Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1857-05-15
From the Parkersbarg News.
Tried and Found Wanting.

It has often been said, and is generally
admitted, that promises. though easily
made, are often unsatisfactory. This
ltruth is .exemplii fed ost.strikingl in the
case ofothe Land Division Schemesof Mr..
Carlile. Never, were more fattering
promises made for any project, and ineyer
we're any more comp letely Elusive The
following extract, is taken from Mr. Car.
lilies circular. to his stituentsi aands is
Intended as atbrief summing up Of the
Immense, advantages which are to ensue
from the action, OF his bill to the State dof
Virginia; e.t - -, e
.:There is now left ten hundred and
Iseyenty.seyen millions, nine hundred and q
eighty>three thousand FIVE hundred and
Ithirty-four, acres. Yousare entitled toaat
least sixty millions of these acres. which,
at1the government price Iofs s$li25s per
acre, would put into your state treasury
seyenty,iye millions of dollars. ebiThis
would pay your debt and leave you forty
million dollars to complete your public
works now going TO decay-enablelyon TO
construct others, and provide a perpetual
fund for the education of every child IN
the Commonwealth" .tua ,sli "a
Never, we think, were more splendid
promises made than these. II, only re-
mains to be shown that they are reliable,
and that such fne theory will prove its
correctness by practice But, let ous see
whether we would be right in trusting
implicitly, in the promised result, before
we consign the old COMMEMORATIVE des'
tiny, entirely into the hands of Mr.! Car
lie. r s ao3sd a.sb bqF
In the FIRST place before alwheehcan be
started on this inclined plane ofsprosperi!
liz, it would be necessary TO have these
| lands sold 10 some one and their equiya-
lent in money received. A moments
consideration will convince every one
that The entire amount could. notabe, sold
Immediately, nor, in fact, before there
was demand for them, nor would the
division OF them among the thirtyfone
States create any greater demand, OF
make the sales any larger. than at pres
ent. 1t remains, then, to be seen how
much would probably be sold. and what
the consequent receipts would be.
The only safe criterion TO judge Of the
future, would be the sales and receipts Of
the past. BY referring to the Secretary
Of the Interiors report, we end that the
average nett receipts from the land sales
for the last eight years have been Eve
millions Of dollars a year. Now Suppo
sing each State would sell an equal q uan
tity. this would give Virginia $I6l. 900 g
year for her portion. But allowing that
Virginia would sell twice what her pro
portion would heretofore have been, thil
would give her but $322. $50 year. GU
of which (aecording to Mr.. Carlle,) yor
are "to pay your debt aud leave you for
ty million dollars to complete your public
works now going to decay-enable you
to construct others. and provide perpe
tual fund for the education Of every chile
in the Commonwealth" a.h 3d|
o. Remembering that under the most ia
vorable circumstances Virginia would no
sell over $50. 900 worth Of her lands
and then considering what Mr. Carlil,
has told the people could be done will
these lands. if,they were divided, we nov
come to consider whether his promise
can possibly be realized. He first plainl,
asserts that these lands would liquidat
our State debt. which is thirty.fve, mil
lions Of dollars. The interest on which i
over two-millions. or about siz times AHA
the receipts frouaitte lands could possibly be
under the most favorable circumstances
Trusting TO Mr.. Carlile's proposition. ant
approprialing nothing but the public
lands to pay our debt. we find that b,
kthA time they would all be sold, which
would be in not less than one hundred
and fifty years, our debt would amour
10 over thirty>six thousand millions o.
dollars 7a8u!
Mr.. Carlile's promises extend next L
the building of general system Of rail
roads out Of the residue Of this none,
which was TO have been left after paying
the State debt. He also was 70 hav1
created perpetual fund for the education
of every child in the Common wealth.-
And yet the whole sum we would receiv,
would not more than keep one hundred
miles OF railroad in repair, without consid
ering the completion of.those commenced
or the construction Of Others. AS e
schooling the children. or creating a. func
forithat purpose, when we consider thai
the State pays out at present 10 haven't,
charity scholars taught the rudiments al
much as thelands would bring inthat ap.
plication OF Mr.. Carlile's promises is IND.
mediately classed with the others, d a9e
We might go on to test Mr.. Carlile,t
unfortunate promises, and depict the stat
OF affairs that would universally exist, az
ter practical trial Of the absurd scheme
but il is unnecessary. We might show
that Virginia's citizens would be com
PEELED to pay out in the increased tariff
on imported goods which it would be ne,
eessary TO impose in order TO. make nj
the deficiency caused by distribution. Al
least two dollars Tor every one the distri.
button would place in the Treasutyj--