Year: 1867

For the Spectator.


Rail Road Subscription.


I learn from communication in Specta-
tor of recent date over the signature of TX, -
that the County Court at its last term made an
order submitting to the voters of the county,
the question of subscription of three hundred
thousand (300,000 dollars, to the Chesapeake
and Ohio Railroad. [ have not copy of the
act Of the Legislature comforting this authority
upon the Court, and am therefore unacquaint-
ed with its terms, or the date of its passage
But whatever may be the provisions of the act,
or whenever it may have been enacted, it is
obvious that a state of things exists at this
time In Va. neither contemplated nor foreseen
by the Legislature


The law under which this proceeding is to
take place, doubtless authorizes the Court to
submit the question to the qualified voters of
the county. At the passage of this act of the
Assembly, 'the qualified voters were a por-
tlon of the citizens of the State clearly ascer-
tanned and accurately distinguished, by the
Constitution, as possessing certain qualifications
which entitled them to the exercise of the cleo
tive franchise. And to the citizens of the
State, resident In the county, possessing these
qualifications, and to none others, was the
Court authorized to submit such questions. An
act of the Legislature authoring the Court to
submit certain question to the vote of one
class of citizens, can confer no authority upon
1t to submit the question to an entirely differ
ent class. And this question of subscription
will be submitted to, and decided by, the votes
of persons to whom the Legislature never de
signed to grant such authority; whilst large
number of the persons by whose votes the law
intended this question to be determined will
be excluded from any voice or influence in its
decision. 1t is perfectly evident that the Leg
islature never intended the decision of such
questions to be submitted to the votes of any
persons except those authorized by the Consti-
tuition and laws of the State. 1t, therefore,
seems to me that the legal authority of the
Court to submit this question to the present
voters of the county is extremely doubtful
This order of the Court will, however, afford
an opportunity to large number of persons to
bind heavy burdens for other peoples should
ers, whilst they will not touch them, with so
much as one of their fingers.


If this subscription should be carried, hope
there will be found a goodly number of the peo-
pie possessing enough of that manly fortitude,
heroic m patriotism and enlightened regard to le,
gal rights which animated John Hampden, to
make them resist its collection by every lawful
means. A tax imposed in this way is as much
in contravention of justice and the constitution
al rights of the citizen, as was the imposition
of ship money by Charles the First.


1t is incumbent upon the advocates OF this
subscription to show, that the county has some
special and peculiar interest to be advanced by
the completion of this railroad. viii it open
a new market for its surplus products? 1t GER
tainly will not. Because it penetrates coun-
try having large surplus of just such products
as Augusta county wishes to SELL The State
Of Ohio will not want to purchase our wheat,
corn, hay, apples, whiskey or pork, for the rea-
son that these are the very products she has
for sale. The road, however, will accomplish
one result, it will bring Ohio products into di-
rect competition with US at our very doors
But if it will open to us no new market it will,
doubtless, increase our facilities for reaching
our present one 1t will be borne in mind that
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad is merely an
extension of the Central We will, therefore,
only have our present facilities Of getting our
surplus to market, burdened with all the in
creased transportation consequent upon the ex-
tension of the road to the Ohio river. Those
persons who live along the line of a railroad
can tell whether the transportation OF aody
freight is ever postponed to through. Or if
they cannot at present, perhaps they will be
able to do so when the Central cars are flying,
onward to Richmond" freighted with Ohio
W WuCdl duu lOOl1 NLIioo tliClto IuOutNo othO tOto
in the depots, and the tax collector sells mich
COWS and plough horses, to meet the county
of $780,. 900.


But if it will not increase the facilities OF get
ting to market, perhaps it will cheaper the
cost 1t may do so, but | can see no reason
why it should. When the Central reaches the
Ohio river it will have to compete tor freight
and travel with the Baltimore and Ohio Rail
road. And to do this successfully the charges
upon through freight and travel will have to
be reduced to the lowest figure, which is the
mere cost Of transportation to the Rallroad.-
This will obviously be great advantage to
Ohio. But wherein will it ensue to the bene-
fit OF Augusta? l can see but one advantage
she can derive from it, and that is one highly
honorable to her disinterested and enlarged lib
eraity. The already high charges upon her
surplus products will have to be kept up, if not
increased, in order to enable the road to carry
Ohio products at low rate. Noble, generous,
magnanimous Augusta


But if it will not cheaper, Immediately, the
cost of transportation, perhaps 1t will establish
rival line, the natural competition between
which and the Central will eventually reduce
freights to reasonable amount. Certainly it
will not, for being mere extension OF the Cen
tral, it will only enlarge the sphere and length
en- the field for the display of the admirable
administrative and executive abilities OF the
present Directory.


But if the completion of the road to the
Ohio river will neither increase our facilities of
getting to market, nor reduce the cost, the
subscription of 100000 will surely so reduce
our taxes, and make their payment SO tacale,
that it will be real pleasure to meet Towber-
man and Lightner with their ticket bags And
even if this small subscription should unex-
pectedly increase our taxes, the prospects ahead,
both politically and financially, are so bright
and encouraging, that we ought not to hesitate
at increased pecuniary undertakings. The ad-
vocates of this subscription can safely assure
the people that the Clouds, which, at pres
ent, hang SO portentously over their heads are
big with mercies, and to guarantee that they
shall burst in blessings on their heads"


Some hundreds of years hence, as some an
tiquarian son of ''old Augusta examines her
musty records, how his heart will swell and
exult, as he reads her history, and learns that
whilst she paid twenty thousand dollars for
bringing the railroad to her county seat and
geographical centre, with generosity and mag
nanimity unparalleled, she taxed herself three
hundred thousand dollars to make road fol
the benefit Of the people Of Ohio &
sf1 .vsa1 ta.l -. - h.ats FARMER.