hubert howe bancroft - Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History ...

264 LOYALTY, OR DISUNION AND A PACIFIC REPUBLIC?
part of the union, had a right to intermeddle. The
fereckenridge democracy claimed the right to cany
slaves, as property, into any territory, and that congress
was bound to protect such property when
necessary, whether or not the territorial legislature
sanctioned it, or the majority of the people approved.
All the parties in California favored a transcontinental
railroad, that being the sine qua non of support with
the people of the Pacific coast, who just then were
more troubled about transportation and mails than
about ethical politics, 11 but who received neither from
the out-going administration.
"The majority of the people of CaL, as I have mentioned in the preceding
volume, preferred the central to the southern route for mail transit. The
central route was gradually opened, first from Salt lake to the Missouri
river, then by wagon from Placerville to Carson valley, and finally to Salt
lake, connecting there with the mail to St Joseph. George Chorpenning
owned the western division, but his means were limited and the management
bad. Broderick endeavored to procure the adoption of the central route by
the government in place of the southern or Butterfield route, established in
1857, and thereby incurred the hostility of Gwin and the southern influence.
The exposure of Gwin's methods had the effect to cause him to withdraw his
opposition to the central route, but he did so then only when he fancied he
saw an opportunity to make capital for himself out of it, Senator Hale, of
N. H., introduced a bill which could have been passed, which would have
given California a daily mail over the central route. But Gwin had several
motives for preventing the passage of this bill. One was that he was retained
in the interest of the steamship company; another that he would do
nothing so pleasing to the republicans as to allow this republican bill to pass,
thus overshadowing him; and again, that he reserved to himself the glory
of appearing as the author of the contract for a tri-weekly mail over the central
route. He introduced another bill to embarrass Hale's, and allowed
neither to pass. Bnt this plank, on which he hoped to stand when the next
U. S. senator should be chosen in CaL, slipped away from him when, going
to Postmaster-general Holt, after the close of the session, that official flatly
refused to carry out the terms of the bargain between them, In this manner
CaL was deprived of mail service, except over the Butterfield route, until
the secession of the southern states and a change of administration caused
the suspension of this line, and the establishment of the central route. Sac
Union, June 15, 26, and July 23 and 28,1860. Latham offered some amendments
to Hale's bill when it was before the senate, but they were defeated
with the rest. He presented some figures which are interesting. From
Sept 1858 to and including March 1860, there were 685,960 letters sent over
the Butterfield route, the postage on which was $71,378.63; and over the
route via Salt lake 15,725, the postage on which was $865.51. The Butterfield
contractors received $600,000 for tri-weekly service. This was one of
the profitable contracts given to southern men by the consent of California
senators, but the service performed was never complained of. The Pacific
Mail Steamship company in 1860 refused to carry express packages containing
mail matter, or to carry the newspaper mails, which could not go overland,
the object of the refusal being to force congress, with the help of
California's senior senator, to give the mail contract to Vanderbilt's company.