The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-04-18
Reputation.

able 20 extrlcate herself from her pecunlary
difficulties, and it is feared, in some quarters,
that Virginia will fail to meet her obligations
At meeting of the Democratic party, in
Louisa county, in the latter State, Colonel
Voolfolk came out openly rrepudiation.-
His speech is thus reported in the Richmond
Whig.
"Col. Voolfolk avowed himself the infex-
ible opponent of all further appropriations
for internal improvements-spoke feelingly
of the grievous weight of the taxes and the
distresses of the people, and-would you
think it deliberately declared that he was
in favor of repudiatioa ! He said that the
prices of produce were going down, and
would continue to fall lower and lower, and
the people would be compelled to repudiate,
or submit to the alternative of starvation"
These views are not reprobated by the
Wing At does not endorse the doctrine Of
reputation, yet like the Enquirer, it believes
that Virginia is so deep in debt as to require
"exorbtant taxation" or outside help. The
public works pay nothing, and it is believed
that they will bring no relief hereafter. In
deed, if the reports of these journals are to
credited, the money spent by the State on
these works has been almost fruitlessly
wasted
Virginia is declining. The old portions of
it, especially, are worn out, and have not the
population to revive it. The journals of the
State, directly or indirectly, admit the fact,
and when it is denied, deny it in such way
as to establish it. The Richmond Wing
says: ... --t
We have never, indeed, contended that
Virginia's course was actually retrogressive
that she was really going down hill every
day-that she has made, and is vet making
no progress but we have maintained, and
still maintain, she has declined relatively
that is, she has not at all kept pace with her
sister States and is far inferior in political
power and consideration to what she was
ten, twenty, forty, or sixty years ago. In |
other words. to precisely illustrate our mean
ing, so as TO enable the weakest mind in the |
commonwealth to comprehend it, we may |
compare Virginia with New York in the |
matter of political power, as shown by their |
respective number of representatives in the !
national councils under the present appor- |
tionment and under those preceding. Ac- |
cordng to tie apportionment under the CEN |
sus of 1880. New York, if we mistake not, |
had thirty-four members of Congress, and |
Virginia twenty -three-inaklng difference |
of only ii members between the two States. |
What is the number of each at the present |
time, according to the apportonment of
1852 Why, New York has now thirty-six
members of Congress, and Virginia only
thirteen, making differ nee of twenty-five
members in favor of New York, and show
ing the loss of ten members in Virginia in the
last twenty years, and gain in the same
time, of two for New York We might car
ry out our illustration of the relative decline |
ofEirginia in political power and consequence
by reference to the rapidly progressive con-
dition of many Others of the northern, north
western and western States. But the CON-
parsOn we have instituted between our own
State and New York, in only one particular
point, will suffice to demonstrate what we
mean when we speak OF the decline of Vir-
gina. She has declined-she has gone down
hill with melancholy velocity, as compared |
with many of her sister States and their pro-
gress in population, wealth, material develop |
ment and political power. /
debt taxes taxes -" describes exactly |
the existing condition of the commonwealth |
and people of Virginia. AS State blessed |
with unrivalled advantages, the Enquirer
may well ask "What have we done? What
markets have we built up? What great
thoroughfares have we constructed 2" We
agree entirely with our neghbor, that these
are questions which now direct themselves
forcibly to our interests, and should awaken
us to a sense of our lethargy and indifference
that have characterized our movements; and
we may add to sense of the deep impor-
tance of applying ourselves to the task of
devising the way and the means of building
up our markets and completing our great
thoroughfares. But says the Enquirer, Vir-
ginia is asleep, if not asleep, dragging her
length along so mournfully, so sluggishly,
that the hearts of her most hopeful sons are
gradually sinking deeper and deeper in the
slough of despair. This is all true enough"
This is amusing. 1t will be remembered
with what pomp and display Virginia refused
to receive her share of the land distribution
fund. Now the remedy for her indebted
ness and poverty is to be found in that fund.
"Let us have no increase of taxes, or of debt |
let us get this fund, and new energy will |
be impaired to the State" Commenting on |
these acts, the New York Evening Post |
says:
Thus, according to the Richmond Wing, |
the State Of Virginia can only be extricated |
from her present difficulties by the help of |
the United States Government. The spend |
thrift son has got imselfdeepy in debt and
insists that the old gentleman shall deliver |
over to him his share of what he expects to |
inherit. The politicians who think with the |
Wing are for anticipating that part of the |
revenues of the government at once, and ap- |
plying it to their present needs.
This is a confession ofabsOlute importance. |
Suppose the plan should succeed with Con-
gress and liberal proportion of the public |
lands should be made over to Virginia. A |
large part of it would be wasted, of course
and the remainder applied part towards the |
payment of her debt and part to finish her |
system Of railways. The means of inter- |
course and commerce might be provided, but |
where would be the commerce? To keep |
the railways in order and pr vide for the |
travel and transportation of which they wo'd |
be made the channel, would require large an
nual expenses, which in the present State of |
Virginia, without manufactures, without
large towns, without great marts of COM
merce, and with thii population, more than
one third Of which never travel, and have
few wants which commerce and the arts sup |
ply, would, to dead certainty, far overbal
ance their income.
Virginia has richer fund than the public |
lands of the United States-her own lands |
in her ich valleys, and beside her plenteous
| rivers.
A TERRIBLE LEAp.-A female named Su- |
san Lent, who had decoyed countryrnan |
into an oyster saloon in New York, and af-
ter stnpefying him with drugged liquor, rob-
bed hlm of his watch and money, was ar