Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1854-01-19
The caure.

any question: tHit has Deen or VIII Dc before The Ic-
gislaturc during the present session. 1t is not, as
ONE affect to believe, a mere rivalry between the
Virginia and Tennessee and Central roads. 1hN
rivalry is of the least possible consequence. The
true question is whether Virginia will cxpend twenty
millions TO make n road for the benefit of Baltimore
which road Baltimore would %joyfnlly make, if we
would give her the privilege. The indcfatigable advo.
Gates of the narrow gauge have been adroit enough
to produce the impression with some, that n wide
gauge would operate for the benefit of Baltimore. A
grosser fallacy was never propagated. As conclusive
evidence Of this, we invoke serious consideration to
the Tact, that the most strenuous opponents Of the
wide gauge are those who already propose 10 tap the
Central road by oilshoots from the Baltimore road
Take the venerable delegate from Kanawha-the new
leader Of the Democracy-why does he prefer the
narrow gauge on the Covington road Has he not
already said, that he wishes n road Fl ON the mouth of
Elk to Taylor county on the Baltimore and Ohio
road,S That road will run in n northeastern direc,
tion-and Of course, is not designed TO .Jeel the
Covington road--but to drain it for the benefit of the
Baltimore. In fact, that road will make n straight
line from Baltimore to Lexington, kcntucky-and our
road will he the crooked one. If the object was to
benefit and feed the Coyington road, the oiShoots
from it would take 4 Northeast direction-and that
would be their direction, If the whole Central road
were Of the five feet gauge. In that case, there
would he Northeastern otfshoots from Staunton-to-
wards Parkersburg-and from Lewisburg towards the
same or some other Northeastern point-and they
would all be feeders TO the Virginia improvement, in
stead ofbeing drains upon it for the aggrandizement OF
Baltimore. A five feet gauge will make Northeastern
branches and a four feet eighth and a half, will make
Northeastern branches-the last feeding Baltimore
the first the Central road. The reason is obvious
with a five feet gauge, the break of hulk would be
against Baltimore--with the four feet eight and a half
IN favor of it.. Is there n true.hearted Virginian, who
can desire this result
This view Of the matter will be better understood
by an examination OF the map, and as we deem it of
the highest Importance, we invoke the attention of
members to il. There is neither wisdom nor patriot
ism in our spending twenty millions for a road
which will drain all Virginia North Of James river
cut us of eiiectually from the Western trade, aud
which Baltimore would itself make il permitted to do
it. We say we had better let her do than break
ourselves in doing it for her.
But the bugbear most dwell upon, Is that n . feet
gauge on the Covington Road will cause n breal. Of
bulk with the Central Road. This will not be tie
case. Adopt the . feet guage Oh the Coyington road
and forthwith the Central road will abandon the
4.s IL, and make its entire road from here 10 Gov
ington Of the D feet guage. ASK Mr.. EWen If tbs
aoW not be the case. The Central road has less than
% miles of the direct line Is IL now-by the time
1t could complete the road from here to CharlolteS-
vile and that beyond Staunton, these - miles would
be pretty well worn ont and could be replaced by the
o oet guase q 4, very Itue cost. We should then
have a D feet road from Richmond TO The Ohio which
would constitute an eilectual barrier to any farther or.
Croachn,ents by Baliimore-and, in the empLat
&c language of Mr.. Elicit, which car.not be too
often repeated, "Mus oJtain an adeantage orc,. an
competitors North or South"
The gauge offs IL is repudiatcd by engineers all
over the woodland there never would be another
road made of that width, if it We're not that there
were roads Of that gauge already. The opportunity
IS so inviting ROW, the inducements so great for Vir.
ginia to discard this discreditcd gauge and To make
this great Central improvement Oh 4 more approved
one, that would defy "aH competitors North or. South"
that We cannot believe her SO blind to her in
terests as TO be deluded by the agents of Balu-
more.
There is not a man Eistef The monH of En-. if hc
cOnsults his own and the interest Of his constituents
who should countenance this marrow guage. Green
brier cannot be benefited 10y having the buIt Of
the travel taken across from Eth to Marion
on the Baltimore road. And Staunton-that love.
ly city Of enlarged philanthrophy and universal
Commonwealth that rather than not have the MEMS.
are OF extending to Them her hospitality would hive
CONFERENCE.-The profit can she derive by Inn.
king a gauge to suit Baltimore so as to have Il
tapped 40 miles from its Western terminus? If the
main trunk were oil the wide gauge-in time, when the
nppaw.n ,u,n,,. Al. III
have a break Of bulk ia her favor aud within her oyn
corporate limits u! A word to The wise.
There are 50 many great STATE considerations in
favor Of a wide guagc, that we have a Discrimination IN
refer to those Of a merely local character. But n,
all the places in the State, there is none so deeply and
vitality interested in this question as the city of Rich
mondi and il would almost seem that her Reprcsen-
tatiVes are stricken with judicial blindness. when thcv
surrender themselves TO be bamb0ozled by DIR pat.
TICK and his Baltimore feeders. The Canal il on,b,,.
lcally the improvement on which the future vra,,,o,,
oil Richmond must mainly depend. What senso 10
there then in adopting a gauge for the Coyinpiop
roSd-which will work against this great imnrovo
'hent, IN which the State has so large a stake-and
contribute TO swell uIe commerce Of Baltimore ?
The Evening Bulletin, Of the 18th, has an article nm
this subject, FROM which we make the following o ,
tract and commend il to the attention Of our Repre-.
s~entatiyes
NOW, what ~ the chiefinterest which Virgiu;, bss NJ
STAKE east OF Coviugton ? We contend that ia the in
tIes' :" Tue James River and Kanhgha Canal ",
namtslh ulis 'of Two reasons LIST, Because the State has
tiVIyv0'OoO invested in that canal Zone 9Th of which onIv
shelo oy private citizens the value of which INNS, denood
on the CHARACTER OF The road about To he nonstrnc,c5 ho.
tween Coyington aud the Ohio river, 2nd pacsnsa ~.
amount OF tonnage transported by the canal must be 90
much greater than that transported by any r,iI,osd r,onD
C~ovinglon East, that it gives tho canal A narsmonn, in %n
est 10 tue question. We have been led 10 mi, ,agaa,aa.
by reading the late report Of the New York md 81. p1n
Road. Au Hle hah
the whole movement OF tonnage on that rosd ~,
SSi,OSs,o OF which 81 per cent, or 2SlOO0 onlv was
tnfolgh tonnage. The whole movement of TONNAGE or
The Eue Canal, for the same period, wa. . ma sst M
ms, the through tonnage, notincluding that from Csnsd,
WAS l,6iS,psb, OF more than seven times The t,rouyb ,on
mage BY the New York aud Erie railroad. TbereIo,s
the James River and KanaWha Canal has seven times a.
much Interest In the question a. the Central n iroad has
ana TOE interest OF the canal should be considered para
mount 70 all other interests. People OF Richmond Iool
vel At these facts, aud ask yourselves whether we bav,
nos q right 70 demand that advantage which a five fec
ssnge would give Us on the Coviugton and Ohio road -
Wheat.
tennessee Wheat was in active demand In Nae Yo,L
TaesdsS 81 1870, aud Southern White a. 10.
Nho lOOeat lgura Ia IN ..... -