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gusta, in Georgia, and from thence on the Charleston and Namburg
road to Charleston; and thirdly, by the Tennessee and Holstein ri-
vers and the Cha'rleston road from Knoxville to Charleston. The
reader, with these improvements in progress on his mind, should then
examine the map of Tennessee, and see how Kentucky is placed in
connection with the subject. A single glance of the map of the Uni-
ted States must satisfy him that Kentucky never can reach the Atlan-
tic with a rail road, except she does it under the present charter.
That Tennessee, lying so as to completely exclude her from every
prospect of dbing so, may avail herself of the advantages which God
and nature has given her-to deny us the right of transit and insist
on our commerce being tributary to her Eastern Emporium. Under
the charter granted, the State of Tennessee is bound by solemn con-
tract to interpose no difficulty to our commerce passing freely to the
southern markets; but if Kentucky refuse to make the road and go
out of the charter, then is our commerce to the south forever at the
mercy of Tennessee. Let this charter pass away, and may not Ten-
Rcssee say to us, you would not let Ohio pass through your State-
you even refused us the liberty to make a road to her commercial em-
porium, without we would make three roads simultaneously to your
principal commercial ports; we will allow you to wagon your bag-
ging and bale-rope to Knoxville and there put it on the Charleston
rail road, or the Georgia railroad tir market; and you may drive your
hogs and salt them into pork or bacon, and send them to market like-
wisefrom'Knoxville. Surely, no friend to his country can be willing
to see her thus degraded and paralized in her enterprise; and yet this
is precisely what is to be the consequence (as I verily believe) of
our failing to act with Charleston in the construction of the road un-
der the existing charter. That the State of Tennessee is sensible of
her prospects, all may understand, when we contemplate the grand
scale upon which her legislature has planned her system of internal
improvements. At her last session, it should be recollected, that the
legislature of that State, in addition to her other means, chartered a
bank with thirteen millions of capital, and gave to the construction of
the Charleston and the Hligh-wassee rail road alone, (both leading
from Knoxville) about thirteen hundred thousand dollars. It did
more-it passed aJaw giving to the Charleston rail road company
banking powers within that State; when our own legislature not only
refused to grant similar powers, (in this State) but to give the read