Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1855-07-31
AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE. AND MANI
FACTCRES.

tASlChC.S.
VirCinians will become satisfied with the past poll
OF and present prospects of our State, when they e2'
cnine the singular phenomenon presented by the AZ
%ricultural interests Of the North. The farming popu-
latioa is diminishing in numbers, agricultural pro,
ducts decreasing, and the lands becoming exhauS'eu
end poor, whilst tho aggregate population Is n'ie":
Ing. The wealth of the North ls diminishing po.''
lively BIZ the exhaustion Of her lands and feia"'e'!
Nv ~. r. ,roos q If har numbers. 1t is true, there is a
rs,, ANNA, increase of her capita, in houses and
stocks; bu, tie stocks will not long yield dividends
nor tina houses have tenants, if agriculture continue
70 decline. A change in the course OF trade, by d.
ysr,ins her capital, employed in commerce and manu-
fso,ures, to other sections, where it might be welded
70 greater advantage, would at once impoVerish her'
Wa would like to see cnmerc and manufactures
more hourishing in Virginia, but would not have our
citizens dependent chiefly Oh such pursuits. A.
hand. 70 agriculture, as diverstying pursuits
encouraging industry and intelligence, and rendering
T., less dependent, we should welcome them. We
would like to make our own clothes, but do moi
wish he State to rely for a living OH making clothes
fer other people. We would be pleased to sec the
trade of Virginia carried on chiefly BY Virginians in
Our own vessels, but we do not wish to become tho
common carriers and t!afickers for mankind. Our az
~,iculture Is rapidly improving, and in our system OF
improvements causes are ut work that viii stimulate
The growth Of commerce and manufactures quite a.
fest as prudence or policy would dictate.
Farming, conducted by negroes, gives constant and
ardcous employment 10 their masters, the land own
.ss. 1t is, for this reason, preferable 20 serfdom, or to
a free tcuanlry system, for the land owners, in tho
latter instances, become idlers. In the North, the
iianease amount of capital invested in houses and
stocks, bsse:s a elias. OF idle, unemployed people
e5ar: their cities. whose extravaganza operates very
d-ieter.ously on society. With q little more variety
OF pursuits there would be few idlers in Virginia. We
have now no idle cluss as at tue North. Our richest
.nea are our most industrious men; for the care
G: several furms and hundreds OF negroes leaves them
no idle time. The New York Times neither I'M
6eys,ands our social system in theory or IN prac'
lice. We are not surprised at this. But we
do wonder how it could escape his observations
that the daily tendency Of his own system WIS to
generate an lille, luxurious class. We but repel as
saalt, as the charge Of idleness came from the Times.
Northern people would 10 we'll to study the theory
and actual working of Southern institutions, rather
than make absurd charges which rebound upon the
sccuser.
We annex al d[tlCIo llOlh tS Aioo <N'A1o' '''
suggest, in addition thereto, that Il similar state OF
declining agriculture exists in New England and III
Ohio. In the latter State, We have seen the udmis-
kicu from high authority, that she has reached her
maximum Of grain production, with a population still
OF the increase:
From the Albany Atlas
DECREASE OF THE AGRlCCLTGkAL PoPC-
CLATION OF II STATE.
One of the arrange results developed by tho census
!s The great diminution OF the population OF agricu!tu-
"a, sections Of the State. In Oneida county, for III.
stance, two.,hirds Of the towns show 4 decrease OF
popula lion, since 1850, vi $500. In Chenango county
The result il the same, In parts o. ononuasa; le
same. As in some of these towns manufactures have
been established, and thriving villages planted Oh the
s!des Of lee railroads, sw eli!n= the cn,:uera;ion in ru-
ra! districts with a new class, the elimination OF The
purely agricultural population must be greater even
than the exhibit OF riIe reports.
The increase Of popnla.i"n in cities has been great
and such q. to more than countervaii the losses, by
emigration o. other causes, er IEHm the tns 'n' st : o, S SsS
state IN the CI,Uu, and with q people widely ditiused
THROUGH lis numerous cities and towns, but with u
purely rural population ihst il %reccdlng, not only III
It's proportion to the aggregate, but oehinu the hume
ration of SO years ago. The Troy Budget, speaking
Of this, says:
..We hazard nothing in saying that the emigration
Of New York farmers TO the States northwest OF the
Ohio principally has, in the last five years, been to a
greater oI,ent than il wcs during any previous period
Of fifteen years, and, RS a general thing, those who
hav, emigrated in that time have sold their furins to
thsjr rs,ghbors, or others d.sirous of enlarging their
estates without materially Increasing the amount oi
labor."
Such a fact Ia q deplorable one, when it is calmly
contemplated. And it should be the study OF the
.tatesmaa 10 ascertain is cause, aud its remedy.
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES CONCERNING
THE vIENN