Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-03-05


he public plumber" but never imagined lot 'n1
nent that such small consideration AZ inc
# one PEI cent. would introduce dVis'on 'n'o 'n'
ank- of that old purity. (Lsughterl
Rsroad improvements give increased ues'"ut ~
abor, and is not this question worthy 0, COUSIN
.ration, when reflect that hundreds Oh ..i'usanu'
rom the old world land upon our Shores seeA,us GU
,loymeut And is it no; better to employ 'l,eni on
hs railroads than 10 feed ihsm at the puoo eAPeso
n the moor houses II increases the facilities of tne
,sonIe for obtaining knowledge In tho State Oh sr'
,inia We have built schoos and founded conege''
but the people, from the want Difficulties ior lntet com
nunicslion have heretofore been 6enehueu n'aIe oy
hem. We have lived isolated aud nave hno"n out
little of each other; but railroads have annlnNated
.oace and they do more they bind the interests OF the
iifferent localities With bonds OF iron 90 'na'
ian never come
But there are other wants OF the people wclch re-
mani nolicy in this State which shall not now emu.
nerate We are not at the beginning OF luis system
W. are not here 10 settle new prnciple. Dir, the
State of Virginia has adopted that poiicy ana We
ara gone too far to back out from II. we nave no"
nins millions invested, and shall we say that these
nine millions shall be lost because we refuse 70 do
what We ought to do-complete the great WORKS tnat
wa have beguni have endeavored 10 snow mol
rectly how railroads do pay; aud now come
and ask the question why do not rsli!oaas pay
Allow me to make illustration III this
which, spprehend, will be fully under
stood by every member OIL this hoor. suppose, slr'
az larIner you invest $50OD in wild lands, and then
you spend $4,000 more to improve 1t. making 10 all
an expenditure of $7GIO With all this you have
only cut the logs and piled up the brush. After
YOU had made this expenditure Of money and labor.
I want to know if you would abandon u, When II mas
not brought you single cent? Would any inteil
gent man abandon this enterprise after It has been
advanced nearly to a stage when 1t would yield
full return for all that had been expended No, sir
he would summon up his energies; he would nerve
himself for increased exertions, aud make larger
expenditure Of labor and money, roll up the logs,
burn the brush wood put in the seed, and then he
would realize the benefits of his outlay. That's the
condition of the rail road improvements of the State
of Virginia We have not fairly cleared away the
brush. We need little more energy, or, az dsiin'
gushed individual in the Mexican war said, "a little
more grape" in order TO complete this great system
and make it profitable The Southern States export
ANNUALLY to foreign markets about one hundred and
thirty millions Of dollars worth OF products-cotton,
rice, sugar, hemp and tobacco. How does ii reach
that foreign market! What is the course Of this
Southern trade II goes down into the Southwest,
and then upon the Mississippi to Cairo. whence, by
some rail road. it is conveyed to Lake Erie, passing
down to the foot Of that lake and thence to New
York by the Erie Rail Road. II is thus that that
country has been rendered what It is. You see it
monopoziug all the commerce Of the South and
West through the facilities which it affords by lis
rail road connections. 1t il the money of the South
that builds these great Northern cities. II is the
trade of the South that sustans s rail roads; and
these people at the North understand this subject so
WE'LL that if their rail roads never yielded dividend
they would make large investments to complete them
in order to secure the benefits of this great Southern
trade.
What is the fact in regard to the enhancement of
property in Virginia and the West Take the contrast
between Richmond and Chicago. According to the re-
port before me- it requires nineteen Years for property
in Richmond to double its value. willis in Chicago it
doubles in value every year. In 1888 as We were
told BY the gentleman from Marion (Mr. HAYmoyDl
We only had few miles of railroad, and the conse
ouence has been but very slow increase the value
of property, only doubling within nineteen years in
the city of Richmond, wbile in Chicago il doubles
every year. Why is it SOL 1t s because of the inter-
nal improvements in the West, which have given eI.
tepsive facilities TO trade and commerce. Chicago has
thirteen railroads centering within its limits, which
draw the e1hausiless wealth from the basin of the
Mississippi, increasing hundred told, the value Of
the property through which they pass Suppose that
the trade of the Southwest which now goes to the
North were TO be diverted to our seabord would il
not enrich us 10 degree not to be estimated 7
And yet, this could be accomplished by the compile.
ten of the railroad system which We have Inaugural
ted and which the gentleman from Preston 80 much
copdeInns. There millions OF acres of Southern
domain yet to DO brought into cultivation which
might be made TO produces double the amount that
they ara now producing Look at Virginia. Look at
her agricultural position, and hsk s it not shame.
with all her advantages of position, that New York il
the COmm6rCal Vi lubso Sthleb IrOm
nessee to louisiana The products of that country,
if our system of improvements complete, would
reach the seaboard, at eaIt three days sooner than
they would the port of New York Then, sir with
this one hundred and thirty millions of dollars worth
of trade pouring over our Virgins railroads, DOES
any man suppose for a moment that these railroad
improvements will not directly benefit every interest
in the State2 But, Mr.. Speaker, told i'll the
midst of this APPENDED career 10 STOP to pause and
allow gentlemen an opportunity OF trying financial
| fa..lt nj thn
as. pertaining whether they will stand anything, in the
way of appropriations, at this session. | have the
highest regard for the opinions of gentlemen with
whom differ on this occasion. know that they en-
terrain hei. opinions honestly have not the least
doubt that the people have all required that should
E---~ .ii t..sou piuI'ely ... dis
posa of all the interest which the State has in inter.
| nal improvements. 1t may be, sir, that this House
ia disposed to follow in the wake of public opinion
shall choose 10 influence and form public opinion. and
I shall not be regulated in my action hers by Whist
public opinion might be, but by my own convictions
of right and by the dictates Ol my judgment. do not
come here to reject the DID, stale opinions OF others.
have opinions of my Own. and l mean to express
them honestly, csnddly and independently.
1t has been said, of Northwestern Virginia, that
abe has not received much from the Legislature of
Virginia. That is true; but that shall not constitute
! a reason why will refuse TO do what | think to be
right. That she hss not received more is not my
fault and wherever the sin lies. let that individual be
accountable Our position lie souiewha; ls0sted-our
country is glorious couniry-wo hear il called North
western Virginia. Geographically. We are in the
Northwest; but socially politically, aud in all the
great interests of this State We nothing but Viz
ginians. ] know no other feelings-I acknowledge
no other feslings-l profess no other feelings-I
ain determined to BIO governed by no other feel.
ipgs. The IDEA Of Virginia having antagonistc
interests distinction Of East, West, North
and South | repudiae. | believe the interest
of this State is Que great unit. believe the great
OF the peops OF this State have their hearts in
the right places and that they are influenced by feel!
ings OF State pride having for a object the interests
the advancement the glory, the prosperity, not OF
little locality but OF the whole State Of Virginia.
| These are my sentiments, and | boldly svUw them
here today; and il, with these sentiments snk. lot
me 90. The county which | have the honor to repre-
sent little differently situated from the counties al
other gentlemen this floor. We are bounded on
the North by the Pennsylvania line. on tho South by
Marion county, on the East by Preston, on tbs West
| by Wetze aud we are bounded above by the clear,
bright Heavens. We have noble river going through
our county; and we have not got much Of the public
money; aud thank God We can live without It. We
have fertile SOLVE are ashamed to bug aud afraid
! to steal, and we can live without public AID Inc
| gentlemen from Preston and Marion have the edvan.
tage of US in point of improvements. The Baltimore
and Ohio railroad passes through their counfies-and
wish here TO say, 10 The gentleman from PRESTON
that his argument, that railroads do not pay ID prac
tcsy refuted by the increased assessed value OF LAND
in his own county, since the construction of tbs rail-
road through (which is, believe, about 10 per
| cent within 10 years.
Mr. KEMBLE-With reference to that matter, il
stands returned by the Commissioner, that the in
creased value Of the land in the county OF Preston is
$50 per cent; but in that calculation the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad ia included
Mr. DAVIS-It is the Baltimore and Ohio Rail,
road that gives this increased value TO the land The
population of your county has nearly doubled Look
at your coal mining companies in Preston; look at
Embellishments: y0ur thriving Villages, ana
then ask, what hos made Preston county go prosps.
rous. The answer comes on every hand-ths advan
tages conferred by the Baltimore and Ohio Kali
Road.
The gentleman from Marion iMr. HAYAoSD) in
making some remarks upon bill which he in
troduced to regulate or equali1e the charges upon
the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road, spoke
not only of the thousands but Of the hundreds OF thou
sands invested in the coal trade in his county. Per
nit me to say that but for the railroad, this coal would
be untGuched and unmined in the hills OF that old
county. These gentlemen may come here and charge
us with log rolling. They are satisfied, because