VIRGINIA. 

 I 



749 



The subject of immigration has received 

 much attention, and a Board with a State 

 Superintendent has been organized. This 

 Board has sent over 329 agents to Germany, 

 and 250 to England, to assist in making known 

 the resources of the State to the migrating 

 classes and to the capitalists. 24,750 copies 

 of pamphlets and other papers have been 

 published in German and English, and placed 

 in the hands of the agents for circulation. 

 Vr r itliin three months preceding June, 22 Ger- 

 man and 16 English families, some of which 

 brought from $5,000 to $10,000, numbering 

 over 130 persons, settled in the State. The 

 payment of most of the expenses of the Board 

 is provided for by requiring the sellers of 

 land to immigrants to pay five per cent., by 

 way of commission fees, to the Stato for this 

 purpose. The superintendent, however, re- 

 ports that he has incurred expenses on account 

 of the Board to the amount of $3,900, to meet 

 which, as well as other expenses accruing, he 

 asked an appropriation of $7,850 from the 

 Legislature at its first session. The Legislature 

 refused to make this appropriation. 



At a meeting of the Richmond Board of 

 Trade, held in October, many topics having an 

 important bearing upon the commercial inter- 

 ests of the State were discussed. The Commit- 

 tee of the Board on Inland Trade report the 

 extension of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, 

 and its prospective completion to the Ohio 

 River, as having already given a healthy im- 

 petus to business with the remote western 

 counties of the State, as well as with those of 

 West Virginia contiguous. " Within a short 

 time past," they say, "arrangements have been 

 perfected to transport freights through, without 

 change of cars, to Alexandria, Baltimore, Phil- 



adelphia, New York, Wheeling, Cincinnati, and 

 Chicago, giving through bills at very reduced 

 rates. This arrangement must result in effect- 

 ing direct business connections with the great 

 markets of the West, if properly appreciated 

 and sustained by our merchants." 



The year 1870 will long bo memorable in. 

 the history of Virginia on account of great 

 destruction of life and property. The first of 

 the disasters was the falling in of the capitol 

 at Richmond on the 27th of April. It having 

 been announced that at 11 o'clock on that day 

 the Court of Appeals would render their deci- 

 sion in the Ellyson-Chahoon mayoralty case, 

 which had excited much interest in the com- 

 munity, an immense number of people, in- 

 cluding many ladies, had assembled in the 

 court-room in the second story of the cnpitol. 

 Suddenly the heavily-laden gallery gave way, 

 and fell with its great weight on to the floor 

 of the second room, which broke through, and 

 the whole mass of human beings and debri 

 was precipitated into the hall of the House of 

 Delegates below. Fortunately, the delegates of 

 this body had not yet assembled. The greatest 

 excitement and grief pervaded the community,- 

 and, when the unfortunate victims were taken 

 from the ruins, it was ascertained that about 

 60 had been killed, and upward of 120 wounded. 

 Meetings of the citizens were promptly held, 

 and measures taken for the speedy relief of the 

 sufferers. 



In the latter part of September the valleys 

 of the James and Shenandoah were visited 

 by a sudden and destructive freshet, such as 

 had not occurred during the century. In less 

 than two days the water in the James River 

 rose about twenty-four feet; a large portion 

 of the city of Richmond was flooded, and great 



