Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1857-03-17
THE RICHMOND ENQUIRER.
BY RITCHIE. & DUNSAvANT.
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MORNING. MARCm ~, 1857.
COLONIZATION IN VIRGINIA.

IN fiN'rI.>'-h'
The project of an exodus Of immigrants from Inc
North into Nirgnia, for the purpose oi rede'm'"s
rorn ous lands, resasci:asac fhc energies o! onf
people, and advancing the commercial, m""y0t'"r'
ing, moral and agricultural! iute,es al ctr STATE
has heretofore ELECTED no notice from US b"' Il" II
has been warmly canvassed by several OF our "''S'
prominent ootempuraries Of the southern press "'
rs our seGce on the subject might he Construct INV
unqualified approval or acquescen'e Ill INC pa"
proposed, We induced 10 refer to H. ra'hr' "'
account CT the Importance attached 10 il IN ae Norm
as movement against the institutions ci the S"uth'
and the interest il l,ay have evoked through me
agency of our jourrss, than with regard u 1"!
merits or denerits it may practically possess
The plan or r'ot we believe, il 20 buy up on u
grand scale, hundreds and thousands perhaps h'
lions OF acres Of land in Virginia, with al eFpec'"
eye to the Eastern section Of tho Stale 10 h'toa"
free white laborers i'll lieu ci our negro s'a'es "'
thus to develop the resources that have so ''"R ""
dormant to fell the forest and iructIiy ms so'' W
tunnel The mountains erect railroads, cut caia'' W
turn the farms upside dgrn and ou5 whole system o
society cronsside ou,; ard /; may be, too, TO diver
cur great rivers into other channels aud iu'uce hr
Atlantic ocean to come up closer 10 the c7n''e "
the State. As IN appends;a 70 these "''p's,"S
improvements, gigantic undertakings a"" "'
comparable advantages to accruc from ms u"n'
fer Of thousands Of acres OF ths va Do"'h'""
domain to Northern colonstE Ii may as" De possibly
dreamed OF as secondary considera"h' eo''"'e'" d"
consequence of some slight signitcanc--'o elbow
the institution OF slavery OUT OF inc o'a'e' '""
serve that Northern journals are qho''h2 anu e"u'
men,inp on Southern sentiment on this suJec "hich
an is somewhat contradictory and con-
Aictnp. Some Of our contemporaries have denounced
tha ,nov.meut in unmessured terms. while there
ara others who manifest disposition 10 encourage
rather than deter this immense ;mmlg's'oh VI "'''"
ern caui,aists provided, OF course that they come
with tie determination 10 become quietly lncorpora
ted into our society ami with Willingness TO enlist
under our institutions.
Hi,bou, meaning 70 ding defiance in the face OF
Abolitionism, disguised, as an enemy 100 li.n'u'
too mean and too me1cenary to appreciate pa'rioisn''
or opposition arising from impulses o. pfiue' We
have 10 besrson in saying, that We are !aclneo 70
concur With those Of oar cciemporsrits VINO nave
arrayed themselves in uucompyomalng antagoh'Sm
IN tni, .cheme for the 'reie rtsuscil6ton and re-.
obstacle TO the settlement IN midst, OF citiz
from tho North, who TO with feelings o! fra
tsrna friendship, With secret auitnoai,ies against
our institutions, sinister desigus upon our dones
tic happiness and pence but because We think we
see the stleto OF the assassin under the gsrb OF the
shepherd because We thiDk this man Of Peace this
husbandman with bis axe aud plough. lie an incendis.
rY in Disguise because think detect the devil
in the vestmeut. Of friend
That eucE lodSmeut amopgst rs, Cor The pretended
purpo,e of making money, BY the legitimate avo-
cation. Of industry gu; with an ultimate aim at The
extinction OF slavery, he. been, aud perhaps Is sill!
seriously contemplated by the sslu:r .rch.aends-tLe
underground operators Of abolitionsm, have lit
tie or no doubt. They e.e now adrotly engaged in
making observations from distance, 10 ascertain the
charac;e. Of tbs coast before hcy ti;snpt to up
prosch IT, Their journals discussing the schc me,
a. great project ;c- The development Of
Of Virginia, the ircs!cusbs Increase OF he, products,
and the nestina6ie enhancement Of the Yslue Of her
lands. And thus endesvuriug 10 ds!ade u, By pa.n
ding the plough he loom and the anvil as ;ei. en-
bl-m and Insignia they auxously wait the effect OF
their proposition upon our prupe to ascertain If tss
b
SEE II the bait Of siided poison is swallowed, if the
wooden Sorse would be admitted into Troy. II 1e
rgh, in our ,uspciop., It i. deep laid plot wo7.
thy the heat Of Horace Greeley ard the head o.
VIM. Ii. Seward. And the, the Thing 10 wha, we
take it 20 be- aboionism with tie crook aud axe the
plough and scythe the devil in Disguise, We have
reason to in!s from the peculiar politics Of its psrops
and friends.
That pulitica! chameleon, the New York Herald,
has espoused It frou! |hs outset, with warmth ant
zeal, seldom rsgectipg in Ito essays the subject
to indulge in specuiaons on the decline and fall Of
slavery 10 Virginia through the instrunenta'i,y o!
freesoil settler. in climate which does not demand
negro labor, Indispensable element of opera
tons. That journal became noted fer and wide, 10
the late Presidential campaign, for its ardent advo.
cacy Of the cause of the abolition candidate. And
since !hen thought it has tempered lie tone Of viruent
opposition to the SOUTH 1t seems at last TO
upon one fixed principle Of action and 'ha. is firm
decided unceasing an,sgonism 10 ths institutions OF
slavery, no: manifested In angry inveclive or naana
abuse bu, in en- unremttiug effort 10 disparage cir
cumscrbe, and sufocate it with the outside pressure
Of free labor.
Is it reasonable to suppose that the New York Her.
aid wonld feel such an interest in the enterprise sm
ply for the sake Of the "reseners.ion of Virginia
That its sympathiss would be no deeply enlisted in
other mems fortunes, unless coma cherished nrnject
Of its own was involved Those who are mos, IA
miisr with Its history will be enabled 10 answer hest
The New York Ersniag Post, is another anxiou.
observer of the event of this experiment on the con
hdence and credul!'y of the people of Virginia. Al
faro olln 70 fnoo /
different sections of the State it says:
On ths whsle, however the plan of bringing out
the resources Of Virginia. raiainy the value Of :s
lands infusiDg life into s stagnsnt commerce. and
enabling it 10 sustain il. lines internal commuca-
ton, by inviting the migration Of onterprising men
from more popuous S'atee, s kindly received. Those
who now talk nf hanging the emiyranis will find
that their plan s not approved by three large classes
Of persons who wish To see their lands bear
better price in the MAJ ket-those who are tmbar
rassed and must se-and those who have An interes,
in keeping up their railways which, without the aid
of an increased population and trade, must usvita
bly,, ere long, be Abandoned and the kot grass al.
lowed to grow over the rails.
There is something superlatiyey 5sro.comic TO
every Yirginian, in such talk this, which mus, ex
cite the risibiity of many, the apprehension Of none
The idea of a horde OF adventurous Yankees
overruning the Old Dominion, buying up her lands
and pushing her "coored population into the Missis
sippi and Red River, and all to prevent our people
from starving, to "resusca;e' our worn out lands
and keep the grass from growing over our railways
smuses US as much as the nonsense of the clown en-
tsr.ans email boys at a circus. Thesc people are ac
sraly ignorant OF the condition of Virginia as The
inhabitants OF Ethiopia. The worn out lands which
they propose to purchase and rsgeuerae, are pro-
duc:ive a, any other portion Of the American cont.
rent, and, as consequence, they not only command
very higb price in market already. but they ore
apprecia,ng end advancing in value daily.
Their propristors are generally gentlemen, either
Of ease end auence, or at least, independent in tho
acquisitions of thel. honest industry, attached to