The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-03-28

rEsJfS 2f0tffEtt0ns-- T.. - -,
losses 10 production Is TO De foana % .as M
bacco crop. Which, 1wn mosEsgeiuslyg,, g
within the present limits syirglaiai
.,nonnted IN fS8o, according to the
cansus of that year, to Si23, 96Si5z
oomnds and which. ,hy the census og
1s7n Ind in that year sfalleu to 81 : 86 .S8a
nonnas. sucb-lesses Ia. every kind OF agri..
cniinral production are further shown, ana
IN some measure accounted for, in the fact
that of the population constituting most
valuable producing CHASE before the war
moro than half million now produce iittle
r. ANYTHING but asbare living for themselves.
IN addition to all these evils o vast pflya.Ji
;ndahtedness incurred prior to the geheLa.
destruction Of public and private prope.sy
he ooar-an indebtedness which greauy en-
cseds the whole public debt of the Staee, nv
;nconsiderable part of which ls oue ou'S luz
Tho commonwealth, and all OF "Dicn na'
brnn and is being pressed for paymeusmu :,
,rasses oI,r people and strains their uttertnos'
resources and energies. ,,aro,o
The present revenues of the stare are laIse
| ,,,nn rompared with her resources Ine
State revenue for the last fiscal year. eXclu'
d;nw costs of collection, amounted to p, Al.
o o while for The same year the additional
Snm NJ 81. 217. 53S. 40, besides costs OF collec'
t;on was drawn from the people in the shape
of county, township, road, and local school
taxes. making the net aggregate S4 ,639, 1880
Maid yearly In public taxes, while the
| aprresate of taxable values stands at
s336. $3.50, 1928. This amount of taxation
| is exclusive of the very considerable taxes
paid to corporations, while sum far larger
| Than the amount of all other taxes combined
is annually drawn from the State by Federal
taxation. II full interest should now be
paid upon the debt assumed by the funding
act, the amount of State and local taxes lex
GLIDING costs of collection, also Federal and
corporation taxes) would necessarily be in
creased to the net sum of S5,964, 425.77, for
the revenues of the last fiscal year were less
Than enough to support the government and
pay such full interest by the sum OF 3, 324,-
94l.87.
Our real situation is not understood
abroad and has been greatly misrepresented.
Public creditors, without knowledge OF our
peculiar embarrassments, have not rendered
us the appreciation which better information
would have commanded. If fair investiga.
ton cause surprise, it will not be On account
of what the State has failed to do, but what
she has, in the face of unprecedented dItfl-
cultles, accomplished. Besides enduring tle-
mendous losses in men, labor, and capital;
besides being borne down with an enormous
private indebtedness; besides sustaining
onerous Federal taxation and meeting the
new and great charge of caring for
and educating the suddenly emancl-
pated colored people aud administer
ing justice among them besides
bearing the untimely and harrassiDg burthens
of a badly complicated government forced
upon us by an Obnoxious State Constitution;
without help from any quarter, and without
having added dollar to the principal OF her
debt by temporary loan or otherwise, fir.
ginia has paid out since the close OF the war
more than i've millions OF dollars upon the
principal and Interest of her ante.bellum
dept. 1t must be remembered that 1t is Il
wasted and muLilated State, shorn OF one
third of her territory and more than BALI OF
her taxable values, struggling against the
force of unparalleled distress and depression,
that has rendered this firm; proof OF her de.
termination to maintain her plghted faith. 1t
may be safely affirmed that no other State
and no considerable municipality carries an
amount OF debt so excessively dspr0por-
toned to It's resources, or has under the
greatest disadvantages accomplished so much
as Virginia. Notwithstanding any errors OF
the past, resulting from haste, transient eX-
citement, or public distress, full iDvestiga-
ton is bound 10 satisfy the world of Viz
ginia's willingness and purpose 10 perform
all her obligations TO the utmost extent OF
her ability. .. .. ... .'.
The foregoing disclosure, as well OF the
situation as OF our own errors in the past,
is made because necessary to be considered
in devispg measures tor eXtricating the
State from embarrassmentS in which those
errors have involved II. The problem You
are called upon to solve is how to restore the
credit of the State without imposing upon
our own people burtheus impossible to be
borne. Any separate action OF ours must of
necessity have regard to the terms of the
funding act. However unWise or preclpitate
its enactment, it were idle now to question
its validity. 1t was the act Of competent
authority. Under it the bonds OF the State
have been executed and delivered, and we
cannot go behind them. 70 the extent to
which its provisions have been accepted, it
is undoubtedly binding contract between
debtor and creditor, aud it is incapable of
being modified without the concurrence of
both contracting parties. Nevertheless, our
utmost resources are insufficient for the
prompt and complete fulilment of all its
terms, and 10 that extent its obligations are
of performance at this time.
The proposition is too obviously true to
be argued that direct taxes on lands cannot
now be increased. such increase would be
virtual confi>cation Of private property. IT.
the State was subjected to such pressure rs
would enforce immediate compliance with
all her undertakings it would result in pub
lie bankruptcy, and would prove alike dis
astrous to debtor and creditor. While it is |
still my opinion that if the recommendations |
OF my inaugural message be carried into eff
teet by the Legislature, much will be accom-
plished towards raising the credit of the
State and meeting immediate demands upon |
the treasury, yet it IS. obvious that the de.
sired measures for retrenching expenses and |
increasing revenue cannot be made fully ef- !
fpctuaI except by thoroughly changing the
Constitution, and years will be required for |
making needful changes Of organic law and |
giving them effect by appropriate legislation.
In the mean time, and until such changes |
can be made to work out desired re-
suits, we cannot afford to resign |
ourselves to the policy of inac,ion. Tue
State credit is PROSTATE. The best
bonds of Virginia rate lower in the Stock
Exchange of London than those of Egypt,
Turkey, or Peru, and our credit ranks in
the grade IF such countries rs Mexico and
San Domingo. No grosser tallacy c.n be
conceived than the one which claims that
commonwealth can flourish while its credit
is in d state of proStratlon or dishonor. The
revival of production; the yitalzlng Of our
dead resources, depends upon capital, yet to
be introduced into the State, and the re-
storation Of public credit is the necessary