The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-03-13
Evil Legislation,

Evil Legislation,
we Yesterday briefly referred to a great
evil in yirginia--one from which the State
hos suffered inmeasurab,y--to such de-
gree, indeed, that it will take years to eface
lite bad effects. In great degree this evii Is
traeeab,e 20 the upwise policy OF the tide
water counties OF Virginia upon the SUD-
iect Of internal improvements. Ihat p"t.
q, the state took firm stand against all
improvements, and compelled the interha''
imnroyemcnt party to resort to very ques-
.,,nahre schemes to combine enough stfeneth
20 carry their measures through the Lee's-
,ature This was painful TO the wisest anu
most patriotic men on the internailuPio.'c
won't side Had the Underwater co"ht.c'
wisely maintained the balance OF power =!
assisting projects that were really 10, VI.
,ons Of the State, and securing the deieat
., those that were visionary or PROMISED
70 do more injury than good TO the STATE
they would have secured to Virginia the
cr.atcst advantages. and ut the same time
won,d have Kept the public debt within
reasonable bounds, whereas the State mas
reaned untold evils, among them even DIS
memberment.
II is lamentable-it is grierous to the
State and all her people-that the tide-Water
did no, hold this balance OF power and join
with the sensible and truly public-spirited
leaders in framing wise system OF public
improvements, and giving to that system the
liberal aid OK the State. Such system
could have been established with much less
money than was expended, and such sys-
tenn would have proSpered, and would have
established and maintained the integrity OF
the domestic commerce Of the State, while
in no sense would it have impaired the IN
ter. State and foreign commerce Interesting
to Virginia.
Such A system would have had for its base
line trunk road from the Westto the Flr-
cin:a tide at Richmond; and the lateral
lines leading to this trunk would have con-
nec;ed with the capital the principal olVi-
sions OF the different sections OF the State.
The principal line should have been brought
10 Richmond because it showed more COM
mercial thrift than any other city, and there
fore greater capacity to digest the general
commerce to the advantage OF the State.
Commerce in passing through that city
would have left larger proportlonate
amount OF sediment to enrich the state
than il would in passing through any other,
and to that city every wise and honest
statesman should have desired first to see II
taken. It Is the increase OF the value OF
produces by the manipulations OF the man
usactory that causes the greatest gains from
commerce. The mere process OF forward
ing can never make great city. 4 few
commission merchants, draymen, and steve
dores can do a world OF shipping.
Virginia has but two ports from which
great deal OF shipping may be done-Nor-
folk and Richmond. We do not count Alex
andria as in the ring. Atrunk line from the
West to Richmond might also be trunk
line to Norfolk while one to Norfolk that
leaves out Richmond must be hurtfui TO
Richmond, and could not bestow upon Viz
ginia any advantages to repair the loss
inflicted upon her by emitting Richmond.
Prin,a facie such a line could be conceived
OnIV III q SDHlt Va AOS6ttlt.S w AstShSAN1
and such hostility could only exist in the
breasts OF sectional partisans who might
control the line of improvement. No capt.
talist who proposed to invest his money
in a road would dream OF leaving out Rich
mend. from which he would know the
chief prosperity OF his enterprise in Virginia
would come. The very towns should
have risen against this fault in the
Virginia improvements. The first city in
the State is the most able competitor with
outside cities, and other Virginia, cities
should have sought her help, or rather
should have given her theirs, in the great
struggle for promoting the volume and sue
cess Of Virginia commerce. But we shall
see that wise and homogeneous system
was rendered impossible. The internal-inl,
provement party, opposed solidly by the
Underwater, was compelled to buy votes by
scattering" instead Of concentrating the
power of Virginia. A "sop" was given tc
every section. A system OF diffusion OF
works, attended by wasteful expenditure
ensued; and this exhausted the State. But
the effects live and promote exhaustion
when she so much needs restoration and
strength.
The balance OF power, which should
have been wisely held and eXerted by the
tide-water counties, was madly employed to
defeat all Improvement. The internal-im.
proyement party was forced to the iniu.
rious and very demoralizing system Of
"log-rollins." Votes were scarce, anC
every one that could be controlled was
needed. Members soon discovered how
valuable the vote was, and every one sought
to secure with his vote some county inn
provement, or the twisting OF some railroad
out Of all reason from its true line Of utility
to run by some out-oi-the-way village
Thus the sO-called system became no sys
tenn at all. Votes were bought with rail
ways or turnpikes, and the routes for rail
ways were controlled by men who had NJ
practical knowledge about roads, and n,
other motive than that Of advancing thei
personal popularity and interests.
So the strait forced upon the internal-im
proyement party by the narrow public min
of the tide-water region begat the yiciou
system of log-rolling which again initiate
the views Of sections, and neighborhoods
and villages, and set them pulling at th
treasury and skirmisbing for schemes tina
finally drained it to the bottom-scheme
Nv, cI,o no