Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1885-09-01
GEN. LEE AT ACCOMAC.

received in Accomac yesteruay anu uellVer-
ed an able and telling speech, which was
heartily appauded. Gen. Lee was intro
duced by Mr.. Garrison. The following sym
opsis is given of the main points of his adj
dress:
The republican platform, said Gen. Lee,
arraigns the democratic party principally
for it's debt legislation, for its alleged hostil-
ity to free schools, for the unfortunate riot
at Danville two years ago, and for its gene
raj obstruction of progress in the material
and political interests in the State. These
charges Gen. Lee reviewed exhaustively.
The whole debt trouble arose from the &C
ton of the republicans. More republicans
voted in 1871 for the funding bill than dem
ocrats. 1t is very true that the leader of
| the republican party in this State declares
that it has been the idle, inconsderate and
vindictive meddling through petty, i'll con-
sidered, i'll conceived and petuiant measures
of the democratic party in the last Legisla-
ture that has arrested the quiet and orderly
settlement of the whole matter of the debt
on the basis of the Riddleberger law, to the
great detriment of the peace of the people
and against the interest of the creditors"
But Gen. Mahone's charges are themselves
idle. The democratic party two years ago
in Lynchburg and again last month in Rich
mond accepted as final the settlement of
the State debt, pronounced constitutional by
the courts of last resort, federal and State
and pledged itself to oppose all agitation OF
the question or any disturbance of that set
Element, by repeal or otherwise.
The Legislature of Virginia also adopted
q resolution in both branches that the peo-
pie of Virginia have accepted the act Of
February IA, 1882, known as the heidelberg.
er bill, as the ultimate settlement of the
debt of the State; that it is their unaltera.
BILE purpose that the settlement shall be
final, and that their expectation that any
settlement of the debt of the State upon any
other basis will ever be made or tolerated
by the people of Virginia is absolutely ilu-
sorry and hopeless. The democratic party
not only accepted by resolutions adopted by
its Legislature and State conventions the
Riddeberger bill, but also the accompany
ing measures known as coupon killers. In
the spirit of its written and the letter Of its
spoken promises the democratic party
agreed to make them efectual by all con-
stitutional legislation which it might be
called on to enact or which the exigencies
of any occasion mightrequire. This is what
the democratic party promised and this is
what it performed, nothing more or less.
Gov. Cameron's first message to the Legis.
lature called attention to the necessity Of
prompt amendments to these coupon-killers.
He said in this message, "it is time that the
Supreme Court of the United States in the
case of Antoni VS.. Greenhow, sustained the
act of January II, 1882, as furnishing an adj
equate and constitutional remedy to the
holders of tax receivable coupons" But ex.
perience has shown that act to be deficient
in several important particulars. All the
measures which the democratic Legislature
passed were passed at the suggestion ofGcv.
Cameron and with the approval Of the re-
publican members ofthe Legislature. None
of these measures has impaired or can i'm
pair the effect of the original acts. They
were designed only to make effectual the
Riddleberger bill, which the democrats had
promised to sustain.
Gen. Lee here quoted from Mr.. T. T. Bar
ton, of Winchester, in whom he said the bar
of the State had the greatest confidence.
After full analysis, and after abiding to
the question at issue between ex Gov. ID. II.
Chamberlain, of South Carolina, now Of
Boston, and John S. Wise, Gen. Lee made,
as the opinion of the highest democratic au-
tnority, the assertion that the democratic
party was not responsible for the ayexation
which the State debt trouble has caused:
before the democratic amendment Of March
Is, 1884, and in that case the act of January
&c, 1882, was declared to De unconstituton.
al, null and void. 1t was therefore uncon-
sttutional before, and not because Of the
act of March 13, 1884.
Gen. Lee commended that if, as Gen. Ma
; hone asserts, the action OF the last General
Assembly was idle, inconsiderate aud vim
dctive, then Gen. Malone and Gov. Came.
ron were responsible for it. Gen. Lee then
explained his own attitude on the debt
question. He himself originally had been
in favor of paying $50,000,000, rs the Nc.
Cullough bill provided.
The democratic party having been de.
feated on the issue had acquisced in the
decision of the ma iority. It's skirts were
clear Gen. Lee then discussed the ques-
tion ofStates' rights, which it is charged the
democratic party has raised. He quoted from
john Hancock and Alexander Hamilton to
sustain his position and TO justify the demo.
cratic party. He held, with the democratic
platform, that the debt question had ceased
to be q matter Of dollars and cents and was
now question of State sovereignty, q ques.
ton in which every State Of the Union is
vitality interested. In 1893 the Legislature
of Virginia responded to request from
John Hancock, of Massachusetts, who re-
L
quested the Legislature to consider ques.
ton then made prominent by suit against
the State of Massachusetts, by William
Vassals. The result of which the Chief
JUSTICE speaking through Bradley, says we
are bound to give its full and substantial
bearing and effect
The remedy, in Gen. Lees opinion, is to
protest against the bold judicial usurpaLion
of the Supreme Court and insist that the
Eleventh amendment shall not be violated
or evaded. The jurisdiction of the federal
courts must be kept within the plain mean.
ing of the Constitution. In discussing his
| opponent, John S. Wise, Gen. Lee was
guarded and dignifed in his language. He
did not fail, however, to criticise severely
John S. Wise endorsed that part of the re.
publican platform, which pronounced the
democrats of Virginia premeditated assas-
sins because of the unfortunate fight at Dan
vile. Mr.. Wise, in one of his speeches
few days ago, had also termed the demo-