The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1857-12-08

sts To provide that public Dc et hersa real con
tracted and interest. shall In iu1"a DC p"'1 N
our AS STs A. ABSTAIN from ss the leg al rate Of
ih,sresf and ron sicr and if ing to gradual
~ .smmntion nf spec,e payJa snts, and to re-
ain ;a - hr.iress In !; the whsle
.u ~ q sa ,ra can carry on all state i'm
urovements OF every kind, py rahsin oei oon'' ~
Nv recommendatiof7s ~ 70 what q IN be and ongh;
TO be done the leading snsseHsu ~ s.oarssI ,nss
tate interest, viii be found III sa"sa u s '
With the highest respect,
Your obedisns seryr Il, wren
Richmond, December 7. 1857
MEssA GE III.
To the Senate and House o. DTie9aIs ese "t"s'a
Assembly of the s. ate Of sfgiaN;
- has NOT h zen for Il ,e want Of rev
srsnce for religion. or that have b sen unmindfu
of Gods providence to our people tnss ! nav,
omitted to Observe the mere form 'hn IN y
executive messages. to ackno' Sisugs DNine uovu
ness have purposely omit vi TO 90 So 1or the
ana raason that have on ev cry occasion wheI
called on by the clergy or otne 20, Ve...e NJ
commend or appoint day of Tn. shk siving. lns
mayor of Alexandria lately addrt 'seo az. 0 Sa..
subject and / returned FLOR ans~ 'er the letter
copy of which is herewith comm on.'cateo. oe
c,ined for che that the state n nave d.
authority or power 90 interpose in ee neious ma.
ters belonging exclusively to private ihulvI9uai
and their Voluntary church organizations. Weart
a christian people. recognizing the cha tiah Ia"
in our baptism, in the naming OF our cAA uiu, -
| the sanction of our oaths, efsund the u 'hhy al
tars in keeping the Sabbath day, in tse "a urts o
| ;nst;ce in our ideas and observsnces OF &C mmor
| morality and decency. in marriages sno In uuIi
| aIs-from the cradle to the grave, IN oos "no,t
lives and laws. But. there is no church es.sa i1n
ment and ought to be none: and there ought pe
NO Modelling of the state with matters or reii9 ION
and faith except to protect and defend the II GO
| dom of conscience and voluntary worship. ana u
| enforce sound morality and common dec ency--
| This hinders us not, but rather sets us lree 20
| praise God in our own way. ANY recommend VAtfou
| of worship from the state or It's oincers In any
| form is to some extent constrant upon the pso
! pIe who have forbidden by their constitution Ihe
| intermeddling with such matters by political o~
/ err Politics and religion ought not, IN any ~
| to be brought into contact. They pollute and se
| stroy each other. Two OF the worst evils OF th
| am not constituted and appointed to handle GOD
holy things, and will not dare hypocrilcaily and
cantir gly to huckster them in the market OF pop
| ularity among men.
| enough to fill two separate messages, now ad-
dress You upon the general and miscellaneous top
| les Of legislation:
The Public Works.
| The various reports of the board and of the su-
| perintendents of public works will show the de
tails of their expenditure and progress and OF their
estimates for the future. My own general views
are fully presented in the accompanying pamphlet,
|
| an his proposition of a line of steamers with
| France | have only to add on the general topic,
that what have endeavored to show respecting
the law of the centres OF trade. bears strongly on
| the policy of expeditng the public works OF the
| commonwealth by all the means in her power. A
centre Of trade /, indtspsably necessary to sare the
cast Of exchange though the balance Of trade be IN cur
fry0r and The cost Of exchange IS nothing compared
NTH he loss ,ncil.ntto the rant of control the
grsat monetary operations Of the country dependent
anon central commercial po,csr. That control is
| what can shut up or open the banks, or contract
| or expand the currency. over the whole country,
| at Measure 1t is that which can play benefcent
or Injurious a conservative or destructive part, ac-
| cordlng to q good or bad administration of com
mercial and financial policy To have that control
rs far as possible at our own command, within the
reach of our own laws in our own limits, is vital
| ly essential 1t would not perhaps, be hyperbolj-
cal to say that the total want OF that control will
cost Virginia more In this one year imam would the
comreton of the Csovington and ONO railroad In
| the next five wears 10 come That control t0Rnot
b. had ,vittout a centrs # trade; and tAat centre #
trade cannot be built np t0iho pu6tc 1ooThS TO bring
q back country 10 some point Of commerce. This argu
ment alone is sufficient to maintain the whole pol
| lev of state Improvement upon which We have en-
! tered and from which We cam now recede with
ant l.,ss Of capitai and loss of character which
! would ::ot = crrGt1 lie in any respect.
| The creates line of Virginia by far, Is her James
| river and kanawlia canal. Its practicabiity,
| through the Allegheny chain OF mountains, no one
| doubts who has any pretensions TO science. The
| a la
| the problem; and intelligent officer would ad-
NIT that il is any other question than one merely
| of means end of time. The history OF the canal
and of its disasters and OF Its cost 10 the state and
to privste ckholders is too voluminous to
| up0n here But in spite Of every obstacle aud all
| opposition and though it lie no" out OF funds and
out Of credit in It's present incomplete state, IL
| may be fearlessly pronounced TO De a successful
| work. in the sense that its Importance and its
| practicabiIity are demonstrated. 1t would this
year have paid the interest upon hts bonds but for
| the uneXampied seasons of the two past winters
The report of its very able and efficient presiding
officer will show that its affairs have been we'll
managed; and the company have again resolved
upon means of relief which they call upoti me 70
present to the Legislature With earnestneAs, ana
acting under strong sense of justice to nuo cent
! stockholders, who have sacrificed their whole IN
terest for the state repeat the recommendation
which made to the last session, to convert the
whole debt of the company nto-stock for the state
to take its portion of the debt in preferred stock
and sell 000 shares for further construction of
the work. The reason and justice of this set
forth in my previous message, and in the accom-
panying letter from the president of the company.
The work next in primary Importance is the
| CoviIgton and Ohio rail road. submit synopsis
of the progress of the incomplete work, prepared
by its chief engineer. Two millions per annum
can be economically applied to this work, aud at
that rate of expenditure it will take about four or
five wears to complete it. To make that amount
of appropriation may be said to be vain, mas
much as the bonds of the state cannot be sold at
par and no money Cuutd De raised on tnem. IN
answer to this it may be said that if DO money can
be raised, none will be expended. If none be ap-
prnpriated then none could be expended, though
sorae nagt be raised. And, appropriations are to
be made and ought to be made, they ought to be
sufficient to meet any fortunate contingency for
raising and expanding the means to carry on the
work And bonds can be sold and the money can
be raised in part by taking state bonds issued pri-
or to 1852 from the contractors and creditors on
the works, aud sinking them ut par on condition,
as heretofore of the purchase of new bonds at par
, from the state. This will make par to both the
state and the purchaser of bonds, and will pu;
money into the treasury to pay the public creditor,
and make mar all around. Tho accompanying let
ter from the engineer will show how that operation
!, has aided this work. j therefore recommend the
appropriation of at least million and half oil
dollars TO carry the construction of this work
as speedily as possible. And, in view of the pres
ent financial difficulties, hesitate about recon-.
mending any other appropriation to pubic works
| at the present time. But we have reached the
Tennessee line with our South western rail road
and that work has every prospect of profit and OF
being completed in the next year to Memphis
And call the attention of the legislature to the
importance of n branch of this great work through
the Cumberland gap, connecting with the Ken
lucky works. and terminating on the Ohio at it:
| mouth, as illustrated by a map aad memorial
touching Kentucky city, at the mouth OF the Ohio
| river and the reserve which Virginia made there
, | when she coded the territory of the state. The
| Memphis road completed through Tennessee; th.
| Cumberland gap road branching to the interInedi
ate West; aud the CoviBgton and Ohio road I'm
ished to the MOI thwestwe will have nearly all ol
the most essential of the connections needed witt
the ohio valley and the back country beyond
| And by completing the South side To Norfolk ant
connecting the Dauvie road with the works O
North Carolina and finishing the York river road
will have the moet essential southern aud las.
II