The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-02-09

stage of this wonderful era. And shall
We supinely fold our arms and, gazing
only upon 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 recede. Change
change! is the inexorable law Of nature
moro fundamental than paper constitutions.
You and must recognize this great truth,
and act upon it as becomes rational and re.
sponsible men. We must front face y
and march," ever mindful to keep step to
the music of the age in which it is our
good fortune to live.
Located as our State Is, midway Of the
temperate zone, exempt from the rigorous
cold of the North and the torrid heat Of
the South, with every variety of fruitful
soil. from the rich alluvial bottoms along
our rivers and sea-coast to the higher table
and timber lands in the West, our hills and
mountains filled with exhaustless deposits
of iron and other ores, with the finest mar
Dor on the Atlantic coast, afordlng ample
and safe anchorage for the combined naVleE
of the world, with on almost limltless water
power in our numerous rivers extending
from tide-water far up to their sources in
the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies-why
should not these great natural advan.
tapes be utilized and Virginia advanced
to her proper position in the front
rank of States in wealth and enter
prise and material development With
soil az fertile and climate more salubrieus,
with greater native wealth in her mine,
rails, her water-power, and her commercial
advantages. than any of her sister States,
why should not Virginia at once set out
upon career of prosperity and greatness
uneouallcd and unsurpassed !? Nothing pu'
blind stupidity and criminal neglect OF OPP
nortunities can prevent it. Our people ex-
meet it. the country anticipates it, and you
and 7 will be held largely responsible II
sucb an era fails of prompt Inauguration.
We have a canal which, when completed,
will nroye rs valuable an adjunct to COM
MERGE as the far-famed Suez canal. 1t can
and ought, and am confident will be, COM
pletcd. if you and the people will but
heartily coUperate with me in plan which
{ shall hereafter take occasion to submit
for YOUR consideration. A South Pacific
railroad has been projected, with lts eastern
erminus ut Norfolk. doubt not it will be
quilt.
When these two great works shall have
,een completed, together with the other
.ailroads and lines of internal communica-
ion contemplated and in process of con-
truction, and direct steamship line be-
ween Norfolk and Europe shall have been
every portion of our State will
,e in direct and easy communication with
Ill the great commercial marts of the coun-
ry and the world. ALI this is not only
possible, but altogether probable, and that,
90. within the first half of the present de-
Jade. Rest assured that all the influence
which I can exert, personal and official ,
shall be welded in furtherance of any and
every plan which has for its object the de-
advancement, growth, and i'm
of our State, or any portion OF
/. But railroads and canals, and other
commercial facilities, are not the only re-
,uisites to the successful Inauguration of
that career of development which we all
20 ardently desire. We need, also, capital
and population. These lie at the founda-
ton of all improvement and pros
perity. Without the introduction or these
agencies it is idle to hope for the ac-
of the grand results we have
in view. In one sense population is wealth.
This will prove q cardinal truth with us.
Every able-bodicd immigrant adds to the
wealth of a State, it is estimated, from
81 900 to $4,000. With judicious, united,
and harmonious, effort our population, now
say one and quarter millions,
can he annually increased by immigration
from thirty TO fifty thousand. How many
years would clapsc with such m annual ac-
ccSsion to our population and wealth before
VIC should witness the full realization Of
our fondest anticipations
In my opinion, immigration should be
fostercd and encouraged by all the infu-
ences 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 in
,lucemcnts, which our people themselves
can alone present. Thousands of vigorous,
intelligent young and middle-aged men,
with more or less of capital, are annually
migrating from the eastern and central
States of tue Union to the West. They
ire honest. industrious, energetic citizens
the bone and sinew Of the land-the very
lass of people we need in Virginia to pur-
chase our surplus lands, to build up our
wastc places, and to unite with us in de-
veloping our vast agricultural and mineral
resources. Englishmen are already look
e, Stofn fa, l1Ic
population of the empire. Much interest,
also, in our behalf has of late been
awakened among the other populations of
northern Europe. TO turn the tide of imml-
grafton from all these sources to our State
only requires the proper combined and
harmonious action of our people and their
chosen representatives. Now is the OPP
Fortune moment for such action once lost
it may never return in your day or mine.
To the emigrant who settles in our midst
with the honest intention of becoming good
citizen We must extend cordial and hearty
welcome, regardless of what State or nation
may happen to have been his birthplace.
lie must be made to feel at home, and the
equal among his fellows. There must be
extended to him those social amenities of
life which constitute its chief enjoyment,
such az his station entitle him to receive
and enjoy, and thrown around him and his
must be the protecting agis of the law, Sc
curing and guaranteeing him in his " Life,
Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness .
Let it be known Of all men that such are
our purposes and intentions-that such re-
,eption and such protection will be accorded
10 every such emf grant--that law and order
everywhere prevail, and will be maintained
of all times and under all circumstances
with the full power Of the State, and every
railroad train that arrives within your bor-
iers, every steamboat that anchors in your
harbors, will be laden with people seeking
homes and fortunes among US.
In executing the functions of the high
and responsible Office to which / have been