Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1838-12-06


oi u Direct Trade with Foreign Nations, and Ia
suggest what legislation may BIO necessary on The
subject, bog leave to
REPORT.
That they find IT difficult TO illustrate y maeui-
tndo OF the evils resulting from system Of ndi-
rect trade, aud viii remark that full review OF
the past history Of Virginia would better eluc
date the subject, than any argument which could
be urged by them but the tine of the Commit
tee will not allow thom 10 treat this topic II de.
serves.
! That Virginia has once ENJOYED direct trade, and
all the benefits attendant upon II, all will admit
Scarcely town III the tide water region but shared
/ tho direct trade Considerable extent, wlnle At
prescott most important malts ate tributaries
10 the North nearly thcr whole an cunt OF bust
ness. When they enjoyed tho dnect trade our CT
ties, towns, and county were alike prosperous, aud
| emigration did drsohde our land. With the
loss of that trade Our small towns fell IN rnln, our
cities we've made dcsolatc, and our population have
been fleeing from our borders; while those towns
which have obtained our business IN other Staics
have grown rich upon our resources, aud have in
creased in wealth aud numbers ptopo,lionate GU,
decline. during the state OF colonial drpcndenrc
the several colonies were prosperous IN proportion
to the amount oil then surplus productions aud thcr
means OF consumption, but the reverse Is now the
case; those who RAISE the greater portion OF tho
| exports and consume most Of tho imports deriving
no profit but sustaining heavy loss hom the opera
/ ton.
| In spite of the loss and injn,y sustained by emf
grafton aud our perverted s,slemo i trade ng,euI-
turc has advanced very considerably, aud even the
Underwater section yields n greater surplus than IN
the season OF the greatest commercial prospcnty.-
But even IN tins respect, we are not prosperous
those states that ENJOY d1ec Trade, although theu
natural advantages are lar inferior 10 GUYS. This is
| painfully manifest from tho fact that IN 1886 the
whole assessment value OF the lands. houses, &c,
&c, of Virginia was but S2o1 oo0oo0 sum less
than the assessment value OF the real estate the
| single city OF New Nolk Tor the yfar. Your
committee unable 10 state the value Of the per-
sona estate OF Virginia tot tat year, but PERCEIVE
that The real and personal estate 81 the eli, OF NV
ok was over $309, 900 000l The Illuminating lacl
| also occurs to your committee, that the value OF
! all our lands and Improvements, including valuable
city lots &c. does not exceed on an average, five
dollars and ten cents per acre, pilco which II ~
confidently believed might be realized To tho United
! States, were Virginia territory pnd a wilderness,
aud her lands offered Mt auction ona liberal credit
Now IT II be considered, that the cltlzcus OF other
states enjoy almost the eutte benefit derived from
all tho profitable branches Of business, we sre
sionC inducements ion our most enefprlslng c,tizens
| 10 leave aud locate III other states with view Of
teanlng the profits OF that business which oueht tu
be enjoyed at home, and thus LEND their wiling aid
to on, father Impeachment. Experience TOO
clearly proves that there Is nothing III agIicutu-
raj prospects to stay the progress OF emigration the
present state al things; FOR Ia all the States north
aud west OF ugiua, ana ~ all tie cOuuifrs OF fu-
rope the labor bestowed on lands III The way al i'm
ufoycments adds to ther value, and to the general
wealth Of n state, while with ns, II such hupe were
entertained, the past would afford melancholy relu-
tation OF ITS Justice II We look 10 Virginia and the
southern states. and then To Ihe states OF Europe
the contrast will he striking. All foreign states en-
Joy direct trade aud furnish ther retail dealers
within their borders. thereby gsln. to their own
cites aud people all the profls afrns from ncgoiia-
ting exchanges and furnishing supplies-whioh is
main source OF commercial power placed beyond
reach, so long allow those foreign the jufs-
dicton of Virginia to pocket the profits Of our ladc.
It is believed, that il Nngula convey TO the
northern ports tho value OF 80 900 900, grau-
w. 10 be subslractcd from her means aud added To
the capital of the north aud yet prosecute u direct
trade in foreign and domestic supplies through the
medium OF our own ports 10 the extent OF the
maiuder of her resources, she would be Ear more
prosperous than al present. II s evident. that the
loss OF Nrglnia IN consequence the indmcc trade.
exceeds the profit Of the northern merchants who
monopoIzo our business, naymuch as not only
,be same proft which would accrue to the south.
crn mporter must be paid abroad, but the incidental
expenses Of ftcight, insurance, uayel &c must also
be added TO our dcttimen.
1t appears to your committee, from the best evil
dcnces 10 their possession. that the profits paid
northern cities on merchandise by Virginia, North
Carolina South Carolina, and Georgia ftom 1916 to
1896 a period OF twenty years. greater in a.
N cunt than the public debt Of the United States
which was lquidaed in that time, amounting
& 70 600 900 with interest thereupun; and had the
south retained the direct uaic. they believe thatlho
incseascd value OF properly in her cities and FOR
that period would have nearly reached similar n
! mount and II obvious that rich and flourish
ing cities enhance the value OF the property OF the
| entire states TO which they belong. every foot Of
southern soil would have been enriched by tn pro-
cess 1t may here be stated, that Virginia and
North Carolina do not even enjoy direct trade with
| New England as the greater pant Of the manutac-
lures and products of that section, which con
sumed in The South. vrc obtained from New York.
| Philadelphia, Baltimore, and come 10 us well
laden with the charges OF the Indirect route Look
| ing at our present commercial policy in all its
sults your Committee constrained TO adopt
the oniuion that such another instance Of self
,mmoIati IN is not to be found tie annals of the
world
They beg leave further 10 illustrate the benefit
of direct trade, by stating the fact, that IN all cipi
zcd states which en- JOY their own bus ness 10 re-
spectacle amount. compared with their resources
more than moieiy of the wealth viii be found to be
located in their marts OF commerce and business
In all the states north Of us This principle will apply
with fun force. 1t IS that the made oil many OF
them is of late becoming indirect. and their present
ratio of increase of capital s as uniform rs tor
merry yet at this time in Maine, Mass thuseits,
Rhode Island, Connecticut. New York, New Jersey.
PENNSYLVANIA Delaware and Maryland, either, under
a system Of fair taxation, may daw more revenue
from its niars of commerce and business than
from all other portions of us territory. But this Is
not the case with Virginia, as the assessment value
in her four principal seapors is but about &l9,000,-
600, which is but about eleventh part OF the
value Of real property IN the state which is fol-
lows: