Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-07-25
SATURDAY.........".JULY p, 1882
No Notification.

No Notification.
Our contemporary Of the Providence
Journal keeps up strict watch upon
our columns. He is determined that
we shall not 90 astray if the leading
paper in little Rhody" can prevent
MS from so doing. But he sometimes
attaches TO our words a meaning thar
We did not intend them to have. For
instance, he says;
The Richmond VA Dispatch. with
refe,ence TO the late decision of the SUI
p,eme Court of the United States au-
tborizing the payment Of taxes in 'lr-
ginia by coupons Of the State bends,
according to the terms of the bonds
presents several suggestions as to me
manner in which the judgment OF the
court may be eysded by new ieglsla-
ton on the part Of the Virginia LegiS-
laturc. The animus of the D''-
match is found ia the following propo-
sjtion 1.-The State hast natural rightto
protect herself against these unconstl-
tutional attacks upon her sovereignty.
She must show that the FederaLcourts
cannot coercc her by resorting to un..
constitutional methods" This is null
LITIGATION. 1t is assumed, in the first
place, that the decision of the Supreme
Court Of the United States is an UNI
constitutional decision, and, secondly,
that it must be evadcd, violated, rem
dered null and void at ali hazards and
by any means.
We might remind the Journal that
as the party of which it is a faithful
organ denounced the decision Of the
Supreme Court Of the United States in
the DRIED SCOTT case year in and year
out. and never ceased to denource 1t
until q bench OF Republican or anti
slavery justices succeeded Chief-Jus-
tice TANEY and his associates, SO
the people Of Virginia have the
right to follow Chief-Justice WATT
and the three Justices who agreed
with him in the dissenting opinion in
the recent Virginia coupon cases and
that the Constitution is against
at decision, and that We will never
cease our efforts until we get bench
Of justices who will respect that in
Strument.
The Supreme Court, be it remem-
bered, confesses candidly that the
eleventh amendment forbids State to
be sued in the Federal courts as Vir-
ginis was sued in the coupon cases.
Now, then, all that Virginia has to do
is so to legislate as to prevent the Fedc-
raj courts from having any plausible
excuse for entertaining such suits. We
must insist, above all, that those courts
shall not entertain such suits and
then escape the consequences by pre-
tending that the suits were not against
the Commonwealth.
The measures which we have pro
posed were not intended to resist the
DEGREES Of the Supreme Court, but ~
demonstrate that that court had erred,
If Virginia can conStitutionally adops
the measureswc have proposed, she can
constitutionally show. to the Supreme
Court that that tribunal ispowerless to
force her to receive coupons for taxes,
and therefore erred in making the deci-
sion it recently made in the Virginia
coupon cases.
We purpose
|. To make the State taxes fall due
four times year. Nobody will deny
the right Of the General Assembly to
pass such law. Pass it, and few or
no coupons could afterwards be paid II
satisfaction Of taxes. The State would
be safe, and the Supreme Court would
see its error.
?. To repudiate all bonds funded
under order of Federal court. The
Supreme Court acknow edges that nc
Federal court has power to prevent q
State from repudiatisg its bonds. And
as State cannot be sued, it follow,
necessarily that Judge BoNp's deere,
ordering certain State bonds to b,
issued was an unconstitutional decree
We purpose to prove its unconstitu
tionality by resorting TO a constitu
tionsl measure which will show tina
decree to be of no force.
3. We propose to make unpaid taxei
lien upon the real estate Of the de
lnquent taxpayers.
Now, these three measures being
constitutional, there can be no nullif
cation in them. They are nothing but
an "object lesson" They are intended
TO demonstrate that the eleventh amend
ment is in full force, and thus to show
the Supreme Court the great error j,
recently committed.
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Southern Industrial Progress.
IL.