Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1860-10-20
WESTERN v1RGxNIA.

- d -
Her Position, Wants, Difficulties ana
Intentions.
[Extract from, a Letter to the n. Y Herald-fron,
Allegheny County, Val
The originators OF the emancipation
movement discover m additional source Of
strength in the accession of colony of
some forty or fifty thousand Frenchmen,
who are to settle along the great coal min
ing regions of l[0unwha. under the aus
plces OF a French company that have late
~ purchased the james .Rivcran Knnaw-
ha Canal from the State and stockholders,
This company have recently become the
proprictors of some millions of acres of
land in the counties of Knnawta and
Boone, embracing the richest coal lands in.
the world. This land was lutely recovered
from the State under an old title given bv
the original proprietor, Mr.. Swami, who,
alter long service in the Revolutionary
war, emigrated to France, where lie mort
gagged his estates in Virginia. The present
proprietors, seeing that this rich ucqus-
uon wonld be comparatively vaIueIess
without some transportation medilim eth i
cr to the OhiO9or the Atlnntic Scnboard.
Immediately entered into negotiations for
the purchase of that great State work, the
james River and KanIwha Canal, the line
OF which lies directly through the heart OF
the k0nawha coal mining country. They
made the purchase upon terms entirely
satisfactory to the stockholders and the
States agent, the Board of Public Works;
and it only now awaits the ratification of
the Legislature to be perfected That it
will have the unanimous approval of that
body no one. ehtcrtains the shadow Of
doubt
This little history of the acquisition of
this large territory, and of the purchase of
tne canal, have deemed necessary to
proper understanding Of the colonization
scheme which is looked to so hopefully by
the friends of emancipation to MD them
in carrying out that project. 1t is n
feastble hope; tor hv the accession of so
large m amount of free labor at once, the
death h!ow is given to slavery in that sec
tion-indeed in the whole trans-Allegheny
region, for the rich coul mines of Kanaw-
ll;p offered tie only field west even of tile
Blue Ridge where slave labor could be
profitable.
As if to couhtcract the evil influences
to which have referred as operating to
produce dissatisfaction i'll regard to slave
y in Western Virginia, tits now contem-
plated, !. understand, TO fOrtify the Vir-
ginia, border lying along tue Ohio river
and opposite the State ofthat name. This
may do very we'll so far as giving some
security to the inhabitantss ofEthis region
against raids and sortics from their aholi-
tion enemies of Ohio. But what of the
eiT;n2uS ia taAi.tlnn 10 Mllch me est IS
4Sn ioEs3e nFoteSg'on otsan lns1'tnz
W." "a !" ,'lS'l sli.y n''Ss o"1-;s "omlnat M
teres,mtnonsanoS re- ~, OF ieem none at all ~!
~" .s.I p.oposro .oi1inc".'o" ., Scneme VIII
9uS 'sEEuE'.'e Gne eNl! pN increasing taxa-
tl.. lL1 'til can ascertain, thls rene
80 .'.lIeu, WIN not oe satlstaStory. Inc
satvress "a az ss'Se' ne, ana tnat wnlch is the
so"'.5 SUI. VI .nS eNii-slaNe[y- prove
cMsireay csn.i ln'aeq nlte 10 INC costs OF tins
'; Scslne, Mnlle ltwoeld tIrn!Sh
oa".' i.Ne y s9un'er-Salane 20 lor the ln