Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1831-05-06

and r1'en b lard; and also, tia, the gentleman from
ba'e'oer', sl hough lie admitted its iaeficspcy, had
determined 10 vote fs th- indehai;e pos pouement, h.
csuse 20 o'h-r Hoiot, with which h VA sa,i Ii j, had
been provid d NJ. b should follow a diff req, course.
Ho hVuld vO e iot I N5oi on Of the Board. aal then
i-av- the who'e su:j C. IL the hsucs q the Executive.
The iScard Of PUthc Wciks had ut fulfilled he ob-
jec's for which /, was orSa.iz. q. |; had been app"idt
Ell 10 fecomnen srss o c,s Ut ; II c improvement;
but II had sunk dcwa H. me recoIrmendGIoa of every
petty read aud cduAl, which had been presented to II.
"heu or OF pubic Importance or otherwise. He would
AK OF 'ho.- whD were well ints med, whsiher the
Board had rot uniformly recommended eve y plan sug-
gtsied to ,tom, be they shat they nigh Pile did no,
believe that the selection OF that Beard. fran the va
sicas paris OF the ) Its, was p,oduc i've OF The Elf -acy
Or gensrai goo that was ascsiSed TO il. Elch par.cu-
Var IN mbsr, coming from a d HsTent g. ciioa OF ,hs
co,nry, r commended those improvements, which
tas people OF his section desired III, ether members
kne" ns'hies OF ,heir u e!ulaess or pracic,iii' icy, and
cons'q emily took the -nSs OF th>ir t.lonso
,tu l. making thereby kind OF compromised wa.s
NIUE amusing TO ob'eive the various reports tha, had
beoO IN d On he subject If TT rna! IMPROVEMENT In.
year-fissl came a suticieotly lucid Message rom
h' Eseeuive, recommending certain schemes 10 ths
axe" Ion OF The Legislature. After wli,ing pa isni!y
.sV TOT week. k"prt VS. received iron the Board
OF r"onc Wcrks-.he very echo OF he Governor
MesslSc, ani no IN re. Aud then csms The Report of
'he Committee oi IL ads and Internal n ivig alton, very
nealy resembling rs two precursors. Tai, was the
thiri act o. the traIt dJ-snl the latter lie thought the
pro'srrepor'. IL, was willing 10 trut 10 l., without
ue corrobOrstion o. the other. Safe OF Virgiui,
IA Tor many years, shewn a dispo.i ion 10 ,orow
? aus and schemes fom othsr S.a.ss. And man,
mo"gn,' 'ha, evs'y rev pr Jest started abroad. mu',
% 'cop'ei here. Icy had .sabl shed an Internal
imPr vepent Fund. ard a Literary Eund-and he k ew
not - hat Other funds Nigh her alter be proposed. BY
.hosr already In exi teuce, tn ~ had SO completely coG
fused he h~eai I'll Ire OF the C., mmorwe ai,b, that h.
dd not be!ieve a single Planter withta its .imi,s, unde.-
sto'd At naiu'e OF or fla Lc.al opeIa a. oar. Tnere was
me-, 1no al sn'a y IN 'h'' pi1n O., paicsling out III pub-sc
money, tor this puip sc and tina purrcse. Thi. takiug
'roGh ote funi, Tor one class Of ooj-cis, and from an.
o'har, ior ano h r ela's, was as absurd. as IL a man, in
Joing TO market, wer. to take from on, rocket, 10 buy
n Cslctcn anu tsOn 40 h1r. To unrrIas. a r;.sa -
oesi' The old yfem o. appropria;UnS from the gene
rai rfsourcss OF ihA State, fer all objects OF public i'm
pof'ance, wSs by Tar the bes,, and the mos, SINGLE
h,' ths Leg sla ure eierci's is own discrst>n, aoG
when 1t was n"ces'aiy and proper to make appfcrriA-
'ons' Ie' hem make hem on ;he;r own cjnvicilon., and
ihtif own respens buity, wilhouS the accu mutation. O.
unnecessary IN chino y. Con iJering IN. Board Of!
Publ Wotks ooe of Inc u'ele,s ccgs ia the wheel Of
Gov rnnent he should voc 10 abolish Il.
Mr.. DIVISION said he saw in this measure and his
impressions were strengthened by the remarks of the
gentleman from Dmwiddic) the object at which many
gentlemen had directed their exer;ions throughout the
session. That object was the destruction of the svs-
ten OF Internal Improvement, which had thus far been
pursued by the State. The first blow was levelled n,
the Board of Public Works, in order 10 check the diff.
fusion oil informal on, without which, the Legislature
could not act. The Board had been characterized as
useless and ineficient; but to that opinion he was far
from subscribing. On the contrary, hc considered it
10 DC mighty useful, and its labors mo { beneficial
The members came from different parts of the country
each bringing his quantum OF local Information. That
information was interchanged at their meetings and
consultations, until q iuil view of the necessities and
facilities Tor improvement, of the whole State, was he
lore them. They came here while the Legisla,nre
was IN session, AMI were thus enabled TO avail them
selves OF tue local knowledge of the members. The
Legislature elected the Governor for the whole Com.
mon and he was President Of the Board. When
all were assembled, their duty was 10 apply their con-
G. nlrated knowledge TO the recommendation Of schemes
oil Internal improvement, for legislative action. And
Mr.. ID. could not imagine a Board more capable, from
rs very ioTmaiions OF carrying into full effect the objects
oil It's organization. Their iabors had thus far, been o,
great utility; as great. at any rate, as the tardv and nm
willing legislation of this House would permit. AS to
the forgotten corner al the State in which he lived. IL
would have been entirely neglected, but for the recon-
mendations of the Board OF Public Works. Whatever
had been done in the West, and Tor the West, was at
tr,butable TO the labors of that body. The gentlemen
from Dinwiddie and Mecklenburg were opposed 10 In
ternal Improvement, because their Counties had moth
ing 10 improve. They asked for nothing; and would
therefore refuse the requests of those less happily situ-
ated. Surely this was not the principle on which the
measures of liberal and enl' ghteoed legislation should
be iounded. Mr.. ID. was a warm, a devoted friend to
Internal Improvement, not alone because his section of
the country needed ii, although that was a powerful
motive but, also, because he saw the rapid strides
win which other states were surprising Virginia, in
this most vital Of all domestic policies. He saw their
daily progress, the perfection of their roads and canals.
and he ardently wished this Commonwealth 10 enter
boldly into competition with them in the race of pros
perlty. The west had a deep interest in the persever-
ence oil the STATE in its system of Internal Improve
ments, nor were the other portions of se State unin'er-
es ed although gentlemen seemed not to feel that the
system was capable of contributing to the good of the
whole body polite. The progression of the system.
and the extension of legislative aid, wherever il was
needed, would have the effect TO strengthen the bond
by which the State was united, 10 bind together the in
terestS Of the various sections, and give 10 Virginians
the feelings OF a band of brothers. Break down this
system, and discomfort and division must prev,iI-,be
energies OF the State be filtered away. The spirit
which IA" exists among the people, would be checked
II noteXunguished; and Virginia stand the mock of the
surrounding States, a secondary Commonwealth nep-
lectinS all the blessings which nature has so lay!shly
bestowed upon her. He saw i'm this bill the first stem
towards me destruction OF Internal improvement; and
the dissolution OF the fund for Int nal Jmprove ment
would, he anticipated, be- the next object of lis enemies
lie trusted the bill would not pass.
lSome explanations here took place between Messrs
Goode and " iliams of Shenandoah, not essentially con-
nected with the argument1
MIR. Ooode could not perceive the injury which was
anticipated by some gentlemen from the passag, of
this bill. He could not pretend to direct or advice the
friends OF lnternal Improvement. He might not hes
ranked among them; but he was a friend to the pros-
perity OF the State, and he wished 10 ensure il nv
using his efforts 10 prevent the Government from be.
Coming involved jim debt. Gentlemen had frightened
themselves by conJuriDg up shadows-and the gentle
man from Harrison had supposed hat the fund for In
ternal improvement was 10 be destroyed. This was a
nero fancy, aud IL might truly be said, that
Tvs 10 nigb,
Have struck moro terror to the soul OF Ricba,d
can IN substance OF zen thousand sodiersn
There was no design 10 injure or impair that fund. NOR
cosid there he any Injury in striking off this fungus. for
the Board oil Public Works was nothing more.
MIR. Mason OF f.. sad that every session since he
had been in the House, this proposition had been he
lore ~, advocated by he gentleman from Mecklc nburp
Mr.. Goode said, last year only"
MIR. Mason said he might have been mistaken. He