Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-02-05
THE LECOMPTON CONSTITUTION-WIL II
BE REJECTED OR RECEIVED

compton Constitution, was read in Congress on the
afternoon of Tuesday. And now comes "the tug OF
war;" Will the Administration, backed BY the great
mass of the Southern Democracy and by a formida.
BILE array OF the Northern Democracy slso, be de.
feated or sustSued by Congress- in its position on the
Kansas question as 1t stands now Will the Lecomp.
ton Constitution BIZ accepted and this apple of dis
cord thereby be thrown out of the halls Of Federal
legislation Or will it be rejected and ths heal,
ing wound again laid openl Will Kansas be
Immediately admitted into tho Union as 60.
vereign State with republican constitutional
Or will she be beckoned back and turned away to
renew the revels of license in the name of law and
the orgies Of fanatcism in mockery of the cause Of
constitutional freedom1 Shall this dangerous ques.
ton be quieed at once! Or shall it be kept open and
sgitated by the abolitionsts to furnish them with
political capital fer the accomplishment of their trail
torous and dsstardly desigus1 These the ques
tons which the Congress of the United States is
now called upon 10 answer. And from the North
and South and East and West there will be al an1.
ious eye turned towards Washington, until the vote
is taken and the fate Of the Lecompton Constitution
decided This dangerous difficulty, which has go
long and so necessarily disturbed the quiet OF the
country, ha, reached crisis at last. And all ov,r
the Union, the people an1iou, for its adjustment.
1t is true ths enemies of tbs institutions of the South
are in favor Of continuing the agitation 1t is also
true that there are patriotic and distinguished Demo-
c:ats In the free States and in the slave Sta:ss who
oppose the admission of Kansas under the action Of
the Lecompton Convention. But the people
the hsrd.fsted, conservative. clear-minded mass.
es-ws believe, are in favor of it and it is
10 be hoped that the representatives Of the peo.
pie, at Washington we mean the representatives of
the conservative sense Of the couniry-will throw
themselves boldly into the breach aud gasntly sue.
tain the Administration, by advocating the accept
ence Of the Lecompton Constitution. We have dis.
cussed the question again and again, until we are
heartily tired OF IL. Our readers, we are assured,
have long and often wished Kansas either in the
Union or out of the universe-sud We ferven,ly trust
the exciting question is now. at last, about to be
brought to close. The Presidents lucid and able
message, on this subject, reached US yesterday after
noon. We lay it before readers and defer farther
comment until to morrow.
We invite attention to the following article, from
the Norfolk Herald" descriptive of the trip of the
Board Of Public Works on the Norfolk and Petersburg
dition Of the road. comparatively small appropria
ton now ia all that is needed to complete it:
From the Norfolk Herald.
NORFOLK AND PErERsBCkG RAIL RoaD.-A de-.
putation from Richmond, consisting Of Messrs. Thos.
II. Boyd and Alexander r Holiday members of the
Board of Public Works, Thos II. Dewitt. Secretary
to the Board and Wm q. Stevens, member Of ths
House of Delegates, from Rockingham county, ar
rived in the city on Wednesday evening, charged
with an official ex animation of the works Of the Norfolk
and Petersburg Kali Road The officials of the Rail
Road Company had previously made arrangements
for conducting them on the line of the road, COM
mencipg at the river side of Norfolk and terminating
at Blackwater forty miles, being half the entire dis
tance, and all that is at present in travelling order
They had also extended invitaii0ns TO the officials Of
neighboring pubic worka, 10 The city authorities ard
officers Of Zoe Banks, to accompany the deputation
their tour of inspection, the morning after their
arrival.
On Thursday morning tho company assembled at
O'clock. according to appointment, on Bramble .
Point, whence the beautiful iron bridge spans tas
Eastern Branch Of Elizsbsih river 10 :hn oppo.
sita shore. Some time Of cour1o devoted to The
examination Of ths depot for the cars, now nearly
completed by 'hs way the approach TO ihis beautiful
depCt 10 arranged on the plan, and the cars enrr
at each of the angles, wihut n momenta delay; and
the bridge. noble structure 72 te-t in length,
ceived s full share of examination and inienas I'D
miration from the COMMITTEE But We must reserve
| a description Of this grand and beautiful structure
till it is finished "a it probably T be in about three
weeks-and hasteI o. 10 The cur, WAITING on the op
pOsite eide. to reach which required little boating
This car, by the way, requires than mere MEN,
tion Ii everything elss apperfaplng TO tie
railroad has betn 10 the ainaest details design
ed in the Companys Office, and The need not hlu3h n
our procaiming it'll by The accOnE lshed Chief Eng
neer, Mr.. Mshone That it was different from the gen
eraty of rail road cars, any one who has travelled
much 10 them would perceive on entering it, by The
greater space and provision for the comfort OF pa5
sengers The car ia fifty iest in length and nine feet
in breadth, being one foot more than in other
This additional foot tells effectively in the distrbu
tlon of space TO the passengers At the upper end
saloon is partitioned off for the accommodation of Ia
dies especially those who are on the invalid list
which is fitted up in elegant style with Brusses
pets Sofa mirrors, and all the requisite conveneuces
The style throughout the car ia gothic. The arches
of the windows Gtted with stained glass, red cor.
responding with the exterior Of the car. The via
dow caserents are cursined not fitted with lsttices
az In most cars. On the whole, while there ia nothing
gaudy about it, all is caee, neat and elegant. This
beautiful car was constructed TO the order of the Com
pany at the Portsmouth "Unon Works" which oeI.
tanly can require no higher recommendation OF the
excellence of its workmanship enc materia than it
affords. 1t may defy superiority from whatever
quarter il may Se attempted
Precisely at 70 NJ. the first passenger the
Norfolk and Petersburg railroad started it's fret trip
drawn by q large and splendid locomotive made by
Norris OF Philadelphia The company were all elale.
joyous, and full Of eager anticpations of what they
we're 10 sae for the first tins. From Woods landing
where they started the psnnsuar between the
two Branches, to the South Branch bridge ia about
four miles. This Tas soon reached; but halt a mile
bsfore coming I'D to Il the car was stopped at mill
stream for the inspection Of bridge over it-with
beautiful iron arch resting granite pillars. The
strength aud durability of this structure required
comment though it elected general sdnira,on. The
iron bridge over the South Branch is but small az
fair In comparison with the at Norfolk, but it ls
nevertheless elaborate structure and was we'll wor
thy of the ecomiuns it received, especially from the
gentlemen of the deputatlon. ml.e further and We
come to the bridgeway over the Dismal Swamp Ca.
na--a more elaborate work, and displaying greater
genius and skill in the design and execution than most
persons can conceive who have not seen it. This too
was examined with evident delight.
Soon after the train entered upon the Great Dismal,
of which this road presents better specimen than
the Seaboard roadand after running through it some
10 or l2 miles, We arrived at the canal of the Dismal
swamp Land Company, commonly called the Jericho
cana-over which bridge is constructed similar to
the one we have before described with iron arch on
granite pillars.
Two miles further we arrive at Suffolk, where the
company have erected remarkably neat, cornmo.
dious and handsome depot, which we regret that time
did not permit US to examine more minatey. large
number of the citizens of Suffolk we're waiting the
arrival of the first car and after few minutes passed
in intsrchsngng greetings, the car passed on:
We next come to the mill dam above SuIc!k, over
which there causeway and bridge resting on brick
and stone mssonary and an iron arch-a beautiful
piece of workmanship.
Two or three miles further ia the Junction, where
the road we are upon crosses the Seaboard road, at
SUFFICIENT elevation 10 permit its oars to pass under
This work, like the others have mentioned, bears
honorable testimony to the genius and skill Of the
Chief Engineer of our road-beng q perfect apec.
men of strength. durability and beauty.
From this point till arrive at Blackwaer nothing
worthy OF note presents itself except the bridge over
Cahoon's Creek, ~ miles beyond Suffolk, which is
constructed like all the other works en- this road as
if il was intended TO last for ever.
A little sfter o'clock the i,siu arrived at Black
water, where the Company left the cara and took
shelter in large building now occupied store
and intended for tavern also when finished, by Mr.
Duck, the proprietor. The weather, which had
promised 10 be fair at parting, couded up an hour
AFTER and there was sprinklug Of rain, and chilling
atmosphere during the rest Of the day. All hands,
hnuauar xara in fna anirifs. and when the rtands