Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1831-03-17
ROI1T1NAEa
From the n. Y. q Post

sent mo,uens. invested with % W Derc"t
Ano,h. r poi mt in which the Americans hsvs ALEC late
" gone as,rsy, IL wa, they cali . the ~. -o of iu:er.
nal Improvement Indeed, they ssem 10 he iuiiy ~
ware OF he advantage thar may be gained by the al
vocs'e. OF a Cause by giving A. a good name. There 10
no better way Of couces'ins a fall aeJ, or pre- ar.Dx Tor
an attack en- an opponent. Th- prchibiuvc sy ten,
which we have d..e.itsI al OH. have ehri.,.nec
they have accused OF being ur.Am-r'can, in the io-
tersst Of E.sian., Sc. Ia like manuer. who ver /,
MT f.vorssls to the system Of in erpai improve
ment," they eharg. with being adverse to int RIAL
prov-men'-t9r Getting that, beetles The goodness OF
the end. there is soms'h'ns else to be consider ed, viz.
In. ii uess vf The neans.
This ~ ten con'i.ts in investing the general govern
men, with a power to spend the pubic money i'm max.
ing road, ard canals oser the whole country. The
Americans, it sssm-, have conceived III. most extravs.
giant ideas OF wha my be effected by these meant
Lines OF communication by land aud by water are to
branch out frcm W~ashipEt n to every partof their in
meme terrier es; from a town which; though The capt
tai, does no, contain ah"v l3 900 ioh,bi,Ants- which
10 not situated In any OF The great lnos OF rattle, and
ystis 10 bs made the cen re o woik' e%qua'ling, IL A.
ne'icap iinssioa'ioas' any nm that old K,m,o or Ma.
INTRODUCES the Innovation was made In 1917, when a bill
giving the government ibis power, afer passing both
hou's', wa LOST by the veto OF the Pre''den'.-Jst
ferson oppot ed il to the uinos, Of bis power; in 1926.
when the system appears to have taken hrm root, he
writes that he had TOR some time considered the Ques.
iion as ID ,p.r,'e, and that those who though with bin
woro " ia a state y! perfect di.may, not knowing what
10 do or wha. to proIoe." He declared that the as
sumption by sovernDsbto Vt these powers was an open
tutrac ION ~ ms ronsutuuon, anu preparoi an ener.
estic protest from the state OF Virginia 10 the general
Congress, in which no pl.iniy in,imates, that IL Con.
gress proceeded IN this course, bis state, though lcng-
.ndu'iSg, would at length raise the tanner o. deaf
fec ion. A ehort time before his death he wrote With
reference TO this question:
We must have patience and long endurance, then.
with our ~breilr.n, Will under delu-ion; give them
time Ter reH-ci n and experience Of cons. qrsnt es;
keep ourselves In asi'ua'ion 70 profit by the chapter OF
accidents; aud separate. from our companions ouly when
the sole alt rasuv.s let. are The dissolution o. or union
it tkas, - u,,h IL. IN a ,nt. ~. ,h~-a Ia.
tation OF powers"
Blu, this advice was utterly thrown away IN the A
mericen sta,e'mep: Jefferson declares. iha, ono might
as well reason WI h marbls columns. The prespn,
President, General J,rk-on, has, however, had the
hrmness to oppose the z peri current, by pu ting his
veto on road bill wh.cr passed the Houses ST 80 sion:
and Ia his recent message to Copgre s, he has enter.
ed at great leng'h into the pol cy OF the system, aud
expressed himself opposed to i, he b, $, howeyc-, los,
popularity by this ctninrt, aud most OF tie newspapers,
which we have seen, d clare thi. ve'o TO have been
not only hig; Nv il furious to the general welfare, bu,
ahsolu,eiy unconstitutional. Al the comm nc.men,
oil The Mohawk and Hudson rail .ro ids in Nsw- York,
last Jsly, being the FIRST ever a tempted iu that state,
Mr.. Cambrcleng made some judicicrs observations op
this %sutjss..
"No general government" no says. " ever Aid, or
ever viii, manage rotis aud canai', or distribute tn.
funds Tor their construction, with the iu.tice, economy.
or discretion, that private corporations, . cal sutbori-
ties. or tate governments, are compelled TO exereise.-
But this question does rot rest merely on the maxims
OF philosophy. We bav, evidence more unqu-.tiona-I
ble-;be examples OF France AID f gland. The for.
mer acts on thu ma iina' system, and tho cen eouence
10 a lew god roads radiating from the capital and the
rect, by lar the most numerous. almost impsssabIo: in the
latter they have been suffered 70 grow up under ,bs 10.
cal authorities. and the whole country l., covered with
good roads"
This reasoning is perfectly correct, and The EXAMPLES
are aPpo'iteiy chosen, except that Nj. CAmbreirng
misht have gone still farther in hepreeiainx the re.
suits OF the French intermeddling sy.tem. The roads
from Paris are even for the lost part in
fsmously msde; the lines OF commune alton 10 Lyops
and Rourn, tbs frst towns OF France aft.r the CAPITAL.
sre, during the winter, almost impossible. while 10 ma
ny parts the e~rackbone pave system sill exists. 10 Al.
t.st Inherent siowuess Of governm .nts in admitting i'm.
p,ovemerts which have been long eff ,cied by indivi.
doals -we 20 ID no, only prohibit the general Con.
gres., We should even doub, the propri-,y of allowing
the tate governments TO engage in making roads and
ridiculous mode m which even those
works, the execution OF which would seem 10 fall! more
peculiarly within the province OF government, are some.
times carried on, afford smple rea'on Tor permitting il
10 do as little in tbs way As possible. q r mas, pood
ut Portsmouth 10 a memorable instance Of this, il having
been ordered to be discontinued after being six years
IN prcgresS, on it, being proved to the finance commit
tee that IL would requir. i6 year, for its completion.
cos, the public Gl32 100000! an instance of Off
eial folly which we can only parallel ty VIII I occurred
10 France with respect TO the national map, an under |
iaking which, when i. had been laborsd al for ten
years, was declared by M. de- Tracy, in IN. Cb,mh.r
Of D.Pniiss. imposibls to be complo'ed und.r a hun.
dred yeer', or a, a less expense than four nj lions s,er.
There are some remarks in The ar icIe before d, nm
newspapers in this country, the publication of which
iWe wow oosefVes, Us carried on In the u. Safe, |
10 an ex'ent unpss&leied in any other quarter of the |
globe Hia opinion Of our gazettes does MT seem 10
be very high, and ne quotes sone well known passages
from Jeh-reon's letters about "Tbr pu,rid state NJ IN,
ne wspsper press"hs-e, and the DE- rlsr alton Of Mr. Gin |
not long before The last election of president. N, i
had "vioia'ed the saDciiy Of female character, Invaded
ihe tar guilty OF privats life, and visited with severe |
inhic ion the peace Of families" These are beayv
charges, from high authority. but we do not ses how
fhey prove, as the reviewer seems 10 .uppose. that ,hs |
state OF The periodical press is worse here than i'm Eng.
land. Our public journals contain SANDER enough In |
all coD'c'soca, and we'll deserve the rebuke Of good
mer, to'h here ard beyond the Atlantic; but we one..
ton much whether !bey are more obnoxiou. IN mi, en-.
sure than he British n,w.paprrs, with all the abiIit, |
win which The latter, 10 some instances, are condueted
One advantage they have OF US, the derenry of tbeir
language. in which we might well take 90 example
from them; but i'm an o'her respect the ADVANTAGE IL op |
our side. The scurriii y in our ne wsp,pers |, po,i,ica
scurriity-,he Islander nj men who are in fiji &c. or can
dida'e, fer Office. In England the press takes a wider
range, and the fani'y his DRY OF those Who have never
provoked observation or attack by appe aring in pubjic
life is often msrsilessly exposed. 10 addition 20 mere
scandal, the f. glish journals contain nun b riess iuds.
cencie', which public opinion rs'uses 10 tolerate in our
gazettcs, Notwithstanding that the experiment has been
seversi tines tried. In poiI { OF veDsity. we bav. M
doubt the Ens'ish press 10 far worse than ours. with
us there 10 abundance II prrju iice-bjtor. uneomnro-
mi'ing, aud ac'iye-prepared to seizs on any ygeaoon
that ran he welded against an adyersary-and ready
TO put forth lie own imagius'ions ss facts; bu, we doubt
WHISTLER there axists any exten.ive venality. .Besides.
the tone OF our newspsper' is growing more decent in
some resPee's Eiiiors are beginning TO see that attacks
on each Others private characters have po'hIo9 IN do
with the questions they spouse, and are not cared for
by the public. Sons of them also begin {, besitai,
soont Puo'ishing in their own language tbs political
gossip sent them, and prefer giving il on The an bor,,v
offs Wellington correspondent.
The FTeDc1 press is admitted by the Pc vic Svsx a., H..