Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1861-11-19
To N0nornble, the Convention or tas
Stute " Virginia.

State OF virginia.
Your petitioners respectfully r.icts.n: unto
YOUR honorable body that they are holders o!
| the bonds OF the State Of Virginia, "h:ch they
have received into their possession sincc The
e6;h day OF jane, ISL, Irnm the doa!rion Of
our enemies, AID upon which, hT an ordinance
| of your honorable body. passed 26:Ei JH:', ISL.
the payment Of the interest due Oh The Is: day 81
! july lust and for the future has been suspended.
| At the time OF the adoption d ;isat ordinance
large balances wer" due by cit:aer,s vi The
North to citizens Of Virginia. Thrse balances
could not be rraiizad by cur citizens. although
debtors at the North were willing 20 pay them,
because the succie could not De transferred
With any degree of safety to tho South in the
existing condition of tho country. The only
mode by which these balances could be saved
to and real ;zed BY our citizens, WAS 20 convert
them into funds which c0uli 30 made ~avaiia-
BILE at the South. Had this mode not heou re
sorted to, these large debts dla from North
ern to Southern ,uen must have been
left to have bccn cuntiScated by the United
States Government, and used to aid in
their attempt to subjagate our ~rcrpic.-
Southern creditors were naturally DESTROYS ~
collect their Northern debts; and ii order to
do so, either directly or through the agency Of
third parties, converted ,hcir b~alances into
bonds Of the State Of Virginia, whic: could be
safely transported TO the South, and which
they felt assured they could make available
as soon as your honorable bIdy became III
formed Of the facts aud Of the necessity for
prompt and Immediate ect!oii. They COLI
sidered and sill consider, that the Oh ct Ct
your ordinance was 20 cripple the ci'einy bv
Withholding The intcrcs: due upon the bend:
held by them. and they did not design TO
nor DO they think shat they have cuEira-
vencd the spirit Of that ordinance by con-
vcrting their funds, airead! in the hands Of
tho enemy. into bonds which wcnid ultimately
DO available to them. THEY ad1ed not Il .lh-
lar to the arailable utCtM IF the enemy, nor
did they, by adopting this course. Au5tract
one dollar .frcm the aeaitatks uealM II the
South. On the contrary, instead OF leaving
their funds and the bonds, both in the hands
of the enemy, they have deprived them OF tie
bonds at a deprecated rate, and To that extent
have crippled the resources tf the North aid
Increased the acai!abie wealth Of the South
In other words, we only took virtually OH
debts from our debtors. in the kind Of securi-
ty in which We had most confidence, and
which the result has shown, vas only done in
time to obtain security or payment OF any DIES.
cription whatever, ior large amounts duo by
the North to the South. The necessity for re-
sorting to this device, in order IL collect debts
due BY citizens Of the North 10 ~ciiizcns ur
Virginia, was not anticipated By any mem.
Der, it is fair to presume, o. your honorable
body or any one else, at tho time 81 the sdoi-
ton Of the ordinances OF the 2j!h 0; ,unt,
the sweeping provisions of which embrace all
bonds thus acquired by our ~ci;izcuS, and plo-
hibit the payment of interest due Gil them,
although their acquisition, SO far from Contra
vening the spirit Of the ordinance. is, by Grip
ping the enemy, in strict accordance with It's
spirit.
.As far MS your petitioners know or believe,
not one dollar has been carried to the North
in specie for the purchase Of these bonds, and
not one Of said bonds is held 10 our knowledge
1.-The South in trust for citizens of the North.
But they have, as far as your petitioners know
or believe, been acquired solely in exchange
for our funds held at the North, which could
not otherwise have besn brought home BY our
own people.
Under these circumstances, then, your pc
t~i.ioners respectfully aSk That they may he
exempted FROM the operation Of the ordinance
aforesaid, aud that the interest due on ali
bonds thus held By citizens Of ,hc Coutedt-
rate States now may be paid, and tina! such
bonds be placed upon The same footing as those
held by said citizens previous TO the passage
of said ordinance.
And your petitioners will cvor prlr, &c.