Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-03-09

AssS-zs9f5
F3rG.; G:s.i,ss.
s-. rd:.--,t seq in ;acS paper .! The 18th
~. ,i.,ter, addressed by jams LyGn. 10 mes-rs
Dan Isvnr. NAV, aud Carpenter: And deeply "a
.has. p.n;erl-n az. Ir-r-"nr!y Interested, IN th~
com,l.,nu of th. Canal 10 Cnvngton. They csnno
.. .r,i!iu,, II; liz Wal. ct foundation, and ri 'iiA
;i.a nj hnpsy tncsiirg a Legislature, by the IA
tsnts of such letter. Measuring IN. firsrcia nAhg
., IN. Company aud Stale, 10 carry On thl' WORK H.
Iiir.r. fr,rn nj Others WIN have been writing on We
results of this great and glorious IN orossmrns 10 Ia
,,rond old Commonr'ath 10: IA, last sixty years-and
| re eqds n Cnvingron. :,
He saya If this conversion bill, sS it's caad shorih
| pass the company will ba ahs 70 e1psnd towards lis
completion, annusly SloO, QUO iptovIdad We nave no
re-hetsl and, that two aud hail m'lilone Win 'e
sGiS 7OU already expended, will complete It to Gov
nyiou. Has the gentleman ever seen, even TWO
nile. of the country, through which It passst'
h. ever taken the trouble to look at the mnn OF to
| James RIVER mai, and that. in tho " mliss
bs.yaaa Ruclisnan and Coviugton there is 13l fee'
,f elevation TO verconel that il enters the mouuains
At Buchanan and hes 10 be locked, ia'ned, tunne!ea
aud built around cliif. a. every s:ep'
| Think if the gsnt5naa had taken the t:ono'e' nc
niyhr have made more accurate estimate. rs say :
| th,, Canal TO Buchanan, cost SlG,0OO,O OU. Now
srgy..t tina. If 1881 miles. overcoming sn elevation
| Of rs feet with $50 miles OF comparatively hgnt
work, including what had been previnnao , G0ne uy
hs Cd James River Company, cost Sl6,OOo uoo wnnt
will be the cos: of AZ miles, with an elevation Oh 'oi
feet and that the hardest work ever under,aktu III
the United States THAT am aware oil mi D ame
gentleman undertake rs complexion iof 20 oooo'"'
and nav land damsges1 If he were to see the country
iond hs ought To have il, for he ID directory
n.rhaps he might want s70O0,0O0 and if there ars
any more North River improvements to buy out, to
,s the trade every ton OF which legitnatey belongs
to them, or any more Jackson improvements 10 max e
| am no, sure that the gentleman would like to take
| il, even al the latter sum.
| The bill should il pass, would nave an ina''!lua
merit, al lea-t. Ii would keep III au organization
yL0Fa
after lengthy Argument about tne con'titu'ionni'y
| ,f ,he hill and great deal Of t0urlshinR
about the patriotism and wisdom OF ABANDON
iny this CREST work, he very trlunphantiy says:
Ask tire man who Objects 10 me NIL oecaus.
the stock is low in the market, what he believes would
be i,s price If rod within year after an effective
guarantee 20 complete the work 10 Coving;on IN
three years; and If he is cute, as well as Candid ne
will answer you instantly five times proaao!y, lt'
nr-sept value" Now sir, | an plain man, and dt
not profess to be cute, lawyers are the cute iolks
but can make figures; and If you sink $lo,ouo ooo
ami render il wholly proi:lcs' III carrying your cana
to Buchanan, where you top the great 'alsy on Sir
uin;s thu richest portion OF the siate' anu HHike
that nn;nt IN. only great natural feeder the Who'll.
linz Of Improvement between Richmond and he Ohlt
river and YOU add TO that from OUO,ooO 10 'oooUo
more which you trsLy sink. aye ten iod' 10 carry
te Canal into the mountains end stop II There Wner'
won have no feeder, tuners the Covington ana ON,
ltairsad be made,l | coEi-ss ain not ci'e enousf
10 s-e how the stock is 10 be eihanced IA va'us oy u
| an /
yuur calculations basad on the snpposition ina
ihe Canal i, TO end at Covngton. Now air, If yot
renliy know any thing of the country between Buc
hanan and Covington 90 you really believe that 'hs
tonnage between these points would Yield enough
tos 10 nav the lock keepers for II you Will take ths
tronbs 10 look YOU will see there 81, besides tht
guard iocks which three or four believe. Oh no
Mr. Lyons you will have to tax your cuieness to nut
out some other experiment, to get back Tor Inc S'ae
her SS873 925 80. Ii cant be done ny carrying ln'
| ~ I nix hGr
clearly that to carry the CANA 20 Covin2ton would
only sink your Canal into utter a:d hopeless rum
Yon will have added. must cOniend, not less ta'
Sc 600 600 10 the SlG 600 OO already expended ot
will hAy. AZ miles more of canal 10 keep up and from
its being made in the gorges Of the mounfhns, III
ba 10 constant and great damages from treshels
which will 30 a constant drain upon the balance o
the Canal, TO keep il III repair
If Won have "a, led 10 make il profitable by tapping
the great Valley of Virginia where You should hay
had the tonnage from the mighty South West, how d.
You expect 10 pay by carrying it iGtO he mountain
and stopping il there, 10 be ted, you say, CT
at my elbow has just suggested that il took four goo
hcrses 10 coach, to haul him across the mountains
few dGyh since.
Has il never occurred TO you that by sinking tn
large amount it would DC necessary 10 xpend IN con
st.ucting the canal TO Coviaxtu, .h-0ugh country
and 10 a point, where there IL comparatively htl
tonnage 10 la got. (unlesa you get 10 the Oho lha
ycu impose perpetual tax, on ali arlic rs shipped o.
tho y. zen, Cauall Aud IT you will take the troubl
10 refer TO th cid books of som. of your commission
merchants you will lad that there is very little differ
enc- between The freight ala! tolls now paid on TIT
Canal, aud that paid by the old battaE1 you will b.
astnunded to find, that -four has been shipped from
Buchanan 10 Richmond. at ~ cents per bbl, ant
ousans of barrels at g.. cents, and produce at
eta DER lUG aud salt and tsh, back at fifty cts pr
bbl aud ark, and merchandise a, 40 cts On the cana
tn. toll on Dbl OF -four is AZ cts, and freight 10 CITE
making il cost u and on articles paying" cts pr t"I
| nd rSiuh, n
making 81 cents Aud remember that now you ST,
ecarcely competing with the Rail Road, It equal dis
tances from -iihar Improvement. ~ hrs, when yot
were told of this you sad II was the novelty OF TN
Rail Road that carried people off, but the novelty
l:iil continues With this view ofhe sab ct can yot
ST IRA i2 increase your tolls
You .pe.k of the capacity OF Canal over:a Raj
road must conf-ao cam see that either. where there
grn great many Locks ! have shown that hetwsrr
Buchanan and Cbvlngon there are 10 or a. locks with
the gaurd ocss, i: will take ordinarily 5GEutes t
ps.s boat through lock with the u'Ds dispatch
aay 10 minutes, and to pass through 40 uexs will 70
CURE hours and ~ minutes Now, t.sn Of cars
would run it twice with its hundreds Of t1ls, whilst
beat would be passing through the locks: md the dk
tscce would be much less by Railroad than by Canal
Now sir, you have two alternatives lett. If you
eau raise S3U,OsOOOO in money. and 1t ba practca
BILE to carry your we!e- line across the mountains to
the Ohio, 90 ahead. But II not act like wise men
and abandon your canal where il -. Sink no more
money in trying make what has already 2r5ven io
be failure; and try make what you bavs finished
profitable, by doing what aagacious, Practical men
! would long c.nce have done. Expend your surplus
$3.50 COO for threa years, in making railroad from
Buchanan to the Big i.icS or Salem. which can al
:nnsr be made in direct lite with scarcely curve
and n maximum grade, Of not exceeding " feet 10
tn mile. Then go for what Virginia must Ultimately
20 fcr trunk line OF railroad up the walls? @! :iie
jams River rom Richmond To Covingtou, with a
FIVE foot gaug- aud making that por ion OF it, frat,
from LynchtuIg to CoviDs,on, which will be short
or than tn Central Railroad, viii. they cay maxi.
mum grade of l6 feet to the nile Then your stock
will BIZ enhanced in value, and you will tGen he We a
connection betw en- the Ess: and West, that will
eompets successfully with oil ether routes railroad
would be rnsds made at half the cost end in hall
the time which is All important element.
| COMMON SE.sR.