Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1852-1852, March 26, 1852, Image 2
Federal Extravagance. ,
The debate which occurred in the Senate on
Monday, with reference to the extension of the
Capitol, is worthy of a passing comment. The
discussion was begun by Mr. Borland, who objected
to the half million appropriation, not only
because the work was badly done, but on gen- i
eral principles. In a word, lie was opposed to i
the growing extravagance of Congress, and ;
thought this one of the questions where that !
' ' 1 ' * -1?-Ml- At.. A to,
lavisn "xpenuiuue snouio ue met. .ui. ?... ,
followed in a somewhat similar strain. He recol- i
loeted, he said, when one admin.-tration was 1
turned out for spending thirteen million ; a year,! j
whereas now the expenditure had risen fo fifty- j '
two millions, with every prospect of its still go- ]
ing higher. The extravagance on which these
honorah' Senators commented is indeed an
alarming fact. No republic can continue pure, j
which squanders money as ours has been doing <
lately; and when republics become corrupt, they ,
soon cease to be free except in name. We are |
glad, therefore, to see two Senators of opposite .
parties unite to deplore this departure from (
the original economy of the government. Mr. ,
Borland, indeed, wishes to throw the blame oti
the Whigs; and Mr. Manguni, not to be out- j
done, labors to shift it on the Democrats. But
the truth is that both parties are equally to blame,
and tlmh nartlv in the endeavor to sustain what .
appear meritorious objects, and partly from sheer
ostentation, the extravagance of the federal gov- :
ernmeiit has grown beyond endurance.
In fact, a period has arrived not unlike, in
many respects, that which was cotemporary with ,
John Quiucv Adams' election to the Presidency.
The federal treasury is regarded as an inexhaustible
fountain; to which everybody may resort, who .
has tact in making money, or who is too indo- (
lent to work. Does an impoverished inventor
wish to be repaid for labors originally underta- '
ken out of love of science ??he goes to Wash- (
ington, and bores in Congress till he obtains a ,
grant which makes him a man of fortune. Does (
a princely merchant plan a line of steamers, by ,
which to make him a millionaire ??he petitions ,
Congress for an appropriation, und^r the plea of
carrying the mails, and gains his end at once. .
Does a covetous and grasping city become ambi- (
tious of being the Paris or London of America ?
it sends committee on committee to Washington, ,
to ask that a sister city may be robbed of a
great national institution. In a word, from the ]
private citizen up to the wealthy municipality. ]
everybody and everything seeks to live on the (
federal treasury, and grow wealthy and great ,
without the trouble of work. In this grand .
scheme of plunder, A helps B, and C assists (
both, on tiie pledge 01 ceing supported in mrn. ,
It is only honest men and good republicans? (
those who scorn to pilfer, and those who think ,
extravagance unconstitutional?that get nothing ]
in this scramble. .
Had Senators Mangum and Borland, instead
of as-ailing each other's polititical principles, in- (
veighed against the prevailing corru]?tion, and ,
chilled on Congress to refuse any and every pri- f
vate appropriation, we should have thought bet- ^
ter of both of them. We trust that when the (
subject comes up again they will take this manly
and patriotic ground. Neither of them can
have forgotten that Patrick Henry and John ^
Randolph, with a host of early statesmen, foresaw
this "evil day." Both must renn-mber that
the objections which the first had originally to f
the federal constitution were principally from J
these fears. It is certain that the most extra va- ,
gant monarchies of Europe fall liehitid the United
Slates government in squandering money on
private jobs ; and yet it was a chief effort with
the framers of the government to tie up Con- ,
gross so that economy would be ineviable.
Let us return before it is too late to the original
principles of the republic. We want more
patriotism both in and out of Congress. But
we want also a return to the far-reaching and '
statesman-like views of the early fathers of the
Constitution, those noble men who abhorred j
class legislation, and who detected and exposed
it, no matter how lovely the disguise it assumed, j
Philadelphia Bulletin.
Money-Jiorth and South.
The present relative condition of the money
market South and North is anomalous. Money '
is easily attainable in Northern cities at reasona- i(
t.lo <>f interest Tn the Southern cities it
is comparatively scarce. There are no causes to | J(
produce its scarcity in the latter that should not | |
operate in the former. In fact, there are circum- t
stances to enhance the value of money at the i ^
North which must have more limited influence j
at the South. Schemes of railroad and manu- j ^
facturing improvement, as well as commercial J ^
adventure, absorb large amounts of capital in the | ^
Northern States, which are constantly pressing i 0
on their resources. In the South we haw much i "
fewer calls for money in any of the departments j |
of enterprise, public and private. The South !
possesses the largest means of payment. This I
section contributes two-thirds in \alue of the na
tional exports. Its staples are equal to the prcscious
metals ;is means of remittance. I 0
What then should contract the accommoda- i ']
tion that facilitates business, that is necessary I r
to prevent the stagnation of enterprise? Are we I '
in the South so extravagant in our habits that 1 ^
we constantly anticipate our annual revenues.'? ! u
Or do we contract debts for property?for land 11
and slaves?disproportioned to the market value j '
of the products of which they are the instruments j ^
of production? Some part of the pecuniary pres- j ^
sure which has l>een experienced recently in the ! ?
r?mtr V.rt CO AAfl tA tlllC lfJCt / ! ?V?? | ?f?<f <1 tlfU? ! 0
fcfujuul iijuv uc nciu u w 1,111.1 ki.iv vuvuiii?vi?iiv< '
The price of negroes has been far lievond their a
value, a< compared with the value of the article 11
which principally regulates that price. There is ; 1
no due proportion between slaves at ?800, and ' fi
cotton at 8 cents per pound. This want of pro- *
j?ortionate value between our chief staple ofagri- ?
culture and the value of labor purchased to pro- 0
ducc it, has no doubt caused serious embarrass- 1
merit. Payments from the country have con-; "
seouently been slack. The resources of our banks a
1 Sl
jiop<.nr>f>(l ;it, th^Jresen^eSon^nc^^^^^yond
the period to which all looked for relief.
We at the South, with the possession of a pro-'
duct which is the great medium of purchasing
power abroad for the whole Union, should not;
experience any but the most temporary pecuniary ' ^
embarrassment. While money bears a high
price at the North, the North will require prompt
liquidation of their Southern balances. But
money is now becoming redundant all over the
world. In England it is worth but two percent. .
per annum. Large sums are crossing the Atlantic
for investment in our securities. The same
causes which cheapen money abroad, should tend, a
at loa>:t, to render it easier at the South. If our
r* ai.+,-*follTT out frntn tlio-if* I
^ UUIII1I II VUITO ?UU IVUIIU tun Vl? - ~ g
moans by which the facilities, through moneyed
negotiations, are obtained?if wo wore wullerj in
by a Chinese policy?we could scarcely exhibit a
/rente; anomaly than a difficult money market,
whilst all tlie world besides are suffering under a 1
plethora.?[Charleston Xat's.
Remarkable Instance of Longevity.?On
Sunday, the 21st of December, the Rev. John c
Sawyer, of Garland, who is more than three t
months in his ninety-seventh year, preached ?
two sermons in the Hajjtist and CongregatioP.alist
meeting house in Exeter. The forenoon clis- r
course occupied about forty-five minutes?the jafternoon,
about thirty-five. They were delivered
in a voice audible to every car. The building, ^
indeed was not large i but the aged speacker j
would have sufficiently filled a much hirger house.
After reading a hymn twice in the forenoon service,
and none presented themselves to sing, the
preacher struck up an appropriate air, singing a v
verse each time alone. j
Mr. Saw* or graduated at Dartmouth College j
in the year 178.5, having received the full course
of four years. Among his fellow members in
College was the virtuous and rigidly correct C'a
leb Bringham, whose dialogues ridiculed folly | c
and condemned vicious principles?the author \
of a set of school books, among which wore those
popular readers, the American Preceptor, and
Columbian Orator, so suited and amusing to the
childhood and youth of by-gone days. Anti- .,
thesis presents to view another character on this h
occasion, who was not only in College a pail of
mate with Mr, Sawyer?the ingloriously noto- t
rious Stephen Burroughs, v
Mr. Sawyer can relate many things of Stephen, ^
;vs lie was wont to call him, which the autobiography
did not see fit to give to the world.
Mr Sawyer's class in College included twenty a
members, and he was the eldest except one.?
All of them have passed awav but himself. lie ^
reads readily* by the help of glasses, and to be s
heard by him a person of feeble voice is not re- 6
quired to make a great effort. But his physical n
ibilities are not so well preserved :ls his mental ^
ind they have rendered less so by a fall from his
carriage a few years since. By aid of a staff he
walks without difficulty, on a level surface; but
:o take a seat and rise from it, requires of him h
usual exertions. He ascends shorts steps of J
limself, and even gets in and out of his cariinge F
done.
Such a remarkable instance of longevity, where
lie scenes and faculties of the mind are preserved
so, as to make lite desirable receives a hies- tl
iug from a benevolent heart, especially when t!
hat has been incessantly devoted to the cause of e:
'ducation, virtue and religion.?Maine Fanner, g
p
Land "Warkasts maub Assmjnaiilf.?The ?
>ill for this purpose, finally passed both Houses tl
if Congress on Thursday and will, no doubt, re- $
eive the approval of lit I'rosidnt. It must n
five increased value to the warrants, as it will j U
acititate the location of tiem on the public land, j
rite bill provides that the assignment may be . tl
nade by deed or instrument of writing, according v
o such form, and pursuant to such regulations.-is c.
nay l>e prescribed by the Commissioner of the t<
eneral Land Office, so as to vest the assignee
ivith all the rights of the original owners of the
warrant or location.
The benefits of the original act, with the supdement
are extended to the officers and soldiers fr
>f any militia, volunteers or troops, wVo were a:
silled into military service, and whose services h
lave been paid by the United States subsequent
o the eighteenth of June, eighteen hundred and
welve.
The following arc the provisions of the bill for fr
ocating the warrants: I tl
Any person entitled to pre-emption right to
my land shall be entitled to use any such land
currants, in payment of the same, at ?1,25 per
icre, for the quantity of land therein specified:
Provided, That the warrants which have been P
>r may hereafter be issued in pursuance of said
aws, or of this act, may b* located, according to r<
he legal subdivisions of the public lands, in one | ti
>ody, upon nny lands of the U. States, subject to b
rivate entry at the time of such location, at the o
iiinimmu price: Provided, further, That when si
aid warrants shall he located on lands which are tl
object to entry at a greater minimum than *1,- w
!5 per acre, the locator of said warrants shall
ay to the United States in cash, the difference j
etween the value, of such warrants at ?1,25 per n
ere, and the tract of land located on it. ti
? 01
California Pfulic Lands.?The Committee tc
n Public Lands in the California Legislature k
lave presented a report, reiterating opinions in fa
egard to the propriety of donations of and by u
Congress to settlers in this State, and submit- ci
ing a resolution very similar in character to that m
riginally proposed by Mr. Wood. The com- x
nittee say, in their report that the area of the 0,
>tate of California embraces 93,922,400 acres. ],
)f this quantity 52,000,000 acres are mineral p.
md and other lands unfit for cultivation; 2,>2'2,000
acres arc tuleor swamplands ; and 19,'00,000
are lands which cannot be irrigated,
ml arc therefore unfit for cultivation, being val
able only for grazing purposes. There remains, ^
hen, only 20.000,000 acres susceptible of irri;ation
and cultivation. But a portion of this u
0,000,000 acres is covered by private claims,
Spanish grants. The coininittec are therefore of
pinion that the quantity of agricultural land in
his State, belonging to the United States, does
ot exceed l.r>,000,000 acres. If, then, 320 nl
civs were donated to each settler, a homestead Si
rouid only be secured to 46.874 persons ; while | ^
100 acrcs^ssfhe amount donated to each |"
ttlcr. it would give a homestead to 93,748 perons.
The committee, therefore, intro duce a
resolution directing the California Senator, <tc.,
i Congress, to endeavor to procure the passage m
f a law donating 160 acres to each settler.? 111
south. Carolinian.
Snow in the woods, above Moorehead lake in Oi
laine is still five feet deep. or
THE SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL.
FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 2G, 1852.
THO. J. WARREN, Editor.
Our Market.
The Cotton Market has been inactivo since our last
nd a decline has taken place, extremes ranging frorr
> 1-2 to 7 3-4. All articles in the provision lino an
carce and high.
New Goods for Spring.
Our neighbors, the Messrs. Kexxedy, are now open
ng their Xew Spring Goods, embracing a choice anc
veil selected stock suitable for the market arid season
n the Gentlemen's department, they have Cashmerets
)rap d'Etn, Summer Cloths, Fancy Linen, Drills
"estings, and some of the handsomest Ready Madi
iummer Coats we have ever seen. Jn the Hat line
hoy have the usual variety, with now and then an a/<
Kossuth."
Our other mercantile friends are in town also, witl
lew Goods, of which due notice will of course be givci
iy the parties interested.
Our market is one of the best in tho State for thi
mrchaso of Cotton and other produce, and for the sell
incr of Goods on reasonable terms, denv it who mav.
Facts for the People.
Road the communication in another column?likelj
ou may tind some now thought upon an old subject
'or our part we are perfectly satisfied that a Plan!
load must be made, or we arc gone as sure as fate.
Hon. W. F. Colcock.
We beg to return our thanks to Hon. W. F. Col
OCK, for his recent kind attention in Congrcssiona
ivors.
The Next President.
Nominations from various quarters are being made
nd it is more than likely that in duo courso of time
ijmards of several Candidates will bo fairly out. W<
co it stated that the Democratic Convention of Ken
ucky, has appointed Delegates to tho Baltimore Con
ention, instructed to support the nomination of Gen
Iass.
The Democratic State Convention of Louisiana, havi
!so elected Delegates for the same purpose.
On tho Whig side Mr. Fillmore is decidedly mos
rominciit. The whole Kentucky Whig press, with i
ingle exception, and that the Louisville Courier, it ij
tated, urge the nomination of Mr. Fillmore for tin
ext Presidency, and the nomination of Mr. F. in th<
Vliig State Convention was unanimous.
Another Richmond of the Democratic stock Is men
ioncd.
The Democratic Stato Convention of Indiana, lately
eld at Indianapolis, expressed its preference for Gen
osEi'ii Lake as the Democratic candidate for the nexi
'residency.
Our Neighbors
Are at work, and it is but reasonable to coneludi
iat, at no distant day, a connection with Union ant
10 upper Districts of the State, will be formed by oui
ntcrprising neighbors, the Columbians. They are ir
ood earnest, ar.d will no doubt succeed in the enter
rise under consideration. The Carolinian, in speak
lg of the probable cost of construction per mile foi
te Union Iload, puts the estimate at the highest poini
2000. "We are satisfied that ours would not cosl
lore than three-fourths (if so much) as tho Uniot
load. The Carolinian says:
' We have only to add, for tho benefit of our readers
iat similar enterprises elsewhere have paid well as in
estments, besides conferring great benefits on the to
itions through which they pass, as well as on the
>wns at their termini."
Kossuth Again!
Several little girls in Cincinnati recently presented
'ossuth with $100 which they had collected by going
om door to door. lie lato ly exhibited at Louisville
lid charged one dollar for a ticket of admission. He
as now got the babies to beg for him. "What next ?
The Ladys' Book.
This interesting parlor companion has been received
ir April, containing as usual a variety of reading foi
to Ladies.
Influence.
Every one, be his situation what it may, has an in
irest, though he may not perceive it, in tho moral imrovement
of society. Could wo remove the curtain
iat separates time from eternity, and look into the
jalitios of that world "from whence no traveller re>
jrns," and could we be permitted to see what shall
c hereafter, then might we know the full effects oi
ur words and actions,?comprehend the result of the
nallest exertions in the cause of virtue, and realize
ic awful consequences of even a word or look thai
ould deter from the path of rectitude.
Our conduct affects first ourselves and those immoiately
around us, then, through them, others more re'
lole, and still onward like the circlo in the water, un
1 the influence is lost to our view in the distance; all
ur words and actions should be governed by a regard
> this momentous truth. "What a sad retrospect tc
iok on a life spent without usefulness, and what it
r worse, the influence we exercised over our fellows,
sed to promote no good cause, to incite to no benefb
al purpose, perchance employed to encourage other?
i vine or in tnrninfr them from the rinth of virtue.?
his is a sad thought, of some it may bo true; let each
no who reads, consider for himself; and sec that ol
im it may never be said, that he turned any from the
nth of rectitude. * *
Alteration in Mail Ronte.
By t'10 following notification addressed by the As.
stant Postmaster General to the President of the
"ilmington Railroad, it will be seen that the Sunday
lorning trip front Wilmington, N. C., and Sunday afinioon
from Wcldon, on the Mail route No. 2,825,
ill bo for the present discontinued.
Post Office Department, )
Contract Office, March 17th, 1852. j
Sir: You arc hereby authorized to omit the Sunday
ornipg (8 A. M.) trip from Wilmington, N. C., and
unday afternoon (1 1-2 P. M.) trip from Weldon, on
ail route No. 2,825, until further orders. Respect11)'
your ob't sorv'f,
E. L. Ciiii.n.s, for 2d Ass't. P. M. Gen'l.
A ?.? Vf?/?!? ?v Wilmincrfnn M H
UVII. ?* 0-??,
A writer in the Philadelphia Sun thinks that as
echanies and laborers are liable to a penalty for workg
011 tho Sabbath, bar-keepers and their employers do
>t merit exemption from like penalties.
Ohio.?.Notice has oeen given in tho Legislature of
hio of a bill to prevent any farther settlement of coled
people in that Stato.
A SMALL LOT OP SUNDRIES.
Jenny Lind is still very much annoyed, it appears,
by all sorts of applications for money. Thoy say that
one man, of whom she had ncyer heard before, an eno<Mrnsa?>rl
11 letter informing her, that un
less she sends him ten thousand dollars immediately ho
' shftll bo under the necessity of going into insolvency!
; Chicago is the most rapidly-growing city in the
"Western country. It has now a population of 40,000,
(although but 28,000 in 1850,) and real estate is selling
at higher prices than can be obtained any where else.
A lady died recently in England, who had been mar1
ried 08 years to the husband that survives her. She
was a hundred years old, and her husband is ninetyi
three.
' The whole number of Germans in the United States
is estimated at 5,000,000, being over one-fifth and ncar'
ly one-fourth of the whole population of the country,
1 which is estimated at 23,000,000.
l Return* Day.?Our Sheriff with a sorrowing look
1 ami downcast countenance has informed us that he has
had but live writs left in his office for sen-ice, and that
B they wero in four different remote parts of the District.
_ What is to become of the unfortunate lawyers resident
in Georgetown under such circumstances is a question
not easily answered. The Clerk of the Court is in favor
of selling out if a purchaser offers who will not ask
r too much to take the office.? Georgetown (S. C.) Obser?
ver.
c A new Territory is proposed comprising that portion
of Wisconsin lying nortli of the 45th degree of
north latitude, and that portion of Michigan lying west
of Lake Michigan.
Central Ohio Railroad.?The business of the
I thirty-six miles of railroad between Zancsvillo and
Newark is said to be already very extensive.
A new Post-Office has been established at Donaldsville,
Abbeville District, in this State, and Samuel Don'
aid appointed Postmaster.
?
, Only $130,000 have been collected, in sixteen years,
. in tho Untted States, for the Washington National
. Monument.
Prof. Park says there is annually preached in the
United States, an amount which, if published, would
3 make 120.000,000 octavo pages.
The Harpers pay Dickens $2,000 for a copy of a new
t novel which he is about publishing in England.
Ii Money Miscarried.?All who have lost money in
3 transmitting it by mail had better apply to tho Post
3 Office Department, as ten thousand dollars have been
3 found in the dead letter office during the present quarter.
" . Whales.?A gentleman attached to the steamer
I Gordon, says the Charleston Standard of Wcdnesdav
1 which arrived here yesterday from Savannah, informs
us that he saw several whales between Stono Breakers
' and the Bar. They appeared to bo tame, and it is
thought might be easily captured.
Manufacturers, North and South.?Some of thc
s wool and cotton manufacturers at the North complain
j of dull trade and declining business. Thc cotton manr
ufactures at the South, however, are prospering ama
^ zinglv, and increasing all the time.
For the Camden Journal.
r The roads of a country are tests of civilizat
tiou, the veins and arteries through which nutrit
rnent is received. Without them the richest
productions of nature would be valuless, and society
relapse into barbarism. Frequent intercourse
and constant in.erchauge of coin modi ties,
' constitute as essential elements of prosperity to
communities, as the circulation of life's purple
current to the body. Ilence, i iesc veins and ar!
teries are essential to a prosperous country, and
they always co-exist as cause and effect, perpetually
acting. Roads are furnished according to
j the demand for them, to every producing section
p of country. The struggle always is between
trading communities or market towns, to open
new avenues and more favorable ducts, to drain
' the producing reservoir of its rich contents. To
superior enterprise the palm is awarded always.
" Palrnam gui meruit fcrat. To that town or
I market place rendered most accessible, the producer
will ever drive his team. Therefore every
town has an immediate and tangible interest, in
I.. c .1 ,1 u .. ;.c
tnc improvement 01 uic ronus connecting it nun
tlio region of country with which it trades.
But there are other considerations rendering
good roads important objects to the entire com
j munity. Suppose a road ascends 100 tcet in
2000, one twentieth part of every load carried up
that ascent is lifted up 2000 feet. On such a
[ slope a horse can draw only half what he could
j. on a level; hence, if the road is leveled one half
the cost of carriage is dispensed with; but on
a hard surface a horse can draw three times as
much as ou an ordinary level road. Hence by
! laying down a hard surface, two thirds of the
horses necessary at first to transport agiven quantity
of produce, would be saved. If such an improvement
can lie made for a sum of money, the
" interest of which will be less than the total
l nf tlie .mnii.il savinir in labor, the com
I ? - O ,
1 I munity ought to make the improvement. Plank
' roads are the best ever yet discovered ; they are
! farmers' Railroads. Their locomotives and cars
j are ever at hand, under their own mangemcnt
I and control, easy, safe and expeditious. A horse
i: can draw on a Plank Road two or three times
as much as on a McAdamized road. Two horses
i can draw six tons, or from four to five tons 30
F miles per diem continuously, and fatten on it. !
i The friction is two and three-fourths to one in favor
of Plank over McAdamized roads, llow much
more over sands beds and clay hills, imagination
cannot compass. Plank Roads are in good order
at all seasons of the year. Lands are en,
hanced in value to an extravagant degree, because,
those who are contiguous to it, can go to
a more distant market, can sell cheaper and <?ain
more. The consumer of all marketable produce,
lumber, fire-wood Arc., gets a better supply and
at a lower price, and store keepers carry on an
active trade, all the while. In the language of
another, "a Plank Road is one of those few business
arrangements by which all parts gain, and
which, in the words of Clinton, 'augment the
public wealth."' A few items upon the cost,
mode of construction and value of Plank Roads
are subjoined, taken from a work of high authority,
to which particular reference shall be made
hereafter. There should bo a ditch on each side,
dnnn onnitrrb tn drain tho riind lv?d Tlio wii lib
* o" i
should be 20 feet between the ditches. The
whole of this space is graded ; but one side is
})lanked, the other is used as a turn out. One
oot in sixteen and a half is the greatest rise in
an important road in New York which penetrates
a primeval forest. The earthen road or turn-out
should be from twelve to eighteen feet wide.
Formerly the plank roads were wider, say from
nine to twelve feet, but then one-third was lost.
Over a single track in 2?. Y. 1G1000 wagons
passed in one year or 220 per diem ; and it was
found sufficient. The turn-out is sloped to the
ditch and should be kept in good order. This is
not difficult, because h seldom occurs that two
wagons turn out in the same track, hence no ruts
are made. The sleepers rrpon which the planks
are laid should be six inches square to wide
roads. To eight feet roads two sleepers four
inches square are amply sufficient, but twelve
by three arc recommended.
A road in Canada three miles long does well
without sleepers. They are used of different
lengths, 13, 1G or 20 feet. The road should not
be wider than necessary for the track of ther
wheels. The width differs in different sections
of the country. The planks should be 3 or 4
inches thick, but it is better to take from the
plank and add to the sleeper*?3 inches thick:
enough. Thicker will do, provided the travel is
sufficient to wear it out above, before it rots below.
It is a disadvantage to spike down. It
should be covered one inch thick with grave! or
sand?saw-dust and tan-bark are used also. The
timber, with the work, are the chief items of *
cost The following are estimates realized from
experience. If timber can be had at 70 cents,
it will make it still lower. These are quite high
enough to cover any probable outlay, even at
the minimum charge. The charge for gate
houses is altogether too high, even at the lowest
figures:
ESTIMATE PER MILE.
Plank 8X 3* 5280 .... 126,620ft
Sleepers 2* 1* 3* 5280 - - - 31,680ft
Sa>- 160 M. ft. lumber at $8 to 10 - 1280 to 1600
Grading and Laying from - - - 100 " 300
Gato Houses, - - - - - 50 " 150
Engineering and Supcrintendance - 100 " 100
Contingencies 100 ' 200
$1630 $2350
The Syracuse and Central Plank Road cost $1487
Rome and Oswego " " " 1300
Detroit " " " 1500
The first named road was built by days work
and cost less than the bids of contractors.
The road should be built in sections of a quarter
of a mile each, and the timber contracted for
tc be delivered at each section along the line.
An intelligent Engineer is necessary, and hands
should be liired and placed under his superintcndance.
The wear of a pine road travelled by 50,000
two horse teams per annum, in two years, was
1-1 inch, and this was attributed to the want of
sanding the first year. It was estimated that
the wear on that road would not destroy it in 10
years. The greatest wear is at first After being
used, the sand is ground into the fibres of the
wood, and becomes very hard and wears but little.
A road worn out by travel, will have paid
I from 100 to 200 per cent, on its first cost. No
I plank road has ever yet been worn out
The above items have been culled from a
most interesting and able work of Professor
Gillespie, of N. Y., on the subject of roads generally.
The data upon which he bases his calculations,
are of the most satisfactory character,
and if the writer of this shall have been the means
of calling the attention of intelligent and patriotic
citizens of Camdeu, to the Professor's unanswerable
arguments and inducements to improve
our avenues of tr.ide, he will be amply repaid for
whatever labor he may have incurred. For no
such person can investigate the subject, as treated
of in the work referred to, without lending his
aid to arrest the ruin of our beloved Town, now
impending, in the only way left to us. The
profits of every plank road heretofore constructed,
have surpassed all expectation. Even in the
first enterprises of this character, the stock has
paid handsome dividends, and there is no plank
road, now in operation, which pays a less dividend
than 10 percent, per annum. But recently
a paper came accidentally into the hands of
your correspondent, stating that there were four
or five plank roads running from Chicago ; the
longest not over 30 miles, and the shortest not
more than 5, and perhaps not one of them finished,
yet they paid last year from 10 to 40 per
cent. The prospect of remuneration is as great
as can be afforded in any investment. In the
adjoining State of North Carolina, a road not
yet completed, running from Fayetteville, paid
14 per cent, last year. Where are our capitalists ?
Real Estate in Camden has diminished more in
12 months past, than the amount which would
be required to be raised hero, to secure the Plank
Road to Concord. This was foreseen and predicted,
but without effect. Hear another prediction
! If con fidence is not restored in some
way, before the frst day of September, 1853,
Camden will have lost one-half her mercantile
capital. It is time to talk plainly. There may
be some who, having no local affinities, or imagining
themselves independent of the fortunes
of our town, feel but little interest in the subI
ject, but not to A NATIVE.
I
Macreadv's Opinion of the Sta :e as a
j School of Morals.?Mr. Macreadv, the TrageI
dian, now resides at Sherborne, in the bosom of
a most interesting family of twelve children.?
Among may excellent rules for the government
of his family, is one, from which, it is said, he
has never deviated. It is, that no one of his
children should ever, on any pretence, enter a
Theatre, or have any visiting connection whatever,
with actors or actresses.
From Singapore.?The Salem Register gives
some extracts from late Singapore papers, received
at that office, from which we quote the following:?
We are sorry to learn that fearful ravages are
being made in the rural and planting districts
by tlie numerous tigers infesting the jungle.
Two coroner's inquests were held hist week on
view of the remains of persons killed by these
ferocious animals.
In most instances no portion of the body is *
recovered to enable us to determine the exact jj
number of persons carried off, but a considera- j
ble number of natives employed in planting op- I
erations are missing. The present rewards and I
other aids being manifestly inadequate to arrest I
the mischief, it behooves the Executive to take a
immediate and active measures to rid the jungle J
of these savage beasts, or planting operations m
will cease in parts beyond the immediate vicini- jN
ty of the town. On the 15th, a Malay man jB
was carried off at Passier Rice, near Ckangi. jg