The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1877-12-13
How the Money Goes.

to the Virginia Legislature the following in
formation, from which, it Hll be seen that
about $35, 600 have certainly been stolen
from the State, and how much more will
never be known until a searching inves:iga.
ton is instituted. We cannot tell where
the blame is, nor do we wish to locate the
wrong. The Committee appointed to look
into the matter,wil doubtless, do its duty.
The majority in the Legislature is pledged
to reform and retrenchment, aad the people
will not be satisfied unless the most rigid
scrutiny is instituted to go to the very bot
tom of the whole management of the State s
finances.
The following is the statement of the Sec
oad Auditor:
$40 the Honorable tie General ASSEMBLE
Of Virginia In the course of an eXamina-
ton of the records and papers of this office
for the purpose of testing the accuracy OF
the funding done under the funding act OF
March 30, 1871, and, when necessary. COM
pairing them with those of the Treasurer
office, 1t was ascertained recently that con-
siderable number of old coupon bonds which
were sent from this office to that of the
Treasurer in the years running from 1858 to
1862 for conversion into registered bonds
under the act Of March II, 1856, and thus
exchanged there have been brought into
this office since the passage Of the funding
act, and funded under that act. They were
presented for funding clear and free from
any mark of cancellation, though by the act
authorizing the exchange the Treasurer was
required to cancel such surrendered coupon
bonds in prescribed form, in the presence
OF the Second Auditor, and to file and keep
them in his Office.
sod. Several coupon bonds, issued under
the act of I'd March, 1866, and sent into the
office of the Treasurer and exchanged there
for other bonds, appear also to lave been
taken from that office, presented here and
funded, having no marks upon them to i'll
dictate their character.
sd. Moreover number of coupon LOnds
Which, since the passage of the funding act,
were sent from this office into the Treasur.
er's Office to be funded, and for which new
bonds were assured, have since been pre-
sented in this office and funded again. These
bonds, after having been once funded, were
brought here second time for funding, ard
were also clean and clear from any mark of
cancellation upon them, though the act of
March 80, 1871, under which they were pre-
viously funded required that the Treasurer
should cancel, and file, and keep all such
bonds in his office.
sit is proper to remark that in respect to
these aforementioned bonds, as passing from
my office to that of the Treasurer to be
funded. there appears to have been an omis-
sion of duty OH the part OF the funding clerk
in my Office in failing to endorse a state :
ment, or mark funded on such bonds, g.,
&c.
"The aggregate amount OF bonds thus i'm
properly refunded appears to be about thir-
ty-fiyc thousand dollars, which funded at
two thirds their face value is some twenty
three thousand dollars in new consol and
pee!er bonds besides West Virginia certiti-
cates), and increasing the public debt by so
much.
"Thcre are circumstances connected with
these transactions which plainly show that
the bonds referred to were distracted from
the Treasurer's Office and refunded by one
o: more parties quite familiar with the bus
mess and records of both offices, and for q
fraudulent purpose. These transactions all
Treasurer came into office, except some ST.
900, brought in and funded since that
period, though doubtless distracted, like the
others, previously, &C., &C.
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GRANTS RE NOMINATION. Wash
ington correspondent of the Baltimore Sun,
in his letter of the 9th, has the following
One OF the oldest and most farsighted of
the Democratic Senators says that every
move made by the Democratic advocates Of
unlimited silver and resumption postpone
ment renders more certain the nomination
of General Grant in 1880. He says if the
Republicans can only put the Democratic
party as national organization in the att-
tude Of endorsing the crackbrained projects
which are now exciting the fancy of so
many members of that party, it will be all
they can hope for. At the suspicious time
Grant will be brought forward as the repre-
sentative OF honest money, and nominated
on platform to that effect. The Repub-
licans who are now cooperating with the
Democrats on the project of financial legis-
lalon will fall back and range themselves
under the banner OF Grant and honest
money, and the result will be that Grant
will have just such walk over rs he had in
1872. No man of sound Judgment can
doubt that the words of the Senator are the
words OF soberness and truth. That the
idea which he speaks of is uppermost iii the
minds OF the men who managed the Grant
campaigns in 1868 and in 1872 is plainly
made apparent every day. If the Demo
cratic members of Congress persist in the
path that SO large a number Of them are
now following, the cry of population will
be raised against the party with tcnfold
force, and by none raised louder than by
the Republicans who are temporarily acting
with them for a purpose. The effect will
be that in 1880, as i'll 1872. the great body
of the money interest of the whole country
will throw its influence against the Demo
cratic candidates,