Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-04-08
whs, Northern Man Says Of Richmond.

The following communication, from pract
cal Northern man, expresses the opinion and
surprise Of every practical stranger who vi'its
our city. We commend the views herein ad
vanrcd IN rhe clrefil consideration of ON
readers
We have often called the attention Of onr
own people 10 the unparalleled! advantages our
CITY offer, in the immense water power. the
abundance and variety Of raw material, the
lar-c home market and widely extended inte-
ror market reached by rail roads and canal di-
versing in every direction. and in river open
to the ocean at all seasons Of the year. in a
mild and c1uablc climate, and in the hcalthi
ness Of our city and It's vicinity. OF these ad-
yantnscs we have avacd ourselves 70 some ex-
tent. and We beliey. there i such spirit Of
.ntcrpri,. ia orr midst will lead 10 greater
nse Of them But there is room. and will be
for 4 long time to come. ior many Of our enter
prisina friends from other States, whom we
most cordially invite not only 10 visit US, but
TO come and locate among rs permanently
Those OF orr reaieix, North and South, who
may wish 10 inform themselves. either in detail
or in IT,. aggregate, Of the trade. commerce.
manufactures and other matters relating TO this
CITY. will iind "A reliable article on "Rchnond.
Va" copied from the Enquirer. in the last
January No. Of "lIunt' Merchants Magazine;
r. Ie E,iitory q hc Ei?Hirs~:
(;cnti.n.n-Brirg a stranger in your city
ar,i having spent several DAYS in exploring it,
would like TO express some Of the thoughts
that have occupicd my mind while passing
through different portions nj your beautiful
city-ior b,.u,iypl it is--and vicinity.
On mv arrival was invited. by Il friend, 10
walk ,;n the river to view the fails. and see, as
nv friend said, "thc best water power in the
conn,rv." Now, sir>. when hc said the best
| was incrc,,uois, for, having examined the
water power on the Mcriimac at Manchester
Nashua, Lowell and Lawrence, ! thought there
certainly was nothing in the country equal to
those; bu,. Oh examining the falls, near your
city, I became satisfied that the power to be OBJ
tained here is Is dovbit that ~ any othrr Phtce
in ne couhtrY.
see YOU have some few manufactures Of
various kinl<. and perhaps more than | am
aware of; for may not have seen all of them.
But whatever the number may be, am certain
tat iEey are nothing in comparison with what
might and ought to be in operation; and none
OF these | saw have the appearance Of having
been in existence over few years. My thoughts
were these: Why has this immense water
power been suffered 10 lie idle so long? and
whv Is it not more extensively used now! Is 1t
poverty in this State. Certainly not. There
certainly must he an abundance of capital -
Wha, Is the reason: Why will Virginia be
dependent on Northern capital and Northern
manufactures. with every natural advantage
and with y wealth to give her the command ol
all the needed capital
Come, then, Tirginians. Arouse anu exert
Yourselves! DO not he afraid to invest your
capital 1t will surely yield you large
profit Organize your manufacturing com
paneS on Il large scale, at once, and at no dis
! iant ,lav you will have the satisfaction oil nav
ins contributed TO make Richmond the largest
manufacturing city in the country; and being
/ that she will certainly be a commercial city oil
no small degree of Importance; and thus max.
ing this large manufacturing and commercial
city. it will give an impetus TO the spirit OF en-
/ terprisc that will be seen in developing The
agricultural and mineral resources OF the "Olo
Dominion and viii. give her position IN tho
confrderacy second 10 none OF her sister States
STRANGER