The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-04-29
Fitz Zee 8 Patriots.
HOW AUGUSTA ENDORSED THE Gov
ERNoR's PROCLAMATION.

enthusiastic love of country that light
| up the eye. gives eagerness to the action
and sends the warm blood tingling through
| the veins with rush that vitalizes to rap
| turors ardor but a mournfnl, funerea
martyrdom kind of ante dose OF castor
oil recognition of disagreeable duty tina
has to be performed, whatever the in
| Fiction might be.
| Never before had the old Court House
that in its day has witnessed many a mot
ley crowd, looked down upon scene tht
| like Of it. In this the banner Democratic
county of the State; this, the wealthies1
and most intelligent centre OF the Ole
Dominion. Governor Lees famous .bul
against the coupons was to be endorsed
The proclamation had been pabished IL
the newspapers and hy hand-bills posted
| in conspicuous places - tie sovereigns haC
been Invoked in a ringing. tear-startlng
appeal by the party organ; the recruiting
officers. had been detailed for duty. and al
| Il O'Clock the hour of action had arrived
Delegate Echols was the Poo Bah of the
entertainment. He it was who upon the
adjournment of the Court, as Lord High
| Gust odian of the Patriotism, started out
| the runners to bring in the crowd as
| Lord High Keeper of the States Sacred
Honor. 'he rang the bell with a scientific
nervousness that evoked its sweetest
strains ard considerable perspiration as
Lord High Atlas Of the wealth,
he wiped the beads from his patriotic
brow as Principal Mourner over the De-
generacy of the Times. he deeply sighed,
then sighed again because OF his loneli-
ness as Lord High Master of the 'Ctrt-
monies he called the meeting To order; as
Director in Chief of the Procession, be
requested Col. .Jno. II. Crawford to assume
the chair; as Exalted Goal reaching
Martyr. he called upon Maj. koiner to
take up the cross. and as Grand Worthy
of the { r.wn. wiie; lltr-he got it or not, he
sank into his clair to rise 10 mrre.
When Gel Crawford! WAS rtqlls ste1 to
mn.ilt tl;P rusi rum. he WAS evidently EN-.
barrasstd tur Il monent. To withdraw at
that particular cri is from the noble band
that clustered about the stove, looked as
if he intended-to break up tire meeting by
dividing the crowd. The consciousness of
purity of purpose, however nerved him to
a disregard OF appearances. and under
solemn mien and a.halo OF patriotism, he
assembled the platform. AS he faced the
empty benches. and eighteen sovpreigns,
by actual colat standing around and &C.
eupying tie chairs. the picture was cal
culated TO move the stoutest heart. JLSt
outside of the doors hundreds of men we've
eagerly drinking III the eloquence OF tie
real estate auctioneer a patent medicine
vendor counted his yotaries by the scores
and fiftieS the sewing N achine agent and
the representative of agricultural ma
chinery the horse jockey the churn
dealer and the lemonade fend. each was the
centre of pushing .hrong. whilst inside
of the portals of Justice, aud within half
dozen yards. the poor old Commonwealth
was bleeding at every pore, and Col. Craw
ford had been called upon to officlate as
Chief Cauterizer. The responsibility was
oppressive, but the Colonel measured up
to the requirements, of the occasion like
a hero, called for the appointing Of Secre-
taries. and then grasped at Mr. Echols'
suggestion that Maj Koiner should ex-
plain the object of the meeting.
The Major had evidently anticipated
this houor and was fully prepared to
meet public expe ctation. He told how
at the request of the General Assem-
bly,, the Governor had issued his proc
lamation calling upon the people of
the commonwealth to assemble at their
places of meeting in each coun-
ty. and soIemnly declare that they would
not use the coupon in payment of their
taxes, but would pay their dues in money
and thereby sustain the laws of Virginia.
He explained that the State Government
was in very critical condition that the
laws passed by The legislature to intercept
the tax-paying coupon in it's passage to the
treasury had been declared unconstitu-
tional, null and void by the United States
Supreme Court, the tribunal of last re-
sort, and that now nothing stood between
Virginia and bankruptcy but the pa
triotism of the people. That patriotism
could only be manifest by paying the
dues to the State in currency, and refusing
to take advantage of the discount to be
saved in the purchase of the coupons.
Those coupons could be bought, said the
speaker, at from 50to 60 per cent. of their
face value. and numbers in Richmond,
Petersburg, and Lynchburg had used them.
Their use. however, had become so odious
that there were only five lawyers in Rich
mond who would undertake cases in which
they were involved only two in Lynch
burg, and none in Petersburg. The only
shield for the Commonwealth now, con-
tinued the Major, is Coupon Killer No. 1.
The two last legislatures have done nothing
with the State debt question. Their leg
islatlon upon that subject had been wiped
away by the Court, and all that stood be-
tween the State and financial chaos was the
provision requiring the genuineness of the
coupons to be proven.
Maj. Koiner spoke for about an hour.
At no time was he interrupted by any man.
Hesitation of approval or disapproval. The
audience which numbered less than fifty
at the maximum, heard him in such re-
spectful silence that several colored BROTH
ers went fast asleep and left the Common
wealth to perish.
At the conclusion of his remarks, a COM
mittee consisting of w. A. Burnett. T. S.
Hogshead, Charles S. Patterson, w. F.
Smith, A. Koiner. and p. T. Burkholder,
Esqs., was appointed to draft resolutions,
but before they could act. Maj. Koiner
pulled out a set of ready made sentiments
and read them to the meeting, as follows
PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS,
"WHEREAs. The people of Virginia, after a
long and heated conflict of opinions, which en-
dangered good government and the peace of
society, have united on the act of the 18th of
February, 1882. as the basis of settlement of the
debt of the State, by expressions in popular
conventions, through the Legislative and Ex-
ecutive departments of the government, and
sustained by the Judiciary of the State and
WHEREAS, Sundrv persons, in fragrant yio-
lation of the oft expressed purpose of the State,
through her laws and public officials, to en-
force the terms of said basis of settlement tor
the common veal, have invoked the aid of the
Federal Courts to override the authority of the
government, cut off her revenue, threatening
the very existence of the body polite, in order