Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1877-10-26

GRAY ON THE sTUMP-THE ''LEADING
MEN OF THE VALLEY PREsENT-sAL-
TING THE COUNTRY PAPERs-TAYLoR
JEFFERSON IN A TREE-THE ADJUST
ERs IN FULL FoRCE-THE OLD THIRTY
EIGHT OUT,
&C., &C., sc.
Monday was court day, though but few
people were in attendance. Col. A. A.
Gray, the Conservative canvasser at large,
was announced to speak, and the Adjust
ers Immediately procured the attendance
of Capt. Fl. II. Riddleberger, of Shenan-
doah, 1.-The leading men of the Valley"
whose late summonlng of meeting in
Harrisonburg, and deciding by Sc to q
that Gen. Stonewall Jim Walker, the
Conservative nominee, should not be sup
ported for 1t. Governor. has made him
popular with the anti-debt-payers in this
part of the Valley. The assemblage in the
court house to hear Col Gray was small
but attentive.
REMARKS OF COL. GRAY.
He construed the Conservative platform
to mean, first no reputation; second, no
increase Of taxes; third, that there is to
be an adjustment and, fourth, the selec-
ton OF upright and honest men to perform
that work, and before proceeding to his
remarks stated that he was not candi-
date for anything. All agreed that the
amount of the ante-war debt with interest
amounted to $40 900 600. OF this ST., 000,-
600 had been set aside for West Virginia
by the Funding Bill, and the creditors who
funded accepted certificates of that, which
Virginia held only as trustee, and all his
hearers knew exactly what the response
bility of trustee i'll law was. 1t entailed
on the trustee no duty to make the cerylfi-
Gates good. The Funding Bill stated ex-
plicitly that Virginia only held these cert :
ficates in trust. We are neither legally
nor morally bound for the remaining third,
and there is no way to make us pay it,.
We are masters of the situation in that
respect MI. Gray then showed, in the Hig
ginbotham case, that the Court OF Appeals
had explicitly stated that they did not de-
eide that the State Of Virginia was re-
sponsibie for the whole OF the debt. Now,
as to the debt The State did owe, he found
nobody, anywhere he went, that was will
ing to repudlate it. Reputation was aIl
impossibility. 1t is Impossible for any legis-
lature or any convention chat you could
organize to get rid of it by reputation.
Set on foot any move in that direction, and
you find a breakWater Ill the constitution
Of the United States, which foroids tine
states to impair their Obligations. The
very senators and delegates that you elect
TO the legislature will, before they can take
their seats, have to take an oath TO support
this constitution OF the United States,
which forbids any attempt to impair the
obligation Of contracts. Now, what could
they do after that oath? And if some of
these representatives should, in error,
adopt laws contrary to the constitution,
the courts are here withjudges sworn to sup
port it, and they would be across the path.
Then what could you do! He had heard with
establishment an Independent candidate
for Lit. Gov. at Harrisonburg, in public
speech, say, What are the judges of the
Court of Appeals? They are but five men
among milIion.' What significance WAS
to be given to this seeking to dwarf our
courts in the eyes of the people? He heard
it also said that the Court of Appeals,
standing in the way, was to be dragged
down from its high position. When you
have done this you have taken an i'm
measurable step in the direction of anarchy.
Having done that, you may say, "What IS
the legislature but IT'S men out OF mil
lion? What is the Executive but one man
out of a. Gmillion?" There are doubtless
IlGu LII GVOly COllllEltulGy VIII WILL ptoulloC
If they are elected to do away with all
taxes, and to arrange SO that all private
obligations will be adjusted to the salts
faction of debtor and creditor. Such men
are dangerous to society. Be warned OF
them in time.
He thought the debt could be adjusted.
because it was to the interest Of the creditor
as we'll as the debtor. and stated new COM
plication not before published. After the
passage of the act repeating the Funding
Bill, the legislature passed an act, March
10th, providing for payment of interest IN
which it was inserted that any person re-
ceiving their interest under this act gave up
the right to tender coupons in payment of
taxes and accepted the repeating act, their
bonds being stamped to show that they had
agreed to this. Mr.. Gray, We suppose,
will agree that this is an act of duress and
wouldn't stand an hour before a court.
One reason he thought for the bondholders
being willing to adjust was that q large
number had bought their bond as low as
IS cents in the dollar and even if they got
8 per cent. on their bonds they would be.
getting per cent On their investment.
He thought retrenchment would go far to
bring US within easy reach of a satisfactory
reimbursement He said he had seen nobody
that intended to vote for Richardson over
Gen. Jim Walker, and closed with an elo-
quent compliment to Holiday, Walker
and Field.
THE PLEADING MEN OF THE Valley
AT THE FRONT.
AS the time had arrived for court to reas-
semble Capt. Harry II. Rlddlebarger, the
sLeading men Of the Valley called him
self together outside on the portico, where
the leading adjusters of the county assem-
bled in force. Pretty nearly the whole Of the
old thirty-eight were there. The negro pop
ulation who are going to vote that ticket,
were on hand in high glee, and Mr.. Tay |
lor Jefferson was perched up in a tree over
looking the scene so that he might lose |
nothing of the speech. Capt. Rlddleberger |
said he5had been invited here by citizens
of Augusta. but not for the purpose of an
tagonising Gen. Walker or the State tick
ct. He had been in REIMBURSEMENT harness
for five ysars, had worked hard for Walker |
at the Richmond Convention and when he
saw it published in the newspapers that
Walker had called Readjusters thieves and
highway robbers he wrote to him. Receiv-
ing no reply i'll two weeks and thinking re
did not intend to explain, he went into the
meeting determined to try
and beat him. On returning home from
that meeting he found a letter from Wal
ker explaining what he had said and say
ing his views were what they always had
been, and had taken no further part against
him.
Mr. Riddleb arger said the public debt in
1871 was $45, 600 900, having been increased
10 that by interest from S31 900, 900 in 1860
This interest had accrued during the war
Ind during reconstruction, and that was
What the Readjusters refused to pay. No
State was bound to paylan enemy inter-war
interest, nor to pay interest while another
power collected her taxes. Not q Gandi-
late Of the legislature would say shere was
my obligation to do this outside the Fund
ng Bill. (But yoc. sac the people OF Vir-
sinia have CONTRACTED INSIDE the Funding
Bill to do il and car, set aside the con-