Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1874-06-16
ADDRESS TO FHE VOTERS
of fhe'
Ninth Congressional District
of Virginia.


many of my old friends, and many
new ones, in different parts of the
district. | announce myself as a
candidate 20 represent You IN the
next Congress of the United States
As great many young men are
now voters who may net be acquaint-
ed with my Legislative history, l
deem it not inappropriate to call their
attention to some OF the many public
acts il, which l bore a part. [ do
this, not for tie purpose of Boosting
of my efforts. but merely to show what
some of the acts of nav public career
haze been, and how | fulfilled the
trusts with which the people Of this
dist lets have hOnOred me When in
the Legislature, | introduced the
resolution providing pay for grand and
petit jurors for their services, and |
worked for that until the law was
passed. 1t will be remembered that
clerks. witnesses and lawyers all re,
ceived pay. and the jurors, WHO
rendered important services, received
no pay. TITS was unjust; hence my
action.
next introduced a resolution to
extend the jurisdiction of magistrates
from twenty to fifty dollars. I la
b red hard until we passed that law,
thus saving vast sum of moley to
the poor debtors of Virginia. The
fact is, the jurisdiction Of magistrates
ought to be extended to one hundred
dollars. to save cost to the people.
[ voted to exempt certain articles of
property from execution for debt, for
the benefit of Door men.
When in the State Senate it was
upon my motion that sheriffs' CONS
missions were reduced on the second
execution, when forthcoming bond
was given. two and half per cent.
And in the same bill upon my mos
ton. the law was repealed giving
lawyers fee of two dollars and fifty
cents for a motion on the fortkcOm
ing bond will venture to say that
these laws, and the extension of the
magistrates jurisdiction, saved more
money TO the poor classes of the peO-
pie of Virginia than any laws passed
by the Legislature for the last fifty
years. and / now favor the extension
of the magistrates jurisdiction to all
sums of one hundred dollars.
In 1874 | introduced a bill in the
Senate to limit the length of the
session to as days. ard if We did not
ge: through in IS days, to reduce the
pay of members to 81. 90 per day for
the remainder of the session. 1t
required the greatest effort on my
part to pass the bill but it did pass,
and that year we adjourned on the
74th day but when l quit the Senate
the law was repealed,
| will take occasion here to say
that we have too much legislation,
and | wish to see the Constitution
amended so that the Legislature will
meet only once in two or three years.
ard come back to our old Constitution,
as far as we can. get rid of this in
menSe State tax which is burdening
our people.
! voted for the various road bills
for Southwestern Virginia, which |
need not mention. Upon all occasions
/ did what | could keep taxation down
as low as possible, and when | quit
Senate our tax was twelve cents upon
the hundred dOllarS-nOw it is about
one dollar or upwards. We must
have retrenchment and reform in
both the State and general govern.
ment, or we are doomed and ruined
people, if indeed, we have not al
ready reached that condition.
When ! went to Congress, there
introduced the HoME3TEAD BILL to
give every citizens of the United
States 100 acres of the public land
who would go upon it and occupy it
for FIVE years thus giving home to
the homeless. 1 voted for various
bills giving alternate sections of land
to the Western railroads, requiring
the remaining sections to be sold for
not less than double the government
price. This policy settled up the
country, brought the government
land into market, aud brought vast
sums of money In the government
Treasury. | voted to give the
soldiers of all the different wars one
hundred and sixty acres fland. We
passed two laws giving them eighty
acres at different times, making 100
acres, These laws gave homes to
those who had none, and money 10
those who had homes; and these laws
brought vast amount of money to
Virginia. | voted in The old Con-
gress TO increase the pay Of private
soldiers from s. to Sll per month .
And | voted in the Confederate Con.
gress to increase the pay Of soldiers