Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1845-10-28


way was IA 900 tons to $4,000 on The canal
the laler amount regularly diminishing 1 ne
estimate for this year was S5O,OUO tons, ana lhe
returns so far indicate its verihcation, while inc
eni Of the season will scarcely see 2oo,ooo ed..
ried on the canal. To come nearer nome, mean
every pound OF the produce which reaches mar
per's Ferry by land, goes 10 Baltimore IN prefer,
ence TO the District; nor is Il al all uncommon
for that which comes from The upper Potomac %
be lranshipped al that point TO the cars anu 50
travel 50 miles By sleam rather than bO by wa
Ter n do not forget that The parallel is incom-
olele. Baltimore offering better market man
Georgelown.) The following figures show Inc
aspect of The question in England. They are
from Hunts Magazine for October, 1874:
"In the appendix 10 a statement on behalt oil Inc
Grand Canal Company oil Ireland, IN The mailer
of The proposed railway TO Cashel, there are CIV
en- some curious details as 10 The effect OF railways
on canal properly. Thus The Grand Junction
Canal, which forms the first 90 miles OF water
communication between London and birmng-
ham. had in the three years Immediately preced-
ing the opening OF Of The railway an annual rev.
enue from tolls ranging from la 722 to fl95, 0O0
regularly increasing. Since the railway has
been fully in operation, this revenue has varied
from I2l, I39 toNfll3,0l2. The Rochdale Canal
is 33 miles long, and throughout The entire dis
lance, The Manchester and Leeds Railway runs
parallel TO it, In the three years previous 10 the
opening OF the railway The tolls ranged from
tG2 O59 10 ESQ 2SS. lnlhe last three years. they
have varied f3l 533 10 4a1l65. The Kennel
and Avon Canal, and the w it's and Berlfs Canal,
are both Affected by the Great Western Railway;
and The tolls OF The former have fallen since The
railway was opened, from f46,T03 TO t32, 045;
and of The latter from fl9,32S TO fS,477
The marke price OF Canal Stock has Of course
suffered in proportion. Thus, shares in The Grand
| Junction Canal have fallen from 1880 10 t las;
Worcester and Birmingham from tS4 to t55;
while Coventry Canal shares, which were al one
time as high as fl200 per share, have fallen as
| low as f3l5."
All the above changes are Of course referahe
10 Inc item OF freight since there is no travelling
b. canal in England, speed being there The great
dcsieralum and turnpikes having, before the in
PRODUCTION of railways, monopolized The passcn-
ger business.
The adoption Of The railway system would The
better suit the present case, because that mode Of
transport is the one most adapted 10 The undulat.
ing and variable face OF The country through The
greater part Of our Stale; and from The same cir
cumsance, all the lateral branches, which would
Join the ma in stem from either Side would be rail
ways Canals are, doubtless the improvement
most useful in The opening new lands and making
available latent resources, since the commodities
may be shipped ordischarged al any and all points
on the line but along the greater part of the con-
emplaled route, short county roads are sufficient
" numerous 10 obviae The disadvantages oil iso-
lated depols-and it is, generally speaking, only
on The most rugged and unpromisins sections, that
the river does not otter the farmer the means OF
floating the produce ionr or five miles 10 the cars
| These considerations, and the greater cost
Of The canal, will lead, in all likelihood
the friends OF the line TO complete their project
after a somewhat altered plan, i. e., Ia carry
The second grand division Of The watcr.li line, al
ready halt finished, 10 Buchanan, and thence
build railway on The most direct course 10 lbe
| falls of Kanawha, either along the Greenbrer, or
by The shorter and more Nor.heTly survey. rid
Meadow river. There is every natural taciliciIy
for The construction Of tributary lines from var-
GUS points to The North and South, as, mol TO men,
ton that 10 the Tennessee line one 10 GuyandOlte
| so miles, and one from the falls 10 Parkersburg,
| which last could follow the courses OF streams
nearly The whole way, and its length TO more
Nofthely point on the Ohio would be little great
el than the distance from its commencement 10
the mouth Of the G. Kanawha. The valleys too
of Elk and Greenbrier rivers offer locations for
branches which would tap The most fertile and
| level portion of the Northwest These seconda
| ~ chains could not OF course be made now
| only name them in support of The claims Of the
James and Kanawha line TO a central character
! II is Obvious, that there must be but one main
| trunk from East 10 West, and that il cannot pass
North OF the lille kaDawha but something
mnst be done for,he important section which, III
such case, il will not traverse. II will be de-
mapded in return for the loss OF The Baltimore
road; nor, in truth, would il be reasonable III act
towards that portion Of our population The part
of The dog in The manser.
Lei the State then, within six years, raise either
:l.II., l,,pJ 4, Il.r.
1000 600 dollars 10 be devoted 10 the James
River and Kanawha improvement. as Stale
work; 500, 900 dollars 10 The extension OF The
| Louisa railway to Moorchcld via EiarIisonburg;
and the remaining 500 900 dollars 10 be applied 10
commencing lhr Lynchbnrg and Tennessee line;
! forming al the same time, n charter De applied
far, Cir will be impossible 10 refuse it, a company
10 bnil3 railroad from point on The Potomac
| 10 Parkeishurg; but inserting provlso, that no
one stakeholder shall hold more Than lwo-hihs oil
the capital. Such an Incorporation would great
| " enbarrass The rest OF the system; but II II lie
urged. il cannot well be avoided. The scheme
shonId contemplate, in case OF the success OF The
| The main work, The subsidiary construction oi
branches 10 Guyandoue and The Little kanawha.
| Western Virginia is in condition almost ano-
| maous; il presents The spectacle oi large body
of waste. but most inlrinsicaly valuable land,
| living in The midst Of q highly improved and
hickly settled region, but shut cul from The light
which surrounds it by barriers, which Nature
only could build, and which art only can over
come There is very apt parallel 10 il in the
country around the sources oil The Hudson. That
parallel New York energy is rapidly cancellng,
and such results might teach Virginia The policy
| of turning the wealth Of the West 10 the aggran.
dzement of The East and vitc rcrm, il might
teach her that il is better TO exist as one ndepend-
enl State, than as two dependent provinces; that
Republican State must be a common wealth, and
that a tree divided al The trunk Tembles at every
bIasr QUITS.