, and those hands will be employed, most probably, in the cultivation of cotton; if not on the same lands, they will be removed to better cotton lands-say to Texas, the fairest portion of these United States for planting. That number of hands will produce 400,000 bales of cotton, on an average, on good cotton lands. There is already a sufficient quantity, if not too much cotton produced, and it is a well-known axiom in trade, that an over supply reduces prices more than the proportion of the excess.

Our wisest men have over again and often recommended that a portion of the labor now employed in the cultivation of cotton be diverted to some other branch of industry, in order to prevent an over supply. Then, if this view be correct, the cotton planters, not only in Louisiana, but in the whole cotton-growing region of the United States, have a direct interest in maintaining the cultivation of sugar-not by any unreasonable protection, (it is not asked,) but by extending to that branch of industry the same incidental encourage

ment that may be extended to others, ired to fix justment of the tariff that may be required to fix the revenues to the standard necessary to carry on the Government under an economical administration, being the point promised to and expected by the people.

The culture of sugar in the United States did not take its rise under any tariff intended to protect that interest. I find that, in 1789, the first-Congress under the present Constitution imposed specific duties on sugar, molasses, tea, and coffee.

In 1800, the duties on sugar were fixed at two and a half cents per pound on brown, three cents on clayed, five cents on loaf, five cents per gallon on molasses, and four cents per pound on coffee. This was some years before the acquisition of Loui

siana.

During the war with Great Britain, the duties on all articles were doubled, to defray the expenses of the war. After the expiration of the war, in 1816, the duty on brown sugar was fixed at three cents per pound.

Very little sugar cane was grown in Louisiana previous to the war of 1812. It began to be cultivated as a crop during that war, because of the difficulty of its importation and high price, and because there was no demand for cotton, then the principal production of Louisiana.

In 1816, the amount of sugar produced in Louisiana did not exceed 16,000 hogsheads. The cultivation then declined until about the year 1820, when a disease in the cotton plant called the rot, induced many planters to turn their attention to sugar.

In 1828, the crop of sugar in Louisiana had increased to 88,000 hogsheads. It again fell off to 30,000 hogsheads in 1835. That short crop increased the price to double previous rates, which gave a stimulus to its further and more successful cultivation.

In 1849, the crop in Louisiana amounted to 247,000 hogsheads. It again fell off to 211,000 hogsheads in 1850.

I have made some investigations in relation to the imports of foreign sugar, and the foreign prices as compared with the home, and the probable quantity consumed in the United States, that are both curious and instructive, and which, in my opinion, prove conclusively, that the incidental encouragement given to that branch of industry by the duties on imports, intended entirely as revenue measures, have tended to reduce the price to the consumers very considerably.

In 1815, Louisiana sugar sold on the levee in New Orleans, at fifteen cents per pound. The quantity then produced did not exceed 15,000 hogsheads. In 1831 the sugar crop in Louisiana was estimated at about 70,000 hogsheads. Prices in New Orleans ranged at from four to five cents per pound. In 1835, the crop fell off to 30,000 hogsheads. In the early part of 1836, prices went up to ten and twelve cents per pound.

The imports of brown sugars in 1847-'48 were 248,000,000 pounds. The average foreign value was three and sixty-one hundredths cents per pound. The crop of Louisiana that year was 240,000 hogsheads. The average prices of homemade sugar in New Orleans, during the season, were from two and three quarters to four cents per pound, and sold as low as two and a quarter in April, one and three quarters in May, and one and a half cents per pound in June.

In 1849-'50 the imports of brown sugars were 198,000,000 pounds. The average foreign value was three and forty-two one hundredths cents per pound. The crop of Louisiana was 247,000 hogsheads. The average prices of homemade sugar in New Orleans, during the twelve months, were three and one twelfth to four and one third cents per pound; and during five months, from January to May, inclusive, it sold as low as two and a half cents per pound.

In 1850-'51 the imports of brown sugars were
363,537,861 pounds; the average foreign value
three and fifty-four one hundredths cents; the crop
of Louisiana was 211,000 hogsheads, a consider-
able portion of which sold on the levee in New
Orleans as low as one and a half, one and three
quarters, and two cents per pound.

According to a document published by Con-
gress in 1830, the consumption of sugar in the
United States in the year 1829, was estimated at
tw
136,000,000 pounds; and it was estimated that in
twenty-five years it would be increased to 300,-
000,000 pounds, and that probably by that time
Louisiana would produce nearly that quantity.
The result, however, has been widely different.
From the best authority, the quantity consumed in
the United States in the year ending 30th of June,
1851, is estimated to have exceeded 640,000,000
pounds, and the amount produced in Louisiana
was about 230,000,000 pounds.

Ho. OF REPS.

RECIPROCAL TRADE.

REMARKS OF MR. TOWNSHEND,
OF OHIO,

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
February 24, 1853,

On the "Bill establishing Reciprocal Trade with
the British North American Provinces on certain
conditions."

Mr. TOWNSHEND said:

Mr. SPEAKER: At this late day of the session I would not tax the patience of the House by any further discussion of this question, were it not that no gentleman representing any part of the valley of the St. Lawrence-the region especially interested in some of the most important provisions of this bill has yet been heard upon the subject.

AGRICULTURAL INTEREST.

And in the first place I beg to offer a remark or two for the purpose of quieting the fears of some gentlemen here-opponents of the measure-who seem to imagine that reciprocal free trade with Canada is likely to be prejudicial to the agricultural interest of the country, and especially to that of the Northwest. Perhaps I may venture to speak for this interest. I am myself a farmer, and I represent, in part, one of the best agricultural regions of the whole country.

The Canadas annually produce some fifteen millions of bushels of wheat, not more than one third of which can be spared for exportation. This surplus, it is supposed, may come into competition with the wheat grown in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. But when it is recollected that the price of wheat in those States, and also in Canada, is governed by the European, and particularly the English market, to which our surplus, together with that of Canada, is sent, it is easily seen that it cannot be possible for Canadian producers to undersell us in our own market. But all these fears are utterly groundless in view of the fact that the production of wheat in the British American Provinces is necessarily limited by the rigors of the climate, a part of Canada only being adapted for wheat culture, while the amount that may be produced in our northwestern States is almost illimitable. Why, sir, one of the counties of the Congressional district in which I reside, the county of Wayne, had, last year, seventy thousand acres of wheat, the crop of which averaged thirty bushels an acre, or in the aggregate, amountthere are eighty-five counties, each one of which could readily produce one million of bushels a year, without interfering in any inconvenient degree with other agricultural products. Under these circumstances, does any one fear the competition of the Canadas? The idea is absurd.

These facts and figures, taken from the best authorities, the reports of commerce and navigation, De Bow's Review, Champonier's Reports, the prices-current of New Orleans, &c., sustain the position that I have taken, that the cultivation of sugar to its present extent in the United States has reduced the prices to the consumers to a very considerable extent; they show, too, that if the freight and charges on the foreign brown sugar be added to the cost, that the Louisiana sugar uniformly sells in New Orleans at a lower rate, except when there is a considerable falling off in the Louisiana crop; and yet the best Louisiana brown sugar is a cleaner and more desirable article for family use than the foreign brown sugars. It will no doubting to over two millions of bushels. In Ohio be asked why it is? The only reasons obvious to me are, that the production falls short of the necessary quantity for the consumption of the country, and that a large quantity must be imported, and that the West India sugar, being made from a more matured plant, is dryer, less liable to lose in weight, and therefore better as an article of commerce for speculation, as it can be kept on hand a longer time to wait a favorable market.

In the course of the discussion, several gentle

men favorable to free trade advocated direct tax-
ation for the support of the General Government
as the true policy. That will do to talk about-to
demagogue a little. I am old enough to know
something about direct taxation for that purpose.
I lived during the embargo and war of 1812, when
resort was had to that means, and am therefore
privileged to give an opinion. Put it in practice,
and you will throw the whole burden on the in-
dustrial classes, principally the agricultural. The
politicians, office-holders, moneyed men, and pop-
injays about towns and cities, that wear foreign
finery and consume foreign luxuries, will contrib-
ute nothing. The industrial classes now pay town,
city, county, and State direct taxes. Add direct
taxes for the support of the Federal Government,
send your Federal tax-collector down among the
people, and let him begin to seize the cattle, horses,
agricultural implements, &c., for the payment of
taxes. I would not like to be in the place of that
officer, nor of the party that imposed the tax. That
party, sir, would be hurled from power like a trap-
ball; it would vanish, as the old Federal party did
more than half a century ago, when it imposed
the excise law, the stamp act, the alien and sedi-
tion law, and others of like nature.

All that the agricultural interest of the Northwest demands is, the removal of the obstacles thrown in the way of trade by a high and unequal tariff, and to secure the free navigation of the river St. Lawrence. Only permit us to sell where we can sell dearest, and to buy where we can buy cheapest-permit us to avail ourselves of any market we can find for our wheat and pork, beef, cheese, and other articles-permit us to buy lumber, fish, and whatever else we need without restrictions, and we ask no favors of this Government or of the rest of mankind. We have no conscious weakness to excite our fears of competition; we are not contending against the economy and laws of nature, and therefore we ask for no artificial protection. This point settled, I come now to consider briefly the bearings of reciprocity on the coal trade.

COAL INTEREST.

It is to be regretted that the bill reported by the committee does not provide for the free exportation and importation of coal. I sincerely hope it will be amended in this particular. My anxiety for this amendment does not arise simply from the fact that the shipping interest of the lakes desires the profits of the trade, nor merely from my conviction that it will directly promote the general interests of the country; but also from the fact which is, or which ought to be, perfectly understood, that without this provision for free trade in coal, our proposed reciprocity will not be

32D CONG....2D SESS.

accepted by the Provincial Parliament. To obtain a market for this coal is the principal object with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the only consideration that will induce them to concede to us the benefits of their coast fisheries.

At present, Pennsylvania almost monopolizes the coal trade of the country. That State sells some five millions of tons annually, at a cost to consumers of $20,000,000. It is not, therefore, surprising that the coal interest there should resist the free importation of coals from Nova Scotia, where they are found in great abundance and of excellent quality. It may, however, be seriously doubted whether the coal interest of Pennsylvania has anything to fear from free trade in this article, though if it has it is just as certain that other important interests of that great State would be proportionately promoted.

The coal imported from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is highly bituminous, some of it containing as much as sixty per cent. of volatile matter. Such coal as this can never come into competition with the anthracite of Pennsylvania. The latter will always be preferred for domestic and some other purposes; and in confirmation of this, I may refer to the fact, that the British Cunard steamers, which stop at Halifax, do not and cannot use the Nova Scotia coal, but obtain the coal they use from Pennsylvania, though at a much higher price. It is also equally notorious, that all the anthracite in Pennsylvania would not make gas enough to supply the city of Philadelphia for a single evening; nor from the Cumberland coal can gas be made without the admixture of some more bituminous variety. Free trade in coal will therefore result in the exportation of Pennsylvania coals to be used for purposes to which they are best adapted, and in the importation of coals from the Provinces to be used for the special purposes to which they are suited. It is also true that an increased consumption of anthracite will, to some extent, take place, for it is known that some factories in the East are now lying idle, because they cannot, without paying a high duty, obtain a certain amount of Pictou coal, which they find it beneficial to use in connection with that from Pennsylvania. Such is the difference in the qualities of these coals, and so different the purposes for which each is especially adapted, that Pennsylvania and Nova Scotia can scarcely come into direct competition. But the Liverpool coal, which more closely resembles that from Nova Scotia, will suffer more by this competition, and must ultimately be driven from our market.

The importance of the western coal trade can scarcely have been taken into consideration by those representing the coal interest here. This is already of great consequence, but it is speedily destined to be immensely increased. Our lake trade now employs about seventy-four thousand tons of steam-vessels mostly using coal, and the whole of the Canadas are entirely destitute of the article, so that Toronto and ther growing cities will be compelled to obtain their supplies from the western part of Pennsylvania and from Ohio. The demand in this direction will be an equivalent for any competition or diminution of demand in the eastern cities.

Pennsylvania is also largely engaged in the manufacture of iron; this is, in fact, her especial manufacturing interest. The iron manufacturers are now compelled to compete with those of England at a great disadvantage, not only on account of the difference in the price of labor, but also on account of the difference in the price of coal. In England, iron can be afforded cheap, mainly because in many localities the iron and coal and a clay suitable for fire bricks, and of which furnaces can be built, are found in alternate layers; it therefore costs nothing to bring the iron and coal together. Should, therefore, the introduction of coal from the British Provinces have the effect to re

duce the price of coals, as some suppose, it will in the same ratio increase the profits of the iron-masters. The manufacturers of the East are also equally interested with the iron men in obtaining cheap fuel.

But there is another consideration which, of itself, ought to be conclusive in favor of free trade in this article. Fuel is about as much a necessary of life as food; and for those that live in the great Atlantic cities, coal is fast becoming

Reciprocal Trade with Canada-Mr. Townshend.

the only fuel. Now, the question is, shall we, by legislation preventing competition, compel the millions who want coal and must have it to pay an extra and exorbitant price in order that a few brokers, owning coal stocks, may realize enormous profits? At this age of the world, will a monopoly which bears with such crushing weight on the working classes, longer be tolerated? I think not. And I believe I may safely leave this matter and proceed to speak of the lumber interest.

LUMBER TRADE.

The British Provinces have almost inexhaustible

supplies of pine lumber. This is greatly needed for building purposes in most of the western cities, and through the prairie country of the West immense quantities would be used could it be freely imported. It is needed, also, in the eastern States by

those of our manufacturers whose wares are made wholly or in part of this material; and in all the eastern cities it is as absolutely needed as in the West for building purposes; in fact, it is there a necessary of life; house and home, which cannot be built without lumber, are just as necessary as food and fire.

Maine and North Carolina have pine lumber for exportation. The lumber from these States, and particularly that from North Carolina, finds a market in our Atlantic cities, and also in the British West India islands, where it is received without any discrimination being made in favor of Canadian lumber. This West India market is so valuable that North Carolina makes little or no objection to the free admission of Canadian lumber into those sections of the Union that could not, from their geographical position and the want of water communication, be supplied from that State, the West India market being an equivalent for, and better than that of the western States. But Maine, from which a large share of the best timber is already cut, wants to exclude the lumber of the Canadas, and to force her spruce and inferior pine on the market at high prices. It is asserted, that unless competition from the Provinces is prevented, and the absolute monopoly of the trade be secured to Maine, her hardy lumbermen cannot make fair wages, because, as they express it, " stumpage is so high." This stumpage is the price paid by the lumbermen to the landed proprietors for the privilege of cutting the timber, and varies, as I am told, according to quality and location, from two dollars up to eight dollars a thousand feet. It is the monopoly of the trade excluding foreign lumber that enables the Maine landholders to charge so much for stumpage. Increase the duty on imported lumber, and stumpage will rise still higher; reduce the duties, and then stump; age will be lower. Prices regulate stumpage, and the lumbermen will not be affected, whether stumpage be high or low. The hardy lumbermen, over whom tears are almost shed, are not benefited in the least, but rather injured by those high duties, and all this humbug of protection is not designed for their benefit, but for the benefit of the wealthy few.

The Provinces are ready to concede to the United States the free navigation of the St. John; but with this bonus Maine is not satisfied. She demands, in addition, not only the West India market, which is already granted, but also that all the ports of the British islands shall be open to her lumber. Of course, we do not object to the opening of the ports of Great Britain. We do not in the least object to Maine getting a good bargain. On the contrary, we would be glad to see it; but we protest against loading down this bill with provisions which are probably designed, and certainly calculated, to defeat the whole measure by making it impossible for the Provinces to agree. Shall the St. Lawrence remain closed to our commerce, and the interests of the whole North be sacrificed? Shall the whole country be taxed, and its progress arrested for the sake of this monopoly, when the whole value of the entire

lumber trade of Maine bears such an insignificant proportion to the interests to be promoted by a liberal reciprocity? Assuredly not. And now a word or two in reference to manufactures.

MANUFACTURING INTEREST.

I am happy to see that but little opposition to this measure comes from the representatives of the manufacturing interest. The manufactures of

HO. OF REPS.

Canada are not in a condition to compete with ours, and of course ours do not need to be protected against them. On the other hand, many of our wares will find in Canada an excellent market, and eastern manufacturers are, some of them, already becoming convinced that the Canadian market is worth more to them than any protective duty they will be likely to obtain. Our manufacturers will also be benefited by the free introduction of various kinds of raw material. To cheapen these is to increase the manufacturer's profits, or what is the same thing, it enables him to enter into competition more successfully with the foreign article. And further, by establishing an extensive free list of Canadian unmanufactured articles, the more tariff must be raised from those articles which come more into competition with our own. The manufacturing interest, in fact, loses nothing by reciprocity with Canada, but gains much. Having said thus much in reply to some of the objections to this measure, let us now consider some of its advantages.

TRADE WITH CANADA.

We

Some idea of the beneficial character of our Canadian trade, and the still greater benefits to be derived from a liberal reciprocity, may be obtained by a view of the extent to which this trade has already reached, in spite of all obstacles and restrictions. I will not consume the time of the House by reading tabular statements, but content myself with giving amounts in round numbers, securing, however, substantial accuracy. Our registered exports to the British North American Provinces for the last year exceed $12,000,000, and the registered imports from the same quarter exceed $6,000,000. But inasmuch as it is impossible to watch thoroughly by Government officials a border of two thousand miles in extent, it is certain that the actual trade is much greater. may safely set down the aggregate at $20,000,000. This trade has all sprung up within a few years. It is now rapidly increasing, and would continue to increase beyond any previous ratio, were it not for the obstacles interposed by unwise legislation. The average rate of duties levied by Canada on goods imported from the United States is twelveand-a-half per cent., while the average of duties levied by the United States on goods imported from the Canadas is twenty-three per cent. This inequality of duties accounts in part for the difference between our exports and imports, which in a great measure destroys the mutual advantage of the trade. But the worst effect of such high duties is to stop trade in many articles altogether. Our merchants cannot now import an article, however much it may be needed, unless it will pay a sufficient profit over and above the twenty-three per cent., nor can they carry there the productions of our skill and industry unless they can make on them a living profit over and above the twelve per cent. duty charged in Canada, and consequently the exchange of many articles is entirely prevented which else might be exchanged with great mutual benefit. These restrictions on our trade are of course highly injurious to our shipping interest. Freights have to be increased, as the certainty of return cargoes is lessened. But let trade be free and the number of articles of exchange increased, and freights might be greatly reduced, and yet larger profits be made.

And when these restrictions are removed, other sections of the Union will share with the lake country in the benefits of the Canadian trade. Kentucky will find a new market for her tobacco and hemp. Louisiana secures a market for her raw sugar. South Carolina gains admission for her rice; and in addition to these products from opposite sides of the Union, our manufacturing States wili find a new and profitable market for their wares. FREE NAVIGATION OF THE ST. LAWRENCE.

But the principal obstacle in the way of the commerce of the lakes will only be removed when Great Britain shall be induced to concede to us the free navigation of the river St. Lawrence. What are these great lakes but expansions of this magnificent river? It is the natural outlet to the ocean, and not less is it the natural highway for our commerce with the world. But because this river has been closed against us, other ad artificial channels of communication between the lakes and the sea-board have been constructed at enor

32D CONG.....2D SESS.

mous expense, which has been justified by the incalculable benefit some of these, as the Erie canal, have been to the country and to the West. But besides the expensiveness of using these artificial channels-and that is no trifle, for the Erie canal levied $3,000,000 last year in tolls on produce going east and on merchandise going west-there is another and still more serious objection: they are inadequate to our wants; not all the railroads and canals that have been constructed since the Erie canal, are able yet to meet the demands of our

co.n nerce.

The trade of the great lakes in 1851 was $326,000,000, or more by $40,000,000 than the exports of the whole country. This trade employs some two hundred and fifteen thousand tons of shipping, of which about two thirds are in sailing vessels, and about one third is propelled by steam. The sum invested in this shipping is over $8,000,000, and so long as we are not permitted to use the river St. Lawrence, this $8,000,000 is compelled to lie idle and unproductive for about one third of the year, while the interest on the capital thus invested is running up to $250,000. If the navigation of the St. Lawrence were secured to us, a large proportion of this shipping would load up in the fall with the produce of the West, and

run down the St. Lawrence and out to sea before

the ice had closed the river. During the winter, voyages would be made to England, to the Mediterranean, to the West Indies, or to South America. In the spring they would return, bringing cargoes from the countries they had visited, or they would bring fish from the Provinces, pass up the river again, and be on the lakes in time for the summer trade.

A gentleman near me remarks "that the lake craft dare not venture upon a navigation so dangerous as that of the Gulf of St. Lawrence." To that I reply, that the men who dare to sail on Lake Erie, where there is neither depth of water nor sea-room, will not be afraid of that gulf, nor of any other place where money is to be made. A few years since, a vessel started from Cleveland, loaded with western produce, and carrying some of my neighbors as passengers; she wen down the St. Lawrence, by special permission, then out to sea, and round by Cape Horn to San Francisco, in safety-thus practically solving this problem; and it was not inappropriate, therefore, that she was named the Eureka. Make the river free to us, and thousands of vessels will follow in the same course.

Railroad to the Pacific—Mr. Smith.

say nothing of the various rapids between the head
waters of the St. Lawrence and its mouth, there is
Niagara, where alone seems to be power enough
to turn all the wheels in the world. Hitherto this
prodigious accumulation of power has run to
waste. This cannot be suffered longer. The people
who tame the lightning, and compel it to run on
errands, will soon put bands on this old giant, and
compel him to grind in the prison-house. There
is, therefore, in nature nothing wanting to make
this valley the great manufacturing region of the
country but the removal of those commercial re-
strictions which alone prevent the development of
its immense resources.

COAST FISHERIES, ETC.

SENATE.

act in concert, and whatever is not obtained at this session will be secured at the next.

Before taking my seat, Mr. Speaker, I would move an amendment to the bill by inserting the word "coal" among the articles enumerated in the first section. I desire also to move an amendment in reference to lumber, but as there is now pending a motion to commi, these amendments, I know, would not be in order. I hope to have an opportunity to propose them at the proper time. There is, however, another change which I very much desire, and as I cannot move it as an amendment, I ask that by general consent it may be made as a correction. The bill provides for the free exchange of undried fruit, while dried fruit is not embraced within its provisions. The south shore of Lake Erie is a beautiful fruit region; our peaches are equal to those of New Jersey, and our apples I think the best in the country. These apples in the undried state are barreled up for exportation, and this trade is of some consequence to us, but our trade in dried apples and peaches is, I believe, much more important, and restrictions on it would operate severely on the fairest portion of our constituents. Sir, the pretty daughters of our western farmers have a commendable way of making their pin-money by drying this fruit. I trust, therefore, that no gentleman will think of raising an objection to a correction, so that the bill instead of "undried fruits," may read "fruits dried and undried."

The SPEAKER. No objection is made. The Clerk will make the correction.

We have still another inducement to adopt a liberal measure of reciprocity, inasmuch as on this is likely to depend a satisfactory adjustment of the difficulties growing out of the coast fisheries. By an existing convention, as we all understand, our vessels are not permitted to fish within a marine league of the shores of the British Provinces, nor have they the privilege of drying and packing on shore. By the first of these prohibitions they are excluded from the best fishing-grounds; by the second, they are prevented from securing properly what they do take. From both these restrictions they would gladly escape, and it is net surprising that both are often disregarded; and hence Great Britain has to send ships-of-war to secure to the fishermen of the Provinces the enjoyment of their monopoly. Our vessels are often seized, and much irritation and some danger grows out of it. If we can offer to the British Provinces a liberal scheme of reciprocal free trade, it is understood they will surrender all exclusive right to take fish upon their coasts, and our fishermen will have free access to the best fishing-grounds in the world. Should this arrangement be made, every family in the Union may be benefited, because fish may then be SPEECH OF HON. TRUMAN SMITH, obtained at lower rates and of better quality. In its national bearings, this free access to the provincial fishing grounds is universally conceded to be of vast importance. The fishing trade thus opened will give employment to tens of thousands of men and boys, and so become the great nursery for seamen, from which our naval and mercantile marine may always be supplied. The importance of this consideration cannot easily be overestimated.

of its particular interests, even temporarily, while
it is of vital importance to a large portion of the
country, and will, by its direct effects, or by the
collateral advantages secured in connection with
it, be highly beneficial to the whole. So far as
this measure goes, it is a step in the right direction;
it knocks off some of the fetters with which com-
merce has too long been bound. I believe that
"sound policy requires a system of free trade with
all nations that will trade free with the United
States." We think this especially true in refer-
ence to these neighboring Provinces, settled, as
they are to a great extent, by a people having the
same origin, language, and pursuits; being, in fact,
in many instances our relatives or friends, and often
separated from us merely by an imaginary line.
It is for the interest of these neighbors to trade
and make exchanges, and they will do it. Then,
why not openly permit what you cannot and ought
not to prevent?

We come, then, to the conclusion that this measure of reciprocal free trade with Canada will not The people living in the valley of the St. Law-injure any section of this Union, nor scarcely any rence are of the opinion that the Government of the United States ought to make an effort in reference to this river as decided as that which was so successfully and properly made in 1803, to secure the freedom of the Mississippi. The St. Lawrence is to the North and West what the Mississippi is to the West and South. The valley of the St. Lawrence is not less important to the country than the valley of the Mississippi. It contains half a million of square miles, embracing, on our side of the line, western Vermont, northern and western New York, north western Pennsylvania, the northern portions of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, the whole of Michigan, and part of Wisconsin and Minnesota. It already has a population exceeding four millions, and it is not unworthy of note in estimating its future, that it lies within those latitudes where the densest population of the Old World is to be found. With the exception of the agricultural, the most important resources of this great valley are almost entirely undeveloped. Scarcely anything has yet been done to open to the world the immense mineral resources of the Lake Superior region. Around that vast inland sea the whole country almost seems to be but a succession of rich ore beds; copper, iron, and lead are found there in greater abundance than elsewhere in the world. When the ship canal around the Falls of the St. Mary's river, now about being commenced, shall have been completed, the whole mineral wealth of this region will be made avail-understood even by those most immediately in

able. Millions of tons of coal from Ohio and from Pennsylvania will be carried thither, and copper and iron brought back in return. But besides the agricultural and mineral resources of the St. Lawrence valley, it is possessed of unequaled hydraulic power, which is to be applied, and at no distant day, to manufacturing purposes. To

I know that some of the friends of this measure have doubts of its success at the present session. We are now near its close, and perhaps attention has not been sufficiently turned to this subject. Lest these fears should prove to be well founded, which, however, I am not willing to believe, I take this occasion to say that this beneficial measure can certainly be secured if those interested in the commerce of the valley of the St. Lawrence will bestir themselves. The subject is but imperfectly terested. The press must do its work, and the public mind must be informed and aroused. Let the Representatives to Congress from this noble valley come thoroughly posted up on this question, and prepared at the outset to insist that the most efficient man from the whole lake region be placed on the Committee on Commerce. Finally, let them

Mr. TOWNSHEND. Then I conclude, sir, by expressing the hope, that when the bill comes up for final action, it will first be amended, and then passed..

RAILROAD TO THE PACIFIC.

OF CONNECTICUT,

IN THE SENATE, February 17, 1853, On the bill for the protection of the Emigrant Route and a Telegraphic line, and for an Overland Mail between the Missouri River and the settlements in California and Oregon.

Mr. SMITH said:

Mr. PRESIDENT: I do not know but that this subject has already been sufficiently discussed to enlighten the deliberations of the Senate, and to conduct us to such results as shall accord with the public interest. I am a strong friend of this measure, and do not intend it shall be killed off by unnecessary or protracted debate. If, therefore, the Senate will indicate a desire to bring the question at once to the test of a vote, I will resume my

seat.

Mr. GWIN. Agreed! let us have a vote.

Mr. COOPER. I desire to address the Senate on the subject, and cannot consent to forego the privileges of the floor.

Several SENATORS, to Mr. SMITH. Go on! Go on!

Mr. SMITH. I must, then, throw myself on the indulgence of the Senate in submitting a few remarks, which I trust will be accorded to me, if for no other reason, in consideration of the fact that I seldom obtrude myself on the notice of this body, and never except to discuss some matter of practical importance. I have taken no part in the discussion of a variety of questions which have been raised here touching our foreign relations, and which have occupied a large portion of our time during the present session, to the exclusion of this and other matters deeply concerning the welfare of the American people. But though we are brought very late to an examination of this bill, I hope enough of time and opportunity remains to enable us to make an enlightened and proper disposition of the question before us. And what, sir, is that question? It is whether we shall now adopt a measure commended to our confidence by the deliberations of some of the ablest and most experienced members of this body.

I confess, Mr. President, I have concluded, contrary to my first impression, that it is my duty to acquiesce in the result of those deliberations, and to give the bill before us, with slight exceptions, my cordial support. It is true I did, very early in the debate, express the opinion that it would

32D CONG...2D SESS.

APPENDIX TO THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE.

be impracticable, during the present short session,
so to arrange and settle the general plan and de-
tails of a bill as that it would command the sup-
port of the two Houses of Congress. I therefore
insisted that nothing more could be done than to
make provision for such surveys and explorations
as would be required for a proper and just appre-
ciation of the subject by the next Congress. But
the Select Committee, at the head of which my
honorable and excellent friend, the Senator from
Texas, [Mr. RUSK,] has been placed, has satisfied
me that I was mistaken. They have brought be-
fore us a bill which seems to me to have been well
considered, and to be substantially right, both in
its general plan and details.. I am, therefore, for
pressing this bill to a vote; I am for taking the
judgment of the Senate on the subject, and let
those incur the responsibility who would defeat
the measure and postpone even the commence-
ment of this work for two years longer. Be it
remembered, if we do not act now, no bill can
be got through the next Congress until July or
August, 1854, and that little or nothing can be
done to advance the measure until the spring of
1855. Hence, sir, I rejoice at the success of the
committee, and I desire to proffer to them my cor-
dial thanks for their indefatigable labors. If noth-
ing is now done on this important subject, no one
can think of laying the blame at their door.

I repeat, Mr. President, I consider this bill sub-
stantially right. I do not mean that either the
general plan or details are such as I would have
proposed. I suppose if every honorable member
were to be charged with a subject like this, sus-
ceptible of an infinite variety of plans and details,
each would adopt a measure having a specific
character, and differing from that of every other
member. If we are to wait until every member
has before him exactly the scheme he would pre-
fer, we should wait until the end of time. I feel
myself under an obligation to lay aside my pre-
ferences and my notions of what would be best in
dealing with such a subject. If I can find in the
bill a plan that is practicable, and which does not
compromit any great public interest, or violate any
fundamental principle, it will be enough for me.
I shall feel it to be my duty to accord to it my
support.

And what, Mr. President, is the object contemplated by this bill, and what is the scheme by which that object is to be reached? The former is one of the most magnificent which could be proposed to an American Senate, being no less than the establishment of a railroad and telegraphic communication between the navigable waters of the Mississippi river, or one of its tributaries, and those of the Pacific coast, and this, too, wholly within our own territory-an enterprise of vast magnitude, which, when accomplished, cannot fail to produce results of infinite consequence to ourselves, and to the world. The scheme is a moderate one. It does not involve an appropriation of any considerable amount of the public treasure, and certainly no part of the public domain now of much value, and yet it holds out such encouragements for the investment of private capital, and the enlistment of private enterprise, as to make the execution of the work, within a reasonable period, morally certain. The bill sets aside $20,000,000 for this work, to be advanced as it progresses, and grants in the States alternate sections of the public Tands, on each side of the road, for six miles in width, and in the Territories, for twelve miles in width It makes it the duty of the President, after obtaining the requisite information, to fix the termini and general course of the road, and then directs him to enter into a contract, after public notice, with the lowest bidders, for the construction of the road and telegraphic line, with regulations and details which need not be specified. The contractors are to own the road and line, and to levy tolls subject to the supervision and control of Congress to a certain extent, and are to surrender them up to the United States at the end of thirty years, should Congress so elect on terms which would seem to be equitable and just. In the mean time, they are to be subjected to such burdens by the free transportation of the mails, and the officers, troops, and property of the United States, as are likely, in course of thirty years, to be more than an equivalent for the money advanced and the land granted. The bill also con

Railroad to the Pacific-Mr. Smith.

able, to a proper execution of the contract, the
fers on the contractors corporate powers, which
convenience of the parties, and the safety of the
would seem to be quite important, if not indispens-
capital to be advanced by them.

213

SENATE.

getting any valuable information for the guidance finished in five years or twenty-five. The idea of a single or double track, nor whether it shall be of Congress in this strange way, cannot of course be seriously entertained by one so eminently pracsider his proposition a mere evasion of the question tical as the honorable mover. before us. any disrespect to the Senator, I have to say I conWithout intending bill at once, than to adopt a measure so utterly futhink it would be better to reject the tile and impracticable. I understood him to avow, and more statesmanlike to defeat it by a direct and with a commendable frankness, that his object is to to nothing. positive negation, rather than by a substitution defeat the bill; but I think it would be more manly which on its face amounts to nothing and can come

sylvania [Mr. BRODHEAD] has proposed an amendTo this bill the honorable Senator from Pennment, the only effect of which will be to adjourn over the whole project for an indefinite period. He moves to strike out the enacting clause, and to substitute a provision for such explorations and surveys, by and under the direction of the Secretary of War, as he may deem advisable to ascertain the most practicable and economical route, for a railSecretary to receive proposals from individuals or road from the Mississippi to the Pacific; and also associations, for the construction of the road, to be a further provision authorizing and requiring the laid before Congress at its next session. This amendment, Mr. President, will, if adopt-worthy Senator from Pennsylvania, I proceed to Without dwelling any further on the substitute certain, that if we are to have a thorough exploraed, be in substance a rejection of the bill, and a which has been offered by the honorable and very repudiation of the labors of the committee. It is tion and survey of all the various routes, and the nomical, as an indispensable preliminary to the costs of each precisely ascertained so that we may determine which is the most practicable and ecoaction of Congress, the work cannot be commenced in many years.

[graphic]

he

this work. The first is to make it exclusively a say that there are three different methods which Government work, to be executed by the national can be adopted, to provide for the construction of Treasury. It is believed that great advantages Congress, and at the proper cost of the national Executive, in conformity with the directions of possible modifications of each route, for in no The honorable Senator would seem to contem- sated in part out of the public domain. The conwould attend this plan, provided the contract plate a survey of all possible routes, and of all system be adopted, and the contractors be compenother way can the question of comparative prace aftitate to say it would cost three or four times as tract system would, in my judgment, be indispenSouth Pass to the navigable waters of the Columticability and economy be settled. Of course sable to a proper economy. If it were executed bia, if not to Puget's Sound, and then, also, by the outlay could be brought within reasonable limits, must cause a survey to be made by way of the the fashion of the Cumberland road, I do not much as it ought to cost. same pass, to San Francisco. He must cause a out in sections to the lowest bidders, I suppose the But by letting the road take up each of these general routes, and examine add compensation in part from the public domain, survey to be made by way of New Mexico and all the various modifications which may be sugWalker's Pass, to the Pacific; and then he must and would not greatly exceed the cost of roads constructed by private enterprise and capital in gested. He must also ascertain what is the num-ury would be reduced so low that they could be various parts of the country. If, then, we were to ber of square yards of embankments, excavations, promptly met without serious inconvenience to and masonry, which would be required on each in the usual manner, the requisitions on the Treasroute, together with the cost of viaducts, depôts, is not now before us, and therefore I need not and other structures, indispensable to the proper dwell on it further. any branch of the public service. But this scheme organize several corps of engineers, and employ them on different parts of the work, and each working of a railroad. He would be obliged to would have to be protected by detachments from would be required? the Army. How long would it take to execute such a work, and what amount of expenditure

[graphic]

four years since we commenced running the bound-
Fortunately, we have the lights of experience
to guide us. On the 30th of May next it will be
ary between the United States and Mexico, in con-
has cost us half a million of dollars; and yet
formity with the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The work has not been finished to this day, and
nothing to do but to draw a line from point to
at least one half of that boundary consisted of
point on the surface of the earth, and mark it by
rivers; and with respect to the other half we had
suitable monuments. How infinitely more vast
is the undertaking proposed by the honorable Sen-
ator! Estimates of embankments, excavations,
from merely settling a line, as in the case of the
masonry, and other matters appertaining to a rail-
road, would be found to be quite a different affair
United States and Mexico. I verily believe the
surveys that would be necessary to enable Con-
gress to determine which is the most practicable
construction of the road itself.
and most economical route would require more
time and a larger expenditure of money than the

But the honorable Senator [Mr. BRODHEAD]
the Mississippi to the Pacific ocean, and to lay
requires the Secretary of War to receive proposals
them before Congress at the next session. How
for the construction of a road from the valley of
does not condescend to inform us how, when, or
can proposals be made when the honorable Senator
where this road is to be constructed? He does not
say whether it is to be a road to the Columbia
river or to San Francisco, or if to the latter point,
whether it shall have its course through the South
point in the western boundary of Arkansas, Mis-
Pass or by New Mexico;-whether its eastern
terminus shall be on the Mississippi or at some
Bouri, or Iowa;-whether it is to be a road with

struction of the road exclusively a private under-
A second method would be to make the con-
taking, and to put the work into the hands of such
favorable terms for the public; leaving it to their
citizens as may be disposed to furnish the requisite
capital, and would execute the work on the most
and general course, together with all the details of
own sagacity and sense of interest to fix its termini
location, making them such compensation in land,
would be quite likely, nay, morally certain, to ac-
or money, or both, as may be deemed adequate,
just, and equitable. It is safe to say that what-
ever would be best for the stockholders in respect
to the location and general course of the road,
cult to settle in the two Houses of Congress.
cord with the public interests. The sagacity and
shrewdness of private enterprise would be no un-
safe arbiter of questions which it might be diffi-

The third method is the one which we have be-
fore us; it is the intermediate method, where gov-
Government is to fix the termini of the road, and
ernmental control and capital is combined to some
extent with individual control and capital. The
its general course throughout, and the details of lo-
cation and execution of the work is to be confided
capital requisite for the consummation of this great
to such citizens as may be disposed to furnish the
comparison of these three methods. The honor-
enterprise. I need not, Mr. President, enter into a
able committee have seen fit to adopt the last, and
I can see no superior advantages in either of the
two former to induce me to reject the latter. I
therefore have made up my mind to support it.

They have been examined, and as I humbly con-
But there are some objections which have been
made to this plan, which I wish to notice briefly.
[Mr. BELL,] who has just resumed his seat.
ceive, refuted with signal ability by my honorable
and excellent friend, the Senator from Tennessee,

among others the honorable Senator from South
It has been asserted by honorable Senators, and
Carolina, [Mr. BUTLER,] to whose opinions I have
ecutive, or the chief of the incoming Administra
ever been disposed to listen with deference and
respect, that this bill proposes to confer on the Ex-

32D CONG.....2D SESS.

Railroad to the Pacific—Mr. Smith.

out debate, or not act on it at all. We have 80 much liberty of debate, that we really have none at all as to most of the matters calling for the action of Congress. Hence, after many weary months in listening, with what patience we can muster, to never-ending disquisitions, relating to anything else than legitimate subjects of legisla

tion, a power which is unprecedented in the history of the country. I fully admit the extent and magnitude of the power proposed to be conferred. To fix the termini of this road, and to lay down or establish its general course, is to decide questions which deeply concern the welfare of the whole country; and yet I cannot see how we can do better than to place the disposition of these question, we find the moment at hand when the session tions in the hands of the Executive. I think we can do so, under the circumstances of the case, with safety and propriety.

I am apprehensive, Mr. President, that I shall be obliged to pay a poor compliment to the two Houses of Congress, for I am constrained to say, as the result of many years' observation, that I have as much confidence in the impartiality, sound discretion, and high sense of patriotism and duty, of the President elect-nay, a good deal morethan I have in the collective judgment and wisdom of the two Houses of Congress. I am not among those who share the responsibility of his elevation to the Presidency. I supported, with whatever of effort I was capable, another citizen, who had rendered his country services such as no man now living can boast of, and who, I thought, by his great experience, his generous and patriotic course, his unspotted life, and his transcendent abilities, was entitled to fill the chief executive office. But my wishes, my opinions, and my efforts, were overruled, and, like a good citizen, I cheerfully acquiesce in the result. The President elect has received a high expression of the confidence of his countrymen. The North and the South, the East and the West, supported him with unexampled unanimity, and it is my sincere desire that his Administration may be successful-may conduce to the prosperity of the American people, and to the success of our free system of government. I shall oppose to that Administration no factious opposition, and shall be governed, on all occasions, by a proper sense of right and of duty.

And what, after all, is this power to be vested in the hands of the Executive, which some honorable Senators seem to suppose so tremendous? Why may we not confide it to the Executive, and where is the hazard? Do we not at every session appropriate from forty to fifty millions of dollars for various branches of the public service, and is not the expenditure of these vast sums confided, in a great degree, to Executive discretion and Executive agency?

must be closed. We then snatch up the appropriation bills and hurl them through the two Houses, much as shot may be thrown out of a shovel. Nobody knows what they are, or what they provide for, unless the honorable members of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and on Ways and Means of the House, be exceptions. What a rush do we witness, of secretaries, clerks, and messengers, to and from the two Houses, and to and from each and the Executive, all in hot haste, lest this or that appropriation should be lost by the advent of the inexorable hour.

Now, suppose all the surveys and explorations contemplated by the honorable Senator from Pennsylvania should be made, and all the different routes estimated, planned, and laid down on maps, (the world would hardly contain the books which would be written,) and the whole of this vast amount of information should be pitched into the two Houses of Congress, what would become of it? What chance would there be that the subject would receive a dispassionate and a proper examination? Should we not have interminable debates, and either no result or a very unfortunate one, rushed through on the very heel of the session? And, then, what heart-burnings, what jealousies, what sectional dissensions should we not have! Would not the opponents of this policy, reinforced by those who are dissatisfied with this or that location, be sure to defeat the whole scheme? Indeed, on the question whether the fixing of the termini and the general course of the road shall or shall not be referred to the Executive Departments, depends, in my judgment, the question whether we shall or shall not have a railroad to the Pacific. The committee have hit on the only practicable scheme. With the President, there will be a proper sense of responsibility, high intelligence, and a just appreciation of the true interests of the country. I am satisfied there will be no want of either inclination, ability, or effort, on the part of the incoming Executive, to make a wise and safe disposition of this entire matter. It is possible that a reference to the President may cause a location contrary to my present impressions of expediency. I prefer the route by the South Pass, if practicable, because from thence we can branch to Oregon; whereas, if the southern route be taken that will be impossible. But I am for a road anyhow, whether North or South. Besides, I believe we shall have a railroad within twenty-five years, between the Mississippi and the Columbia or Puget's Sound. I believe it with almost as much confidence as I do in my personal identity; and I do not concur at all in the opinion expressed by my honorable friend from Pennsylvania, [Mr. COOPER,] the other day, that the snows would render a railroad impracticable at the South Pass. If such roads can be worked to advantage in New England, Canada, and even in Russia, in the winter season, I am quite sure there can be no barrier to their use at all times at the point mentioned, and even at a much higher latitude.

In the present instance he will have only to fix the termini and general course of the proposed road; and coming, as he does, from New England, from the remote East, his mind will be free from all bias, and in a condition to dispose of the question on its true merits. It seems to be an assumption here that the President is to settle this matter by his own unaided judgment; but it is not so. He will, in the first place, have the counsel and assistance of his Cabinet, composed of no less than seven citizens of the country (I shall venture to presume) of high ability and standing. He will also have the power to organize a board of officers, if he shall be pleased to do so. It will be his duty to cause the surveys to be made in advance, and to obtain all the requisite information to enable him and those whom he may call to his assistance, to determine what should be done. I desire to know whether results, such as the President would be likely to arrive at, with all the surveys and explorations before him, and with the assistance of his Cabinet, and, as the case may be, of a board of officers of distinguished ability, would not be quite as likely to accord with the public interests as any judgment we shall get from the two Houses of Congress? I hope I shall not be considered out of order when I say that the two Houses have reduced themselves to such a state, that they are competent to do little more than pass the general appropriation bills, and that they do after a sad fashion. In the House of Rep-basis resentatives I believe it is seldom in order to do what should be done, and nearly the whole of the public business there has to be transacted in violation of the rules, or, in other words, by suspending them. Here we have no previous question, no means of closing a debate. Hence nearly the whole of every session is occupied in discussing a few topics, and those, too frequently, of no practical importance, and much the larger proportion of the business before us we are obliged to act on with

It is also insisted that it is improper to pass this bill for the reason that the surveys and explorations have not been had which have usually been deemed an important, if not an indispensable, preliminary to legislative action on such a subject. If we were about to fix the termini and general course of the road, this objection would have great weight; but when these points are to be referred to the Executive, and when the bill directs these very surveys and explorations to be made as a for his decision, it obviously has no force. I have already, in opposing the amendment of the honorable Senator from Pennsylvania, [Mr. BRODHEAD,] stated fully my objections to surveys and estimates in detail of all the various routes, and of the modifications of each route with a view to comparison, and an accurate and precise calculation on their economy or cheapness. I say, if this is to be done, there is not a Senator in this Chamber who will live to see the day when the work is commenced. I maintain, moreover, that

SENATE.

such fullness and precision of survey and of estimates is wholly unnecessary. In such a vast undertaking, one or two millions the one way or the other is of no importance, and it would be folly in the extreme to waste ten millions in order to save one or two. With respect to the practicability of the work, much is already known. We need, for example, no survey, to satisfy us that we can construct a road to the South Pass, and from thence to the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada. The assent from the Missouri to the pass is so very gradual as not to be perceptible to the traveler; but when he comes to test the elevation by the barometer, he finds himself, if I do not misrecollect the figures, from six to seven thousand feet above tide water.

Every one admits we can build a railroad from the Missouri to the Sierra Nevada, but whether we can get over that mountain is a matter of doubt. The Sierra would have to be explored through several degrees of latitude and all the passes carefully examined. This would be the only point on that route of serious difficulty. On the southern route several points would require examination. It would be necessary to examine the ridge between the waters of the Mississippi or its tributaries and those of the Rio Grande; also the ridge between the waters of the Rio Grande and those of the Colorado, and also the ridge between the waters of the Colorado and those of the San Joaquin. This would involve an exploration of all the mountain passes. Probably the grades would have to be ascertained at all the difficult points on each route, and then the question, whether of practicability or economy, must be decided either by Congress, or, as proposed in this bill, by the Executive. I believe all the information requisite to a proper disposition of the subject could be obtained in a single season, and then we ean commence the construction of the road at an early day. Having determined on the point of departure and the general course of the road, the surveys and estimates in detail can then be made with safety, economy, and dispatch. You will need no detachments of the Army to protect your surveyors. Large bodies of men will be employed on the road, who will hold in check and probably keep at a distance the savages of those regions. It will be necessary ordinarily to survey only one or two hundred miles in advance of the road as it progresses, and then the road itself will facilitate the passage of the surveyors to and fro, and the transportation of their supplies, and this will greatly reduce the expenses of the operation. Indeed it is, in my judgment, indispensable that surveys and construction should go forward at the same time, and in no other way could the former be accomplished without an enormous outlay. Every one must see at a glance that the construction of the road in part will greatly facilitate surveys in advance.

If, for example, the President were to decide that the point of departure should be at or near Independence, Missouri, and if we commence the construction, and carry the road forward, say four hundred miles, it is obvious that this would aid essentially surveys for the next one hundred miles. Probably the cost of such survey would not be one tenth part what it would be were the work undertaken without the aid of the road. The combination, therefore, of the two operations to some extent, is indispensable to economy if not practicability. And what is more, on the plan here advocated, the parties who make the contract will have to be at all the expense of these surveys and estimates in detail. They need not cost this Government one penny. All, therefore, we should provide for, are such explorations and surveys as would enable the Executive to fix the termini and general course of the road, and precise estimates and calculations, such as are ordinarily laid before our State Legislatures in cases of this sort, are impracticable and unattainable. The case is a peculiar one; the object is to connect the two sides of a vast continent, and the intermediate space is a wilderness thronged with savages. Explorations and surveys are alike difficult and dangerous, and to apply to such a case the rules ordinarily observed by our State Legislatures, is absurd and ridiculous. The necessities of an undertaking so novel and unexampled, will furnish laws by which we should regulate our conduct.

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