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. r"? J y X; - imfomi frrt 'grass. JOHN W.O'BRIEX CiKor. FOR GOVER.VORr Haj. GUSTAVUS-A. HENBY, ef Montgsmery. FOR COXGRtfcSv T. NIXON VAN DYKE, Esq., of McMinn. FOR REPRESENTATIVE, JOHN A. PATTON, Esq. LOUDON: T. FRIDAY JULY 1, IS53. "KNOXVILE AND II ER RAIL ROAD STOCK." Under the above caption, the Register, of the 27th-, makes an extract from the Somerset Gazette, in which that paper criticises upon the policy here tofore pursued by Knoxville and Knox county, in regard to the E. T. & Oa.j and the E. T. & Va., Railroad and which crti cisms are based upon facts which have hereto fore 8pjeared in our paper. The Register at tempts to show that these and1 other accusations,, are frivolous aud disreputable by the following statement, which we copy, in justice alike to our readers and to our Knoxville friends. The East Tennessee and Georgia rail road Las a stock subscription amounting in the aggregate to $995,000. Of this sum, $425, 000 be longs to the Slafe; leaving but $570,000 belonging to individuals. -Of the stock owned Lv individuals.nearlv S200.000.or more than one tftirdf has been subscribed by the citizens of , Knoxville and Knox county. What is more ) remarkable, -uu,t)0u ot stocK heloby citizens of Knox countv, was subscribed at a time that the stock of the company could have been bought and in some instances was bought by those who now compl. i i of Kn jx coi n'y at thirty cents in the ilollar, and some at even a les3 rate. The citizens of Knox county took, in other words, $150,000 of the stock at jar, when, with the same rnoncy they might have bought every dollar's worth of private stock in the road, and still have had some funds where with to extend the road to this point. We ven ture the assertion that another instance of the kind cannot be found in the entire history of rail road enterprise in the United States, and yet wc are charged with a want of liberality m reference to this and other improvements. But this is not all which Knoxville nnd Knox county have done; Wre can foot up the follow ing column of subscription. To East Tennessee and Georgia, $200,000 Knoxville and Kentucky road, 150,000 j " Knoxville and Charleston road, 100,000 j u East Tennessee and Virginia, about 50,000 j Total $500,000 j Besides this, $50,000 was tendered by Knox- ! rille to the East Tennessee nnd Virginia road j Which the Company declined. In regard to this statement we have to say that it would afford us great pleasure to believe and know that it was made in candor and to meet an anxious enquiry after truth. But we cannot believe so the facts are distorted and calculated if. not intended to deceive strangers. We take the same figures, and by making the necessary corrections, and by a true and sim ple statemcn1 of the surrounding circumstances known to all who are familliar with the ques tions at issue, and we make quite a different ex hibit It is asserted in the above statement that of the $570,000 stock in the Road, belonging to individuals, "nearly'' $200,000, or more than one third, belongstothe citizens of Knoxville, and of Knox county. Now, are we to under stand from this that the people of Knoxville and of. the county, own more than one third of the individual stock in the road? It certainly was the intention of the Editor to make that impression. The language used can convey no other idea, and it simply means that while the people of Knox county do not own quite $200, 000 of the individual stock, they nevertheless own more than one third of said stock. We are prepared to slate that one third of the indi vidual stock of the East Tennessee and Geor gii Railroad is not owned in Knox county. Our information on this point is, that the en tire stock taken and owned by Knox county does not exceed $185,000 which is $5,000 less than one third. Of this amount, we may take . $150,000, which the people of Knox county were compelled to take, or else loose the loca ting of the Road entirely in their county. The citizens of Blount seeing the indifference in Knox in regard to the extension of the Road, and knowing that its completion to the River at this place, would exhaust the means of the company, generously stepped forward, and pro posed if the company would change the loca tion of the Road so as to pass through their county, they would furnish the means to build it. This proposition meeting with favorable consideration on the part of the Company, the people of Knox became alarmed and the peo ple of Blount had no sooner raised the amount necessary to build the Road, than they set about to do the same thing, and thy succeeded in raising this $150,000 leaving $48,000 yet to be subscribed to complete the road to Knoxville. Bui there they slopped! They have failed to meet the calls upoti this $150,000, which they could well afford to tal.e at "par" if they did not intend to pay the money, and the only evi dence of this intention is, that they have not done so. We contend that this $150,000 would have done justa3 well in the hands of the com pany as in the haml3 of individuals who will rot pay; nay, more,, we are satisfied that if Knox county had never taken this $150,000, and if the proposition of Blount had been ac cepted, the Road would now bo completed to its terminus! We therefore deduct thi3 150,000 "jku" sub scription, so much boasted of, and wenhave $35,000 as the stock bwncd by Knox county. Of this, say $15,000 is owned by the Banks of that place, and was obtained by them as the only available assets of defaulting debtors. This leaves $20,000. How much of this was purchased by bhrewd speculators after the fail ure of the Iliwasseo Company we are not able to say. But we want to be fair. We will put down $35,000 as the original bonefde subscription of Knox. The calls upon the $150,000 sub scription, have beon partially met The amount of mczzj paid in ou the calls of this $150,000 would about meet the calls on $30,000. There fore, the largest amouut of stock the people of Knox county have any right to claim, is $G5, 000, or an amount insufficient to build fotir miles of the Road. Quite liberal, indeed, for the county and city at the terminus to build so much upou a line of one hundred and ten miles! And this, be it remembered, is their only outlet to the cities and markets of the South!! In regard to the subscription in the East Ten a?BJee & Va. Road, they huVJ not furnished enough of means to pay for surveying and loca ting the Road in their county, and Gen. Jack son, Agent of that Company declared to a gen tleman in this ploce, but a short time since,tbat the Company would be compelled to sue those who "had taken stock, in order to get the money to carry the work forward. - Messrs. VAN DYKE AND SMITH. - These gentlemen have been with us, and we have had the pleasure of hearing them discuss the issuesbetween them. The manner in which they conduct the canvass is honorable to both. We give, as hear a3 we can, the position taken by each upon the most important issues. We s'mll probably have something to say uroa these ssues hereafter. Mr Van Dyke said, that he had attentively read the Inaugural Address of President Pierce, and found that, although he had announced his ojurfionin regard to several questions upon all bf which, except one, the celebrated Compro mise measures, there never had been any diver sity of opinion among the American people,and had in this country become incontrovertablc political truths, yet upon those questions of do mestic policy, such as giving incidental protec tion to our home industry against freiyn com petition, by discriminating in favor of those ar ticles of prime necessity in time of war, the d's ribution among the States according to fed eral population of a portion of the public lands, and of the suqilus revenue in the treasurp-the improvement of our rivers and lake karbors, a id the great Railroad to connect our Atlantic States with the Pacific Ocean, the President is entirely silent; and until he heard the Presi dent's views upon those great and interesting subjects, involving the future onward progress and prosperity of the country, he could not, in advance, pledge himself, unqualifiedly, to sus tain the President in all the measures he should recommend in guiding ai.d conducting his Ad ministration; but, said Mr. Van Dyke, ever in flucicd by the irlncip'e, and opinion that the people of the United States are capable of self government, and that, whenever a President is elected and inducted into office according to the Torms of the Constitution and the law, it is the duty and should be the pleasure of every Representative in Congress to respectfully and maturely consider every recommendation which the president, in the discharge of the Constitu tional requirement,should make to Congres,he, Mr. Van Dyke,would consider it unjust and un patriotic to condemn the President in advance, and would, if elected, not only properly consid er, but give his cordial support to all measures recommended by the President which received the approbation of his conscience and judgment, as advancing the great interests of the country, and, with entire independence would resist and oppose, all such measures as he believed would militate these great interests. If, said Mr. Van Dyke, I should be elected your Represent ative, I will as fearlessly assert and maintain to the utmost of my ability, the independence of the Legislative department of the government, as I should studiously endeavor to abstain from encroaching upon the just and Constitutional rights and privileges of the two other depart ments. Mr. Van Dyke said that he admitted it was settled that it would be inexpedient to 'establish a United States Bank, and that if he should be elected he would not vote to charter such an in stitution; but as to the Tariff he considered it always subjected to be changed and modified according to the exigencies of the country, and according to the trade and commerce of the world with this country should increase or di minish iu value; that, if elected, and it should become necessary to change the present Tariff so as to raise a revenue sufficient to defray the expenses of the Government equinomically ad ministered, he would be for arranging and ad justing the details as to give incidental protec tion to all those articles of prime necessity in time of war, as came in competition with like articles from foreign countries; that East Tennesee, soon, after the completion of our sys tem of Internal Improvements, must become a great manufacturing country before she could have the bonfit of her superior natural advan tages, that if our manufacturing companies with their small capitals, could thus be protected for a short time, against the Foreign Manufacturers with their millions of capital to protect and sus tain them; they would soon spring up over our country, and by competing with each other would keep down prices within just and reason able bounds; that if this principle of incidental protection had been adopted and acted upon by our Government when first proposed the mill ions of dollars worth of Jlailroad Iron which has been purchased in England upon the credit of our State and Railroad Companies, could have been purchased in this country, and the State and country saved from the immense debt which now hangs over them, and which soon must be met and paid off. Mr. Van Dyke said that the people of Ten.' nessee, and in fact all the States of the Un ion, were deeply interested and were anxiously looking about for ways and means to extend aud perfect their systems of Internal Improve ment, and Common School education, and as it is admitted by his competitor, that there is a surplus in the treasury of the United States of $14,000,000, and one thousand four hundred millions (1,400,000,000) acres of public lands; for which the General Government has no use for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the Government, he, Mr. Van Dyke, insisted that the only just, equitable, and practicable mode by which that surplus revenue and a portion of those public lands, could be appropriated aud applied to the use and benefit of the whole peo ple of the Union would be to have liberal ap propriations made from the Treasury for the clearing out of tire obstructions tvom our great navigable rivers, and the improvement of our Ocean and Lake Harbors; that East Tennessee particularly was deeply and vitally interested inf the construction, ; through her territory, of the great Rabun Gap RailroadOut Tennessee & Kentucky Railroad -the Memphisdc Charleston Railroad, and several other Railroads of not mncb less magnitude in addition to which,and of no less importance, the people desire, and will require that the obstructions in all oar riv ers shall be removed to admit the easy and safe transportation of our agricultural and manufac tured productions. To cfiect these objects, Mr. Van Dyfre said, if elected, Be would use his best efforts to have liberal appropriati ns made by Congress for the improvement of our navigable rivers and Lake harbors; that he would endeavor to have from fifty to one hundred millions acres of the public lands, and whatever surplus of revenue there may be id the treasury distributed among the States pro rata according to federal1 population; by this mode and by this. mode only coold he hope to obtain for the Rabun Gap Railroad, or for any other improvement in Tennessee any portion of the public lands, but let Tennessee as l ev portion of the 50crl00 millons acre3 of the public lands and her distributive share of the surplus reveuue,all together available to her as from 6 to 12 millions of dollars, the largest portion to be vested in the stocks of her great Railroads, say 2,000,000 to the Rabun Gap Railroa in the same proportion to the other Railroaus and the balance in clearing out ob structions from our smaller rivers feeders to our great Railroads the dividends from the Railroad stock to be vested for the - founding and maintaining Common Schools, and a few years will see our whole people educated, pros perous and happy. . : Mr. Van Dyke said, let my competitor duce into Congress his proposition for the pift, whether as a bonus or as a baix of rredii of anv portion of the public lands to-ny Railroad Company in Tennessee, isolatecTand unconnect ed with the principle of a-" general distribution of a portion of the public lands pro rata among all" the States, and my word for it, he could not get five votes for it; Congress never has, and I feel satisfied never will give to any of the old States or to any Railroad in any of the old StMes, any portion of the public lan'Y, aud the only way for any of the old States to get the benefit of any of the public lands is for their Representatives in C ingress to go for a general distribution of a portion of the lands. If a portion of the public lands and the sur plus revenue should be distributed pro rata a mong the States, Mr. Van Dyke said hi i com petitor need have no apprehension that they would be squandered by our State Legislature; that he was astonished to hear him, Mr. Smith, who professed to be a State's Right democrat, insisting upon Concprcss becomings the special guardian of the funds belonging to the States, and that Congress would be better judges of what improvements should le made in the States, than would be the Legislatures of the States themselves; has he not heard everv Can didate for the State Legislature within this Con-J gressional District, as ably and as eloquently advocating the importance of the Rabun Gap Rail Road as either of us? Are they not as trust-worthy as we? Why not then give to Tennessee and all the States of the Union a just and fair proportion of at least one hundred million acres of the public lands? Tf mv Competitor has so far modified his old political opinions, as to be now satisfied that the General Government can devote the surplus revenue, and the public lands to works of Inter- ! linl Improvement and education let him not p'ace them under the control and keeping of a I few private Stockholders who may not be more ; virtuous and trust-worthy than State Legisla tures; but let them be given to the States, the rightful owners, and sure I feel they will be properly appropriated, and all of our srreat Railroads will be speedily made, and all our rivers improved fur safe and easy navigation. Mr. Smith said that President Pierce had been elected by an overwhelming majority, and having published to the world, in his Inaugural adJivss, the principles and policy upon which he intended his administration should be guid ed, and as he, Mr. Smith, heartily and fully con curred with Mr. Pierce in his his principles and policy, he should, if elected, give to his admin istration a cordial support. That, when he first commenced the canvass, he thought that all the old issues, which had di vided the two great parties of the country, were settled, particular!y the Bank question and tar iff question, but to his surprise he found that his competitor contended that the tariff was still an open question; that as for himself he insis ted that the tariff of 1846 gav e ample protection to our manufactnries and should not be chan ged;tl at under the operation of. the tariff of 1846,foreign iron had fallen to about $30 per ton, and that our rail road iron should be bought at the lowest price in a foreign market. That under the operations of the tariff of 184C a surplus revenue, beyond the wants of the General, Government had accumulated in tho Treasury of the United States to the amount of 14,000,000, and that it would continue to do so annually; that this 14,000,000 should be giv en to some company to aid t i-" in 'he construction of the At!a r.: and Pacific Rail Road. That there were- now unappropriated of the public domain 1,400,000,000 acres; that these lands belonged in common to the whole people of the United States, held in trust for them by the Government of the United States; that if ! elected, he would use his best exertions to get from 1,000,000 to 2,000,00 J acres given to the Rabun Gap Rail Road Company to aid ihcm in the construction of that road: th it hi) ompetit- or had misunderstood him upon this Subject,that he did not intend this one or two hundred Mill ion, of acres, as a bonus tp the company, but only as a bonvs of credit; that he would oppose any alternation in the tariff of 1846, that it should remain permanent an 1 not be modified or changed in any particular; that he should op pose any general distrilution of any portion of public lands among tie states, that if any such distribution should he made of any portion of the land or the surplus revenue it would be all sqandered away by the State Legislature; that he would not be illiberal to important rail roads, that it was safe to leve it to Congress to say what were the imporUnt rail roads the pub lic land should be given to aid in the construc tion of, and that the State Legislature should r.ot be permitted to interpose it any particular, be tween Congress and the particular roads. Con gress should aid in the construction of, by the gift of a portion of the lublic lands as a basis of credit. I That he would oppose tny bill making a gen eral appropriation of mfney for the clearing out obstructions from Rivers and impoving lake harbors, but would jote for a bill making &tl, appropriation for imtroving the Tennessee River, that the other riveji should be inrproved by the Scate, and that if!he was a member of the State Legislature wolld vote for an appro prialion to imnroro the olier rivers of (he State. 1IKTO- For the "Loudon Free Preet." LETTERS ON LOUDON. No. 3. In any anxiety I may manifest to build up Loudon to the fair proportions and true great ness of which she is so abundantly capable, I beg tha I be believed when I say that I am not influenced by any sordid or money motives. I am not one of the company that purchased this property and laid out the town. I am in no way connected with them by the ties of kin dred, or any other, except those of good neigh borhood. Nor am I a merchant, mechanic or professional man deriving my living from the place. In every point of view then I am as free as possible from any selfish or pecuniary motive. I am certainly partial to Loudon,but I hope neither extravagantly nor foolishly so. If I am anxious to see her prosperity promoted, her commerce extended, her manufactures es tablished and enlarged, her n or d, religious and educational interests cared for, it is only for their beneficient jesults. I want to see promo ted among us and throughout East Tennessee, that enlargement of spirit which flows from wealth and virtuous intelligence, and those rich er blessings of a higher civilization, and a no bler patriotism, and a purer Christianity which theysecure, multiply anl diffuse. Under those uences I hope to see here established a com-: ete system of public works and heaven-blest charities. These will constitute the true great ness and glory of any community; these will call down the blessings of heaven; these are monuments worthy to endure when those who r.iised them have passed away. The world is just beginning to be informed ofthe vast natural wealth of this region of which Loudon is the centre and outlet. The public mind is turning with keen avidity to the moun tains of coal, iron, and copper which He round about us. The first difficulty, and the only one which has long shut us out from the rest of the world, will be found in those wild and grim for tresses of nature, those apparently inaccessi ble mountain walls, with which, every where, nature guards her treasures. To think of pen etrating these reccsses,of8caling these ramparts, and of bringing to light and conveying to mar ket their hidden treasures was once ridiculed as an idle dream of a visionary mind. But impedi ments to men whose first impulse is "to go a head"' will only stimulate activity, quicken the pulse of speculation, open the purse of enter prise. Much of the capital and skill, once em ployed i our mother country, and, in the older parts of our own, will soon be diverted from their ancient channels, and be taught to mean der through the hills, the ravines, and the Rivers Clinch, the Cumberland, and the Tellico. The very first "d I believe the wisest plan, ever devised in the South-west, for the purpose of connecting Lake Erie and the Ohio with the Atlantic was the original one, of which this we now advocate is the carrying out. That was a grand idea of connecting the metropolis of the west with Charleston in the South-cast. It enlisted for its accomplishment some of the greatest and wisest men this- country has pro duced; such men as Haync, Calhoun, Bland ing, and Preston in South Carolina; our own White and Jarnagin in Tennessee; Clay, Crit tenden, and others in Kentucky; with Drake, Wright, Mansfield and Kelly in Ohio. It was in July in 133G that the celebrated convention to promo'e this grand work was held in Knox ville. Seventeen years have passed since then, and with them have also passed away many of the chief actors in that brilliant assemblage. Who can ever forget the high-souled and chiv alric Hayne who presided on that memorable occasion. With what dignity, zeal, and glow ing enthusiasm was that great man pervaded, and how much of these he inspired in all who acted with him. For days and nights this great enterprise absorbed their deepest thoughts. The original route then advocated was that by way of Asheville and the Warm Springs iu North Carolina, down the French-Broad, thence across the country through the Cumberland Gap, into Kentucky, anl sj onto t'.ie Nor -hem term inus. With the exception of the main points, there were few intermediate ones named. Those were great men and patriots and their object was to accomplish the great national work. To do so they never thought of fence worming it about to accommodate little petty localities. Calhoun with h'i3 eagle-eye and far-reaching vision saw that the route proposed was not the most eligible one. I remember that he did not indeed oppose it, but he told the convention that tne headwaters of the Savannah and the Ten nessee, with some gap between them, and the valley formed by the latter river indicated the true route. I remember that he made an able speech in advocacy of the Tennessee Riv er route; that he said the road should dtscend it to Russell's Ferry (Citco) at lei s; before any deflection to the North was made. And he said moreover that his judgment was that the Road should descend this River still further that it should not leave it until it had reached some point in Roane county some where between the mouth of the Ilolston nnd Kingston and thence north-wanl to the Cumberland Moun tains through some favorable gap which he was persuaded could be found there. Take notice, I do not pretend to give Mr. Calhoun's exact language; but this I will say, "This vas his route, this the valley and these the points he named. And I can yarify this assertion by ref erence to an original letter from Mr. Calhoun to an intelligent gentlemeu now deceased, but who then lived in the county of MonroeT This letter is now known to be in the hands of a leadinjr merchant in Knoxville. vWhy it has never been published or alluded to, in the Railroad discus sions of these latter days, I cannot telL Nor is this the only letter of Mr. Calhoun's on this sub ject. Tie is known to have corresponded with a gentleman who then (in 1836) lived in this county. It is certain then that that great man favor ed this route. Possibly he was the first who suggested it. If so, it is but another proof of his clear and almost intuitive perception, his unerring judgment Can any one doubt that Loudon, if then in existence, would have come within his route? But a word more of General Hayne. After careful estimates a report was ma'ie of j the probable cost of the work, i.e. to connect inU Charleston with Cwcinnati. It was set down at Twelve millions of dollars,($12,000,000.) and it so far exceeded Gen.. Hayne's expectations J that he wa3 overwhelmned with astonishment and despair. "Twelve millions of dollars," he was overheard to say, "Twelve millions of dol lars! we shall never be able to raise, it!" After a restless night he wa3 seized with a ferer'of which he died, more generally lamented than any man of his time. Soou after that memorable convention, char ters were obtained from all the States interes ted, but owing to the pecuniary troubles of the next and the following years this great enter prise was forgotten and died out But look at it now after the lapse of seventeen years- That splendid scheme had its origen in the social and commerciel wants of the country, and in the peculiarities of our position; and now we see it silently and surely drawing to-wards its completion. Ob! it wa3 a grand conception, that thousand miles of continuous Railway from Lake Erie and Cincinnati to Charleston, queen cities jboth, uniting all the degrees of latitude between in the strongbonds of commerce, patriotism, and country! Who could then or now estimate properly the effect of such a work in developing the greatly deversified region ly ing between the Atlantic, the Ohio, and the Lakes. More than half (fully two thirds) of that thousand-mile-chain completed and here we are, dear readers, striving to straighten out and weld the middle link. Here it is all hot and glowing upon the anvil of public good, and public opinion hammering away at it We strike while the iron is hot; we mean to get our link straight and keep it so. Come then, good friends, to the rescue: let our links no longer lie about, severed,disjointed, zig-zag and fragment ing; but gather them up, weld them together, and see what fraternal hands will keep them bright forever; I said in my last that East Tennessee was the only portion of the country that had such a prospect of steam carriage to the Atlantic, to the G ulf, and to the Western waters. In this respect she will be peculiar. And this will ex plain why Loudon, the point or focus where most of these outlets should meet, will be so fa vorable to every sort of manufacturing interest; and for this reason, that she will have a choice of so many markets. I need not say a word about the agricultural wealth of East Tennessee. She is everywhere looked to as one of the granaries of the Union. She is rich in the general productions of hr fields, but especially so in corn, wheat aud oats. Last year any quantity of wheat could be bought for 50 cents per bushel; this year it will doubtless range ten or fifteen cents higher. Now this same wheat, both last year and this, would be worth a dollar, and some times more, in the markets of Alexandria, Baltimore and Richmond. Suppose now we were able to turn our wheat into flour at home. Suppose we had large flouring mills on the bank of our" riv er, with every conveniance for getting wheat from boats on the river, and :f returning it to them, or to the Road in the shape of flour. That flour can at once be sent to Charleston, Augusta, Savannah, Montgomery and Nash ville; and in a shot ti touhl also be sent to Pensacola, Mobile, New Orleans, Alexandria, Norfolk, Richmond, Petersburg, Louisville and Cincinnati. No less than 14 markets, to say nothing of others that are farther away, and, to reach which, might require water-carriage. This will be true not only of flour, but every thing in the line of farmers, millers, and manu facturers. There are two naval Depots with which we shall soon be connected by rail Norfolk and Pensacola. A large vessel or a fleet of vessels is to be provisioned. How easy it will be to send to either point, or to both, upon the shor etst notice, any quantity of stores of flour, meal, bacon, pork, beef ic. And this accessi bility will be of the greatest advantage to all parties; to the buyer as well as the seller; to the consumer and to the producer; in time of war and in times of peace. And remember that these facilities for intercommunication will be constantly on the increase, as well as the fruits of our orchards, fields, and herds. Re member, too, our position; on the borders, at once, of the cotton and grass-growing regions; surrounded on all sides by a broad belt of moun tains which would be poor and barren were it not xhat they are full of the richest mineral t:easusi s surely such an abundance and varie ty of God's good gilts should inspire emotions of wonder as well as sentiments of the pro foundest gratitude. What is it that has made England the great capitalist of the world? Two things chiefly, iron and coal. This is the source of her wealth ar.d power. Thi3 has made her a grand-workshop for Europe nay, almost for the whole world. Besides those two chief elements of wealth she enjoys two others, abundance of food, and unrivaled facilities for the carrying trade. These four things, iron, coal, food, and the carrying trade, Lareiuade her what she is. These have fostered industry, promoted enter prise, and brought in capital from the whole world. Now who does not know that we pos sess all those elements of wealth in richest and largest abundance. Why we have credible in formation that the very gap through which we propose to carry our Kentucky road Winter's Gap, only twenty-three miles from Loudon has seams of coal cropping out on either side, va rying in thickness from 8 to 20 feet! Why sup pose we have a tunnel to make through the mountains there, it will pay well to make it through so rich a vein of coaL These tunnels are ordinarily very expensive affairs, but in our case, through a bed of coal from 8 to 20 feet thick, it may be a source of vast profit Why it is said that there are in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, 50 miles of underground Rail road, made for no other purpose but to get at and bring out the coal. In our case the coal lies directly in our path; and not only coal but iron also. Give us a market for this coal and iron hlre, and they alone will pay for the Road. Give us a Railroad centre here, in the great heart of the Union, with so many arteries to convey in every direction, its life-blood, and we will build up such a market; sach a market as no other interior town can boast of. Our Road to Kentucky wili not only pass di rectly thro:igh the Coal region lying on both sides of Winter's Cap, distant from 20 to 23 miles, but will also penetrate the inexhaustiblo beds of iron and coal that lie arouni.Scmerset( in the county of Pulaski, Ky. It will thenca pursue its way through the centra! and richest portion of that State. It will place its western terminus at Louisville; its northern one at Cin cinnati. Through the former it will -derive much from the Upper Mississippi, aud the low er Ohio trade; also from the Railroads from Il linois, Indiana and Michigan which terminate at or opposite Louisville. Through the North ern or Cincinnati terminus it will communicate by the Roads terminating there with Eastern Indiana, and Michigan; the whole of Ohio ami Lake Erie behind it; with Western Ne York and Western Pennsylvania, and with the whol region drained by the Upper Ohio. When these connections are made what a vast, and ever-increasing, tide of provisions, trade, travel and commerce will pour down from those central, northern, and western regions in to the plains and ports of the south and south east; and vice-versa, from the south and south east, to the north and north-west. - Now suppose that this vast tide, on its northward or south ward flow, has reached Loudon or Somerset, would it, or could it be turned eastward, by way of Knoxville, or to some point still higher np the country; the thing is preposterous. It eanC be done, for in this age of progress the straight est, nearest . djirectest route will be demanded. But even if that act of folly were consummated, and the work done, this great elbow made nortli east of us, bf which this vast current will be driven from -40 to 45 miles ont of its. way; jvhat then? Why the country wont stand it There will be a cut-off made, and the current will flow through this cut-off in spite of all op position, and your channel round the great-bend will be left high and dry. Depend upon it this will be the inevitable result: forewarned let as be forearmed; let us do the thing right at once, and it will stay right, There'will be thenomo twenty years hence, no need of making this cut-off. But within that time or less, if not lo cated straight now, capital will be called from the cities On the Southern Sea-board, and from those of the west and north-west, from those of the great Lakes, and from those on the Upper Mississippi; I say capital from cities a thou sand or two thousand miles distant, will demand that this cut-off be made and that capital will make it. Mark this prediction now and see if the next twenty years dont fulfil it While on this subject of cut-offs, bear in mind that there are two; one south-east of ns, from Citicoor Toqna, by which we will save from 22 to 25 miles: the other from here by way of Win ter's Gap, saving from 10 to 12 or 15 miles to Somerset. Take your Arithmetic now and com pare the gain of our middle and direct nute with the loss of your noriJiern and round-a' oni ons, and see the difference; difference in first cost, in keeping up and running the road, in all time to come, to say nothing of the time, and satisfaction, and comfort of the millions of pas sengers who will pass over this great thorough fare! I will close by giving a few of the leading points our road will probably make. If it come down the south or Monroe side of the river, it will cross the Tellico at Dentons; thence by Upton's to Kelso's; thence over to Steeky and down that creek to Loudon. If it comes dcrn the North or Blount Bank, it will come by way of Mrs. llenly's; thence to Morganton, where we suppose it will cross the river, thence thro' a gap on the "dividing Ridge'' to Knox's; thence up Knox's creek, and down Clear Branch to Holston's; and thence down thi Bank ofthe river to London. By cither of these routes we are within 36 or 40 miles of the North Carolina line. To the citizens of Blount and Monroe, this is a most eligible route offering to thr longest side of both counties unrivalled facili ties, and binding her people together by the ties of patriotism, common interest, and good neigh borhood. To the people of our own county, (Roane,) and to the highly intelligent and esti mable portion of tbem who live west of us, we need urge nothing but union, concert, and patri otism. If we have any local or sectional pref erences we will know how to yield tfeem np to the common good. It will be a grand thing to get the Road, and it will benefit every corner of our county, and every corner of East Tennessee. With all deference and good feel ing we suggest that the Road cross the River here and proceed directly north 20 miles to Winter's Gap; thence up Salt Creek 3 miles; the proposed tunnel 1 mile: to the month of Ellijah s Fork, 4 miles; down N ew River, 13 miles; thence along the valleys of Buffalo and Pounch Creek to the Kentucky line, 15 miles; and thence to Somerset 40 miles. Whole dis tance from the North Carolina line by way of Loudon to Somerset, about 137 or 140 miles. Here for the present I stop. When soma necessary information is obtained from the cen sus report, and from surveys, soon to be under dertaken, I shall ask to be heard from once more. To my brother hunters of Kentucky, in tha meantime, I commend this subject Let me hear from you and your noble peop!e. We are bound together by sympathy of tastes, similari larity of character and institutions; by the mem ories of the past and the hope of a glorious fu ture. And now, Brothers, "a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether," aud we shall sure ly see our great work Mgo a-head." DAVY CROCKETJ. , BGT According to the estimate of our'cof respondent the length of tve Tennessee link in the above Railroad will not exceed 101 miles. We believe it will fall below that Our readers will not fail to note also what he says about the cut-off. While upon this subject it may be well to say that this very thing i.e, to shorten the Road is agitated in Shelby county, Kentucky. It is but a few days ago since we noticed that a new and straight road saving but a few miles, had been opened between Syracuse and Roches ter, N. V. Consolidation will become the or der of the day, and with it straight roads. Straightening roads will become ere long an important question. A DAILY DUTY. As soon as we awake, our hearts should be in heaven. We owe God in the morning the first-fruits of our reason, before we think cf other things; for every day h but the ksscr cir cle of nr livc3.