The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-04-17

The Dispatch on Readjustment.
A we knew would necessarily be the
case, the Whig fails to produce sc'n''''
a prooe to sustain its assertion taat !"
1877 The Dispatch committed itss'i 70 'ne
bad cause which the WING is now oa''y ~.
vocsting. II refers, however, 10 CERTAIN
,tt,c,e which appeared In the Dtspdtc" III
sss7. and ,utimstes that that article IN some
vsy committed this paper to the bad cause
On ouest,op. We take 1t for granted tnas
the WAiq has been misled by Its memory
and will do Us the justice to reproduce tue
article TO which 1t has made so mysterious
an sllusion. The article In Its entirety is ~
follows:
rrrom The Dispatch OF Jaiy 2, 1871
Tur puRrIc DgBr.-The Conservative
rom;nee for Governor, whoever he may De,
will doubttess take his position upon wual-
rycr platform the August Convention may
sdon,. m the Convention CONSUMERS INC
rnhI,c.debt question, aud makes an issue
,,nor n. the nominee will either hsFe 10 oe-
cline the nomination or to deiena tse acllon
Of the Convention. But we do nos suppose
the Convention Is going To- insert aoy sucu
plank in Its platform. ~ Is no, ques'' -.
upon which the people OF titSna are Wv,
~,dad nv Marty lines. Some of the best
s,ooseryatiyes In Virginia. and some OF tse
wiscs, men IN our party, are "a favor VI .
rex.iiusfmeut Of the public oeot.
Whilst we confess that We do not Kno"
nov this Il TO be done, ror any means
whereby we can improve our conoinoo1ye'
,re have too much respect for such neo Us
Cc,cret e. :. Armstrong, Frank Rufhn, ana
shousapds of other good Conservatives. TO
desire 10 put then ont OF our party. NOT
do we suppose that the several Candidates
for the Office Of Governor viii taSe the
trouble to drive off FROM tbeir support every
man who wishes to devise some means OF
stopping tue increase Of the puol'c eeDt. IL
IA AZ certsin as anything can be that the peo-
nile OF Virginia viii not submit to ATTY in
crease Of the land tar or personal-Property
tax. II is equsiIy as certain that st present
the Stsse is getting into debt more deeply
every year. :,
II weuId be wise for the Legislature OF
Virginia 20 devise some mears for Improving
this state of things. But the Legislature
will be composed OF both Republicans and
Conservatives. Why should such ques-
ton be made a party qresdont We need
not say more al present.
Nov, we might well pride ourselves upon
the results which followed the publication
OF that article. 1t did not In any manner
commit The Dispatch to the policy OF torc,-
Die Reimbursement. which General MALONE
and the WING both advocate, much less to
the policy OF repudiaiing fourteen millions
of the public debt, which General MALONE
and the WAig now both advocate. On the
contrary, the State Convention OF 1877 f'l-
lowed our programme TO the letter-a pro-
gramme made out by us on the 7th OF july,
O month before the assembling OF the Con-
Yenticn that nominated Governor HOLIDAY
and defeated General MALONE.
Look at the article. 1t first expressed
the opinion that the Convention would
not make an issue upon the public debt.
The Convention did not insert any such
plank In its platform. Elsewhere the ar.
ticle said that the people would not submit
to any increase OF taxes. The Convention
declared in favor Of such readjusment OF
the public debt as would bring the amount
OF interest annually falling due "wilhin
the resources If tho State derived from the
them present rate OF taxation We pro-
tested against turning the Rexdjusters our
OF the Conservative party. The COnven-
ton refused to turn them out. We came
out for devising some means OF stopping
the Increase Of the public deot. The Con-
vention proposed to stop this by reducing
the rate OF interest.
Then, dropping the Convention, we
turned to the Legislature, and called upon
It to - Apyise some means Of improving the
state Il things" The Legislature devised
q most efficient means--tbe McCULLCCH
bill, which would, II it had been carried
Into e6ect, have secured all the objects
who~e accomplishment We advocated In the
art cIe quoted above.
In 1877 the Legislature had devised no
means OF readjusting the public debt and
paying rhe interest upon 1t without in
ereaslug tsxation. In 1879 the Legislature
Aad rsssed law intended to effect both
sheseo,Hscts. HfoIlows that there was no sor'
of incO oslstency on our part In advoca ing In
1879 the same sort OF reSdjus' ment we nd
vocafed in f877, nor even 10 making party
test Of a measure which we outlined in
1877 rs one that the Legislature ought to
pass.
Our Fecore is clear. We stand now ex-
Actly whese we stood 10 1877. We are for
she Conservative party-tbe white mans
party--snd against any alliance with the
negroes or thefkepublicsns, and also against
maHing an Is ,ue on the debt question IN the
n, tai oi<eksop