The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1871-02-16

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NO. 40.
destiny yand no sympathy for our suferings,
We shah ere long recuperate our depleted
fortunes, and be a power in this Republic
which our fathers helped to fashion and
maintain by their blood and their wisdom.
Sir, we have sgs s5,t2
= ALI THE ElEkENTg OF MATERIAL GREATNESS
- .S3z' IN OUR MIDST. 5t;H s
we have the ocean lashing our shores,
WIN tne finest and most accessible seaport
on the Atlantic coast. We have the great
Waeer-powers OF, Richmond, Petersburg,
Lynchburg, and Danville. Our mineral
resources are varied and almost inexbausti..
bic, and our agricultural and horticultural
productions are by no means valueless or
insignificant. We have fair railroad faeili-.
ties with our southern sisters whereby cot.
ton may be brought to our factories
or shipped from our porss to the markets
OF the world and we may reasonably hope,
with the completion Of the James River
and Kanawha canal, to see the great grain
productions of the giant West seeking an
outlet and market through our seaDoard.
In word, nature has done all for us that
the most ardent and enthusiastic Yirginian
could pray for, and 1t only remains for:
us to develop these silent and potent
sources Of wealth and greatness. All that
we need to accomplish this result is the
introduction Of capital, and if we
exercise moderation and political tolerance,
capital will as assuredIy seek Investment in
our State as that the sun courses from the
east to the west. And with capital will
come power and greatness, and then once
again, as in the days gone by, Virginia,
whose head has been barred to the peltings
of many q storm, and upon whose shield
have fallen blows that might we'll have stag
gered Roman prowess In the proudest days
Of her imperial grandeur, Virginia, I say,
Mr.. Speaker, will stand for the s'redeem-
ed, regenerated, and disenthralled," and
once more at the head of the American
Union, her waters will be whitened with
the sails of commerce, her harbcrs but a
forest Of masts, and her cities enliyened by
the sound of the loom and the anvil, while
the snort of the iron-horse will fill her val
leys rs it bears to her bosom the rich traffic
of the Southsan the: West. MIR. Speaker,
then, and not till then, will the dreams of
her wisest and most sagacious statesmen
be fully realized, and, in that hour, should
you defeat this bill t
YOU WILL FIND YOUR REWARD.
A happy and prosperous people will rise
up and pronounce you "good and faithful
servants" The sturdy yeoman as he fol-
lows bis plough through the furrow, the
honest mechanic as he plies his tools from
hour to hour, and the laboreras he handles
the cotton and loads the ship, will all join
in one grand chorus to thank you, as only
the humble, honest heart can thank, that
you did not in the hour of temptation and
misfortune take from them that birthright
which bountiful and benefcent nature
had bequeathed to them.
THE PRIcE-A MESS OF PoTTAGE.
But, sir, should you pass this bill, and
for " mess of pottage" transfer to Phla.
delphia these great natural privileges, these
linestimable and invaluable boons of Provi-
dence, then, sir, l shudder to contemplate
what may be the consequences. Virginia,
robbed Of those elements of power with
which she has been peculiarly gifted by
nature impoverished, humiliated, and de.
spised for her selfish and foolish policy; q
mere way-station on the grand route tc
Philadelphia ; subordinate to Pennsylvania
in her internal operations and probably
the laughing-stock of the weakest and least
productive State in the Union-will curse
the hand that "smote her." The half
starved farmer, the idle and paupel
mechanic, and the unemployed laborer,
with their wives starving and their children
crying for bread, will all point their fingers
to you Us the source Of all their trials anG
misfortunes, however honest and patriotic
your motives may have been. In such az
hour wish to be able to say in truth ant
sincerity, "Thou canst not say dill it :
and, sir, if I can, / intend, at least, tx
keep my skirts clear. +
LET WISER COUNSELS PREVAIL.
But, sir, hope that wiser counsels vii
prevail, and this calamity to our State bt
averted. l, for one, sir, cannotsvote fol
this bill, and l pray that the House will
vote it down. cannot consent to turn the
desolated fields and ruined homes of Vir.
ginia over to the tender mercies of cruel
horde of soulless spectators. I prefer to
keep the destiny of Virginia within the
hands of her people, and to climb the bill
of progress by degrees and by our own
eXertions, rather than see our hopes
blasted and our aspirations blighted
for mere temporary consideration.
But, sir, if Virginia must fall, the fatal
stab must be given by other hands than
mine. In conclusion, Mr.. Speaker, what
ever may be your line Of action, pray for
the best consequences, and, sir, / humbly
and earnestly hope that the future historian
may never have occasion to chronicle Vir-
ginia as Niobe among nations, standing
"Childless and crownless In her yoiceless woe;
An empty urn within her withered hand,
Whose holy dust was scattered long ago."
Mr.. Speaker, let us defeat this bill; let us
preserve the old Commonwealth in all her
integrity and with all her capacities and
facilities for future usefulness, and the time
will come when her sons may not only
point to her as great in memories, but also
in all the elements of material wealth and
prosperity.
THE SOUTHWEST RESPONDS TO TIDE-wATER.
MIR. J. H. A. SMITH followed Mr.. Segar in
denunciation OF the ambitious, soulless