Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1853-03-01
Hempield Subscription.


Steubenville Railroad. We trust that the bill will
pass as amended. The Hempfeld project is de-
signed to benefit Virginia. and that State should
surely display grearer spirit of reciprocity than
she exhibits. Is IL poor rule that will not work
both ways.
We extract the above from the Pittsburgh Jour
nal of Saturday. From it our readers will per-
ceive that the extraordinary effort to be made in
the Pennsylvania Legislature TO fetter and re-
strain the action of Philadelphia by making it to
depend, not upon the merits of her proposition,
not upon the question whether Philadelphia is TO
be benefited by her proposed subscription, but
upon the action of the Legislature of foreign,
and, an independent and sovereign, State, upon an
entirely different question in no ways cognate or
connected with the proposition now pending be-
fore the Legislature of Pennsylvania. Pennsyl-
vania granted to her own citizens charter to con-
struct road, from her Central road at Greensburg
to the western line of the State, with the view of
tapping the great line of western railways at Vince
ling, and leading off tie trade and travel of those
roads, from Baltimore and her road, to the Penn
sylvania Central road, and by it to Philadelphia.
The enterprise noble one, and worthy the
efforts of those who conceived it. 1t commended
itself, and deServedly, to the Pennsylvania Legis
lature, as the great project by which alone the
Central improvement of that State could work out
the designs of lis authors and the State, and be
made at once a source of State Revenue, and of
permanent wealth. True, the Central road had
in view important connections at Pittsburgh looking
towards the North westaand the Lakes, but; while
the great Central improvement cropping its
way, with terrapin speed, through mountain gor-
ges, and up inclined planes, New York, on the one
hand; with that headlong zeal infused into her
spirit of progress by the gigantic mind and enter
prsing activity of her genius of Internal Improve
ment, De Witt Clinton; conceived, and brought
forth almost at conception, the stupendous railway
connecting the Lakes at Dunkirk direct with the
London and Liverpool of the Union; while Balti-
more, on the other hand, was pressing actively
onward her great line to Wheeling, and stretching
forth her beckoning hand to the West and South
west, and even to the Northwest itself. Thus
hemmed in, as it were, between two powerful ii
walls, stretching forth the Briarian arms of their
Improvements so to surround her, and tap the
very sources of her wealth and trade; Pennsylva-
MIA conceived the enterprise of carrying the war
into Africa, and, by masterstroke of improvement
policy to beard her rival, Baltimore, at the very
terminus of her great Railroad. She could thus
compete with Baltimore even for her own trade
and travel bymeans of the Susquehanna Railroad,
making riUal route to Baltimore, and open
uP shorter and better route TO the trade and rav-
ell seeking Philadelphia, which would else have to
pass through Baltimore, and would run the risk OF
being enticed from its destination by the tempting
allurements which would be offered by that enter
prising rival.
Such were the circumstances under which the
H. Gold
passed. The citizens of Wheeling, with com
mendable spirit, took the road by the hand and,
by the nd liberaity of our Legislature, charter
was obtained authorizing this essentially Pennsyl-
vana Rail Road TO be extended into Virginia to
the city of Wheeling, thus accomplishing for the
Central Road, for Philadelphia, and for the State
of Pennsylvania that, without which the road
would have been useless; namely, a connection
for the Central Road and Philadelphia with the
Ohio Rail Roads at Wheeling, and a commanding
competition with the Baltimore Road for the trade
g., of Central and Southern Ohio, and the entire
West That this road is important to Wheeling,
all must admit. But if it is important to us, it is
essentiGlto the Pennsylvania Central Road and to
Philadelphia. 1t was such even at the date of its
charter, it has now become a necessity. Wheel
ing, ever alive to her interest, at once took the
road by tie hand and subscribed with the county
and individual subscription, nearly half million
of dollars IN furtherance of its construction
sylvania, subscribed literally. Philadelphia was
slow to act this road vital to her prosperity
the only road indeed which could ensure to her
relative Importance even, an importing mart for
the West and Southwest, and it was not until
she the Marietta Road, stretching forth its arms
towards her, proering her the perpetuation of the
trade, which had once been hers, but which was
about TO be snatched from her by her enterprising
rival, Baltimore, that she saw andEappreciated the
importance of the Hempfeld Road and felt the in
cum6ent necessity fsecuring its construction and
thereby the connection with the Marietta and Gen.
trail Ohio Roads. Her action then prompt
and decisive, and she at once voted to subscribe
100000 to the road, and applied to her Legisla-
ture for legal authority to do so. Almost at the
same time the Central Road subscribed $780, 900 to
the Marietta Road. How is Philadelphia's re-
Iest received? She does not ask the Legislature
of Pennsylvania 10 barter Always its Rights to and
for the exclusive benefit of citizens of other and
rival States she does not ask her for the grant
sacrifice of any right whatever, but simply asks for
the permission 10 aid in constructing Pennsylva-
MIA Road mostly over Pennsylvania territory, to
connect with the Pennsylvania Rod, and termi-
mating in effect in Pennsylvania city, thus build
ing up her great Improvement ITSELF and saving
her greatest and most important city. One would
have thought that road, securing such benefits as
these 10 that State, might have knocked boldly at
the very gates of her Treasury, and have demanded
OF that State TO herself by investing her own
money in this great feeder TO her Road and her
chief city, but not one dollar is asked from the
State, and Philadelphia only asks the right of tax
ing herself for purposes of selt-defence and self
projection.
At this stage of the proceedings Pittsburgh comes
forward, and because Virginia does not see proper
to grant her privilege which will materially iniure
the second citv in Virpinia and ernlnsiuel,, hama