The Pacific Railroad - The Hartford Daily Times, Hartford, Connecticut, August 15, 1853

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THE HARTFORD DAILY TIMES
Hartford, Connecticut, August 15, 1853, No. 3057.
The Pacific Railroad.
The Washington Union of Friday contains & well written "leader" on the Constitutional questions which surround the construction of the Pacific Railroad. The article is doubtless, from the pen of secretary Davis. It is carefully written, and maybe looked upon as the programme marked out by the Cabinet. We give a quotation: "It may turn out, and we think it probably will, that the determination of the government to furnish effectual aid in the construction of the road through its own territory, wherein lie the great physical obstacles, will give to the enterprise so much certainty of success, that individual and municipal capital will be enabled to construct not only one but many diverging tracks through the States through whose territory it may pass. In that event, the original strict doctrine of construction stands intact. If it becomes necessary, however, for the government to give aid to private capital to promote the enterprise in the States, then it does not follow that an appropriation from the treasury will be essential-the aid may be derived from the public lands in those States; and, in that event, the old strict-construction principle may not be disturbed. But even if it becomes essential, in order to insure the success of the enterprise, that money should be appropriated by the government to be expended in aid of the work in the States, it may be found, upon careful investigation, that the power to protect our Pacific possessions, in obedience to an express trust assumed by the government, may so far be regarded as a specified or express grant in the Constitution, as to authorize the appropriation." That the Government has a right to construct all kinds of roads through the territories, no one will question. We imagine that constructing works through the States will not be so easily disposed of. There is a large body of men in every Congress who believe that the movements of the General Government should be as circumscribed as possible. State rights should be preserved at all cost. The nearer we keep matters to the people, the better their matters are managed. If the National Government has a right to enter this State and build a railroad, or a portion of a road we cannot perceive why it may not enter and build up a system of canals in opposition to those already in existence. Local affairs are best managed by local authorities. Wrong may be done by our Common Councils as well as by more distant bodies: but such wrongs meet with a much more speedy adjustment. Had the robberies of the New York Aldermen been committed by Congress, the villainies would have gone on increasing for years. State sovereignty should never be invaded. The National Government should be tied down to the plain letter of the Constitution. Congress can and should build the Pacific Railroad through the territories. The moment it enters the States, however, that moment the enterprise should pass into the hands of individuals. Congress has no more right to run a railroad through this State than it has to go to Syracuse and open a salt boiling establishment. –Albany Knickerbocker