Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-04-29
ALEXANDRIA, VA.
MONDAY, APRIL %, 1872

TIE WEsTMoRELAND MEETING. We pub
lished on Saturday the proceedings Of IAN
mpromptu meeting held in the county of
Westmoreland, where resolutions, introduced
by the member of the House of Delegates from
that county, were adopted, which under the
guise of 'relief,' might seem to some, to
favor reputation of private obligations,
and the Governor is actually called upon,
as, in duty bound, to convene an extra
session of the Legislature, for the pur-
pose Of considering '.prirate relief measures.
About two years ago Relief Convention
was held in Richmond, which proved COM
plete failure, the regularly accredited delegates
numbering not over seven or eight. One OF
the participants in that Convention" publicly
avowed that he could not pay ten cents on the
dollar upon his Indebtedness, and was very per-
tinently asked what kind of ''relief measure
would benefit him? as, like the man at the
Brooklyn ferry, who wanted "the loan Of FIVE
cents to cross, it was refused him upon the
ground that it made no difference on which
side of the stream be was,ie he had no money 1t
was thought then that this kind of relief was
killed, but it has turned out that the snake was
only "scotched'' and the fire which has been
smouldering all this time has been rekindled and
fuel has been added to the flames by the course
pursued in the last Legislature, the action of
which body, in reference to the State debt,
has we fear, fostered the spirit which
prompts the adoption of such resolutions as
those of the Westmoreland meeting; aud the
phantom of reputation in this insidious form
of 'srelief" again raises its head in the land,
and is not only endorsed but embraced by many.
1t is to be regretted that this spirit should be
encouraged, as it can only react prejudicially
upon those who thus seek to postpone the evil
day, and who, by their course, would seriously
affect the welfare of their fellow citizens, who
now need all the leniency possible. and to so
many Of whom credit isso important. Honesty
is the best policy" and while the people in
many parts of the State may and we know are
suffering still from the effects OF the losses sus-
tanned by the late war, yet in all their misfor-
tunes their willingness has never been assailed,
and no such blow should be struck at the State,
by her own sons, now. The private debts are
due not to outsiders, as was the plea used in
reference to the bonds of the State, but from
neighbor to neighbor; therefore, improperly to
NEEDLE with them Injuries ourselves alone and
does no one any good, and should not be counte-
nanced.
Any attempt to array the rural districts
against the cities, as recommended in the reso-
buttons referred to, is also prejudicial, and its
evils have been too often exposed to need fur
Their remark The fable Of the stomach and
the limbs is applicable and the arraying of the
country against the cities, or vice versa, would
produce like effect; both are dependent upon
each other, and as consequence what affects
one necessarily affects the other. 1t is too evi-
IDENTIFY the interest of the cities to encourage and
assist in improving the condition of the coun-
try,to need argument, and per contra, it should
be the aim and object Of the country to build
up the cities, whereby the former will not only
be benefited but receive that relief of which
so much is now heard The cities bear by large
odds the greater proportion of the burden of
taxation, and in proportion as they grow, in
that RATIO will the country people be relieved
and additional facilities afforded them for bene-
fitting themselves Rather let there be a kind
ly feeling encouraged than seek to array the
country against the cities