The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-02-17
For tic Dispatch.
Annexation.

annexation on either side OF the river hc inc
lclst disquieted by the recent aslloh o. .'ie
cit; Council on this subject. 1lls actioh
m,;st have been the effect Of some mere tefh-
Dnra,v obstruction. The general proposlt.on
Of annexation rests upon too soliu Disis ol
Intrinsic merit 10 lie thus thrust aside pernld-
ucnNH II must come up again ana NC con
,idcrTd, Business men on both SIDES OF inc
river will not sulcrit to pass unheard' ah!'
when It is considered the inevitable conci-
| tions, in their leading features, Will appears9
reasonable snd just that they cannot staha
for 4 moment rs Obstacles before canCllu ca
animation. For example, Richmond must
assume the debt of Manchester. But tho
,ho,t ordinary business man i'll either pace
can do this. and ont Of the towns income
my fine annual interest and set aside a han1-
.oinr SIM besides for sinking fund. The
,iwurcs arc ut hand TO subStintlatc this state
mont. The whole debt, including that re-
Gently made for the bridge, is, i'll even num-
bers, $4,000. -,
Tie annual interest on this amount at I I:
ncr cent. average, is, il round nlllnler*,
| $1,000; while The gross income Is certaitlI!
! %1S.u3O. The li;an "hG hGslEtcS 10 accept
| the pvoposition thus far conditioned Eee''s
some ore TO tcke care Of Mm.
HiIt further: Streets Of the town arc to he
| improved, gas and water to he introduced.
Surely such conditions arc not unrcasonaDic.
| Richmond grants these improvements within
her present limits wherever the settlement OF
4 section seems to justify them. Certainly
she would not hesitate to allow the same 10
an Incoming community with present All
| n,,sl s,lrplus fund Of $4,000, and re;lsoll-
allie prospect in not Il distant future OF
| lar-cly-incrcascd prosperity. And to be
more specific, il it should he desired that I'M
movements he made in Manchester, nearly
or about coGxtcl,siYc with those III other Sec
| tionS about cGui-diStant from common cen
| ire. Il lust, not 10 say 4 liberal, policy could
hardly complain. 50 TINT thus i:t' II would
seem that on the Richmond side there ought
| ia be 80 obstacle in tic va" ri The speedy
; contamination of this most desirable union
OF public Interests.
II IS sufficient to premise for I'll" ultimate
| s,!ccess OF the scheme OF annexation, on bc-
| half of the peoplc of Manchester, that they
| desire ii upon reasonable conditions. AND
| their judgments are not fortified against coll
victions is 10 what are reasonable conditions.
! This last remark "paycS street " to the fur
! tlrr remark that l3crllapS no conviction Is
more deeply fixed III their minds ihan tntt OF
the nutcRieSs unTcGs0aaJtCnCsS oi the cond-
tions consented to, il not partly arranged. ty
| the Manchester committee, and submitted ror
| the consideration Of the City Council. Let
Us PAUSE and examine them Is far rs they
| have trausprci, We s!t TRANSFERRED: because
| they have literally escaped from Setrecv.
They were breathcd, and only Erea!hcd, here
aud there to favored few. Dut they e.
| cared. And now lct every citizen open his
ears aud hc..r them. OF course, limited
supply at least of gas aid water is among
them.
No. friend! Tic very same darkness
which has nightly settled down upon this IL
| favored town for the lust century Is TO settle
ni.h!ly down get awhile longer, and the
ierhle rays Of the kerosene lamp only
will still! struggle vainly to disrel it.
! Anu watcr-t!e most obvious Icqui-
site for convenience and sa!cty-;s not
sccrcd. Eut, surely, i the bcnightcd
citizen is to have no light to guide him, he is
to have, ut least. oue S1dcr1!k Of streets lead
! irw through c:cry ncighborho0d, firm and
smooth as bricks can make them, upon which
TO plrt lis foot in the darkness. Well, let
Us see. \ street is 10 be graded and paved,
commencing ri the foot Of the free bridge,
acn- tic crtrCmc western limit OF the town
. tie crrcnle southern limit. 1--WE can Ell
duIp that There arc some reasons III favor
OF it, Thence, on about southwcstcrIy
| dircction-Whither? Come, all yc curious,
| ana behold and wonder. Away into the
country-through slash and fence--over hill
! and valc-across and back to the present
paved street Of the town-a distance OF more
| than two Inias over ali nln1Gs. holtSsteSS tract.
Around tie area thus Enclosed, Including the
present paved street, is distance OF aDout
three miles. Itro streets only are to traverse
this vast tract. Alas! alas! Poor, tX-My-
ing citizen between these! He shI vii!
stick in Manchcstcr's historic mud. and us
| dccp rs ever hc did.
The unreasonableness OF this line Of street
Improvement, beyond the settled portions
of tho town. is SO manifest, as regards both
Richmond and Manchester, that it is scarcely
worthy of consideration. Richmond is re-
q',ired to make q street at enormous cost,
which can he Of no service for ten years or
more, except rs roadway for country tr,-
ve!!crs. Meanwhile, the settled districts OF
Manchester must srlller for the lack Of ncccS-
sites which might be supplied at less cost.
Ii the Council had understood the condl-
tions it would hot lave been matter for
surprise that the resolution was passed de-
claring the proposed annexation incXpedi-
emit" II it had not been stated that the re-
port was not heard (by the way, there Is 4
conflict in the statement OH this point,) Man
chester would not have hesitated to ascribe
to the condition the blame Of the Councils
action. I'VE understand now that it rests
elsewhcrc.) But the manifest unreasonable
ness Of the proposed country street suggests
in Inquiry:
! What could have been the po,eer to which
the interest and convenience of almost the
entire town was lashed at the foot of the
free bridge, and dragged unnatulaly and
uuwilliugly through an unsettled country
district tor more than two miles! This ques.
ton is submitted for the consideration Of
either the mechanic or the political econo.
mist. Perhaps both, in the character of the
yoter-for the councilmen if we are m
neXcd, for tic trustees if we are not-Wil
want III answer to it in the near future.
This suggests another question: Was, the
Manchester portion of that committee unlni'
nous in the adoption Of these conditions
We hear in various quarters that there wa:
not unaninity in the matter. If the people
had true friends among these their servants.
| let us know them. Ii there were those who
cared not for the interests which had been
| nustingv committed to them, let us know
| them. ,-t.a-.t ~.
The people want to judge Justly in this
matter. Answers to these questions are the
more important since it was openly affirmed
! by some of the members of the committee
that the people ought not to be consulted on
these charges. TO one who was not permit.
ted to take in the breathings of this secret
conclave, what is involved in them must re.
main hidden things, unless scientific men viii
discover them, or the court will answer fol-
itself. ~
| But this communication must close. We
OhaYn one word Mesurs Editors for rc,t1