Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1873-10-02

increase the taxes on the agricultural
interest because it was admitted on all
sides that the farmers could not bear
a higher rate Of taxation. Are the
people of Virginia willing to 'entrust
this great taxing power to a party
which, where it has control Of the
State. governments, has SO Increased
the Indebtedness and the rate of taxa
ton as to render those States bank,
rupt
Now let us see how the Radical
party have expended the money thus
wrung from an impoverished people.
Has it been wisely used in the develop
ment Of the State and in the advance
: ment OF its material interestsg Take
South Carolina as an example. The
Legislature ordered the house in which
they sat to be furnished, and among
the articles purchased wasa mirror in
the speakers room at the price CT
$3.50. Each official has a separate
room for himself, most gorgeously fit
ted up, with toilet sets, and all the
! paraphernalia OF dwelling-house;
clocks at $3.50 piece; chandeliers at
$3.50, and two hundred fine porcelain
spittoons at So a piece. And OF these
men who thus reeklessly vote away the
/ public money some of them pay no
taxes, This is but one instance of
their reckless extravaganza; thousand
like it could be furnished. This large
Indebtedness has. been created and this
vast expenditure incurred in order to
feed the vampires who. are eating the
vitals Of the people; and with: like
view Offices 10y the multitude have been
created, salaries have been increased,
sinecures have been established, and the
ingenuity of the plunderers have been
taxed to.discover new approaches TO
the pockets of the people. People of
Virginia, will you confide the taxing
power of the State to such unworthy
hands?
And what can the people of Virgi-
MIA expect from Legislature controlled
| by party like this? Does any one
doubt that it will be hostile to. the
white people of the State? Was not
that the course they pursued during
the short time they held power in the
State? Look at their course in the I'm
derwood Convention. Were they not
governed by bitterness towards the
whites In the constitution which
which they framed they disfranchised
thousands and tens Of thousands of
our best men, and by their test -oaths
would have excluded from Office near
ly every white man in the State. Their
object was to retain the offices for them
selves, and thus obtain control of the
State government And one Of their
most distinguished leaders, when adj
dressing them, said, if you have not
disfranchised enough to give you the
control, disfranchise more, and con
tinue to disfranchise until you secure
possession of the government. They
adopted this advice, and inserted in the
constitution disfr 4nchising clauses and
test-oaths to secure the power to them
selves if the constitution had been
adopted as they framed it.. And when
these clauses were submitted to sep
arate vote the negroes voted with I'M
broken unanimity to retain them.
Soaking Of their vote on this question.
one of their orators has expressed the
hope that when the recording angel
came to write it down that he would
drop tear of pity and blot it from the
record. And well he might ask that
All act exhibiting SO much hostility to
the whites should be blotted from mem
cries. But let us remember it so far as
to keep them from acquiring Legislative
power, which they have shown them
selves so incapable of exercising.
| Nor should we omit to call atten-
ton to one cf the means resorted to by
the Radicals to obtain control il
the State They claim to be t.,
party of relief-the only party th.,r ha
furnished means Of relief to the debto,
class and appeal to tho. class for sup
port in the coming election. This pre-
tension is unfounded. The Conserva
tive party have shown themselves mos
jealous iii the',c, efforts to devise meas
es.of reli;ef: for this large and unfor
tunate. class The ConsG1 I'VE legis
: la.are, which assembled >s66 ant
1867, passed the tay-law,x XIII view
to delay the collection of debts and t.
: give the debtor time to meet his obi
cations, OF to negotiate for further in
diligence and the same Legislature
0 passed an act TO exempt the Homestead
; of families from forced sales. Thi
) act secures to every householder O
!. head of a family, exempt from levy
seizure or sale, under any judgement
decree or other process rendered by
any court, Homestead, not exceeding
f one hundred and sixty acres of land in
Guiding the buildings thereon, and no
exceeding the value Of twelve hundred
dollars These acts show the earnes
! desire of the Conservative party to de
). wise measures of relief In their ankle
ty to furnish relief, the Conservative
;. party went to the very verge Of the re-
, strictions imposed by the constitution
of the United States on the power O
the Legislature In fact the first named
act was declared illegal by the court
and Judge Rives delivered the opinion
of the Court of Appea's pronouncins
the law unconstitutional But the Rad
! ical party, in the 4th section of the It'll
} article of the constitution framed b,
them, prohibited the legislature s'from
passing any law staying the collection
of debts, and thus prevented the Leg
islature from passing any stay law, i
one could be devised obyiatinp the con