The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-02-02
DANoERoUs CoNDITIoN OF THE

DAN6EhOUS OONDIIION Of I'LL
CITY HALL-JUDGE GUIGON CHARGE
THE GRAND JURY IN REFERENCE tt
THE MATTER. After the grand jury o
the hustings court was sworn in to-day
Judge Guigon delivered the following
charge: :" deem it my duty as a private
citizen as well as an officer, gentlemen o
the grand jury, to call your attention tc
the dangerous condition of the building Ii
which we sit, and you will deem me justi
fable in SO doing, when | say to
you that from the best information
at my command you are discharging your
duties now at the peril of your lives. By
the laws of Virginia it is the duty of the
council Of the city of Richmond to provide
suitable courthouse and to keep the
same in good order. Nearly two years
ago grand jury condemned this building
as unfit for its purposes, and called the at
tention of the council to its condition.
More recently the mayor of the city adj
dressed the council strong communication
on the same subject, covering one from the
judge and clerk Of the chaHcery court.
But they have been unheeded, and
now feel it again my duty to
present the matter before you for
your action, for the preservation of
the lives of our citizens, who are obliged
by their duties to attend here, that you
may take such action about it as will pre-
vent such another catastrophe as filled our
city and state with mourning not long ago.
Apart from this, | also take leave
to call your attention to another
consideration connected with the
City Hall, which is, that if this
tuilding is destroyed, no owner of real
estate will be able to make title to his
property, and those who are best informed
assured me that in such an event, the sell.
ing value of real estate would be diminish
ed necessarily to the amount of more than
two millions of dollars, and the pro.
gress and prosperity of the city
hindered in an almost uncomfortable de-
gree. Under these circumstances, / ask
you to make such an examination and
presentment in the matter as will compel
attention and prompt action in the
premises" The grand jury was
still in session when our report closed,
consequently we know not what action
they may have taken in the matter, but the
patent presumption is that they will bring
in report that will be satisfactory to our
citizens, if not to the city council.
FINANCIAL FILLIBUSTERS AT WORK.
On Saturday hundreds of our business men
were served with chancery court subpoenas
at the instance OF one Scott, of the firm of
Branch &c Co., of Augusta, Ga, and others,
the object being to make several hundred
former stockholders of the defunct Bank of
the Commonwealth responsible in good
money for its dead and decayed war and
wildcat promises to pay. The Bank of the
Commonwealth was started as state stock
bank, secured by pledge of that sort of
stock. After the commencement Of the
late war this stock, under authority of
the legislature, was converted into Con-
federate bonds, and thereby put in trim to
60 to the devil with great CELEBRITY, which
it did. The Legislature also relieved the
stockholders of the bank of personal
liability in the matter. 1t would appear,
therefore, that the attempt to extract blood
from this financial turnip would end disas-
trously. Scott and his confreres only ask
for the modest little sum of 500, 900, which
may be taken to represent the amount of
notes of the Bank of the Commonwealth,
which they have succeeded in buying per-
haps at two cents per pound from some
junk shop. If they could make their little
game work, we should, no doubt. hear not
only of the other two or three hundred
thousand dollars of notes issued by the
same bank during the slate unpleasant
ness" but of the notes issued by all the
other state banks chartered on the same
principle, of which there were many.
NOTHING TO Do.-During these dull
times there are many who have nothing to
do, and consequently find it difficult to