The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-01-08
renr ,,,s nispatcli. /

sbebt-lncreased Taxation or Tein-
pornryt loan
Virginia has cause TO be proud OF the FACT
that in the general corruption and demorai-
izotiop of public men she hns still in her
bipI, places men not only Of intellectual re-
nowrl. but of unsulied honor and uniin-
neaebable integrity. The Court OF Appeals,
| with moral courage highly commendabe
has lately pronounced an opinion which III
knew would be in the highest degree dis.
| tasteful to a vast number of citizens OF the
| State and WINS we'll calculated to excite and
arouse popular feeling against them. Ihey
hive by majority of four out of five slls.
tanned a law which has been more denounced
than auy other ever enacted in the State:
Much severity of criticism has been INDUCED
| in and one journal, apparently envious of the
| distinction of traduciBg and villifying every.
body and everything who opposes its views
or which thwarts its designs, has 80 far for
gotten all proprietya as to insinuate that there
was an /" entente cordidleo between the court
and the bondholders." Its likely to wear
undisputed for all time "the honor" of hav-
ing cast the one single foul aspersion which
has been or will likely ever be cast upon
as pure a bench rs ever adorned State.
| Wood Bouldin and his associates, Christian,
Anderson, and Moncure, not less than their
dissenting brother, Staples, have characters SO
well established that destinations against
them will only rebound to the detrilnent OF
| those who utter them. Nor will the able
| clear, conclusive opinion pronounced by the
| majority have less weight because OF the
| boastfuI announcement of q correspondent
of the WING, in recent communication, that
sit could be demonstrated clearly to the com.
prehension OF the most obtnse intellect that -
| the decision of the Court of Appeals was
erroneous. This much | have thought pro-
pcr, as a Virginian. to say in justice TO the
| distinguished gentlemen who constituted the
| majority of the court in this case. NOW,
| with the highest respect for the abllltles OF
Judge STAPLES, as well as confidence In the
| sincerity of his convictions, | wish TO briefly
criticise some of his views: First. AS to the
| funding bill infringing upon the rights OF the
common schools, and being therefore uncon'
stitutional, the Judge says-if valid law
tho D,1rrhnsers of ''School lands" may pay
for Them in coupons" Suppose they do.
Does not the State in that case, us the trustee
of the schools, in selling this land for them,
assume the liability TO account to the school
fund In money for the land so sold !
How, then, is anybody damaged! III
an individual trustee sells trust property
and collects the proceeds in an unauthor-
lied currency he is not the less liable to ac-
count to the ceStut que trust in that which
was authorized. So the latter sustains no
damage. But if it be said "this admits the
State would be committing breach of trust
and doing what is wrong "-eVen conced-
ing it-does that 60 to the conStitutionality
of the whole funding act? Does it not go
only to the extent OF denying the right OF
such purchaser to pay for SUCH school lands
in coupons, thus declaring that this is not a
debt or demand due the State" but due the
"sciooL .fund"? So it would seem to lie
| to be rather a strained construction to say
| that q ".fne," which is in the nature OF
penalty, is Il debt or demand due the State y
| 10 the sense intended by the funding bill
A convict sentenced to the penitentlary be-
comes thereby labels under an obRJG.
| ion-to serve the State ut hard labor during
| his term; vet this is not "debt or de-
mand" in the language Of the funding act.
But, says the Judge, "thc capitatlon tax "
is exclusively appropriated to public free
schools. Under this act that may be paid in
coupons. How? The smallest denomination
of consolidated bond is 500, and the half
| years coupon IS. Can this he used in paying
Il tax of 81? Few will be offered that way.
But" says the Judge, 1.-The contract, If
such it be, is wanting in the essential ele-
ment of valuable consideration" Sc Here
he must have lost sight for the moment OF
the two-told definition of the term valuable
consideration" which is defined in the law
books to be- in substance, " q beneht TO the
| party promising, or loss or 7nconrenence
sustained at his instance by the other party"
| Certainly it is something tor the public Gre
| ditors to come forward and give up for an
| indefr tie period all manner of claim to
more than four per cent, interest on the
amount of their bonds. When the principal
| or interest of the deferred certificates will
| be provided for, no one claims sufficient pro-
phetc power to declare. On the general
| principle" which the Judge mainly relies
| on, "tnat one Legislature can't deprive sub
Sequent ones" OF control over the question
of taxation, he will be regarded by most
| persons as having sufficiently answered him
self, in his own opinion, in the case OF the
| City of Richmond Us. The Richmond and
DanviIle Railroad Company, 21 Grattan,
| 604,) though he endeavors to draw dlstlnc-
| ton. The United States Government has
made its legaI-tenders receivable in payment
of all dues except impost duties. No one
questions the right of Congress to have
so acted. But | did not wish to 20
into any extended review Of what
seems to ME to have evidently been
hastily-prepared dissenting opinion. /
confess / never could sec the great crime of
the Legislature conserving, in behalf of the
State that persons owing her taxes or other
dues might set off against them any over
due interest accrued to them on State bonds.
1t certainly IS Gerry hard to have to toll
and struggle to raise money from other
sources to pay fifty cents in the S1C0 on the
value ESTIMATED by the Slate through her
agents) of her own bonds on which year
alter year she is paying not one dollar OF
interest. This has been the case with holders
of one-fourth Of the entire debt Of the State
since the war that being the amount, believe,
until recently held within the State. Now
that the coupons are receivable" will the
Legislature keep on the statute-books an act
which is null and void, and subject the col
lectins officers to the costs of litigation and
heavy damages for refusing to take the cou-
pons when offered? Again, will the Legis-
lature cease to be Influenced by petty spite
and ill-temper against that "horrible mon-
ster the bondholder," as the diStempered
imaginations of some members and others"
have pictured him, and perform their duty TO
the State wthoutregard TO ,choare the holders
Of the bonds That would bc far more
creditable than to allow their public action
to be Influenced by feelings which, however
eXcusable in children, are never allowed to
influence statesmen! Ii they tciN, there .:
after all, no great difficulty. The principal
Of the public debt is mere "bugbear."
Demagogues make great ado about it. Yet
every rascal of them knows there is no ne
cessity to pay any considerable amount of
that for generations. True, the Constitution
reullireS 4 sinking fund but that need not