Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1852-03-29

FOX ifE NlhUiNiAN.
Mr.. EDIroR: | unite most cordially il
the commentator bcstow ed by you, Oh
the President and Directors of the Virgins
and Tennessee Railroad Company, 70
their patriotism and wisdom. as manifested
in the preference given to The Tredega
Locomotive Works, in contracting fo
Engines for their road. 1t was exactly
right; and l trust the good example vii
he followed by all the Railroad Director.
in the State: not to look beyond the Dor
ders ofihe Old Dominion for anything re
quired in the construction and cquipmen
of our railways. | 60 step farther:
maintain that the Legislature should en-
graft on every bill, providing for a sub
scription, on behalf ofthc State, TO any anc
every Railroad Company clause, com
peliing tile Directors TO purchase all liz
iron required IN tie construction Of MeU
poks. Of Frginia production and mann
facfure. Virginia has now in progress O
construction eight hundred miles Of rail
way. fit is all to be laid, as it should be,
with rails weighing 100 tons TO the mile
it will require eighty thousand tons Of
rails TO complete these lines Of roads,
These rails viii cost, at the present unpar
allelcd low pricc,,wo millions of dollars; o.
which the Treasury will pay one million
two hundred thousand dollars, and indivi
duals eight hundred thousand. This is
the distribution of the capital. recognising
the State. as participating in the subscrip.
ton to the extent of 8 5ths of the incorpo.
rated capital; or in other words il is the
legal distribution: but practically it is all
paid by thepcoplc.
To this add two thousand dollars per
mile for the purchase Of spikes. chairs,
castings of all descriptions, locomotives
and cars, and we have added one million
six hundred thousand dollars TO the for
eign expenditure of our railways corpo-
atlons.making total OF three millions six
hundred thousand dollars.
| would now ask our Legislators this
plain economical questions: Can the peo-
pie of Virginia afford to spare this amount
of capital, in addition to the enormous a.
mount of foreign debt they are annual
ly creating for ordinary articles of impor-
talion, from New and Old England Let
me put the question in another form; can
any people who are obliged 10 purchase
ploughs. harrows, OK yokcs. axe hclves,
axes, water buckets, straw brooms, cook
ing stoves, scy,he blades and filings.
plough lines, hats. shoes, coats. shirts, vests
and pantaloons, from New England, af
ford to purchase three millions six hundred
thousand dollars worth of railway equip
ment, in great part. from Old Englandl-
| answer no. and the history Of the com.
mercial intercourse of nations, from the
day that the first sail was unfurled to dis,ri
butte the products Of industry amongst the
nations OF the earth, to this time, aiiests the
correctness and truth of tie reply. Soon
err or later, this policy must be adopted,
and the sooner The better. When it is a
doPted the first step will be taken towards
the development of the latent wealth of
the country. At present. our policy is the
very reverse. The people of Virginia
are taxed TO raise capital to aid New Eng
land; to contribute 10 perpetuate her man
ufacturinE and nercantile supremacy. and
aid Old England, our great commercial
and manufacturing competitor,to postpone
indefinitely the accomplishment of the
very object, which was our declared pur-
pose when we embarked in these grand
railway enterprlses--ihe development of
the vast resources of Coal and Iron, know n
tocxisr,in almost superaburdance, in every
part Of The State, west ofthe Blue Bridge
Mountain.
[ will illustrate my position. by what is
going on around u.s. Within sixty miles
of Lynchbnrg. there arc at this time thirteen
Blast Furnances out of blast, because OF
British compe tltiou, whilst the wharves of
your city arc covered with English rails
for the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad.
This is not the most striking view ofihc
policy of the Legislature in providing
capital, to enable English Iron Masters,
to cause American Furnace owners to
discontinue the production Of Virginia
Iron. Within forty miles of Lynchburg
the line of the Virginia and Tennessee
Railroad passes within "A few hundred
yards of large dcposite Of Iron ore of
very excellent qualit, yet no man thinks of
working it;consequeniIy it will never add
sinsletonto the Transportation cf the Rail-
road company, nor u single dollar to the
wealth ofthe county of Bedford. Within
eighty miles of the same point, and " thin
three miles of the line of The same road.
commences the coal formations Of South.
western Virginia, accompanied " III, The