144 
REVENUE AND INCOME. 
question, that the revenue arising from the inoidental traffic 
would of itself justify the construction of the road. 
Thus far we have considered only the circumstances of exist- 
ing trade and travel, without attempting to draw from them the 
irresistible conclusions which they suggest. Let us look for a 
moment on the consequences to England's Pacific possessions, 
from the establishment of the communication of which we speak. 
Hitherto her people have been adverse to emigration, and the 
comparatively few who have reluctantly sought new homes, are 
of the middle class, as merchants and shopkeepers. But in her 
nervous efforts to render herself independent of America, her 
colonial policy has undergone a recent change. By reference 
to the British tables of emigration, it will be seen, that during 
the years 1818, 1819, and 1850, no less than 72,032 persons, 
chiefly farmers and agriculturists, have passed around the south- 
ern capes to the Australian colonies and New Zealand. Within 
a year, however, a new Ophir has sprung up in these Pacific pos- 
sessions which bids fair to rival California ; and thousands upon 
thousands are now daily seeking the new land of gold. A change 
has thus come over the emigrant's dream, and in lieu of calcu- 
lating on what his prospects are to be in his colonial home, his 
eyes are turned towards the West as the natwral path which 
leads him soonest to the scene of his future labors. He realizes 
(though perhaps for the first time in his life) that time and 
money are equivalent terms. A glance at the map shows him 
that a line drawn from England, through the narrowest portion 
of the Mexican territory, passes also through the Indian colonies ; 
and he sees that -the course of the emigrant ship is long, cir- 
cuitous, and uncertain ; but he embarks under the necessities of 
his case, wondering and sorry that no inter-oceanic communica- 
tion exists. Can it be questioned for a moment, if he alone were 
consulted, in what path his footsteps would be bent ? 
The same arguments may be applied to the French, Dutch, 
and Portuguese settlements in the Pacific, setting time and dis- 
tance aside, were it only to avoid the dangerous effects of the 
monsoons in the China and Indian seas. 
Some of the advantages to our own government and that of 
Mexico have been referred to ; but who can speak with accuracy 
