Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1846-02-18
RICHMOND DAILY WING.
AWAKENING SPIRIT OF IMPROVEMENT.
WEDNESDAY, MORNING. FEBRUARY IL, Isie.

AWAKENING SPIRIT or IMPROVEMENT.
No one can fail to have perceived the deep and
pcrvading interest winch has been exhibited du-
ring the las, year 10y the people OF Virginia, IN
regard to State affairs. Controversies which had
agitatcd the " hole community upon matters OF
federal policy, have been almost entirely forgot.
ten. The two parties, which in Al, were thun-
dering with fixed hayonets upon each Others
ranks, have since mingled in brotherly concord,
aud new combinations nave arisen, having refer
purely to matters of local interest, and plans
for the advancement t Of Commonwealth which
il dear To every heart. The Tariff Distribution
and Texas, had given place during the last sum
mer, to animated discussion upon the Convention,
the merits ol Raro IDS and Canals. and the sub
jcct Of Education. Nothing but the imminent
danger Of hostile collision with Great Britain
could for a moment have diverted or diminished
the intense interest with which the public mind
of Virginia was absorbed by her aifIrs.
And il will not be the least of the disastrous con-
sequences flowing from such war, should that
dire calamity be produced by the course of
rulers, that at the very moment when the Old
Dominion is awaking from the slumber of half
century, when she Is preparing in good earnest to
recover her former fame, and avail herself of the
matchless resources OF her position aud her SOIL
when she seeks to eRIce from her eScutcheon the
foul stigma of an ignorance unparalleled in ex-
tent; at that very moment, she must be again
prostraed to the earth, trodden under fopt by the
iron heel OF war, and all the bright buds of pro.
mise which had just begun TO unfold themselves
to the view, blasted and scattered To the four
winds of Heaven.
The l. .gisature of Virginia, which has now
ain pst terminated its session, assembled under
the influence of the general sentiment and feel.
ing which pervaded the public mind, that somc.
thinc must be done 10 improve The condition Of The
Stdts. AMI To enable her 10 take that proud place
am my her sister members of the confederacy
which she once occupied, and 20 which she is
still entitled by her superior physical advantages
The people had learned THAI the past glory OF
Virginia was not an Inexhaustibie capital upon
which sh, could compete forever with o,.er
States, who less proud Of an iliustrious ancestry
were engaged IN the noble work of carving out
their own dcst,nies, and planting broad aud deep
the foundation of their own future greatness. Ii
might be indeed pleasant picture to conteni-
plate the past, to talk herolcally of ''Od Virginia
the mother of States, TO count over for hun
dred times the long roll of her iIlustrious states
mes, to visit the tombs of the mighty dead and
waste in lamentations over the sleeping dust an
energy which would have been better emaloved
in laying the corner stone Of new empire. But
the time for cunteInp latiOn has past. The period
for action has arrived. Virginiuns have learned
to think not so much Of the past as the present.
~. n f., INV nj
see before them the broad dnmain inherited from,
their iatiiero, still p'sssrved in its integrity
though long neglected and laid waste They are
inquring into lite resources, and the best mode Of
their development. They are looking to the
causes of their decline, that they may the better
find a remedy for the evils they have suffered
And, we hazard nothing in predicting that that
Legislature which al pts u wide and comprehen
siye scheme of Improvement, which extends
without partiality TO every section of the State.
facilities Tor procuring an avenue TO market for
the produce OF their soil aud industry, which pro-
Vidcs for the masses tbs means Of education will
place ITSELF ia the view OF all posterlty, as high
upon the tablet of immortal fame, as the founders
Of the Comm Inwealth themselves, who arc con
sldered little less than gods by their descendants
prosperity and power, and made 1t, like Solomon's
Temple, the glory of the whole land. But VIVA,
has it since bacomo Little better than a heap
Of ruins, It's courts filed with weeds and briars
the frc gone out upon its affairs, and scare, ly
single pillar remaining to tell the story OF lis an.
cent magnhcence. is it not a work worthy the
ambition Of any man to change this confusion TO
order, this desoation to beauty, TO build again the
fallen edlfce, and make the glory Of the SECOND
house greater than the glory of the lormerl''
But we mus; make way fr the following letter
from the Boston Atlas, which we took up the pen
10 introduce. 1t is one OF great number which
shows the Interest awakened ia other States by
our recent movements, and the high estimate pa.
ced upon our capabilities by intelligent men. We
trust that It5 suggestions will arrest the public
mind and the attention Of our Iawgvers.
CgrTSspoBdsBcs nj Tie Ho.fou M.