Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1804-09-12

er-aSaiiist the JUS claims of the poor uian,
aud as an, niducement 10 those who are !!
unJust 70 incur d, b,s in the hope or ,mpu- |
nlty> These are, however, bul The first
steps required by the legal ode.-Courts
are held seldom oitener than four times,
and sometimes not more than. once or
twice year for the trial Of causes. Such
are the usual forms of procedure that il
is impossible to know when cause will
come 10 Trial, and of consequence, the
parties are under ihe necessity oil attend
ing Court Tor several successive terms aud
often years, with all their papers and wit
nesses, ttie personal concerns of Nno,n
are in,ert-red with. IL is difficult, almost
Impossible. 10 calculate the trouble and ex-.
pense occasioned b. these delays. Tie
! ~aHse rs ut length rid i. ii Judgment pro-
nouncsd. Though year. shall have c.
! iapsed since the commencement of the
suit, further Indulgence I, alioa ed the
debtor. Execution may be stayed; and
u, case he possess real properly, lis .saleis
el1her prohibited, Or sUven ears allowed
'ur The Satisfaction If his deb III case the
clear proceeds al his prsperiy will redeem
| mem WITHIN period Of seven years.
Can ,hese means, reGni, ed Tor ,he recoye-
~ OF debts bs, with the least color of
iau'h, Called easy Are they not, on The
contrary, lraught with difficulty, with de.
'ay, and With distress? Do they no. en-
nely sap the principle Of equal rig hts
are they not subyersIse of impartial JUS
tee! Do they net necessarily create dis
! functions among men; between the rich
and The poor! Do they not give power
10 !he former, whilr they deny il 20 the
latter? :: hey surely have all these effects,
and having tnem, call aloud for Legislative
! iedress.
That tire means for the recovery Of
debts are not prompt has appeared from
toe statement of iatts just made. Itmay,
now vcr, not be unproddctive of profit, 10
| dWel tur. her on this point Money, is in
this country oil great value. 1t is not in
! correct To say that &c man in business,
and most of our citizens are III active LIE
1t is worth from ten 10 E,een per cent. A
legal interest havi been fixed at SIX per
cent. the difference w u be so much lost
to the creditor, kept out Of his iust debts,
and consequently as much gained by the
/ debtor. Thus is sir ny nducernert
! held forth to injustice. I he debtor, under
J the Influence Interest, viii generalIy pro.
tract the issue Of the SUIT 10 which he is
u parry TO The greatest period. And such
| Is the present ofganizalion of courts That
delay OF several years is easily game
by HIM. The pra6l &c varies IN different
states IN those To he East justice is adj
mInissered with comparative speed, while
to the South II Is relatively ,ardy. Con
side'1n6 The middle states as those in which
medium exists, it will be fou.tl, that on
an average, It requires at least three
years TO bring contested suit To a close.
This is unquesuorGbly great grievance:
AID Claims a devoted attention 10 cdress
il.
The last consideration is whether the
means at present necessary for the reco-
" OF Gebia are uncx Densive. This is of
ali ne feaurcs Of good administration Of
justice the most mporiant.-Thnse, from
"hnm Jnai GebIs have bcen detained, are
Sc 'crai'y IL an Impoverished coudiiion,
AVID caanot b. supposed 10 possess much
resource. There IL SO much force in this
tacl that II may BE- assumed as tru.h.
hat good system of laws sh I'D s.iabl-
every q Zen Ia obtain wEho4t any ex-
Pense ,hc property that is wi,hEc'c from
I'm. Ii his be truth, l. f.,llows thai the
system winch the nelies; approaches this
nlodeL Is the bcsl, and ,bat which most
rcce1cs from IS the worst. IN going
'nso details OIL this point, two views may
be iakea; Que involving tie ex .ense which
IS sustained by The creditor in prosecuting
his rghs; and ;he other The expense sus-
famed BY society.
We have already seen that the expense
incurred in the mere Initiation Of an &C
zion is far from uncomfortable. This ex.
pense Is greatly incrt aaeo before il is Ero't
to = close Ii is difficult OH subject so
much affected by the different laws of the
respective states, to speak with absolute 4
precision. But as far as we are justified
by an experience Of tn expenses attend
ing law suit in several of the states. we
believe we speak within bounds, when we
state them in Contested CASES at between
ten and twenty dollars: and as more Grc.
quenily approaching the later than the
f." mer.--l he amount sued Tor il on an ave.
rage betow an hundred dollars. The ex-
Pense VIII be, therefore, about fifteen per