The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-01-02
Gvenilta State Snilrmal.
THE VETO rEssAGE.

AS was expected and predicted by the
knowing ones, the Governor sent in his
message this afternoon,z returning the
House resolutions to stop the funding of
the public debt, with his objections. The
message will, of course, receive calm and
respectful consideration, emanatlrg, as it
does, from the Chief Magistrate of the
State. But the public good requires that
its statements and arguments should stand
upon their own foundation and bc accepted
OF rejected according to their real weight.
Judged by this standard, We must be per-
mitted to say that, with all due respect to
the Governor, his main positions do not
seem to us sound at all. sa ef
slsI II strikes us as altogether unwarrantable
for the Executive to assume that the Leeis-
lature, coordinate branch of the goyern-
ment, directly and recently from the peo-
pie, are less intelligent as to their interests
and wishes than he is himself.
Certainly we may doubt the propriety OF
that portion of the message which assumes
that the Legislature are guilty of double
dealing and meaning to defeat the payment
of the debt altogether, while they only
claim to oppose the present mode Of fund
ing it. This style Of treatment will hardly
oor,,rner,a The position Of the Governor to a
body Of men who certainly possess some
spirit and have shown adisposition to excr-
Z D.. .4. : -s-
else their rights as legislators swithot asking
consent of the Executive or the party drill
sergeant. It is quite gratuitous for any
one to assume that the legislature intended
TO abandon the matter with this merely
negative action. It was very proper for
them to take time for dcliberatioll. and
quite absurd to require them to give bonds,
that they would take up the question and
dispose Of it entirely at any particular
date. ~ s4,iSsl .s - XVI sso7f
The Governor claims that the creditors
who have not already funded, are wronged
by this resolution. 1t is still fresh in the
memory of many Of us, that parties rep
resenting over one-third of the entire debt,
opposed the Funding Bill, ,prefcrring to retain
their old bonds. Wemay reasonably suppose
that large portion of.the unfunded debt is
in the hands Of parties who prefer the
old bonds? At all events the action Of the
Legislature, if final, would have restored
the stata quo, and placed the creditors
back where they We're before the funding
began. y agtFtgf.y ga
But again the Legislature is hedged by
the statements, that the Funding act has
become an unexe,utcd contract as to the
bonds already fnn,!ed. y Wee desire to ask
If the old bonds acere not contracts equal
" sacred, and IF Tie legislation aptich rel
quired the bondholder to accept o bond for
two-thirds of their face or lose his interest,
was not quite as liable to this objection as
the resolution which the Governor has We
toed ,,
The Governor insists that the present
Legislature shall not pass resolution re-
straining the action Of the State officers
under law of very doubtful constitutions
ality and which as may be seen by the
report Of the State Auditor, requires a
special tax to be levied or. loan to be
made. Last winter he urged that the
Legislature should pass bill directly and
| in terms regulating the original contract
entered into between the State of Virginia
and her creditors. as NJ j, 5s SS;s y
''Pray now, what cai, be the difference
betwixt tweedle-dum and tweedle-dec. =
We think it would trouble a very astute
metaphysician or moral philosopher to
to make out any difference against the pre-
sent Legislature. The first bonds werp
accepted as a matter Of mutual agreement,
1whilo the latter were forced upon their
holders under threats Of reputation. y
r 'eThe protecting shield Of the national
constitution, which the Governor invokdi
is, we suppose, found in that clause which
declares that ''no State shall pass any law
imposing the oblig CATION Of contraets.o
Gov. Walker ought to read his law
books more closely, and learn that this re-
fers only to private contracts. We hardly
think that General Grant will send the reg
ulars down to collect the taxes, even to
pay the bonds issued under this sacred
Funding Bill.
If the national constitution is to be thus
Interpreted, we would stick to the old
bonds (which would certainly be a prio,
claim upon the State,) and call on Uncle
4 sE.r I. ~ !.