Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1831-11-03
FROM the Boston Tribune.
IMPRISONMEN FOR DEBT.

" y
A large and excellent meeting was
held at Faneuil Hall on Tuesday even
ing, 18th inst, for the purpose oftaking
into consideration the subject of Imprjs-
onment for Debt. ALEXANDER III. Ev-
EGETT took the Chair, having been ap-
pointed at n previous meeting; and John
T.. Park was Secretary.
Ckaries e. Lor;ng addressed the meet
fng with great force and good sense
lie described the evils and vices of the
present system in manner which Gale d
forth great and repeated applause. With
one happy view we were peculiarly pleas
ed. After pourtraying the cruel and de-
testable character of the laws which give
power to incarcerate over S over again,
not only without proving claim, but e.
ven without having the shadow Of one, he
added; these enormlties were not very
frequent in this humane and christian
community; good man couM not com
NIT them, cautious man wOuld not; and
from thvs fact an argument had been at
tempted in favor of the existing laws; but
the argument wes directly the other way
viii you, said he, retain in your laws
provisions which are so oppressive, bar
barous and impolilic that good men, or
prudent men will not use them, but leave
them to settle down to the dregs of socie-
ty, and become instruments Of I'M ustice
and tyranny in the hands of the worst, 6,
the lowest ofmen,
I'm. +. Ofs mnde n very ingenious
argument TO prove that Imprisonment for
debt is unconstitutional He said the
right to imprison Tor debt was considered
to be established by an expression in our
Constitution, copied from Magna Char
ia, "No one shall be imprisoned except
by the judgment OF his peers, or the law
of the land" "The law Of the land, !"
he proved satisfactorily, We thought, from
Coke and Kent, so far as their authority
can 60, means nothing more at this time,
and in this country, than indictment or
presenimeni by grand jury for crini-
nal offence. In Eng gIand the law of the
land meant also 'an orig inal writ which
was a writ inscribed on parchment, and
sealed with the Great Seal. and was a
process never issued for "A sum les than
S44,44 cts. In this country there was
no such thing as an original, in the En-
glish sense; ergo, law of the land means
indictment, and no more. Mr. Otis ac-
quilted himself very handsomely.
Benjomn Parsons made an address, in
which he expressed that, IN which all
the meeting, and all the community con-
cur, viz-thanks to the Rev. Clergy for
the important aid which they have rem
dered in bringing forward this subject
under its present happy and promising
auspices.
Ed,card ErereH said that he came un-
prepared to speak, he came, as he sup
posed most Of us did, to listen 10 the mas
ter, but if any man could not speak on
such q subject as this without being pre-
pared, he had better hold his tongue for
ever. He reminded them Of the indig-
nant appea ais which had been made in
that hall, when the matter under discus
sion related To affairs in Europe, or to
what they considered the oppression of
the General Government, and OF the ei-
feet which had been produced when all
they could do was by the expression OF
an opinion; in the present case the power
was in their own hands, and that they
could act as well as resolve. in listen
ing TO his friend who first addressed the