Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-03-11
LEXINGTON AND HER PEOPLE.
Colonel EdmondsOn's Resignation as
Receiver of Circuit Court Funds.

LEXINGTON, VA, March 10.-(Special)
Colonel James X. Edmondson, who has
been general receiver of the Circuit Court
funds for the past twelve years, has re-
signed, and William =. Hopkins has been
appointed by Judge William Mclaughlin
to the position. Mr.. Hopkins gave bond
for $4,000, with the Fidelity and Deposit
Company. of Maryland, as surety. The
balance on hand turned over by Colonel
Edmordson TO his successor was S,925.3i,
with a credit of $4,47l.7i at the Bank of
Rockbridge; the excess represents COM
missions. &c. due the receiver. The
amount Of securities turned over, which
were passed upon as safe and secure in
vestments, amounted TO S6,6n.71. The
Commissioner, i'm his report to the Court
of the examination of Colonel Edmond
sons report. makes the following state
ment: 1T may not be amiss here TO re-
fer to the fact that the general receiver
contemplates resigning the trust that he
has so ably and creditably conducted for
nearly twelve consecutive years, and for
the Undersigned, whose pleasant duty 1t
has been for the same period TO settle
his accounts TO say that he has lot
known in that tipe a single dollar to
have been lost through bad or inJudicious
investments, nor has he ever found as
much as $40 of errors through addition
or otherwise in the hundreds of thou
sands of dollars of transactions that
have passed through his hands; that
his books are models of accounts, and
his system In the preservation Of invest
ments. vouchers, &C., so complete, that
never has delay been caused the under
signed by either of the latter being out
of place. In fact, Judge Edmondson is
so pre-eminently fitted for the position
of receiver, as his work itself shows,
that should he resign, this court will
lose an officer whose place will be very.
very difficult to fill. and l may say that
think it impossible"
PRESIDENT WILSON TALKS.
President William L. Wilson, in his
regular Wednesday morning address to
the students and faculty of the uni.
versity, made reference to the recent ap-
preparation of s5O,OOO,OO0 voted by Con-
gress, in view of a war with Spain. He
said it is a very unusual occurrence for
Congress to make an appropriation of
money, the expenditure of which is left
to the discretion of any one man. He
went back to the administration of Mr.
Jefferson, and explained the nature of
an appropriations anu INV IL hd'
at that time. Instead of making an
appropriation in a lump to any one de-
partment, it was changed by giving "a
certain sum TO each specific purpose. He
said IL was contrary TO a free govern
ment to put so much power in the hands
of any one person, no matter how much
confidence We place in him. No such
step has ever been taken since 1895. when
Congress appropriated s10,0O0,00O, leaving
the expenditure of the sum TO the dis
erection OF President Jackson, in case of
war with France. 1t was at this time
that Daniel Webster ended his speech
against the appropriation by saying that
he would not vote for II If the guns OF
the enemy were trained on the capital |
at Washington. In the old democracy |
of Greece, each individual who was en- |
trusted with public funds was held TO |
a most strict accountability. Mr.. VIII |
son said that he did not wish to criticise |
the action of Congress, and in case OF |
war be felt sure that the United States |
could take care of herself. He further
said II would be very little glory for a |
powerful and wealthy nation like our
own TO get into war with a little ma
ton like Spain, which was weak and |
exhausted by trying 10 put down her |
rebellious subjects in the Philippine |