Richmond Whig

The Salt Question.

To turn a man neck and heels out of house and home, divest him of his property, and bestow the whole upon another man, who agrees, in consideration thereof, to do a job for the State at a saving of the snug little sum of half a million! This is the proposition which a committee of the House Delegates recommended, and which was earnestly discussed in that body for several days. It is about the coolest piece of spoliation we ever heard of. It was so barefaced, that it imposed even on us for a moment. We supposed there must be in the background some sort of pretext or apology for it.—In principle, it is identical with the State's ejecting every farmer from his land and leasing it to some other person, who would undertake to work it and give the State a greater portion of the proceeds than the owner would! This proposition received forty nine votes in the House of Delegates. That fact will stand an eternal monument of the moral vagaries of this wonderful era.

Tempting as was the snug little sum of half a million, which the State was to clear by seizing one man's property and giving it to another, the spirit of common honesty, which was once a Virginian characteristic, prevailed over the spirit of rapine. The scheme of spoliation failed, and the owners of the salt works were permitted to retain their property, by agreeing to supply the State with 750,000 bushels of salt at $2 33 per bushel. The quantity furnished will be ample for all the people of the State, and the price, considering the times and the condition of the currency, moderate enough.