of surface and soil. From the Atlantic to the lower falls on the river, which includes a tract of from 110 to 130 miles in width, the country is low and flat, in some places marshy, but extensively sandy, covered with the pitch-pine. On the margin of the rivers, the soil is often rich. This is denominated the low country, and is unhealthy from August to October. Between the head of tidewater and the Blue Ridge, the country becomes uneven and hilly, and more so as it approaches the mountains. The soil in this region is some of it sandy and poor; some of it is fertile, particularly on the margins of the rivers. Towards the mountains the country is stony and broken, though the soil is often rich. The first ridge of mountains in this state is generally about 150 miles from the ocean. Beyond this the country is mountainous, traversed by successive ridges of the Alleghany, which occupies a greater breadth of country in Virginia than in any other state. Between the various ridges, however, there are long valleys or tablelands, parallel with them, often of considerable breadth, and containing some of the best and most pleasant land in Virginia. The farms are here smaller than in other parts of the state, better cultivated, and there are fewer slaves. The climate in this region is very healthy.

The soil in the tidewater country is generally poor, producing Indian corn, oats, and peas. Wheat is raised in some parts of it, and a little rice in the swamps in its southern part. Between tidewater and the mountains is the tobacco-country; but in the northern upland counties wheat has extensively superseded tobacco; and south of James River, sufficient cotton is raised for home consumption. The southeastern counties produce apples and peaches in great abundance. Among the mountains, the farmers raise large numbers of cattle and hogs. Indian corn is cultivated throughout the state. The country west of the mountains, towards the Ohio, is rough and wild-sometimes, but not generally, fertile; but very rich as a mineral region.

There were in this state in 1840, 326,438 horses and mules; 1,024,148 neat cattle; 1,293,772 sheep; 1,992,155 swine; poultry to the value of $754,698. There were produced 10,109,716 bushels of wheat; 87,430 of barley; 13,451,062 of oats; 1,482,799 of rye; 243,822 of buckwheat; 34,577,591 of Indian corn; 2,538,374 pounds of wool; 10,597 of hops; 65,020 of wax; 2,944,660 bushels of potatoes; 364,708 tons of hay; 25,594 of hemp and flax; 75,347,106 pounds of tobacco; 2,956 of rice; 3,494,483 of cotton; 3,191 of silk cocoons; 1,541,833 of sugar. The products of the dairy were valued at $1,480,488; of the orchard $705,765; value of lumber produced $538,092; 13,911 gallons of wine were made.

The mineral wealth of Virginia is very great. Gold, copper, lead, iron, coal, salt, lime. stone, and marble are found, together with a number of valuable mineral springs. An attention to the business of mining has recently been excited, and in 1840, 2,000 persons were employed in it. The belt of country in which gold is found, extends through Spotsylvania county and the adjacent country, and in a southwest direction passes into North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. The gold in this state is not sufficiently concentrated to render it profitable, excepting in a few places, to engage in mining it. The coal fields in Virginia are very extensive, and afford both the bitumin. ous and anthracite. Large quantities have been obtained and exported from the vicinity of Richmond. Salt springs have been found in various places, and salt has been extensively manufactured on the Great Kanawha River, near Charleston. The state abounds in mineral springs, which are much resorted to the principal are, the White and Blue Sulphur, in Greenbriar; the Salt and Red Sulphur, and Sweet, in Monroe; Hot and Warm, in Bath; Berkeley, in Morgan; Fauquier White Sulphur, in Fauquier; Shannondale, in Frederick; Alum, in Rockbridge; Jordan's White Sulphur, in Frederick; Red, in Alleghany; Grayson, in Carroll; Bottetourt, in Roanoke; Holston, in Scott; Augusta Springs; and Daggers Springs, in Bottetourt.

The staple productions of the state are wheat and tobacco. The Potomac River separates this state from Maryland. James River is the largest which belongs to this state. It is 500 miles in length, and flows from the mountains in the interior, behind the Blue Ridge, through which it passes. It is navigable for sloops 120 miles, and for boats much further, and enters into Chesapeake Bay. The Appomattox is 130 miles long, and enters James River 100 miles above Hampton Roads, and is navigable 12 miles, to Petersburg. The Rappahannock rises in the Blue Ridge, is 130 miles long, is navigable 110 miles for sloops, and enters into the Chesapeake. York River enters the Chesapeake 30 miles below the Rappahannock, and is navigable 40 miles for ships. The Shenandoah enters the Potomac just before its passage through the Blue Ridge. Of the rivers west of the mountains, the Great Kanawha rises in North Carolina, passes through this state, and enters the Ohio. The Little Kanawha also enters the Ohio. The Mo. nongahela rises in this state, though it runs chiefly in Pennsylvania.

The lower part of Chesapeake Bay lies wholly in this state, is 15 miles wide at its mouth, and enters the Atlantic between Cape Charles and Cape Henry. Norfolk, 8 miles from Hampton Roads, has a fine harbor, much the best in the state, spacious, safe, and well defended; and it is the most commercial place in Virginia; but Richmond and Petersburg are more populous, and have an extensive trade. Besides these, Wheeling, Lynchburg, Fredericksburg, and Winchester, are the principal places.

The exports of this state, in 1840, amounted to $4,778,220; and the imports to $545,685. There were 31 commercial and 64 commission houses engaged in foreign trade, with a capital of $4,299,500; 2,736 retail drygoods and other stores, with a capital of $16,684,413; 1,454 persons employed in the lumber trade, with a capital of $113,210; 931 persons engaged in internal transportation, who, with 103 butchers, packers, &c., employed a capital of $100,680; 556 persons employed in the fisheries, with a capital of $28,383.

The manufactures of Virginia are not so extensive as those of some states inferior to it in territory and population. There were, in 1840, domestic or family manufactures to the amount of $2,441,672; 41 woollen manufactories and 47 fulling-mills, employing 222 persons, producing articles to the amount of $147,792, with a capital of $112,350; 22 cotton manufactories, with 42,262 spindles, employing 1,816 persons, producing articles to the amount of $446,063, with a capital of $1,299,020; 42 furnaces producing 18,810 tons of cast-iron, and 52 forges &c., producing 5,886 tons of bar-iron, the whole employing 1,742 persons, and a capital of $1,246,650; 11 smelting houses employed 131 persons, and produced gold to the amount of $51,758, employing a capital of $103,650; 5 smelting houses employed 73 persons, and produced 878,648 pounds of lead, employing a capital of $21,500; 12 paper manufactories, producing articles to the amount of $216,245, and other paper manufactories producing $1,260, the whole employing 181 persons, and a capital of $287,750; 3,342 persons manufactured tobacco to the amount of $2,406,671, employing a capital of $1,526,080; hats and caps were manufactured to the amount of $155,778, and straw bonnets to the amount of $14,700, the whole employing 340 persons, and a capital of $85,640; 660 tanneries employed 1,422 persons, and a capital of $838,141; 982 other leather manufactories, as saddleries, &c., produced articles to the amount of $826,597, and employed a capital of $341,957; 4 glass-houses and 2 glass-cutting establishments employed 164 persons, producing articles to the value of $146,500, with a capital of $132,000; 33 potteries employed 64 persons, producing articles to the amount of $31,380, with a capital of $10,225; 36 persons produced drugs, paints, &c., to the amount of $66,633, with a capital of $61,727; 445 persons produced machinery to the amount of $429,858; 150 persons produced hardware and cutlery to the amount of $50,504; 262 persons manufactured 9,330 small-arms; 40 persons manufactured granite and marble to the amount of $16,652; 1,004 persons produced bricks and lime to the amount of $393,253; carriages and wagons were manufactured to the amount of $647,815, employing 1,592 persons, and a capital of $311,625; 1,454 distilleries produced 865,725 gallons, and 5 breweries produced 32,960 gallons, employing 1,631 persons, and a capital of $187,212; 764 flouring-mills produced 1,041,526 barrels of flour, and with other mills employed 3,964 persons, producing articles to the amount of $7,855,499, with a capital of $5,184,669; ships were built to the amount of $136,807; 675 persons manufactured furniture to the amount of $289,391; 402 brick or stone, and 2,604 wooden houses were built, employing 4,694 persons, and cost $1,367,393; 50 printing offices, and 13 binderies, 4 daily, 12 semi-weekly, and 35 weekly newspapers, and 5 periodicals, employed 310 persons, and a capital of $168,850. The whole amount of capital employed in manufactures in the state was $11,360,861.

William and Mary College, at Williamsburg, is the oldest in the state, and one of the oldest in the country, and was founded in 1691. Hampden Sidney College, in Prince Edward county, was founded in 1783, and is flourishing. Washington College, at Lexington, was founded in 1812. Randolph Macon College, was founded at Boydton in 1832. Emory and Henry College, Washington county, was founded in 1839. Rector College, Prunty Town, Taylor county, was founded in 1839. Bethany College, Brooke county, was founded in 1841. There are theological schools at Richmond, in Prince Edward county, and in Fairfax county. But the most important literary institution in the state, is the University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, founded in 1819. Its plan is extensive, its endowment has been munificent, and it is a prosperous institution. In all these, with a few smaller institutions, there were in 1840, 1,097 students; there were in the state, also, 382 academics, with 11,083 students; 1,561 common and primary schools, with 35,331 scholars; and 58,787 white persons over 20 years of age who could neither read nor write.

The Baptists, the most numerous religious denomination, have about 437 churches; the Presbyterians 120; the Episcopalians, 65 ministers; the Methodists 170. There are also a few Lutherans, Catholics, Unitarians, Friends, and Jews.

In January, 1840, there were in this state 8 banks and branches, with a capital of $3,637,400, and a circulation of $2,513,412. At the close of the same year the public debt amounted to $6,857,161. There is a state penitentiary located at Richmond.

The first constitution of Virginia was formed in 1776. This was altered and amended by a convention assembled for that purpose, in 1830. The executive power is vested in a governor, elected by the joint vote of the two houses of the General Assembly. He is chosen for three years, but is ineligible for the next three. There is a council of state, elected in like manner for three years, the seat of one being vacated every year. The senior councillor is lieutenant-governor. The senators can never be more than 36, and the delegates than 150; and both are apportioned anew among the counties every 10 years, commencing with 1841. The senators were elected for 4 years, and the seats of one fourth of them are vacated every year. The delegates are chosen annually. All appointments to any office of trust, honor, or profit, by the legislature, are given openly, or viva voce, and not by ballot. The judges of the supreme court of appeals, and of the superior courts, are elected by the joint vote of both houses of the general assembly, and hold their offices during good behavior, or until removed by a joint vote of twothirds of the legislature.

The right of suffrage is extended to every resident white male citizen of 21 years of age, entitled to vote by the former constitution; or who owns a freehold valued at $25; or a joint interest in a freehold to that amount; or who has a life-estate, or a reversionary title to land valued at $50, having been so possessed for 6 months; or who shall own, or be in occupation of, a leasehold estate, having been recorded 2 months, for a term not less than 5 years, to the annual value or rent of $200; or who for 12 months shall have been a housekeeper and head of a family, and paid the taxes assessed by the commonwealth.

Virginia has undertaken several important works of internal improvement, by chartering private companies, several of which have been liberally aided by the state. The Dismal Swamp Canal connects Chesapeake Bay with Albemarle Sound, extending from Deep Creek to Joyce's Creek, 23 miles, at a cost of $879,864. It has branches of 11 miles. The Alexandria Canal extends 74 miles, from Georgetown to Alexandria. The James River and Kanawha Canal extends 146 miles, from Richmond to Lynchburg. The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad extends 75 miles, to Aquia Creek. Louisa branch, 25 miles from Richmond, proceeds 49 miles, to Gordonsville. Richmond and Petersburg Railroad, from Richmond, extends 23 miles, to Petersburg. Petersburg and Roanoke Railroad extends from Petersburg, 59 miles, to Weldon. Greensville Railroad extends from near Hicksford, for 18 miles, to Gaston, N. C. City Point Railroad extends from Petersburg, 12 miles, to City Point. Chesterfield Railroad extends from Coal Mines, 131 miles, to Richmond. Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad extends from Portsmouth, 8 miles, to Weldon, N. C. Winchester and Potomac Railroad extends from Harper's Ferry, 32 miles, to Winchester.

ORIGIN OF THE APPELLATION "OLD DOMINION."*

There is in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society, a coin of the following description: on one side is a head, and the words "Georgius III. Rex.;" on the other side is a shield, on which are quartered the arms of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Virginia. The whole surmounted by a crown, and encircled with the word, " Virginia, 1773."

A similar coin was dug up a few years since, and the following statement was published with the description of it: During the usurpation of Cromwell, the colony of Virginia refused to acknowledge his authority, and declared itself independent. Shortly after, finding that Cromwell threatened to send a fleet and an army to reduce Virginia to subjection, and fearing the ability of this feeble state to withstand this force, she sent, in a small ship, a messenger to Charles II., then an exile in Breda, Flanders. Charles accepted the invitation to come over, and be king of Virginia, and was on the eve of embarking when he was recalled to the throne of England. As soon as he was restored to the crown of England, in gratitude for the loyalty of Virginia, he caused her coat of arms to be quartered with those of England, Scotland, and Ireland, as an independent member of the empire.

* From the Savannah Georgian.

The above coin is clearly confirmatory of these facts. Hence the origin of the phrase "Old Dominion," frequently applied to Virginia.

History does not confirm all these statements, though it establishes some, and sufficiently discloses, in the conduct of Virginia during the Protectorate of Cromwell, a cause for the origin of the name Old Dominion, frequently applied to Virginia. The facts, as gathered from a variety of creditable historians, appear to be these:

After the death of king Charles I., and the installation of Oliver Cromwell as Protector, the colony of Virginia refused to acknowledge his authority; and Parliament having subdued opposition elsewhere, were not disposed to submit to such a resistance of its authority by the 20,000 inhabitants of Virginia. It issued an ordinance declaring them notorious robbers and traitors; prohibited all intercourse with the refractory colonists, either by the people of England, the inhabitants of the other American settlements, or with foreign nations; and finally, sent over a fleet, under Sir George Ayscue, to overpower the provincial royalists, and extinguish the last traces of monarchial authority that still lingered in extremities of the empire. The commissioners appointed to accompany this expedition were empowered to try, in the first instance, the efficacy of pardons and other conciliatory propositions, in reducing the colonists to obedience; but if their pacific overtures should prove ineffectual, they were then to employ every species of hostile operations.

From Barbadoes, Captain Ayscue dispatched Capt. Dennis with a small squadron to the Chesapeake, to land his forces, and drive Sir William Berkeley out of Virginia; for during the whole preceding struggle of Charles I. and the Parliament, the Virginians were firm on the side of their king, and enacted a declaration, "that they were born under a monarchy, and would never degenerate from the condition of their birth, by being subject to any other government." After the king was beheaded, they acknowledged the authority of the fugitive prince, and actually continued the provincial government under a commission which he sent to Sir William Berkeley from his retreat at Breda. The young prince was not, however, actually invited over to establish a kingdom in Virginia; though, according to Clarendon, Sir William Berkeley was so assured of the loyalty of the inhabitants, and so impressed with confidence of ultimate success, that he wrote to him, "almost inviting him to America!" In these acts consisted the enmity of the Parliament to the governor; and for this open defiance of its power, Virginia was to be ravaged by a fleet in her waters, and insidious assassins on her soil. Historians differ greatly as to the proceedings of Sir William, after the arrival of the fleet within the Capes of Virginia. Several, as Beverly, (p. 45;) Oldmixon, (i. 375;) Burke, (European Settlements, ii. 223;) Graham, (i. 99,) have asserted that he made a great show of resistance, assisted by the Dutch ships in the harbor, and the royalists, who were a majority of the population.

Bancroft, (i. 223,) citing contemporary authorities of the highest value, says, no sooner had the Guinea frigate entered within the waters of the Chesapeake, than (quoting from Clarendon) all thoughts of resistance were laid aside. It marks, continues Bancroft, the character of the Virginians; that they refused to surrender to force, but yielded by a voluntary deed and mutual compact." "By the articles of surrender a complete indemnity was stipulated for all past offences; and the colonists recognising the authority, were admitted into the bosom of the English commonwealth, and expressly assured of an equal participation in all the privileges of the free people of England. In particular, it provided that the Provincial Assembly should retain its wonted functions, and that the people of Virginia should have as free trade as the people of England to all places and all nations," and "shall be free from all taxes, customs, and impositions whatsoever, without the consent of their own Assembly." Berkeley disdained to make any stipulation for himself, with those whom his principles of loyalty taught him to regard as usurpers. Without leaving Virginia, he withdrew to a retired situation, where he continued to reside as a private individual, universally beloved and respected till a new revolution was to summon him once more to defy the republican forces of England and restore the ascendancy of royalty in the colony.

This was in March, 1652: and affairs continued much in this state until 1660. In the mean time, Richard Bennet, Edward Digges, and Samuel Matthews, had been severally elected by the Burgesses, Governor of Virginia, under allegiance to Oliver Cromwell, and on his death, 1658, to Richard Cromwell. But in 1660, Gov. Matthews died; and the people, discontented with some commercial restrictions imposed by the Protectorate, did not wait for a new commission from England, but elected Sir William Berkeley, and " by an obliging violence compelled him to accept the government." He, however, refused to act under the usurpation of the Cromwells, and would not consent, unless they joined with him in joining their lives and fortunes for the king who was then an exile.

"This," says Beverly, "was their dearest wish, and therefore, with a unanimous voice, they told him that they were ready to hazard all for the king." Now, this was actually before the king's return to England, and proceeded from a broad principle of loyalty for which they had no example. Sir William Berkeley embraced their choice, and forthwith proclaimed Charles II. king of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Virginia, and caused all processes to be issued in his name. Thus his majesty was actually king in Virginia before he was in England. On the restoration of the king he sent Sir William a new commission, and granted him permission to visit England.

He was received by the monarch with much kindness; and there is recorded a tradi. tion, that the king, in compliment to that colony, wore at his coronation a robe made of the silk which was sent from thence. Such is a condensed narration of the causes and incidents which gave to Virginia the honored title of the "OLD DOMINION."

SLAVERY AND TOBACCO.

The following relates to the introduction of slaves, and the cultivation of tobacco, with their influence on the character and condition of the inhabitants of Virginia. It is drawn from the Life of Jefferson, by Prof. George Tucker, of the University of Virginia; a work written with perspicuity and candor, and incidentally elucidating important points in the civil and political history of the state.

In 1744, at the period of the birth of Mr. Jefferson, the settlements had extended about 200 miles from the sea-coast, and in the northern part of the colony, had passed the Blue Ridge. The population was then about 200,000, of whom from a quarter to a third were

slaves.

The cultivation of tobacco, and the introduction of slaves, soon after Virginia was settled, have had a marked influence upon the habits, character, and fortunes of the country. The introduction of tobacco, in England, about 20 years before the settlement of Jamestown, led to a rapid extension of its use. A demand being thus created, and a heavy price paid, encouraged the first settlers of Virginia to cultivate it for market, to the neglect of other crops. It long continued the sole article of export, and from the inadequate supply of the precious metals, it became the general measure of value, the principal currency of the colony. In 1758, the quantity exported had increased to about 70 millions of pounds, since which time the product has somewhat diminished.

"As this plant requires land of the greatest fertility, and its finer sorts are produced only in virgin soil, which it soon exhausts, its culture has been steadily advancing westwardly, where fresh land is more abundant, leaving the eastern region it has impoverished to the production of Indian corn, wheat, and other grain. Its cultivation has thus generally ceased in the country below the falls of the great rivers, and in its progress to the west, the centre of the tobacco region is now two hundred miles from the coast.

"The business of cultivating tobacco, and preparing it for market, requires such continual attention, and so much, and so many sorts of handling, as to allow to the planter little time for any of the other useful processes of husbandry; and thus the management of his dairy and orchard, and the useful operations of manuring, irrigation, and cultivating artificial grasses, are either conducted in a slovenly way, or neglected altogether. The tobacco district nowhere exhibits the same external face of verdure, or marks of rural comfort and taste, as are to be seen in those countries in which its culture has been abandoned.

"But the most serious consequence of the tobacco cultivation is to be found in the increase of slaves; for though it did not occasion their first introduction, it greatly encouraged their importation afterwards. It is to the spirit of commerce, which in its undistinguished pursuit of gain, ministers to our vices no less than to our necessary wants, that Virginia owes this portentous accession to her population. A Dutch ship from the coast of Guinea entered James River, in 1620, thirteen years after the first settlement of Jamestown, and sold twenty of her slaves to the colonists.

"The large profits which could be made from the labor of slaves, while tobacco sold at three shillings sterling a pound, equal to about ten times its ordinary price now, greatly encouraged their further importation, by giving to the planters the means of purchasing as well as the inclination; and the effect would have been much greater, if they had not been continually supplied with labor from the paupers, and sometimes the convicts, who were brought from England and sold to the planters for a term of years, to defray the expenses of their transportation.