Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1872-03-15
OUR RICHMOND LETTER.

ISL.
MIR. EDIroE THE struggle of the
debt question was ended at last by a
compronlise between the contending
Darties on terms which had been sug
Tested weeks ago, but not accep-
ted because of want OF faith
The scenes enacted, both on the
floor of the Senate and the
House, as well as the manipulations
out of doors were little calculated to
create a high admiration for the good
sense or lofty dignity which should
characterize Legislators charged with
high responsible duties. But as the
great point has been gained and the
most Objectionable feature IN the fun1-
ing bill has been repealed, it may do
no good to cfitieise too freely the con-
duct of the two c0ntending parties, fur
Their than to shy that 70 a locker on it
appcared to he better suited 20 children
than to men, This bone of contention
being removed, and the excitement at
tending having abated both Houses
have assiduousIy worked to clear their
respective tables of the accumulated
business, and by the end of the session
very much will have been accomplish
ed for the benefit of the people.
Among the bills lately passed were
two which attracted much attcntion,
and in one of which some of your peo-
| pie are personally interested. | refer
to the bill to complete the organization
of the A. NJ. & o. Co.. ty providing a
mode for absorbing the outstanding
| stock in the respective roads which
! make up the a. NJ. & o. line. The im-
| portauce of such a law TO the company
| was SO manifestly clear that in the Sen
ate it was passed by 4 vote of 20 TO g.
Among these 1 find Judge Nowlin, OF
Carroll, who seems to take delight in
| hampering in every presented way the
operations of the a. NJ. & o. company.
! The Judge in lis usual and peculiarly
lut id style argued the legal question OF
/ the pOicc1' in the legislature to pass
such a bill, and although he demonstra-
ted by the learning he displayed his
peculiar fitness for a seat on the bench,
yet candor requires me to say that SEN
ators Cochran and Kirkpatrick venti-
lated the Judge so freely that there
we've none to stand by him save the
four others of like legal ability and at
tainments. In the House heavy cCm
! bination was formed under the lead OF
singularly astute gentleman from
| Campbell, who by personal appeal 10
! the lurking hatred of Consolidation In
! the bosoms of members, aided by the
equally pot; n. allurements Of the Ad-
ans EXPIRES Company, threatened Sc
riOusly the prospect of success. The
member from Amherst, true 10 his in
stincts, assailed in open debate, and
legged in private to defeat it, and prob
ably NIGH. have succeeded, if the new
er-tiring member from Faufaier, had
not come to his aid in tive speeches,
compact with stuff and nonsense
Hill, of Albemarle and Deneale, OF
Rockingham, ably supported by others
| triumphantly sustained the bill, ana
won the fight 10y 81 to SO, sixteen of
the friends being absent. Washington
county was divided on this question )
neither CT your delegates spoke on the
bill, but were none the less active III
their respective efforts. Fulkerson vo-
ted for and Cummings voted no. Some
of the PENNSYLVANIA men were very
active in their opposition. and diree-
tor in one of the roads under the
control Of the Southern Security Com
pany became so excited in his indlgna-
ton that Vlrginians could dare TO in
terpose their feeble will in the way OF
the great Express company, that lie
imprudently said the time had come
when the Pennsylvania Co. must crush
out the A. NJ. & o. Co.-thac 1T had the
power and would exercise it when 1t
was Agreeable to it. l cannot say that
this holy anger impressed any one par
tjcularly. for it was borne fully in mind
tnat the aforesaid official was deeply
chagr. ned anu irritated when the law,
directing the sale of the States inter
est in the Internal improvements Conn
panies, was repealed, whereby 1.-THE
riug'' was deprived of the sweet little
moroccan of 1927 900 bearing $4,000 a
wear interest, which it had proposed to
purchase for S213, 800, was snatched
from their very lips on the very day OF
sale. Poor fellow!
Was it not a passing strange thing
that not single member of the Gov
erment had referred to this attempted
fraud, and was it not strange that menu
bers of the legislature who, by official
connection with the ring must have
known of the intended swindle, were
as silent as death? Strange rs this may
seem, it was not more audaclOuS
than the charge made that the manage
ment of the a. NJ. & O. Road were the
real ins;igators of the sale, whereas in
fact it was due wholly TO the friends
of that road that the fraud was discov-
ed and made known and the remedy
applied in the repeal of the law direct
ing the sale.
Another little fraud has been discov-
cred and the ieaedy applied which has
not improved the temper of the Buck
tails. The law as it stood prior to 1871
authorized Circuit Courts to grant char
tiers of incorporation. : except to rail-
roads, turnpikes and eanalcompanies,"
the Legislature evidently intending to
reserve the exercise ofeminent domain
to itself; but at the close of the session
of the last legislature the law was
uueerly and ingeniously amended by
adding after the word companies
what was denominated mere verbal
amendment, to wit, the words beyond
the limits of the county, which total
ly reversed the law. have yet to see
a single member of the legislature who
was aware of the change or that the
Circuit Courts were vested with sover-
eiCn prerogative, and perhaps it would
have remained unknowntoa oil but the
initiated untll int -Gtileg iOt use Hdu
come, had not Bucktail in his silly
rantings declared that there was no use
for q free railroad law so leng as the
act last referred TO remained on the
statute book, The spirited member
from Albenlare, (Jno. Hili,) who, by
the way, is one of the most efficient
members OF the House, promptly in
troduced bill torepeal this power in
the Circuit Courts, and carried it
through the House despite the requi-
ems of the Buektail officials. who saw
In the exposure of the trick, their last
hope of crossing Virginia at their will.
Attornies of the Pennsylvania compa-
nv, home and foreign. in close concert
with members, baekedup by Hardnut,
the special. wired in and wofmed out.
actually seducing few, for time, to
desert them when the accomplished