The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-02-06

.Tl.
Norfolk, Nafisenond, southampton, Isle Of
Wight, Surry. Sussex, and Greansrille, and
the cities OF Norfolk and Portsmouth.
f Third. The counties OF Brunswick, DIM
widdie, Prince George, Nottoway, row
hatan, Amelia, Enmb bertrand. ILunenourg,
and Mecklenburg, md the city OF Il refers
burg. il. :, ~, 1
Fourth. Tie counties Of Halifax, Pittsy-
.vania, Charlotte, Prince Edward. Patrlck,
Henry, and Franklin, and the city OF D ''t
vile. ,gss,1ss e
Fifth. The counties OF Bedford, Camp
bell, Buckingham, Appomattox, Amnefs !;
Nelson, and Aibemarle, and the CITY OF
Lynchburg.
sixth. The, counties OF Montgomery,
Floyd, Craig, Giles, Pulaski Carroll, Wythe,
Grayson, and Bland. -
Seventh. The counties OF Smytb, Iaze-
well, Washington, Russell, Wise, Buchanan,
Scott, and Lee.
Eighth. The counties OF Chesterfield, Hen-
rico, and the city OF Richmond.
Ninth. The counties OF Goochland, Flu
wanna. Louisa, Hanover, Caroline, Spotsyl-
Yania, Stafford, King George, Westmore-
land, Richmond. Northumberland, and Lam
caster, and the city of fredericksburg.
Tenth. The counties Of King William.
King and Queen. Essex, NiddleseS, Mat
thews, Gloucester, Elizabeth City, War
wick, York, New Kent, Charles City, anu
james City, and the city Of Williamsburg.
Eleventh. The counties Of Loudoun,
Alexandria, Fairfax, Prince William, Eau
quier, Culpeper, and Orange, and the city
of Alexandria.
Twelfth The counties OF Frederick,
Clarke, Warren, Rappahannock, Madison,
| and Greene.
Thirteenth. The counties Of Rocking
ham, Page, and Shenandoah.
Fourteenth. The counties Of Rockbridge,
Augusta, Bath, Highland, Allegheny, Bote-
| tourt, and Roanoke. =
1t is proposed that the act SO in force De-
cember 81, 1878.
On motion Of Mr.. WALKER OF Northum-
berland, the report was passed by and or
dered to be printed.
THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS RETRENCHMENT. :.
House bill, reported from the Committee
on Retrenchmcnt and Reform, to reduce
the salary OF the Vaccine Agent from SI2O
to 5000 was passed.
THE BARBOUR TAX-BIIL.
At l O'Clock the House proceeded TO the
consideration Of the special order-the bill
| leyying the tax on property, and INTENDED
to exclude coupons from the treasurY-Mr.
CoGnlLL being entitled to the floor.
Mr.. CoGH1LL, commenting upon the state
ment of the Richmond Wing that when he
was a candidate for the Supreme-Court
bench he had intimated his willingness to
undo the funding-bill, said that at the time
referred 10 fat Judge Joynes's death he was
not candidate for the iudgship. HIS
friends urged his name, it is true, but he
(Mr. CoGHILL) was then laboring under
what he regarded as disability. When he
was candidate for the iudgship the Re-
adjusters did not support him.
Mr.. CoGHILL said Dir. ALLEN had stated
he (Mr. CoGHILL) would, II upon the bench
when Antoni as. Wright was decided, have
agreed with Judge Staples. He had said
nothing Of the kind, and would have had
no self-respect il he had.
Mr.. CoGHIIL thought ii he had been upon
the Supreme Court bench when the Antonl
case was decided lie would not have gone
as far as the Court did. But that was no
matter. No doubt John Marshall, when
practicing law here in Richmond, had cases
decided against him which he considered
wrong. LAWYERS may differ as to the cor
rectness of decision, but they and all good
citizens must yield their acquiescencc.
He then proceeded to state his objections
to the bill under consideration, and argued
that increase Of taxation might be mex
pedient. but was not impracticable, rs the
bill said, and no bankruptcy court would dis:
charge creditor with such small debt and
such great assets as Virginia had. He held
that this Legislature could not take away a
mans rights by declaring that further tax
alton is impracticablc and by assuming that
the court could not inquire into the truth
OF the declaration; the court would dlsrc-
gard it. In that view why send this case to
the Court Of Appeals at all? The points
have been decided with reference to cou-
pons. Here there is nothing new except
the preamble, and you say that the Supreme
Court must not inquire into that, as to
whether or not increased taxation IS practl.
cable 1t was what he regarded as mon
strous, and but little better than out-and-
out contiScation.
MIR. COGInLL reviewed the Anton case to
show that every single point in the present
bill, including that about the school .fund,
had been passed upon and decided there by
the Court. Not by sdividcd court" as
Mr.. ALLEN claimed, but by three out OF the
four judges sitting. 1t was settled that 4
State had no more right than an individual
TO violate her contracts.
Although he voted to repeal the funding
act, although he spoke against that bill, he
held that he was bound by the decision oil
the Supreme Court, even though they set
tied the question wrong. He believed hon
estly at that time that the Court would de-
eide against the bin. The Court chose to
follow Woodruff Us. Trapnall, and it only
remained for him to obey it. His views
were Of no consequence. The only qnes-
tons were. Did the Court have Jurisdiction,
and did they settle this matter? II they did,
aud he opposed them and arrayed himself
against them, he was public agitator. ii
such view were to obtain generally no case
could ever be settled, and the foundation of
society would be unsettled.
DIR. MoFFETT.
Mr.. MoFFETT, who next claimed the floor,
utterly denied that the Finance Committee
had been actuated by any such purposes as
seemed to be intimated by the gentleman
from Amherst (Mr. COGHILL), and as were
openly charged by the gentleman from
Richmond NIr. HENRY. The latter had
said that the bill was ga bald attempt to
repudate portion Of the public debt"
He denied it. With as much truth he
might rctort-but would not-that The gen.
tlemen OF the other side were engaged in 8
bald attempt to rcpudiate or to break down
the State government. Instead OF propos-
ing to repudiate anything, the Finance