The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-03-06
r.oxv VIRGINIA is Made to Suffer.

How Virginia is Made to Suffer
The a,armists and the den'agosnes nave
.,,v succeeded in making things worse III
yJry;r;e. They have impaired the state
o,.d;, and thus most seriously retarded the
;nanx Of immigrants and capital, which pro
missed a degree of relief and recuperation to
Sic community that all the devices OF the
rcpudators could not secure.
The proposition tolighten thcpublic burth'
CHS was the sure precursor Of that to rei'e'.
tie people from their private obligations a"o
we have seen this last proposition boldly aa'o'
Gated. The first proposition inflicted injury
public and private, TO serious degree. .A'
sccond-the legitimate offspring OF the hlS'--
has added TO the financial expressions % w
community BY exciting distrustana oi"A's
tho oe,se of honor. We know what we say
+o ha t,,,e and we believe that the un"lse
oo-,t..or. have done the State nnancRi
,n,urv that their measures, if they secured
ali that Is expected of them by their authors
could not repair.
We understand the members Of the Legs
allure, we believe. They came here-a ma
ority Of them-with vague idea that they
MIGHT do something to tighten the burthens
but only few radical economists 1--WE oon'
mean Republican Radicals had any idea o.
opening the chapter of private debts; they
did not dream of entering into the inexulca-
bic labyrinths Of private obligations. bW
they find that they are expected o' son''
leaders In the war upon the tundlng act l"
relieve the people Of their debts. Ihcy nave
been informed in the most positive manner
that il Is not the public debt which afiilct>
the State, but that it is the private
debit of the people that keeps them IL
the dust of want and disability. Il
the Legislature Is not prepared LOT an!
mch rash aud disastrous step as that they
will not, VIC are sure, pay the appear 70 'neh
for action any attention. But, then. the mere
discussion Of the proposition in the face Oh
the act of majority of the Legislature pro-
posing the reputation of part Of the pub
lie debt most reasonably cxcites alarm anu
distrlst not only amongst our own people,
but In the minds of all who have in contem-
plation any enterprise relating to Virginia.
This subject is one the Legislature may
well consider, and that deliberately. They
NAV inquire how far they should allow this
demoralizing war upon plighted faith and
private honor to be carried. All our securl
ties are seriously affected, and even the de-
srre to come to Virginia rs place of delight
ful climate and great resources is checked.
The borrowing of money by individuals Is
rendered more difficult, and corporations,
railroads and other kinds, must tind the dis
position to lend greatly restricted. Indeed,
It cannot be otherwise. There can be no ill.,
clination amongst capitalists to send theil
money to be trusted with or invested
amongst people who are talking about ever
partial Reputation of public and private OBJ
Aaations.
There could be no wilder or moro imprac-
ticzlble proposition than that for repudiatine
private obligations. The circumstances IL
which those obligations stand, and the rela-
tons of the debtor and creditor are SO re-
plete with complications, that justice in their
settlement upon general principles would be
absolutely impossible. Els we'll endeaTor &c
restore to the places from which they were
dislocated the rocks that are thrown up by
volcano. The grand calamity which afilct,
people fell upon all. The creditor in hun
dreds of cases lost all but his claim, and tie
debtor in as many is the fortunate pos
SCISSOR of lands which tho very debt be
owes was incurred to purchase. How
would the agitators settle in those
casesp Destroy the claims of the creditor:
and leave the debtor in possession Of hi
lands? For we understand that that is what
the agitators propose : to abolish debts and
leave people in possession Of their property
that they may, as these grumblers say, SO OIL
with their peaceful industry! Peaceful in
decd. There could be no peace in a COM
munity where such injustice could be per-
petrated. There would be an end to trust
and confidence amongst men. The wronged
would detest the authority which wrongeG
them, and those who consented to profit by
the wrong would be not the kind of people
to look to for any great effort to restore the
public prosperity and resstablish credit ant
content in the land.
Tits needless to name instances of the pc
culiar relations of debtor and creditor in which
there could be no just settlement but tina
under the just laws which already exist regu
lating private contracts. The debtor ant
creditor class would have settled their affair
amicably and justly before this day had tn
State left the whole matter to them and ab
stained from the passage of stay-aws. There
is no creditor class, strictly speaking. Nearl.
every man who holds claim on another i
himself debtor and there is no reason VIII,
he should favor the forced collection Of debt
while property must be ruinously sacrificed
The mutual relations Of debtor and credito
are such that the community must, wit
hero and there an exception, be always Pre-
tected from such thing as general forcinl
of sales at destructive prices. No man VIII
owns property would like to see values re
duoed to very low stage, and the Who'll
community is at all times interested in avoid
ing that state of things as calamity.
Everybody sees now that it would hav,
been infinitely better had propety-holder
sold their property in '65 and '66 and pait
their debts than to hold it till now. The &C
cumulated interest has fearfully increased TIT
weight they carry, and is the occasion Of TIT
outcry we hear. But the quarter to which
they are so unwisely taught to look for relic