The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1865-12-16

starvation at their own doors.
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Among tho many subjects which ii
was the custom of the Dispatch, in the
days before the war, to keep habitually
before the public, there was no one, the
importance of which to the future well
fare of the State it esteemed so tran
scendant as tho engagement entered
into by the James River and kanawha
Company with a French Association, re-
presented in this country by NJ. Do Bel
lot dc Minieres, for the transfer of its
interest in that great improvement. AS
the events of the last four years may
very naturally have somewhat impaired
the readers memory of those transac-
tons, we will give a brief summary of
the whole affair down to the present
time.
1t cannot be forgotten that the private
stockholders agreed to transfer oil their
rights to the company in question upon
their undertaking to begin the improve
ment within certain period twelve
months, we believe), and to complete 1t
in six years, and upon their depositing
in one of the banks the sum of $500, 900, or
$1,OOO,OOO, we forget which. TO obtain a
transfer of the interest of the State, le-
gislative intervention was necessary.
Accordingly, petition was presented to
that body, and a charter, based upon the
charter of tho James River and KanaWha
Company, with certain notifications,
- ~, n only
three weeks before the State of Virginia
seeded. In it was prOviso that the
work should be commenced within a GER
tain period, and completed within six
years, provided such commencement and
completion were not rendered impossible
by the occurrence of wal, eWar did occur,
not by any act Of the French Company,
but in consequence of the act of Virginia
herself, that State having seeded from
the Union three weeks after the passage
of the charter, as we have already said.
No sooner had peace been re-establish-
ed than the French Company commenced
an active correspondence with the Presi-
dent of the James River and Kanawha
Company, in which they protested them
selves ready and anxious to proceed inn
mediately to the fulfilment Of their con-
tract. Since it was impossible to have
commenced the work during the war,
and since the war was not brought on by
any act or omission of theirs, they hold
that their not having done SO within the
time stipulated, does not work any for
fixture of their right to begin now. And
they say the same thing with regard to
the time within which they were limited
to complete the work. But two years re-
main, if their six years are to be dated
from 1861 but they claim the whole six
years, dated from the time when they
shall begin. This is all very reasonable,
and we presume no objection will be
made. The Company claim that the
State has already granted them an alb
sOlute and indefeasible charter. We
think SO, too; and we think, moreover,
that such would be the decision of any
court Of justice. upon earth. Neverthe-
less, Governor Peirpoint thought that
some further legislation was necessary,
and the matter is again before the Legis-
lature.. We will not allow ourselves to
believe that tho decision can be for q mo-
ment doubtful. .-r-
It is proper to say that NJ. Paul, the
French Consul at this port, has made
several official calls upon the President
of the Company since the return Of peace,
with the view of obtaining information,
and expressing the deep interest which
he was instructed to say was felt in Off
cial quarters at home in the progress OF
the affair. On two occasions he had re-
ceived instructions from NJ. dc MonthO-
Ion, the French Minister ut Washington,
to say that the French Government felt
the deepest solicitude with regard to the
undertaking, and would back it with all
it's moral influence.
We have lately heard from high 1,oliti-
cat authority that the scheme of uniting
the waters Of James river with those of
the Kanawha IL inpracticabLe. We do
not believe one word Of it. II the Alps
can be tunneled, we do not see why the
Allegheny may not be. Money can do
anything In the way OF engineering, md
this Company has capital of thirty mill
lions. So many Of these Impossible
things have been done of late years, that
the word impossible, in its modern sense,
hardly means even ue,y difficult. The
wise mon In Parliament said it was i'm
possible 10 make a train run ten
miles an hour and denounced
George Stephenson AZ liar and