Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1857-05-15

tlntH OF Europe na,ty
After th- expiration of the FIVE years eaeh par wy
will be q: liberty, respectively, to cont, lnq%cr ~"
vice.
RICHMOND, Va, Nov.7, 1856.
Franco. american Trans.Alantic Navigation ''"'
r. r..,,o .uar;csp Trans Atlantic Navigation ion
C,mn,ny. organized with capital OF le,U ..' ,nm
francs no.sesses eight iron screw steamers VIZ,
mage varying from 1000 to $500, and 'oU hosaH GOV
er three Of which employed by the fren' - Sr
srnr,eut in Transporting troops and munit'on' snr
emf. They are nnw dspossble. Two others, o. oJ
tons burden ard 800 horse power, are on lne nor,
at Nantes, aud will be ready for service cary
year. ~ ,;o with Rio
II has already established monthly line WIN d d y
Janeiro se,ni-monthy line with New lm m,sms .
about establishing third line with Ne" W :,
The many consultations that Messrs' u"uh ano had
theirs, principal directors OF the coup""J, of Viz
with NJ. de Lacouture, regarding the ~ ha,isve
ginia and her border States, induces u ;na % the
that in short time line OF steamers ",ao ~
watsrs Of the Che,apeaks will develop the cole'ce
and industry of that part of the cehla' o ~. t
the Union and will offer an immense o'''''' " INV
agricultural products OF the country. ,..- of tho
They have read with deep n Ssn,smbsr 1852 and
that of Daniel Il. London Esq, ado.esseu ~ ~ 10
Lacouture; and being convinced that lne
al reports with France would augni9Hs 90
give new impulse to the State OF Virginia 'hey u".
interssted Themselves in her prosperity, anu nave
add in tbs formation of the Franco Alemande emit
Grafton and colonization company, founded by M. dc
Lacouture. ,..., .a,,;no
They are disposed to open Immediately nsvlga.
ton line with Norfolk or any otner pnns .;, VIZ
gnis company that will furnish onehaii the neces.
snry material or they will undertake the
of the line ALONE; but the present STATE OF o
the southern States will not permit mem 10 nope na,
,he Commercial traffic will be sufficient for the present
70 sunnort the line and render aJus remuneration ioi
,ba cnntal invested by the company.
r. AZ stated to Mr.. London by NJ. de Lscousure in
bis report of nth September 1852, the common"esn
of Virginia will consent 10 pay the sum OF twenty nve
thousand dollars per voyage, the Franco. American
comnany will engage to establish monthly service
commencing first September next, between NorioiS
and Hnvre or Nantes.
II this proposition should appear to Mr.. Mason aus aus
ceptible ofbeing approved by the government o. Fr
yina il will be- put in proper form and addressed tt
the Governor Of Virginia.
A copy of the above was delivered to MIR. Mason
minister at Paris.
RICHMOND, Va, April II, 1857.
| To +. LAcnuruRE, ESa.
SIR: Your memorial 10 the Governor of Virginia
of the 7tb November lest, has been duly CONSIDERED
| and have now the honor of communicating toru'a
| reply. r yy;..;,;o
and the causes which have influenced or husclen |!
results, need to be explained and understood. IL !
not wonderful that they are go misuhdefsoou "o'ou
,hs, s,ranpsrs should err about our interest, willis
mr. own peope have neglected to e'eral2e the TACT
of our history, and our neigh6ors III the sister state
of the oonfederacy have not failed to make a prom
ont of The anomalies Of modes of life, and at thu
ssms time to msrepresen. our industrial character.
In tbe first place | call your attention To the fac
that our first settlers all planters, and the earies
interest of our people was plantation anterest.-
This was something more characteristic than an az
riculturdl interest simply. 1t was an occupation
land in very largs extent, by liberal propretors, WHIT
| cultivated staple crops OF tobacco grain and cotton
| by slave operatives, whom they were encouraged b)
Great Britain to import from Africa, during the whole
| time of our colonial existence. This IN itself wa
opposed to the concentration of capital and popuia
ton necessary to generate trade and conmsrce.
| At the same time the mother country discouraged
the navigation and commercial interest OF sl the col
onies aud monopolized the carrying trade almost en-
| tirely to herself.
Again: Looking at the map of Virginia, you SCI
| the whole Atlantic low lands watered by the Poto
| mac the Rappahannock, the Piankatank, the river
of Mohiack bay, the York, the James and the Roam
oke, streams rising in the great Appalachian chaln
mountains and running few miles only apart iron
each other in parallel lues from west to east and al
of them except last emptyng into the grand reser
voir of the Chesapeake bay, which entirely cuts of
the main eastern peninsula. Thus all the eastern anc
first settled part of the territory found naturally
divided into no less than seven distinct peEineulas
separated from each other by eight considerable DO
dies of navigabe waters. Up all these waters th'
tonnage of Great Britain came and found facilities o
! shipment everywhere, deep water, Wharfage and &C
feasibility to navigation up to the very steps OF th
| Blue Ridge of the AleghanleS.
| This also tended to dffuse population and capital
and prevented the concentration OF either at any ont
point TO form city for purposes oi commerce.
Every plantation found landing ct iis own fields o.
near in s neghbOrhood. and but a ship load had Il
he collected at any one locality. such was the oonye
uience To and from market Of the earliest settlements
in Eastern Virginia.
Arsin: When population moved westward, il
crossed the Blue Ridge mountains into a rich nnr
beautiful valley running north and south, which ha
no natural oust but at it's northern terminus in GU
limits and it had pour its products out Of our mar
into those of the adjoining State OF Maryland, at tn,
head of the Chesapeake bay. And when 1t crossed
the next and parallel ridge Of the Aleghanies, set
tied upon rivers flowing westward into the great BASH
of the Mississippi, ana had to send ts products BY
the Monougahsls aud the Guyandote and the two
Kanawhas and the Sandy, to float on the Ohio, Il
build up Pittsburg and Cincinnati and New Orleans
cities Of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Louisiana.
| Thus by every geographical and geological cause
were our people segregated into separate communi
ties, and divided from each other and all mutual com
| mercial dependency. Thus, at the beginning, frou
the character of their settlers and interests, aud
their operatives in labor, from the nature OF their va
rous territory from both physical convenience an
| necessity the habitudcs of our people were formed
anti commercial. They grew up planting and pure
ly pastoral people, segregated and isolated IN wa
and capital to the building Of cities and OF ships, an
TO the encouragement of the mechanic arts, all de
pending upon commerce.
Again: Besides these causes, great oceanic caus
| compelled the concentration Of commerce. at New
York, a. long as SAILS have been the motors by sea
The icebergs of the Arctic and the Trade winds q
the Tropics and the Gulf stream have made current
Of water and Of air defined in their course ant
limits that whether ship sail from Florida cape
Barnegat, from Chesapeake bay or Newfoundland
banks, che has TO take the same otilng and pursu
the same track over the seas, TO make the qulckes
trip to Liverpool or Havre. If she veers Fraction
of degree too far North, she is in mlsts and storm
and floating ce and if too far South, she is in bathing
currents Of air and water t. delay and endenger he
| passage. The great turnpike over the Atlantic l
about degree and half in breadth, with New Yorl
at the Wesern and Liverpool at the Eastern end o
the way. The laws Of Insurance. and OF time IL
trade, then, made New York the importing and ex
porting point of the Atlantic front OF the American
continent until steam has interposed to defy bans
airs and currents. steam ship can now lay straigh
scross South of the old sailing line in latitrdes com
paratively much safer, from Norfolk better than from
| New York. But am speaking OF the past aud il
| the past there was no competition from this caus
alone with New York No fact can better illustrate
this than the rivalry OF Philadelphia with New fori
for commercial supremacy. She had more capita
than New York, higher commercial character, va
the centre for many years Of the financial means
government, and lacked neither ambition nor enter
prise to contend for the mastery but she was Obliged
| to yield Her ship would get TO the cspes of Des
ware, whilst the competing New Yorker, beaten per
haps on the way turned in, direct to port and hat
out her shipping lists whilst the Philadelphia shiE
was slowly beating up swan neck channel. TIL,
two days delay determined the struggle. Philsdel
pha had to withdraw from the contest, became
distributing point for New York importaiions, ant
sagaciousIy turned her capital to manufacturing
And get she has not gone behind hand, nor hare we
By not Struggling against natural and uncontroabh
causes. She has Ceased comparatively 10 import
bnk >hr has rGiRsd and not lot {hrrsbg and thus fd
so hare ire In this We have done wisely and we'll
and this will try to show.
BY the operation of these causes We have begur
and kept ourselves an agricultural people, producer
| OF the material, relying manual labor il
mining and manufacturing and the mechanic arts I,
the concentrated population and capital and skill o
other people. And thereby We have lost nothing
the world has gained grent deal, and We have full
filled mi ghty destiny In the moral and political field