The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-03-11

The following E Il reply 10 tue tetteI VI
M. Greeley which we published some
weeks ago:
OAK Grows, BRUNSWICK COUNTY. NA',}
February ~. 1870.
Mr.. Horace Greeley:
Sir.-l received your letter "f the lotho
January. in replyto mine ola previous aa...
and had it published, rs i; involved subject
Of The most vital Importance 10 this country
and to this State in particular. Were IN
clincd TO indulge in n vein OF humor, }
might begin hy thanking you tor tic com,
plimcnt You pay us of thiS generation
i'll Virginia by LAYING us nj! upon tnc she ~,
NIGH and dry and l might ask YOU 10 &c.
the part cf "Friar Laurence OF anclcn,
fame. and give each Of lisa "pliiat OF tha'
=. distilled liquid" which put Juliet II
The sleep of death for "two and forty
h1urs." and, having IL bodies emhallneo
alert the "E-vptian style" lay us all away III
the "Nault> Of the Capulcts.n while you
await those halcyon days which are to be
uShered in with that ''new generation tc
which you look, and then awaken Us. But J
pat ic<,in" aside and look at the question il
he l!.ht Of those VITO expect to live ~ Ions
49, God intends for them. and TO live rs well
sS Ills will and human agency will permit
In looking carefully over the "CniteG
states" from an agricultural standpoint.
We Will find that the great experimenting
power Of this universe has allowed
three great divisions for production. II
VI division. grain, grass, and stock, are the
staples; in another, grain, tobacco, and
grass, more limited, arc the staples; in IN.
other. cotton and grain while in Il sinai
portion sugar can be raised in large qlanti-
Ties. In each aud all of these divisions.
stock. fruit. and vegetables, can he raised
in quantities to meet the demands of grow
inc millions Of inhabitants, and any attempt
Of man to infringe the laws Of nature
will necessarily be attended with CORE
spending expense, trouble, and liability to
failure.
The geographical position Of the State OF
Virginia Is such that she embraces Il por-
ton Of al three of these grand divisions:
For cotton can DC raised in a few counties.
tobacco in a larger number, and grass and
stock in Il still larger; and | think
i; j. more than probable that in the valleys
nf the &" Rappahanuock.'' of the Upper
kanaSha," and of the james" Through
which YOU travelled last summer" there
has been some attempt on the part oil
the farmers to introduce crops and cllltIya-
lion not adapted to their ATTITUDES, in the
general ~attempt-so prevalent in Virginia
to try and make out some sort of living from
the debris of what appeared our general
ruin 1t the close Of the war.
You arc aware that during the carlicI
rart Of this century large portions OF Nir-
@inia we're becoming very much exhausted
known as the cutting down and wearing
out Drocc>s-yiZ.. C~uttingdoWn the original
forests and cultiyating it year after year
i'll eNhausting crops, without any reference
to improvement 'or retention OF fertility a:
and, III consequence, thousands of families
we're Impoverished. sold out. and sought
homes in the West and Southwest. BU'
when the light of science and OF ncccsSl!!
were brought to bear uponthc "prolrs>lon
OF agriculture Il great change took place,
and for the last fifteen or twenty years pre-
viouS 10 the war Il "niore thorough" n
pnlinltcucd system OF agriculture was ra-
piIlv spreading over the State /: which, en-
hvuc;nm 4 iudiciouS rotation Of crops, with
liberal application OF fertilizers, was bring
luz VIRGINIA again into the front rank OF
states and had it not been for that unfor-
tunatc and unnecessary event she would TO-
day he one Of the most prosperous anu pro-
ducijyc States in the Union. What she
c0ui.! here been she stu 'rH be; | know by
personal experience and observation that
hy dividing our plantations into four or five
Icld-. and three lots. Il live in the tobacco
rcgion.) and hy using all the means that
laav be within our reach. We can improve
our hands and increase our crops. In less
than ten wears ! u~tiadrupled the value ana
production Of Thu plantation DumberS OF
IL: icli~ew-countvmrn did as much md
more two Years since the wary | tried TO
make cotton and lost money {; but | impro-
ved fifty acres Of land. a friend OF nine,
We'll known III this county, hired fifteen Ia
bnr"r>. ri one hundred dollars each, to make
cotton. sold il ut twentv-three cents per
pound. aud sunk money by the operation.
Last wear he hired seven laborerS, made to-
!3crG. and cleared fourteen hundred del
!yf.-!wo hundred dollars per hand-and
that. too, in the great drought which We
htl "last summer and which. | think,
l%i somcthingto do withtl!c unflvorahle i'm
urc>.lons made upon your mind. | use these
personal illustrations 10 show YOU that We
have a system, and that farming does pay III
Virginia under natural and iGdiciuls con-
!y0i Of circumstances
You SAY YOU wouid wait fora ''rcw gene
ration to till it, There Isl sarcasm in that
remark which cuts backward Il, we'll Il
lO~ryard-k"cn enough TO split the hide OF
u rhin2crros from the horn of his nose TO
tic tip 0! his tail and that brings me to
the QUESTION or LABOR, that Indispensable
'nairsI,ring to individual and national IN
istrnce and prosperity. From the close OF
ti.a revolutionary war in 1855 to the begin
ItnP - 1li' ' WA III iSOlS llA "
the United States was really and practically
divided under two hcadS-viZ.. the state Of
control and the state of qualified control !;
this was all and the only difference that
was. or erer can De. between slave labor
md free labor $50 called). Atterthe suWren-
der and the adoption Of the fifteenth amend
1nent to the Constitution Of the United
States the labor of the southern States,
which previously existed in the estate OF
control, : passed immediately into the state
OF "qudliticG control" which change, III
the eve OF all sound craftsmanship, pre-sup-
posed Il proper training for such a great
transition. which training. YOU know rs
well rs |, that it had not received. Hence
arose the absolute necessity for that law,
which WIS enacted by the Legislature OF
1866, which was intended TO regulate the
labor oi Virginia as iuliciou,iy u possible.
and to accustom it. by sensible and restrain
ing degrees, 10 that new state Of ''q,lalihed
control" to which il had passed under the
general law OF the land. And, sir, l
was astoniShed, perfectly aStoni>lied.
when 4 general officer Of the United States
army issued N order slIspending the action
Of thi, law. (And just here let me say to
You that the authorities at Washington
k0o.c NY opinion Of what | deem the weak
points il the Virginia Legislature of 1866
Viz, the rejection Of the fourteenth amend
ment and the unwiSe attempt TO bolster up
the validity Of Confederate money. General
Sherman has the letter.
] say, sir, | was surprised at the order
subscribing that law. Let me ask you
where would that officer have been. Where
would the United States army hare been.
where would the United States Government
have been, had the practical operation of
that single word, CONTROL, been erased from
the vocabulary of the Government in 1861?
Look al the condition Of Mexico, look at
the .'Republics" Of South america, look
at the West India Islands, and you have
some faint idea OF what would be the COLI