National Republican., 1882-09-27
Mr.. Blaine and the Virginia Bourbons.

Mr.. Blaine has proposed a grab from |
the United States Treasury of twenty
three millions of dollars to pay the ten |
millions of Virginia's debt which should |
be paid by West Virginia land which the
creditors of the former State have agreed |
to look for alone to the latter State), and |
to pay thirteen millions of interest on
interest which is not owing by Virginia,
but which was once legislated for at the |
bidding ofa gang of wreckers and lobby
lists at Richmond. There is no smack of
grace in this dishonest proposition. 1t
is based upon falsehood for it pretends
to be benevolent scheme for paying
repudiated obligations of Virginia. Mr..
Blaine has no excuse for being SO densely
ignorant of the recent financial history of
Virginia as he pretends to be. If he
knows anything of her affairs he knows
that the charge of reputation is made
out of whole cloth. If he does not know
this he has no business to talk about it.
His assumed solicitude for Virginia's
credit and the maintenance of public
faith generally prompts him to reach for
the spigot of Uncle Sans barrel and to
advocate national free contribution of
twenty-three millions of dollars to & I
,s,tt;-ifty lobby to save Virginia foo-, an, th.
suHgma af repudiating a. snIGonH I'm ris
I%PLAiN fiGrIRfs. .r--m not dollar
of which she owes
1t is to injure his party in Virginit
which has coalesced with the Readjusters
that he prates of reputation, and ther
he seeks to turn the SANDER to account
by offering to lead in a robb cry of the
Federal Treasury to meet the obligations
which he falsely says have been repu
dated.
The Virginia legislature, at its last ses
sion, passed the funding act known AZ
the Riddleberger bill. 1t provides fol
the issuance of three per cent bonds il
an amount equal to two thirds of all an
Cancelled bonds and coupons of the State o
Virginia The other third is West Vir
ginia's share of the debt, and III
iSupreme Court of the United States has de
clared that the creditors of the State haze re
leased her from this one-third. Mr.. Blain
may employ all the experts in the land t.
make the account between Virginia ant
her creditors They will all tell him tha
twc-thirds of the Virginia debt prin
cipal and interest, is provided for by tn
recent legislation. The United State
Supreme Court says the creditors hav
agreed to take their chances of gettin
the other third from West Virginia
Where, then, is the reputation? Their
is no elimination Of war and recon
struction interest" as was at first pre-
posed. Virginia is as free from repudia
ton as is Maine.
Mr.. Blaine is with the Bourbo
side in Virginia, and he has to max
an excuse for it at the Nortl
1t is easy to repeat the slande
about reputation, but we tell Mr.. Blaine
and all who support his crafty hostiIit
to the cause of political freedom in Vii
pinia, that he will surely be brought
shame. The debt question in Virgini
was not settled as he says it was. TIL
record of bonds and coupons and TIL
funding law give fat contradiction t
all charges of reputation or evasion {
q dollar of Virginia's two-thirds of th
debt. All parties in Virginia, Bourbon
Straightouts, and all, refuse to recogni2
more than two-thirds of the old deb
Mr.. Blaine must aid the joint fortunes
himself and the Bourbons on some otht
basis than that of reputation.
The whole country looked on with az
miration when, III March, 1881, Gener
Malone declared unrelenting war upo
the Bourbon caucus of the Senate al
the Bourbon party of the Nation. Il
and his followers were cheered on by IL
whole Republican party of the Mort
when they coalesced with the Republ
cans of Virginia under a programme mod
fed to meet the vietvs Of James 4. Gayiet
The Republican party of Virginia, und,
the resolve of its regular State CONVEX
ton, voted for Cameron, and the Bou
bons, aided by Mr.. Blaine's presel
"Straightout" friends, went down in
vain effort to elect Daniel, the Bourbc
candidate. This year the same coalitic
continues, and Mr.. Blaine cries o1
against it in the interest of the beate
Dourbons, who stagger about dividiI
their embraces between Massey, an ou
and-out Repudiator, and Dawson, blat
slpporterof Daniellast yearanda peddl
of bogus Republican tickets with h
name at the head.
If we were to be asked how we reco
cile Mr.. Blaine's professions ofdeyotion
the Republican causei in Maine with his d
sire to aid the Democracy in Virginia aI
elsewhere, we should say that in Maine
was emulatng the example of Josh Bi
ings'smule, which remained goodfor thr'