Speech #540115156

The Kansas CityPittsburg and Gulf Railway will he completed from Kansas City to the.Gnlf by March. These roads do now. or will when constructed. traverse. to a greater or less extent. the several counties proposed to be placed in the new division. hen the eastern judicial district of Texas was created. the counties forming the proposed division were sparsely settled and bad but few. if any. railroads. but within thepast few years the popuation and wealthof thesecounties have rapidly increased. Beaumont and Orange. the latter a city distant about 23 miles from Beaumont. were a few years aoe small villages. doing but little business. they are now cities with a population of several thousands each. and have large manufacturing interests. and the ounties contiguous thereto. which are inclded in the proposed new division. have correspondingly increased in population. and a considerable immigration is now pBcuring into this section o the State. Sabine Pass. 28 miles distant and In Jeff ers on Coun ty. and which a few years ago had only about 5 feet of water on the liar and no commerce or shipping of any consequence. now has. by reason of the improvement of the barhor at lthat point and the bar outside. a continuous depth of water from the Gulf across the bar to the deep water inside the pass of 2w feet. and the commerce and the toinage of vessels now passing through this port have immensely increased. and the port bids fair to become in the future one of the most im*portsnt harbors on the Gulf coast. As a natural sequence of this admiralty. litigation respecting maritime matters will necessarily arise in this vicinity. anWl the proposed court would furnish the litigants a convenient tribunal.