Illinois, is in progress. But when the importance of the proposed extension is considered, and the relation it will sustain to the railroads of the States lying eastward, no doubt can be entertained of its commencement and construction at no distant day.

Northern Cross railroad.—This name is usually applied to the line of road commencing at Quincy, on the Mississippi river, extending to the Indiana State line near Danville, Illinois, and running through Naples, Springfield, and Decatur. This is one of the projects embraced in the State system of improvements; and upon it a much larger amount of work was done than upon any other line. The work executed by the State has since passed into the hands of private companies, by one of which the portion of the line extending from Springfield, the capital of the State, to the Illinois river, and commonly known as the Springfield and Meredosia railroad, has been completed. The portion of the above line from Quincy to the Illinois is also in progress, by another company. From Springfield eastward, the work of construction is also about to be resumed. From Decatur, two branches will probably be constructed, one extending to Terre Haute, and the other in a more northerly direction towards Lafayette. It may be stated, that the westerly division of this road, extending from Quincy to Clayton, will form the base of the line of railroads now in progress to Chicago, under the title of the Central Military Tract and Aurora Branch railroads, already referred to.

Alton and Sangamon railroad.-This important line of railroad extends from Alton to Springfield, the capital of the State, a distance of 72 miles. It has been recently opened for business. It forms an appropriate outlet from the central portions of the State to the Mississippi river. Its local consequence is greatly increased by the prospect of its becoming a link in the line of railroad from Chicago to Alton and St. Louis. By reference to the annexed map, it will be seen that Springfield lies very nearly on a direct line between the above cities. The division of this line from Springfield to Bloomington is already under contract, from whence it will be carried direct to Chicago, or unite with the Rock Island road at Morris. This connexion would form a very direct and convenient route between the termini named. The cities of Chicago and St. Louis will probably always remain (with the exception of Cincinnati) the great cities of the West; and the line that will connect them possesses, to a certain extent, a national importance. The fact that it connects Lake Michigan with the Mississippi on a great and convenient route of travel between them, cannot fail to give it rank among our leading works.

In the central portion of Illinois are several lines having a general eastern and western direction. Among the more important of these may be named the Western and Atlantic, the Terre Haute and Alton, and a road from Terre Haute to Springfield, the capital of the State.

The Atlantic and Mississippi road is now the only link wanting in a great chain of railroads extending from St. Louis to the Atlantic. Its line is identical with the convenient route between that and all the leading eastern cities. It may be regarded as the Mississippi trunk of all the roads in central Ohio and Indiana running east and west. The importance of this road to the general system of the country is well

shown by the accompanying map. The city of St. Louis is one of the great depots of trade in the interior, between which and the Atlantic cities there exists a vast commerce and travel. As a through-route, there is none in the country offering better prospects of a lucrative traffic. It is regarded with great favor by the public, and there can be no doubt that its stock will be eagerly sought by eastern capitalists. The whole line will be placed immediately under contract for completion, within the shortest practicable period.

The country traversed by the road is a very fertile portion of the State, and will supply the usual amount of local traffic for a western

road.

Terre Haute and Alton railroad.-This project has the same general direction and object with the one last described. One of the leading objects in its construction is to promote the increase of the city of Alton, its Mississippi terminus. It traverses a fertile and well cultivated portion of the State, and is sufficiently removed from the Mississippi and Atlantic to command a large local trade. The whole line of this road is under contract for completion within three years from this time, and several portions of it are in progress.

The proposed road from Terre Haute to Springfield, it will be seen, is an important link to connect the roads of Indiana with the Central Illinois and with the Northern Cross roads. Measures are in progress to place this road under contract, which promise its speedy completion.

A railroad is also proposed from Mount Carmel, on the Illinois river, to Alton. This is one of the projects which were included in the State system of 1837. A portion of the eastern end of this line was graded by the State. These improvements have gone into the hands of a private company, by which the road will be completed from Mount Carmel to Alton, a distance of about twenty miles. This road will probably be extended to Princetown, Indiana, in order to form a connexion with the Evansville and Illinois road.

The Ohio and Mississippi road, one of the most important projects in the State, has already been noticed under the head of Ohio.

MISSOURI.

Population in 1830, 140,455; in 1840, 383,702; in 1850, 382,043. Area in square miles, 67,380; inhabitants to square mile, 10.12.

No effort was made in this State toward the construction either of railroads or of canals till within a recent period. This was partly owing to the fact of its being a frontier State, in which the necessity of railroads is less felt, than in those so situated as to become thoroughfares for their neighbors; and partly to the sparseness of the populalation in nearly every portion of the State. At the session of the legislature of 1851, the State agreed to lend its credit to two great lines of railroad: the Pacific road, commencing at St. Louis, and running to the west line of the State, on the south side of the Missouri river; and the Hannibal and St. Joseph's road, extending from the Mississippi to the Missouri, on the north side of the latter, and connecting the places named. The amount of aid voted was $2,000,000 to the for

mer, and $1,500,000 to the latter; the loans not to become available until each company should have obtained $1,000,000 of private stock, and then only so fast as equal portions of stock subscriptions should be paid up and expended. When either company shall have expended $50,000, they are entitled to call upon the State for its bonds to an equal amount, as security for which, the latter holds a lien upon the road and all the property of the companies. The State aid will probably be increased to meet one-half the cost of both roads. Although local considerations are the primary motive in the construction of the above roads, the projectors look to their ultimate extension to the Pacific ocean. Although their eastern termini are somewhat widely separated, they approach each other as they proceed westward, and would meet beyond the Missouri river, if prolonged in their general directions. As local roads, they are of great importance. They will, when completed, add much to the convenience of the emigrant and pioneer, by materially reducing the long and tedious journey on foot from the Mississippi to the western boundary of our settled territory. In connexion with the great lines of railroad lying to the east, they would form a part of a line across the continent, from one ocean to the other. Every mile we advance westward, is so much gained toward the accomplishment of a work destined to be the crowning achievement of modern energy and science. Private enterprise will soon have accomplished so much, as to leave the portion that must devolve upon the general government a comparatively easy task. It private companies with their unaided means can accomplish more than half of this work, certainly what remains is not of such vast magnitude, as to intimidate the collective energies and power of a great nation.

Rapid progress is now making in the construction of the above roads; and there can be no doubt of their speedy completion.

In addition to the original object of the Pacific railroad, its eastern portion will probably be made the trunk of a branch extending to the mineral districts of the southwestern portions of the State, which are extremely rich in iron, lead, and copper. These great resources still remain undeveloped, from the want of a suitable outlet, which the above road will create; and measures are now in progress for its construction. It is also proposed to make this branch a portion of a great line from St. Louis to New Orleans, upon the west side of the Mississippi. This latter project is attracting much attention, and though the means do not now exist for its construction, the eventual realization of this project can hardly be doubted.

WISCONSIN.

Population in 1840, (Territory,) 30,945; in 1850, 305,191. Area in square miles, 53,924; inhabitants to square mile, 5.65.

The State of Wisconsin, though in 1840 it numbered only 30,000 inhabitants, is already in possession of a first-class line, a considerable portion of which is in operation-the Milwaukie and Mississippi railroad. This line of road commences at Milwaukie, the leading town in the State, and extends in a westerly direction, running through the capital to the Mississippi, at Prairie du Chien, a distance of about 200

miles. It is already in operation to Whitewater, a distance of 50 miles, and will be completed to Rock river during the coming autumn. It was commenced in 1850, and owes its birth and prosecution to the enterprise and capital of the city of Milwaukie. It is the most northerly railroad yet projected, running from Lake Michigan westward, with the advantage of offering the cheapest outlet for all the country lying north and west of its terminus on the Mississippi river. It traverses a most beautiful region of country, and bids fair to become a successful and lucrative road, as it occupies a favorable route, and will be constructed at low cost. It is distinguished by being constructed at a much earlier period in the history of a State than any similar work; and it is certainly a wonderful illustration of the rapid growth of the Western country, that in the short space of ten years a wilderness has been reclaimed and brought into high cultivation, and been filled with a thriving and prosperous people, in possession of all those contrivances in aid of labor and in promotion of social and material advantages, the results of modern science and skill, and of which many richer and older communities have not as yet availed themselves. As the tide of emigration moves westward, it carries with it all the distinguishing characteristics of the eastern States; so that a person may travel to the very verge of western settlement without being conscious of any change, save in the natural features of the country.

Another important line projected in Wisconsin is the Fond du Lac and Rock River Valley railroad, extending from Fond du Lac, on Lake Winnebago, in a southwesterly course to Janesville, whence it takes a southeasterly course to Chicago. The entire length of this road is about 215 miles. It is in course of construction at both ends, and a portion of the line, near Fond du Lac, will soon be in operation. From Fond du Lac, it is in contemplation to extend a branch to the western extremity of Lake Superior, for which a favorable route is said to exist. This extension would even now be of great utility in giving access to the vast extent of fertile country lying west of the great lake, which is becoming an attractive field for emigrants; and should Congress favor this proposed line by a grant, its immediate construction would be the result. Such a road will ultimately be found indispensable to the settlement of a large portion of the Minnesota Territory, and will probably receive encouragement from the general government, for the purpose of promoting this object and opening to a market an important and valuable portion of its domain.

The whole route of the Fond du Lac and Rock River Valley railroad runs through an extremely fertile country. One of the objects of the road, from which it will derive lucrative employment, is in the distribution over the State of the lumber which grows upon the rivers flowing into Lake Winnebago. Works are now in progress, which will soon allow vessels navigating Lake Erie to reach Lake Winnebago, adding much to the business and prosperity of the above road.

Works are also in progress for uniting the Wisconsin and Fox rivers by a canal, which shall admit steamboats of the capacity of those navigating the rivers. By reference to the maps it will be seen that these rivers approach each other very nearly, the distance between them being less than two miles, and the separation consisting only of a

strip of low land, submerged at high water, and allowing the passage of small boats from one to the other. This canal is nearly completed, and when opened will allow the passage of steamboats from the lakes to the Mississippi river.

A railroad is also proposed from Dubuque, on the Mississippi river, to Lake Michigan, passing through the southern tier of counties in the State. Such a road would make the town of Janesville a point from which it would be carried forward, by roads in progress, to the towns of Chicago and Milwaukie.

IOWA.

Population in 1840, (Territory,) 43,112; in 1850, 192,214. Area in square miles, 50,914; inhabitants to square mile, 3.77.

No railroad has yet been commenced in Iowa, though several companies have been organized for their construction. It will be recollected that some ten years since, the State had only about 50,000 people. It has now probably about 300,000, most of whom are settled in the neighborhood of navigable rivers; and on this account the necessity of railroads has not been so much felt as it would otherwise have been. As Iowa is one of the most fertile States of the West, ranking among the first in extent and natural resources; and as the surface of its soil is well adapted to the cheap and expeditious construction of railroads, and the State is filling up with great rapidity, with an enterprising and vigorous people, we cannot expect that she will long be behind her sister States in the construction of works so important to the prosperity and progress of any people.

The most important of the proposed roads in Iowa are the lines leading from Rock Island to Council Bluffs; from Dubuque to Keokuk; and from Burlington to the Missouri river. The first of these extends west upon the parallel of the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Rock island is believed to be the best point for the passage of the Mississippi river, and Council Bluffs for that of the Missouri. These facts show the prospective importance of this line.

The object of the Dubuque and Keokuk line is to cut off the bend in the Mississippi river, and to avoid the rapids, which are a serious obstruction to navigation.

The project from Burlington to the Missouri has the same general object as the Rock Island and Council Bluffs road. No one of the above projected improvements has been commenced, though measures for the purpose are in progress.

RAILROADS IN THE BRITISH PROVINCES.

As the provincial railroads are to be intimately connected with those of the United States, a brief notice of the former will be appropriate to this report.

A few railroads only have been constructed in the British provinces, for the reason that these works were not particularly required to aid in the movement of property; the numerous rivers, lakes, and bays supplying cheap and convenient media for this purpose. The principal