The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-01-02
From the Richmond Dispatch.l
West Virginia's Portion Of the State
Debt.

SlubN pbIS'b o'' - f'S''''NN 80 N''>
town in which reside J. NJ. Bennett
formerly Auditor Of this State, John
Brannon, formerly a State Senator, and
other persons who ought to have ere
ated a sounder public opinion in that
town than the article from the DGmo
crat indicates as existing The designa
ton Of eur chief executive officer as a
"carpet,bag Governor" is rather anus
Ing than otherwise, considering whence
it comes. But the general tone of the
article is highly Objectionable. Fol
instance, the Democrat says
1.-THE share we West Virginia.
should bear in the bonds of Virginia
can never be allowed TO exceed the
money raised BY them and appropriated
withtn our territory. To this extent we
will 90, and no further"
Such basis as this for the adjust,
ment of the relative portion of the pub
lie debt which each of the two States
shall pay is so unjust that it would
amount to an outrage upon Virginia.
A large portion Of the debt in question
was contracted in constructing the Gov
ington and Ohio railroad and the James
River and Kanawha canal, both OF
which Improvements were intended as
much for the benefit OF West Virginia
as of Virginia. Indeed it may be safely
assumed that nine-tenths Of the public
debt OF Virginia was authorized by the
votes Of what were called western
members of our Legislature-that is,
men who lived west OF the Blue Ridge.
1t is well known that the tiie-water re-
zion of Virginia always opposed the
appropriation Of public money to the
construction Of works Of internal i'm
provement. Mr.. Segar was almost the
sole exception in his day among the
tide-water members.
To the two works we have named
millions of dollars were voted by wes-
tern members, and voted for the pur-
pose of affording an outlet to market
to the products of West Virginia. One
of those great works pene.rates the very
centre OF West Virginia, and the 9TH
er lacks but a few miles Of touching her
border; and yet we are serious Y assured
that West Virginia will pay not one
dollar of this immense debt! II size
had had to open channels to market at
her own expense, she would have open
ed them just where these are, and COM
menced them just where these arc COM
menced; and yet she will not contrib
ute a dollar towards paying for them :!
TO state the proposition is to show its
shameful nature, and is enough to cause
every honest man in the land to cry
out with Indignation at so base an at
tempt to evade a just debt. We are
not yet ready to believe that the people
of West Virginia are so dishonest as
the Weston Democrat represents them
TO be.
Further to show the nature Of the
Democrat proposition, let us assume
that it is a reasonable one, and proceed
to inquire which of the counties Of Vr.
GINA "a she now stands must pay the
State debt. Accomac and Northamp-
ton are, Of course, under no obligation
to pay any Of it. They are cut oil 10y
water from the rest of the State, and
have never had any public money ex.
pended within their borders 10 build
railroads or canals. The counties OF
the Northern Neck are in similar for
tuna,e condition. They will have moth
ing to pay. The rich counties of Rock
bridge, Botetourt, Buckingham, and
many others, have just the same excuse
for repudiating the State debt that West
Virginia has-namely, that the money
was not appropriated ~ithin their ter
ritory." Indeed, Richmond city itself,
the largest tax-paying community in
the State, has better excuse for declin-
ing to pay any part of the debt, seeing
that not only was the money not "ap-
propriated within her territory" but
she has paid out OF her own pocket
hundreds Of thousands of dollars to aid
in the construction of lines OF internal
improvement which merely terminate
here, just as Ehesapeake and Ohio
railroad merely terminate, in West Yir-
ginia. II is thus made clear that if the
Democrats idea be q sound one, there
are very few counties even in Virginia
which are under any moral obligation to
pay share OF the public debt. The
creditors must be turned over to the
counties within whose borders the
money was expended.
Perhaps the Democrat will answer
that every county remaining in Virginia
is both legally and morally bound TO
pay it's proportion Of the State debt
whether any OF the money borrowed
was expended within its limits or not.
That is unquestionably true. Being
true now, it was true ten years ago.
And if it was true ten years ago, then
every county in West Virginia was at
that time legally and morally bound to
pay its proportion of the State debt.
Can anybody in the world tell us how
these counties relieved themselves OF
this legal and moral responsibility
Will it be pretended that in the act ~
erecting them into a new State 1ot
gress changed the proportion or the
debt for which they were responsible
Or did they relieve themselves2 Why,
the operation Of the bankrupt law is a
slow process compared with this patent
method OF paying off old debts. Rath-
er than submit to such division OF the
burthen, let us carry the whole Of it
ourselves.
As to whether West Virginia shall
pay her share of the debt into the
Treasury Of Virginia, or issue her own
bonds for it to certain OF the persons
now holding Virginia bonds it may be
remarked that it is a question of no sort
Of Importance, Ifany Of our creditors
will exchange our bonds for those OF
West Virginia We certainly shah not
object. tvould be the better arrange