The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-12-02

and without the stain and n1a1ny OF repileiatioh'
Judge Merediths letterfo the Wing .s 8 q 5ve
Let us see, from an examination OF the
yery authorities which Judge Meredith
cites, whether this is, in fact, so; whether
we get rid of one dollars amount Of the
public, debt of the State by the arrange
ment to which he refers as made with Its
creditors. Assuming the amount OF the
debt, as originally contracted, to DC, IN |
round numbers, fifty millions of dollars,
then two-thirds of it would be thirty-three
millions. with the fractional of thirds over,
and the interest on this sum, at SIX per
cent, would amount to two millions OF
dollars per annum. This is what the state,
under the new arrangement assumes to
pay, and will have to pay in advance Of
any other Indebtedness, if the law is etfec-
tually carried out in its several provisions.
The authorities referred to, by Judge
Meredith are incontcstably the highest that
can be cited on questions of international
law and they all go to show that, when
the state originally contracting any debt is
disrupted and broken up into two or more
: states. the debt becomes a common one,
and the obligation which rested upon the
whole before division, is now ratably bind
ing upon the several parts. And the same
I is true of the converse of this proposition,
that if any benefits are accruabe to the
whole before division, they are to be en-
:, loved in common by all the parts. In
other words, if the federal government had
|. donated to the State of Virginia before the
separation, any portion of the public do
: main for school purposes, and the benefits
: of such donation had not accrued until after
. the separation, it would, when accrulng,
9 ratably enlle to the benefit of West Nr'
/ GINA as a part of the original territory
u There is no question but that this principle
n works both ways, or is reciprocally opera
o tive as well in the case of obligations accru
" ing to as from the State. aoiues eia
:, Assuming that West Virginia comprises
l. one-third of the territory and population
the whole state, no part of the legal ooliga
70 ton of Virginia proper has been lifted b.
<, the arrangement made with its creditors II
Of the act passed by the General Assembly
s. The obligation resting upon her before tn
he passage of the funding bill, was to pay he
a ratable portion ofthe debt, and that obliga
e. ton rests upon ner still only she has fool
I'd ishly assumed to pay it in advance of Yves
W Virginia, and in preference to any other oh
I'd LEGATION resting upon her. The division
ae was unconstitutionaly forced upon her b
al the Federal government, and had n
st other sanction than that of wa
IS measure, made imperative, perhaps
at for the time being, and Virgmi
re- was in no way voluntary party
. it. What the Federal government shout
IS have done, Immediately on the terminate
as of the war, was to have remanded the SC
lt called State Of West Virginia to its tru
'e- constitutional position in the. Union as pa
of the disrupted state. Virginia should moi
. therefore, be damniiied by any act whc
III was not voluntarily her own. With ii
ito separation she had nothing whatever to d.
yer except to acquiesce in it with the best graz
lr. she could, after the act was done ; and OF
M reason why Sne houiu nv ia ih ' VA
nd arrangement with her creditors was, that
va involved her assent to, and entire ACCUSES
er- ence in. the unconstitutional partition
~, her territory. Her attitude towards N
IN. creditors should have beenthis impregnab
er. one: that when the integrity of her teri
mt, tory was observed, and her rights there
ORC established, her debts would be provld'
ate for in the same good faith in'whlch TN
ec- were contracted. This was the leverage
i've hold she had upon the Federal goyernme
Re- to compel not only the righting OF the gre
,ew territorial wrong sh0 had suffered, but Il
,s;- proper adjustment other indebtedness WI
a her creditors. .sf.a sd
=. 1t is idle to say that any advantage b
inc accrued to the stately paying, or agreer
We to pay, simply what was ratably blndl
my upon her by reason Of the partition. Il
!, = assent to that partition, either by treat
we vote or otherwise, was necessary before
n of obligation to pay ratably couldbe enforce
our 1t was not debt hanging over any disrul
II ..o.t;o, &c tha ter,itorV of the state. /