Daily Republican., 1883-10-29
MONDAY, OCTOBER 70, 1858.
Yirginia's Struxgle.

large portion of the Republican pres
also, are exulting over the prospect {
the defeat of the Readjuster party i
Virginia and have large Democrat
majorities figured out on paper, Coy
Cameron, one of the best and most dig
nified Governors Virginia has ever had
does not indulge In the same prediC
tions by any means. The Governor LA
been travelling and speaking in variou
parts of the State and ought to kno,
what he is talking about. He says tn
Read listers will carry the State by tel
thousand majority, will have the Sen
ate by good working majority aud tn
House by at least seventeen majority
In 1881 Governor Cameron had thirteel
thousand majority and last year thu
Readjuster majority was five thousand
We have no hesitation in saying tina
we hope these predictions will be veri
fed, no matter what other Republican
papers may say, and this desire on oul
part is by no means partisan desire
We desire it because Virginia, unde'
Readjuster rule, is passing through al
era of prosperity such as she never be
fore experienced. 1t is said by Bour
bon and we regret to say by some Re
publican organs, that Virginia has no,
paid her honest debts. This may be
true of her under Bourbon rule, when
the State defaulted in paying both prin.
cipal and interest Of her public deb.
Virginia was rich in mineral resources
and in no State in the Union did agri
culture bring better return and with
it all, under the control Of the Bourbon
Democratic party, the creditors Of the
State had to be satisfied with mere
promises. Even third Of the school
fund was misapproprlated and third
of the public schools of the State were
closed.
Under these circumstances the Read
juster party sprang up and came into
power and has held it ever since. They
found the State burthened not only
with her own public d bt of twenty.one
million dollars but with ten million
more that by justice and equity be-
longed to West Virginia which had
been separated from the mother State
during the war by the Federal Govern
ment, without setting apart to the new
State her proportion of the public debt
This the Readju ju5ter party, that had been
successful upon readjustment issue,
refused to pay The first business of
the Read usterS was TO find out the rea
honest debt of the State and then to
make arrangements for paying it with
out default This they have done and
now the interest on the real honest pub
Tic debt of Virginia is paid with
scrupulous regularity, and besides this,
provision has been made for gradually
paying off the principal They do not de-
ny that the debt has been scaled ten
million dollars, but they do not say it
shall never be paid. They only say
that Virginia will not pay it becaus"
she does not honestly owe it. They
want to know if West Virginia, that
was responsible for at least a third of
the debt, should escape paying her
share simply because the General Gov
ernmeut made State Of her without
assuming any responsibility for the
debt she left the old mother State,
They say, let West Virginia that has
tied herself to the Bourbon chariot and
is nov making faces at her mother, pay
her share Of the debt, or let the Genera
Government assume it if il sees proper
10 do 30. butas for Virginia, under Read
,juster rule, she declines to pay If This |
we believe is about the substance Of the
reputation charged against the Read
AL justrrs, and the difference in the aC-
tiOns of the two COnteniing parties is
Just about this The Funders, or rather
BOurbOns, assn med the whole debt and |
promised to pay it but failed to pay |
either principals or interest. The Read |
justers have aScertained the real debt
which they claim Virginia owes, and
are paying both principal and interest |
The action Of the Read listers has been
declared jogal by the Supreme Court,
and the Bourbpns have accepted the
decision a. Il tinality, thereby acknowI-
edging that The ReadjuSters were right
and that they were wrong. sill We
hear the same cry of dishonesty against
the Eeadjusters and al appea to vote
for the l'purbOn5 who even failed 10 pay
the interest on the public debt and who
actually scaled the school fund and |
broke mp Uue-third OF the colured schools
of the State.
But besides what the EeadjuStcrs |
have done 10 settle the debt Of the State, F.,
they have made other reforms that an.
peal to the masses Of the people for sup.
port, They have revised the election
laws Of the State and removed every
barrier in the way Of a free and un
trameled suffrage. CoIored voters can
now voe in Virginia without the fear Of
being violently assaied at the polls aud |
their votes are now honestly counted
Virginia presents no such spectacle as
is seen in South Carolina and Missis-
sippi, either Of which is made to give
forty thousand Democratic majority. |
when il is well known either Of them. |
would give forty thousand majority for
the Republicans in free and honest
election. Besides all this the Read JUS. |
ters have increased the public schools
of the state. ColOred children are pro- |
vided with equal educational facilities.
In short, Virginia, under Readjuster
rule, has an honest administration of
the State government, has better schools
and more of them than she had before,
is building railroads is dev Looping her
minera! resources has more manufac-
turing industries than she ever had be-