The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1858-02-12
notice 70 ADvnRTIsERs.

70 The eo{rWU8 q cur PAGER VIA uoS eAMA&s~
snsis ss1sptioA anaf Ne hoar NAMED.
Aa6NCY n NOR FOLK.
VIZ. r. FosTKR. ESQ, b the Agent for the pAlLl
DuDAScu In NorSolk. the circulation o. .ns 49,
sAsrs hAsins increased 70 an extent demanains psl
scnsl attention 10 10 distnbution, the ee''sS'''
xzsssss-~s SsE<-
rnE WEEKLY DISPATCH
yor rr,aav. February f2th, Is nov ready ana rot
.sis AZ she cesating room. The contents are i,."
.na variaa .,ubodying oil the choice matter OF 'he
navy Di.natob for the past week. Piiee u pof
apauu Ia adyapoe--s Osats per single copy
~ rrsnch and Virginia Steamship
=. Line.
j shs announcement that line Of steamers Will
,,rohably be established between . French port
ana virginia, has drawn forth the usual amount OF
rdiouls and siaag from the sectional press Of the
North. IL 10 bard to please these amiabie and uu-
ss,lsh gentlemen. At one time the South Ia given
ap to shssracsions but whenever she attempts, in
IA humble way, to DO practical, they make tine
wslkin Rag with shouts Of derision. Nature has
given virgints central geographical position,
bosndless agricultural aud mineral wealth, noble
rivers. . magnificent harbor, bat she must not
avail herself OF their advantages. She must bug
che chains Of commercial vassalage. aud content
herself with proud recoiecsions Of her mighty
past, aud even then submit to daily taunts on 40
count Of her dsgeneracy.
The man who sets out In life with the expeeta-
tion Of pleasing everybody, will soon discover his
mistake, and come to the conclusion that IL Is bet
ter to govern his conduct by the principles of duty
aud common sense, than to consult the tastes, ca
prices and prejudices of others Certainly, he
wenid not look 70 rival for assistance or for much
advice that 10 worth following. So with States.
Virginia, fning IL impossible to please other peo-
pie, and particularly the freesoiIers, will consult
her own pleasure. and act upon her own sense OF
right and justice. The French steamship project
may fall but II does not infuse new doubts OF the
prac.icablilty Of that enterprise, tina: those who
are interested 10 It's future are eager to sec 1t
dropped. Even should It break down, It has an
.iinssrious predecessor" 10 the Collins line which
has NOT been able to keep the seas, but has been
swept from the face of the by the Cnnarders,
and 10 now lying ut the New York wbarves, pits-
ously whining for Government pap. It IL not long
sin6s, some New York papers gravely endeavored
90 convince the Government that the Collins stea-
msrs would be great fighting vessels, In the event
Of war; but ~ every seaman In the country knew
that the reooil OF their own bate lies would send
every one Of them to Davy Jones' locker, and that
tho bare collision Of of their best vessels with
y small French steamer had sent her to the bottom
Of the ocean, the transparent humbug was soon
exploded. II the Collins line can get on by ade-
quate Government aid, why can't the Virginia and
French line do the samef Won't money raise
steam on Southern as we'll as Northern waters -
We should like to see that experiment tried.
Morssser, the vast natural wealth of the regions
at the tefmini OF this line presents a broad basis
for the establishment of such enterprise
In regard to Virginia, we extract the following
from the Norfolk Argus:
a"The total value Of the PRODUCTIONS of Virginia
were estimated ct the last CELSIUS to be $50
We can now fairly estimate it at not less than
SEQ 000 OF this amount II 10 said $40 600 0O0
are used for home consumption. This leaves q sur
plus Of $50 900 600 to go abroad On these exports
we pay for commissions, freights and other char
ges. s., 600 900. The whole amount of foreign i'm
portatf0ns 10 Virginia 10 estimated at $l2 600 900
year. Her direct importations through her own
ports are only $4,000 On the difference between
those two sums, she has to pay commissions, DC
sbe annually pays the North, In commissions
freights, &C., about $l,000,000. From these fact,
We see how easily line Of steamers to Europe car
be supported"
Were the various public works of Virginia com
pleted, there would be no doubt on that point
But the port OF Norfolk Is even now In communi
cation by railroad and water with vast tobacco
cotton, corn and turpentine region, and it viii
not be long before she Is united the great Ohio
and Mississippi valley by the Virginia and Tennes
see, and the Covington and Ohio railroads. There Ii
one other work. worth all the railroads that tn,
State can build for q century, whAkh, if accom-
plished, would place the future of Virginia eyont
doubt, and inaugurate an era of prosperity aut
renown unrivslled In the progress of modern
States. We refer, of course, to the James Rivel
and Ohio Canal. A leading New York paper, th,
Express, thus notices this great work:
TEE sTATE OF VIRaIEIA.-We have before US an
interesting pamphlet from the Old Dominion, en-
titled, IAN Appeal for the speedy completion OF
the Water Line Of Virginia, and, through that, oil
the great Central Water Line OF the Union, which
will reach from the wharves Of Norfolk far into
Kansas, and eventually to the very base of the
Rocky Mountains"
This IL not all poetry Norfolk, with its magni.
hoent harbor, and the great Chesapeake, with its
confluence Of James River, were made for some.
thing but that something 10 not realized, and is
not yet realized until the dream of this writer Is
partially carried out. The State of Virginia, as
our readers know, has long had u canal to james
River aud Kanawha, stretching for the Western
waters,-but II IL not yet stretched out long
enough to reach them by some Is miles of canal,
and some rs miles Of slack water navigation. The
object OF the writer OF the pamphlet is to connect
the BLANKS, and to bring the waters of the Chesa-
peake into connection with the waters of the Ohio
u
tury 10 Virginia, but struggle far from being pro-
"a ductively realized.
New York and Virginia, In olden times, had two
great dreams,-and those dreams were Of the
Nsst--the Western Traie-and an outlet for that
trade 10 the harbors Of New York and Norfolk, or
Alexandria. The great originator of that grand
idea was probably George Washington who, from,
his appointments a. surveyor, aud as Colonel of
the Virginia Colonial Troops, often wrote of and
talked Of It, and even dreamed OF It, In all his spe.
suiations but Washington died before the coun-
try was old enough CT rich enough to execute
such thought. His successor in Virginia iDf1u-
enee, Jefferson, dreamed 1t too--but lac was bnt o
dreamer, and while he was dreaming, the New
York more practical mind, under the inspiration
of Do Witt Clinton, took hold Of the idea and exc
cuted 1t in The Erie Canal. New York thus, though
by an unnatural route, aud In high Northern lati
tudes, fret reached the West. and secured for the
time being q monopoly OF that mighty trade
whereas Virginia, In Southern oiime, where the
frost only temporarily congeals the streams, look
ed on, and siumbered and now, the result s,
this mighty commercial metropolis. the hive of a
million OF thrifty human beings,--and Norfolk
with less trade than she had forty or fifty years
ago, and very slow increase Of population.
Let the Legislature bend all Its energies OF the
completion OF the water line, and our most bitter
rsyilers will not have the audacity to affect con-
tempt Of Virginia efforts for direct trade In the
meantime, let rs avail ourselves Of all the re-
sources ct our command, of all the wealth which
our railroads now heap upon our ports, Of legisla
siss assistance, and Of federal money, which we
have ~ much rights TO demand Is the Collins steam
ers. We should rejoice to see direct commercial
intercourse established with France She IL the
ancient ally of our country. On Virginia SOIL she
Aslpsd 10 strike the Anal blow Of American free
don, and In Virginia waters she may help us TO
achisvs commercial Independence. France is gov
sSnsd By the wisest and most practical ruler of
medsra times, and her people are among the most
Ihrihy and industrious. Their martial spirit,
chivalric tone aud courteous manners are agreea-
bile to Southern tastes, whilst France has always
stood aoof from that antislsvery crusade In which
England has embarked, aud is at this moment, in
defiance Of English remons.rances supplying her
osn colonies with slave labor, OF that which 10
virtually such. Hence we are pleased that France
Y % % brought into closer nnien With virginia,