Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-06-04
RESOURCES OF VIRGINIA.

Lynchburg contemporary, the "firginlsn,' upon the
| development of the manufacturing and mining re-
sources Of the State. There is no SUBJECT that de
mands more earnestly the immediate attention OF our
whale p.ople than that of STATE de- }0pmcnt.
Federal politics, and the affairs Of The ''rest oil
mankind" have already occupied too much Of the
| time and attention Of our people. We have devoted
to others that which belonged to ourselves. In our
attention upon affairs beyond our borders, VT have
| sadly neglected things at home. This paper has been
| publishing for some time interesting letters on the
| Internal Resources" &C., Of Virginia, and those who
| have given these letters The attention they have de
served, have been highly pleased with the Information
they contained. 1t will be the continual Effort u this
paper 10 lay before our readers every item o! interest
| and Information that tends TO attract the attention of
| the people of the State towards manufacturing and
mining.
There il no State better adapted to the manufacture
Of Cotton than Virginia-with a water power unsur'
| nsssed in the world, she commands every element
necessary TO manufactures. The City of Richmond
| alone might equal Lowell in tbs manufacture of the
| great Southern staple; with every capacity possessed
| by Lowell, her proximity 10 the Cotton growing
| region, should lessen freigh; on the raw material, and
| give Richmond the advantage. We shall rccur to
| this subject more at length at another time.
From the Lynchburg Vrgin:an
VIRGINIA DEVELOPMENT.
The great want of Virginia ia development. AS
has been said elsewhere. from the Pennsylvania to
the Caroliuas, aud from the waves OF the Ocean 10 the
waters of the Ohio. she is one vast unwrought mine-
and uudeyeloped treasure" Within her limits she
has the latent resources of an empire. Her agricul.
tursl capacities have not reached one.tenth their pro.
per exhibit. Her commercial, scarcely one.tiitieth.
while in manufacturing and mining she has not
reached her ultimate development by many hun
dred,bs. 1t is development in the two latter elements
she most lacks, aimee upon these must anything Ike
complete growth in commerce, or even agriculture
be founded. In Illustration of the latter point,
let us take the States Of New England and Penn.
| sylvania. We need not remark that the climate
and soil OF the former States are bleak and sterile,
possessing nothing Of a mineral wealth. let we
see that the introduction of manufacturing, III a
great branch OF public policy mas run up Ihs Value
of lhese sterile lands to a point Tar exceeding the Ter.
tile s0ii Of Virginia. BY placing the consumer by
the side Of the producer of farming products, she has
given the latter the highest prices, and stimulated ~
riculture 10 it's EXTREMIST point OF production. In
Pennsylvania We see the Sdvantages ni mineral DE-
veiopment. The coal product at that State last year
WAS supposed to be worth thirty four millions OF dol
lers in it, final market. Ii iron trait-lncludIng lis
enhanced value by the various processes u manuiac.
ture-must be much greater. Here We see iCc5ces pi
| millions poured into Penn ylvania from ia. develop.
| ment Of her iron md c"al trade, together with her
exports 81 manufactures. j; IL ;h.s "hr'h srsldlDs
her towns and cities. IL is this which IL giving her
farmers \ home market: is inakiug 1.-The wilderness
blossom liz. tho r"-...' l;l- tn. ~ ~ sald 9n SH
| turday, wl,iCh--tnkins out The city : New York
| has already made lwr tho richest State N the coniede'
racy.
The importance. of genera, manufacturing rs an no.
s,ract branch ot industry, il rarely appreciated where
most prar;is.d, and Is II Iuatt-r To winch oar own pe"'
pie s+-m almost obivious. Few seem /" comprehend
that the domestic manufactures vi the United States
amount - the Immense annual aggregate oil HTHc.
Avadred n,;Y,onS Of dollars. or mare than eight times
the probable amount ut foreign impCria;lons for the
current year. Fewer still ssem aware that the points
whence these manufactures emauale are the gathers,
in the proportion which the gross sales ot the inhhu
featured article exceeds the sum paid out for New
material, und to the few laborers anu mechanics who
carry away their money 10 spend elsewhere. Few
comprehend the tact, that every city and town IN
Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia. have been al.
most entirely built up aud owe their prosperity 10
mining and manufactures. Tie saai- may be said
OF Cincinnati, which Hi examination rii show,
10 derive FIVE times ns much supper, irom the
profits OF lie manufactures HI il does from commerce.,
Notwithstanding it, excellent commercial aituatlon.-
Even New Gnrk-the great commercial and financial
centre of the Union, il largely dependent upon mhnu.
features. The gross amount OF HE various articles
manufactured in tiat city, may be put down ut one
hunderd aud twenty IIil.!ons per alnrm. Out OF this,
perhaps, sixty millions may 5e paid for raw Inaterial,
leaving sixty millions a. All Gnn:a! contribution 10 the
wealth Of the city. In fact, the SANE thing may al
most be said of every town and city % the Union,
which has attained anything of size and importance,
and no@ exhibits more than usual prosperity. The
secret at this ii it can be called Il sscr-t-lies in the
fact. that every dollar Of the manufactures Of any
town, city, State or nation, in articles that would other
wise be imported, /. a pecEniary gain Ia tha; extent
saving only the per centage paid out for raw material,
purchased from without tEe.r llmIts.
The extraordinary sympathy between the manu-
lectures OF a country and its recunjsry condition and
ability. il striking,y exeinpli!ied IN the financial histo
~ OF Great Britain during her wars win Napoleon.
AZ the commencement of this war the ns'iUn WAS
heavily i'll debt, and lis financial credit greatly de
pressed. Al the end az the first year the Lords of The
Exchequer found II deficiency OF SlnO,OO0, OrO. They
trembled for the const queiIcss, but by great effort
succeeded in raising ths sum 10y loan. The next year
and the next, the deficiency BECAME each year still
greater, and the officers oi the Exchc;urr luoket for.
ward to the period when the eiOrmous expenditures.
abroad tor the Army and Navy, would completely
drain the money ut the nation, aud the war would
have to be suspended for want OF neans tor its prose.
cution. To their surprise, however. they found each
successive loan taken up by their own co%untrymen,
aud with increasing ease, until finally At the end of the
war of fifteen years, during which the State debt had
been increased more than two thousand millions, the
last annual deficiency OF $3.50, 900. OUO, III tire. per cen;
stocks was eagerly sought for at II handsome premium,
This seeming anomaly. and certainly mystery, has but
one explanation. Almost cOteinporaneourly with the
var. the manufactures OF EnglaHd sprsng Iuio exist.
ence. while her mineral development WAS pushed 10
IN extremrr puiu: than in any former period III her
history. Most Of these manufactures aud minerals
found a inarke, abroad. While then the armies AMI
navies of Englsnd were scattering the gold Of Eng.
land with Il ~prodiga! p.uiusion, The sale OF her manu-.
features picked it up ~ rapidly al spent, and even
brought it back with an aggregation of foreign gold;
so that while a mighty stream of wealth was fowIrs
out of England TO support the vsr. Il I%nightier stream
was flowing an, from the proceeds OF her mauiinc'
lures. II is needless To point intelligence 10 the fact,
that but for her manufacturing system Englsnd could
~ ba,. u,St atpud har atruvrla ,pith NanDiGop lEr
three consecutive years-Gnd that she thus owes 10 i!
her separate tNistencc-as she Inanilestly does 10 the
means which have made her the richest of nations,
and pushed her conquests over every portion OF the
globe.
Here we see SONS Of the effects of the development
which we endesvureh 10 advocate in our issus of
Saturday. All these great Accommodations Of wealth.
territory and power, have been the fruits of a gen
.ral town, State or national manufacturing policy
There ia no spot on earth where the elements of mn
nutactare abound in such rare plentiiGlness aud value,
"a within the borders OF our own State. All 1t needs
IL development Ia make her the richest State ut the
Union. llhd Mr.. Deaue $ proposition been adopted,
We believe it would have been The pioneer of many
similar enterprises, aud We believe it's adoption now
would be attended with important results; saving the
exodus OF many millions of our money, and bringing
millions Of that OF other people into our Golfers. Ii
is said that the manufacture of iron from anthracite
coal in 4ennsylvania, upon which so much now da.
ponds, had its origin in the experiments of a single
Northumberland in tact nine tenths of the yre.t
enterprises of the world. have had their origin IN
smaller beginnings.
1t is plain that Virginia has loet much by her poll
cy of making nothing at huIns which sie can buy
abroad; but it is not equally plain that this lose need
be continued. We trust that public attention VII! hr
turned TO this matter; and that some means will be
adopted 10y which our great mineral and nanuiacia'
ring resources may be made valuable.
- -
Judge iia!yoarton ID row holding The United States
District Court Tor Eastern Virginia i'll Norfolk. The
Grand Jury have indicted F.itell, master Of the
barque WIN. G. Lewis, brough, into Norfolk last De
ceInber from the coast Of Africa, in charge of Lieut..
Kennsrd of the U. S. sloop of war Dale.