The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-04-05
. me 5nn,.passon Is Contracts.

The SUPREME Court Of a pssls W ~
ssrsa il q, tribunal worthy cf tee best DAYS
! & me republic. III stands smnno yable. The
wares 81 popular passion beat upon y IN
van. they break at .ts feet ne cele-s
brated Lord CoKE, whom that tribunal MAJ!
Quotes, WAS not more inflexilde in the pre-
sence OF his King than Is our court OF .ntSll-
est resort In the presence OF 9 hostile 'Legis.
lature and nisled people. Without re-
eard to their own popularity, or promotion,
OF seli.interest In any shape, She judges per-
form their duty. They do what is right.
and leave the consequences to take care OF
themselves.
Yesterday the Court rendered its decision
In. 8 case lin which the rsceiyability OF cou-
pcnsifo fines was the question at: issue.
we publish the fun opinion Of the Court
this morning. The opinion gives ali the
facts, and to that we refer the reader. It is
Sufficient to say here that the Court held
that the coupons are receivable, as the
funding act provides, for alf debts, dues,
and demands which the State can bring
against any OF her citizens. When the
BARBOUR bill was first reported to the
House OF Delegates we said that it would
almost certainly be pronounced unconstttu-
tionai by the Court Of Appeals, except per-
haps that feature of it which proposed to
set aside one fifth OF the taxes on real and
personal property for the support OF the
public schools. The Court does not even
make the exception suggested. 1t says, In
this opinion, that coupons, will satisfy any
debt due the State, no matter what may be
the nature OF it, aud no matter to what pur-
pose the money so due is to be devoted.
The Court says, as plainly as words could
say which do not name that bill, that the
BARBOUR bill would have. been pronounced
Unconstitutional If it had ever reached that
high tribunal.
The Court begins by saying that the single
question before it isswhether q fine can be
paid in coupons, the Court having already
decided that the funding net is constitu-
tional. The argument is so clear and unan-
swerable that it must carry conviction to
the mind Of every man who admits that the
funding act Is constitutional. The case OF
ANToNI as. WRIGHT IS fully endorsed and
repeated. The law is so plain that it can
have but one meaning. 1t is not the BUSH
ness OF court to put forced constructions
upon language. The words must be taken
to mean Just what everybody knows their
meaning to be. On this point happy quo
tation is made from that glorious old lawyer
OF the eighteenth century my Lord COKE.
In fact, the words OF the law are all-em-
bracing, and the Court could not give any
other decision than it did.
Assuming, as we did, that the Court Of
Appeals would pay no attention to.popuar
clamor, but do its duty without fear. favor,
or affection, we could not doubt that it
would whenever duty required reaffirm the
decision in the case OF ANToN as. WRIGHT,
though we did have, as we have said,
doubt as to whether the funding act was Of
superior obligation to the constitutional re-
quirement that one-6fth Of the taxes shall
go to the support OF the public schools.
But here the Court takes high ground. It
will not even imagine that the Legislature
will fail TO do its duty in the matter Of pro-
yiding for the schools. The requirement
Of the Constitution will be met the Court
says, if the sum Of the fines, taxes, &C., is
devoted to the maintenance Of theschools.
1t is not necessary 10 keep the fines sepa.
rate, nor to keep one-fifth Of the taxes sepa-
rate. All that the Constitution requires is
that the sum total shall be used as specified;
and there will be no trouble or difficulty in
doing this if the Legislature performs its
duty.
We commend this. opinion to the people
OF Virginia. Let every man read it. No one
can fail to understand it. It will doubtless
evokeras much denunciation as Governor
HOLIDAYS veto-message; but it will stand
nevertheless.
Virginia may be poor in means, but she
will never be poor in men whilst she has
such sons as constitute the Supreme Court
Of Appeals.