The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-04-17
vircinia's rebt.

-
We know very well that the Wnsg anu
General MAmoxg aud all The unauu''e'a'.o
n'..s, meter. claim that virginiA's debts only
49,, The g,ppLgpgsogR bill makes u, ana
u,n., v,rrluia's debt Is what Is assigned
10 tia, state by the RIppLsBsRcEn pi'i. Du'
a. we addressed our remarks OF Friday 70
por,hern readers, we beg leave to reca'' our
con,empcrary's attention to the fact that no.
BODY In the North (nor in the South e'tneF'
except ReSdjusters,) will think for mo-
ment Of accepting DIR. MAsskfs' OF M.
TuaxyR,s. or Mr.. RrDDLEBEReERs' OF
Cenc,al MAuovE's mere dictum as W
what yirginia's debt is. All men WIS"
IN know The debt according to the onc'a'
statement Of It--what its amount Is as asc seer
iaIued BY the legislative. the executive
and toe judicial departments oil tne o'a,'
government. They care no more ior 'na''
yidual opinions as TO how the dep' cauio "
no a. mncb. or by how much IL ought to DC
reduced. than they do for the assertion %
the Okolona States that The thirteenth
fourteentb, and fifteenth amendments were
never rali6ed in the manner prescribed oy
the Federal Constitution itself.
And, by the way, il individuals can be
justified IN ripping up debt settlement
made by the State, why cannot they be JUS
li6ed in ripping up settlement oil poht'ca'
ouestiousy What Is there In the former
case that renders II praiseworthy, ana ih Tue
latter that renders II damnableS
We wish the Wing 10 discuss the rear
question at issue. When 1t tells The nortn.
ern people that all the debt OF Virginia VIII
be paid. and that Virginia owes no more
than the nineteen or twenty millions pro-
yided for In the RlDDLEBEEGER bill, let that
Journal, II IL desires TO make known 'he
whole truth, tell its readers that the stare
government OF Virginia, including all three
of its departments, has over ana over again
aseeItained her DEBT 10 be, not twenty mil.
lions OF dollars, but over thirty millions OF
dollars. and that The RIDDLEBERGEI bill
proposes 10 repudlate all but nineteen mil
lions aud fraction OF the bonds Issued uh'
der a law of the Legislature OF Virginia
passed In 1871, approved by The Gov
erDor, and pronounced constitutional
by the Supreme Court OF Appeals, we
gave on Friday all tbe reasons, so iar
as we know them, offered by General
MALONE for proposing to repudiilc some
twelve millions Of that debt. Now let the
Whig state the facts on our side OF the
question, and particularly let it inform It's
readers that the twelve or more millions Of
dollars Of the State debt which it would
repudia.e consist OF bonds issued since Inc
war by the lawful authorities OF the Com
monwealth. and now in the hands OF inno-
cent purchasers who bought them because
the faith OF the State was pledged by her
Governor, her Legislature, and her ludici'
ary, TO their payment.
In a word, the RIDDLEBERGER bill UNDER
took 10 1880 to repeal an irrepealab'e con-
tract. and was vetoed by Governor HoLLI-
DAY. The RIDDLEBERGER bill now proposes
TO get the voters to Iepudiate at the ballot
box debt which Governor HOLIDAY
wouId not allow the Legislature OF 1880 to
repudiaie.
DO the northern people call that repudia-
ton or not? We would like to have
definite answer to that intcrrogatory, and
the Whig can aid us in getting one II 1t and
we can, as the lawyers do sometimes, agree
upon the facts.