Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1885-10-23


if she would swap her prosperity for his
publicanism? Ask Democratic Alabama
with her millions Of Northern capital and
blazing iron furnaces at Birmingham II
she would swap her prosperity for Repub'
iicanism? Ask Texas, State which Is
an empire within herself, if with her 1872
600 Democratic majority she would swap
her greatness for Rspubicanism? And
ask Virginia next mouth after she has
stamped out Mahoneism, if she would ex-
change her place at the head Of solid
and prosperous South for Republicanism!
NO DEMOCRATIC READJUsTER
can be Republican. Look at John r..
Massey. (Cheers for Massey He said
when REIMBURSEMENT was accomplished be
woald return to the Democratic ranks.
Where is he now (more cheers fer Massey)
HASN'T he kept bis faith (cries of yes
and huzzas for Massey Look at John
s. Wise, who said he was born Demo-
crat and would die Democrat. Where
is he now !? l reckon he is dead; (cries Of
s.hurrah for the cart driver.'0 He never
was Rsadiuster He was always IAN
apostate for the price of his apostacy,"
and he got his price (great cheering)
Mr.. Ayers closed with a eulogy Of Fitz
Lee, which was SO mixed up with the
huzzas and cheers that it W as hard to tell
which was which.
Judge Staples.
Judge Harris then introduced Judge
Staples, whose first appearance in Rock
ingham it was. as the able Judge whose
opinions on the Funding Bill had been
the text book of the Readjuster party
while that party was in existence. Judge
s. spoke with the elaboration. precision
and exactness of a judicial opinion aud
nailed each staten n5 tight with the &C.
companying proofs. His thorough famll-
iarity with the affairs of Virginia. iatey
and now at Issue, gives the Information he
imparts weight which you can easily see
at work on his audience. He opened by
making statement about
THE ORIGIN OF THE FUNDING BILL,
that had not heard made SO circumstanti-
ally in this campaign. He said that
Malone was more responsible for the
Funding Bill than any one man in VIZ
ginla. He was at that time a power in
the State, and his friend Gilbert c. Walker
was the Governor. The Funding Bill
was concocted IN the Executive Mansion
by Gov. Walker, with the advice and
concurrence of William Malone.
ARACE ISSUE CANVASS.
Judge Staples said he had been speak
ing everywhere in the State. and except al
Petersburg, mad never had as many as
three colored men to hear him. The Vir-
ginia canvass, as far as Republican con
troll of the colored race was concerned,
was made race issue. The Democratlc
speakers only had white men at their meet
ings.
THE UNSETTLING OF THE PUBLIC DEBT.
The fact that Judge Staples is an emf
uCUU ldWyCl duu uOES1 llo La
with the debt question, aud his experience
with it as counsel for the State of Vir-
ginia recently In the U. S. Supreme Court,
made all interested to hear what he would
say on this question. The carefulness with
which be had been stating his propositions
during his speech was also calculated to
give perfect confidence to his utterances
on this subject. He said that the charge
that the Democracy had unsettled" the
debt settlement, was false. In his twelve
years on the bench, he had always opposed
the Funding Bill, but he had never ceased
tc be a Democrat, and he did not propose
to let this falsehood about his party pass.
The only piece of Democratic legislation
decided by the U. S. Supreme Court to be
unconstitutional was that which declared
that State licenses should not be paid In
coupons, and that act was but a repetition
of the act passed by the Republican legis-
legislation taxing all lawyers who took
coupon cases, $3.50; taxing all brokers who
dealt in coupons, ST. 600; the law prohibit
Ing the calling away of the State Auditor
to testify in coupon cases, Was all consti-
tutional and was never attacked. Another
piece of Democratic legislation in support
of the RIddieberger settlement was still
more important. By the Riddleberger bill
it was agreed that all coupons should be
funded by 1882. The creditors claimed
the right to fund after that date. Had they
been permitted to do so, it would have cost
the Stats $26 900. Judge Hughes, of
the U. S. Court, decided the question in
the creditors favor. The Democratic le-
gislature passed a separate act declaring
that no coupon could be funded after July,
'S2, and forbidding the Auditor to receive
them. The Rlddieberger bonds, under the
supplementary Democratic legislation,
have advanced from 20 cents to so cents
in the dollar, and more Riddeberger
bonds have been issued for old bonds IN
der a Democratic State administration
than were issued under Malone admins
tration Under the Mahone Auditor in
1882 8, $l32 600 of taxes were paid into the
treasury in coupons; under the Demo-
cratic Auditor in 'S3 81, only $s5,000 of
these were received. The Democratic
party is settling the debt speedily and
surely, and the only opposition 10 meets
with is from the two U. s. Judges In Vir-
ginia, Judge Hughes; and that same Judge
Bond who has declared that he will make