distance, how far the result will justify her expectations remains to be seen; at all events, she is certain to be amply repaid for all her efforts, by the local traffic of the country traversed by her lines of railroads, which will increase largely her present trade, by developing the resources of the section of country legitimately belonging to her.

The next most important line of road in Maryland is the Washington branch of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. This forms a part of the great coast line, extending from the eastern boundary of Maine to Wilmington, North Carolina. Its traffic is chiefly derived from passengers. It is, besides, situated too near the navigable waters of the Chesapeake to command much more than local freight. As a connecting link in the great national line referred to, it occupies a position that must always secure to it a profitable traffic.

Chesapeake and Ohio canal.-This great work was projected with a view to its extension to the Ohio river at Pittsburg. The original route extended from Alexandria, up the Potomac river, to the mouth of Wills creek, thence by the Youghiogeny and Monongahela rivers to Pittsburg. Its proposed length was 341 miles. It was commenced in 1828, but it was only in the past year that it was opened for business to Cumberland, 191 miles. Towards the original stock $1,000,000 was subscribed by the United States, $1,000,000 by the city of Washington, $250,000 by Georgetown, $250,000 by Alexandria, and $5,000,000 by the State of Maryland.

From the difficulties in the way of construction, the idea of extending the canal beyond Cumberland has long since been abandoned; and though when originally projected, it was regarded as a work of national importance, it must now be ranked as a local work, save so far as it may be used in connexion with the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, as a portion of a through route to the Ohio. In this manner it bids fair to become a route of much general importance. As a very large coal trade must always pass through this canal, the boats will take return freights at very low rates, in preference to returning light. It is proposed to form a line of steam propellers from New York to Baltimore, for the transportation of coal; and it is claimed that the very low rates at which freights between New York and Cumberland can be placed by such a combination, will cause the canal, in connexion with the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, to become a leading route between New York and the West.

The canal is a work of great capacity, having six feet draught of water, and allowing the passage of boats of 150 tons burden. As it commands the whole water of the Potomac river, it will always be abundantly supplied with water.

This canal has encountered so many discouraging reverses as to cause a general distrust as to its ultimate success. It is believed, however, that it will not only become very important as a carrier of the celebrated Cumberland coal, but that it will, in time, work itself, in connexion with the railroad, into a large through-business between the eastern and the western States, in the manner stated.

VIRGINIA.

Population in 1830, 1,211,405; in 1840, 1,239,797; in 1850, 1,421,661. Area in square miles, 61,352; inhabitants to square mile, 23.17.

The State of Virginia is the birth-place of the idea of constructing an artificial line for the accommodation of commerce and travel between the navigable rivers of the interior and tide-water. It is now nearly one hundred years since a definite plan for a canal from the tide-waters of Virginia to the Ohio was presented by Washington to the House of Burgesses of Virginia, and ever since that time the realization of this project has been the cherished idea of the State.

The central position of Virginia, her unsurpassed commercial advantages, afforded by the deep indentations of her numerous bays and rivers, and the near approach toward each other, in her own territory, of the Ohio and the navigable waters of the Chesapeake, all pointed out this State as the appropriate ground for a connexion between the To the apparent facility with which this could be formed, and to the advantages anticipated from it, is to be attributed the hold which this project has always maintained upon the public mind of the State.

two.

James River and Kanawha canal.-The great work by which this connexion has been sought to be accomplished is the James River and Kanawha canal, to extend from Richmond to the navigable waters of the Great Kanawha, at the mouth of the Greenbrier river, a distance of about 310 miles. This work is now completed to Buchanan, in the valley of Virginia, a distance of 196 miles, and is in progress to Covington, a town situated at the base of the great Alleghany ridge, about thirty miles farther. It was commenced in 1834, and has cost, up to the present time, the sum of $10,714,306. The extension of this water line to the Ohio is still considered a problem by many, though its friends cherish the original plan with unfaltering zeal. The work thus far has scarcely realized public expectation, from the difficulties encountered, which have proved far greater than were anticipated in the outset, and have materially delayed the progress of the work. The canal follows immediately on the bank of the river, which has a rapid descent, and, after entering the Alleghany ranges, assumes many of the characteristics of a mountain stream. This fact has compelled the construction of numerous and costly works, such as dams, culverts, and bridges, and subjects the canal to all the dangers of sudden and high floods, from which it has at several times suffered severe losses. But, so far as the canal has been carried, all obstacles have been surmounted. The various works upon it have now acquired a solidity that promises to resist all the trials to which they may hereafter be subjected. The crossing of the crest of the Alleghanies, the most difficult portion of the whole line, has not been commenced. The summit at the most favorable point of crossing is 1,916 feet above tide-water, or 1,352 feet above the highest point upon the Erie canal, which is at the lake at Buffalo. Elaborate surveys and calculations have been made for the purpose of determining whether a sufficient quantity of water can be obtained for a supply at the summit, and the result seems to favor an affirmative opinion.

Could this canal be carried into the Ohio valley, with a sufficient

supply of water, there can be no doubt it would become a route of an immense commerce. It would strike the Ohio at a very favorable point for through business. It would have this great advantage over the more northern works of a similar kind, that it would be navigable during the winter as well as the summer. The route, after crossing the Alleghany mountains, is vastly rich in coal and iron, as well as in a very productive soil. Nothing seems to be wanting to the triumphant success of the work but a continuous water line to the Ohio. Until this is accomplished, the canal must depend entirely upon its local business for support. Its eventual success as a paying enterprise was predicated upon such accomplishment. Though of great benefit to the contiguous country and to the city of Richmond, it does not promise in its present condition to be profitable to the stockholders.

Railroads in Virginia.

Central railroad.-The object which led to the conception of the James river and Kanawha canal is now the ruling motive in the construction of the two leading railroad projects of this State, viz: the Virginia Central and the Virginia and Tennessee railroads. While the canal is still the favorite project with an influential portion of her citizens, it cannot be denied that, sympathizing with the popular feeling in favor of railroads, which have in many cases superseded canals as means of transportation, and which are adapted to more varied uses and better reflect the character and spirit of the times, a large majority of the people of the State deem it more advisable to open the proposed western connexions by means of railroads than by a farther extension of the canal.

The line of the Central road, after making a somewhat extended detour to the north upon leaving Richmond, takes a generally western course, passing through the towns of Gordonsville and Charlottesville, and enters the valley of Virginia near Staunton. At Gordonsville it connects with the Orange and Alexandria railroad, thus giving the former an outlet to the Potomac. This road is now nearly completed to Staunton, with the exception of the Blue Ridge tunnel, which is a formidable work about one mile in length, and is in process of construction by funds furnished by the State. From Staunton the line has been placed under contract to Buffalo Gap, a distance of thirty-five miles. For the whole line up to this point, ample means are provided.

The whole length of the road, from Richmond to the navigable waters of the Kanawha, will be about two hundred and eighty-six miles. The means for its construction have thus far been furnished by stock subscriptions on the part of the State and individuals, in the proportion of three-fifths by the former to two-fifths by the latter. No doubt is entertained of its extension over the mountains, at a comparatively early period. The State is committed to the work, and has too much involved, both in the amount already expended and in the results at stake, to allow it to pause at this late hour. The opinion is now confidently expressed by well-informed persons that some definite plan will

be adopted for the immediate construction of the remaining link of this great line.

By extending this line to Guyandotte a junction will be formed with the roads now in progress in Kentucky, and aiming at that point for an eastern outlet. It is also proposed to carry a branch down the Kanawha to its mouth, nearly opposite to Gallipolis, to connect with a road proposed from that point to intersect with the Hillsboro and Cincinnati and the Cincinnati and Marietta railroads.

Virginia and Tennessee railroad.—The leading object in the construction of the above road is to form a part of a great route connecting the North and the South, by a road running diagonally through the United States. This line, commencing in the eastern part of the State of Maine, follows the general inclination of the coast, and passes through our most important eastern cities, as far south as Washington. After reaching this point, it still pursues the same general direction, and passing through Charlottesville and Lynchburg, in central Virginia, and soon after leaving the latter place, enters the lofty ranges of the Alleghany mountains, which it traverses for hundreds of miles, till they subside into the plains circling the Gulf of Mexico. The northern portion of this great line is in operation from Waterville, Maine, to Charlottesville, Virginia, a distance of nearly 800 miles. Parts of the southern division are completed, and the whole, with the exception of the short link from Charlottesville to Lynchburg, is in active progress. Of the central links, the Virginia and Tennessee is the longest, and in this point of view the most important. It extends from Lynchburg to the State line of Tennessee, a distance of 205 miles. About 60 miles of this road are completed, and the whole line is under contract for completion during the year 1854. The means for its construction are furnished jointly by the State and individual subscriptions, in the proportion of three parts by the former to two by the latter. When completed, this road will form a conspicuous link in one of the most magnificent lines of railroad in the world, both as regards its length and importance.

The prospects of the local business of the above road are favorable. It traverses a fertile portion of Virginia, abounding, moreover, in most of the valuable minerals, such as iron, coal, lead, salt, etc. At present, there is no more secluded portion of the eastern or middle States than the country to be traversed by the above road; all its great resources remain undeveloped, from the cost of transportation to a market. When this road shall be opened, no section will display more progress, nor furnish, according to its population, a larger traffic.

The friends of this project propose also to make a portion of its line the trunk of a new route, from the navigable waters of the Ohio to those of the Chesapeake. At a distance of about 75 miles from Lynchburg, the Virginia and Tennessee road strikes the great Kanawha near Christiansburg. From this point to the navigable waters of the river the distance is only 86 miles. As the Virginia and Tennessee road is to be connected by railroad with both Richmond and Petersburg, the short link described will alone be wanting to constitute a new outlet for western produce to tide-water. That this link must be supplied at no distant day, can hardly admit of a doubt. Should the State extend aid to it, as well as to the Central line, both may be opened simultaneously.

There are numerous other important lines of railroad in Virginia, among which may be named the line running through the State from north to south, made up of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac, Richmond and Petersburg, and Petersburg and Weldon roads; the South Side, the Richmond and Danville, the Seaboard and Roanoke, the Orange and Alexandria, and the Manasses Gap railroads.

The first-named line forms the great route of travel through the State from north to south. Its revenues are chiefly derived from passenger traffic; its direction not being favorable to a large freight business. The whole line is well managed and productive, and is daily improving in value, from the extension of both extremes of the great system of which this is the connecting link.

The South Side and the Richmond and Danville roads are works of importance, from the extent of their lines, the connexions they form, and their prospective business. Starting from two, the most considerable, towns in eastern Virginia, situated at the head of navigation on two important rivers, they cross each other diagonally about midway between their respective termini, thus giving a choice of markets to the country traversed by either. The former constitutes the extension eastward of the Virginia and Tennessee line, and opens an outlet for that work to Richmond and Petersburg. The latter will also secure to the same cities the trade of important portions of southern Virginia and North Carolina, and will undoubtedly be extended eventually into the latter State, and form a junction with the North Carolina railroad, at or near Greensboro, forming, in connexion with the North Carolina and Charlotte and South Carolina railroads a new and independent interior route between Richmond and Petersburg and the southern States.

The Seaboard and Roanoke railroad is also a line of much consequence, and may eventually become a work of great importance, depending, however, upon the future progress of Norfolk, its eastern terminus. The excellence of the harbor of Norfolk has led to great expectations in reference to the future growth of that city. Its position has been compared with that of New York, and it bears a relation to the Chesapeake bay, and the rivers entering it, similar to that of the former to the Hudson river and Long Island Sound. No portion of the country possesses greater commercial capabilities than eastern Virginia, and it would seem that the numerous rivers by which it is watered would develop a trade sufficient to build up a large commercial town. Such has not been the result, however inexplicable the cause.

The great seats of commerce lie farther north, and the seaports of Virginia, instead of being depôts from which are distributed to the consumers the products of the State, are merely points en route to the great northern markets. Her people being devoted chiefly to agriculture, no large towns have grown up within her territory. Should, in time, a greater diversity of pursuits secure the consumption, by her own people, of the surplus products of her soil, Norfolk could not fail to become an important commercial town. The Seaboard and Roanoke road would be her great arm of inland communication, combining, as it does, with the roads penetrating the interior of the State,