Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1860-04-24
RICHMOND. April IL lSl;n,

RICHMOND, April II, lsGn.
Gentlemen:-I avail myself Of my earliest lei
sure, after the adjournment Of the Legislature, to
comply with your complimentary call on me,
contained in your note Of the 2Stl February, 10
furnish copy Of my remarks, made in the
House of Delegates, on the Ja.ncS River and
kanawha bill, for publication.
The speech was unwrittcn, and my notes Of
it have been mslaid, so that cannot hope to
have retraccd, with absolute accuracy, what
said OH that OCCASION; but, am sure, notwith.
standing, what send is the substance, and,
generally, m accurate transcript Of the speech
as delivered.
Begging you TO accept my thanks lor the
honor done me, ! am, gentlemen very respect
fully, yonr friend and ob't sy't.,
WYNDHAM ROBERTSON.
To Mcssrs. GonnIS K ArrEH>"*. Il. Il. Marcy,
and others.
Mr.. ROBERTSON said: Though laboring under
serious indisposItion, so us scarcely to bc able
to make himself heard, nothing should pre-
vent his 1T least making the attempt TO say
something OH the important bill under consid-
Grafton. The apathy and seeming Indifference
account for. 1t could hardly be That they
did not appreciate its Importance 1t was
rather, perhaps, that shrinking often OCCASION
great questions with which we feel we are
bound to srapple. Whatever the cause, Or
whatever the solution, the necessity of acting
OH this subject could not be Graded The cxi.
gency was pressing, aud must be met. The
al
| long line of our internal improvements. Of
every gra'lc from the largest to the least con-
siderable. 1t had dealt with almost all Of
thcm he thought, in spirit Of wise and judi
cious liberality. 1t had in the main given
them the sllccor they needed and in proper.
ton to their wants. 1t had opened mp, also.
new avenues of trade and intercourse, for dis
tricts Of country now almost shut out from
them. 1t had, in his opinion. deserved well Of
the country, and entitled itself 10 public graft
,udc. But the greatest work Of all-ii James
River and kaEawha Canal Was still
hchind That was $tili I" lie provided
lor 1t Was that "iicil must .ivr ;hCm
their snrcst title tn be gratefully rrlnc:H"ird
by pOsterity, by the blessings II w,ail't comIcr
on tho country. 1t MAS that which YET rclnain-
ed 10 crown their lahors. ''f'hiS cor'"at
opus" Without that their work was still in
complete. Without it. he was fully convinced
that hardly :: work they had projected or aid
cd, hut would utterly lai! ol realizing the rich
returns expected Of II, and which il is capable
Of yielding. Many al tl:cm wonl'l hG mere
burden on tic treasury, and hal better mcTcr
have hcen undertaken. This work iS the srrat
sustaining tunnel Of almost all Of thCn. lie
would venture To state il as his opinion, how
ever cxtravagant il mi sht br vicwc,i l,y some,
that It was not only the most Important OF
them all, hut more important than all of them
combined Let not gentlemen he startled
lie repeated that, in his opinion, u greater
amount Gl public interests were involved in
the support Or the decay and Abandonment Of
this work, than in that Of all they had 50 far
provided for He challenged The fullest scr;i-
tiny and analysis of the opinion. lie asked
them to come close nIr IT, Tie grounds Of il and
Judge if it were well ,r;'!'
Let us suppose lln .HAndoned ~ gone
| to rllin-what are the I tie ic&.rS which
would follow. It la, 90. ..i,en'ly upwards Of
ten millions OF dollars, W !cl!. # course, would
be q total loss to the State. cndcrratcd and
| misunderstood as it continually is in that re-
spcct hazard little in >ayi,. that lis benefits,
| in the way Of rchnrcd tolls and fares, rcrc-
scnt Il sum n0t less iHn the animal interest ol
! ten millions more.
Looking to its length Of 100 miles, have no
doubt il is an underestimate TO say That 1t
adds ten dollars per acre 10 million 0l acres
| of land, making another tcn millions 10 20
| dawn with it. Y0n would hardly estimate the
injury to this city, Lynclburg and Petersburg,
and tho smaller towns along the course "i Il.
at less illan another sum 1l ten millions oi
dollars. But look in another direction. It's
! abandonment would deprcsS, if not destroy,
all hope Of foreign commerce. Il would at
once dwarf your York River Railroad from Il
State to hardly more than county improve.
| meul II would almost destroy the value OF
your South-Sidc connections-of your Rivanna
and North River improvements Ii would be
| felt throughout its whole length most injurious
| ", by your great Virginia and Tennessee Pail.
road, and the great and increasing trade and
productions Of East Tennessee, for which
mainly it was built, and even nuw with the
advantage Of the canal vibrating in the balance,
| whether to sdopt il or tho Western outlets 10
! market, would-that advantage rclnInishcd--
he lost irrecorcrabIy, both tu it and TO the
State, Most of all would it bc disastrous 10
the Covington and Ohio Rairoad-which, in.
stead of tie fruitful source Of benefit to the
State it is so fondly hoped to prove, wonld then
become but huge monument Of Legislative
folly--a curse, and burden upon Your Trea-
sury forever. Look upon these inevitable results,
az conceive, Of the decay of the James River
and kanawha Canal, and say ii have csagge'
rated the importance OF sustaining 1t.
There arc certain and direct consequences oi
abandoning this great work. Who shall pre-
tend to estimate the value Of that rich freight
orhopetl-for blessings and benefits TO the Com
monwealth in the future whcrewith it is laden
to secure which it was projected, and for
which it has been still sustained and urged,
however sluggishly, onward for space ol live
and twenty years: What is the character OF 1t !:
and what is its object! 1t is designed to DC Il
| continuous line Of water communication to abut
at one end Oh the waters Of the Ohio, whlct Is
the gate of the Western world. ana on tle
other on the waters Of the james. which Is inc
rate Of the Eastern world. 1t Is 10 DC cnt
rhrou.h the mountains that inte-:ene anu be
rho conduit or their vast and diverse produc-
tions On the one side are the vast plains and
| mountains of the West, rich in all The raw
nrod,,cts Of the fields the forests. and the mines
and on the other the great hive 0f manu-
f,c,rrinr industry of the East, tccming with
cverr variety Of fabric made by the hands Of
man-both waiting but for the removal Of the
barriers that now separate them to rush into
exchange, and mutually meet, and furnish the
supply and demand that both are prepared and
eager to interchange. Let these barriers be but
removed, and whata picture ofprosperity would
Virginia present! LevyinGj just tribute on the
vast streams Of wealth that would then pour
through her whole length, from one extremity
to the other Of her territory, what would be