Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1866-11-22
MI. Willoughby Newton's Address to the Vlr-
~ oir;e aor;or1+,ro1 Convention

| ION : auuTeSS, WHICH VIII DC iestu W.
%."To sum up my advice in as few words as
possible, I would say Hold fast to your lands.
| Do not sell them under any circumstances OK.
cent at q fair price: Do nothing IN haste
wait developments You had as well be rum,
ed,by interest as by the voluntary sacrifice OF
| your property. Do not refuse to sell your sun
s7Is land at q fair price to poy Just debts; but
cling to the homestead. w Whether it be the
humble cottage or the stately mansion that has
sheltered YOU and your fathers, let it continue
| to shelter your children and your children S |
| children, Teach the rising generation to pre-
serve the landmarks, to Veneratc the ''patrl-
monial OAKS and be sure to love each 7
shrub and tree planted by their fathers as
| if it were a senieDt being. You will thus
| cherish sentiment stronger than law Dy
which your homes will be preserved to your
4 posterty. liz 81. IS, asa.~5
Il your estate is large, divide it with your
sons, and keep them in the state ; Tor one OF
our young men of proper spirit Is worth nun
| dred immigrants. You may retain athousand
acres of arabic land which may be cultivated
under your own eye with entire convenlence;
with the aid of baili1f, according to the Eng
lish system of managing large farms. As al
illustration | cite the Nctherby farm, In Gum,
berland, England, containing l,290 acres OF
arabic land exclusive OF parks, of the opera
tions on which a detailed report is given IN the
Library of Useful Knowledge. Smaller farms
of 800 acres or less may be cultivated with
equal success under the management OF an &C,
tive and intelligent proprietor, without the alu
of bailiff. 10 the highest degree OF success,
lime, grass, stock, labor-saVlng machinery ana
manures homemade and bought-arc inds-
pensable The truth that poor land cannot be
cultivated by hired labor without loss must new
| er be forgotten This makes improvements mat
ter of necessity, if not Of choice, and may; IN
the end, prove ample compensation Tor the loss
| Of our slaves. -.".
The soil of Virginia is kind, and easily cult
waited the climate genial, and the, vanety OF
f. her productions greater than that Of any other
region. In addition 70 all the productions Of
Great Britain, we have the important staples
Of cotton, tobacco and Indian corn. We have
abundant water-powcr, boundIess mineral re,
sources, free navigation, and open markets with
all the world Why, then, should our lands
not have high market value, and be capable
Of profitable cultivation by hired labor?
If you have more land than you can conve-
nicntly cultivate, advantageously sell, or dis
tribute among your sons, rent 1t out, Dut by
all means avoid the wretchcd mctayer system,
common on the continent Of Europe, under
which the landlord furnishes the capital and.
takes share Of the crop. This system lnva-
riably makes poor landlords and wretchcd
tenants. Many Of Our Virginia land owners,
without knowing its origin, have adopted
this system as an original idea, and regard it
as an ingenious cxpedient for the profitable
cultivation OF their lands. Lord Kane, Arthur
Young, and other British writers, described It
as accurately as if they had seen it IL operation
here, and speak OF it rs a device OF The
rudest age of agriculture" The first step Of
realimproyemcnt is renting, not tor share,
but for a stipulated quantity OF produce, Or for
! fixed money consideration; and the last step
! IS to grant long leases, with covenants TO I'M
nroye. under which system Great Britain ha:;
made such wonderful advances III agricultural
improvement.
It is obvious that onc-iifth of the laborcrs
necessary to cultivate the lands of the State i
! divided into very small farms, will be amply
| sufficient under the system that | have ven
turcd to recommend To procure these labor
ers, the market Of the world is open 10 Us, ana
nothing is required but ability to pay sufficient
wages to enable US TO get sufficient supply
To say that VIC cannot procure the necessary
agricultural laborers, is to admit that we caa-
not compete successfully with Other countries
in agricultural operations, which | emphatl
| cay deny. On the contrary, think we have,
in the labor Of the freedmen, decided advan
having had some experience wish white labor
ers, both foreign and native, | have come TO
the conclusion that the world cannot produce
more skiIfu and efficient farm laborcr than
we-trained Virginia negro who is willing ard
able to work AS class, / think under ell
the circumstances the freedmen have behaved
with remarkable propriety; and when the
ruinous metayer system of renting is ADAM
doned, necessity, which is the severrSt ia. k
master, will make them our most reliable de
pendence for labor. If treated kindly, and
large portion at least of the effective labor re-
CURED take occasion to say that l greatly
prefer native laborers either white or black, to
foreigners. They understand our language,
our modes Of farming and crops, and Can 20
TO work at once without training, whereas the
foreigner is to be taught everything.
Money may be regarded as q necessary Gle
ment of civilization. Without it mankind caG
make no progress, and must remain stationary
or relapse into barbarism This Common
wealth has reached the stationary point Her
industrial interests, though striving to advance
can make no progress Commerce, manutac-
lures, and, above all, agriculture, are anguish
ing for want Of money. Virginia seems 10 be
under an exhausted receiver, surrounded by
the vast volume of vital air that freely crcu
laies in unconincd space. She seems perish
ing for want of breath. Her people, agitated
and alarmed, are cnquring, one OF another,
"What shall be done?'' what shall be donc?'
Who will answer this question? The man who
shall give satisfactory solution will have, in
the eternal gratitude of whole people,
monument more durable than brass. o..
We are literally without circulating medium
the precious metals have ceased to perform the
functions of money. We have no bank notes
or the Checks or drafts or bills of exchange
which used to be, to some extent, q substitute
for currency, and the only circulation that
keeps up some slight symptoms OF vitality
comes from abroad. There was time when
Virginia had banks Of her own. under the
management of gentlemen who had tact and
discernment to perceive the decacy Of their