Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1810-10-31
IN a democratic governor are great oddities
indeed.

indeed.
Duane is very much mortified at the de-
feat of his party in the late election an rem
sylvania He says:
The manner in which the late election
in Pennsylvania is noticed in other papers
, is lamensable evidence of the decay OF
principles, and falling off from the right
,nles Of judgment generally He should
have said" decay of my principles, and
falling off from Leib's and my rule of
Judgment" The time may yet come when
Duane will throw down his tkir,y pieces OF
silver and remember how Judas fed from
sc the hell within him )" and, if he has not
lost all the little wit he once had, that time
is not far distant. When wretch is SO
low as to be the laughing stock OF Binns &
his compeers, he ought to remember that
FL, him
There is another and better world.
A Grand Jury in New York have made
a long and elaborate presentmsn, relative to
imprisonment for debt, the conduct of JUS
tees and marshals or cons!aoles. About
7Oopersons per annum are imprisoned in
the Jail there, and for trifing debts the
greater part Of them. Several writers have
appeared in the different papers OF that CT
tv who are most OF then strenuous Tor re-
form of their laws relative to Imprisonment
fox debt and who have ably aud fully ex-
posed the nefarious conduct of some Of the
magistrates and marshals who deal IN jus.
tee ard lc1v purely on a money making
system. In every large town same such
magistrates and cons,abes viii be found
The people at large arc ignorant of their
proceedings and those who suffer have
not the means Of redress, or are ignorant Of
the process.
Volumes might be written on the sub.
iect; the amount of them would be that no
man oughtto be imprisoned for debt where
no fraud appears, except IN a few possible
cases " hen the security Of the person may
be the only means Of recovering the debt.
There is often as much reason and justice
for putting man in the piI'ory because he
cannot pay bis debts as there is for condn
Jog him in prison. Debtors insome nations
are sold, or beoon the slaves Of the credi-
tor. We should start at the idea of max
ing debtor slave, Or giving lin: 80 lash
es, because we are not accustomed to such
scenes; but they are quite as just and rea-
sonable as to con6ne an honest debtor in the
walls of a prison. Let the debtor who has
property, and will not pay, be sentenced to
Imprisonment or to sit an hour on the gal
lows he is q criminal !; not less SO than
thief. The laws of some of our states how.
ever encourage viIlainy. The laws of Vir
ginia, whatever might have been the mo-
tive of their being enacted, which makes
real estate not liable to seizure, is without
parallel for legislative iniquity. IT'S but
to obtain credit for thousands, purchase re-
al estate, and bid the creditors Defiance
Some British merchants will not believe
such law can exist, SO contrary to every
principle of justice: many British mer-
chants however believe it TO their sorrow
1t is hoped however that SO far as this law
operates in this part of the District OF Co.
lumbia, it will bc'annulled during the next
'ees,;op of Conorsss