The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-05-30
9irhnlunh 9ispattt.
WEDNESDAY MORNING. :. MAY %, 1850

Nlrtnlnn1 Ylspatft.
WEDNESDAY MORNING.. MAY 30 $780,
KicAnsnd and Lymchburg Railrsad-The
Meeting Ts.Night.
In pursuance of a call Of the Mayor, tnere
will be a meeting at the City Hall Tonight
which, among other matter, will sppotnt deie-
eates to the approaching Conventions At arm
willie and at Buckingham Courthouse. Ihe
Convention AT Farmville will We held on the
18th Of June. aud that at Buckingham Court
House on the a,h Of July. buckingham, Ches-
terrified, Powhatan, Cumberland. Appomattox
and other counties interested are expected to
he represented. JOHN +. LAY. Esq, has led
of the movement In an able speech In Ches.
terrified, whilst Buckingham has appointed
fifty delegates to the meeting on the lth OF
July. at the head OF which stand Coils. +. W.
huBARD and THos. M BoNDuRANT, Major
JOHN J. GILLIAN. CnAs. l.. CHRISTIAN, VIM
HOOKER, WIN. l.. PERKINS, &c. A free barpe-
cue is To &c given on this occasion, and COM
miitee has been appointed to make the heces-
sary preparations,
Now tina, the people along the route OF thts
important improvement are moving III ear
nest for its accomplishment, 1t oehooNes Rich
mond TO meet them promptly, ana respond ia
the most cordial spirit 10 their earnest lnVi-
tasion for her cooperation. The trade OF
Southwestern Virginia and Of the South
western states will be laid at her feet by this
railroad Let the people of this city arouse
themselves to the brilliant destiny that awaits
them if they will but take, at this opportune
nome {, the tide in their affairs that is wait
ing to bear them on 70 fortune. We have
a.. hon = no
vital bearing of this improvement upon all
the great interests Of Richmond Indeed, the
persistency with which her legislative repre-.
senta,ives winter after winter, have labored
70 obtain this charter, and the sleepless and
determined energy with which they have been
opposed by the representatives of rival inter-
ests, sufficiently attest its importance. One
view of the subject, however, though often
urged, we would again press upon the consid-
Grafton Of the Richmond public. 1t is that
the tobacco and wheat Of the Southwest are
of no value to us unless We have the chance
of supplying the producers of those staples
with the goods and groceries which they con-
sumo. 1t is this RECIPROCAL TRADE
which makes great city, and this we cannot
possess, until we obtain a direct connection
with the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad
which communicates with the vast popula-
ton of the Southwest. At present, although
Richmond has a hundred thousand dollars
in the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad that
great artery is tapped by two other avenues
to tidewater, both of which ignore Richmond,
and which, in point Of fact instead of con-
Meeting us with the Southwest, will have the
effect ultimately of completely isolating US
from all commercial intercourse with the ag-
ricultural heart of the country.
We are encouraged to hope, however, that
Richmond, now that the opportunity presents
itself willwork herselfout of THERON net which
threatens her destruction, and with the en-
ergy of another SAMSON, break from the bonds.
We indulge this hope, because we judge the
future from the past In spite of all the obsta-
cles that have been thrown in her way, in the
face Of the alternate GOODNESS and hostility of
Legislatures which ought to have taken pride
in encouraging the capital Of the State, the
classic ground of the Revolution, the soil that
was hallowed by the footsteps OF some of Vir-
ginia's most iIlustrious sons, and the only
commercial city of importance in the Com
monwealth, the people of Richmond have
fought their way to a commanding position of
strength and influence, TO a place among the
opulent and powerful cities Of the land, to a
position in which it depends upon themselves
alone whether their city shall become one Of
the first cities of America. Richmond, if true
to herself need ask no favou ~ any one, and
is beyond the reach Of rivalry or hostility
She has nothing to fear but the OLD FoGYIsM
in her own borders, the fogyism which is not
only un believing of the future, but blind to the
present; which cannot see the wonderful pro-
gress of Richmond in the last ten years, and
which Will not acknowledge her capacities
f,ra fay fl
stand still or fall back than move forward
which, with the splendid example of Balti-
more and the Baltimore and Ohio (i0O niles
Railroad before them, would shudder at the
idea OF building sixty miles Of railroad, even
though they We're sure it would make Rich
mond the u ueen City OF the South. She ought
to be the @ ueen now; she has every capability;
sne has command OF inexhaustible coal and
iron, and The finest water power tor manu-.
featuring purposes in America; two mag nifi-
cent outlets to the sen, the james and the
York; the healihiest climate and mosL beau.
tlfuI city On the Atlantic seaboard. But these
advantages will only ruin her, il she trusts to
them for greatness, instead OF putting forth
all her energies, and opening her purse strings
wide when enc sees such q straight and short
road TO commercial eminence that which
she is called upon To consider tonight.
Three Grand Sensations.
The people OF New Y rk are to have three
grand SENSATIONS this summertime visit of the
Japanese the Great Eas tern, aud the Prince
of Wales. 1t is hard TO predict which OF the
three will produce the greatest excitement
We would recommend the sight-seers from
distant parts Of the country to paIrcnize the
GREAT EASTERN. The Japanese are nearly
played out, aud the Prince of Wales is not
more of a prodigy than any other well bred
young gentleman Of nineteen, but there has
never been but one GREAT EASTERN. She is
q miracle of maritime eatsrprise, of mechani-
cal skill, and OF that thor and pains-tak-
ing industry which Ed artizans-the
most faithful in the worlc -besto tow upon their
toll. The ocean has never seen such fabric
ON its restless surface, nor hidden such a
mammoth in its deepest caves. Whether she
will pay or not, we cannot pretend to say, but
she will be none the less worth looking at, as
the greatest wonder which nautical art has
given to the world. Weeks and months might
be spent in exploring this colossal vessel, and
examining the powerful yet delicate mechan-
ism of her machinery and the proofs of patient
and faithful toll which may be seen in every
inch, from stem to stern, of her enormous
hull. As product and emblem Of the vast
commercial energy and maritime aptitude of
GSeat Britain, this ship will be better worth
seeing than all the princes and monarchs who
have ever sat upon her throne. 1t is in such
achievements as these that the real strength
aud sovereignty of England are typifed-thxt
manufacturing power which has made the