The native Virginian. [volume] (Orange Court House, Va.) 1867-187?, 1868-11-06
EXTRACTS FROM COM. MAURYs AD-
DRESS AT sTAUNf0N VIRGINIA.

The following extracts give the pith
of Com. MAury's admirable address,
lie says:
[ maintain that you--the farmers of
Augnsta-the country gentlemen of the
South-havc not been excelleG in this
respect by any other. people in the
world certainly not by the people of
the North. Man for man. you are not
surpassed by any people anywhere.
Thif may surprise some, but | maintain
it; and to vindicate you, appeal to facts
and figures and to the official records of
the United States Government ITSELF
And thus he proceeds to prove by
statistics com PILED from government
sources. He sums up those statistics
thus:
Mr.. Delmar estimates the population
of the South for the year ending June
30. 1856, at 9568,709, and of all the
States together at 34,505,SS2. Accord
ing to THIS statement the South in 1858
had very nearly the population that the
whole United States had in 1920; and
what were the exports of the whole
country in that year? 5l,00O,009. The
South In 1866 exported, according to the
same authority, 1922 900 900, specie val
ne, or more than five dollars to one. In
1850 the whole population of the United
States was Ii, round numbers $1,000, 900.
and the domestic exports amounted
that year to $l36 100000. The South
now, with not half the population Of
23,0O0.00O, exports $4,000, 000-that is,
for /.
Then he explains how it came-to pass
that this change of lack of energy hap
pened to be brought against the South.
How came it, let us ask. thaC the
South lacks energy and enterprise p
How came it that such story got a.
broad? | will tell you. A gentleman
from New England.came here-one who
could understand and appreciate the
value of our watcr-power. but knew
nothing about the value of our agricul-
tural resources. lie said to himself,
very naturally, What would not this
water-power be worth in New Eng
land? 1t is true we have water-power
worth more thaa all the Goa; and iron
in Pennsylvania, fulfilled; and because
we did not utilize it it was taken as proof
that we were INDECENT and idle. Again,
n gentleman from the mining districts
Of England would visit us now and
tlicUy dH'l StttIl2 anu dBUlVtidtlilS Oui
vast mineral resources which lie undis-
turbed in their veins, would tell of the
fabulous sums these things would be
worth in Old England, and say the
southern people lacked energy. But zoe
knew that agriculture was far more
profitable than them all, and " c devot-
ed our energy and enterprise to agri-
culture-the most remu1erative OF in
lustrial pursuits. This water-power
RUNNING to waste, and these minerals
lying idle, are but our '.tailings. y
These Foreigners can't understand it.
VIVA. we want now Is labor from :
broad--labor skilled IN mining and
manufacturing--to help turn these to
wealth; but as for ourselves, our land is
so overlooking with the benignaat boun-
ties of nature that we have neither force
nor time to attend to these great sour
ces eff wealth.
He closes with some practical suggcs-
tions to Which we invite the earnest at
t,ntion of the country gentlemen of Or
ange-the least cooperative p ,ople, we
very much fear, IN the whole world.
There is, | think, one thing which the
farmers of Virginia have to learn, and
that is, to act more in concert than they
have been doing. You will see in tray
cling through the old countries that the
farmers have learned there. by expert
ence, that good roads are much more
economical than bad; and If any OF you
-- farmers of Augusta-could only visit
France and England, and see the roads
there, and the loads drawn over them
by one horse and one cart, think you
would come to the same conclusion in
nI,,h 80 f,, ,ot-
rhads. Another fact as 70 clubbing and
concert OF action is very striking in those
countries. The American travelling
there will be charmed with the highly
Improved country and high state of Gull
tiyation. elegant fields and fine crops,
and will be continually looking around
for the splendid mansions to which they
belong. But they are not there. He
secs many villages, which consist OF
plain tenements, and are the abodes OF
The farm-iIands, and he may find in the
rl,ral districts one OF those villages per-
hans as large as Stanton, in which |
doubt If he could find half dozen hous-
es in which meals are cooked. Suppose
nyillage of one thousand houses; instead
of one thousand kitchen-tires, and one
thousand cooks to attend them for at
least an hour or so each day, he will find
two or three Dake-HOuSes, 10 Which cucii
family sends its meat and bread. See
what economy in fuel alone. You will
find that many immigrants, when they
. come here to settle, ask the first thing
for the baker. These are small points
but in their multitude they involve vast
sums.
One German with the aid of a range
which would not cost, at the outside'
more than hundred and fifty dollars,
could easily do the.cooking of the whole
village of Orange G. H.; and halfa dozen
active Irish girls could so from house
to house and clean up every chamber in
the pace before II o'clock. What an
i'm nense saving this would bring about
and how quickly it would make negro
house-servants return to their senses
and be again, what they used t. be.
comfort and dependence, instead OF an
intolerablc worry and nuisance.