Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1854-11-10

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delivery, provided the bales packages have lnt
been opened, and be agan ware-houscd there, and
there rcmain until they sold INTO consumption
The person buying them of the importers there may
then pay the duties anl take them away. Thus the
| people OF Missouri lnly pay the duties on the
foreign merchandzc which they consume, at ST. Lou
| is, instead of New York. Aud muy the people of
any other State pay their quotu of duties within their
own State or at the most convenient port OF delivery
You sec the beauties of this system. The import
ing merchant may do the same amount Of business
under the warehouse system with une-third less cnpi
| tai than it required under the old plan. Upon the
average the duties amount To nearly onc-tlil the
value ot the goods. But now The importer in 81.
Louis Or Lynchburg is not required tn pay the duties.
They are cash. The retail dealer who buys from him
and takes the goods out of bond, pays the duties; and
80 kecps the money OF his customers the State in
stead of draining of its circulation fur the benefit of
| some remote seaport town.
This system first set bunslingly to work, for the
federal officers appeared 10 think that the government
should furnish the warehouses; and forthwith the Sec
rrtary of the Treasury proceeded to build and at
enormous rates. Whereas, all the government want.
ed the keys of the house in which the mcrclun.
die was stored, Tor the government has no more Ia
do, ought to have no more tn do in furnishing the
merchan, house 10 keep his goods III shore, tlau
il has tn do with furnishing him with ships to fetch
| those goods by sea.
The warc-huusins system was smplifed by Mr..
Hunters bill of the last session. But there is room
| for Improvement for you sc still large appropriations
made by Congress for building warehouses here and
there all over the country, which il 80 much money
| thrown away. The government wants warehouses:
and twOuld be Just wise and cSpClcnt for the govern
mcut 10 undertake to build and own all the mcrrhan,
vessels and to do the whole freghtiug business uf the
country for the merchants, il for il 10 attempt 10
find storage for their goods or rent them warehouses;
\ place for the safe Keeping of papers anl the
transaction OF business Is all the custom that il
ing under Il system $" beautiful and simple a. this
wnrchousing system Is capable of being made.
The people ot the West are beginning To profit by
it, Under ii, 81. Louis does large importing busi-
ness. There you will find houses engaged in trade
with France, and importing their -iIks and wines AMI
other articles, rs direct from abroad New York
| herself, and ~ of other inland towns.
Now there's no reason why the merchants of Lynch
burg-tlat town being constituted port nt delivery,
| and brought i'll connection with the extensive back
! country which the Virginia and rcnness.c road and
the State improvement IL the Ohio. will when compile
ted make tributary to hcr,-thcrr will then. | repent
he no reason why her merchants may not engage in
the foreign importing business; nrl reason why the
people of this back country sl"n hot pay in Lynch
burg instead Of in Charleston or New York, the du-
| ties the goods which sold into consumption
among them. 81. Lou., under the wnre-housing syr
TEN has acquired direct trndc,-niul why not Lynch
burg any other Virginia town Ia which large back
country mnv b. made tributary! There are now hut
! four ports on this side of the Rocky mountains tlat
regularly surpaSs 81. Louis ~ Ia the anoun: of the
| custom. .housr receipts. But enough Of this.
We come to the details Of tie plan of improve.
mcnt by which hope to convince yuu that Virriuia
Ic'oNtE oI mat NhSt fr,iIr HlL
those ieShaustiblc Western sources OF wealth aud
| prosperity. which in consequence Of inacliou have
been suffered to slip through her fingers.
For tie success of this plan some prerequisites,
| admit are essential, the part uf Virginia, and
among these prerequisites hold Il spirit Of compro.
mise in her councils and anon. the various sections
Of the State, backed by discrimination to DO SOME
thing, to be almost S'"" q"" nn", and nit"r ,hnt a
manly resolution to go ahead with the brave d.erni-
nation look back until she is the end of the
row, will be- sure to put her through
Suppose that it be determined, that tho State be-
satisfied that there is business III the Ohio country
worth her best efforts then the question will he Ia
| the hest means for accomplishing her object. The
plan is for her to proceed maniully 10 work, aud IN
stead of extending the Canal 10 the Ohio Or building
a single track railway ththcr from Covngton, "a
| build double track railway, to keep the rOad-brd
and rails in repair at her cArnsr and leave the
use Of this highway, free the Canal is to all who
| choose to put their aud locomotives upon it.
That's the plan. Now for the details, and the
| sons therefor:
| The trade up the Ohio il already the subject OF
powerful struggle among the Stn;c-. Three great ci.
ties, with almost untold wealth, are contenlny and
striving for il with all their might to get it, they aud
their allies have expended hundred Of millions OF dol
ars, and have it in contemplation 10 expend many
millions more.
| This sum nav star,e you at frat; but let us only
count some of these works md their cost; the Erie
| Railway Of New York, and the BIltimore and Ohio
Rail Road have cost, between them, sixty millions:
| then there are the Erie Cnuai. III: Chesapeake and
Ohio the improvements Of rcuusylvailu, and OF
| New York. AS for the improvements of Ohio and
| the other Valley States, they but tributaries
unsubsdzcd allies and frcdcrs-ot these other works
1t has cost these States ani their people hundreds
Of millions to get that trade into Ills present channels;
| and Virginia cannot and need not expect 10 get il 10
her seaport towrs with little no capital or bu-i-
facilities in comparison with that of the three
competing maritime cities merely by opening, ut this
late day, shorter route {" the Sca-board. Il mus,
not only be shorter hut it bc vastly cheaper or
| it will pine and angush.
Nay, the reciprocity treaty negotiated by Lord El
| .in, whom you saw in Washington last summer pro-
poses 10 let new rival, tp"rlnps the most powerful
| Of ALL into this field This ircuty will, when ratified
give lis the free navigation ut the st. Lawrence. And
the actual cost without tolls or profits, the move.
mcnts of merchandise from the east end of Lake
Erie to Quebec, is r. 4" per ton less than it thence
| To New York even by the Eric Canal and Hudson
river. OF COURSE then, the ST. Lawrence will open
cheaper route from all the Lake country to the sea
than New York, Pennsylvania or Maryland, with any
of their railways, cnnnls and rivers, now does.
The descent to the sea rid Quebec alone has these
advantages. For the vessels to return they hnvr the
ogs of tho Gulf of ST. Lawrence, the currents Of the
| river, the "bonnie west wlnds Of Heaven, and the
frosts of wiuter all against them III turn, and each in
its place and scHson. Still human enterprise md in
| genuity may do much more than has at great cost
been douc for that route. and 40 make John Bull
competitor for the commercial riches of the West.
Therefore, in building this double track railway,
the State should not expect 10 draw dividends from
it, for if she did, it would probably not draw the trade
| 1t must be built and maintained rs Il State improve
nent in the largest scuse. She will be amply repaid
for the work by the business which the road will NJ
tract to her borlers, by the wealth which her
| chants will draw from il, by the benefits which her
farmers will reap from it, ad by the Increased pros
pcrity which it will give TO tho State ut large.
| Cities and towns sometimes pay large bouniics, or
| give eratuities 10 have works of internal improve
mcnt brought to them, because Of the business such
works draw after them. Aud III making this one, the
State should be lkencd to some great landed propre-
tor; who, by some Improvement adds greatly to The
value Of the estate. by digging ditch he rcclnns
valuable body nf meadow land by building
bridge, he shultcns the distance by many miles from
one part Of the estate to the other and adds thereby
to the value Of his lands. Such works are very pro-
fablc though they yield nothing in the shape of dvi-
! dcnds.
Therefore, say, you must, in considering this plan
dvest your mind uf any idea Of dividends, or even
Of tolls enough from the road NJ the first going oil I"
nav interest on its cost. But like the farmer ditch
| that drains meadow and makes his lands more va
| uable, is still to pay for itself.
Now you are ready 10 ask, eau imns zine, You
going TO increase the rate "f taxation upon
friends in Virginia. that you may raise the money for
| buildin" this road, and then come down them,
wear after year, with additional evics to keep il in
running order Not exactly.
Suppose show that the increased value that this
road will give to the taxable property uf the Stute,
will when the tuxes at present rates come to he
sCssed upon it, swell tho revenues of the State by
amount that will pay for the roud and all expenses
connected Herewith and quidae, i'll few years, the
debt incurred for the construction of tho work. In
other words, suppose show that the road will creatc
| IN amount of wealth for the State. which the Stac
cnn tax al hbtnm aud raise revenue from forever
Will that, think you, be pretty good dividend
4 few years after The Erie canal was finished, the
| taxable property in the city of New York in
creased upwards of fifty millions in value. This in
crease of wealth WIS Nscribcd to that work.
For every mile of wagon transportation that rail-
way the farmer, il il estimated, by railroad econ
umsis, TINT 10 cents pnr is nded to the value o
his farm. Thus iarIurr has to wagon his produce
100 miles TO market-y"u build raroad through his
farm, do away with hs 100 miles of wagon carriage,
give him railway transportation i'll its stead, and
thereby add $40 per to the value of his land
told, in Sauuton, tiat the Central road had al