1837.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



759 



mass ol' the people, in great cities, are all alike, 

 absolutely ifjiioraiit liow they are led ; and wheth- 

 er the hreaii liiey eat be gathered like acorns from 

 a tree, or rained from the clouds, they are well con- 

 vinced, that God Almighty sends the bread, and 

 that they have the best possible rignt to eat it. 

 The courts of London aklernien and common 

 council-men have, m every period, reasoned just 

 like the populace of Paris. The present system 

 of France, relalive to agriculture, is curious — 

 To encourage investments in land — tax it three 

 hundred millions. To enable the land to pay it — 

 prohibit the export of corn. That cultivation may 

 be rich and spirited — enco)irage small farms. Tiiat 

 cattle may be plentiful— /o^-ft/c/ the enclosure of com- 

 mons. And that the supply of the markets may be 

 equal in summer as in winter — hang all monopoli- 

 zers. Such may be called the agricultural code of 

 the new government of France. But there is rea- 

 sonable ground to imagine, as well as to hope, that 

 such a system will not be persevered in. 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF DIREC- 

 TORS OF THE PETERSBURG RAIL ROAD 

 COMPANY. 



In obedience to that wise provision of our char- 

 ter, which re(]uires the president and directors to 

 render distinct accounts of their disbursements and 

 proceedings to the stockholders, at their annual 

 meeting, we now beg leave to submit to your 

 scrutiny, lull and detailed statements of all the 

 matters entrusted to our care, connected with the 

 operations of this company, during the past year; 

 and trust, afier you have given them an examina- 

 tion, they will be approved and sanctioned. 



The board have pleasure in stating, that the 

 condition of the company is as prosperous as at 

 any former period ; and although they have not 

 been entirely exempt from calamity, they never- 

 theless believe your affairs generally will sustain 

 a proud comparison with those of similar works 

 in this or any other countr}^ So far as the con- 

 trol of the board extended, they perceive nothing, 

 on a review of the past, which they could advan- 

 tageously have changed. 



The board deplore the loss, caused by the fire 

 in November last. Its origin has not been ascer- 

 tained — but whether it resulted from carelessness 

 or crime, it ought not to have occurred, and would 

 have been averted, but for the unpardonable ne- 

 glect ot" a faithless watchman. Tlie board have 

 been always careful in selecting their watchmen, 

 and the person in charge of the premises on the 

 night of the calamity, was believed to be as trust- 

 w;rlhy as any who could be procured for such 

 service. Experience teaches us that there is great 

 difficulty in obtaining the services of men who can 

 be entirely relied upon, and who are willing to sub- 

 mit to the hardships and exposure attendant upon 

 the honest discharge of tliis duty. 



The actual loss sustained by the company in 

 consequence of the fire is, as near as we can esti- 

 mate it, about S 10,000. The buildinss were in- 

 sured for s? 1560, which amount has been recov- 

 ered. We have had, and still continue to have, 

 some additional expense to incur, for the want ot 

 our shops, being frequently obliged to send work 

 else\vhere to be repaired ; and having been com- 

 pelled to erect temporary structures for our purpo- 



ses, the amount of our disbursements on this ac- 

 count will necessarily be increased.* 



The board have the saiisliiction to state, that 

 notwithstandinsr the trouble entailed upon them 

 by this calamity, and the great inconveniences 

 the company have been subject to, at the time 

 and since, in consequence of it, their regular busi- 

 ness, and transportation and tn»vel, have been re- 

 trularly met, without any interruption. No trip has- 

 been lost, no delay permitted, and the regularity 

 with which the great and express mails have been 

 carried, have even elicited from the head of the 

 post othce department, an approving compliment. 



Contracts have been entered into for rebuilding 

 the shops and engine house, and in the course 

 of the present season all will be replaced, on an 

 enlarged, secure, and approved plan, with addi- 

 tional machinery and fixtures, so that when com- 

 pleted, we shall have the povver to do all of our 

 own repairs and work, a large portion of which, 

 we have hitherto sent abroad, to be executed at 

 great additional cost. These buildings and ma- 

 chinery are estimated to cost 8 15,000. It would 

 be desirable to erect the warehouse at the corner 



* The fire was discovered about 1 o'clock, in the night 

 (November 28th,) when too much advanced for its pro- 

 gress to be stopped, or for any tiling to be removed from 

 the buildings on fire. All the work shops, machinery, and^ 

 tools, were consumed, and also, a qnantity of materials 

 for repairs. The fire was burning until after the time 

 for the starting of the regular mail train, at 9 A. M., 

 but which was not thereby delayed a minute. There 

 were six locomotive engines then in the depot, of which 

 five were in the engine house, and were exposed to all 

 the fury of the fire. Before they could be examined, 

 and judging from the violent heat to which they had 

 been exposed, it was supposed that the engines would 

 be totally worthless, and past repair. But though, of 

 course, greatly injured, and much of the metal either 

 melted, or mis-shapen by bending, when in its softened 

 state, the damages to most ol them were so soon re- 

 paired that not a single trip was lost in consequence of 

 this sudden and great loss, and there was no dctentioa 

 or delay thereby caused, either to the mails, passen- 

 gers, or commodities to be transported. Of the two 

 engines which only were not burnt, one belonged to 

 this company, and the other had been sent fromXiver- 

 pool to this place by mistake, it having been designed 

 for the Winchester rail way — and it was taken away 

 in the course of the week succeeding the fire, then 

 leaving for use one engine only, besides those which 

 had been burnt, but of which one had already been re- 

 paired, and put again on the road. The single engine 

 belonging to the Petersburg Rail Road Company which 

 was not burnt, escaped by being then at the other end 

 of the road, 60 miles distant. This engine brought 

 in the train the evening of the day of the fire. These 

 facts furnish strong evidence of the capacity and ener- 

 gy of the officers of the company — of the good manage- 

 ment, which is the most important item in the afiairs of 

 rail road companies, thongh it is never counted as any 

 thing in the estimates of engineers or of others who 

 plan such works, and calculate their returns. — Er. 

 Far. Reg. 



