Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1882-06-13

cussion here. Sufficient that an enormous
and unjust debt was thrust upon you,and
upon terms as hard as they were derOga-@
tory and dishonoring; andutimately you
found yourselves divorced from that in
| dependent position in National politics
which you had sought, and made cap
tlves to the B0urbonlsm in the politics of
the Nation which you had spurned in the
politics of Virginia. You promptly met
the attemprto Oppress yon and to confis-
cate the revenues Of the State by eleotihg
a Legislature which, IN 1872, almost
unanimously passed an act repeating
some of the most oppressive features of
the Funding bill Of 1871, and intended to
practically stay and counteryail that dis
astrous measure. But the Legislature
which passed the Funding bill had also
elected q Bourbon Court Of Appeals. aud
unfortunately that tribunal was IN
trcnched in position for a term of twelve
years, and thus beyond the immediate
reach of your corrective hands; and this
court, so organized, with honorable eX-
ceptions) contcmned your will and the
repeating act of your REPRESENTATIVE
co0lly putting you under footand humil-
iating and degrading the State upon the
pretext of deciding a side issue against n
tax-collector.
Bailled thus by the course pursued tC-
ward you, your rights and interests, by
your own supreme tribunal, ami unable
to have hearing on the merits of your
cause, you bore the yoke so unfairly put
upon you with such patience MS you
could command, until the alarming in
crease aud accumulation of ANIMAL deiic-
its, together with the simultaneous rob
berry aud ruin Of our free-school system,
the cripplng Of all our charitable insti-
tutions and the paralysis Of every enter
prise aroused you to the necessity of de-
cisivc action to avert overwhelming and
| fast-coming insolvency. reputation and
shame. 1t was then that in 1877 the Con-
scrvative party--a generic name for the
organization formed in 1869, and designed
| to embrace all citizens, of all conditions
and races, willing to enlist against Bour-
bonism, Rudlcalism, prescription and in
tolerencc, aud to restore the Common
wealth by hcalthful pollcy--met in con-
ventlon at Richmond.
After framing platform declaring for
mn equitable settlement with your credi-
tors upon the basis Of your revenues, this
Convention nominated candidate for
Governor publicly pledged TO leave that
| settlement 10 You and your Legislators MS
n matter with which he hid nothing to
do; certainly not IN opposition to you
and your legislative representatives.
You elected this candidate, aud at the
same time YOU elected n General Assem-
bly, Of which II large majority were IN
struc;cd and pledged TO rcadiustment
of the debt upon the basis Of the platform
You had adopted. aud. which everybody
well underStood--evcyhody from the
Governor you elected to the school boy
who could read. That Legislature car
ucstly entered upon the work before
them and began the enrichment OF n series
of measures for the relief and dcliycranre
of the State and people; but upon the
very Threshold Of their lab0rs they were
confronted by veto after veto from him
who had pledged himself to abide your
will, who had accepted your nomination
upon your platform, aud who took his
office by grace Of your sllilrngc--slllllil-
res which had at the same time elected
| the Legislators whom he now dpiled,- -
Moreover, he commemoratcd his lNllh-
lpssncss by every circumstance of lusnll,
even declaring that You aud your repre-
scnlalivcs were dishonorlug The Common
wealth, and that free education for your
children was "a uSury' which they
should not enjoy by hisconscntunlil you
submitted to I'll the cXNCtoHs of the bro
kcrr and their lobby. Aud these votes,
thus snurcd with iusolcnce were applaud
ed and sustained hy the Bourbons.--
Worse than all, however, treason devcl-
oprd among your Representatives, and,at
the last traitors combined with Boulbons
to lnilict upon yOuanothrr outrage under
the ruisc OF another funding bill known
a. Hugh McCulloch's Brokers' bill.
lndianaycd, tile rathcrh halmned ant
melted to greater and sierner efforts by
the folly OF some aud the trcachcry of
others, Won rallied again TO the polls with
rrsIstpss force and cnthuslusnl IN 1870
and rcnfllrmcd the resolve Of 1877 Again
tronson reared ls ablolqCnt front, but
vour majority was slill 20 strong aud
stoadfast thatyou elected ReUljusirrs to
mnnv Of the important Offices OF State ;
filled the hcnrhps OF most of Your county
courts with men IN sympnlhylwItl you
seni n RendInstot-illc lrndrr of NOlr
parly and The peoples catse-to the T.
:. Senate, mud pissed tlic Riddlcbcrger
Rradjuslmcnt bill, which wns only dc-
fcnted by another veto from Tie occupant
of your Executive chnlr.
Fooled stillnthis initial and Vital meas.
utc of tcliycmnCc, ,youR third time Joined
hattie with The enemy In 1881, Mllh u
oonslunry mud dctcrinlnatlononly equal.
cd Ly that of your forcIathetsWho Fought
british mower, native Tories md pul-
elnaed traitors for eight long ychtf before
final srcccss crowned their sacrifices nnd
their clorte. Again you tflumphcd; for
n pcoplc resolved for right aud arruycd
ngninst wrong ARE always ltylnciblc.---
You A,lrcec,lcd for the third time, aud
now. M Inst, YOU believed that your tlc-
tory was decisive and conclusive, for you
not only elected n working minority. III
onrh branch of the General Assembly,
Int nleo the Governor, the Lieutenant
Coyornor and the Attorney General, -
you had rrnspcd the Executive aud the
Legislative departments Of your Gov
cr,,,nrnt. aud II was In your power
through faithful service from your rep.
rcscnintivca, to place yourselves III tlll
po,scsslon of the Judiciary department
hut treason the bnlcful concOmiinnt ol
every good cause and every righteous
rcrofm--was again busy among your leg
islntore, ,fomcntcd not alone by Boutbons
bul by one whom You had honorcd viii
onc of The mostreeponsible oillccs of tli'
Covcrnment, one Heretofore Obscure e
: whom you hid given all the dlsiinciiol
he enjoyed, who now Inflated With self
conrclt and moved by unrcstiAlncd am
blIinn. sore from disappointed aspiration
. and Iting hle personal claims AMI chdl
above lhoae oi the cn,sc and party, re
fused n Weld to the Judgment Of the Rc
, adlus,er Legislative caucus, demanded re-
. nomination aud recollection without tll'
I conditions imposed upon all other caudi
tstcs and finally rcyulicd from ever