118 WESTERN INCIDENTS.

any separation could by any possibility take place. And when I
contemplate that and see that vast region beyond, rich as the
other in agricultural capabilities, and infinitely richer in the
material wealth, and peopled too by the same class of people,
still, sir, I might fear that ambition might conceive the idea that
beyond the Rocky Mountaius, on the Pacific coast, a great and
prosperous nation, separate from us, might be built up, and when
I contemplate that, sir, I think I see the necessity of intimate
connections with that people by commerce, by social relations,
and all those ties that bind nations, together. [Applause.] Not
believing that there is any danger of such a thing, for, for the
honor of that great people over there be it said, they have given us
no intimation that there is any design to separate themselves from
the rising and prospective glories of this great republic. [Applause.]
But, sir, it is a dictate of prudence politically to cultivate the
most intimate relations with that people, and use every facility
for connecting ourselves most closely with them. How, sir,
should this be done? Man’s ingenuity has invented no other way
except the all-efficient instrumentality of the railway, And that
is sufficient to bind nations together this day infinitely stronger
than the people of the old time were capable of. Therefore, sir,
I do honor to all those who, either through patriotism or the far-
reaching knowledge of their own interests, are taking in hand to
expend their capital, their thought, and their labor on this great
enterprise. And as we proceeded west over those vast plains,
and found what the energy of those men had done, it filled our
minds with the greatest degree of admiration. As the gentleman
who preceded me has said, there was no man among us whose
heart did not warm toward the men who engaged their fortunes
in this great enterprise. They have prosecuted it with an energy
that astonished me, whether it did others or not. I had no idea
that this road was creeping along with such facility toward its
western termination; and when I saw it I felt glad that all the
votes I have ever given in Congress, having any connection with
this great enterprise, have been to aid it. [Applause.] I labored