Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1847-08-16

tlP L..
to make at least ONE MORE EFFORT, by j,.;c;o,..
direction OIL her almost unlimited resources, secure -
her that rank in the sisierhood of States. to wbol
na'n'a ao'ah'aees' properly improved, unquestiop,h,
give her fair claim. The Abingdon name, s.v.
1.-The great valley Of the Shenandoah 10 ,o,.-
Baliimore the country of the Roanoke is turning it, %
to the South the Northwest, of necessity mnst "fs
ther TO New Orleans or to Pennsylyani,. ana s. 81,
ALL our own country, western Virginia ia abs
be lost 10 the eastern side Of the mountains and ~
directing its attention. as It is already its pecpnns. INV
terest to do, TO tennessee and the harbors of
aud Savannah. Does Lynchburg know, does R;hsss0n
know, do the James River Company know. ina,
chants goods can be brought to our town of Ahn
don, from New York or Buston by the WAY &c n oihg-
town, ). C., and Knoxville Tenn. at n chan"
than they can reach US by any Virginia roue2 Ye |
10 the tact The Chattanooga Railroad is telling =, ,"1
upon the commerce and trade Of this region and -
enterprise OF the young Deery's and other mercb,n,s
noxvilie based upon solid ca pa has proved ,h.
light draught steamboats, can secure a reliable n; 'neir
up to their town for the greater part of the year Ss
is fixed fact" '' ins
But ii IS entirely within our power to secure Il.
trade not only of Virginia, but of great nort;o, NJ r
nesse, and nearly, Of quite the whole or Ko,r..
Let US build Railroad from Richmond IA the ,r.on
see line, with lateral branch leading to the Ken,n"s
line in the direction Of Lexington. Tennessee will conn
iee II 10 hh'XViie' Kentucky Will finish hers t, Liz
ington In that State. W hat man is there then vii
half an eye, that cannot the rich tide IF com,,
which would pour through our midst dfusiny we,,h
and prosperity throughout the whole lepph If anu
Satel Who Is it that would consider it an uosne,L
able blessing to our country, if had two fine snoo,h
deep, navgahe rivers running the from Knoxville
and the other from Louisville the city of Rjchmon3
Y on say at once all will agree TO that Very wall
then, every body knows (whose information is worth
any thing) that Railroad greatly preferable to snv
river transportation; and that the PLAN the work in Gs
ble' has been proved by the actual surveys of compe
tent engineers for the greater and difficult portion
of the distance"
Is well known that very large proportion of the no.
ducts OF East Tennessee as well of South western Viz
GINA formerly found their way to market through Lynch
burg and that the people of that extensive region receiy
ed from the Eastern cities by the route the nechan
ilze consumed by them. But strange as it NAV seem
although canal transportation has superseded, between
Richmond and Lynchburg, the old mode of navigation
by batteaux, with all the disadvantages attendant upo
low water at of the year, and high eshets
at others, leading to long delays and fir quent losses
often rendered rreparabe by the pecunary possibility
OF the carriers, who indeed frequently pered with i'm
puniy the cagoes conded their care the area Of our
trade contracting instead of charging, and have
inally lost large number Of best customers who if
they have been driven off by the heavy cost of trans
p1ration upon canal have been attracted by the
duced upon other lines of nication from the
rivalry of which, fifteen years ago. he would have been
deemed mailman who had forewarned us we had any
thing to fer.
Will it be any better when the canal shall have reach
ed its terminus at Buchanan We say its terminus
for there, predic confidently, stop,-as its com
pleon to that point will satisfy all, who have doubted
here ufore, that it is mode Of improvement behind the
age" and wholly incapable of competing with rival neso
rail road by which its nferoy as channel of trade ha,
i haon f,,llx l..
peat the question: them thant is no,o ? The extension
of the canal fifty miles will not lessen percepbly if at
ALL the time consumed in the transportation of produce
and merchandize-w it, then, diminish the cost II
the promise largely augmented tonnage made 80 cSA6
IDENTIFY by the advocates of the extension were ke, V
be realized, might indeed, hope for such reduction
OF tolls as would draw back again our central line at
least portion of the trade which its heavy exacons
thus far have drive. from it, But, while we cannot and
do not doubt the sincerity of the gentlemen by whom that
promise has been made, are compelled in view Of
past developments to express the conviction that they
themselves the dupes of their own over-hea,ed fan
cies imposed upon by exaggerated estimates Of the pro
ducve capacity Of the country to be washed by the ca
nal well of the ability of that canal suddenly to
stimulate production to the which they have 50
confidently assumed the basis all the estimates laid
before the Legislature to influence, they did influence
the final action of that body We say these things now
no queruous or complaining spirit; but our motives
long Inexperienced msrepresented are no longer H.
able to mlsconstrucon msrepresent aon we have
hesitation IN placing upon record, to be conrased with
the promises of the advocates of the canal extension the
opinion that the of tonnage consequent upon that
extension will fall as far short of those PROMISES the
annual amount OF tonnage carried between ynchburg
and Richmond and the annual diride,ds upon the stock
haveallen below the antcpaons sanguinely put forth
by the first projectors Of this work. and which may be
found embodied in Mr. Cabes celebrated 'sSynopsis'
When the canal reaches Buchanan, We fear we shall
have an illustration, not less Notifying than that afford
ed by its completion to ynchburg of the folly Of con6ds
II mere estimates, founded upon nothing moro rsia
BILE than the interested conjectures hough they hon.
est) of those who make them Fastaf's pennyworth Of
bread tohs butt of sack will furnish no unap illustration,
we apprehend, Of the result compared with the proPh
ecy.
IT, then, we cannot hope, from the extension Of tho ca
nal for an increased tonnage sufficient justify any e.
peca'ion of such reduction in the cost of transportation,
as Will restore to trade that have lost and still less
attract that still vaser trade for which central Virginia
the natural outlet shall resort promptly toa
mother mode ofimpovement, which has elsewhere In the
South as we'll in the North indicated its adaptation
as well to Transportation travel-as well TO the
/ L IL L.