Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-04-02
WHAT SHALL BE DOxE WITH
THE PANHANDLE


Its Present Position considersd-
Pennsylvania WIN Claim It II Vir-
Einia Seeedes-A Proposal 70 6eEO-
eIate fer It AnyhOW--A SiEniheant
Article.
tRroa the e 8 RailTuad and GtuiuS RsEistsG-I
If yirginia, By reason Of the prePondeF-
anee Of political influence in the Eastern
portion Of that State, become indoctrinated
With The revolutionary ideas of the Confed-
crate States, Gad sizing OF from its moor
ings in the Onion which It has so long
helped 10 hold fast anchored TO the COnsti-
tuition, and become 4 member Of another
Confederaey, the States Of Pennsylvania
and Ohio would be eonstEaiued, IN sheer
est seif-proteetiOn, TO object 70 any ma
tionai boundary line that followed the out
line Of the Panhandle
The annexation of the Panhandle to
Pennsylvania would in eTeEy Way and
sense promote the material interests of its
indWeilers, and do no injury OF cause any
Inconvenience TO Virgins. Wheeling can
never have direct rail Communication With
Central or Eastern Virginia; its existing
rail outlet 70 the Chesapeake is TO port
in Maryland, and its next outlet via Pitts
burg will be TO a port on the Delaware
River, in Pennsylvania. In hne, the lAti-
tude Of Wheeling is north of The latitude
Of Philadelphia, being between the latitude
of PhilAdelphia and Pittsburg; and as
Peunsylvania should be bounded or the
west by the Ohio River as Itis bounded on
the cas-: by the Delaware River. why elm
atologieally and geographically and COM
merrially the Panhandle is, By aElotasHf Of
nature, part of Peuusylvania. Nor should
it ever have been cast politically otherwise
when the Ohio Valley was paFtitioned on
into CommonWealths. However, France
recently acquired Nice from Sardinia by
treaty, and Why should not PennsylVanih
acquire the Panhandle from Virginia by
negotiation? France and Nice were neigh
bors, bound together by interest, policy
and the genial Influences Of kindred and
intercourse, and so are Pennsylvauia and
Virginia.
There are paramount reasons why no
foreign State should anywhere inteFpoBe
Leireel Pennsylvania and Ohio. But the
Panhandle not only iuterPoses GetWeen
Pennsylvania and Ohio, bat 1t also pro-
jeets aerois the routes Of rail lines between
towns in the two States. Even under the
existing Constitution the Panhandle is the
territory of a lister State, and a State, too,
eudeared 10 Pennsylvania, has caused en-
barrasment in legislating for railroad COM
Panies, aud iu fixing upon railroad routes
| to and across the Ohio river.
II part of State bound to a foreign ma
tional compact, the railroad stations on
the Panhandle might be made custom sta
tons on the frontier, revenue depotS for
the collection Of duties on goods IN trdnSitw
between Pennsylvania and Ohio. More
over, the interests of the indweliers of the
Panhandle will, in the event Of the with
! drawal of Virginia, be still closer allied
with Pennsylvania. ARd if historical re-
collections and ties be invoked TO hold
their affections fast to the "Old Dominion
may not the same recolIeetions aud the
same ties be invoked to hold the Old Do
miniou herself fast to the old Constitution?
Even if all nationality between Pennsyl-
vania, Virginia and Ohio were to be sun
dered, and each State were to establish an
independent government, still the interests
of trade between the citizens of each
would dictate the removal of all instru-
ments SO potential for mischief as the ugly
Panhandle.
As contiguous States it will always be
the interest Of Pennsylvania, Virginia aud,
Ohio to cultivate relations OF amity and
concord. Aud, hence, if the contingency
alluded to should unhappily arise, Penn
sylvaufa, 10y whatever party she may tie
ruled, will doubtless look to the Panhan-
die, for the destiny OF Pennsylvania is
with the West, between the Appalachian
mountaineering and the basin of the
Lakes-frUm Michigan To Tennessee!