The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-07-08
The Confederate Debt.

The Washington correspondent of the
Boston Journal, under date of the 25th,
has the following summary of the recent
acts and movements at Washington
The President continues to veto the bills OF
pension Union soldiers and the House COM
mlttee on war claims has still under considera-
ton the bill to aid in the payment of the Com
submitted to the House COMMITTEES on war
claims brief of the bill now pending before
that COMMITTEES, which he claims, would aid in
The brief Is a short one. Some of lis main
propositions are these 1t is not claimed that
the United States became liable for the Con-
federate debt, either contracting marty or
because it had any agency in creating it. The
seeded states, however, severally possessed
power to contract debts Independently of the
United States and to provide the means for
could individually lawfully do any number Of
them combined may also do, and become
jointly and seyerally liable for their obIiga-
LIONS NO want OF power to contract a ioift
liability by the Confederate States can. there
fore be urged against the validity of the con
issued them. Nor does their liability to nav
such bonds depend upon whether they were ii
OF out , OF the Union when they were made
the power to secede from the Union. II
in the Union, notwithstanding the attempted
secession, then their original powers under
the federal constitution were in full force and
If out of 1t, then they were separate confed-
eracy, with all the attributes of an independent.
contracting power. After the war. the states
which had seeded returned to their aliegiance'
me money which they had borrowed had been
used for purposes which they approved II
Between the holders of the confederate debit
and the states creating it there existed a bind
ing obligation with which no third party couId
interfere, much less discharge Notwithstand-
ing this, the United States, by an exercise of
arbitrary power, in the constitutional amend
ment, provided that neither the United States
shall assume nor pay any debt incurred in aid
of insurrectiOn rebellion against the ITnitad
States. but all such debts, OBLIGATIONS and
claims shall be Illegal and void" This pro-
h1bltory constitutional clause, so far as if
restrained the United States from assuming or
paying debt created for its destruction was a
wise one. But in declaring at the same time
that the Confederate States which had created
should not pay their just and acknowledged
liability. the government not only acted I'M
wisely but committed stupendous bIunder
1t not only relieved the guilty party from q
just liability, but it was a wanton destruction
of a debt it did not own and with which it had
no rlghtful concern The only reasons that
can be assigned for passing this amendment to
the constitution are without any force what
ever when urged in behalf of the United States.
The Confederate States neither asked for nor
were entitled to exemption from their liability
to pay it. 1t follows that the effect of this
amendment to the constitution was, first to
the confederate debt, and secondly,
at the same time, and as consequence, to
create a new liability for damages against the
United States, measured by the value of the
property so wrongfully destroyed. The uabil-
ity here asserted, therefore. is not for the con-
federate debt, but for the damages inflicted
upon the holders of it for it's extingushment.
This, in brief, is the argument presented by
Judge Fullerton who states that he represents
the creditors of the so-called Confederate
states OF America and the most astounding
fact in connection with it is that the Demo-
cratic House is considering bill which has
such possible meaning, and consents to re-
attorney of the English holders of the confed-
crate debt.