Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1850-03-15

Mt. The legislative proceedings of Tuesday Feb I'm
Containing the peculiar views OF tho n - Gee
NJ neo5 nthe man whom that paper was Wiling ~ PC
~ -; rho Office of First Auditor of Virginia, IN pace VI
+ Heath man, who has never like the hnqui'ei eAp''S0
ed nm adherence of ssvery-Hmg. ,o,,
Our sketch of the Legislative proceedings Oh ie -"
February was taken from the Times as stauncn
ar,anlv as respectable organ, the Wing itsen
So much iof TIE 'eh'e'0'' A"N
Wing. ,..,,,sd ~, ,yb;. snsskers. TO be u-
80 Southern in his present opinions The Whlgs Wan'o
;nuations come with bad grace from paper "hic, a.
he question OF a Southern Convention mas oouolea ~,
compass and utterly stulhea l,se - reasonable
. h "Harord Convention and in effect assails us own
rtw friends in the Legislature as either traitors Vi "
rant fools Tomorrow, we shall open upon It.
For the Enquirer.
MECKLENBURG PLANK ROAD.
Inrosr n matter of doubt Il truth that cannot De
that the time for opposing Internal Improvements
az matter of principle Is past and that resislace " M
hich has set in that direction is not to be
long as the credit Of the State remains anu ,
bonds continue sell ut anything approxlmnng pul On ou
EYchanpcs If the question before us now were new os
yheher the State should commence system oi
mnrovements believing il would ultimately ead 10 "i
md extravagant system OF expenditure ana 10 heas %
reave taxation would not hesitate TO throw our NUM-
oainst system which we believed fraught win
o nouch more of evil than good TO our peoples Dut ~
Ourselves in opposition TO every scheme OF Improvement
h;s time and 10 refuse TO derive any beneht from inc s
,hat il abroad throughout the State. would De IKE a.leP
inc 10 stop the current OF swollen stream win our
"a hecase of our failure accomplish II, testify 10 else
N slake our burning thirst with lis waters foi uuJ
WesoTs Editors the opposition which our section can
now make TO the wide spread spirit Oh improvement
and enterprise which is abroad in our venerable ola oo
no, wealth would be poweess and futile as 10 use c
ost insignificant obstruction to stop the swcins 'oite
Of mighty river II is then time we snouio oeiilA ou
selves OF improving our Of the West
ern Ellis and Valleys that also should demand nat our
resources be more fully developed and that the enterprise
and industry of people should be Invested oil as many
Oh
afordnc new and greater and cheaper facilities OF inter-
course with market towns and thus produce suc com
peon between different markets that the products o the
farmers industry may always command fair equivalent
Ii may be urged that 10 advocate any scheme Oh neai
improvement for our own immediate Dement, VIII DC III m
teeth of oft repeated opposition to the wild system u
improvements which the Legislature has adopted but SIR II
is folly for pate any longer about our principles ana me
unconsttuonaty of internal Improvements when our re-
sstance 10 their onward is totally inefficient anu pue-
e and we are now satisfied though we once thought tar
differently that if section the Eastern portion OF the
State had voted in the Legislature upon every scheme Oh
which has been presented to lis consoera
tion upon its intrinsic merits thus preventing system
of log-rong among all the different and frequently connect
ing interests instead o. voting blndly and pell-e against
the treasury would time be far different from what II
is-and in all probability those lines Of improvement which
would be completed would be less losing Joo 10 inc
State as SUCH and have done much the present cono
ton of things towards the development OF lis resources
But our purpose is not TO discuss the internal improvement
policy of tho State but the propety and feasibility
cheaper vent this portion of the Roanoke Valley and the
contiguous country bordering the Improvement from the
Roanoke nearest market town.
That plank road will DO The best means by which 10 ell
feet this object led believe from the universal sue
cess which has attended similar improvements in New fork
and the British Norh American Provinces Their great
SUCCESS in the localities indicated has led TO very general IN
ouy on the subject and in known instance have the
plank roads been resorted to- but that they have exceeded
the expectation of their patrons and yielded larger amount
income than estimated and paid better TO socKhod
m
ter ourselves they will pay altogether as well with US as
an investment stockholders, they have done in the
Northwest and New York. from the nature OF our popu
aon the backward loads from market are generally heavy
downward loads and hence the almost absolute ne
cessy for tracks which have not been found necessary
generally in the localities 10 which auson has been made
on the other hand heavy loads impose The neces
sty of full tolls returning from well as going TO market
But think demonstrate pretty clearly that plank
road from the Roanoke Petersburg with two tracks
would sustain itself and pay smart dividend 10 the owners
of the stock and further show, should II pay no
dividend al ALL that the people OF this region can afford 10
build the road should il never pay a cent be-
yond sustaining ITSELF the cheapened rate at which
they get thdr produce 10 market on the plank
road will make which will than pay the in
eres the sumnecessary construct the work In ad
dton the saving the farmer in the essened amount OF
actual coin which will take TO transport produce on the
plank road overlook that ne may with SO much
less risk become his carrier and send his horses and
Wagon market without the apprehension OF his horses
being CALLED and skinned and his wagon being lett 10 rot IN
mudhoie; apprehension which many farmers must admit,
der the present condition Of things from carrying all or
portion of their produce 10 market.
We have into calculation of the probable cost OF
plank road though the region OF country indicated ou
in place of tedious statistics which will unnecessarily pro-
long this article will only give tho result al which we
have arrived adding that our estimate exceeds inc estimates
of several genen whose opinions are entitled 10 great
difference in estimation, and that the data upon when
have based calculations chiefly derived from Ga
ispies principles and practice OF road maSng arrive
the contemplated from Gainesville via Boydton ID re
ersburg be built FIVE thousand dollars per mile which
assuming the distance from Gainesville via Boydton 10 Pc
ersburg will make four hundred thousand dollars should
il BIO asccItained which do not believe that one track
will answer, then three thousand dollars per mile throwing
out actonsi hundred and forty thousand dollars
will buldit Now suppose the double track necessary and
that four hundred thousand dollars the largest sum- VIII be
required do the work. propose 10 show that even men,
the bare saving the farmer in marketing his produce o
say nothing OF number Of articles which will not now
bear transportation which will then be rendered marketable
will be sufficient 10 pay the interest on TINS sum- shouo the
road only keep itself in repair from its receipts
The last cens of l840 shows that the county oil Meek
lenburg then made quantity of tobacco which win mo-
which is in round nunbes) about 5000 hhds-the same
showed that Meckenburg made about oOu bushels
of wheat and that crop has increased in the county in
fold RATIO emcs in the last ten years we may safely pre-
dcato tho opinion upon The exhibits of the that Meek
enburg export $4,000 bushels larger amount tlan
she then made The last census also showed Meckenourg
then grew about 600 bushels of corn from which, with
the increased production and the cheapened OF anspor
tation may reasonably expect 10 sell l50UuU bushels oil
Al the lowest rates al which we can now SEND nesc
products markell average We subon the following
estimate, viz:
1900 hhds. tobacco al ST per hid. s s22,4U0
10000 bushels wheat al 20 cents per bushe is l6,000
10000 bushels corn 20 per bushel Is 3O,OOU
sos, 400
which shows that thousand four hundred dollars
necessary carry all of produce 10 marketthe ari-
clio of corn il is ruc does not pay as large an aggregate
we have put it down at but II IS because the price
of The article generally will not admit OF transportation al
20 per bush but under cheaper system OF transport
tation this would no longer be the case.
Now on plank road II is clearly ascertained that two
horses easily carry hhds so bushels of wheat
which average Of four days TO the trip would be as fol-
lows Wis
Two horses and wagon days 81 per day is 50 90
Assume the toll 81 per hid for three hhds is 90
Divided by three the number of hhds in load Bill 90
So 66a
showing that on the plank road hid Of tobacco will only
50 663 get market By the process and as
Stunning loud of wheat and to be SO bushels for two
hosess and charging toll of cents bushel we ind
that the carriage will be Is per bushehus we can es-
innate the cost of transportation the plank road as o
lows, viz:
$4,000 hhds. tobacco, at SO Sos, is sll,133
$4,000 bushels wheat, at l3 cts, is l0,400
10000 bushels corn al Is Cts, Is $3.50
Sal 633
Amounting TO SAL 633 which deducted from the pay