Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1851-04-29

more generous ond tiftty scHHibtat VI IN
dignsnon. And | most sincerely hope
tia, this body may not adopt o course Of
action, in any respect calculated 70 impair
the souDdness OF that feeling nov prevail
ing amongst those people. by leading lhem
to understand that then just political rights
are 10 be sacrificed upon the altar OF an
IDLE aud most unfounded apprehension oil
their loyalty TO this great interest Of Vir-
ginia.
Sir, ! have always regarded this idea Of
dissiIDiarity, OF interests between the
different portions Of Virginia as imaginary,
aud as traceable, 10 some degree, to the
unfortunate introduction into our existing
constitution Of those geographical diyi-
sions, which have been Incorporated in
it; aud also 70 our system Of goyerhment,
whose manifest tendency has been to keep
the people Of this commonwealth separa-
ted from, and ignorant Of the sentiments
aud feelings Of each other. so lar, ours
has been strictly a system Of county gov
crHmeuts. Every thing has revolyed with
in the circle OF these petty and exclusive
provincial sources OF power The voter Of
Meckenburg or Of Berkeley knew the del
egate whom SC sent to the General Assem-
bly,, but beyond that be Did not know, nor
did he care to know any thing OF the pub
lie men 81 other sections Of the State, or of
the sentiments which they were sent there
to express But think when these Sec
tional barriers shall have been broken
dowu--when all the general officers OF the
state are to be elected by the people of
the whole slate--and when all will tecl an
interest and motive to understand ana
to appreciating the public men and
public sentiment of every other portion
Of the commonwealth, this narrow and
crcumscribed range OF thought will
vanish and yield to more enlarged and
accurate perception Of the character aud
interests Of our State. | cannot conceive
Of a more striking proof of the merely fan
ciiul character OF tits supposed tlissinilar-
ity of interest in cur state, than the fact.
that gentleman so distinguished for his
acuteness aud ability as the gentleman
from the city Of Richmond, orr. Mere
dith, should SO prominently base its ex-
istence upon one OF the grounds which be
has done. He tells us that the great COM
mcreial interests OF the State lie in the
Eastern section, whilst the " est is almost
exclusively an agricultural community. and
hence be inters dissimllarlty of interests.
Sir, this is new doctrine to me- 1t is the
first time in my life that | have been
taught to believe that there was any
ground of conflict between the interests OF
commerce and agriculture. | had sup
posed that commerce was the handmade Of
Agriculture--that they constituted, to.
ge,her, two great pillars OF national power
and rospriety-that they were as indis-
soluGly connected in interest as the sia.
mese twins, and that you could not sunder
the cord which linked them together with
cut destruction to both Why have the
constituents ofthat gentleman taxed them
selves as heavily as they have done. to
open the channels of trade to that fine
productive region lying West of the noun
tain, it it was not. that from the surplus of
their agricultural wealth, they might vivify
the commerce Of his own growing and pros
porous city? But il this opinion in the
abstract be unsound and condemned by
the best conclusions OF political economy.
how still more falacious must the reasons
appear upon which that opinion is sought
to be enforced by him Ne are told that
an amount Of taxation of SlSe, 437 paid
on merchants licenses, Sl37 3So is paid
in Eastern, and only S5l, los in the Vest
ern portion OF the State. And this he cites
as an evidence OF "a must marked dissimi-
arity of interests And pray, sir, why
did not the able aud intelligent body of
men who represented the last on the ba-
sis committee suggest this license tax, as
an element OF calculation in the matter Of
apportionment of power between East and
West Why did they themselves reject it
as an unfit element OF calculation Sim
ply, because they knew that this license
tax, though advanced in the first instance
by the merchant as his privilege for retail
ing merchandise. is so much more cost adj
ded to the article of trade, and is in fact
paid by the consumer whether he. happen
to live East or West Of the mountains
1t IS like the duties upon imports collected
IN the city of New York, advanced to the
government, it is true, IN the first instance
by the importing merchant but ultimately
paid by the consumer of these articles
throughout the Union. And what possi-
bic conflict of interest can there be between
the merchant and farmer in the matter of
this tax? Does not every burden impos-
cd upon the merchant ultimately fall upon
the iarmerl And does not every law which
relieves the merchant from bis tax, 10 that
extent relieve the farming interest?
Sir, | cannot conclude this branch OF
this inquiry this faneied diversity oc in
terest between East and West without
arayng against The gentleman from the
city of Richmond, (Nr Meredith,) the
authority of one OF his own distinguished
colleagues from the same city, (Mr. Scott)
In the address Of the latter gentleman,
published last summer, previous to bis O.
lection to seat in this body, he gives ut
terance to the following enlarged, compre-
hensive statemanlike views. ii place my
appreciation of it (the mixed basis pr:uci.
ple) on no such grounds as that of dis
similarity Of interests between East and
West, Some slight difference Of interest
apparent more than real, exist but in
the great essentials we are, and | think
ever will be, ONE PEOPLE"