The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-10-15
Norfolk and Richmond

GAVIN time since we published letter
,.r,,, WvspusM ROBERTSON, ESQ.,, ciaimicg
n.r Richmond the position Of superiority
among Virginia cities, and declaring tua' 70
her the State should look for commercial
strength and prosperity, and that upon ne,
abe should bes.ow that care ana favor 'ua'
you,d increase her thrift and Magnitude
Upon this letter we commcuted appf0'''sH'
It's sentiments had been ours, ana VIC "'ie
prasi6ed to fad that such souoo views "ei'
entertained by gentleman OF aec'oeS S'a.'s
r,orsb;, and one whose loyalty te Virgins
s. ro, exce,,ed by that Of any n,an'sorn WITH
in her borders.
rhs Norfolk Landmark puss'ia plea for
,he city IN which 1t Is printed, which plea
amounts to a claim for that city OF advant-
AGES natural that have failed to secure the
supremacy which the Landmark thinks was
due to her. She might, could. and should
have been, hut is not. On the other hand,
Richmond should not and ought not to have
been tue greatest city, bot ssae is. That is
about what we make of the logic of the
Landmark. And. 10 the language of TWEED,
.sWhat are you going TO doabout it!
We are amused at the eaTnestness of our
contemporary in quoting the letter OF Mr.
MADISON to MIR. JEFrEass ,fs;u 1774, 10 which
he saws: 1--WE made warm struggle for the
% establishment of Norfolk and Alexandra
- as our only ports Gtalics ours)o but were
~obliged to add York, TaFpabannoek, ana
81 Bermuda Hundred, in order TO gain any
thing" Richmond wastnot mentioned oy
Mr.. MADISON and Dowshc has grown 10 oc
,anusl in commerce and wealth to all those
towns in Virginia that deseree consideration
mt together. Steam navigation was not nc
that day dreamed of; yet 1t has made great
revolution in trade. What has become Il
Bermuda Hundred? Ave srstber like tha'
yeneration for things past displayed oy our
worthy contemporary. dat tue matter ID
hand relates to the present.
We do not mean to depfcciate Norfolk-a
venerable city that We feel an attachment
for-and we have no idea OF pursuing con-
&royersy with our friend. We repeat that
cur firm conviction is that -sbe would best
prosper by the concentration of the means
and energies of Virginia upon the city OF
Richmond.
One would think that',it waald be quite
sufficient for comparison between Richmond
and Norfolk that we should sag that In all
the subjects of taxation The tax upon tue
people of Richmond shows stbat she has
three times the wealth and resources OF Nor
folk. That ought to,settfe It: bat our friend
brings forward the acknowledgement OF Gene
raj LEE to show that Norfolk pays more
license-iax per capi!athan Richmond. Evi-
IDENTITY this is clanrcG las greet triumph
ever Richmond; but the statement only
shows TO the disadvantage of No-.olk. Rich
mond paid in 1874 sr3l; 1SG;60ddr licenses,
and Norfolk 52.G73.17, while the aggregate
tax paid by Richmond amounted to $780,
1888. and that Of Norfolk amounted TO
$1127S9.52.
The statisticiau, ourioas to !fsa out the
cause of the difference Of the Iicense-taX of
the two cities In proportion to population,
would'1nd that Yery'lar2e popul ition in
this city is engaged ipaaaaufuctura.g, which
is taxed upon the products Of its-:ndustry,
and pays no licenSe.ton. Norfolk hes hardly
any such population, ard "neyer>tsn have.
Here is the rub. There are upWa5f.s OF fifty
tobacco manufactures, We believe, lin Rich.
nord, and the TredegarW Works ahne en-
ploy many hundred operatives. Tbs Trede.
gar Works, probably involving .s capita
greater in amount than that invested in al
the dry goods establishments in Norfolk
pay no cense-tax. This accounts soc the
"mare's nest" discovered hrsugh ths hell
of the AOjutant. General.
But we don't want to criticise the cendi
tion OF dear old Norfolk. Success to her- VIZ
note that our contemporary boasts OF tht
number of vessels that enter dbe por
Norfolk. Would that thoy oil lid trade DO
her. .Lewes, Del, having the break.waar
Is q place of refuge for vast inumbex o
vessels; but no man counts them as part&'
the Eerca ntile statistics Of that fat-wasI
hamlet.
We repeat we do not desire to 'deprcs.
ate Norfolk. We love her, and if,sur COG
Temporary will unite we Will !most.eordiai,
drink her. health.