Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1867-06-13
LOCAL NEWS.
THURSDAY EVENING. JUNE Is.

EM1eRArroN-THE MEETING = OF LAND
OWNERS. Pursuant to adjournment, the farm
ers, landholders, capitalists, and Others inter
ested who met at, the Mansion House at moor
yesterday, for the purpose of considering the
subject, and devising some means to lnouce
emigration into the State, re assembled at the
Assembly Rooms, last night, at eight e'! cocA'
the number having been largely increased W
arrivals during the evening from the upper
country. fss, 4 Z IlI "A :, :,
The Chairman, Mr.. T. S. Barbour, called
the meeting to order, and, as chairman OF the
committee appointed to prepare business sub
mitted, as. the report OF the committee, the
following resolutions ::
WHEREAS, We believe that the great need of
this State is that the lands of Virginia should
be divided into smaller farms than those in
which they are now held, in order to promote
the settlement among us Of real owners of the
soil, who will thus have direct interest in the
future welfare and prosperity Of the State,
therefore, gs s.+
Resolved, That we recommend the organiza
ton of an Association, having for It's object
lat. To urge upon the land owners of Virgin
ia the advantage to themselves and to the State
of sub-diyiding their lands into tracts OF such
size as will meet the demands of the market ;
to gather information of the location SOIL ana
character Of the lands so offered for sale, ana
the prices Of the same and also to estaDiisn
agencies in the leading cities OF the Unteo
States, and in foreign countries where u may
be deemed necessary fully believing tnsI II
the proper information can thus be spread pc
fore the people, the natural aaVSntases W.
virginia offers to parties desiring TO emigFaie,
are such as Of themselves Will ora" lhto ine
State voluntary emigration, adequate To her
S.so1nsd That an Association should be o.
canized to be called the Virginia Land Com
1anv, with authority to receive subscrpt ons Of
isnd at fairly estimated values, and to hold and
d;spose and dispose Of the land so subscribed,
in such manner and form as may hereafter be
established, and that for this purpose books Of
subscription shall be opened at such time and
missloners, TO be appointed by this meeting.
ReSoloed That when shares shall have been
subscribed representing acres Of land, Of
value, that said commissioners shall con"
vene the shareholders in the city Of Alexan-
dria, who shall proceed to appoint the necessary
officers and agents to conduct their business,
with authority to adopt such rules and bylaws
as may be necessary for the government Of the
association.
Resoteed, That tho plan submitted to us, as u
basis of operation for Introducing immigration,
by Col Joseph Snolenski, be referred, in case
Of an organizations to the officers Of the same,
with request that it be carefully considered.
Mr.. j. H. Barker, Of Fairfax, explained the
preamble and first series of resolutions, advo
eating division Of the lands into snail farms.
He briefly noticed the great advantages pos
sessed by Virginia over the West, abiding to
the proximity of the farms in this State to the
best markets in the country; the great natural
advantages possessed by Virginia, her climate,
soil, and vast mineral wealth. The climate
here, he said, was far preferable to that of the
North or West, giving the farmer innumerable
advantages, so that one man with team here
teams in the North or Northwest, by reason of
the greater length Of time in which to do the
work, the spring opening much sooner and cold
weather coming later He alluded to the re-
ports set ahoat at the North Of insecurity of
person and property in this State, and contra
dicted them 10 his own person. he being a
Northern map. Life and property were as Sc
cure here as in any part of the country. AS to
the debt of our State, which was also held up
to deter emigration from the North. he thought
that upon investigation it would be found that
it was not greater than that Of many OF the
Northern States, especially if its resources and
means of paying were taken into consdera-
ton. All these facts he DESIRED should be
spread before the people at the North and
abroad, and he doubted not that there would
be strong tide of emigration into Virginia.
MIR. r. w. holland took issue with MIR. Bar
ker, in reference to the Importance OF sub oil
vision of the lands of the State \ sub-dl-
vision, he contended, would be useless without
population and capital, and when the popu-
laton and capital came, as natural conse-
uuenoe, the subdivision would follow. lie
contended that large estates could be more per
fectly cultivated than small ones, first because
every farm required an intelligent head, ana II
the lands we're divided into small farms, while
there were great many intelligent men IN the
State, there were not enough to give intelligent
heads for every small farm secondly, because
on large estates labor saving machines coulo
be prohtably used, while on small farms the
work must be done by hand. MIR. N. thought
that Virginia would become populous as soon
as our political troubles cease, and That the
population would not come from abroad put
from the States, and as sooh as the great ao-
vantages Of SOIL water power, facility OF trans
portation, &C., are fully demonstrated there
will be a rush Of immigration, not only from
the North, but from the Cult States, OF men VINO
have saved a little from the general Week, ana
dissatisfied with the state Of affairs IN the lar
South are anxious to make Virginia their 1u-
ture home, many of whom are now looking
out for lands in this State. He predicted that
in ten years Virginia would be greater than
ever before, and commended that, in the negro
We had as good material az any In the world lot
laboring population, and that they should
be offered inducements to incite them to THRIFT
and integrity. Without OBTAINING the meeting
longer he offered the following substitute tor
20 he L.. oGn hut va