The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-07-17

press to believe that we did not intend |
whom we wrote our article Of last week on |
the debt OF West Virginia TO say anything |
unkind OF that State. We tried to confIne
ourselves strictly to the record. Holding
II to be q fact that the people OF that State
are almost unanimously opposed to paying
any OF her debt, we mentioned The same as
fact. To pretend that one million out OF
th,rty.ope millions Is the fair proper
ton OF the debt Of ante.bellum Vir'
ginsa which West Virginia owes Is to
insult the intelligence Of the man TO
whom such q proposition is stated. West
Virginia owes in proportion to her
wealth and population at the time OF
her secession from the parent state. NO
other basis Of settlement can possibly be
considered either by Virginia or her cred
itors; and we have not the SHADOW OF
doubt that such would be decided TO be the
proper basis by the Supreme Court OF the
United States II the question should ever
get before that tribunal. When we say this
we Of course coucede that Virginia has no
more right arbitrarily to assign to West
Virginia one third Of the debt than West
Virginia has to assign to Virginia thirty
tbirty-6rsts OF IL. Virginia does not claim
that her assignment OF one third OF the
debt 10 West Virginia released her
from all obligation for SO much OF
the debt; but does claim that the creditors
have, by funding under the acts OF 1871 ana
10, released her from all liability Tor the
one third thus turned over to West Virginia
And II seems TO US here in Virginia TO be
too plain for argument that whereas tue
Legislature which assigned one third TO
West Virginia was real Virginia Legisia-
ture, the Legislature which pretended 10
assign thirty lbirty-frsIs OF the debt to VIZ
glnia was bogus assembly mere straw
Legishture-a Quaker gun-a paddy
whatever.you.please-- had no sem
blaneo Of regularity, or authority, or
life, or reaIity--a swinde ana "a DIS
grace 10 the Federal Governments
wicked invention OF unscrupulous aud
perjured politicians and traitors 10 Nir-
otnia. which invention has returned to
plague the nyentors-returned in the shape
OF two Democratic United States senators
whom those same "scurvy politicians " Tor
such OF them as are now living would like
TO see expelled from tue United States Sem
ate.
We said the other day that we didn't in
tend 10 discuss this debt question, and we
don't. There is nothing to be gained by
ifs discussion. West Virginia is not able
10 nav even her fair proportion Of the debt,
much less TO pay the twenty.four mil
iions which Virginia has assigned to her,
including interest, and from all obligations
70 nav which Virginia claims that her
creditors have released her. therefore, II
were waste OF time TO undertake 10
nroye that West Virginia justly owes one
sixth of the debt OF 1861, Gas she undoubt-
edly does,) and a much greater waste OF
time TO undertake TO prove that she owes
one third. She can't pay even one sixth,
and she has not the least Intention OF pay
Ing one twentieth Of it-nOt the least. sue
can't be made to pay 1t as matters now
stand. II national consolidation goes on,
however, as rapidly in the future as
II has done in the past, IL VIII not
be many years before UNCLE SAM
will find way Of compelling the several
States to pay their debts. The "honesty
which offers 10 pay only one fifth OF the one
sixth which West Virginia Justly owes does
not differ in kind from reputation out-and-
out. So we class all West Yirginians as re-
pudlatonists, though we have heard that
ARCHIE CAMPBELL ADD few other Republic
cans (no Democrats) are willing to pay what
ever the State is owing and able TO pay.
The james, River canal snd the CoVlng-
ton and OHIO railroad are the schemes ia
which the largest portion Of the money Dor
rowed by Virginia was sunk. These were
10 all intents and purposes West Virginia
schemes. To say that West Virginia should
pay none OF the many millions sunk in the
email because West Virginia seeded from
Virginia, and the canal never reached her
borders, is to express dishonest mans
opinion. So as TO the entire debt. In law
and 10 morals, West Virginia owes in pro-
portion TO her taxable values and popula-
ton in 1861. THIS is proposition which
does not admit OF discussion any more than
does the proposition that Richmond ought
not TO pay for deepening James river be.
cause the needed depth Of twenty-four feet
has not yet been secured.
We trust we have not done injustice to
State which we love dearly, and wherein
some OF our closest and best friends live.