1839] 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



It may be seen, by a statement, made by flie 

 second auditor 1o the legislature ol' Virgini.i, on 

 tlie Isl of January, 1839, that the stale has re- 

 ceived dividends on her stocic in the Peterf^burij 

 Kail-Road, amount in<r, in all, to 3G^ per cent, on 

 ihe whole invesimenl ; while the whole amount 

 ofinterest which the money could have produced, 

 liatl il been loaned out, would iiave been 2TA per 

 (;ent. We see llierel'ore that this is ftSlecidedly 

 profitable stock. 



It' we exaii.me the sources of revenue on the 

 Peieisburg R;dl-Road lor two years past, we will 

 tind that in 1838 their receipts were, i'rom freiiihts 

 ^68,410, and from passengers ^38,692 ; in 1837, 

 the receipts were, ii'om freights 848,300, and from 

 passengers §27,161. We see that the greater 

 part ot their revenue is Irom the transportation of 

 goods and produce. 



in truth, it is on!}' necessary to have a iarire 

 amount of tonnage to make it profitable ; lor the 

 expenses of transportation do not increase in the 

 Biune ratio with the amount transported. It will 

 require a certain amount of transportation on a 

 road to pay expenses; but after this quantity is 

 exceeded, the transportation becomes profitable. 

 Depots must be kept up at regular intervals, and a 

 certain expense must be incurred at each, how- 

 ever small ihe quantity of produce which is re- 

 ceived may be ; but the whole of this expense 

 might remnin the same, though the amount of 

 tonnage received were doubled or tripled. 



I contend, theielbre, that the transportation of 

 goods and produce may be made profitable, and 

 that it will be so on the Raleigh and Gaston Rail- 

 Road. 



It is true (hat the profits arising from carrying 

 passengers are much greater; and I do not think 

 there is any reason to suppose that we will not de- 

 rive a handsome revenue from this source. The 

 local travel on the Raleigh and Gaston road will 

 be very great, and good stage lines branching off 

 at Henderson and at Raleigh, to the west, will 

 bring a grenl deal of travel to the road. At pre- 

 sent, the ditRculiy of passing between Columbia 

 and Augusta deters the southern traveller li-om 

 the main stage Ime to Raleigh. Could this diffi- 

 culty be obviated, there are a great many who 

 would preler this line to venturing out to sea. 



Considering all these circumstances, it seems 

 to me that the stock cannot be less than a six per 

 cent, stock, even if the road is never extended 

 south of Raleigh. 



If the road should ever be extended to Colum- 

 bia, S. C, the stock would certainly be one ol" the 

 best in the union. There is scarcely a man who 

 entertains a doubt of this. The Iriends of the 

 work know it, and are anxiously endeavoring to 

 find some means of prosecuting this extension. 

 We see every day evidences of the opinions ot 

 those whose local interests are opposed to this 

 project. 



In a report recently made on an examination 

 for an inland communication between Wilming- 

 ton and Charleston, by Mr. White, Civil Engi- 

 neer, he says : " Let us for a moment retiect what 

 will be the consequence of neslecting or delayinir 

 the execution of this project. The line of rail-road 

 which is now completed to Raleigh, would be 

 pushed on to Columbia and to Augusta, and then 

 our already languishing portion of the state woiilil 

 be laid prostrate." This shows Mr. White's 



opinion of the merits of (he Metropolitan line as 

 a line ol" travel. Tlie same rc|)ort mentions a 

 tact which would be a strong argument in favor 

 of the lia'eigh and Columbia road, even if the 

 inland coumiunication between Charleston and 

 Wilmington were effected. He says "that during 

 the sickly season, passengers must be north of 

 Wilmington belbre sun-down." In short, it is 

 almost (00 evident to argue, that il Raleigh and 

 Columbia were joined by a railroad, the whole 

 southern and south-western travel would be 

 brought over the Raleigh and Gaston rail-road. 



Let us, lor a moment, examine into the chances 

 of this most desirable connection being Ibrmed. 

 Surely each stockholder in the Raleigh and Gas- 

 ton Rail-Road has the deepest possible interest in 

 promoting it. Every stockholder in any of (he 

 roads between Raleigh and Baltimore has a deep 

 interest m this project. But no rail-road conjpany, 

 not even the Raleigh and Gaston, has a deeper 

 interest in promoting this work than the Charleston, 

 Louisville and Cincinnati Rail-Road Company. 

 There are two roads now constructing which. 

 j threaten to take the south-western travel from 

 them. One is the Macon and Savannah, and the 

 j other is the Brunswick city and Appalachicola road. 

 1 If either of (hese roads is finisheil, it will taken 

 i large portion of (he travel from the Charleston and 

 I Hamburg road. The only thing which can se- 

 j cure (hem the travel will be (he connection ol Co- 

 lumbia and Raleigh by rail-road. 

 I Nor has the Georgia Rail-Road Company less to 

 fear than the Charleston and Hamburg road. 

 i The completion of the Macon and Savannah road 

 would draw oli the greater part of this (ravel ; 

 and (he Brunswick and Florida road would de- 

 prive (hem all of (he (ravel from New-Orleans. 



These views are so plain, (hat the Charleston 

 and Hamburg and (he Georgia Rail-Road Com- 

 pany, cannot avoid seeing (heir danger, and (hey 

 will certainly do any thing in (heir power to ob- 

 viate it. 



If there is a rail-road made from Columbia to 

 Raleigh; the Georgia rail-road from Decatur to 

 Auffusta, (he South Carolina road from Augusta 

 via Branchville (o Columbia, the Raleigh and Co- 

 lumbia road, the Raleigh and Gaston road, &c. 

 would form a line which would dety all competition. 

 This route would be the shortest that could be tra- 

 velled. It would pass through a perfectly healthy 

 country, and it would avoid the danger of steam- 

 boat navigation at open sea. 



The city of Charleston would be very inju- 

 riously efiected by the travel going through Savan- 

 nah or Brunswick, lor it would (hen pass Charles- 

 (on in a steamboat, without stopping, so that 

 neither the city of Charleston, nor the rail-road 

 in which that city is so deeply interested, could 

 be aHected otherwise than injuriously, by the 

 completion of (his inland route from Charles(on 

 to Wilmington, and these other roads in Georgia. 

 If the Raleiirh and Columbia road were com- 

 pleted, the traveller from (Jharleston itself, instead 

 of goinir out to sea, would go north through Co- 

 lumbia, and pay a tribute to the Charleston and 

 (Cincinnati Rail-Road Company. 



In reviewing the whole subject, we see (hat 

 such a vast amount of capital is dependent for its 

 value on the completion of the Raleigh and Co- 

 lumbia road, that we cannot entertain a rational 

 doubt of it.s being effected at no distant period, 



