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U'-UJi; WWWt ©WBBILOL JAMES A. WRIGHT, Editor- PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING BY SAMUEL S- JACK. Terms. Three Dollars per annum,in six months or four Dol lars at the expiration of the year Subscribers living out of the State, will be expected in all cases to pay in advance. No subscription received for less than one year, unless the money is paid in advance; and no paper will be discontinued until all nrreargee are paid, ex cept at the option of the Publisher. Persons request ing a discontinuance of their Papers, are requested to bear in mind a settlement of their accounts. Advertisements will be inserted at the usual rates; when the number oi insertions is not specified, they will be continued until ordered out. IT All Letters to the Editor or Publisher, on matters connected with the establishment, must be Post Paid in order to secure attention. DT of »t<« of Land and Negroes, by Adininistraiors, Executors or Guardians, must be pub lished sixty days previous to the day of sale. 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If published every other week, C2J cis. for each continuance, ff published once a niomli it will b« charged each timv as a new advertisement. For a single insertion one Dollar per square. get' —»———■*"* ■ 21 From the Richmond Enquirer. SOUTH WESTERN IMPROVEMENT. We now lay before our readers the mag nificent scheme, which in our last paper we promised to bring out. It cOntempla’es an extensive improvement from Knoxville South i west th rough Alabama, and thence to New', Orleans. According to this exhibit, Knox- : ville is destined to be one of the most impor tant points in the Western country. First, the New Orleans mil Nashville Railroad, running in a moredirvcl title Rom the Missis sippi, nnd the railroad from Memphis on the Mississippi to Nashville, will probably be run to Knoxville; 2dly—The grout Cincinnati and Charleston rond will touch at the same point; nnd 3dly—■ if evt r this Sou'llwettern Railroad should be Undertaken, n will also passthrough I Knoxvill on its way to the Virginia line. We , leave the question of this eentempbit* d South , western improvement in tho bunds oi nil the parties concerned. The House of Delegates have broken the ice on Saturday, by passing a resolution, for i running a railroad on State account from the ; Tennessee Linn to New River—and I uni : which, two Railroads are to diverge, one br i way of Lynchburg, nnd the other by* way oi Danville, towards each of which the State will appropriate 3 sths, open the joint stock prin ple. This is a most valuable improvement. It brings to our market, not only the largo produce and mineral treasures of tho rich sec tion of Virginia, which lies to the South-west, but also the productions of about 140 milesof, country, which extends from our line to Knox- ' ville. It does more—lt will bring to our mar ket a large portion of tho transportation, | which lies west of knoxville—and almost nil , the travel which is passing through the State, 1 or to the Northern Cities. Who will prefer going to Charleston, when he can cut short I his route by passing directly through Virginia, to the North? Indeed, most of the travellers down the Cincinnati Railroad will take our route, when they reach Knoxville rather than lo go oft’ to Charleston, and there take a steam packet, or the land route for the Northern Cit. res. Now, it is generally admitted, that the largest portion of profit on a Railroad arises from Travellers—With them rapidity of movement is economy of time and ol money —Net so wi'h bulky produce, which gene rally prefers canal or river navigation, w here it can be obtained. Il is calculated, we un derstand, up'inun average. that transportation yields no more than two or two nnd n half per ceni., ’Mt a Railroad* while the frorr/gives all the rest. Os course whv<o water communi . cation is not to be obtained, as for example, from t 1 e Temtessre Line to the James River the choice will bo between the Railroad, and tho present >low, expensive transportation by wagons. The advantage is so inurh in favor ©f the former, that it will be adopted—Much will thus bo saved in the carriage—and a spur will be given to the industry of the whole South-west. Rich lands will be turned to the Jx'St account—Mnny poor lands will be put in cultivation^—Th© rich minerals of the Weet will be dug and brought to market, in - " order to come by the South-western Railroad. Let us then strike a bold stroke at once. We have a rich and enterprizing rival to the South of us; who is looking to our move ments, and stimulating, her own people by our example. We must play the same game upon her, and excite our own citizens by her example. We have now before us and ex tract from the address of General Hayne, the President of the “Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad Company,” just publish ed. It comes to us, as the Charleston Courier says, in the form of an “eloquent Call on the Stockholders, in this great and magnificent en terprize recently put forth in pamphlet form by their able, patriotic and indefatigable Pres ident, on the occasion of announcing the re quisition of a second instalment of five dollars on each share, payable on or before the first Monday in April next.” The following ex tract speaks home to oursclVes: “The truth is that the trade of the West, at this moment, the grand object to which the earnest attention of the whole country is directed. Our sister States, and sister cities of the South, are all struggling to supplant us, and if we do net now put in, and press our claims, with a proper spirit, the prize will be snatched from our grasp. The Georgia State Road, which is intended to ferm a continuous line of Railroads from Savannah, through Macon to the Tennessee river near Rossville, under the patronage of the State, and with the advantage of a Bank already in fidloperation, will most assuredly secure to the cities of Georgia, that immense trade which Charleston may now command, by merely putting forth the manly and undivided energies of her citizens. Virginia, too, is I extending a line of Canals and Railroads, towards the borders of Tennessee, for the I purpose of forming a junction at Knoxville, with the great road, which Tennessee pro poses to carry to that place from Fulton, on the Mississippi river. Let these schemes be carried into effect, and South Carolina will be* cut off forever from a fair share of the com merce of the West which her most enterpri sing neighbors will have secured to them selves. At this time the people of Tennessee would prefer connecting themselves with Charleston, than with any to the North or South of us. Knoxville, is nearer to Charles ton than to Richmond, by at least 50 miles, ahd 100 miles nearer than to Savannah, by the Georgia State Rond. The valley of the French Broad River and tho Butt Mountain Gap, afford too n far better route for a Rail road, by which Knoxville can bo connected w‘h the ocean. But should we fail to avail ourselves of these advantages or if, after all that we have said nnd done, we should falter in our course, or abandon the enterprise, our sister cities will very soon establish those connections, by which our doom will be sealed —and we shall deserve our fate.” And if ice should “falter in our course,” we, > too, shall “deserve our fate.”—We call upon ' Virginia, then, to be up and doing. Shall wc I j permit a city so far to the Smith of us, to ' seize upon the advantages, which ought to i belong to us? Though Knoxville may be I nearer to Charleston than to Richmond, yet ] how much nearer are we to the whole North? | No State can cope with us in our locality as ■ to the neighboring States, South or \\ est of : us —nnd none can surpass us in the treasures, j i which lie at the surface or in the bosom of our earth. All that we want is, to be true to ■ ourselves—and show ourselves worthy of the i blessings which a gracious Providence has showered upon us. The great and new scheme which our elo !quent Correspondent has opened upon us, may i not come immediately within the scope of our resources, except do far as it falls in with the ; South.western Railroad, which is now under the consideration of tho General Assembly. The House took tho first stop, and passed a resolution in its favor on Saturday last. We , trust they will go on and carry that measure- ■ And when that road shall be fairly under way, , we cannot entertain a doubt that the citizens of South-eastern Tennessee, of Georgia, and Alabama, will then begin seriously to agitate the improvement from Knoxville to Mobile: WETUMPKA, Ala., March,2d, 1838. J To the Editor of the Richmond Enquirer. Sir—l have just been favored with a peru sal of the Report of the survey of the Vir giuia and Tennessee Railroad. Having once lived in your State, 1 look with interest io ev ! erv movement having the least tendency to unite the Ohl Dominion with my adopted Ala bama —‘And no project on foot in Virginia, in my humble opinion, is so intimately blended with the great interests of these Slates as the one of uniting the James River with the Gulf 'of Mexico. It may, also, be truly called a na tional work, involving national blessings. I ’ shall not, however, attempt to prove what I have asserted, as I think it must be clear to | every intelligent politician. My present object is, to refer to the best of the connexion that can possibly be pitched on to unite the navigable waters of the North east with of the South-west, and to place W isdom, Justice, and moderation ROME, FLOYD COI.VIY. GEORGIA, APRIL 28, 1838. before your readers what, from my knowledge of the country to be traversed, 1 should deem decidedly the most eligible method of accom plishing this grand object in the shortest time and at the least expense. I shall begin my view of the route in your State. Let a Railroad start from Richmond, and another from Petersburg, and converge to a junction on the dividing ridge between the James and Appomattox rivers and thefice pass . by Lynchburg along the line surveyed, to the i boundary of Tennessee. Let Tennessee then, ; take the road to Knoxville, where it would I meet the Hiwassee road how building, and : which commences at Knoxville, and is to ex tend to New Echota, on one of the main nav igable tributaries of the Coosa river. This river (Tho Coosa,) is navigable (or will be made so at an expense of 850,000, as repor ted by an intelligent Engineer) for steamboats down to Fort Williams, a point about fifty six miles above Wetumpka. Here commence the great falls in the Coosa which terminate at Wetumpka. Around these falls, tho We tumpka and Coosa Railroad, which is now be ing built, is to extend.—The Wetumpka and Coosa and Hiwassee Railroad Companies set out to unite Wetumpka and Knoxville, influ enced by mutual interests and the expectation of mutual benefits. South Alabama must j always remain unrivalled market for the pro- , ductions of Eastern Tennessee; and there of course she would purchase annual supplies of groceries and West India goods. These roads are on a line from the South-west to the North east, as will be readily seen by a glance at the map, and are destined to afibrd, (on this sec- | tion of the route,) altogether the best and , most practicable links tn the great chain from ! Boston to New Orleans. Our first notion was, that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad would extend to the valley of the Holston —but your road is preferable. I will now, Sir, ask your readers to place their maps before them: and with their left hand on New Orleans, to pass their right from thence over Lake Poncbartrain, &c., to the Mobile Bay, thence up the Mobile, Alabama, and Coosa rivers until they come to VVetump ka; a distance of about 600 miles by water. Never was there better or safer navigation— always an abundance of water, and, of course, never frozen up. Then commences the We tumpka and Coosa Railroad, which will be finished in two years at most. It is only fifty six miles long—the first four miles now nearly graded—and the whole way to be put under contract this spring. The experimintal sur vey is now finished, and the Board ordered jthe Engineer to advertise the whole for con tract as fast as he can locate it* Pass from the road thence up the Coosa to Rome, in Georgia, and thence up the Oustanaulla to New Echota, a distance by water from the head of the Railroad of something upwards of two hundred miles; all of which, with the expense above named for its previous improve ment can be navigated the year round, by steamboats drawing five feet water. After leaving the river they ga’n the Southern ter minus of the Hiwassee Railroad, which is pursued to the city of Knoxville, including a distance of about one hundred miles. Forty . miles of this road are already under contract, ' and will doubtless be completed in two years ' as the State has made a loan to this company j a few weeks since of 8650,000. In about seventy miles farther, the Virginia line is i gained —the Western terminus of Capt. Cra-I zet’s survey. Now, Sir, to form an uninterrupted and ' highly adequate channel of communication between New Orleans and Knoxville, it is on ly necessary to construct about one hundred and fifty-six miles of Railroad; nnd let it be remembered that the construction of this extent is already begun and progressing.— From Knoxville to Petersburg and Richmond there will be about four hundred miles more requi red; and as I am, 1 believe, well acquainted . with the route proposed I am certain that it is the best that can be found through any moun tainous region in the United States. I will venture to affirm, also, that there will not be required a single stationary engine upon the whole line from Wetumpka to Richmond. Then 550 miles of Railroad will complete the already partially formed connection, through I the heart of the Union, between Boston and New Orleans’ which must be one of the greatest thoroughfares in the world for , travel, for the transportation of material of war, and merchandize and commodities of all kinds; and constitute at the same time an in dissoluble bond of union between the South ern and Northern States. When we remember, too, that the Charles ton,* Louisville nnd Cincinnati Road would cross our line at Knoxville, we might expect on a fourth of July celebration to see volun teer companies collected at this from more than half the States in this Union to do hom age to the day which gave birth to American liberty. The consummation of these things rests with the generous and patriotic sons of Vir ginia. They are to say, whether or not they will have us ns their neighbors; and bold J themselves our friends in the bonds of social intercourse. I leave, Sir, to the gifted minds and enterprizing spirits of the Old Dominion the pleasing and profitable task of placing be fore the proper authorities and their fellow, citizens, in their just light, the eminently im ! portant benefits and blessigs, commercial t so -1 cial and political, that would accrue to all but ! especially to Virginia, by the completion of the great North-eastern and South-western thoroughfare. Ido most earnestly desire, as a well-wisher alike of my naiive State, to see the route above designated occupied as pro posed; because I believe it has advantages in distance and cost over any other that can ex ist. Moreover, it has a decided advantage m the great extent of navigable water, necessary to be connected only, by comparatively short links of railroad. I might here stop, for I have perhaps, alrea dy extended this communication to an undue length, but the magnitude of the project pre sents itself with increased force to my mind at every dip of the quill, and I must be indul ged a little further. After having reached Knoxville, a passage is afforded down the Tennessee river, by using the Tuscumbia and Decatur Railroad, around the Mussle Shoals, in steamboats to the Ohio. This river it will be observed, from Gunter’s Landing runs West and then North-west, and then empties into the Ohio, and that into the Mississippi just in the neighborhood where the Wabash, Illinois and Missouri rivers dischar ges their waters. On all these there is good stream navigation. The Wabash is connec ted with the lakes by canal; so that the project we have under consideration would not only effect a close and intimate union between the North-east and South-west-but likewise an un ion of the East and West. So, then, if your road is built, all the travel and transportation going North-west, West or South-west, must pass over it, and at Knoxville take either the northern end of the Charleston, Louisville and Cincinnati Railroad through Kentucky to Ohio; the Tennessee River through North Alabama, Western Tennessee and Western Kentucky to the States of Indiana, Illinois or Missouri, the Hiwassee Railroad, Coosa river, and Wetumpka and Coosa Railroad through Alabama to Mississippi, or by Mob ile to New Orleans, Louisiana, Arkansas, or the Repub lic of Texas* the Georgia improvements to the interior of Georgia; or the southern end of the Charleston, Louisville and Cincinnati Rail road to Charleston, all of which Channels of communication are already or soon will be available. 1 would ask you, then, Mr. Editor, in view of this picture, which lacks a thousand touches to make it perfect, and in the name of common sense and common calculation, would not Virginia be extremely foolish— extremely suicidal, not to aid and urge this magnificent scheme to an early and certain accomplish, ment? A voice from suffering humanity would urge us on; for, then tho invalid from any di rection, could gain an easy and speedy access to the celebrated mineral waters of Virginia in the summer, and the mild climate of the i South in tho cold blasts of winter. Fathers i and mothers in Virginia could leave, and in a week or less, be by the bedside of an afllic j ted son or daughter in the remotest part of : Alabama or Mississippi. Old friends, who | had, as they supposed, shaken hands for the ■ last time, could in a few days exchange a i cheering visit. And I might hope, Sir, in my ' last illness, to see the same pious minister at my bed-side in Alabama, who held out the cup I of consolation to my dying mother in Virgin ' ia. i I would, in conclusion merely suggest the 1 propriety of a Convention at Knoxville as a ; central point, in some short time to consult as to the wisest measures to be adopted toad ! vance this most important enterprise. All are i certainly interested in this great work, from ; Massachusetts to Louisiana, and I should be highly gratified to see a representation from all concerned throughout the whole line. With high regard, Your friend and servant, AN OLD VIRGINIAN. MERCHANT’S CONVENTTON. The following excellent resolutions were adopted by the convention recently held at Augusta: 1. Resolved, That a direct trade is the nat ' ural channel of communication between na tions, which offer to each other the best mar ket for their- natural productions; and that the intervention of a third party must operate as a tax upon the exchanges between them. * 2. Resolved-, That the Southern and South- western States of this Union afford those sta pics with which are purchased nearly the whole foreign imports of the country; that they are the consumers of a large portion of these imports, and ought naturally themseh es to furnish the channel through which the ex ; change is made; that on no occasion have i ’ their citizens been found incapable of main taining themselves in fair competition with other sections; and that the diversion os their H trade from its natural channels, must have Vql. I.- —VO 15. been brought about by the unequal action of the Federal Government, or by the abstrac tion of our people towards other pursuits. 3. Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention such a state of things should no longer continue; that the present condition of the commercial relations of the country, and the disruption of the existing channels of trade, afford an opportunity of breaking down the trammels which have so long fettered our commerce, and of restoring to the South its natural advantages; and that it is incumbent upon every man, who has at heart the good of his country, to lend his best exertions to the promotion of these subjects and to estab, lish our trade upon a sound and permanent basis. • 4. Resolved, That this Convention is fully aware of the difficulties to be overcome in the prosecution of their enterprise; but nothing daunted thereby, and fully relying upon tho public spirit and zealous co-operation of their fellow-citizens, they are determined to advance with uniting preservance; and with that view, do earnestly recommend the adoption of the following measures. 1. That an effort should bo made to afford to the importers and purchasers at Southern seaports, the same facilities which arc offered elsewhere; and with this view it is recommen ded that the Banks in the seaports should im mediately apply a portion of their respective capitals, to the purchase ol foreign exchange, and to the procurement of credits or funds in Europe; and that they should afford tho use of the same to the importing merchant upon a discount or collateral pledge of such good pa per as he may take from the merchants of th® interior, and that this accommodation be af forded as well upon paper having more than six months to run, as upon that having less; and that tho Banks of the interior co-operate by collecting and remitting the proceeds to such paper to tho banks on the peacoast. 2. That with a view to the important sub. ject of equalizing tho exchanges between S. Carolina and Georgia, this convention earnest, ly recommend to the various Banks of th® principal cities of the two States, or such as may be conveniently located, to receive sh« Bills of each other in the general business, and to adopt such arrangements for settle ments, at short periods, as they may deem suitable arid proper; the Banks against whom the balance should fall, to furnish funds for settling the same, or to pay an interest of six per c,ent. from the period of settlement, and that the Banks in the cities and towns of the Atlantic States, make arrangements by which the notes of all of them shall be at par in each. 3. That tha Merchants of the South and South-West, be earnestly recommended to give preference to the importers in their own markets, and that they afford them an oppor tunity of fair competition with other sections, by making their first calls for purchases at Southern and South-Western seaport; and on tho other hand, that the merchants at the sea ports shall, forthwith, set about importing such stocks of goods, as well ensure, at fair rates, a supply to the demand from the merchants of the interior. 4. That an earnest and united effort should bo made to draw home the capital invested by the South in Banks and companies abroad; and to employ the same, together with such surplus capital as exists at home, in mercan tile operations; and that with this view men of influence and character be earnestly invi ted to afford tho benefit of their example, by entering into Limited partnerships, under tho Laws lately passed by the states of Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tenncssc® and Florida. 5. That this Convention cannot but view with deep regret, the neglect of all commer cial pursuits which has hitherto prevailed among the youth of our country, and which hat necessarily thrown its most important in terests into the hands of those who by feeling and habit are led into commercial connexions elsewhere. This Convention, therefore, can not too earnestly recommend the speedy adop tion by all their fellow-citizens of measures to introduce commercial education among our youth; to train them up to habits of business, and thereby to establish a body of merchants whose every interest and feeling shall be cen tered in the country which has reared nnd sus tained them. . 5. Resolved, That this Convention is of opinion that the establishment by manufactu rers in foreign countries of agencies in tho chief southern ports for the sale of the vari ous articles exported by them to the United States, would conduce to the restoration of the direct foreign trade of the south. 6. Resolved, That a committee of five bo appointed to prepare an address to the people of the Southern and South-Western States, urging upon them the expediency of giving their hearty co-operation, in the accomplish- 1 ment of the great object of this convention. 7. Resolved, That when this Convention : adjourns, it shall adjourn to meet at Augusta I on the third Monday in October next, and that n committee of correspondence be appointed.