The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-07-30
Richmend and Lynchbmre m..s
of W yndham Robertson ss,am.r,
Phtltp 81. george eeese'
- C~xsnu from NfrStnta

u,,h,.,as tie mass meeting Gron the subject
,h,. most important improvement, at Buck
trsham Court.House, wYNDnAM ROBERT
sos. Esq, states that. so long ago as the III .
meeting Of the present James River ana hs-
nswha Company, he offered resolution ~.
the survey for Il railroad on the Fe't -
which now, after the lapse OF hi ,he
twenty wears. seems felt al length - ".,n,.
one req uired by the best Interests :. ~ .yow.d
nua.tth Mr. RoBERTsoS says 'ne -,
moh"e LA The survey and required
P"iPse .axantares and disadvantages OF
,.,,nr MAN of Improvement prove
Tue , 80 direct the means and energies
80 .ompapy--at any rate, IN the hfst ILL.,
'..o.-to tAe construction Of fhtS rery ftne ef
",.,,a mote .a,aitattd from Richmond te
y..,hbs,s in lieu OF the canal. Mr.. RoBRET-
soN proceeds
whether it should afterwards be prolonged,
rssf TO The Mississippi at Memphis, and north
vast 10 the ONO, at or near the mouth OF the Ka-
nc FORK or auxiliary TO It's future constructors
and was to be reserved Tor that wiser and
commend. In either ease 1t was my convictio
that TINS very r9llroa 10 Lynohburg Was the woik
Ia hesin with. Ire rcsoletion was the subject oil
two days discussion. participated IN BY my bro
Their, Judge Robertson, Judge Norborne Nicholas
ana Others, for IL, AID Mr.. Cabeit and MI Chap
nan Johnson against It-ahd was defeated by the
ssaal vote of some i've hundred III favor To some
seven or e,sht thousand asa.nst But the true
opiniHfs OF many who voted are not eorrectb
Soonel kutherfoora and Coonel Muniord be ing
the disoussion, we're override IN their jndgme
by got up instructions OF the City Council that haL
tse Vote Teo OF the Vrssnis Bank aSsst the 1esou
tlon, yet 1t WAS with his iuil and active concur
renee that | offered Il, and his vote was not as !
learned IRON himself. given from any change OF
has ORIGINAL opinion, but because. voting last as
sd 4 interests
the country, that II khonid be settled so authoT-
tat,vei, as to terminate ali doubt and dIs,tust
about the earnest prosecution of the work. /
think the teHtemen referred TO, and whose opln-
abou; SO votes which would have given some
= O0J 50 the minority vote on the proposition sub
= yote of upwards OF $500 while st stating thai
ne adbef ed TO the opinI m which ne had loI man!
lions Of canal Improvement, sa d he felt doubt
and perpekity on the subject he had never ex
Dies you would thous ht render not unacceptable
to.ou "reminiscences; 1T brings back very iorci
the same PROJECT GU have now again on foot
MIR. RoRRRTsoN proceeds TO state that the
lapse Of time has not changed his convictions
and that the most direct railroad line TO thu
Southwest is, in his judgment, snow more
than ever the need of the State and CAPT
TAI. NECESSITY FOR RICHMOND
There Is no doubt of this, and we wish these
words could be engraved deeply on The hear
of every citizen. They are full OF point
truth and significance. Upon our taking heet
10 them and acting accordingly, depends thu
question whether Richmond is hereafter Il
dwindleinto Il one-horse town, the grass grow
ing In her streets, and her men of capital ant
energy flying to other chimes, or whether sh'
will become a great city-the Queen of TIT
South.
For nothing can be palmer, as Mr.. DANCE ha
clearly shown in his able report to the Buck
ingham Convention than that the practlca
working of the two railroads which now rul
from Lynchbnrg to tide water, totally ignor
ing the principal business city and capital o
the Common wealth, completely cut off THU
city from the line of Southern trade and travel
and tend directly to make the city of BaltimoI,
the market for the immense agricultural ant
mineral products of Southwestern Virginia
and that unless direct road can be es tablsheC
between Lynchburg and Richmond. the v hole
trade and travel coming along the Virginia
and Tennessee Road. towards which the STATE
and this city have both literally contributed, }
reaching back 10 the great valley of the Mis-
sissippi, will pass along the Lynchburg and
Charlottesville and Orange and Alexandria
Roads 10 Baltimore and to the North, and thus
be lost to the city OF Richmond. The gap bt =
tween Lynchburg and Richmond is the only
link row wanting TO complete direct route
10 the Mississippi, and we are absolutely hest
tating whether We shall make the small
expenditure necessary 10 fill up that gap
Great as the trade and travel now are, which
we might thus secure, they are, rs Mr.. DANCE
justly observes, Insignificant, compared with
what they will be hereafter, when the won
deriul valley of the Mississippi shall be fully
developed and populated, and when sit shall
be connected, as it inevitably will be, by Il d.
rect line Of railroad with the golden regions OF
California and with the shores of the mighty
Pacific. whose rushing waves ever flow richly
freighted with the costly products OF India,
China and Japan. TIE trade OF the East In
dies has, for centuries, been the great object OF
acquisition, and millions have been spent in
The effort to acquire il. Shall we now, by SUI
pineness and neglect, let it pass by us, when it
seems almost within our grasp!' Even if this
road had nothing to rely upon but the trade
and travel between its telmini, it has great ter
intra-terminal advantage than the Danville
and Richmond Railroad, which stops in Dan
Vile, and which is no" able, after appropri-
ating eleven per cent. to the payment OF its
debt, to declare q dividend of four per cent
But when we look at the undess wealth be-
yond with which we shall be directly con
road, it seems little short of madness TO hest
tate for a moment about Ii. construction.
The opinion of that sagacious and patriotic
gentleman, PaILIP ST. GEORGE COOKE, +. O.
is ually clear and decided upon the indis.
pensable Importance of this Improvement
"a RAILROAD FROM LYNcHBURG TO RICH
MoNp Is NOTHING SHORT OF A NECESSITY OF
THE TIMES" is the emphatic language of his
letter 10 the Buckingham meeting "The Rich
mend and Lynchburg Railroad" he adds, sis
4 necessary connection for the city Of Rich.
mond-a desidsratnn with the people of the
8 Juthside of James River; link that is
lacking to give unity to our Virginia works Of
Improvement May its speedy completion
furnish another eviocnce OF the sagacity, spiri
and enterprise of the people of the "Soutt
side" upon whose soil was constructed the
first Railroad (the Chesterfieid) ever laid dow 4
in America" Ard again Mr.. Cocgg declares
Richmond must have direct railroad eommu
nications. radiating North, South, East and
West, and thus make herself commercial
centre; or, otherwise If content to remain
'by the wayside,' (eceentric,) 10 our Virginia
and ,uthern system of Railroads she will
soon take rank as an out Of the-w way proyin.
cal town---or else become Il sort OF suburb of
Baltimore, Philadelphia or New York;
Let every citizen of Richmond ponder on
these words. This road, TO others a dssideya-
lam, lie 10 Richmoad NECESSITY. The
question with US is " " be or not 10 be-" We
are now isolated from the Sast river OF Sou tn
western trade by railroads in which we have
no interest and which have W n s.tarast I'm :, e.