The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-01-13

debt-the extra five hundred being assign
cd 70 West Virginia, as In the case OF the
consoIsy What percentage OF these Is 10
be repudiatcds The new bill says;
fcl For her equitable share OF Class &c
at the rate OF co per cent. reckoning anu
accounting for any interest rs In the case Oh
Glasses a" and OBJ"
We will not follow the bill any further
in that direction. In these three items lhe
new RIDpLEBgRGER bill proposes to repu-
date ten millions Of dollars OF the TWO
thirds OF the debt assumed by Virginia III
1871. Is that reputation! what Is tue
excuse None better than that the Legs
,otures Of 1866 and 1871 funded overdue
interest; for the rretence that not enough
o, the debt has been assigned to West Nir-
o;nio Is too thin to deceive anybody in this
State.
But the most remarkable feature is yet
10 be presented. After saying how much
~ each class of bonds now outstanding Is
TO be repudiatcd, the new RIDDLEBERGER
bill provides as follows
q. For all balances Of such Indebtedness,
constituting West Virginia's share OF ihe
old debt, principal and interest, in the SET
Element OF Virginia's equitable share as
aforesaid, the said Board Of Sinking-f una
commissioners shall issue certificate, as
follows:
"No -. ,,,, 49,. ,,,,s dav
The Commonwealth Of virginia mas l t,s dS ay
discharged her equitable share OF The tregisteiga vi
cannon ne me cale may bel bond for - uoilafs,
Scid by -, dated the - day of Ii 1o;, ana
mdih ,ntcres. from -. 20 be accounted for by
the State Of West Virginia without recourse DPon
this Commonwealth. -, 90. - x,;ro,ri,
. Done at Tho. capital OF the S's'e o' virginia
'ins u"' - g. = Second Auditor,
-, Treasurer"
These words follow directly after the
clauses repudiating As, 40, 81, 81, and 20
per cent. of the several classes OF the debt.
We have hereinbefore shown that West
Virgnia's share Of the debt had already
been brought up to twenty-four millions oil
dollars. II TO that sum we add the mil
lions repudiated by the provisions
now under consideration, her share
of the debt rs il now stands is between
thirty-iye and forty millions But surely
Mr.. RIpDLKBERGER is not foolish enough
TO claim to have turned over any OF these
repudiated bonds to be paid by West Nir-
einia. His language, last above quoted,
seems to mean that. But OF course IL
doesn't. The az, 40, 81, 81, and 20 per
cent. are all repudiated out and out. No
body will pay The repudiated bonds. No
body is expected to pay them. They are
repudiated. The language we have quoted
merely keeps up TIE idea conveyed by the
title of the bill. Read the title OF it;
"a Bill to Ascertain and Declare Viz
ginia's Equitable Share OF the Debt Created
ReIore and Actually Existing at the Time
Of the Partition Of Her Territory and Re
sources. and to Provide for the Issuance OF
Bonds Covering the Same, and the Regular
and PROMPT Payment OF Interest Thereon"
II il West Virginia's equitable share"
which he would now have the world be-
lieye he intends to get rid of-not any part
of Virginia's equitable share lie
wasn't so reckless two years ago. He then
entitled his reputation measure, "a Bill
to Reestablish the Public Credit Now
he desires only to learn what Nirginia's
"eouitablc share" Of her own bonds is !.
Who owes the other shareI Nobody.
West Virginia's debt was assigned to her
when five hundred dollars of every fifteen
hundred-dollar bond were charged to her.
Whose, then, is the other equitable share
or shares of the debtY Nobody's, we re-
peat. These words equitable share are
intended for northern readers.
But is il true that the account stated with
West Virginia is Just ones Is il fairly
stated9 By no means. In 1870 Virginia
had in possession valuable assets belonging
to both States. West Virginia has never
received dollar from them. Virginia had
in her possession, belonging to both States,
bonds and stocks in railroads and canals
alone to Che amount of $12,661, 044.2S. She
had in 1875 realized 80, 400, S42.77 from those
bonds and stocks. She gave away to Gen
eral MALONE, or the Atlantic, Mississippi
and Ohio Railroad Company, 1922, S4l.S2.
West Virginia was entitled to credit as OF
.Iuly. 1863, for one third OF these assets, il
not at their par value, certainly at the
sum realized in cash plus the sum
lent ~ to General MAHoNE's road, or
saw nine millions of dollars. Ii, then,
West Virginia be credited with three mil
lions of dollars as of July, 1863, and three
millions he added to Virginia's share OF the
debt as of that date, it will follow that Vir-
ginia owed three millions more in 1868
than she is charged with in this bill. Add
nineteen years interest, and without any
other figures TO guide us we find that Nir-
ginia now owes over six millions OF dollars
more than this reputation bill provides
for paying. In a word, Virginia's debt is
not less than twenty-seven millions OF dol
lars, il we charge her with her equitable
share" Of the debt OF the two States
even according to Mr.. RIDDLEBERGER's
figures. He has not credited West Virginia
with dollar. We have credited her with
only three millions as of July, 1868; but
the fact is that she is entitled to be credited
by one third Of the value of all the property
belonging TO the State at that date. 1t is
unnecessary to enter into details. She
doesn't intend to pay a dollar OF the
debt, and therefore will not be in
iured in the least, except in reputa-
ton, II Mr.. RTDDLEBERGER charges her
with fifty millions. Nor do the De-
mocrats Of Virginia intend to assign any
less to her than the fifteen millions they
turned over to her in 1871. Nor do we
ever expect to try TO get Virginia to pay
any more than the RIDDLEBERGER bill pro-