National Republican., 1882-11-23
Rcpudiator Massey and His Fraud
Shout.

Shout.
John L. Massey, who did his best to
have all but ten millions of the debt of
the old State of Virginia repudiated out
right, and who gave in his adhesion to
the honest settlement embodied in the
Riddleberger bill when he could not
carry the Readiuster caucus for his own
dishonest scheme-Massey, who has for
years been the butt of Bourbon wit, and
whose namc has been used by the high
toned Funders as synonym for every
thing vile, corrupt, depraved, and low
Massey, who only last winter broke away
from the Readjuster party on a question
of spoils, has been playing the part
of the Mock Duke during the recent
campaign, strutting about in the court
dress of a veritable Bourbon candidate
for Congressman-a t-large, in the absence
of any genuine Duke to question his title.
He was beaten more than 5000 votes by
the Coalition candidate, John S. Wise.
He shows the estimate he has Of Bour-
bon honesty by giving notice that he
will ask the next House to give him the
seat refused him by the people of the
State of Virginia. The ground on
which he will base his request
would bring blush to the cheek of
any highway man who had not served
more than one term in the penitentiary.
1t is that Coalition voters paid their
capitation tax, which is prerequisite to
voting, to the special tax collectors, who
were duly and legally appointed TO re-
ceive it, and that this lawful method can
be arbitrarily declared unlawful by the
supreme power of the Bourbon majority
in the next House. He knows that there
is not respectable lawyer in the United
States, not consumed with reckless parti-
sanship, who would give moments
thought to his absurd pretension. He is
so well aware of the utter frivolity of his
claim that he suppresses its character in
the letter he has for popular effect just
addressed to the Bourbon commit
tees. He calls for "informa-
ton of every case of fraud or
illegality committed in the election" but
has not the cheek to tell his weak and
miserable story of what he intends to
call illegal. A call for information of
fraud reads, of course, as though the
writer thought he had been wronged,
but we all know very well what q precious
old humbug Massey is, and he knows he
has not lost any rights. He seems to be
addressing himself to the task of raising
a fog around John Wise's election in the
., IL -, ~
have the courage to steal that gentle
mans seat from him under cover of the
darkness. Pickpockets ply their voca-
ton at fires in great cities which they
themselves have kindled. 1t would re-
quire but slight stretch Of the imagina-
ton to apply to them the closing words
of Parson Massey's letter, which are as
follows:
Other States have set us noble examples. Their
eyes are now upon us. Shall we disappoint their
just expectations, or show ourselves worthy de-
scendants of GU r illustrous sires7
The Bourbon debt-payers who proudly
voted for Massey the Repudiator, will
consult the old Virginia heraldry for the
illustrious sires.
If the Bourbons ever conclude to wipe
old Massey's big boots on the certificate
of election given the son of Henry A.
Wise by the governor of Virginia, on his
fair and square election by over five
thousand majority, we shall know that
the good time has arri we'd when the gods
have marked them for destruction.
Wise's speech OH such an occasion would
make him the national fame to which
his genius entities him, and would be the
campaign document for 1884. They will
never invite it. They will deny that
Massey was their candidate by the time
he backs his dump-cart up to the room
of the Committee on Elections.