Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1857-03-23
sstlNAroRY. n ashiagton,
II March. 1887.

| inviting me to the proposed Railway Convention at
Bristol Tennessee in April next, has been received
| PRAY accept my thanks for your politeness.
This convention has for its object the establish
ment Of a line Of mammoth steamships between Great
Britain and the waters of Virginia The successful
accomplishment of snrh II measure would be grea,
achievement anl one from which would be dated
new era in the commerce and business relations Of
the states concerned.
BY the construction of proper works Of improve
ment Virginia might place in the category Of back
country to her seaport towns large fertile aud
very productive portion of the great west BY COM
pleting the Co,ngton and Ohio Railway, and bring
ing il 10 counec ton with other internal improvements
of the State New York herself would find II nearer to
send by sea to the Chesapeake and thence by river
canal and railway to the mouth Of the Erie and Ohio
Canal at Portsmouth on the Ohio river than she now
does by her own system of internal Improvements
More than half Of the distance from New York via
the Virginia routes to the Yves, lies along the unax
ed highways of sea and river, which Mt are shut
up by the frost for only few days in any year and
in comparison therefore with the route from New
York via the North River, Erie Canal and Lake il
much more available. Consequently the completion
of the CovingtoE and Ohio Railway would offer 10
the OF the Great Eastern" aud other traders
the most direct and favorable route that commerce
can possibly have between Western Europe and our
West
The establishment of lines irregular traders to run
in connection with The of trade which have
been actually opened by your people, and commenced
by your State, would bring the merchants of Europe
in direct communication with an exceedingly rich
and well cultivated portion Of the country. The peo-
pie who inhabi, it have much to SELL and many
wants.
We send to England annually something like forty
million pounds OF tobacco nearly all oft is grown in
this part Of the country. We abroad last year
of wheat and Hour the equivalent of twenty mil
lion bushels Virginia with her back country lies
under the best wheat growing latitude and exports
largely of this cerenl.
OF corn, there is annually grown in the region
for which the Internal nproveme of virginia al
ready completed commenced will afford drainage
and supply, not less than FIVE hundred million bush
els and the export Of Indian corn Is large item
among the statistics of our commerce
All the hemp of the country comes from this
region aud through the Virginia and Tennessee the
Danyille the Petersburg and Weldon, the Raleigh
AM Castor Railways, with other roads which with
their connections, stretch to the southwark and to
the westward, convenient market ways and tae chan
nels of profitable trade opened with the cotton
growing States Among the mountains, which in
these Mlitu,lc- divide the waters of the Atlantic
from the waters of the great Nississinpi nrc can
per mines and mineral treasures of GREAT value
The climate OF these mountains is most saubrious
aud from their sides springs of healing waters pnsh
out the kind and diversity of their mineral ingredi-
cnts importing to them medicinal virtues of rare ex
eellcncc In short the mountain regions which
the actual aud proposed lines of communication will
bring within the reach of the travelling public are
destined to hold, both to the old world and the new
the relation of great Snnitorium.
II any one wishes to see what can be done for old
seaport towns That like those OF Virginia, have lit
tie or no direct foreign trade, by connecting with
them, through bet work of railway, large, fertile
and rich back country, let him look at Hamburg aud
l}remcu-thc cNicn, 81 their Railway examine
the statistics of then trade with the statistics of
l'ri trade twenty ears ago, when these roads were
not and when surh one has realized the vast III
crease of this trade let him examine the back rouu-
Try for which the merchants Of those cities have be-
eoal" factors. and compare it with the back country
IL resources aud people their wants aud haots.
which like improvements ON this side would connect
tItis then he III beoin IN nrrerive what rnom u q