Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-02-23
UEspAY....FEBRUARY %, 1886.
Remedies.

Remedies.
Our Baltimore friends, whom we
have bad occasion to mention so often,
Messrs. JOHN A. HAMILTON q Co.,
devote almost the whole Of their circu-
lar OF last week to the Virginia debt.
They assure their patrons, as they have
so frequently assured them before,
that sail is we'll ~; that Virginia is at
the mercy of the bondholders; and
that it is useless for her longer to hesi-
tate to appropriate whatever sum OF
money may be needed to pay the IN
terest upon the public debt, &C., &C.;
and then they add the following:
The appointment of a commissioner to
confer with the bOndholders would be de-
cided concession on the part OF ths stare
and the bringing together OF the STATE anu
her creditors may result In q satisfactory
compromise
"Facts speak louder than words"
The price of coupons not fundable tells
in language not to be misunderstood
that the coupou-buyers understood
Governor LEES and Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor MAssEY's propositions to be "a
decided concession on the part OF the
State" And yet our Baltimore friends
rail as follows;
ba . fat no
of rpadiusimcnt' truly pltiable appelIa-
tion proposes that the Legislature appoint
a commlssiOn TO confer with the bOndhold-
ers for the purpose OF explaining the merits
and equities Of the kiddleOeIger scneihe
and TO persuade them 10 accept 10 ana fund
their bonds. Mr.. Massey must he poklng
fun at the Legislature In perPetrating TINS
the best Joke OF The season. IL the fes0lu'
ton is not PickwickiaB and really meant IN
earnest, we can inform the Legislature that
they will waste their time and breath In
discussing such rubbish. 1.-THE bondholders
would mol fund when everything seemed
against them, they are not at ali likely 10
do go with all circumstances In their iaNor.
With Riddle SIS selling at 81 consols are
worth S2l4 TO fund. They are selling al 81.
Ten fOrties are worth S6A To iund Ihey
are now selling at As. C0nsol coupons funda-
bic If 80 are worth 80 to fund and are sell
ing at So. Comment Is unnecessary
just SO. With all the circum-
stances in their favor" The specula-
tors in coupons end Virginia bonds evil
IDENTIFY flatter themselves that they have
the Old Dominion in a tight place.
Here is a part of their comment upon
Governor LEES message:
1--WE. as corresponding members OF the
Council OF Foreign Bondhoders. and being
In constant communication with the hold
err OF millions of Virginia bonds at London,
are probably better acquainted with the
sentiment Of the bondholders than any one
else in America and can assure Governor
Lee and the Virginia Legislature that the
Council OF Foreign BoDdhOldeIs In perfectly
well acquainted with the merits aud deme-
rits Of the settlement which Is offered by
the RiddIebeTger funding scheme. and that
they are also well.informed OF the financial
condition Of Virginia. and know what are
the revenues and expenses OF the State pro-
baby better than some OF her patriotic
LEGISLATORS, They know exactly what are
their rights and how far they can be en-
forced aud they are fully determined never.
under any circumstances. TO fund single
bond under the Kidd g berger scheme.
"GoyeTnor Lee had an opportunity To lead
the misguided people OF virginia out OF the
OF broken promises and vio-
lated contracts. and TO recover the lost
honor and glory OF the state. In casting MS
other like forcible Readusters. he has
greatly disappointed many of his admirers
8 nd blighted his future political prospects
And Governor LEE and all the rest of
us are, as we explained his message last
week, "fully determined never, under
any circumstances, to fund single
bond under " any other than the GRID
DIEBERGER scheme"
The Dispatch comes in for good
share Of the maledictions Of Messrs.
JOHN A. HAMBLEToN & Co. They
quote from the opinion in PoINDEX-
TER, &C., to prove to us that "all the
legislation" hostile to the bondholders
has been swept away, including of
course the Coupon Killer No. |, which
the Supreme Court has just again decided
to be "a valid enactment" aud which
"yalid enactment " reads rs follows:
"l. Be u enacted. &c. That Whenever
spU tax. pay or. on his agent snail tender to
any person whose duty II is 10 collect
taxes any papers .n pGfporti b 10 ne
for :. Identification and verification.
2. He shall at the same time require said
tass payer TO pay his taxes In coin, legal
tender notes. or nstional-bank bills &c.
IL we cannot show that the decision
OF the Supreme Court in one case con-
Sists with its decision in another case,
no more can the other side. We quote
the Supreme Courts own words when
we say that the act Of January Ii,
1882, is "a valid enactment" We
quote the very words Of that valid en-
actment" to show what it requires.
The Legislature has the highest autho-
rity for treating that enactment as
"yalid."
More than four hundred years ago
FoRTEscUE, in his book on the Mon
archy Tor Goyernance) Of England, said
Of the tax on salt that if the King
levied such tax in England as was
levied in France be would like the man
that SHARED the hog get "mucb cry
and little WOOL" And no doubt the
saying is thousands Of years old. Old
or new, We commend ii to the attention
Of the SHyLocKs who are now trying
to shear Virginia.