Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1853-05-24
TENNESSEE RAILROADS.

There is teIt pretty generally deep and gener-
al ;pterest in those works of internol improv ement
which are in process Of construction in our State
Among these works is the Virginia and Tennes'
see Railroad. As this work, to be fully useful
must 60 into our sister State ot tennessee
knowledge of the system of internal Improve
ment adopted there, becomes subject OF general
desire aud interest. We have lately had con
yersations with gentleman OF that STATE ana
from him learn the following facts, which we
&ieem of sufficient importance to give the pub
lie.
Until within the last four or five years, the
great question of internal improvement excited
but little interest aud attracted scarcely at all
popular Investigation. The efforts OF Governor
Hayne of South Carolina, to engage tennessee
. in the scheme of a connection of Charleston with
the Mississippi aud Ohio rivers, met with most
sxual failure. In 1841, however, spasmodic
effort was made to build road from Memphis on
TO meeting with the road from Charleston and
| thus connect the Atlantic seaboard and hllssls-
sippi Valley An insufficient State aid was OBJ
tanned. The attempt to make up for the parsi-
mony of the State by private subscriptions fail
ed The road was graded, commencing at
Memphis. some fifty miles-the funds gave out
and the scheme fell through h. The State and
| private individuals lost their investments, and all
hope of Internal improvement seemed buried.
In 1s45. the Charleston road had pushed to or
near Chattanooga, in Tennessee. This excited
tie interest of TINT portion of the State as also
of Nashville and middle Tennessee generally, and
the Legislature of 1915 loaned the credit of the
State to the amount of halfa million to the Nash
vile and Chattanooga railroad. This State aid
coupled with private subscriptions, secured the
construction of the road. Gov. Jones, A. 0. P.
Nicholson, Robertson Topp, and other leading
men in the State, took up the question. Gov
| Jones absolutely canuas sed all the country from
Nashville and Chattanooga and thence West to
Memphis. Things went on in this way until the
session of 1851 nothing or but little OF practi-
cal character being done. At this session OF
| 1851, however, the question OF internal I'M
provement was the absorbing question next to
the apportionment of the State, or as the Loco
focos of that State called it, the Gerrymandering
of it. Various plans were proposed and dis
cussed A general desire to adopt perfected
and permanent system pervaded every member
of the Legislature. The result OF those dello-
era'ions was the passage by an overwhelming
majority of bill to establish a general system
of internal improv ement The principles OF this
bare exceedingly simple, and easily understood
They are that every road mentioned in the bill land
the bill mentioned every road ever dreamed OF shall
be eutitled to State aid to the amount OF So0oo
per mile for the purchase of iron rails, cars ana
other fixtures. As protection to the State be-
fore this aid is given, thirty miles ofhe road must
be actually graded, and then the aid OF $4,000 per
mile, for those thirty miles is extended and so
on for every thirty miles graded in the State
Applying This principle to the Tennessee and
Virginia railroad, and it is at once that the
construction of the road becomes a certainty
The estimated cost of this road is, we believe,
$4,000 per mile. Ofthis fifteen thousand dol
lars the State of Tennessee extends her aid to the
amount of eight thousand. To entitle the Com
pany to this aid the grading of the road for thirty
miles is all that is necessary, and surely thatlcan
be done. The distance from the Virginia line
to Knoxville is one hundred and thirty miles. A
most lively interest is felt in East Tennessee
upon the subject of this roal, and we hope that
the citizens there will be ready to meet us on
the line and shake hands If not. we could, with
this aid, build the road ourselves.
This road constructed to Knoxville, connec-
tiou with the Mississippi valley is formed at once.
The road from Knoxville to Chattanoogas near
| iy completed, and will be completed 10 a very
short time. About fifty miles of the road from
Memphis to Chattanooga is already running the
cars. Ample funds for the completion of it is in
the hands of the President and Directors. They
pushing it forward with great vigor, and its
speedy construction is certain. By the time.
therefore. that we get to Knoxville, in East Ten
nessee, there will be connection from that point
90 the Mississippi river. and if our friends in
East Tennessee construct the road to the Virgil
MIA line 10 time to meet US, direct connection
Gf Richmond with the Mississippi valley at
Memphis is not more than TWO or three years oil
realization.