The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-04-27
me SCAT. Dsss-iss Amount .,s

ed has handed to US the following:
TO the Editors Of the Richmond Dispd'ch
In your paper Of this morning | find
statement of the debt Of the State made oy
the Wbig. which claims the Just debt to be
sI5. 352 069. 20, as OF 1st July, 1881. rms
statement is proclaimed 10 be correct Dy
that paper, and boast Is made as 10 the
|impo.slbilty OF detection OF errors. fer.
mil me TO point out some OF the most
f,acrant, and In doing 30 Iwill quote re-
adjuster figures, where official figures arc
needed.
The Vhiq has commenced the statement
with al. 500, 7I2. 90 as the principal OF tnc
debt on 1st January, 1861, and upon tnis
the calculation OF simple interest Is maze 10
July 1, 1871, OF S2l, 1904, 3i2 9O-maklng
debt and interest July l, 1871, s93,3co'.
055.SO. By looking to The Senate Jourhai
~ the last session YOU will find Document
No 1e m he communication from ii. ii.
D,son. Second Auditor, dated 10Th Febru-
orv 1880. in response to Senate resolution
concerning the pubic debt. In his COM
municalion Mr.. DYSON states that The prln-
cip1l OF The debt on 18th April, 1861, was
SEA 775J67S 30, and on OH April, 1860,
s3I $50 3sI. 80. The wig has under
taken in its statement to eliminate tue
war interest. Taking, then. the prin-
clpal Mr.. Dyson tells us was due at lis close,
and we find the wing has under-stated it
81, I6S, SOS. 80. This error, with simple In.
terest on II from Oh OF April, 1865, to 1st OF
July, 1SSl-more than sixteen years-when
corrected would make difference IN the
calculation OF upwards OF S60O0,OOO. II we
take the principal due 1Tlh Of April, 1861,
the under.stalement Of the wing IS but
little less than "a, 100000 and this, with in
terest from the end OF the war 10 July l,
1881, would give an error OF but Ettle less
than SO 900, 900. Add for this error to the
balance claimed by the wing, and we have
for her Just debt over s2l, 100000.
BY the act OF March 81, 1871, the debt as
il stood LIST July, 1871, was funded, and past
due interest was made principal, ana TWO
thirds was proposed to be put in new bones
with coupons for interest, and the remain
ing third to be charged 10 West Nlrglnia.
That act did not propose to put on TO west
Virginia one third Of the debt as II STOOD at
the beginning or az the close OF the war, Dut
as it stood July /, 1881. Now, the wing
has taken of from that the two thirds re-
funded by Virginia As Of July |, 1871, all
the nayments made by the STATE before That
date and subsequent TO January |, 1861, on
the entire debt. These payments. by its
own showing. add up SIC, 966.913 81, and as
the whole Of them have been DEDUCTED by
the Whig from two thirds OF the debt, while
they were in fact deducted from the original
debt before he refunding under the act OF
1871, it is plain that the wing has deducted
one third OF this amount too much. one
thiI is $500, 6j1I1, and this with interest
from July 1, 1871, TO July |, 1881 Uen years.,
makes another error IN the calculation oil
the Uhig Of over S6,000,000. These two
errors make Sl2,000,00O, and, added TO the
Sl5. 352, 500 90, the result OF the wings
statement makes upwards OF S2I,ODO,OOO.
Now, il we add to this the war interest
deducted by the wing to obtain its bal
ance-to wit, S5.OSS.I ia 06-we will have
Iebt Of more than S32 900, 900, without
counting the compound interest which has
accrued on the interest funded under the
acts of 1866 and 1871.
| have not gone over the interest calcula-
tons Of the wig to see whether they were
correct from its own standpoint, for have
ONLY intended TO make these obvious cor
rections Of the data OF the wing.
| take it the meaning Of the Wing Is to
claim that the war interest is not Justly
chargeablc to Virginia, and that 1t is but
right that she should have all her payments
since January, 1861, whether on interest or
principal, credited on twO-thirds OF the
debt as il stood when the war broke out.
No such claim can be made by any one at
this dav unless he is entirely regardless OF
the contracts and Obligations OF the State.
II il ever should have been made, 1t
should have been done at the close OF the
war, and before the State undertook to
refund her debt. Our Court OF Appeals
has said in IIigginbOtham Us. The Com
monwealth, 25th Grattan, 627, that at the
close Of the war both Virginia and West
Virginia were bound for the entire debt.
And the Supreme Court OF the United
States, in the late case OF Hartman rs.
Greenhow, did not contradict that decision,
but only held that as between the two States
a division was right and proper. No court
has yet held that the State was not bound 10
pay war interest, and no honest court viii,
unless very ignorant. Now, Virginia found
herself thus bound, and by The act OF
March, 1871, offered a settlement which
she deemed beneficial to herself, and
by which she got rid OF large
portion Of her debt forever. But she le'
cognizcd in doing so her obligation for in
terest on the debt up TO July /. 1871. This
settlement OF the debt, fixing the amount,
has been recognized as just and right by
every Legislature since Till the last by voting
interest to be paid on it as 80 settled, or by
approving interest already paid on it, or by
express recognition in statutes; and every
Readjuster who ever sat in that body has in
one way or another admitted the justice Of
the amount thus fixed. TO talk OF inlus.
tcc now is a mere preteXt for reputation.
CIvIS.
RosctrSn~ Child.