Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-09-05

suit 0au not tncSc NV"
selves in the breach and put stop
10 itf
So much of these measures has been
explained by Colonel Ruflin that ! VIII
NOT 60 into them in detail, but call pub
lie attention to the following:
ASH had promised my people land II
is all | promised them, / was deter
mined to have
THE DEBT QUESTION SETTLED.
Now, all will recollect that we were
elected to the Legislature solely upon
the Readjuster platform Of 1881.
There was really nothing in this except
the Riddleberger bill Of 1879. Ihat
was a settlement Of the debt, by assign
ing one third to West Virginia, two
thirds to this State, striking QUO COM
pound interest and war and reconstruct
lion interest, and then submitting me
whole question to the people for rafY-
cation.
This bill alone carried us all into
the Legislature over the Democrats,
and il said in its preamble "that it is
confidently believed that the people OF
this State will never acquiesce in any
settlement which shall obligate them
and their posterity to pay any part OF
the interest upon the public debt 'Ohich
accrued during the odr and the PERIOD
! of reconstruction"
This bill was thrown into the fire, OF
some place else, after the election, and
new one substituted, that included
The par interest and did not submit The
question to the people at all. This lit
tie fraud only put on us, if we were
right, as we thought, about s5,0oO,-
600 more than we promised to
pay. Who got the benefit OF
this slgh change from the old
to the new bill know not. At least,
As claimed, the matter should have
been submitted to the people, as We
promised, and maybe the real facts
| would have come out. | declare to nay
Readiuster friends that the debt
question was not settled on the
basis we promised them. There
is a difference of about $1,000
600 against us. Why this was done
has never been explained to me. 1t was
one Of the arrangements of the 18th OF
November. Its oStensible patron-Rid-
dleberger--did not even make 1t eau
Gus measure. 1t had already been cut
and dried. II was supposed under the
caucus tyranny it would pass without
objection. objected, however. 1t was
then taken to the caucus that night, as
| understood, to be discussed. rose
to protest against this new bill, but had
hardly made q starting in the discussion
when the gavel of the chairman in
formed me that my time was up, which !
he said was five minutes. | had not |
heard Of this rule. 1t was the only in
stance | ever heard of in this caucus.
Thus by deliberate gag a discussion
OF the only great question that created
the party was ended in five minutes.
The bill was then passed, but with my |
protest against it, and deliberate
cheat and fraud upon the people who
sent our party to the Legislature was
then and there deliberately perpetrated.
There was so much Of this business
done in the same line, and with the
same abiect submission to what might
call the Star-Chamber edicts of Novem-
Der 2Sth, that | can't take time to
explain. But it was all done in the
same submissive spirit to the one-man
power.
There certainly was
MONEY SOMEWHERE
in the measure for the Richmond and
Danyille railroad paying its debt to the
State. This was a debt due to the !
State from this road amounting to
about 1926, 000-borroW ed money not
yet due by about four years. This
debt was bearing per cent. interest.
Senator Walker, of Chesterfield, pro.
posed to allow this road to pay at once
this debt in consols-ten-fortie and
peelerS al par. At the time Of this
proposition the average value of these
securities was not over forty cents in
the dollar. The meaning of it was that
this road could on the morning before
the passage of the bill 60 into
the market with less than $4,000,
and buy enough of the old State bonds
to pay off the debt due the State of
$42j, 900, and thus save and make the
nice little sum Of $255,000 so soon as
the bill was passed. IOpposed the bill.
So did General Newberry. The mea-
sure would have succeeded had it not
been for the - Big Four" Our mea-
sure was for the road, if so anxious to
pay its debt four years before its ma
turity, to pay IL IN money, as it was
amply able to do, and let as take up the
bonds thus the money would have
purchased about sl.000,000 of our in
debtedness-thus saving to the State
between 500, 900 and 100000. The
Walker scheme was advocated by Sen
ator Riddleberger, the deputy father of
reimbursement. This early move taught
some Of us what reimbursement really
meant. have in my possession the
Walker bill, No. &c, to prove this state
ment. Our opposition to this bill was
one Of our acts Of treason" We
committed several acts of this sort.
| But the
MAIN ONES
for which we are arraigned before the
public in the " Readjuster address,"
and the people called upon to "adjudgc
the enormity Of our breach of faith and
to inilict the penalty" are the tenure
of.oflice bill, the Judiciary bill, the bill
to redistrict the congressional districts,
and the general CONFERENCE.-The
bill.
The tenurc-of-olice bill never reached
the Senate. TWAS passed in the House
only. This thing was a cool, deliberate
assertion by the House committee
Chairman, j. c. Taylor that a dcci-
sion of the Court Of Appeals ter parte
Meredith and Harrison, xxxiii. Graf
tan, page ll9) is not law. The
House adopted this extraordinary
report, but they were afraid to bring
il into the Senate. 1t is only neces-
sary for any one to read this report and
sections 5, IL, l3 of Article VI. of