| From the Charleston Courier |
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| December 2, 1862 |
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| The Cheraw & Coalfields Rail Road |
| Cheraw, November 28, 1862 |
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| Editors Courier, |
| In your issue of 4th instant, you directed
public attention to the Cheraw & Coalfields Rail Road, and invited
"authentic information concerning the condition, prospects, and
resources of this enterprise." This road is an extension of the
Northeastern and Cheraw & Darlington Rail Roads, commencing at Cheraw,
and having its terminus at the Coalfields of North Carolina. |
| A final location of ten miles of the line
from this place has already been made, and lines preparatory to the
location of twenty-four additional miles, have been carefully run by the
Engineer Corps. There have been employed upon the work for several
months past, about 250 negro laborers, who have thus far, graded a very
considerable portion of the first seven miles. We have had many
difficulties to contend with, growing out of the inexperience of the
hands, a scarcity of tools, and the impossibility of procuring competent
overseers, &c. |
| These difficulties are, however, being
gradually overcome, and we now hope to make fair progress with the means
at our command. The prospects of the road are most flattering, and were
our resources equal to the work undertaken, the most extended benefits
would soon be reaped by our State and the country at large. The
prospects more immediately before us are as follows: The penetration of
a region where coal and iron are most abundant -- a connection with the
Chatham Rail Road, completing the chain from Charleston to Raleigh --
the possession of the trade of one of the most productive regions of
North Carolina, and the opening up of an extensive section of its
interior to the easy distribution of imports, which we believe, shall,
at the close of the war, be extensively landed at Charleston. To these
may be added the great advantages to be derived by the various rail road
companies in the Confederacy, from the location, at our terminus, of
rolling mills, foundries, and shops for the manufacture of machinery. |
| The resources of the Company are not such
as the nature and importance of the work demand. Up to this time
comparatively few individuals have taken an active interest in the
enterprise, and indeed very few are aware that any progress has been
made at all. Now, we ask, is this as it should be? Have the citizens of
Charleston, Columbia, Camden, and other cities and towns where coal and
gas are consumed, not interest in this matter? Is it not of the greatest
importance that an uninterrupted supply of coal and iron be brought
within their reach? Heretofore, the City of Charleston, through her
constituted authorities, has taken a prominent part in all rail roads
which promised an increase of trade, and, in no instance has she failed
to realize a fair return, either direct or indirect, for her
expenditure. The Coalfields Rail Road is entitled to a liberal share of
her assistance. It is true that now is not the time to ask the city to
increase her debt to subscribe to works of internal improvement. Why
should not the city transfer the Stocks she holds in the Northeastern,
and Cheraw & Darlington Rail Road Companies, to the Coalfields Rail
Road? Or, in other words, subscribe to that extent, and in that form,
towards its construction? |
| Why should not the State adopt a similar
course with the stocks she holds in those companies? Every tax payer in
the City -- nay, every man, woman and child -- is more or less
interested in this work. You are now endeavoring to obtain fuel; suppose
your citizens had followed suggestions urged upon them five or six years
ago, you would now be furnished with abundance of coal from a source
which no blockading fleet can ever stop; and the gunboats you have built
for the defence of your noble city, would never need to lose an hour
through either a scarcity or want of fuel. Let us learn from the past,
it is not too late to come to the assistance of this work. The City
of Charleston and the State can, without adding one dollar to their
debt, secure the building of the Coalfields Rail Road. |
| Labor can be had on such terms as to
ensure economy in construction, and a glance at the map and the
statistics of the country, will show that an early return may be most
reasonably expected from the business of the Road. |
| I had intended to set forth other matters
connected with this enterprise, but the length of this communication
admonishes me that, for the present, I ought to forbear. |
| Very respectfully, |
| Your obedient servant, |
| Allan Macfarlan |
| President Cheraw & Coalfields Rail Road |
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