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of Government Ian remaining unsold within her borders, By the Report of the Commissioners of the General Land Office, they amounted, on the 30th June, 1815, to 10,409,03 1 acres. Of these, there had been in market five y«ars, 1,018,114 acres ; ten .years, 451,390 acres ; fifteen years, 2,974,097; twenty years, 934,131 ; twenty jive years, 894,-424; thirty years, 2,924,172; arid over thirty years, 1,222.706. These i lands are all held at a minimum of §1.25 per acre, at which price they can never be sold.'and'will remain-a heavy incubus upon our prosperity. The subject calls loudly for the action of Congress, and was ably urged upon it by General Shields in the Report above named.. Under the graduation system, of about, 4*344,725 acres in nine years, was sold 3,469.320.92 acres, and the balance is. and will be soon disposed.of. Every consideration, demands strict legislation, economy, comity to the States in whose borders these lands lie, and justice to the mighty wave of tho frontier population, sweeping onward to the base of the Rockv^ Mountains and the shores'of the'Pacific, and extending the laws and institutions of our country across the continent. The rrmo.val'of all difficulties in the way'of the occupancy of our public lands, has always been a favorite idea with me,vand, in connection with it, I cannot here help alluding to a public man. whose official career is now nearly run— one whose untiring industry and unvarying accuracy, have made him famous, whilst his far reaching sagacity and comprehensive ability have shed a mighty flood of light upon all the financial and industrial inter-e%s of his country. I allude to Robert I. Walker, of Mississippi, and I cannot better conclude this subject, than by quoting his own language in reference to it. “Reduce.1’ says he, “.the price which the lahprer must pay for the public domain ; bring thus the means of purchase within his power; confine the sales to settlers and cultivators, in limited quantities; preserve thus hundreds of millions of acres for ages to come, as homes, for the poor and oppressed ; reduce the taxes by re-ducing' the tarijf, and bring down the prices which the poor are thus compelled( to pay for the comforts and necessaries of life—and mqre will be done for the .benefit of American labor, than if millions were added to the profits of manufacturing capital.”
_ There is much else which I could well allude to in connection*vcnth my State, but I am warned to conclude. 1 can only say. that, to/ny. view', no State has fairer and brighter prospects before her in the future,*’. if prudence shall rule the act.ion of her people, and wisdom guide their ’ counsels and conduct.
ART. III.—COMMUX1 CAT 1 OX BETWEEN' NEW YORK AND NEW ORLEANS,
t. • PROPOSED NEW. ROUTE FOR A DIRECT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN NEW
YORK AND NEW ORLEANS, ACROSS THE PEN!NSULA OF FLORIDA.
Since tlif' reception of the following paper, we have lint! an opnrtiinity of conversing wiih senator Yule’e, of Florida, who is an enthusiastic advocate of the measure it, proposes, and who has taken tin opportunity of bringing It before Congress. Mr. Yulec states, tliar-cunsiiJeraMe interest lias been manifested ,by northern capitalists in the under.tnkinif and lhat some cntly steps with regard to surveys, tec., will be made. Certainly/nothing can be’more important-sjhan the proposed connection, and nothing can bo more immediately practicable, if
taken ;|'M[ited!y ir> hen 1. The idea of L>rin^New Orle.irs and New York, theso "icatempi m?, by a sale ntid p’etis'iiii medur I travel, u ithin four days, dista nco of each other, is worthy ot the jjruyre.-sivc spirit of the a<ji , ::t>d is but another indication of the hi"!i destir.us <f our cr>utrv. We shall be' obliged t > .Mr. Kairbank, or senator Yu !«.■«*, tor further at.d mure full particulars, and shall be happy io aiiurdnhe review as a mcritum uf their discussion.—Ed.
Since the acquisition of^ Louisiana, and the immense and increasing commerce which has its center of operations at New Orleans, a speedy and direct communication between New York, the great noithern emporium of commercial interest, and New Orleans that of the south and south-west, has engrossed much of public attention, and has been <jbn- ' stantly a matter of absorbing interest.	‘	.•
The first and most natural channel of communication, was by inean^ < of ship packets between the two places; and, for Height, this has continued-the sole means of transportation. Until within a few years.this was the ordinary, and still continues to be the usual, route of passage., Tho distance by sea is estimated at about 2.5CU miles, or nearly as far & as lo Europe; and'-the leTTgtTr of passage from fifteen to thirty days.
By means of the steamboats ascending the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers,"a new channel of communication was opened inland by steamboats, as far as Pittsburgh, and connected with Baltimore, within a few years past, by the Baltimore and Ohio rail road. This route, following the circuitous meandering of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and ascending against their strong currents, although perhaps performed with greater comfort, is bat little less in point of lime than that by the packet ships.	.	k
The most direct route has always been through A1 a.b.a.m.at_Georgia. South Carolina, North Carolina,,Virginia, and other States on the line of Travel. ‘ Performed by stage?,.this was an' exceedingly tedious, dilli.-, cult, and expensive route, and was only used by those to whom time was an objecL~^rhe~gm^ual opening of raUroads through th^se States has increased the comfori/and dispatch of-this route. It is nowj=o_jg&rv nected, that.but about one hundred miles of the journey are made by stages, and the remainder is traversed ‘by sleambonts and-' railroads. .The mo$t disagreeable feature of this route, at present, is the outside steamboat connection between Charleston, 3. C.. and Wilmington, about one hundred and fifty miles,'in sTeamboats of very ordinary si^B.and construction; the shallowness of the water upon the baf at Cape Fear rendering the employment of larger steamers impracticable. Another disagreeable feature is the rare connection of the different roads., and conseqpient transfer of passengers and luggage at the difierent terminii, with day and night traveling in th.e cars, and but little opportunity for rest. The liine within which the connection is made .through to New York, is eight days; which may be abridged, perhaps to seven, when throne hundred miles of stageing is connected by'Tailroafd.
• Within the past &ason. by 'the opening of the Lllihok Canal, a new route has been thrown open by way of the; great lakes, by' which nearly the whole distance is performed by water, with an increase of distance, 'but an addition of ccjmfort; this route beingsome.three'or four thousand miles, but not more/xpensive than the others. V	.
The impulse given to commerce, by ihej^troduction of ocean steam-