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Show .. 8 I h ighest pinnac~e of wealth and po\',:er, und ~vith it the hi O'best at tam men ts of letters, arts, aml.sctences. l And ~o will it continue to' be. An Amertcnn ro~d to ~ ndia, thr~ug~ the heart of our coumry,, w~ll 1 revtvc upon Hs lme all the wonders of whtch \~e have reud-ttnd ecl ipse them. Th.e \~e~ter~l w~lderness, from the P acific to the l\ltsst.sslppt, .\\:til start into li fe under its touch . A long ltne of ctttes will grc)W up. Existing cities will tnlce a. new start. The state of the world calls for n new roud to India, aml it is our destiny to gi-te it-the last and greatest. Let u~ act up to the grcatne~s of the occasion o.ttu show ourselves worthy of the extmordin~ ry circumstances in which w~ a rc placed, by securing while we can an Arncncan road to Ind ia- central and nati6lnal-for ourscl\·es and ou r posterity-now, and herenfter, for thousands of years to come. I now ask leave to introduee th e bill. Leave lHtv ing been granted, Mr. B. int roduced his uill, which was rend twice, nne! referred to the Committee on Militnry Affairs. It is as fol lows: :\ Ill L[, tn provide for till! Jocat1on and con.-trurtion of a Cen'ral · auonnJ R•1ad fr01n the Pacific Ocean to the .MisIHssippt H.rvcr, w ith a branch ofsaiu road to the Columbia and a breadth of one mile wide from the frontiN of the State of ;\I i~,;o uri to the bay of San Frnnc i:;co, shall he, and the saute llcrchy i,;, reserved and appropriated for· ever for the traC'k of said central road, and for the tracl<:! of :;uch oth('f roa•l;~ (railways or othePt>) as may hereafter be a nthorir.t•d hy a ct of Congre,:s; and a breadth of one thou!;! allu fcr.t shall he, and Ute same h ereby is, reservr d for the branch road to the ticl e-wate r region of the Columhia. SEC. 4 . ./l1td lie i t fttrlher enacted, That the Pre,..iclent of the Unit ed States 'on, and he h ereby is, authorized nnrl requc"ted to cant:c all the information in the po>'Sl'f'~ion c,r power of the Govcru111ent, neces>ary to show the compar,\tive advantages nnd disadvantages of clitTereut rout~,;s for !>aid C'l'n tral and hranch ro ute_, to he laid bpfor ~ Cougrr~s ror it tl rcis ion, with t•JPO~raphical und profile map· to illu !':trate the samE\; and to cau"e furtlwr explorations to be 111ade, if nece -~:ary; anti the sum ot thirty thou and dollar:', out of auy 1110 11eys i 11 the treasury uot otherwise appropriated, lw, and th<' same hrrrby is, appropriated to enable the Pre~ irle nt to carry the ohjects or thi:; section into ptfect. Sec. 5 . .lind be it further enacted, That as soon as the routes for said centr11l and br~n c h road, or Pither of them, !':hall he ~elected, the location and cou;:truction th ereof shall hr. cnmmenccd undrr the direction of the Prf'~icl<>nt of the Unitr cl Stares, and continued till flni shrd, by virtue of appropriatious to be ma1lt: by Congress out of the fund created aud set apart for thnt pnrpo e. SF:c. G . .llnd he it further enacted, Thnt military !'tations shall he e"tahlishrd on the line oftl1e said <'Pntrnl and hranch 1 roads, for thei r l>rottetion and support; and SE'ttlcments !>hnll I he e n co ura~e cl at such stations by making donations ofland to actual sclllcr-. SEc. 7 . .llnd be it .fttrlher enactr.d, That so soon as said ~ver. railway, or any s ufflc ient part thereof, s hall he completed ~ if rnacled, l~·c., That seventy-five per crntum of the and fit for use, the use thereof !':hall be grantt•d for a lirnitr.d proceeds of the public land in O,-cgon and CaiUorllia, aud ti111c to such individuals or compauirs as shall, by contract lifty JH'r ecutum of the a111ount of the ,;ale:; of all other pub- with the GovP.rnmr nt of th-e Unite>d States, agree to trans-ire larul' in the United State~,~hall hP, and the same lll·rl'hy I port pc r,.ons, mail~, munitions of war, and f'r Pi;rht of all arr, sl't apan nnd pledged to defray the expeuses or locatina l<iud :;, public and private, in vehicles t'nrni:;:hed by thrmand con-.trnc ting a central uatinnal roarl from tlw Pacific I sclve , over the flame at such rea onable rates a · ~:-hall be Ocean to tlH! iHi s,i:;,ippi ri ver, with a bra:1ch of .,aid road to agreed upon: Prodded, That if otlrer roads shall hereafter thr Colu111bia river. be coustructcct 011 the gr{lund rr. crved for roads hy this art, , EC'. !! . .line/ l1e it j1trthcr crwcfed, That thr Fnid central the snme company or person shall not be allowfd to havC' the nationnl road hall conrnrence 011 tire hay of San Franci,co, contract for trun,:portation , or any intere:::t in more thnn one at a suitable poiut to conuect with the occau navi((atron of road at the sarhe time : .llndprovidecl,Jttrlher, Thnt a mar~>in the Pacitic, ancl terminate at ::>t. Loui,., in the State of Mis- of~ard rcservPclground, both overthc said central anc,l brauch souri. Aud the said branch road ::hall commence on the road, of at least one hundred feet wide, shall be fon.Jver re-tide- w:l!er rraion of the Columbia river, to connrct with :;:erved for a common road for wheel carriages, horae and foot ocran navi'(ation at that po111t, and s hall intc•r:.:ect the cen- trave ller!', free from toll or charge. tral national 1 oad at some i:'Uitable point west of the H.ocky SEc;. 8 . .llllll be it jm·ther enacted, That the sum or.s1r0.000 Mountains. II be, and the ~a me i, he re• by, appropriated to enal1lc the Pn•s- SE<'. 3 . .llnd he it further cnactcrl, That the snicl cr.utral idcnt to trf•at with the Iudian tribes along the lin e of said nnd branch roacts shall be iron railways, whrrt> practicable I road, when the route thereof shall bP. re"olvt'd upon, for so nud advanta~rous, and ~ hall be macadauiizcd, or otherwise I much te rritory as shall he n ecessary for the purposes of this constructed, wl~ e1e uot so practicable aut! ad\autageous; , act. . .- , |