The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945 Page: 117
617 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Texas Collection
more than two months - has rendered my mind oblivious of many
things that would have furnished material for a letter had I written
earlier - that I have not done so is owing to a variety of causes more
easily conceived than described. ...
The Governor of this state has at last in response to the general
wish of the people called an extra Session of the Legislature - Al-
though the Apportionment & some other minor bills were the pretext
for this Call Yet the great question which will be discussed will be that
of internal improvements by the State Government.
The whole State is awake to the necessity of having free and safe
Communication with the Coast from the interior - The only question
is what plan shall be adopted - All have determined on Railroads but
every little community & town has its own cherished route & that
route must be directly by their doors - then again as to the means and
the method of raising them there is still greater diversity of opinion -
The plan proposed by the Galveston Convention of July last, of making
the State Credit available seems to me the most feasible of any I
have yet seen - the idea of making large donations of land to effect
the object would it seems to me be a most ruinous policy - it would
lock up the only available means of State Credit, Create large landed
corporations. Keep out Emmigration and give rise to a host of minor
evils that even Railroads would scarcely counterbalance - I send you
herewith a paper - "The News Extra" published by subscription for
distribution through the State --I may state here that the State Con-
stitution must be amended to admit of the State engaging in internal
improvements.
Speaking of Railroads, the first shipment of iron, Locomotives etc.
for Texas arrived here a few weeks since for the Harrisburgh R.Road -
I hardly know how long this road has been in progress but I believe
about two years. It commences at Harrisburgh, a few miles below
Houston on Buffalo Bayou and will extend to the Brazos somewhere
about San Felipe - the movement is an important one, much more so
than people generally believe. It will take nearly the whole of the trade
of the upper Brazos - And much of the lower, especially when the water
is low on the Bar at the mouth of the river - it will, also when finished
injure Houston very much if it does not entirely ruin it --Between
Galveston & Harrisburgh there is plenty of water both as regards
depth & width, while between that place & Houston the Bayou is very
narrow - Not sufficiently wide for two Steamers to run abreast, or for
one to turn around, & were it not for a small inlet of the Bayou at
Houston which affords them facilities for turning, navigation would
be impossible for other than the smallest kind of Craft. Added to these
advantages that Harrisburgh affords a much better landing, lighter
soil (for Houston is a perfect mortar bed in wet weather) is quite as
easy of access to the Country: and it is not very difficult to forsee the
effects of this road upon Houston. I think that the road has progressed
finely considering the opposition it has met from Houston and the dis-
couragement from almost every quarter - At present about 20 miles of
the road are graded and they are progressing with the remainder as117
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945, periodical, 1945; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146055/m1/121/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.