Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1828-01-16
COMMUNICATIONS.
ON IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT.

IN r Orator, with certain unaenable rights; that
n,,, .he,e are life, liberty aud the pursuit OF happ-
ness" Declaration Of Independence
The Declaration of independence, as il was
tb4 f. L. so il was also ,h- most important ma
q nal act Of the States which constitute he
CO. ;f-tlrraIIon. As national bill OF rights,
d vinus in poin, Of time, 10 the Constitution
OF 1897, it mus, be considered IS the fouuda>
ton upon which that Constitu ion has been
erpc,-d. This official document, therefore, is
entitled to bp re, eised as part ofthe Consti-
,ution, and Of eql,l authority with anv other
par,. The fact thSt the FIRST paragraph OF
de. d takes pre- edence in authority of the ST,
cond, and the second Of The third, aud so on 10
the end, is familiar 10 all who are conversant
with such subjects.
II is otherwise with a will. There the Sc
sond clause NAV REPEAL the first, and the last
may repeal all hat preceded.
The Declaration Of Independence and the Sc
ven artclss Of the Constitution, with It's subse-
quept amendments, taken collectively, cons'i-
tut- The charter by which the people Of these
States. land those Of the District in particularly
hold their privileges and heir property.
II took effect Immediately, upon its rati6ca.
ton, without waiting for the decease Of the
parties who framed it, or for any other conin'
gent event. IL is therefore a contract partak-
ing Of the nature Of deed; and the "Declara-
ton OF indie pendenCe" constituting the first
pant OF the whole instrument, and, having ne
yer been altered or amended by the parties, Is
OF paramount authority TO all that follows
IT. 6rs, sentence after the preamble, declares
liaerty TO be- an unalienable right And 1t we
are all constrained to admit thai fact, how alb
surd IS il 10 MAINTAIN, that CITIZEN can sell or
pleugr his liberty for money!
Slain haSG 10 a %F SGHf5h he e3
lowing facts, and recapitulaie them now, be-
cause am unwilling that they should be at all
out Of sight in the present discussion:
lst. That the rights of personal liberty and
the pursui. of happiness are derived from ia :
lure, are irresi,'ibie aud paramount 10 every
subsequent obligation into which mankind can
enter. IDLY. That all civil contracts must
therefore be made subject to, and consistent
with these paramount obligations. 3dly. That
The individual mourning debt, having no RICH;
20 pledge bis liberty, or those future exertions,
which are The property OF his family and his
country, and unalienable by any act Of his, that
such pledge, if made, is void from tn be-
ginning; and that the laws which aim 20 enforce
such contracts are unjust s. immoral, as we'll as
unconstitutional. 4Ih. That such laws have q
direct and inevitable tendency to de noralize
the community in which they are permitted to
exist 5th. That, considered as coerci,e
measure to enforce the payment OF debts, I'm.
pri.onment and The laws " hich enforce il, are
As Inefficient as they are unrighteo Gus.
consider these primo piles established.-
They have been published with the facts and
arguments upon which they founded for
several weeks, and rs they are ntradicfed,
infer that they are undoubted. Having at
the conclusion Of my last commune alton,
stated what are improperly called "the Consti-
tutional objections to the immediate abolition
ofimprisonment for debt" in aHcases, pro pose
now to examine them in order. They profess
tobe founded upon a part of the 9Th sectlon Of
the LIST article, which is as follows
ARTICLE lst-SEoFioN TX.
II. The privilege Of Habess Corpus shall not
Be SUSPENDED, unless when In cases of rebellion
or invasion, the public safety NAV r.qure it,
III. No bill Of at!ainder, or er post facto law,
shall be passed.
w No capitalion, or other direct lax, shall
be laid, unless in proportion TO The census or
enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
Ihavs Transcribed no, only the particular.
clause Of the constitution Under consideration,
but that also which plecedes, and that which
follows il, in order that il may be taken IN con,
nection with them. The suspension Of the Ha-
bras Corpus, bills Of attsinder, copfsca,ions, &
partial and unequal distributions Of the public
burthens were grievances, examples OF which
are not unfrequent in the History Of England.
They we're the means, by which the victorious
faction. (during the civil wars, which have a,
various periods agitated that Kingdom) re-
warded their followers, al the eAPrnce Of the
yanQuished.
In the infancy Of our Nation, our fathers
could Judge ofthe future, only from the past:
Historyiraugh, them that the Religious the civ
il code, and the language which they were
bout to transmit TO their posterity; had not a.
vailed to correct he arm Of civil dissention, IN
past ages. The rebelIions, astalnders, and
considerations, Of Izls and IS were still fresh in
their memories Their eyes had seen and their
ears had heard, the executions and the groans
Of the Martyrs of those periods. The fac,ions
Of the High Church aud the Low Church were