The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1863-02-26


will find that on the Pennsylvania line
"a mere imaginary line-landis worth
fifty per cent. more than land Ofthe same
quality is worth on the Virginia side.-
The real estate holder will be benefited,
if we make this State like Pennsylvania
and Ohio. lie will be benefited direct
ly aud Immediately.
But, fellow. citizens, he will be beno-
fitted in another way. Id the Old State
of Virgina,with the Legislature at Rich.
mond, il has been customary for the
Legislature at each session to. oppronti.
ate millions OF money, | have known
one legislature to appropriate s8OOo,.
900. They did it by a most infamous
system of log.roIling bargain and sale
as Infamous as any ever pmctised IN the
world. They would buy a western man
up by giving thousand or fifteen hun.
dred dollars in his county. and get him
to vote seven or eight millions for works
ofioternol improvement. In that way
the Legislature oIVirginia had run up a
debt oil $40, 100000 before the breaking
out OF the rebellion. Now according to
the new State Constitution, the LogisIa.
ture is prohibi,o't from creating any
debt FOR such u purpose. They canaot
run YOU in debt. This log roling--ths
thing OF buying up men OF easy political
virtue - will be- done away with. Every
man who has cent of property is inter
estcd in this; for willie man may be Sit
ting quietly at home, corrupt members
of the Legislature may be creating debt
which will be a mortgage on everything
he has got. The State debt of Virginia
has been created in that way; and if y ou
have suffered rom heavy taxation, or if
you suffer from it hereafter, it is because
you lave not got clause in your Con-
which prevents the Legislature
from creating great public debt
The merchants of your city and the
border will be benefited, because the
enormous lax which they nre made to pay
on their license is inconsistent with the
provisions Of the new Constitution; and
they could thus complete more success.
fully with rivals for trade from beyond
our limits.
But you will be benefited by having
all over your State, a system of lreo
schools You have very good system
here in Wheeling; but outside of this
there is not county in Western Virgi,
MIA that has free schools. Aud wha,
has been the result! The result is that
when you get into the sparsely people,l
districts there are many men
who DO not know how to read and write.
| am informed that there was a company
mustered into the service of tho United
States, from one Of the interior counties.
in which there was not one single man
who could sign his name. Now, gentle.
men, any State government which per.
mits any such state Of things as that 10
exist does not do its duty BY its people.
No popular government can exist long
in which the people are so profoundly
ignorant as that. The people have got
to be enIightod. You have got to eiu.
cnte them. The poor lnboring men in
Western Virginia are more interested in
this question than any other class. Tn
less their children are educaled they
must grow rp to the same hard life OF
toll that their fathers endured. Go any
place in life and who is it that has the
hard work to do? 1t is always the un-
educated man. Go aboard your steam
boats; it is the clerk and captain and
mate that know how to read and right
ana attend to business. 1t is the deck
hands who do not. Look on your rail.
roads the same rule holds good. Look
all around you. The leading and bust
ness men are the edUcStcd men, and the
men who work hayI in the streets for
their daily bread, are the uneducated
men. Give man an education and you
give him chance. The State Govern
ment Of Virginia has heretofore entirely
neglected this matter; reelected il, cspo.
ciolly throughout our Western noun.
tains in every possible way. And while
they have bestowed thousands of dollars
in the University ofyirginia, which they
have kept as school 10 indoctrinate the
youth Of the Southern country with these
States rights and secession p7ial;pgs--
while they have bestowed hundreds Of
Of dollars on institutions Of
that sort in that part Of the State, they
hoye given no,hingto Western Virginia
for any purpose. They gave $4,000
once to the West Liberty Academy, and
when the trustees came 10 apply for it
let them have it, Laughter
you sent Mr.. Edgington to
Richmond, he succeeded again in getting
an act, passed, suyngit should be loan.
ed them, but as soon as the secession Of
Virginia took place they passed another
, M ranao Inu ikat npn Tko, L,.,. -.