Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1884-08-22


other phrases of the act which does
not necessarily attach to them, and
which is not expressed.
This method of producing an am
biguity is not legitimate, and is
forbidden by the most approved
canons of statutory Interpretation.
We cannot set aside the literal
logical meaning of the unambig-
uous language employed in one
provision of a statute in order to
engraft upon it meaning different
from which its own language i'm
ports.
The Attorney-General contends
that the act fixed the amount Of
the bonds to be funded at S21 ,O33,-
377, and limited the amount of the
new bonds to that aggregate. But
coupons forming part of the 81
O13, ,446 of unpaid past-due coupons
which have been mentioned are
readily funded by the commission
ers, and thus this imaginary limit
is undergoing daily augmentation.
There is no language in the act
which fixes the amount Of the new
bonds at twenty-One million and
a fraction of dollars. On the con-
trary, the first section of the act
directing the creation Of the new
bonds is elastic in this respect. 1t
empowers and directs the COM
missioners "tO create bonds, regis
tered and coupon, to such ertent as
may be necessary to comply 'cih the
provisions of this Gct.' In a sue
ceeding section-namely, section .
this language is repeated, and
the commissioners are authorized
to issue such bonds : 4
as may be necessary to carry out
the provisions of this act" An
act which twice gives a power un-
limited rs to amount in express
terms cannot be inferred from other
clauses rally not contradictory to
imply that a limit of the amount OF
the new bonds was Intended.
Finally, it would have been un-
just in the Legislature to have made
the distinction cOntended for; and
we cannot imply an unjust meaning
in which does not express that
intention. There can be no
magical virtue in the date Of the
1st of July, 1882, which converts
coupons due before into more
sacred obligation than coupons
falling due afterwards. Many of
the old bonds are held in England;
some of them probably in Holland,
and other continental States OF
Europe: many are held in other
States of this Union. Compare
lively few are held in Virginia. The
Legislature could not suppose that
the funding it provided for would
begin before the 1st of July, 1882,
or make much progress until after
a considerable lapse of time. The
act itself gives no notice to bond
holders that they would be pro
hibited from funding their coupons
falling due after the lSt Of July,
1882; on the contrary, it expressly
provides, or seems to provide, that
whenever the "exchange Of eyiden-
ces of debt" should be made, the
unpaid coupons then past due
would be funded dollar for dollar.
After thus lulling the distant bond
holders into security in this regard,
would it be just and equitable for
the State now to say that none but
unpaid coupons which fell due be-
fore July l, 1882, shall be funded
dollar for dollar; and that those
which have fallen due since shall
be funded only at the rate of fifty
three cents on the dollar, and the
greater part Of them not funded at
all?
The drgumeRtum Gb iRcOncenient'
advanced in behalf of defendants,
that if none of the interest on the
consol bonds should be funded for
the period Of forty-eight years, it
will then amount to the great sum
of s3S, S,9Ol, ,312, is inconclusive. In
point of fact it shows nothing more
than the surprising power of in
terest to accumulate when left un-
paid and allowed to ran on for half
a century. 1t can hardly be pre-