Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1882-09-21

cnange their bonds Tor State bonds but ii
was put on rs an amendment to that bill in
the House and upon its return to the Sen
ate was voted out, and by the aid Of Mr.
Riddlebcrgcr That other bill in which it
was introduced bya bill to legalize the water
ell stock Of the road, "slumbered" in the com
mittec from the 9TH of January, when the
first bill was reported, until the Sth of April
three months. Why so long? ! will try to
explain. BY the third section of the origi-
nal charter Of the Richmond and Dan
vile Railroad Company it was provided
that ''if nj any time thereafter the rates of
freight and transportation shall enable the
president and directors, after the payment
Of all necessary expenses, &c. to divide
more than - per cent. on their capital stock
invested, then the Legislature NAV regulate
and reduce the tolls and transportation SO
Is to enable the company to divide Is per
cent. and no more But their capital stock
"inrrstrd' was only $1,000, the remaining
portion being script dividend. Aud rs they
were known TO have made upon the whole,
including this Watered stock, dividend
which was more than ID per cent upon
the capital stock invested" and were known
to be seeking to evade this provision of their
charter resolution Of inquiry into that
matter was introduced into this House. This
alarmed the company, who want0d not only
to retain this; power OF eXorbitant rates Of
freight and transportation particularly rs
against Virginia. and therefore wanted their
watering legalizcd, bat they wanted permits
| sion ior still turthur watering;and having pre-
rlcusly obtain that in what is called the Ter
mnaI Railroad and Warehouse act. in which
they had purchased a controlling interest, to
maintain which control ii was necessary to
make further subscription, which they had
not the money topay for, they proposed, as
they have since done by IL hoclls-pocus ar
rangcmcnt. to exchange one stock for the
other 1t was Absolutely necessary that this
arrangement should be made. And as GER
tain members of the Legislature knew, and
| opposed their game, they found it necessary
to strengthen the hand ofGeneral Malone,
who was betraying the readjusters by abiur-
ing the fourth article of their platform of
1881 which distinctly pledged them to the
control and reform of the railroads Of the
state in the interest of the people, and who
therefore needed some plausible concession
10 hide his betrayal of his friends and his
bargain with their enemies. Without that
| concession the bill could not have passed;
and therefore it was held back until the
other bill had passed without the concession
as ii did on the 18th of April. The neces-
sity oil this legislation to the railroad was
conc!usively proved by Mr. Riddebergcr's
| speech of the 23d Of April, at the end Of the
session, when, in that day of panic and
flight from the Capitol, he urged that this
bill should he taken up out of order-as it
was-and passed, us good faiM al least. on
hrpot Of hiSPa'1y rrquirrdMepassage Of the
| bNH. That is TO say, some sort of Il bargain
had been made. whose terms could not,
would not, or might not be complied with
unless Gen. Mahone's followers should keen
| their faith.
The manner in which this faith was kept
by the Malone people was characteristic Of
their disregard Of the law. There is, learn
from senator, rule that when House
bill has passed the Senate notice thereof
shall he given 10 the House by The clerk in
regular course, or by Il member on motion.
and the bill shall then lie two days before
gong TO the Governor; any more speedy
way OF passing law must be accomplished
| by Il suspension OF the rule But in this
case the rule was not sllspcnded-it was dis
regarded; and the bill lay untouched on the
Clerks desk until the Legislature was pro-
nounccd adjourned sine die. The fact was
that q copy of the bill had been enrolled
and was on the Governors desk awaiting
the action of the Senate, and us soon Ms that
was taken messenger was sent up to him.
and this enrolled bill was signed without
having been compared with the one that
passed. This have from the assistant clerk
of the Senate; and this is Il matter for the
chairman of the Committee on Enrolled
Bills to explain, if he cam
Whether this affects the validity of the act am
not lawyer enough to decide But the PASSAGE of
the act authorizing the company ito lscharg,.
their Indebtedness i'll bonds funded under the new
"cht hlll presents stronger ease and was mark
| cd by i Migrant disregard of organic law That
act was money bill and therefore required under
| the Constitution IN affirmative vote of two-thirds
ri the whole number of each house. When the
bill. which first passed in the Senate went to the
House that question was raised and the oppos-
ton of some members to given away the nroplrs
money |" any corporation, especially one that
claimed to have great wealth, having been over
come ny the SpccouS Introduction of the amend
ncnt taxing the road nearly all others are tax
cd. the bill was passed by the constitutional vote
hul when it went back t. the Senate that amend
mrnt WAS stricken ont. When reported back to
the House in that shape the constitutional qucs-
ton WAS again raised : and upon Il point of order
which was warmly and deliberately discussed
General Alahoncs Speaker ruled against it, The
bill WAS passed without the constitutional vote
and was approved by the Governor though he
must have known the objection, and had once.
before vetoed Il bill on the ground of uuroustitl-
tionality 1t takes lawyer to SAY that this act
cannot stand judicial scrutiny and only wonder
that some Of the people whoarc hearing the stock
of the road have not obtained writ of Injunction
To test the ease.
1t is beside my purpose to inquire what specili-
caly were the terms of this contract with the Ric
mond and Danvllc railroad thus bungliugly and |
rccklcssly executed on the part of General Ma |
hnnc All who know him know that the terms |
involved subsidy and aid to his plans in some
shapc-and to BE- rendered by the road from its |
Offices and its Golfers And those plans contem- !
plate three things; the advance of General Ma |
hone and, us conducive to that, the absorption of
the democratic-readiu ster into the republican, |
party of Virginia, and by that means the surren. |
der of the States electoral vote to Mr. Arthur or |
to whomsoevcr else General Malone may choose
tn trade it oil. These are the three things to
which, Willingly unwittingly, the Danvillc
road committed it5elfin the bargain TO which Mr..
Riddlehergers speech referred
How came that about? Clyde. the head of the
syndicate. is, hear. republican,, and such Il
change could not dsplcasc him; and besides he is
4 millionaire shark, who looks upon money-mak-
ing as the business of life and politics or anything
else likely to interfere with it as mere Sentiment"