Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1870-02-17

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punic faith by others affords no ;usl;f;
cation for a departure from the paths Q
right BY Us. The ancient and proycrbia
reputation OF the people Of this Common
wealth for honor and integrity will b.
maintained, regardless of the selfish an,
Ianatlcal ,vituperation of our enemies a
home or abroad. We. have but to do ou
duty faithfully honestly and manfully, ane
We shall inauguratc along with civil gov.
eminent an era of prosperity, ofiuternal
development and individual and corporate
enterprise, which in brilliance viii eclipse
thu past g'ories of the Compton wealth
We live in a grander age then aud
which has preceded u.s. 1t is essentially
AN age of gigantic material development.
A continent has been bound together with
sinews Of iron, and united to others by
nerves of electricity. Lofty mountains
which formed alike the boundaries and
barriers Of ancient nationali;ies have been
pierced by the aggressive spirit of COM
nerce, and the waters of that turbulent sea
that rudely tossed the frail bark Of Enoas
have been led subluissiyely across the arid
plains Of Sahara, and mingled with the
waves that overwhelmed Pharoah aud his
wicked host. What age ever witnessed
such stupendous accomplishments as the
Pacific railroad, the ocean cable. the
Mount Gents tunnel and tina Suez canal 7
And yet We live in aud are actors upon
the stage of this wonderful era And
shall We supinely fold our arms, and. gaz>
ing only upon the dead past, glorious
though it may have been, refuse TO live
and move in and be of grander present !?
We cannot stand still if We would =
We must either advance or reccdc.-
Change change, is the memorable law Of
nature. more fundamental than paper con
situations. You and | must recognize
this great truth and act upon it as becomes
rational and responsible men. We must
front face" and ''march,'' ever mindful
to keep step to the music of the age in
which this our good fortune to live.
Located as our State is, midway of tine
temperate zone, exempt from the rigorous
cold of the North, and the torrid heat of
the South, with every variety Of fruitful
sell from the rich aliuvial bottoms along
our rivers and sea coast to the higher ia
BILE and timber lands il the West. our hills
and mountains filled with exhaustless de-
posts of iron and other ores, with the
finest harbor on the Atlantic coast. afford
ing ample and safe anchorage for the COM
blned navies Of the world, with an almost
limitless water power in our numerous
rivers, extending from tide water, far up
to their sources in the Blue Ridge aud the
Alleghanics-why should not these great
natural advantages be untitled and Vir-
ginia advancedao her proper position in
the front rank of State in wealth and en-
terprise and material development. With
a soil as fertile and climate more salu-
brious, with greater native wealth in her
minerals, her water power and her COM
mercial advantages, than any Of her SIS
ter States, why should not Virginia at
once set out upon career of prosperity
and greatness unequalled and unsurpass-
ed? Nothing but blind stupidity and
criminal neglect of opportunities can pre-
vent it, and you and 1 will bcheld largely
responsible ii such an era fails of prompt
Inauguration. We have canal, which,
when completed. will prove as valuable
an adjunct to commerce as the far-famed
-Suez canal. 1t can and ought. and | am
confident will be completed, if you and
the people will but heartily co operate with
me in plan which 1 shall hereafter take
occasion to submit for your consideration
A South Pacific railroad has been project
ed with its eastern terminus at Norfolk
Il doubt not it will be built When these
two great works shall have been compile
ted, together with the other railroads and
Lines of internal communication contem-
plated and in process of construction, and
a direct steamship line between Norfolk
and Europe shall have been established,
every portion of our State will be in direct
and easy communication with all the great
commercial marts of the country and the
world. All this is no. only possible, bat
altogether probable, and that, 100, within
,ahe FIRST half Of the present decade. Rest
assured all the influence which [ can ex.
ert, personal and official, shall be welded
in furtherance of any and every plan which
has for its object the development, ad-
,Sancement, growth and Improvement of
our State or any portion of it. But rail-
roads and canals and other commercial ia
cilities are not the only requisites to the
successful Inauguration of that career of
Development which We all SO ardently de-
sire. We need also capital and popula-
Msa. These lie at the foundation of all
Improvement and prosperity. Without
the introduction of these agencies it is
idle to hope for the accomplishment of the
grand results We have in view. In one
sense population is wealth. This will
prove cardinal truth with us. Every
tatle-bodied immigrant adds to the wealth
iof State. it is estimated, from 81 900 to
~. 900. With judicious, united, and
harmonious effort, our population, now
.sutnbaging say one and quarter millions,
can be annually increased by immigration
from thirty to ffty thousand How many
years would eispss, with such an annual
tceession to our population and wealth,
before we should witness the full realiza-
5ion Of our fondest anticipations
In ny opinion immigration should be
(ostered and encouraged by all the infu~
enees we can exert, and BY all the means
at our command. Nature, with lavish
hand has bestowed upon US all the advan-
tages of climate, soil, and mineral wealth
which could be desired. But these alone
will not suffice There must be other
inducements which our people themselves
can alone present. Thousands of vigor-