The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1858-01-21
AGENCY IN NOR FOLK.

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AGENCY IN NORFOLK.
WIN. \. POSTER ESQ. II the Agent for the pAIIt
plsYlfcH IN Norfolk, the circulation OF tne p~pe'
theve having inc rsased 10 an extent dcmsndins per
soual attention 10 its distribution, the
daos, &c. -x-
Imurovsment Of the * anaw
Kanawha Coal Fieids'
1hara Il pendiue IN the Legislature Dill lot
a.. ,...-ox.ms,, AZ tho Ranawha river. The sub |
isct n one of very great Importance "oh"o .ao
.r.,p,.nts In beba,f Of the measure very forcioiy
,rs..ntaa IN a memorial drawn up by committee
Ar ,hs f,;snSs of the improvement OF the kanaw-
Ia and have made synopsis OF 1t, to which we
invite the readers attention -
IN. memorial states that the bin passed at the
last scssIou OF the General Assembly, In reference
"a the improvement of tho Ksna~ha, has failed to
effect the object desired. Nothing has been done
IN the last two years, and the parties most deeply
interested In the navigation have abandoned all
hopes of improvement in any reasonable period,
under that act. The citizens Of ksoawha valley
would now prefer that the James River and Ma
nawha Company should be Invested OF all luris-
d,ction and control over the Kanawha river, and
tia, charter should be granted to an independent
oompauy 70 make the improvement. They would
raise the necessary funds from private sources
An silusion Is made to the appropriately of the
James River and Kanawha Company In the Valley,
the people being under the belief that they have
been made to pay exhorbtant rates Of toll, while
the revenue arising therefrom has until recently
been expended In tho Eastern part of the State, in
stead of being applied to the Improvement of the
Kanavha The memorialists satisfied that the
Company, with It's present organization, can never
secure the COON will Of the people of that section
Of the State and are equally confident that the
bill now before the Legislature will secure the de-
sired improvement WITHIN reaso nable period. The
bill provides that the Company shall be authorized
to borrow, on the credit of the tolls of the Kama
wha river, a sum sufficient to improve that river
from it's mouth TO Loup Creek Shoals, upon the
terms prescribed by an act passed March 10, 1856,
entitled "An act for the reefof railroad and other
companies, and to regulate the terms On which
they may borrow money" 1t also suspends the
States lien on the tolls until the principal and in
terest of the debt has been fully discharged.
The nett revenue per year from tolls col
lscted on the Kanawhs river for 20 years, COM
mencing in 1885 and ending in 1855, was $500
or about seven par cent. on the cost Of the work;
and during some years the nett revenue has. been
nearly fifteen per cent. on the investment. This
(says the memorial) is one of the few investments
which the State has ever made in work of inter
nal Improvement which has returned more than six
per cent. interest on the cost. The damage sus
tanned by the destruction Of salt boats Is one ofthe
prominent arguments advanced in favor of an im-
provement Of the river. From March, 1850, to
March, 1885, there 60 900 barrels of salt lost
by the breaking or sinking Of boats. This de-
struction of property amounting to about 100000
would have been almost entirely prevented if the
navigation had been In proper condition. The cost
Of shipping salt down the Kanawha would not ex.
coed one cent per bushel. The present condition
of the river has caused loss of 2 cts. per bushel
on the salt manu- featured in Kanawha, which upon
the quantity off, 500, 900 bushels annually manu-
featured would make total annual loss of &c.,
500, sustained by the salt manufacturers Of Ka-
nswhs. This sum is equal to Y per cent. on the
entire salt property of Kanawba and if it had gone
into the pockets of the people, instead of the Ka-
nswha river, would probably have enabled them
to weather In safety the financial tornado which
has swept over the country. We now behold the
salt interest of Kanawhs Frustrated, and scarcely
solitary individual who dependent upon It
solely for livelihood, who has not been reduced
almost to the verge of bankruptcy.
The memorialists further argue that the condi.
sion of the river has prevented the, development
Of the great coal fields of Kanawba. After an in
vsstmsnt of of about 81 500 900 in these coal lands
In preparations for mining and efforts toship coal
IN the last FIVE years, those who have made the
pertinent have abandoned the enterprise
The mineral wealth of the Kanswha yalley-its
great coal fields, containing the different varieties
OF bituminous, splint and camel coals-its extern
sive deposits of iron ore In juxtaposiion with the
seams of coal--is alluded to in the memorial The
coal fields of Kanswha, 1t says, will eventually
furnish large part of the coal required for con-
sumption In the cities and towns on the Ohio and
Mississippi rivers, we'll the adjacent country
A SUFFICIENT quantity Of the coal has been carried
to market to test its quality and il is now admit
ted to be full equal in value to the Pttsburg coal
for any purpose, and superior to it for some pur-
poses. According to q calculation made, 1t can be
delivered In Cincinnati cost of three cents per
bushel less than the Pittsburg COAL and If sold at
seven cents per bushel the Kauawha miner will
make three dollars per day or nine hundred dol
lars per year on each hand employed by him
when the Pittsburg miner is merely paying ex
psnses.
1t IL assumed that the sum necessary to be
raised for the purpose of improving the river, i,
100000; and 1t Is estimated that the tolls will
pay of the debt and interest in eight years.
In conclusion, the memorial goes into an argu
rnsnt to show that the increased revenue which
the State would derive from the enhancement il
the value Of the coal lands of Kanawha woult
alone justify the construction of the improvement
at State expense. The passage of their bill is
however, all that the memorialists ask for, tho
result of which will be that, in a very few years
the State will have restored to her work yielding
ten-fold the annual tolls which she Ia now asked
to surrender, and in addition will receive from
taxes on the lands of that district more than ten
fold the amount which the treasury now receives
After these facts we could not offer word tC
increase the force of the appeal they make to the
Legislature. If they but have the weight to which
they are clearly entitled there can be no obstacle
to the prompt passage by that body of some mea
sure to secure the early improvement of the navi
cation Of the Kanawha River.
Sanitary Training