Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-10-20
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.


Richmond Enquirer of yesterday, in an int or
estiDg and able article on the necessities of the
times, seems to imagine that the Legislature
soon to meet at Richmond, will decline to tax
the people of the Old Dominion to an extent
sufficient for the continuance of the,work on the
half-fnishcd public works in which the State
Is pecuniarily interested, unless by and throu Oh
the levy of a tax on the oysters taken from the
= waters of the State for sale without her bound
aries for the most part, and some plan of insu-
rance by which the State Treasury is to become
an insurer. OF this last scheme we know moth
ing of the other We feel very sure that Vir-
glnlans themselves will pay, per capita, the
largest prOpOrtionate share of the tax, insomuch
as they are the most inOrdinate oyster eaters
in the world.
That scheme may be a fair and Just one. for
we have not yet had occasion to examine wheth-
er 1t would tend to lessen tie revenues of the
citizens of the State to an extent likely to in
Jure her moro than the tax collected would ben
eht her, that being the only question the Leg
lslature may legitimately consider in deter
mining whether it will be prudent or not to Law
such an excise duty on catching the delicious
eSculentS.
! But we have to take issue with the Enqnirer
upon the subject of the aggregate of taxation
Pald by the people of Virginia. We arc no
beilever IN the idea that the taxes of Virginia
have been and are high. Were her people in
debt the case would be different They are
very generally forehanded, however, and not
one in one hundred of them know Of the exist
ence OF the current commercial troubles from
m moi FOL
never yet felt taxation as it is realized else
where, and are able and willing to save the
State investments by paying, in the shape of
state taxation, every dollar that may be neces-
ssry to continue the work on her leading lines
OF Improvements. Unless that be done. her
securities, which depend to so remarkable an
extent on their speedy completion for their her
securities) value in markets outside of her
limits, VIII, IN twelve months, be worthless
She Will thus dishonor her own credit abroad.
All the business world know that only by
steady perseverance to the completion of State
enterprises of the sort have States of the Union
that have entered on extended systems Of inter
nal improvements, been able to redeem their
finances from the shocks such as that which
now threatens the financial affairs Of the Old
Dominion Whenever they have wavered they
only have been the losers by that course on
their part, and the moment they have again
put their shoulders to the wheel their stocks
have risen in the market
Look at Pennsylvania. For years the CRY of
over taxation to complete her public works pre-
vented the levying of the necessary taxes to
that end During that time she was classed
with the most odious of all the regulators, and
her fair name was a by-wOrd of rcproscb
throughout the civilized world. Better coun-
sells eventually prevailed in her affairs. and her
people were taxed to point sufficient for the
completion Of her internal improvement sys
tenn which, through its completion, has placed
her as state IN the most enviable condition
twill not be extravagant to say that the CON-
pletlon OF her system Of internal improvements
has quadIupled the value of every acre Of land
IN Pennsylvania That the completion of Vir
glnia system is to do as much for the interests
OF her substantial citizens, we doubt not. A.
Tar as constructed, we know that it has already
so resulted, and our experience teaches that
such Is to be the result to the end. We are not
believers that an intelligent representative Of
any county of Virginia can fail to satisfy his
constituents that 1t is for their interest to bear
all the taxation possibly necessary at this time
to prosecute the construction of all the State
works now under way
RUSSIA AND THE UNITED SrArZs-Tbo
Pe"H5yfraHr0R, in a recent article, publishes
many facts bearing ON the present condition and
future OF the Russian navy, &c, Of no little in
tereSt In this country, if but from the fact that
that Government is accustomed to resort to the
United States for her imported steamships.
1nere Is no reason. by the by, why American.
should not be employed in the management Of
steamboats, on the rivers of Russia. We feel
very sure that no others would do as much for
the development Of the capacities of the INLAND
waters Of Russia for steamboating purposes as
Our own steamboat-men can do Would il not
DC wen Tor the Russian Minister to suggest IN
MS government the plan Of having river steam
ers nuilt In Russia by Americans. on an Amer.
lean model and to employ a sufficient number
OIL Americans TO manage two or three of them
rs they manage steamboats, here, by wav o,
giving their system of river navigation bv
steam fair start upon the best plan known IA
10 the civilized world
The following is the article from the Penn
SFirHHfGH to which we refer:
,INckkAsE OF RUSSIAN NAyY-PRosPEcrs FOR
Sr.t - MA'HINIsTs AND SHIP BUILDERS
@ russian war eOryettes (screw steamers)
@ - Noh>'dntlnOple on the HIh of September
yxbich .". Wy 20 the Euxine. The correspondence
CShveys this information saw, that tbe
roacar, meet In that sea- far as steam power il
tbs y,,r u already stronger than il was before
NJ val a, The treaty of Paris has becoms ~
lciPated dead letter, i'm rrsnec, 80 ,t az
o,bnr ,."i 81 The Russian navy and i'm manv
the navy r. treat activity is displayed IN
sIread' raIus on the Black Sea The y,xs.i.
ton y iannched and those under cons,Tnc
20 h.. mad war vessels, OF built in a manner
est time no.sitfe i"r war purposes In the short.
,.-;u ~ i,o>sibIe- Ia less than twelve noo,.h
S,tio Tue meet be raised thai was san. ~ ,hI
70 'hnjI,, 81 oe1aStopol- This Stronghold Too &c
i,noot,g the Shafts of KeTteh and many OIL -,
tptdht points are to he provided viii yo",.s
on an im nhlen works, no doubt will he executed
acquired by the Cars engineer dn,f
"ie Seige Of ssbastoPol. The steamers .ns