The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-05-10
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

gent and successful of his class, which was
somewhat to the following effect. lie hao in'
herited from his father very large anu a'eiy
spIendid estate but il was considerably en-
numbered, and during long minority, WIN
the best intentions on the part OF the guardian,
his lands had been greatly Impoverished. On
,,king possession, he found himselfin condi-
tion which was anything but agreeable. He
was embarrassed by the debt hanging over
him. yet he neither wished to cell his paternal
acres, nor the slaves with whom he had been
raised, and who stood 10 him in the relation of
humble friends and dependents. Yet he knew
not in what other way he could contrive TO
disturbances himself, for his estate, though
very large, did not yield him much more than
the interest of his debt. In that condition he
applied TO a neighbor, man of great practical
good sense, for advice. II was given without
hesitation. He was advised togo in debt
$4,000 more for plaster, lime, clover, and
other fertilizers known at that day. He told
him that the estate ought TO, and would, clear
itself in the course of a very few years, by the
proper application of such restoratives as he
had mentioned. The young gentleman was
at first somewhat startled al the idea ofinvolv-
ing himself further, butupon the representation
Of his more experienced friend, who assured
him that the estate was fully equal to the
emergency. he determined to try it. The con-
sequence was, that in few years, without hav.
ing been compelled to sell any thing but the pro-
ducts of his lands, he found himself entirely
free of debt, and at this day, instead of selling
1900 or 1000 bushels of wheat year, he sells
10 or IL, 900. We leave our readers to draw the
analogy between this case ola private indvd-
ual, and one ofa public character, indicated
by the heading ofthis article.
The four great improvements of our State.
the Central, Danville, and Tennessee Rail-
roads, and the James River Canal, have alrea-
dy cost the State of Virginia millions of dof<
lars. Should they be carried to their destina-
tion, there is no man, we presume, who can
not see that they would bring into Virginia, an
amount Of wealth, which it almost dazzles the
eyes TO see set down in figures. That vast
reduction of oftaxes-a reduction which would
render them almost nominal, would necessari-
ly follow, cannot be disputed. Such was the
effect of the Erie Canal, in New York, and
such must be the efeo, of every successful
scheme of improvement upon a scale SO large
as that proposed for the several routes. As
they stand now, having gone, in fact, "no
WHERE tapping no rich country, and bringing
in no products comparatively TO abandon
them now, would be to sink the entire sum
employed in constructing them-it would be
to place the State in q condition from which
she would find it impossible to extricate her.
self; it would be to make her the scorn and
opprobrium not only ofthe Union, but of ciyil-
cation itself. To go half way in an enormously
expensive enterprise, and then to turn back for
fear OF spending more money, at the same time
that you know a certain remuneration for all
your labor lies at the end, is the part either of
very tmd or a very unwise statesman. Yet
This is the policy proposed. To stop at once
for fear of increasing debt! 1t is recorded of
King John, that in order to make a wealthy
Jew discover the place in which he had con-
cealed his treasures, he began to draw out his
teeth. The man held out until the operator
was about to extract the last grinder when he
gave the desired information. 1t would have
been better for him, had he told at first. So
we say, If we are to stop nor, il were much
better that we had, as the Irishman saids
stopped before we began" In the meantime,
nothing IS more certain, than that unless the
present Legislature make provision for the
continuance Of the public improvements until
the meeting of the next, every public improve
the State
We take it upon ourselves to say, that there is
not one of them, which can go on for three
months, without an appropriation.
The party which is DESTROYS to stop all ap-
preparations, have endeavored to nuke the
friends OF Internal improvement responsible
for the waste of the public funds, which we
nave no doubt has been great. The public
will not coincide with them in opinion. The
public will see, and does see, that should the
views of the Internal Improvement men be
carried out, the debt incurred in doing il, will
soon be extinguished, by the wealth which
they will bring into the Treasury. They will
fasten the loss upon those who ought to bear
it-upon the men, who after expending enor-
nous sums upon work, cut it short in the
middle, thereby cutting short, also, every hope
OF redeeming the expenditure already made.
Iithere has been an improper waste of the pub
hc money, and We have no doubt but that
there has, is a total abandonment of the
works the way 10 remedy it? Would it not
be wiser, to get more faithful agents-to inst. |
tute some method of compelling greater 6deIi.
ty3 If cur old friend Abraham Warwick, or
= our old friend Barton Haxall, should find that
roguish deputy had been stesling his wheat,
should he close the mill in the middle Of the
season for fear he should lose more, or should
he discharge the untrustworthy agent9 II
has been said that De Witt Clinton began to
cut the Erie Canal in the middle. He was de-
fermined that If the work was stopped it should
be dead loss, and he knew that his country.
men, though they murmured prodigiously a,
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