Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1824-03-26


charge man with debt even by AN interest
"a party-you presunpe him guilty-that his
purposes are frauduler.t, and deprive him of
ms hberty, II he does ihot instantly give spon
sors fof the delivery of his body into court
Now, let ms imagine That it was proposed TO
remose the ranipayts which the wisdom of
our ancestors las erected for the security of
our Innocence, by e,nacting that mere ac-
Gus stIon oi crime, without testimony, citizen
mIsht be arrested--cOuld you listen, with pa
hence, TO the suggestion, that il ought to be
adopted, lest the guilty should escape am
persuaded you would cry out, with one voice,
Let ninety and nine guilty men escape, rather
4 than that one innocent man should thus suffer.
but wave II you please, this consider alton {:
Let us he insensible to the wanton violation of
the liberties ofihe citzen--let us shut ourselves
against the suffering of the captve-let us
harden oar hearts against the violation of de-
corun, IN consigning to the same cell men aud
women, and mixing with both the atrocious
maleiactor-iet all these things, for the mo-
ment, be forgotten, and discuss the question
as one OF dollars and cents. How will the ac
count stand Referring to the document al
ready alluded TO, it appears, in 1904 cases, the
costs oil commitment exceeded the principal :;
and these paid by the creditor. Add 10 this
the loss oil iahor 10 society, by the confinement
OF the debtors, and compare this amount 10
that which the creditor receives by this mod.
OF punishment-One case in "a thousand, men
haps, is productive of some benefit 10 the
credit"r-and that, generally, the result of the
generosity OF others And should this excep-
ION lessen our adherence for the policy p
Some swindling adventurer NAV find hrs ac
count in pamperng the prodigali,y of way
ward son, In the calculation Of reaching.
through the Imprisonment of the child, the
sensbillties of the father. Friendship NAV
sometimes be burthened, in the release Of an
unfortunate friend. But are these calculations
worthy of your protection Is it right TO arm
vlIlany with an instrument, by which io tor
tnre The best feelings of the human heart
Or, L nave no hesitation in saying that, could
balance be struck, with an exclusive ey. TO
the creditor, Of profit and loss, notwithsiand-
ing his power over the debtors body, and the
myriad of instances in which il has been ex-
ercIsed, that he himself has been greatly loser
-disregarding, entirely the suffrriogs of the
imprisoned. as we'll as the infinite injury 10
society. And here, sir, would hazard gen
eral remark. 1t may b. advanced, as an IN
questionable truth, that crimes are multiplied
IN every community, where the infamy attend
ing their preparation is lessened, by the cir
cumsfance that their punishment is common
to misfortune as well as TO guilt. For exam
pie, If it was a fundamental principle, in Your
code, that no man should be deprived of ms
liberty but for crimes, in which class fraud,
public opinion would, at once, associate guilt
with Imprisonment; and, as cOnseguence
many who now might be disposed t. defraud
their creditors, from the hope OF escaping, nm
noticed, among the honest aud unfortunate
would, thee, from The fear of being singled
out TO abide, alone, the infamy Of their condi-
tlon, lind a sufficient motive 10 abstain from
executing tkeir fraudulent designs, Ii thee.
in hos n u,
met the other ohirctonurged against The prin
c'ple. of the h-i,s tendency to diminish
credit. Sir, do not mean, because il is un-
necessary, to enter, at all, into the much con-
tested questlon-as 10 the influence of an ex-
tensive credit, on the interests of society. /
have removed all the difficulty, growing out
OF this view Of the subject, by showing thai The
creditor himself will profit by depriving him
OF a power which, in its practical effects, has
been, to him, productive of loss. One remark
however, will hazard, on the general subject :
and that is, that the legitimate objects of con-
hdence or credit, are, the integrity of the debt
or, or his competency TO pay, or both. And
that, II creditor be- not content with these,
and extends his calculation TO The budy of his
debtor, he deserves any thing but orr protec.
ton. Although there may he Cases of This
kind, and the existence of which have AREA
dy admitted, no instance is avowed in modern
times, except that 10 which my classical hear
ers will readily refer, where, in the face of the
bond, the flesh was pledged ms the guarantr,
to punctualIty. The universal Reproduction of
mankind bestowed on this case, supposed TO
exist only IN the poets aginaton, is due in
nearly the same degree TO him who, though
not avowedly, yet secretly looks 10 security
little less hOrrlbe-the captivity Of his debtor.
The mischief, of which l complain, is the
undispuied progeny of barbarous age. 1t is
antiquity only, That shelters it from reproba.
ton. And, were ii now, for the first time pro-
posed, it would be every where received with
marked disapprobation.
But, there is species of idclatry common
10 all mankind. Ii is not IN religion only
that ii is manifested it displays itself on a
variety of occasions and IN none more con
spcuously than in clinging to ancient prac-
tees. Weread now, indeed, with horror, of
the treatment ofthe debtor, in the best DAYS
Of the Roman Republic. There, the ns,.yrnl
debtors body was cut up, as you now do the
carcase OF an OK, and part was given to- the
creditor, proportional To his demand. As a
supposed mitigation 10 this barbarOus prac-
tice, the debtor, his wife, and children, were
sold into bondage, and the ayails distributed
among the creditors. We read now Ofthose
things with horror, partly because these abomS
nations have long since ceased TO exist. But.
had they still prevailed, especially in Eng
land, they would have lost, in our eyes, half
their atrocily. feel justified in so saying,
when refer TO punshments in criminal eases,
even now inflicted 10 many parts Of the Unit
! cd states, though not so enormously dspro-
| pOrionate To tue offence, yet so repugDant To
humanity, tina, they never could be retained
but Tor the example of our ancestors. Thai
to this example we are indebted for the re-
I naming fragment of fhis hatbarnus ,nI;,,.