The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-10-30
The I.,nqerine Canal.

4|EE lE
The canal proposed by WASHINGTON.
commenced by JOSEPH q. CABELL. and
hoped Tor by all, and at last abandoned
bv MI save the holders OF tue bonds OF
the company, is still lingering, and the
tronbIe seems to be how to liberate: IL
from life that new. life may take its place.
Il has become as offensive and troublesome
in its prolonged existence as millionaire
who stands lingering upon the verge OF Tue
grave, white the impatient'helrs are waiting
for the effects OF the obstinately-lingering
sick man. (,
s,its against the corporation are brought,
as they have been brought not u'lnfreaueht'y
Of late, and still the subject of suits remains
70 become the cause Of others. The learned
souruALL, who has given the world his
elaborate work on Pre- Historic Man, has be-
come nominaily one OF the complalnants'
and when W." saw the fact announced we
felt Ike complimenting him for having got
ten at the fountain bead Of prehistoric ms
tory: the long-proiected, long-lingering'
and unfinished James River and hana"na
canal. -,
At the present time there is great coDpil-
cation about the poor old canal franchises
and properties. Lawyers and commission
ers will be called in to settle the complicated
affairs, and how long before that IS done
there is no telling. Time has unfolded Tue
true condition and prospects OF tine canai
SO completely that its once ardent frlenas
hive been converted to either indifference
or hostility towards it, and nobody appears
to cherish lingering hope Of the proionga-
tion of the enterprise. The triumphant
rival of all such canals as the James-RlVer
line must supplant that and all others which
have no more eligible route than that.
The removal OF the obstacles in the way OF
building the proposed railway an ob!ets
that should find earnest auxiIaries amongst
the people OF Virginia; and we hope that
the pending suits are not exclusively specu-
latiye, and that their conclusion may tend
to remove obstacles in the way OF the new
work. The canal has clearly proved Its
own inability to keep itself in repair, ana 1t
Is aDSOluLelE ucCSsSai Az INV ">'>S -
Virginia and the trade OF her principal city
that the water-line should give way to the
railway, whose superiority has been demon
strated.. ..a .-,...
We say il is matter Of the greatest I'M
portance that every facility should be al
forded to the railway project. We need
this road at once. Our interests are suffer
ing, our commerce is dwarfed and OBJ
structed by the existence OF the inefficient
and so often and so long interrupted canal.
Let us hope that, under the circumstance,
an early solution of the case may be OBJ
tanned, and that the railway may soon be In
facilitated progress. The James-Riyer Val
ley railway is the key to the commercial
welfare of Virginia. It is the most impor-
tant work ever projected in the State, and
holds out the brightest promises to the city
of Richmond-a city wonderfully favored
by nature, and whose greatest natural
blessing is her location upon James river,
whose valley marks the line OF transit Tor
the richest commerce that lies between the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans.