Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1822-02-02

country, whose canvass whtens every sea- has
grown wealthy and powerful without this APP
pendage of civilization. Are our merchants
less prosperous than others Who possess
the greatest share ofpersonal estate in the
Union? The merchants. BY recent exam
ination it has been found, as the public prints
tell us, that the single town of Boston owns
one-fourth of all the wealth in the COMMON
wealth of Massachusetts, Alr. S. thought it
was better that all classes Of men should have
the same system of collection !; and that the
legislatures of the respective states could best
Judge OF what. was favorable to the commu-
nifty over which they ruled. He would not
undertake to say what was the course adopt
ed In other states but in the state of Virginia
the law on the subject was, in his opinion, "a
1dapted to their state of society, and adequate
to all the purposes of substantial justice. Mr.
). here adverted TO the attachment, insolvent.
and other laws of Virginia, that protected the
personal liberty of the debtor, OF the one
hand, and the rights ofpreperty of the cred
itor, on the other; and he commended that il
was not this bill which could give prosperity
to the people, but that ii was the security of
liberty and property by state regulations.
Mr.. >. contended that the principles of the
Dill were an invasion upon the rights of man
and he would first pay attention TO the weaker
sex. 1t was an unquestionable error of the
common law, that it did not sufficiently guard
the Just rights of the fairer part of the creation
by marrlaget the huband acquires the whole per-
sonal estateiofthe wife ,S, 1.-The becomes entitled
TO take as tenant by the courtesy, he has the
whole OF her real estate during his life where
as, If she survives him, she takes only one
third part of his lands for life, dover, and
| part OF his personal estate, which is fixed by
law In Virginia, man without cent
marrles lady having one hundred slaves if
she dies tomorrow, the slaves are all his but
should he die tomorrow, and she survive. she
gets back one-thrd of her own slaves for her
NE only. Tins, Mr.. 5. commended was INDUSTRIOUS
injustice, and 1t would be still more menstrous
10 extend the evil instead of applying reme-
dy.. Yet, such would be the natural and inevi-
table tendency of the bill. Instead of soften
ing the rjgor of the common law, it gave new
severity, and impaired those few privileges of
women which the common law and laws of
the states had left. BY the common law.
chooses IN Gcfion, such as debts, stocks and the
like, survived to the wife in case the husband
did not reduce them to possession during his
life. But, by this bill, the assignees NAV come
IN, and sweep away from her all that the
delcacy, or honor, or sense of Justice of her
husband had spared. 1t takes for the paw
ment OF The husbands debts what does not
yet belong to the husband-what would sur
vive to the wife if she would outlive the hus
band and thus adds to the injustice of the
common law. BY the Spanish law, when the
husband was made bankrupt, the wife was
entitled to dover. (g) 1t was a provision cha
racteristic of the chivalry of a gallant nation.
and deserving of example. If the law, said
| Mr.. Smyth, is TO be made for the merchants
and for their benefit aone-then, on them
only should it operate. Bot how does il
stand represent, SAID he, large district,
winch contains 50 persons engaged in mercan-
tile pursuIts-merchants pedlars, and mer-
fchan,s clerks, and near ten thousand persons
lemployed'in agriculture. The 50 are, to those
engaged in agriculture, as 1 to $50. IT. indeed
that small proportion wished for the passage
OF the law, and they oa:y r:are 10 he affected
by IT, IT would not be so Objectionable but the
dIfhcultyis, that all the rest of the community
must severely feelits effects. A merchant be-
comes bankrupt at Richmond, and has a
debtor 400 miles in the interior, who is drag
ged that whole distance to answer to such in
Iterrogatores as the Commissioners NAV. in
their wsdom see fit to PROFOUND. Again-if
he disputes The claim made against him, he is
liable to heavy punishment by forfeiture of
double the value of the debt claimed, ON the
ground of conceament. Nor is this ALL The
doors of any man in the community NAV be
broken open on suspicion, either real or pre-
tended, that the bankrupt is within. The
sanctuary ofPrvate repOse is liable to Invasion,
and so far from his house being his castle. ac-
cordnS to the maxim of the English law, il is
subject TO be violated by every minion of au-
thority. In England no one can, at any time.
break and enter but the sheriff M lie is a
known public officer. But here the person
who is TO exercise this great power IS not even
sworn. He is the creature of the commits
sloners, and he derives from them bis authori-
to off, L.. 1.
require 1000 in the United States duly to exc
cute this system; yet TO these uns,vorn and
+ irresponsible persons is confided this tremen-
T dous power. Again-a trustee undertakes
with the most benevolent motives, to manage
an estate. Within ten days he must disclose
it, and if he fails 10 do SO, although through
ignorance, not knowing il TO be his duty
to disclose the trust yet he is liable to a
heavy forfeiture of twice the value. The
farmers, also, are subjected to another great
Inconvenience. When they contract a debt
with merchant in the same state. they are
liable to be sued only before the state courts
but, by an act ofhankruptcy ON the part of
the merchant, they will become liable to be
sued before the federal court and subjected to
all the increase Of cost, trouble, and expense,
that must necessarily attend it. This bin vio-
lates the rules Of evidence. 1t gives remedy
for simple contract debt, barred by the
statute Of limitations, on the mere affidavit of
the creditor, and on such debt, the person
against whomit is claimed may be declared
bankrupt. A certified copy Of the commits
sion and assignment is made conclusive evil
denee that the party is a bankrupt, although
declared so without hearing, and in his alb
sence.
II has been said, by the gentleman from
: Pennsylvania, Mr. Sergeant,) tbatthe passage
lgFt -. a ~