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THE BANNER. I [WEEKLY.] Vol. III. Abbeville C. H., S. C. Nov. 11, 1846. No. 37. Published every Wednesday Morning, by ALLEN & KE UK. fleto STerms. ONE DOLLAR AND FIFTY CENTS per annum, if paid within three months from the time of subscribing, or TWO DOLLARS after that time. No suDscripuu" receiveu lor less tnan six months; and no paper discontinued until all arrearages are paid, except at the op~ tion of the editor. Subscriptions will be continued, unless notice be given otherwise previous to the close of the volume. (for. the banner.) ^C. THE RAIL ROAD. Mr. Editor :?It is painful to observe the apathy that is now .^pervading all ranks of the citizen of this and adjoining Districts upon the vital question, " whether or not the Mountain regions of this State shall have a Rail Road communication with one of the best markets in the Southern States, to wit: Charleston." riiiQt irmir PirP fni* s? mnmont nnnn iKo I VMW? J VM( VJ V? 1VI M IllVliiUllb V4 II1V maps of New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, and you cannot but at once perceive the vast difference, that appears between the public spirited citizen of those States, and those of this State. Every man there, who has fifty acres of land, within twenty-five miles _r ?i ~c *i ?J __ i vi me route 01 a ran roau or canal, ai once, and that too,promptly contributes all his energy to the enterprize. He sees at a glance, that his lands will increase from one hundred to five hundred per cent, per acre. That where he had no market, except a little inland villagfe ; he has now a quick and cheap transport of all his surplus produce to the best markets in the world. Mountains are made to bow their lofty heads, to make way for the civilizer of mankind- " the steam engine." Cities, Towns and Villages, are brought in daily contact with each other, so that one looks upon the other as his next door neighbor?Towns and villages as by magic, spring up in every direction?A new stimulous is given to industry and agriculture?dormant capital brought into active circulation, and every river and stream is studied willr manufactories and mills, giving employment to thousands of her i .1 lit citizens, wno otnerwise wouiq oe compelled to seek better land in the distant west. Look upon your own State, and sec the sad picture that this presents in comparison with those of the North; our State is as rich, if not richer, in lands and minerals, as any other Slate in the Union: we have unlimited water power, and the application of this to manufacturing purposes, would be greatly beneficial to the agricultural interest; but we are sadly defficient in energy and enterprise. Our lands, if properly managed, are nof only capable of supplying (hp ivant? nf nur nnmihition Vint nf con ding off a large surplus abroad. We would then ask in the name of patriotism, if we posses these great natural advantages, why is it that so many of dtir best citizens, are removing themselves and their capital toother countries for better investments? Why is it that we are contented to wallow in our own supineness and lethargy ? Do we not see what great strides our sister States are making in rail roads and manufactories 1 Do we not see that the North, by industry and energy, are enabled to administer to the every want of the slothful Southerner. They have so far outstripped us in skill and energy, they have now the boldness to make our own negro garments, and send them to us! They even make our axe handles, and if we do not arouse ourselves, and make use of the means that God and nature has laid out before us, we will have our houses made by them. Have we then no means of stopping this system of migrating, and of recalling the hundreds and thousands of dollars that have been sent out of the State, in quest of more lucrative investments ? we answer yes. And the means proposed, is a quick and cheap communication between the mountain districts and Charleston. The idea of growing grain, raising stock, manufacturing cotton, iron and lime, and ilipn thinl/ nf Aratrerintr tVipm trt mnrlfflt "*v" -- ? by the old waggop and team system, Ofier the miserahllVbftHs that traverses k the country from Greenville to Hamburg or Columbia, would be absurd. All we want then to develope the resources of the back country, is a rail road connecting Charleston with Greenville." We then come to the question as proposed by the citizens of this district in a late meeting, " whether or not, we shall construct a rail road from Aiken, passing through the districts of Edgefield, Abbeville, Anderson, and crossing the Saluda river at some convenient point to Greenville. The first question then, that presents itself is, u is it practicable in other words, will the proposed route be the means, of giving a new stimulus to agriculture, and industry? Will it enhance the value of real estate ; develope the mineral resources of the mountain districts, and increase the number of our manufactories? We answer, that it is highly practicable. If you will for a moment cast your eyes over the map of South Carolina, you will find that the route will pass through the finest regions in the. State, commencing at Aiken, it will pass directly to Edgefield C. H., from thence it will strike the deviding ridge between the waters of Saluda and Savannah river, on by Greenwood, Cokesbury, Due West, Calhoun in Anderson, and to rnnn imI In T-l rriiic vnntn tin I I n m V_J? I V. Vil ? 1Mb V-/. I.A* A 11 IO IUUIU (Till v 111 brace some of the wealthiest portions of the State. Compare for a moment the present population and value of real estate in the above villages, with what it will be in the course of ten years. Where Lots are now selling for twentyfive und fifty dollars, they will sell from three to five hundred dollars. Where the population is from two hundred to three hundred souls, you will see from fiun linn/lro/1 tr. n t li. men n/1 Wli pro I 1< T V IJU11U1 VyU V W U iUUUOUIIU. f I ltV.1V land is worth from one to three dollars per acre, you will see it selling from five to fifteen dollars. Why all this magic work? We answer, that its brought about by the means of a quick and cheap transportation of one surplus produce. A new stimulus will be given to agriculture and industry; the farmer, the mechanic, the merchant, the manufacturer; in a word, all classes will share in the general prosperity which such an enternrise will nroduce. inde t f I pendent of the large amount of money that would be disbursed by the Company in the several Districts. But some of us are like the " unbelieving Thomos," must thrust our fingers first. If so, we refer you to the magic work the Erie rail road and canal have produced upon western New York. Those richGenssee 11 n n i . i r . 1 lanus were so lar irom market oeiore tne construction of the road and canal, that they were ol" little value, and was sold by the State of Massachusetts to Phelps and Goshen for three cents per acre; now they cannot be purchased for less than fifty to one hundred dollars per acre. Go to the pine barrens in this State on the Charleston and Columbia road, where land could be purchased by the thousands of no.res at fiftv rents nfir ? J I acre; you cannot purchase them now for less than five dollars per icre. Go to the Central rail road in Georgia, and and ask the price of*' lands there now, and what it was before the construction of the road: see at the increase of population in the old town, which have now become at the North cities, such as Buffalo and Chicago, and behold the number of towns and villages springing up all along the route. When you have seen and heard all this: can any one doubt for a moment, whether this route is practicable. What then we would ask every well-wisher of his country, are the obstacles in the way of such an enterprise? We have no mountains to tunnel ; no stupendous hills to excavate, ana but one small river to cross; these are no obstacles; the mystery is soon solved, it is a want oj energy and enterprise. We are too prone to look upon ail such schemes as " Ulopean Chimeras obscurasund w great humbugs." The i e* .m ?_% 1* gooa people 01 tnis ana adjoining districts have not forgotten how much money and patriotism were expended on the maramouth toad from Charleston to Cincinnati. When we talk to any one about rail roads, we receive the reply?" humbugs impracticable." and if that will not do, they will point you to the L, C. & C. rail road. As to this road, we would reply, that the great error of the stockholders,, was attempting too much: they had: no praoticdf men at the helm: too mutfh time and money were expended in useless surveys, stump speaking and negociating with other States. If the agents, instead of this great ado in preparation, had directed the surveys to some convenient point, say Greenville or Spartanburg, the road could have been built for the same amount of money, and in the same time that was consumed in tho mammoth road, which ended just when the patriotic citizens of Columbia wished . But great as has been this matnmoth failure, as is said by the opponents of rail roads, let us compare the cost of its construction with other rail roads, and we will find that it cost by one half and one third less than other rail roads which are not clearing more neat profit than the branch to Columbia is now doing. To satisfy the skeptic, hereto is annexed a schedule of the cost of some of the most important rail-ways in other States, and also the comparative difference between them and the South Carolina rail road from branchville to Columbia. So. Ca. rail road from Bra rich ville to Columbia, cost per mile ?24,242 42; Boston & Lowell, cost per mile,$60,000, excess over SCR R, $35,757 58 ; Baltimore and Washington, cost per mile, ?53,570, excess over S C R R, 831,327,58; Providence and Stonington, cost per mile, $45,000, excess over S C R R, $21,75738; Boston and Worcluster, cost per mile, 42,000, excess over S C R R, 818,757 38; Boston and Povi dence, cost per mile, 842,000, excess over S C R R, 818,757 58: Philadel phia and Providence, cost per mile, ?40,000, excess over SCR 10,757 58 ; New Jersey, cost per mil<?, ?35,000, excess over SCIl R, 811,757 57. We think the above comparison, will convince the skeptic, that rail roads can be built cheaper in the Southern, than Northen States ; *' for when figures are dlaced riorht. thev cannot lie." We must also bear in mind, that the S. C. rail raod was constructed for a double tract; a great deal of heavy and expensive masonry, and bridges were constructed and done when wages were very high : that most of the contracts were given to stockholders, and landowners through whose possession the road ran, and in many instances on most extra vaornnt form e Rut witK n II iU n c-o nUato V ?,?/ l?4W? J^MV ?? lilt Ull biivcv lu* cles, the road according to the last leport of the President, is in a flourishing condition, and yielding handsome dividends; and we hazard the assertion, that under its prsent directors, it will be in the course of a few years, one of the safest and most profitable investments in the State: the stock having risen frori) 44 cents in the dollar, to 85 cents* ? ; -- ? It does not appear from the above schedule, that the public spirited citizens of the North stopped to count the cost of thier road in dollars and cents, when fifty and sixty thousand dollars per mile did not check for a moment their energy and enterprise. Their vision was not circumscribed by the present; it was to the future they looked for their reward, anH in nvortr inotanno fKoir kinrknot ow uiim in v t vi jr uotu ii Wj (>iiuii c/a" pectations have been realized. They subscribed the money and went to work. We not only think that the contemplated road is practicable, but that it wiil be a profitable investment: Open a quick and cheap transport to our markets, and then we will see the hidden resources of the back country develope themselves. Thousands of things now riot thought of, (that would be consumed by time, wear and tear, that would take to carry them to market,) would find its way to this road. North Carolina, Tennesse and | Kentucky, would pour through this channel all their surnlus nroduce. which I r - -J T is now in a great measure pent up for the want of transportation to market. The merchants of Tennessee and western part of North Carlina, instead of shipEing their goods by Northern routs, will e induced to direct them over this road. Hundreds of men who now stay at home, will travel abroad, and thousands of dollars will be expended in our midst, by those who fly to the North to escape the miazma ot the low country. Our rivers and creeks will be studied with manufactories and merchant mills, and employment given to thousands who are compelled to seek better homes ih the west. Our great mineral wealth - will be developed by those who are daily depriving the State of that' capital, which would make the owners and State happy and glorious. In short the inducements | that this route will offer to the .farmer, mechanic, merchant, and the traveller, cannot be calculated by dollars and cents. Under a proper and economical disbursement of the funds in its construction, and a proper direction when in operation, it is obliged to be profiitable. Have we no other stimulus than mere lucre, to induce us to engage in such an enterprise? Shall fifteen or twenty thousand dollars per mile deter our public spirited men who are so famous in resolutions o', " it is the. opinion of this meeting"?from engaging at once in the enterprise. If our " patriotism" and energy have not oozed out of our fingers' ends, we must not stand a moment longer, and squabble about cost and sectional inte rests. iNo\y is the time, if we ever intend to move in the matter, to subscribe liberally,and allow the road to go where it can be built at the least cost and in the shortest time. Greenville, for the last two years, has been wide awake to her interest. Anderson and Edgefield are throwing off their lethargy, and are going to work in earnest; and while we are trying to screw ourselves up to the sticking point, Laurens will wake up and snatch from our grasp this gr? at enterprise and send it entirely out of our reach. How, then, is this to be averted? Let Edgefield, Abbeville, Anderson and Greenville subscribe three-fifths of the stoek, and we can and will hare the Road. The State is pledged for the other two-fifths. Long Cane. (written for the banner.) "All Flesh is Grass, and the Goodness thereof as the Flower of the Field." 'Twas autumn, and I wandered forth To mark thefallingieaf,and musealone, As silently it fell upon the drooping herbage, Whispering in its fall," ail flesh is grass; The form and comeliness thereof is as the flower That falls before the blast," and dies away. I gazed abroad upon the fields, where once, Verdure and plenty waved ; they now were waste; And, as I gazed upon, the dull air rose, The sound of rattling wheels, the noisy rl in Of moving multitudes, hurrying to and fro. Workmen were passing,to their shops; The toil-worn husbandman, with weary tread, Following the plough, whistled sadly as he went: Nature is dying; and soon will dreary winter, Wrap her in her shroud ; but, who can tell Whether yon busy multitude shall pass awav. Err'd he who said,all flesh is grass?" Nay, friend, he err'd not; for the blast of death Sweeps the fair field of this vain world ; For rank, or wealth, or intellect, it cares not, But lays the human family in one common grave, And o'er them sighs one common requiem 1 " All flesh is grass, and as the flower that fadeth, So is man." His ashes mingle with his I mother earth, Nor stone, nor useless epitaph shall mark his tomb. The good, the great, the mighty men of old, Like dying echoes from the earth, have passed. The sacred temple and gorgeous palace Lie crumbling in the dust. Cities, where once The pomp and pageantry of wealth. Shone in sad contrast with the tattered rags, The hallotv cheek, the sunken eye of poverty, Are now the abode of beasts. As break old ocean's waves in quick succession Un the rocky shore, and die away Upon the bosom oj the deep, ' So dash upon the shore of time, the race of men, Foamirigand murmuring for a moment, Then silently and ' darkly, into the bosom Of the unknown deen retires. Mark yonder war" horse. Majestic thunder clothes his neck, [ Advertisements WILL be conspicuously inserted at 75 cents per square for the first insertion, and 37? cents for each continuancelonger ones charged in proportion. Those not having the desired number of insertions marked upon them, will be continued until ordered out, and charged according'y For nrlvpvtioiniv T?etrorra - v. ? v. vBUtMg UHklHJO A VJIUU) 1. U v DOLLARS, to be paid by the Magistrate. For announcing' a Candidate, TWO DOLLARS, in advance. 0^7- All letters or communications must be directed to the Editor, postage paid. With eye of fire, and limb of wonderous strength Proudly he treads the earth, as if 'twere substance firm ; But 'tis a film, and cracks in twain, burying War horse and warrior, beyond tho plummit's reach. All flesh is grass, and man is but a shadow. Millions of these shadows vanish, and millions more appear, Some grinding in the mill of industry, hear hourly, Her noisy clattering proclaim " all flesh is grass." - * Others, idling their time in dens of slothful neas, Or lolling in the pampered lap of luxury*. Or dashing madly 'gainst ambition's roclcs, Have whispered in their ear, " Man is as ?i a iuc uuvvur That fades ; his comelincss like its, shall pass away." Like some wild-thundering train of heaven's artillery, This creature, man, thunders and flumes With long-drawn, quick succeeding grandeur, Through the mighty bosom of the unknown deep Man, like some passion-breathing, spiriftgr' host, emerges from unknown, sweeps stormfully across earth, Levelling her mountains, filling up her seas; Then wearied hastens back, into unknown. Ogle. Went Point Oct. 1th 1846. Newspapers Defined.?A newspaper is a bill af fare, says a scribbler, of the 18th century, containing a variety of dishes suited to the different tastes and appetites of those who sit down to the entertainment. Talcs are boiled mutton, rare done. Adventures and news from the army, roast bee/. Election news, venison. Congressional matters, stuffed meats. Essays, humorous, speculations, moral and divine, are a boiled dish, where, hv ? , ^ ^ / J ?J ? happy commixture in the use of bread, meat and vegetables, a diet is attained, nutritive, healthful and pleasant. Poetry i3 custard pudding. Anecdotes, conundrums, epigrams, etc.. are spice and mustard. Sometimes there comes along a printer's dun?that is sourcrout or vinegar pickles.?Styr Spangled Banner. Fossil. Remains op Man.?According ? to the United States Gazette, a very remarkable discovery has recently been made of the fossil remains of the human species. They consist of the bones of the pelvis, and were discovered by Dr. M. W. Dickerson, in the mamoth ravine, near Natchez Mississippi, in the same stratification with the bones of the uic^aLiiL'i luiu ihuuuij, muy uiuny x, uie tapia, castroides, zebra, bison, elk, gigantic horse, and a nondescript animal, discovered also by Dickerson,and below those of the mastodon, and a stratum containing marine shells. This discovery is perhaps the most remarkable one - J ? ? ?? ? itiui uaa iaici^ tuaiauit'ii^cu iuu |jioj?iu&3 of modern geolgy. These curiosties have been deposited in the rooms of the Academy of Natural Science in Philadelphia. Col. John L. Manning.?This gentleman with his accustomed liberality, and fondness for letters; bias endowed a scholarship in the South'Carolina College, for the education of indigent and i ' iitl ' 1 ^ it < t clever young men. w rme me aci oespeaks the benificence of the donor, it is an example, which should only be more generally followed in South Carolina. We scarcely take up a j?P?r from New England, in which, we'libnot find some instance of similar be* etAvvman#* iimam iUa ninfftihltinna oiw ?f ulliluo upuil- luc ulcfo* Jr imww?%*mvmo of those States; while jn? South Carolina, so noted for its individual wealth and refinement, not more than a half dozen acts of the .kind are upoh record. 0 We trust, this noble charity of Col. Manning, will so'stimulate others in our. State, that while; it will appear they are- blest with affluence, it will no longer he a reproach, they have not learoit fo apply it to efegant and intellectual purposes. SwIhVarHthian.