Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1849-03-23
lContin,,ed from ol.r Iast.l

various elements of civilization of a popula-
ton at once wealthy and rural like that of the
South.
In communities which have acquired great
wealth, it is almost universal that such wealth
is very unequally distributed. Extreme pow
erty and extreme wealth characterize the pop
ulation-but the mass are poor. This is per-
haps inevitable where manufactures or COM
merce or conquest are the means of acquisi-
ton And in England this is strikingl dis
played. But it is not so in an agricultural
people. / know it is common opinion, that
much greater inequality of property exists in
the South than in the North. But although
do not possess exact knowledge on this point,
there is enough known to prove that this can
not be the case The State of Virginia allows
none to exercise the elective franchise but
white freeholders, leaseholders OF five years,
and housekeepers who are heads OF families.
Now it appears by the returns of the Presi-
Dental election of 1874, that Virginia gave a
bout 95 900 votes; allowing 10000 Tor voters
who did not attend the polls, and it appears
that there are 10000 free white males in that
State who are either freeholders, leaseholders,
or housekeepers and heads of families, and
by the census of 1910 there were only 1877
$50 white males in that State above the age
of 81; so that two-thirds of them are either
freeholders, leaseholders, or housekeepers.
do not know what proportion of the Northern
States are freeholders, but | have seen de-
tailed statement from one OF the interior coun-
ties of New York, from which it appears that
only half the voters were freeholders a nd
when we consider that the cities of New York
and Boston contain nearly half the property
of the States TO which they respectively be-
long, and that in those cities pauperism pre-
walls to greater extent than any where else in
the Union, it is very clear that great inequali-
ty of property prevails.
The State of Ohio, new State and an agri
cultural one, and very prosperous, may be
presumed to enjoy tolerable equal distribu-
lion of property. There are in this State, by
the last assessment, about fifty thousand pleas
ure carriages, and the possession of one of
these, is an indication of comfortable condi-
ton of family. In Virginia, there were in
1S47, over 10 GOO and that in white popu-
lation about one third as great as ours is now.
This proves that the degree of comfort which
such establishments indicate, is more dffused
in Virginia than in Ohio. The proportion of
dwellings built in year, is another indica-
ton of comfort, and the degree of its diffusion
among people. According to the returns OF
the marshals in 1910, Massachusetts,, whose
white population is nearly the same with that
of Virginia, built 324 brick houses in that
year Virginia built 402, or nearly one-fourh
more. Massachusetts built ,249 wooden
houses in the same year, Virginia 1904, or
more than double. The cost of the houses in
Massachusetts, was S2,767,134; in Virginia,
only ST. 1867 1893, or about half. Now if this
excess in the cost of the houses of Massachu-
sets be attributableto the excess of business,
or manufacturing structures among them, 1t
swells the proportion of dwellings built in
Virginia, and thus displays a still greater pro-
gress in comfort among the population of the
latter. But if the excess of cost In Massa-
chasetts is owing to the superior style of her
dwellings, it proves, since the number is so
much less, still greater inequality of proper
ty A comparison of the houses built in New
York, the same year, with those of Virginia,
exhibits similar results. And | will add that
the same thing is true, by comparison be-
tween Virginia and Ohio, although one is
considered the most declining, the other the
most advancing State in the Union; one sup
posed to be the most unequal in the dlstrlbu-
ton of property the other the reverse. In
1910, Ohio built 97O brick, and 2,764 wood
en- houses. at cost of $3,776,82 Thus
whilst we had twice the white population
we built only fourth more of houses. Ken.
lucky, also, as we'll as Virginia, surpassed
Ohio in this respect. Kentucky built 4S5
brick and ,757 wooden houses; thus with
only 40 per cent. of Ohio's white population
she built rs per cent of the number OF hou
ses Ohio did The fact is that Virginia ant
Kentucky constructed in that year, more bull
dings in proportion TO the whole population
black and white, than Ohio and Massachusetts
This result does not appear, indeed, in the CT
ties. or in the principal streets of cities, ant
therefore has not come to the knowledge o
fugitive and superficial observers, or newspa
per item-mongers, but il is demonstrated b.
the labors of the officers of government VIII
were required to visit the country as we'll a
the towns, the by-ways as well as the high
ways, and it is triumphant evidence of the ex
traordinary aggregate prosperity and wide
spread individual comfor! of the States whic
have been selected by the new school of poll
ticians and political economists as the object
of their sympathies and the victims of thei
theories.
The same relative condition of comfort i
the two respective sections of the Union is in
dictated in their food. Although Virginia
not an exporter Of animal food, she is one c
the greatest producers Of it. of all the States
in 1910, she possessed 1922 Il SIS hogs, whic
is almost identically the same number thu
Ohio had, although Ohio has twice the whit
population, and as is well known, is larg
exporter of pork, whilst Virginia imports, i
addition to her own stock, large quantity
New York, with three times the white popr
lation, was materially behind Virginia in tn
respect Now it is we'll known that the gre;
mass of provisions produced in any State, al
designed for domestic consumption, as Ii
cost of transporting them TO the dwellings
an agricultural people is too great to admit
their importation. Hence, the products
such a people afford a grood criterion of II
character of their food. The stock of ne
cattle in New York was ,911 ,244 in Virg
MIA, it was 1,O24,l4s the proportion of vi
GINA being still the greatest. In sheep aloT
was New York better off. having 5,11s.77
whilst Virginia had 1,293,772, which, how
ever, is only about 10000 less than h
share. The proportion of poultry in Virgin
is double that of New York. And in all the
articles Virginia is still more the superior
Ohio than of New York. So also is Ke
lucky. So that if il be said that New Yo
is an importer of such provisions, and ther
fore consumes more than her production ind
Gates, what is to be said of Ohio, which e
ports them all. Now in determining the rt
alive comfort of two civilized communities
the same climate, the quantity of animal TO-
they respectively consume, is we'll establis
II Vet hare 80 i, Co.. 1Io xx,.