The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1871-09-14

whemingly defeated, and in quick succession
the abolition of the II per cent clause was
auguratcd 1t would seem unnecessary to add
that if reelected shall do all in my power
to bring about chance Of this odious law.
PAY OF JURORS.
I have reason to believe, that through my
efforts bill depriving jurors Of any com
pensaton, which had passed both branches of
the legislature. during my absence, on &C
count OF sickness, was defeated by the Veto OF
the Governor. Had this bill met with the APP
prevail Of the Executive and become law,
you would have been dragged from
your plows and workshops compelled to
sit tor days and weeks without any rcmuner
alton for loss of time and expenses necessarily
incurred for board &c, and all this before a
salariel Judge, Commonwealth attorney, and
feed lawyers.
further affirm that mainly through my
efforts the only measures for the relief OF the
debtor class passed the legislature. | am
sure that you are satisfied that even the mea-
gre relief afforded by those bills prevented
much sacrifice of property and suffering.
VALLEY RAILROAD BILL.
Although an earnest advocate of internal
improvements, l defeated, in the House OF
Delegates, bill authorizing vote upon a
subscription of 100000 by the people Of Au-
gnsta to the Valley Rail Road. My reasons
for opposition to the bill were purely OF a rep
rcscntatiye charactcr-I was satisfied as sub
sequent events proved, that the people of Au
gasta we're bitterly opposed to the subscrip-
ton. 1t was question affecting their pro-
perty, and deemed it to be my duty as their
representative to carry out what was salts
fed was their wishes on the subject. After
the defeat Of this bill in the House, the friends
of the Shenandoah Valley Rail Road united
with those Of the Valley Rail Road, and got
bill through the Senate by unanimous
vote-The prestige of the vote by which tpass-
ed the Senate and the combination OF the
friends Of both roads, made defeat IN the
House next to an impossibiiity. Under these
circumstances l assented 10 the passage Of the
bill with proviso that the people were to be
relieved Of all expense attending the vote, and
with the further understanding that the SUB
mission should be 6nality of Rail Road sub
scrptioas so far as the people Of the county
of Augusta were concerned. Another reason
that induced me to accept OF this compromise
was because the Shenandoah Valley Rallroa~
had right, by bill previously passed., to
submit the question of subscription to that
road, to the people of Augusta -and by these
terms they waive, forever atterward, the
right Of submission. know that
my position on this subject has been
greatly misunderstood by the people of Au-
gusta, and that at the hands Of some
have received much censure; but the tt III,
is, that after the combination OF the friends Vi
both roads and the unanimous passage OF the
bill in the Senate, opposition was Useless, and
all that was left to me, was to obtain the
best terms that could be had, Or in
other words to take half loaf &. e. the cz
penses Of election) rather thaa to get no bread
at all.
CONSOLIDATION.
[ have also been greatly misrcpresentcd Oh
the question Of Consolidation. This has been
held up to you as huge bugaboo, a raw-hea !
aud bloody bones, when, in truth, consoli-
dation had been made fixed fact before
ever reached the Legislature Of Virginia, and
that, too, by the votes of your entire delesa-
ton Of the preceding session. The ouiy vi
tai issue growing out Of the bill
passed while | was a member Of the
Legislature, was the question as to what
amount of compensation the State should re-
ceivc for relinquishing her interest in the
Southsidc Roads of Virginia. You have
been told that voted to give away fire mil
lions of dollars, although, the ahiest op
ponent Of the bill stated on the floor of The
house Of Delegates that he considered the
compensation ample. The interest held by
the State in the entire roads, at its nominal
value, was something less than five millions
of dollars, and consistedo of deprecated claims
and stocks, worth, on the market, not exceed
ing one million of dollars. The present
value of the consideration given By the con-
solidated roads amounts to more than two NIL
lions Of dollars, payable in State bonds, or
money, at the option of the consolidated roads
The consideration in my Judgment WAS am
Pile; and iii view Of the fact that the State
| had surrendered to Roads on the North side
of James River nine millions Of dollars, with
out receiving any consideration at all, it was
moi unreasonable to sell the State interest in
Roads OF the South side, for its legitimate
market value, especially when it was sold to
Firginiaus engaged in a great enterprise for
the development Of the resources Of the State
But fellow-citizens, are you aware of the fact
that the opponents Of this measure, to wit /:
the friends Of the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail
Road, who have raised all Of this clamor
against me, have, by their efforts, taken from
the State of Virginia over Five Millions Of
Dollars, to wit: the entire Covington and
Ohio Rail Road, without paying one single
dollars consideration therefor; and have also
taken her blue ridge tunnel, that cost her
little less than two millions Of dollars, for the
paltry consideration of six hundred thousand
dollars, payable in State bonds, which they
bought up at from 40 to so cents on the dol
lar? IF you arc, [ think you will agree with
nae that they are the last people on Gods
earth that ought to talk about robbing the State
of anything. But, besides all this, there was
dagger concealed in the bosoms Of the OPP
ponents of the consolidation bill, that was in
tended, in case their opposition succeeded, to
be plunged into the very vitals Of your ma-
tera interests. It was not only their pur-
pose to sell the Virginia and Tennessee Rohd
to foreign corporation that had no other i'll
terests than cutting Virginia end building up
foreign cities at her expense, but behind the
scene sat Mr.. Huntington T. Co., with their
eyes fixed on the South side and Norfolk and
Petersburg Roads, to gobble them up when