Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1851-11-17

vor ofsuch system as would bind her
people together with hooks OF iron-as
would win her wandering children back a.
gain-as would keep those still remaining,
firmly welded to their native sofas
would invite other TO come and cast their
lot among us.
He was glad 10 see a Railroad threading
the rich valles of Bedford. He was a
friend to that Improvement. 1t looks to
Kauawha, and Kanawha invites a connec-
ton with ii through the New River Valley,
and on to the Ohio. But this was not all.
II would unbar the door oi>other means Of
wealth. Some rivers were made for navi-
CATION. but New River was not. 1t could
not be made navigable. Yet God had
made nothing in vain. What, then, was
this rough and turbulent stream made for
For the wheel and the hammer From
its source in North Carolina. to where ii
mingled its waters with those Of the eau
ley. it was a succession of Falls and Cas-
cades, which seemed to invite the " heel to
be placed under them-n ,oas rafting to
be harnessed. Make Railroad along that
Valley, and. in a short time, the rush OF the
water-w wheel, the clatter OF the loom, and
the ring of the anvil, would wake up the
echoes among those mountains which have
slept since the first dawn Of time.
He alluded to the scheme of Steam nav.
igation between Norfolk and Europe. He
favored the enterprise. He desired to see
Norfolk the great entrepot of Southern
commerce. She had the position-she
had safe and capacious harbor But
foreign trade would not, of ITSELF be suiii
cient. Vessels would not come there to
discharge their cargoes. and go away emp
". They must have a return bill Of la
ding. How was Norfolk to furnish this
By bringing tie produce of'he interior into
her warehouses. This could alone be- done
by Railroads and Canals. He wanted to
see these established in every part of the
State, where they were needed. He no
ped to see the day when the trade of large
portion of Virginia--of a portion of North
Carolna-of Tennessee-and, indeed, of
almost the entire Southwest, would seek
an outlet through the depots of Norfolk,
and the Capes ofthe Chesapeake.
He desired to see another kind of i'm
provcment-the improvement of the mind.
The last Census Returns exhibited the hui
initiating fact,tha there are upwards of So
900 adult whites in the State of Virginia,
who can neither read nor write. This ought
not to be. We were sending Missionaries
abroad This was right. But we need
ed Missionaries at home. The Convention
had failed to provide for the education of
the people-it would, now, devolve upon
the Legislature to make the provision, and
he hoped the people would look to it in
the coming elections. All power was now
in their hands-educate them, and they
would know how to appreciate and WELD
it.
He had not escaped the common lot of
candidates. He found himself before a
Virginia audience, charged with being I'M
sound O. the slavery question. 1t was
most ridiculous, and most false. He was
born, and reared, and educated Virgin
ian-no man was more devoted to South
ern interests, and no man was more ready
to resist all aggression upon them. The
charge was based upon his course in the
Legislature 1882. There he was fol-
lower, and not leader. Eastern Virgin
ia was still weeping over the terrible ira
gedy of Southampton. She asked for Sc
curity, and called the West TO her assist
ance. The West had no fears on the sub
ject, and refused, even, to submit propo-
sition. The movement was made in the
East. Petition after petition poured in
from the Eastern counties, asking for relief
from the common danger. The venerable
Thomas Richie, then the Editor of the
hichmohd E14a"u, ashoI '.;f nothing
could be DONE" A cry for help came
from almost every fire-side East of the
mountains. The West was willing to aid,
but not to prescribe. Thos J. Randolph
submitted a series of resolutions embracing
the plan of Mr.. Jcfierson-that all born af-
ter a certain time, should be emancipated,
and, after arrivingat a certain agbe, hir
ed out until they had earned sufficient
means to pay for their emigraiion-the
plan 10 be submitted to the people. for
their approval or rejection. This scheme
was supported by VIM. H. Roane, after
wards elected by Democratic Legislatures,
as U.S.Senator, and Gen. Brodnax,a and Jas.
Mcdowell, afterwards Governor Of the
State,and member of Congress and other dis.
tinguished men who became leading mem
bers of the Democratic party, and whom
that party Lave delighted to honor This
plan he advocated Abolitionism had not
then raised its head-it was simply do
nestle matter. The excitement was gen
eral-it pervadcd all classes and sexes, and
IN response to the appeals Of the East, he
supported tie proposition IF its oaca men-
Was he 10 blame for this
But no mans opinions had undergone
more change than his. He considered the
Southern Slaves the happicst and most
contented laborers on earth. He regard
en- it a scheme of Providence to carry the
lights of liberty and religion into the wilds
of barbarous Africa. 1t has existed in all
countries; and ofal the rcbukcs of the Sa-
vior of the world against sin and crime, not
one was directed against slavery. His
course In 1882. was not in consequence of
Ill 10 the blacks, but of damage to the
whites. As proof ofthe sincerity Of his
present views, he appealed to the records
of the Convention. The Constitution pro-
hbits the emancipation Of slaves, under
eny circumstances. He had that PROPOSE
ton brought .tornard-he voted for it, and
the West was ready to sustain it. The
General Government has no control over
the subject, and he would submit to dis
solution of the Union, before he would al
low any interference. Such was the
charge brought against him, who was born
in Eastern Virginia-hved in the largest
slaveholding county in the West, and was
himself a STAKEHOLDER to considerable ex-
tent.
But he ras in favor Of emancipation
He had struggled in the late Convention
for emancipation-the emancipation of