The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-01-09
County NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..

sst. nae whether the csse Of Louisa county
would or would not be an exception 10 tue
ru,e laid down by our PiusyIvanIa CORE
sno.dent rs 10 the time when the new coun-
" judges yet to be elected by The ucnefs'
Assembly will 20 into Office, seeing tha'
there is row no county Judge In Louisa
I,.as the Lao Journal almost demonstrates
n county Judge can be elected only Tor run
term. and that term can commence only OH
the first Of January next following his APP
pointment, 1t would seem to be necessary
consequence that the Governor viii nave 10
designate some county Judge TO hoid Tue
courts In Louisa until the LIST OF January
next. But In every coiinty where toere
Is now a county judge, said Judge IS
authorized by the Constitution 10 con-
tinue in Office until bis successor Is
elected and qualified; and IL he can't
qualify until the 1st OF next January
OF course the present judge must continue
in Office in the mean time. The case OF
Louisa is an exceptional ono. The law,
however, authorizes the Governor, II there
be no Judge, not 10 Oil the vacancy, but 10
"designate any county-court Judge TO hold
the regular terms in said county until The
vacancy is filed" And as IN Louisa there
will be no Judge OF the county court TIL
next January IL our Pittsylvania CORE
spondent's theory is right, there is no dam
ger that that county will have no one to
hold her county courts this year. The Ldw
journal argues that the vacancy is In the
Office. and not in the term; that is, there is
a vacant Office. not vacant term; ana
when the vacant Office is filed 1t must be
for a full term. Our Pittsylvania corre-
spondent has at any rate raised an interest
ing question. 1t cannot be decided by the
newspapers; nor by the Legislature. II is
purely judicial question:; and must be de-
cidcd by the courts. II may safely be as
sumed that there will be found somewhere
in Virginia a county Judge who will have
the question carried to the Supreme Court
OF Appeals for decision.
Our Louisa correspondent also asks US 10
state whether or not the result as to the
McCULLOcH bill would have been different
from what it Is had the friends OF that mea-
sure succeeded IN securing majority in
the Legislature. We have no doubt that
that measure could have been carried into
successful operation without an increase OF
taxation by Legislature friendly TO 1t
that is, IL we assume that the bondhoiders
would have come forward and funded their
bonds under 1t. We never had any fears
az to its successful operation If accepted.
The danger was indicated when last Octo-
Der the funding ceased. IL looked as IL
the bondholders gave Virginia credit for
Willingness TO pay 6 per cent, and had
concluded TO fund no more bonds under
the MCCULLOCH bill. II the Debt-Payers
had secured large majority in the Legis-
lature some OF the same bondholders who
had refused for six months to fund anew
might have become so confident OF the in
tention Of the State to pay her Just debts
that they would have held on to their b
per cent. bonds. Our only fear was that
such would be the case. But il we assume
that they would have proceeded at once
to fund under the MCCULL0CH bill, then
we do not think there is room for single
doubt that in the course OF year or TWO
the State would have been able, without in
crcasing taxation at all, to have lived up TO
the provisions OF that bill and at the same
time supported her government ana Kept
up her pubIc-schOo system. She paid last
wear yer fourteen hundred thousand dol
lars OF interest. With only eight millions
OF bonds funded, she is liable to pay per-
haps as much this year. OF course, then,
there may be a deficit in the Treasury at
any time. But il the friends OF the NC
CULIoCH bill had elected majority OF the
members OF the Legislature, and the bond
holders had at once funded all their bonds,
the annual interest account would have been
cut down to about a million OF dollars.
The hundreds OF thousands thus saved
would have enabled the State TO pro-
vide for all her Indebtedness OF every
sort, including arrearages to the school
fund. Her credit would have been so good
under the successful operation OF the Nc
CULLOCa bill that she could have had no
difficulty in regard to any OF her home
debts. Whatever money might have been
needed to tide over the time during which
the old coupons would have been coming
into the Treasury could readily have been
obtained by State ia good credit. In a
year or two all talk about the debt would
have ceased, and peace and prosperity
would have reigned throughout the Com
monwealth. We repeat, however, that these
estimates are based upon the assumption
that the bondholders would all have accepted
the terms OF the MCCULL0CH settlement,
which are so liberal towards the State that
IL is at least questionable whether they
would have done so. We are told that the
Readjus,esters will agree 10 pay per
cent. upon the whole debt; and OF course il
they can pay that much our side could have
done the same thing. We know Of no rea-
son why the Resdiusters cannot pay that
amount OF interest, and OF no reason why
the Funders could not have paid it. These
are useless speculations, however, and we
indulge in them only TO let our readers
know that the Flinders are just as conf
dent now as they were last summer that IL the
McCULL0CH bill bad been accepted IN good
faith by both debtor and creditor,-the
"both" is an important word-the State
would have had no more trouble on account
OF her debt.
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THAT QUogUN.-As II requires rs to make
a quorum in the Maine House OF Represen-
tatiyes, and as less than that number were