The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1858-10-09
II HE DISPATCH
ATUkDAY MOkHlNG...........OC .OCTOl
THE FOREIGN TRADE OF vIR.
GINlA
LETTER FROM GOV. WISE.

1
THE FOREIGN TRADE OF vrR.
GINA.
LETTER FROM GOV WISE.
The following letter, from Gov. wIsE.is address.
cd to the Merchants and Mechanics Exchange, Of
Norfolk, as.d was written at the request of the
President of that body, it being an embodiment of
views expressed before, by the Executive, In con.
versation with that gentleman:
| RICHMOND, vA.1
| September 26, 1858
| To kdcler Bsogs, Esq: Sir-Yours Of the 2<na
| inst WIS received this morning aud reply ~,
nediatsly that did not expect the conversation
| which ! cursoriIy held with you to make any
| abiding impression to produce any results; bus
il was upon q subject the Importance of which is
| too great to ba sighted by virginians. and espe-
| cialiy by Norfolk and Richmond, and /, therefore
| cheerfuiy apply the materials at my command to
the information you request. cannot enter into
details, but the general facts are sufficient to H.
| lustrate tho interest we should take In the SUBJ
ject
The great European trade has attracted all eyes
4 90 intently that attention has been drawn from
equally important enterprises which are perfectly
practical, aud actually inviting industry and
investment. A trade with Europe is all important
: and mean not to detract from the efforts made
s to deveope and establish 1t. But time and im-
mense acquisitions Of capital, and a long educa-
ticn of merchants associated with foreign trade
and the most costly steam navigation, are all ne
cessary to attaiG the far off contamination of a d
| rect trade with the ports of the Old World. And
| the question has always puzzled me whether we
| are not attempting ito pot the cart before the
horse" In transportation, by attempting to estab-
l lish lines Of mammoth steamers before We have
| completed our works of interpal Improvement
| and piled the pabulum OF commerce on the quays
of the Chesapeake. for q trade with England on
the continentof Europe. That trade has its chan
pels, its connexions abroad, its associations at
home its capital located, and it's merchants educn
ted. But there is another trade, naturally and
legitimately ours, and waiting only for a master
merchant TO mart all its immense materials, and
i to make city of foreign commerce larger in
proportion than we now have capital to employ
in its development. mean the trade with south
America, the west Indies, Brazil, Bueaos Ayres
and Paraguay.
l At the fails Of james River, here at Richmond
the capital OF this common wealth, We have mighty
mills said to be the gest in the world grinding
more than half q million of barrels of the finest
-four per annum aud that flour commands the
livery highest price OF any in the world at Rio de
iJaueiro, aud is the great item of all our exports
to South America. That -four, grown our SOIL
sproGt and q mller's toll. Until lately it gave us
no ship-owneI, and has built no ships, made us
no saiimakers and riggers, trained for Us ship
chambers, given us no freights, dunnsge, no
foreign exchange, and has sent back to us no i'm
ports Of coffee, and hides, and fruits for wholesale
distribution to the interior, and has fostered no
interior trade for that distribution, and has con-
sequently, educated no merchants in the foreign
built cities. Why not? Why, heretofore
our internal improvements have not been COM
| peted.aDd we could not have a distributing point
not even for our own great Valley Of Virginia and
we have had no agents and factors abroad to send
| us importati0ns upon the best TERMS and conse.
quently We have been mere retailers of the pro-
ceeds Of our own produce, and no importers.
When Munster of the United States at the Court
Of Brazil for nearly fUUr years, from the beginning
Of 1S4i to the end OF lS41. whilst Gal.ego aud
isxai flour commanded "a milreis per barrel. the
| Trieste. Chill. Cincinnati, Philadelphia, New York
and Baltimore -four commanded y, % and Is mil.
! els average. The FrsDch bakers bought
| he Richmond fiour as a priming for their bread.
50 superior was it 10 whitsness and gluten, and
under proper inspection, it continues to command
the markets of south America Bat the shirs
which carry that -four frou Virginia to Rio are sill
| init In Baltimore, New York, or further NORTH
| There they manned, rugged and victualed.-
They come to City Point for our -four, aud spend
nothing amongst US whilst loading. for they come
! provided for the voyage. Their owners make the
freight, the dunnage and the exchange, and above
All, they bring back the return cargoes, not to u.s.
hut To Baltimore or New York, TO be distributed
| and the coffee comes through these ports to ocr
| 1eople st retail prices Until lately repeat, not
1 pound WAS imported into Virginia, and not a
Virginia bottom WAS employed i'll this trade, and
! not port or place of Virginia sent bag to the
| Interior, hnt we were consumers at retail prices
| N the very city OF Richmond which ground the
| four that bought the coffee.
| But row, by the Southwestern. and South. Side
| Central, Norfolk and Richmond arc connected
with the great interior, witb!t ntermin .be West
at Memphis, aud it will soon be with Cinciunati-
All interior Virginia 10 opened, aud the beautiful
and fat pastures and wheat lands of East Tennes-
see, heretofore unknown, will co langer get to
market Oh the boots of cattle and swine In future
| they will send wheat or hour ard Dess pork AMI
beef to Richmond. aud Richmond can distribute to
their sugsrs, coffee aud groceries OF all kinds
aud all their supplies. Why cannot Norfolk fulfil
her natural destiny aud be tine great port of export
and import for this point Of distribution for these
great mills and for the places innumerebic of thu
| interior and the West to bs supped with West
| india and South American products. Is there
aot concordance aud hemogeneity OF interest be.
tween Richmond and Norfolk, in this siready
established and natural and legitimate foreign
| trade?
| Richmond has already begun the enterprise and
has, believe, five fine barques importing the re-
| turn cargoes for what her mills grind and send
away. Norfolk Is the natural port of commerce
| and Richmond is the granary, and the mill
house, and the distributing poiut to the interior
| That is the true harmony of the trade. Let us
have it.
| From memorials presented to the last Congress
| by John Gardner, long u Rio Commission Merchant,
| we'll known to me for shrewed Intelligence, On
ahose statements you may rely for the statistics
| ne presents, extract some important facts. He
| vas seeking subsidies for mail steamers to the
West Indies, Brazil ard the Argentine Republic
1 lie might well pray for mails to South America-
England has mails, Belgium has mails. France has
| mails aud Brazil has mails carried by cleaners
from Rio to Europe, but the United States have
none. Coffee may be falling aud -four rising and
| the European and United States merchants NAV
start even in the race to get intelligence home
fhe letter to Trieste will go direct by s.eam and
ihe -four it sends for be half way back, whilst the
letter for Richmond has to 60 to Southampton, in
| England; getting there, it finds England has no
steam mail more direct than to Halifax or St.
Thomas, aud to Halifax our letters have to get to
Richmond and by the time they get here the prize
4 t.A h.. nrsA ID 10
| his interdict on our trade in competition with
| Europeans in South America, Mr.. Gardner present
| sd his memorial to Congress. No one here took
lotics of IT, though we were more deeply interested
IN it than we are in the great Collins line itself
But am not urging mail line-csrtanly not one
starting from New York for us-I am presenting
| 10 you data for the estimate of profits on com.
| tpercia line from Norfolk TO Rio de Janeiro.
| Ist. We have 20 steam lines in connexiou with
| South America though they would, as they have
for Europe, vastly increase our Commerce with the
South.
I'd. We having no steam line with South
America, aud Earopean Powers having several,
,ur commerce is seriously injured thereby. Eu-
ropes commerce and intercourse is enlarged at our
| expense.
3d. would start line at Norfolk, touch at St
,ish and other West India mails, thence to Barba.
Ioes; thence to Perpambuco, Bahia and Rio de
Janeiro. A smaller steamer here would connect
with Montivedeo and Buenos Ayres.
| 4th. The distance would be from -
Norf folk to Cape Henry. East, 81 miles.
CspsHenry, to st Thomas, s. $50 E., ,261 miles,
| st. Thomas to Barbados, s. 44o H., 40 miles,
Barbados TO Peruambuco, s. 49l % E., 1850 miles
Pernambuco to Bahia s. 800 w., 365 miles.
Bahia to Cape Frio, S. $50 W., $50 mites.
| Gaze Frio 10 Rio de Janeiro, West, rs miles.
Total distance So miles, in "A days 2o0 miles
per day.
BY actual experience the European steamers
make, including stoppages and all delay, about 300
| miles per day. Thus the distance to Bio from
Norfolk would take ut least "a days, and 80 days
only would be required for q round trip to that
port and but little more to get returns from Bue-
| los Ayres.
9Th Two large propellers, say Of 1900 tons each,
rould be sufficient for the beginning of the trade