Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1851-04-29
MR.. WISE ON RICHMOND.

gument full athwart our goodly CITY, and it there
fore behoyes us to take some note of its bearings.
He commenced his continuation by telling the
Convention that the rec urrence of another Sab
bath day should have reminded them OF thelr
constant subsection to the moral law of God-an
excellent saying, but we have no exact recolec-
ton that the Sabbath was instituted to commemo-
rate the doctrine of the suffrage basis. The moral
aw, however, detained the speaker for only lit
lie while, and selecting from great mass Of
books, pamphlets, documents and newspapers be-
fore him, one or two numbers of the National In
telligencer, he proceeded to expound the law Of
population as ascertained by Mr. VIM Darby, to
whom he paid many deserved compliments as sta
tistician. The bad show, made by Virginia in CON-
parison with Ohio and some of the other non-
savehoding States, he attributed, of course, to the
mired basis. The logic Of his reasoning was sim
ply this: Virginia has had the mixed basis; and
Virginia has not been prosperous therefore, the
mixed basis is the cause of her poverty. But as
Virginia has had great many other things be-
sines The mixed basis, it may occur to some minds
that there may be other reasons for her not being
quite SO thrifty as some of her compeer States
Mr.. Wise told of the depressed condition of the
trade OF Norfolk and shamed her for letting the
vessels in the Rio trade pass almost in sight of her
on their way to Baltimore and New York. Then
coming to Richmond, he repeated the charge of
his "genus in mint julep'' letter, that the city
has always acted upon the dog-in-the-manger
policy OF opposing the prosecution of the great
lines OF improvement beyond the mountains and
also their connection with the sea-board.
This grave allegation ag ainst Richmond being
well calculated to arouse unjust prejudices, de-
mands some immediate notice. And, in the first
place, we deny, in all their length and breadth,
the facts set forth in the indictment. There ia
not to be found on the records of the legislation
OF the State, the smallest warrant for either of the
complaints made by Mr.. Wise. We appeal to
the candour OF such members Of the Convention
as have served in the Assembly to say-we care
not whether they be of the East or the VEST
whether the influence of the city of Richmond
was ever thrown against the continuation of the
principal works of improvement Is it not true,
on the contrary, that her Senator and Delegate
have uniformly been among the most Jealous ad-
vocates of the extension of the great central i'm
provement to the Ohio river? Did they not vote
for and cordially sustain the great Southwestern
railroad, and the Central railroad also? Is it not
perfectly notorious, indeed that the efforts of
Richmond to secure full communication be-
tween the West and the tide-water markets have
been SO Jealous as to bring upon her copious i'm
putatons of too selfishly seeking the outlay of
public money? And, on the other hand, as we
have recently stated, it is equally undeniable that
Richmond has never cast the weight of feather
against the connection of the James River Canal
with the tide, but has voted for every appropria-
ton proposed to accomplish it. Her vote was
given, with no small degree of lberality, for the
Gordonsville and Alexandria railroad end for The
South Side railroad, from Lynchburg to Peters
burg. Has she displayed the dog-in.the- manager
in such a course as this? The whole of Mr..
Wise's allegation is destroyed by unquestonable
and unquestioned facts No interest in the
Commonwealth has been more steadhsty arrayed
in favor of both Western and Eastern communi.
cations than the city of Richmond. Had her in
fuence been equal to her desires, no man
can doubt that long ago we should have had both
canal and railroad connection with the Ohio
valley.
But let us turn to Mr.. Wise's application fhis
exposition ofthe depression of Virginia. produced.
as he su pposes, in part by the untoward power of
Richmond.
Mr. Lyons put to Mr. Wise the pertinent q ses.
ton what had the mired basis 10 do with the fail
ure of Norfolk to maintain commerce of her own
and with the failure of the Legislature to prose-
cute the important works of improvement Mr.
Wise undertook to answer the query, but we must
confess his reply fell far short of an explanation
that we utterly unable to state the point of it.
We heard nothing fall from his lips, which ap-
preached demonstration that the white basis
would cure our ills. But the sum and substance
Of his view is manifesty this: that if the West
obtain the power which it would get by the
white basis, it would vote more literally for ap-
preparations than the East would do having the
control OF the Legislature by virtue of the mixed
basis. Now, be it remembered, Mr.. Wise protests
more loudly than almost any other man against
the large debt already incurred by the State for her
internal Improvements, and, by way of providing
against bankruptcy from further expenditures, it
is part of his policy unless his views have ma
terially changed since he was candidate before
the people, to require every appropriation bill to
be concurred in by "tDo thirds on three fourths OF
the aohole number ot each house, of the General
Assembly In other words, he would give the
West majority of twe1ee delegates in l56 upon
the suffrage OF white basis, that is "a to the West
and 70 to the East and would require vote of
at least l04 to pass an appropriation bill in the
House. witha like proportion in the Senate. This
restriction he considers an essential guaranty,wth-
out whiehthe East ought not to surrender the mixed
basis. 10 nreclnde Of iraxactness