Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1854-02-20
The slave and uIrellng States.

We find in Northern paper, the following para
graph:
ILLrNos.-The Message Of Gov. Maeson to the lie.
gsature OF this State, convened in Special Session, Is
business IKE document and contains facts which will be
interesting not ony to the citizens OF Illinois State
equally 50 to the country at large. An extraordinary
aci Is stated by the Governor which is that the
in the office OF the Auditor show the actual increase in
taxable property oftho State in single year be over
fifty 'our per The principal this wonder
fol increase is found in the fact which the Governor
places before the Legislature, viz the astonishing in.
crease OF railroads. The State has one thousand
Two hundred miles OF railroad completed and in running
condition aud within another year thousand miles
more OF thson road will have beer finished the whole
al an estimated cost per mile of $4,000.
In the same, or a kindred Sheet in which we find
the foregoing we mcetwith some doeful lamentations
over the decline ofthe Southern States compared with
those of the North and Northwest-which decline as
matter of course, is referred to the institution of
slavery If the Northern writer had only cast his eve
upon this statement, he might have detected some
other cause Illinois is indebted for these two thou
sand miles Of Railroad to the bounty of the Federal
GOVERNMENTS bounty INDUCED at the expense Of
the Southern Statcs-whose feebeneSs and decay are
sneered at Every foot of these roads has been made
by appropriations OF public lands. Not cent has
come out Of the pockets Of the people And railroads
are not the only isTors bestowed upon the lIireng
States. Immense contributions heye been made to
them all for schools and colleges. We dare saw il
the same liberal measure had been dealt out to the
sa' ehoidng S;ntes-if there territory had been per-
meated by canals and railroads and schools establish
ed in every ncghbohood at the expense OF the Nor
thern States, too might boast of our prosperity
1t would be going far to say that Illinois her
SELF ifn addition he millions She has received from
the Federal treasury, had had the benefit of slave
labor, might have been still no;r prosperous
But it may te alleged, that the relative Increase OF
the nOA.SisTehotiins States is not confined to the
Northwest, where the greatest amount OF Federal
bounty has been hyiShei-but extends 70 the Ncrth-
eastern States also. This i true But the cause :
quite aS obvious in their case a. in that Of their
Northwestern allies lfthey have no; had the benefit
of the public iand,-;hey have had the benefit OF the
public revenue. They enjoy the use of nearly the
whole revenue, and besides in the receipt Of mill
ioa' annually from the public treasury for ocean
steamers The practical effects of this system is to
give to the Northeastern States almost the entire
profits Of the labor of the negroes of the South Ii
would be strange indeed, if with these drains upon
Us, we increased in wealth rapidly as those who
reap oil the advantages Of thp Federal Government
y dissolution Of the Union might De attended with
many cvilS;-but it would at least relieve us from
this system Of injustice and oppression. We should
then have cur own Navy, our own commerce, and the
taxes we should pay would be employed in perfectng
our own Improvements, and promoting our own pros
perty andhappinesS.