his
number of acres of farm lands of Virginia by the New York value, it
would make the total value of the farm lands of Virginia,
$1,186,942,136, and the _additional_ value caused by emancipation
$815,845,925. But, stupendous as is this result in regard to lands, it
is far below the reality. We have seen that the farm lands of Virginia,
improved and unimproved, constituted 31,014,950 acres. By the Census and
the Land Office Tables, the area of Virginia is 39,265,280 acres. Deduct
the farm lands, and there remain unoccupied 8,250,330 acres. Now,
Virginia's population to the square mile being 26.02, and that of New
York 84.36, with an equal density in Virginia, more than two thirds of
these Virginia lands, as in New York, must have been occupied as farms.
This would have been equivalent, at two thirds, to 5,500,000 acres,
which, at their present average value of $2 per acre, would be worth
$11,000,000; but, at the value per acre of the New York lands, these
5,500,000 acres would be worth $206,430,000. Deduct from this their
present value, $11,000,000, and the remainder, $195,430,000, is the sum
by which the unoccupied lands of Virginia, converted into farms, would
have been increased in value by emancipation. Add this to the enhanced
value of their present farms, $815,845,925, and the result would be
$1,011,275,925, as the gain of Virginia in the value of lands by
emancipation. To these we should add, from the same cause, the
enhancement of the town and city property in Virginia to the extent of
several hundred millions of dollars. In order to realize the truth, we
must behold Virginia as she would have been, with New York railroads and
canals, farms, manufactures, commerce, towns, and cities. Then we must
consider the superior natural advantages of Virginia, her far greater
area, her richer soil, her more genial sun, her greater variety of
products, her mines of coal, iron, gold, copper, and lead, her
petroleum, her superior hydraulic power, her much larger coast line,
with more numerous and deeper harbors--and reflect what Virginia would
have been in the absence of slavery. Her early statesmen, Washington,
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Mason, Tucker, and Marshall, all realized
this great truth, and all desired to promote emancipation in Virginia.
But their advice was disregarded by her present leaders--the new, false,
and fatal dogmas of Calhoun were substituted; and, as a consequence,
Virginia, from the first rank (_longo