Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1870-12-16
GOVERNORS MESSAGE.
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA,
Eyrcr1T, VIZ NuA1DEpc
l1AEOU IT II VII HBENo,
RIcuMpND December T 1870.

uluuWGaltH uaS IL LEY lSldtuIc deSeHlDItu u i)u
which deyolved graver responsibilities tina
upon you', This opinion was expressed
you in my inaugural address at the openip
of your first session, and I desire to reaffirr
it now, at the commencement OF your las
session. How you have met those 'sgrav
responsibilities is matter Of record. You
present session will complete that record
upon which the public judgment, the judg
ment of your constituencies and of posterity
will be formed While you have done SOM
! things which, in my judgment, you ough
not to have done, and have left un dom
some things which you ought to have done
nevertheless, the ninety days Of official exis
tepce remaining to you will afford ample OPP
portunity for correcting the former and per
fecting the latter. Coming together as you
did, young, and, to some extent, an mex.
pericnced body of men, with new and
somewhat homogeneous constitution to put in
force, working radical changes in almost
every department Of the government; with
nearly every Office in the Common wealth
! from constable to Lieutenant Governor, te
Gil with an imperative necessity for the I'M
mediate modification Of ncarly every statute
in the State, and the enactment Of many
new ones; with an impoverished peol lie,
suffering from the terrible ills Of four years
devastating war. anxiously looking to you
for relief, without, perhaps. proper con-
sideration of the limitations Of your powers
contained in the constitution; with vast
variety of public and private interests de-
handing your attention, you may well con
graduate yourselves that with all this variety
and multiplicity of important subjects de-
manding your prompt consideration and ac
ton, you should have been able to accom-
plish SO much with SO few errors Time
enough remains to you to correct whatever
errors may have crept into your legislation,
some Of which was necessarily hasty and to
enact such other laws as may be required to
put the constitution fully into force, and to
meet the wants and necessities of the State
and the people
One of the first, as we'll as one of the most
important subjects which should engage your
attention, is our State finances. The re-
ports of the auditor and treasurer exhibit
the receipts and disbursements for the last
fiscal year, and the condition of the treasury
at its close. These reports, however afford
no just criterion by which to judge of the
future The new system of taxation inau-
gurated by the constitution, and which you
put in force by legislation at your st ses
sion, is not yet in full operation, and our ex
perience under it is too brief to form an ac-
curatc judgement of the results of this our
first experiment The new assessment Of the
real estate in the Commonwealth will be
completed this month. From this and the
returns made to the auditor under the two
acts approved June 26th last, and entitled,
respectively, can act in relation to the as
sessment of taxes on licenses" and can act
for the assessment of taxes" and the act APP
proved July 9th last, entitled can act i'm
posing taxes tor the support of government
and free schools, and to pay the interest on
the public debt" you will be enabled to oh
tain very correct data upon which to base
your action upon the subject of future taxa
ton You already have my views as to the
amounts necessary to be raised. On the 9Th
day of March last I submitted to you a full
statement OF the financial condition Of the
Commonwealth, together with my own views
as to the policy which ought to be pursued.
Further thought and reflection have served
to confirm and strengthen my confidence in
the correctness of the recommendations then
made They have been heartily endorsed
by the best fnanciers of both this country
and England. Had the Legislature prompt
ly adopted them, [ am satisfied that not only
would the State debt have been reduced over
ten millions of dollars the present year, and
our deprecated credit advanced from fifty to
eighty-fve or ninety cents on the dollar, but
also that much OF the cost and irritation Incl
dent to some of the special legislation of your
last session would have been avoided.
earnestly invite your attention to those
recommendations They, each aud all, form
part Of the general plan for cur relief from
the great evil that depresses us-a dlshon-
ored State credit When the body polite
becomes disordered, learned and patriotic
doctors are never wanting, each of whom
has some sovereign specific which he mag
unanimously and persistcntly urges upon tue
attention of the sufferer Some are actu-
| ated by the sole and sincere desire to benefit
the patient while others. with loud protes
tations of like desire in rendering their
new and questionable nostrums, have always
keen eye for personal gain and future ag
grandizement Our patient has not been
free from these attentions. Numerous
remedies, some of them new and untrled
have been freely suggested. In my opinion
there is but one sovereign remedy for the
evil which afflicts us, and that remedy is a
strict fuzfllment Of our solemn obligations
Heretofore, since the close of the late wal
and until the restoration Of civil government
In the State, we we're powerless to adopt this
remedy but the time has now arrived wher
we ought and must apply 1t. Some deem Il
advisable to inaugurate the resumption O
the payment of interest on the public deb
by paying three per eentun' interest the frs
year, four the second year, five the third
six the fourth, seven the fifth, and so on, in
creasing each year until all the deferred in
terest shall have been paid, and then resume
the regular payment Of interest az it falls
due. While this plan weuld not fully ac
compish the desired obj ect, viz: complete
restoration of the State credit, because i
would not be fulflment either in letter o.
spirit of the obligations of the State, and De
cause it would necessitate the payment o
interest upon the deferred interest, and thu
compromising it in order to finally and fully
meet what would be justly due, and woult
thus become an increasing burthen iron
year to year, until the resumption Of tn
regular payments Of interest according t.
the contract nevertheless, it has the merl
. of temporary relief to our people, and upo
the principle that ''half loaf "a is better taa
no Bread would be manifestation to tina