Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1845-10-21
MEETING OF THE CITIZENS
To MORROW NIGHT.

..t MEETING OF THE CITIZENS
TO MORROW NIGHT.
q, Il has already been announced, by the proceed.
ings Of the late meeting. at the Exchange Con.
cort Room, that an adjourned meeting of the citi-
yens of Richmond will take place "Wednesday
Ito morrow night.
Although the objects Of this meeting were ex.
planned by the resolutions offered at the last meet
ing, though not acted upon-it may be well for
us 20 rc-statc them.
The topic to come up, is this: Should a Rail.
road be made from Lynchburg or Buchanan TO
the Ohio rver-or are the people willing that the
James River and Kanawha Canal shall be pro-
secuted beyond its present terminus. Such, we
believe, is the substance Of what is to be discuss
cd tomorrow night. The only point, at all, that
will admit Of n discussion, on the side of the
friends of the Canal, is: shall that work. which has
already been commenced beyond Lynchburg he
carried TO Buchanan or mott As TO the extension
of the same kind of improvement, in place of
Railroad, we believe there will be found but few
dissenting voices.
Ii may be well, however, for us to furnish
few facts, in regard to the probable cost of this
improvement TO the Ohio, il Railroad should be
adopted. To do this, cannot present better
testimony in favor Of Railroad. than by quoting
the opinions of those who have been the
route intended to be taken by the friends of the
James River and Kanawha Improvement. We
gather the extract below from the Lewisburg
Chronicle; and we feel no doabt but what the in
formation Is correct.
"Rsxie for q Raj Road Jrsm Richmond, Va, the
Ohio Riper.
Ths from the city Of Richmond TO the Ohio has
been examined again aud again, and its Practcaby full
y established and ascerained The examination, surveys
and atoms that lately made by the Engineers OF
the James River and kanawis Company fully and com
pletey establishes thai Rail Road be made from
Richmond To the Ohio the contemplated James River
and Kanawhs ard will be ihe shortest and cheapest
communication frsm the East to the West. From Rich
mond the Ohio by the travelling route, is $40 miles
by Rail Road IL will be about 400 miles, itle
wards But whether II will be any extend this road
further than the falls Of Kanawhs, is matter OF doubt.
worry small make that river naygable for steam
boats from the Ohio the falls. nsvgable all
Of the year. which will between 80 and 100 miles:
king the distance Of railway about farhcst
than $50 miles The estimated cost, by the engineers
from Covngon the falls OF kannw ha. the only
veyed and located Tor rail road did exceed 900
per mile. The balance OF tins route was examined and
located for canal and OF course TO construct railway along
the margin Of the James River, will not cost exceed
ing $4,000 per mile. THIS route be brought into
considerable than and half millions oi
dollars cost To make the improvement! first from Lynch
burg Covngton. and improve the kanawhs to the falls
for steamboat navigation will induce considerable navel
and trade, while the balance OF the improvement going
on"
Now, after the State has exhausted upwards of
Fire Millions upon the Canal, and received so lit
tie benefit from the expendiure-it would seem
that the people Of Virginia ought TO look at this
subject calmly and dispassionately, before they
get themselves or the Commonwealth deeper in
the miro. 1t is true, it may be asked # VIC should
suffer the money already sunk in the Canal to
main thereto this, we unhesitatingly say o!-
How then can the sunken Capital be made avail
able-why, by starting a Locomotive at the pre-
sent, or some other terminus of the James River
and Kanawha Canal, and let it drag after it. to
the Kanawha or Ohio rivers, train of cars, fill
ed, as they soon would be, with hundreds of ttous
rnds oi passengers, and burthencd with thousands
oi tons OF freight.
IL has been shown, by the extract quoted above,
that Railroad through the James river Valley
10 tho Ohio river, would probably not cost more
than $4,000 per mile. Now, it cannot be de-
nied, that the Canal 10y the same, or indeed any
route, would cost more. Let grant that the
estimate for railroad is too low, and then make
another calculation. Well here il is: Suppose
the distance, from Lynchburg. or Buchanan, to
Guyandotte, TO be 300 miles, and q railroad for
the whole distance, to cost at the rate of S25,0OO
per mile: That would make the road, when CON-
pieted, cost seuen millions, fUe hundred thousand
dollnrs--the interest on which would be $780,
900 per annum; the cost of repairs and motive
power, we will put down at $4,000 per mile, per
annum, making 100000 every year. to keep the
road in travelling order. Or, in other words, the
interest upon the cost and expenses OF the road,
would amount to one million and fifty thousand
dollars pretty round sum truly. But now
we must sum up the probable receipts Of this
same road. BY the annual report Of the Balti-
more and Ohio railroad company, in which, by
the-way, we see many efforts TO "honey" Virgi-
mia into the Right Of Way; " we find that,
in the year lSi5, "202,45S 1-2" passengers
passed over their road to say nothing of the
immense freights. Suppose now, we were to get
but 100000 passengers over the road, from Guy.
andotte to Lynchburg, and estimate those at
cents per head, per mile, making for the 300
miles %, each passenger. or 100000 for pas
sage money alone: We have then but Sl5O,OOO
20 make up from freight, before the eGpen-
ses Of the road are paid. Can any one doubt for
a moment that sufficient tonnage would not pass
over road of that kind to produce the amount!
We think not. OF this subject, more anon.
OHIO ELECTION
We expressed our fears some time am that