The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-12-19

served ana 3nutknn0& yIgHt ~ nGs 1.G :.
TION. and as JUSTLY EXPOSES mt
Government gwaty ef TIE iwcassoa 70 az, az I, Me
Gods and daagers Of DISAFFECTDNs'
UissENSION. RIOT, and REVOLT
Richmond WIG.
A State-Its Contracts It's Legislature.
We suspect that the whig Is not very
well satisfied with hs answers to our ques-
tons touching the responsibility OF the
State OF Virginia for the acts Of her agents.
The more nearly sovereign" the Com
nonwca'th Is, the stronger her obligation to
nav her debts; because the debt OF Gov
eminent such as that Of Great Britain or
the United States IL debt OF honor. we
concede all that the Whis claims as TO the
mowers O! those Governments. But we DO
not by any means admit that Virginia Is o
xoyereign State in any such sense rs tue one
Ia which the United States andGreat Britain
are sovereign scstes. The word estate y mas
one meaning 10 the books OF European wri-
tiers on international. law. and another and
entirely different meaning In this country.
The United Kingdom OF Great Britain and
ireland Is state Ia the former sense. The
empire OF Germany Is State tn tue former
sense. Virginia Is q State in the latter
sense. European States e'nnot be sued,
nor compelled 10 any way except by war TO
pay debt. The United States Government
occupies the same underground. No
such State can be sued without Its own
c,nsent expressed 10 its own laws.
But Virginia Is not such sove-
reign. She may be sued by O State like her,
self. She Is only one unit amongst thirty
eight that go to make up a sovereign STATE
In the sense in " hich the word sovereign +"
Is used by writers on international law.
She cannot be coerced by war. The real
Stste (tbe United States GOVERNMENT will
not allow that to be done. She is therefore
not only not sovereign, but c,p't be treat
ed by the outside world as sovereign. AS
the United States Government prohibits
war on one of LIS units, the highest court
OF the same Government says that such
States as Virginia, when they contract
debts. come down to the I6teI OF indivld-
nails, and may be otherwise compelled to Ie'
spect their contracts.
Let us say here that whatever our indl-
yidual opinion may be on constitutional
question, we are bound as good citizens,
when we go into the courts, TO accept the
construction OF the Constitution which
the biehest judicial tribunal IN the State
promulgates, that State being always
in this country necessarily the United
States Government, since that is IN
the very nature Of things the only
sovereign State here. Our friend, let
us say for illustration, does not acknow-
ledge that the new amendments to the Fede-
raj Constitution were ever ratified in the
manner prescribed by the Constitution yet
the Wing tells us that we must respect the
"rights" OF The voters who were made
voters by the fifteenth amendment. So as
to that provision OF the Federal Constitu-
lion which prohibits the States from passing
any law impairipg tue obligation Of con-
tracts. He does not admit-nor do we-that
the trainers Of the Federal Constitution ever
intended that prohibition 20 apply to laws
concerning the debts OF the States them
selves. The fathers, we have always sup
posed, intended that prohibition to mean
only that no State should pass any law i'm
pairing the obligation OF contracts between
man and man. Nevertheless, those who
are much better qualified to Judge than we
1--WE do not mean to include The Wing in
this 1--WE ")-namely, the highest judicial
tribunal in Virglnia-one kind OF State
aud the highest judicial tribunal in the
United States--another kind OF Stafe-bave
solemnly decided that the prohibition In
question does apply to debts owing by
the States themselves. Those august tri-
bunals have not decided this question by
implication, but In the most solemn and
formal manner. Let Us repeat the words.
The Supreme Court OF the United States,
in the case OF Murray Us. The City OF
Charleston (96th United States Reports).
says:
States THAT Is such States as virginia.
when they borrow money and contract 10
pay II back with interest do not act as sove-
reigas. They come down to The level of ordi-
nary individuals. Their contracts have the
same meaning as that OF similar contracts
between private parties"
Now, We must either accept this decision
a. binding upon US or we must set up 4
higher law OF our own fer the government
OF oar conduct. Which shall It BET
The Wing goes much turther than we
haze ever gone iE its teachings on the gene
raj subject under consideration. Itdeclares
emrhaticsily its purpose to respect not only
the amendments ioisted into the Constitu-
tiou by force. but the laws of Congress
passed in pursuance Of those amendments,
and eTensfbe extra-constitutionaI agreement
OF Virginia as 10 future changes In her Con-
stitution which is said to have been entered
into ~ her before she wac admitted to repre-
sentxtion In Congress Ia 1870. We submit
that Il we mist respect those amendments,
and TIE unconstitutional laws passed TO en-
force nhcm, rs we'll as tue extra,eonstitu-
tional and one sided agreement not to
change orr State Constituaon when we
desire TO change II, We muT for a much
better reason respect the decisions OF the
Supreme Court Of tue United states.
Now, the ;Wh1's entire Argument is
based upsn die assumption that virginia is
not bousd ~ obey the DEGREES al the ;Sn-
preme Court a tbc United States because
that eos,r< hus m riSbf N isasss dacr1as