546 



FARMERS' REGISTER— INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. 



ing letters were, before their artificial improvement. 

 Much of this land in Virginia, lies over, or is convenient 

 to beds of fossil shells, which offer for the first improve- 

 ment, a facility far surpassing any of the early resources 

 of the farmers of Columbia — and the use of this calcare- 

 ous manure (so far as our personal experience teaches,) 

 will create in our poor soils, a power to be equally bene- 

 fitted by clover and plaster. We cannot understand 

 why the same skill and industry which has raised tlu 

 value of the Columbia lands from $3 to j^lOO the acre, 

 would not as surely raise ours from $2 to $40 or ,$50. 

 If a colony was fomied in Lower Virginia of such men 

 as Mr. Harder, by the purchase and settlement of a 

 body of our poor land, (so extensive that they could 

 fully pursue their own practices, and not in any way be 

 influenced by others,) by using the proper means for 

 improvement, they would speedily enrich themselves 

 by their profits, and greatly benefit our country at large 

 by exhibiting such evident examples of successful fi\rm- 

 ing, as could not fail to make the selling prices of lands, 

 approach the amount of their intrinsic value.] 



MEMORIAL, OF THE CONVENTIOIV UPON THE 

 SUBJECT OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT; 

 HELD IN RALEIGH, NOVE3IBER, 1833, TO 

 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CA- 

 ROLINA. 



To the Honorable the General j^ssembly of North 

 Carolina. 



The memorial of a convention upon the subject 

 of internal improvement, in which were repre- 

 sented forty eight counties of the state, respectful- 

 ly sheweth : 



That, according (o the appointment of their res- 

 pective constituents, the members of the said con- 

 vention assembled in tlie city of Raleigh, on Mon- 

 day the 25th instant, and liave continued their ses- 

 sion to the present time. Tliat early in the ses- 

 sion, a committee was raised, consistingof a mem- 

 ber from each congressional district of the stale, 

 to which was referred the general subject of in- 

 ternal improvement for tlie slate of North Caroli- 

 na, from which, through tlieir chairman, Duncan 

 Cameron, Esq. the convention received the follow- 

 ing report, to wit: 



" The committee to which was referred the ge- 

 neral subject of internal improvement for the state 

 of North Carolina, report to the convention as fol- 

 lows : 



That they have duly considered the several mat- 

 ters referred to them, and after a full conference 

 and comparison of views, they trust that they have 

 been enabled to digest a plan, which, if not perfect 

 in itself, is at least the best that they can reasona- 

 bly liope will be carried into execution. 



It is no doubt obvious to every thinking man, 

 that no plan could l)e devised entirely acceptable 

 to all, or, perhaps, in all itsdetails, acceptable to any 

 one ; \yhile it is equally aj)parent that unless some- 

 thing is done to accommodate all, or nearly all, 

 without an entire change in the principles of hu- 

 man nature, tliat hearty sup|>ort and concurrence 

 from the different sections of the state, so essential 

 to ultimate success in our undertaking, cannot be 

 expected. 



It was necessary, therefore, that llie plan devi- 

 sed by the committee should be as wide and gene- 

 ral as the wants of the state require, and its means 



are suflicieut to accomplish. The state may be 

 considered as divided, in its present condition, by 

 five distinct sectional interests, viz. first, what are 

 called the northern counties; secondly, the Tar 

 river and Neuse counties ; thirdly, the counties 

 usually trading to the towns on the Cape Fear; 

 fourthly, the extreme western part of the state; 

 and,fillhly, the middle counties, lying on the Roa- 

 noke. 



To obtain the support and countenance of these 

 difl'erent sections, as well as to accomplish our de- 

 sign of general utility, the interest of all these sec- 

 tions must be consulted and attended to. The 

 committee thought it rather calculated to ex- 

 cite discord, and to cool the ardor of those whose 

 views might not be fully met, to be at this time 

 specific in the recommendation or rejection of any 

 of the plans which have been referred to their con- 

 sideration; everyone of which may perhaps be, 

 in itself, highly worthy of public patronage ; but, 

 from their multitude, beyond the reach of the 

 means of tlie state to accomplish all, and, from 

 their peculiarly local character, not well calculated 

 for incorporation into any general system of inter- 

 nal improvement. But to meet the wants, in part, 

 of the people of the northern counties, and those ly- 

 ing below Halifax, upon the Roanoke, tliey re- 

 commend a communication from Edenton by rail 

 road, intersecting with the Portsmouth rail road 

 to Roanoke, or by canal with the Dismal Swamp 

 Canal. 



To accommodate the people on the Tar and 

 Neuse rivers, they recommend the cutting a ship 

 channel, to connect the waters of Beaufort Harbor 

 with Neuse river. They propose further a commu- 

 nication, by rail road, river, or canal, or any two of 

 them, or all united, from some point on the sea- 

 board of the state, to the I'ennessee line ; and 

 another communication of the same kind from some 

 point on the Roanoke river, running southwardly, 

 to the South Carolina line. These two latter 

 works, it is believed, will fully answer the purpo- 

 ses of the other remaining portions of the state; 

 while the wliole combined will, it is hoped, meet 

 the wants of the state at large, and all, and every 

 part, readily fall in with, and form a part of, any 

 internal communication which it may be hereafter 

 thought necessary to form between the eastern, 

 western, northern and southern portions of the 

 union. 



They do not think it expedient at this time to 

 indicate the points of commencement or termina- 

 tion, on the general routes of any of these works, 

 but recommend that a board of internal improve- 

 ments should be raised, and an engineer or engi- 

 neers employed, with full power and authority to 

 plan and conduct the works according to the gene- 

 ral outlines agreed upon. This general scheme, 

 from its very nature and magnitude, they believe 

 to be entirely without the range of individual en- 

 terprize, and therefore recommend its execution 

 exclusively by the means of the state, and under 

 the direction of its officers. While tlie committee 

 are of opinion that most, if not all the specific 

 plans referred (o their consideration, are too pecu- 

 liarly local to form a part of the general scheme 

 above mentioned, they are far from being disposed 

 entirely to overlook them; but as the selection of 

 particular scheme or schemes, from among the 

 number submitted as the most worthy subjects of 

 legislative patronage, is an inviduous task, and 



