The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-04-02
THE DANyILLE RAILROAD.

movements " hich Virginia has ever projected,
has been the object OF opposition from the start.
In The language its President, it has LITERAL
" "fought fire. 1t has had enemies on both
sides. When its charter was introduced in
Is4G. il me, the sarcastic criticism and ridicuIe
of the then member from Petersburg, who de-
clared the scheme visionary and useless. He
rdcued the country through which the road
would pass as one over which ''the genius OF
desolation presided !" And when the then
able delegate from Wythe, Benjamin Rush
Floyd, proposed an amendment TO the bill, that
a branch road should be constructed to Wythe-
vile, when the road was finished TO DanvlIle,
we well remember that the same delegate frc m
Petersburg, with the zeal and animation which
distinguish his character, rose TO protest against
it. and warn the House against such an absur-
dity as carrying railroad to the "rocks and
dens and cayerns of the SOuthwest"-a coun-
try which vas subsequently, designated as
containing "noihing but dried fruit, poultry,
peltry and featbers!" This member afterwards
succeeded in getting road from Petersburg,
to tap this railway along the great Virginia
"Sahara"-and to also unite with the Lynch
burg and Tennessee Railroad, and thus place
Petersburg in connection with the "rocks and
dens and cayerns of the Southwest and ell
able her to get a share of the trade from that
quarter in "dried fruit, poultry, peltry and
feathers !" Great sagacity and wisdom was
exhibited in this enterprise. Indeed, it showed
that mastery craftsmanship that tries TO turn
to advantage circumstance which cannot be
avoided! TIE "SouIh Side road" was the re-
suit of this stroke ofpolicy-an improvement
calculated 10 do great good TO Petersburg, and
to be of great advantage to this ci.y-an i'm
provemen, that we wish to see completed and
in successful operation at an early day.
But there is q Renaissance or two, more,
showing the hostility to the Danville road,
which We must mention. In the construction
of the South-Side Road the State was to trans.
fer 1928, 600 OF stock she had in the Petersburg
and Weldon Road to the Petersburg Corpora
ton for like amount of stock in the South.
Side Road. Thus giving upa7 per CT. stock
for stock in q road not built and which was to
tap road in which the State owned million
and a quarter Of stock. The Danville road
ran in about so miles of Lynchburg-and
that so miles traversed staight ridge divid-
ing the Appomattox and Stanton without a
bridge or cul,ert, until a common point for the
Dauville and South-Side Roads was' reached.
But the State determined that.the road should
take another route serenity miles long, crossing
the Appomattox three miles below Farmvile,
on a bridge, 5000 feet long, and one hundred
feet high, and then crossing it again to get into
Farmviie. Thus, instead of taking the fifty
mile ridge, without bridges, and 20 miles more
transportation on the road previously charter
ed, she builds serenity miles of road with Two
costly bridges! with deep cuts and embank-
menis, 20 feet high and all to avoid any con-
cessions TO the Danyille Road
But ~ an. The State had given up to Ports
mouth the State Stock in the Seaboard ard
Roanoke Road, amounting to 100000. 1t
was deemed advantageous to this road, and to
the Petersburg Road, 10 which the State had
been so liberal, that branch road should be
run from tie Raleigh Road 20 miles to CIarkes-
vile; and bill was gotten up for it. An
az ohCiCut W uio" thO PSOplC III
terested in the road TO connect with the DAN
vile Road, only Is miles distant, If they
deemed proper But friends of this bill said
they would not vote for it if amended in that
way, and it was rejected. Thus refusing TO
pirginians the privilege of coming to a Vir
gina road if they chose
In'47, the Southwest was not $50 much in
favor. She asked of the Lynchburg Convention
of that wear, that branch of that road TO the
Ohio. which had been chartered the previous
winter, (which met the energetic opposition OF
the present Attorney General. and which was
supported so earnestly by Messrs. Lyons and
Tunstall) should pass by "the horseshoe !"
but her petition was rejected. The Southwest
was not then thought to be the route. In the
Fall of AZ Messrs. Witcher, TONNES and Tun-
stall came TO this city to solicit subscriptions TO
the Danylle Railroad; and they made speech
es TO the citizens. In Mr.. Tunstalrs speech.
which was not confined TO the Danvlle Road,
but contained much of his strong common
sense on Internal Improvements generally-he
said the people OF the Ohio river were break
ing their necks 10 get aWay from the Ohio rio.
erby railway, and We were breaking our necks
to get to it, by canal or rallway-that il the
people Of Virginia or Richmond wanted rail-
road, worthy OF themselves and the age in
which they lived, let them build one, not TO The
Ohio rivera branch Of the Mississippi-but
downthe Southwest Valley TO Tennessee, who
would carry il to Memphis, on the Father OF
rivers, 1900 miles below the Ohie, where we
wanted to in,ersect il This is the improve
nent afterwards so enormously taken up and
carried forward by Lynchburg. But, did a
similar liberality exhibit itself in Lynchburg
towards the DanyilIe Road Certainly not
The delegates from that quarter opposed il in
every form. We do not remember more un.
relenting bitterness than that exhibited by
d.ynchburg towards one Of the ablest and most