to the city of New Orleans in the latter; and that to these points in the several States will be carried letters and other mail matter addressed to residents of the seceding States. Should this prove to be the actual result of the withdrawal of the five States, it will then become necessary for Florida to provide for transporting the mail-matter of her citizens from these points, say from Wilmington on the North, and New Orleans on the West.
As regards the Northern mail, your Committee are of opinion that the necessity of any thing more than providing for carrying the mails within our own State, will be removed by the action of South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama—inasmuch as upon these States will devolve the duty of bringing their own mails from the points of delivery on the Southern borders of North Carolina and Tennessee. And it is not to be doubted that all mails destined for Florida will be most cheerfully embraced in such arrangements as they make for themselves; and we venture to say on very reasonable terms, if we may take the generous and noble offer of aid recently tendered by the Executive of South Carolina to his Excellency Governor Perry, as a basis of our judgment. But inasmuch as a direct route by sea from Charleston to any point in Florida would be liable to interruption in case of blockade or hostile measures on the part of the existing Federal government, and will also involve additional cost, we think our mails should take the course of the Carolina and Georgia routes—i.e., by rail to Savannah, and by steamer along the inland passage to Fernandina. From this place there can, by contracts now for the most part actually existing, be forwarded along the lines of the two Rail Roads, and up the St. Johns, to almost every part of the State, East, South and West.
In case, however, of actual war, (which we do not apprehend,) our mails must, of necessity, come down the various lines of Rail Road through Georgia to the Florida line, and thence by existing routes and contracts, be distributed through the State. The only material change under either of these systems, would be that Florida will have her quota of the cost of transportation to the borders to pay, as also the entire cost within her bounds, so far as the same may exceed the income from postage.
The mail from the West, your Committee think, may be brought by steamer from New Orleans, via Mobile, Pensacola and Apalachicola to St. Marks, and even to Cedar Keys and to Tampa, if thought advisable—and from these points may be distributed through the entire State. It has been suggested to your Committee that an arrangement to this effect may, at any time, be made on favorable terms, with a boat proposed to be put on that line for freight.
Should, however, blockade or actual war be resorted to, this
