Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-03-30
REMARKS OF MIR. LEE. OF ORANGE.

on THE Coal RIVER N,vIG.TioN toMPA>y.
In me- House of Deifg0trs on The 24'h Ngcca, I>5S
Mr. SpEaKER:-I have n" particular in-re-. .a
this Improvement. am not connected ro isr "' !
know with any one who has any interest in y u 80
H. Virgipien, who r-joc.s in the d-vei"pm-n' 80
the wealth and resources of the State, feel hrN'"r-
for the success Of this bill The s-cron ~bich 'h's
Improvement il designed 10 develop, is Remote ''"l
the counties have the honor TO represent on 'hi'
floor But il is rich in miners. wealth and WI,
whsn these improvements are c"mp-f-d. add gree.
ly 10 the commercial pow-r the aggregate w-a''n
and general prosperity "i NJ S'r'- WEe'h"r W.
regard this work in s effects. e. fricing he 'nu'
of land lying contiguous il. ar IT, h- pr"n's hirr
the State and the private st"ck'"'hr'a WIZ defiN"
from the tolls it ia emiDenrly -tlied 10 ihe most
favorable consideration OF thl- body
The Coal river, rring in The county OF N-'zei
forces s WAY through mountain barriers, I'll II eG
ties into the great ans~hs sbou fifty miles above
its mouth.
IL will thus in s rich contributions 10 the ir- J. 81
the West be most valuable feeder to that imporSh'
Improvement "a it will also, add very greatly - li"
tonnage on the Covington and Ohio road ani ~"
great James River AMI Kanawha improvement "t"r
finished 10 Covington. About 81 miles, nboN" 'h'
month Of tho Coal is tho tionrishng village "' P"y
iona, containing a population of some four "r ~
hundred souls, which has been built up eniire.y -.
The enterprise and capital OF the private com
panies who have embarked their means N 'h'-
Improvement. They hAv- already expended mN"
"a bicl SlUO 900 have been invested in opening Tho
OF the river This with about S96 900 whic
the state has invested in the work constitutes t
IN. " hole capital of the Coal River Navigation al"
psny From P.ytona to its confluence with ne ana
whs the Coal river runs through a narrow vsii-'
bounded on either side by immense ranges ci NOM
tsins. These mountains contain Wha' - tupp'S'I ~
hs the richest deposits of the most valuable ''" ~
the civilized world.
Jhese GOAL beds are about 373 miles the c"n
nj Cincinnati and Iouisvile than the great iohiogh"
nv coal fields OF Pennsylvania. 1t can be dehver"'
in thoss markets for three cents less per bushel in"
the Pennsylvania coal, and commands reanl'y '"U"'
The price of any other coal.
Some faint idea of the immense value {" The" '"'
lands may be formed when We coneder ihhs "",'
SQUARE yard is estimated to contain one ton :" coz
worth in the mine dollar per ton Geniern-i' "h'
NAV undertake to calculate the number o' sqiht'
wards in an acre can form their own estimate of lhr
immense wealth that lies mbeded in the country 'n
medate!y contiguous TO this improvement
Let US look for a moment at some ol ihe ''7ni'e
Lands in this region, previous TO the commencen'nt
of the Improvement Of the navigation OF the river
| could have been bought at from fifty cents I" 'r"
dollar per acre. At the la't assessment ihey "t'1
valued AT FIVE doars per acre, and no doutt 'r e'i
| t-rtnin.d that they will readily command t".h
| ~ dollars when The work s Gnshed-the pro"
| which such lands usually bring in P-nnsylvana'
There are supposed to be not less than oooo h''
| of these rich coal lands immediately on iht f''"'
which, at the above price, WIZ give 'ns eno' ''"
II
| wealth of the State. The present rH'e oi I 3
will add from this rOurcs slone, not ess 'n"h w.
| ,o YOUR annual revenue; and, II IN conhfeh'y u"
| .y.d that this amount Will be more thah f""''' vs.
| der another tssrssmtD'.
Rut. again, before the disastrous fre-hst wh.'
damaged 80 extensively these locks aud dam "ti'"
w.r. nesrIy Completed The tolls for one Week NO"
exceeded 81 DG0 And this, when only one al ih- "n'
| or FIVE companies that are engaged III pi-pArl"S go
work these mines, WAS in operation Al 'bie '''t f'
| tolls for one year would EXCEED my '"'p,H'
dollars, or twenty-five per cent on NE "n'.f f,.
| inyestment in the work on the i'e'' nv
| fully realizing the Assurance wh'ci war eNe"
to ths last Legislature, that the ihVs"neh' W "i'
Stn,,. would Weld handsome pr.fi'. That! !he above
estimates are not exagg. rated, hnVe ice :"
INV friend from stafford lMr ssDDoS WHO ny :" W.
in the lss, Summer Fall, visited ana s1ntnb%. W
iterestiop ami valuable section o the ote's ~ '" j.
-, rscoIIcI,d that ut the last tesson of he Iruert
| ,,.mhiv the State subscribed $bU,'UO ID Tie iu
nrovamsnt of this river The WORK WAS nenI'y
snisbsd when the storm gathered srd fh7 rslA:
d.scended, and such food ~ toe oide-' !"
hsbitsnt had not before seen, swspt win ~
desoating torrent over the couniry ar. carT's'
away to their very foundations msDy ot inc Jocks NJ"
dams on the river. The energies OF the c"mpaai'
are exhausted. They have already spent largely '
their private means. The oirizens Of the country arr
poor and unabe to subscrib- 10 this work, aud n"e
the State again puts j. sbon!d7r 10 the wheel 'he ~"
provement must lsnguish, IT not utterly 'aI'; " -
we do il. is question left to the enlightened Juds
Of this House to decide,