National Republican., 1883-07-20
Y1neINIA,s COUPONS.
An Obstinate Lawyer, in the Absence OF
the Attorney General, Gives the Hold
crs n Chance TO Bother the Treasurer.

An Obstinate Lawyer, in thc Absence OF
the Attorney General, Gives the Hold
crs a Chance to Bothcr the Treasurer.
SPECIAL Dispatch.
RICHMOND, VA, July 19.-Stato Treasurer
Revelcy regards the decisions rendered to-
day in thirteen coupon cases, in the hustings
court of Richmond, as dagger thrust at
tho Riddleberger debt settlement" Judg-
ments were entered in these cases without
any defense being made by the common
wealth's attorney. Mr. Rcvoloy sent com
munioation TO Commonwealth's Attorney
Witt, in which ho said al have a telegram
from Atty Gen. Blair, who is in Wythoville,
in attendance upon the supreme court, i'm
structing me to ask that you, representing
tho commonwealth will take an appeal in
each and every case that may como up in the
hustings court of this city involving the in
terest of the commonwealth under acts of the
general assembly, approved Jan. Ia, 1882, and
llJan. 26 1882"
The acts in question relate to the receiva-
bilityi of coupons and arc designated as cou-
pom killers, Nos. 1 and 2.
Z COMMONWEALTH attorney Witt immedi-
ately replied that only q few cases are re-
! manning on tho docket, and he deemed IL i'll
advised to appeal any further, as much as it
could only result in useless expense to the
state without the slightest chance of benefit"
Mr. Wits letter induced Treasurer Reveloy
to send a reply, in which he says: Yours
received, and in reply i beg to say that with
all due Difference to your opinion feel it to
be my duty to act in accordance with the adj
vice OF the attorney general my legally con-
sttuted adviser, and must insist on appeals
being taken as matter of right. Please do
me the favor to say whether you will Jr not,
as the representative of the commonwealth,
take the appeal desired"
This was sent to Mr.. Witt, but as he was
not in his office at the time an answer was
not obtained.
This morning Mr.. Reveley instructed his
clerks not to pay any more coupons until he
could hear from the attorney general. While
the conversation relative to the matter was
going ON Mr.. Revcley received tho following
from Gov. Cameron, who is at Old Point:
| Pay no more coupons until see you. Win re-
| turn Saturday.
| 1t is hardly probably that any moro cou-
pons will be paid until the matter is heard
| and decided by the supreme court. This
| month coupon holders have beon flocking
into the treasurer's Office as thick as autunnal
leaves with their verihcations of the court"
ana the action of the treasurer to-day i'll re-
fusing to pay coupons has caused huttering
among the coupon birds and brokers'
The sums paid out from the trcasurer's
Office for coupons, the genuineness of which
/
of the commonwealth, will aggregate $29754.
| The wisdom of the Riddlebergcr debt settle
| ment has received an additional YindiCation
III the last few days by the presentation at
the treasurer's Office of coupons with no face
number printed thereon. The work of putting
this number on can be rs well executed in
| Richmond as at the American Bank Note
company, where the bonds and coupons were
,graved. and u bond of this sort can be made
fac simile Of genuine bond.
! I'm what light do you regard this move
ment go force the payment of ooupons2"
| askd your correspondent of Treasurer
| Reveley.
ut is an effort to retard funding under the
| Riddleberger bill, and rs long as this easy
way of proving the gonuineness of coupons
| is adopted the acts of the general assembly,
approved January, 1So2, are powerless to pro-
| teCt the state against fraud"
"Then the debt question does not seem to
| be finally settledY
mot as long as bourbon-funder officials
are in power to retard the funding, nor it
cannot be until the whole debt is funded un-
der the Riddleberger bill" Warming up to
the subject matter, Mr.. Revoley said ~ tell
| you the debt of Virginia will never be settled
until funding under this act is complete,
| iunder political meetings and resolutions to
the contrary Notwithstanding"
"Who are benefited by the present state of
atiairs?" ' D."
Large corporations, heavy Taxpayers, and
all those, the amount of whose tax would
justify tho present inexpensive mode of liti-
| gation necessary to verify these coupons"
"How is funding retarded by these suits II"
BROKERS have pretext for discouraging
the holders of bonds from funding by assur-
| ing them that the coupons detached from the
bonds will have u marketable value above
| the 3 per cent. they would draw from the
new bonds, to say nothing of the prospect
remote as the possibility may be, of upsetting
the Riddleberger adjustment in case the
funders should acquire control of the state.'