The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1854-08-17
THE CANAL AND THE WHITE SUI
PHUR CONVENTION.

/ e08En ~ tg1xA0 tuSY unAy - esss So
TIVE CANAL AND THE WHITE SUI
PHUR CONVENTION.
We would invite the attention of the oe,e
gates from this city to the Importance % -.
James River and kanawha Canai, IN on,
xvtem Of improvements between tne ha1'
snA the West. which has for its oojecs inc
com,.nd If the trade as well as the trave'
c...,. ~. valley of the Mississippi. The
x.,ye Of an uninterrupted water communi-
c.,,on between Norfolk and Covingtcn, win
doubtless be duly appreciated by every en-
Jiphtened friend of acknowledgements from
the Blue Mountains to the Atlantic wave
This would be but foretaste Of the advan-
tages hereafter toresult from continuous wa
ter line through the interior of this vast CONT
nent, extending from the Chesapeake Bay TO
the Falls of st. Anthony, to the Northern
Lakes and to the Gulf of Mexico. We
trust that the action of the Convention may
be characterized by wisdom and harmony
The connection of the Atlantic Seaboard
with the valley of the Mississippi, has long
been cherished object with the most en-
lightened statesmen of Virginia. At the ses
sion of the General Assembly, in October
1884, an act incorporating the flames River
Company" was passed for the purpose OF
extending the navigation of James River
from tide water upwards to the highest parts
practicable on the main branch thereof. -
In his letter accepting the Presidency of this
Company in 1885, General Washington, with
that wise foresight and craftsmanship which
ever characterised his public acts, presents
The following views for the consideration OF
the Directory of the Company: Il would
earnestly recommend it to you to press the
execution of the survey between james
River and the navigable waters of the Ka-
nawha, and proper investigation of the lat
ter. 1t will be source of great commerce
with Richmond, and in my opinion will be
productive of great political consequences to
the country" At the session of 1928
Judge Marshall presented report, the result
of an actual survey by himself, of the route
most direct and practicable for central com
munication between the Eastern and Western
waters. In regard to the advantages of the
work, he states in his report, that the success
of any attempt to obtain that share of the COM
merce of the West, to which this State, from
her geographical situation and MYERS would
seem to be entitled, must depend entirely on
the safety and cheapness of her navigation.
THAT intimate connection which generally
attends free commercial intercourse, the
strong ties which are formed by mutual in
terest and the interchange of good offices,
bind together individuals of different coun-
tries and are well calculated to cherish those
friendly sentiments, those amicabie DISPOSE
tions which at present unite Virginia to a
considerable portion of the Western people"
The correctness of these views has been
acknowledged and recognised by the most
enlightened statesmen of Virginia for well
nigh three quarters of a century and yet this
great Improvement is still unaccomplished.
The completion of the Canal to Covington
may Justly be regarded as one of the most
important links frthe great chain Of improve
ments between the James and the Kanawha
Rivers.
The Covington and Ohio Railroad may be
justly considered most important tributary
TO the James River and Kanswha Canal
Let our great Improvement, the Canal, be ex-
tended to the Ohio River, and in few years
We shall have tributary lines diverging from
Il In every direction, like veins from vast
artery. The Canal has nothing to fear from
the rivalry or competition of railroads. These
can but act as feeders, or as avenues for
trade to and from the Canal. What is there
in the magnitude or cost Of this Improvement
to shake the resolution of great Common
wealth like Virginia!
The distance from Point Pleasant, on the
Ohio river, to the Chesapeake Bay, is about
600 miles. Of this distance, there is at pre-
sent completed by canal and river navigation
about 400 miles, leaving to be constructed
800 miles. The cost of constructing this por-
ton of the line, cannot exceed $4,000 per
mile, or $4,000, 00o for the entire distance
This amount added to the sum heretofore ex-
pended, would make the entire debt and ca.
pital Of the company, sis, 100000. The inte-
rest on this amount will be e1,Os0, 900, and
the cost of maintaining 472 miles of canal,
would be ea2o ,ooO-making the total liabili-
ty of the company, sl,3oo,oo per annum.
The transportation of 100000 tons over the
entire distance, at only one cent per ton, Der
mile, would produce sl,4l6,ooo, or surplus
of &11S.0Oo. This tonnage is less than the
amount double track railroad 10 capable of
transporting. and 1t is we'll ascertained that
the capacity of the canal is equal to six dou.
BILE track railroads. With transportation
equal only to one-hslf of the capacity of the
canal, its revenue would besuch that it would
soon be necessary to apply the provision of
the charter which restricts its nett profits to
fftsen per cent. per annum on the capital of
the company.
With an Improvement capable of trans.
porting three millions of tons per annum, and
connecting. as It will, with the vast natural
and artificial channels of trade in the valley
Of the Mississippi, who can doubt that the
impsovement viii be a profitable investment.
when : transportation Of one-tenth of the
tonnage, which il may reasonably expect
vim produce . revenue sufficient to pay all
Of the costs and charges Of its maintenance,
and the interest on the debt contracted for ito
c0nsfrucfion.