Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1872-01-30

Three Hundred Emigrants Turned Aside
from Virginia

| just now there is deep interest felt in every
part of Virginia in the success of immigration.
Our people all look to this as the main source
of our prosperity and material recuperation.-
Every means should be used that is legitimate
| to encourage the settlement of good and trust
worthy population among u.s. and to accelerate
| their coming, and at the same time prompt
| measures should be adopted to remove all OBJ
stacles and barriers which are calculated to re-
| tard or hinder the accomplishment of this OBJ
ject. and to prevent the interposition of such
| obstacles and overcome the influences that are
| used by other communities, and dictated by the
spirit of rivalry and competition to our detri-
ment. We find in the last number of the
Fredericksburg Herald case Of this kind,
which should at once attract the attention of
our Legislature and all others interested in the
cause of immigration:
The necessity of protecting the rights of Vir-
ginia as a point for foreign emigration, has
been brought practically home to our own door
within the last ten days Virginia land owners
can never find purchasers, nor our unoccupied
domain come into competition with sections
with not halt the intrinsic merits, but whose
interests are wisely and -well-cared for by those
whom they have placed on the out posts, un-
less we. like those sections and States, have Or
ganized effort to combat all forays.
A year or more ago, Mr. j. II. Walzl, of
Baltimore bought the historic Charlottesville
landed estate in our county. and since then has
proceeded to improve it. Last summer he vis
tied Germany, and through his energy colony
was partially organized before he left the Faith
erland, with the idea that settlement would
be made by them upon and in the vicinity of
his purchase in Spottsylvaua.
Since then he has been in communication
with the party, and arrangements had been
partially made in Fredericksburg for caring for
and looking after the interests Of the colonists
until they had opportunity of determining ex-
actly where they would locate, and before they
had entered upon self-sustaining pursuits.
On W Wednesday last. MIR. Walzl received a
telegram announcing the arrival of the colony
at New York the day before Tuesday,. MIR.
WalZl went on In person at once arriving IN
New York Thursday night, but in the short
time elapsing between the sending Of the tele
gram and Mr.. WIS notification Of readiness
(for We believe he replied by telegraml, the
whole party, three hundred, were dissuaded
from their purpose of coming to Virginia,
picked up, and sent to the Northwest
1t appears that emigrants are landed at Cas-
tie Garden, where they remain twenty-four
hours. During this short time the proposed
coonists for Spotsylvania were beset by horde
of hired agents for the West and Northwest.
They hooted at their going to Virginia. said
they would starve, that the people here were
hostile to foreigners, and used every device that
ingenious fraud or rapacious lie could suggest.
AS conclusive argument they wanted to know
how the colonists could get to Virginia, and
exhibited their maps, in which broad black
lines indicated the hundreds of railways lead
ing to the West and the straight shoot, whilst
poor Virginia was put down On their huge
map with little black dot, like widow in her
weeds, and no big lines to indicate her railway
connections with the city Of Gotham, or with
other points of civilization The agents sue
eeeded, Of course, and made $500 by their
days operation being paid by Illinois 81 per
head, and so much by the railroads for every
foreigner they sent over them to the Vest.
The story carries with it It's own moral, and
needs no amplfcation at our hands.