The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-05-30

loud and unanimous invocaiions 10 Congress TO pass
bankrupt law2
Sir, let me remind you, in the first place. that
mercal az the country u.s. and having experienced, as
i has done, and experiencing il now does great
ylcssitudes Of trade and business, Il v now almost
forty Years since any law has been in force by which
any honest man, failing in business could be ehectu
ally discharged from deb, by surenderng his property
The former bankrupt law was repealed December ~
is03 From that day TO this the condition of an in
solvent however homes, and worthy has been utterly
hopeless, no far he depended any mode Of legal
relief This state Of things has arisen from the pecu
liar provisions Of the Constitution of the nted States
and from the omission by Congress to exercise this
branch Of its constitutional power By the Constitu
ton the States are prohibited from passing laws impair
ing the obligation Of contracts Bankrupt laws impair
the obligation Of contracts they discharge the bank
rupt from his debts without payment. The States,
therefore, cannot pass such laws The power, then,
Is taken away from the States, and placed in our
own hands Il is true that il has been decided that,
IN regard 10 contracts entered into after the passage of
any State bankrupt law, between, ssens Of the State
having such law, and sued in the State courts,
State discharge may prevail so far, effect has been
given 70 State laws have great respect habitually,
for judicial decisions but il has, ncvcrtheless must
say aiwsys appeared 10 - thet The distinctions
thsy sucsPr without political and
commercial objects ihtendad euYed by this part
of the Constitution. But these decisions whether right
or wrong, afford no eIectual relief The qualifications
and limitations which have stated render them
less, as TO the purpose of general discharge. So
much Of the concerns of every Of business is with
citizens Of other States than his own, and with TO-
rcgners, that the partial .Atcn, to which the validity
OF State discharges reaches is OF little benefit
The States, then, cannot pass efectual bankrupt
laws that u.s. eectuAl for the discharge of the debtor
There is doubt that most il all of the States
would now pass such laws if they had the power
although their legislation would be various interfering
and full Of all the evils which the Constitution Of the
L ted inf a1 IN Rif
have not the power. Congress- which has the power,
does not exercise It. This is the popularity of
condition The States would pass bankrupt laws, but
they cannot can, but will not. And between
this want of power in the States, and want Of will in
Congress- unfortunate nsovents are left to hopeless
bondage. There probably one or two hundred
thousand debtors, honest sober and industrious, who
drag lives useless TO themselves useless to their
but that they cannot be legally discharged from
debts, in which misfortunes have involved them and
which there is possibility of their paying.
repeat again, that these have been
lating for whole generation.
II IL true they not mprsoned but there may be,
and there u.s. restraint and bondage outside the walls
Of jail as well as in Their power OF earning is in
truth taken away their faculty of useful employment
is paralyzed, and hope itself becomes extinguished
Creditors, generally not inhumane unkind but
there will be found some who hold on and the more
debtor struggles TO free himself the they feel
encouraged to hold on. Their mode of reasoning is
that the honest the debtor may be, the more in
dustrous, the disposed 70 struggle and bear W
against his msfonunes the greater the chance is thai
in the end especially if the humanity of others shal
have led them to release him, their debts may b.
finally recovered
Now in this state Of constitutional powers and
duties in this state of our laws and with this actually
existing condition Of many insolvents before us
not too serious ask every member Of the Senate
10 put il his conscience to say whether we
not bound to exercise our constitutional duty? Can
we abstain from exercising il The States give 70
their laws all the effect they This shows
that they desire the power to be exercised Several
Suites have in the most solemn manner, made known
their earnest wishes to Congress II still refuse
what is to be done Many of these insovent persons
are young men. with young families. Like Other
men, they have capacities both for action and for
joyment Are we to stife all these, forever z Are
" suffer all these persons, many Of them every
way mcritorious and respectable be pressed the
earth, forever, by load Of hopeless debt The ex-
sting dversiles and contradictions of the State laws
the subject admirably illustrate the objects Of this
part Of the Constitution, stated by Mr.. Madison
and they form that precise for which the clause
inserted. The very evil intended 10 be provided
against ~ before us, and around u.s. and pressing
all sides. How we, how dare we, make perfect
dead letter Of this part of the Constitution which we
have sworn to support The nsolvent persons have
not the power Of locomotion. They cannot travel
from State TO State They prisoners To my
certain knowledge there many who cannot even
come here to the Of the Government to present
their petitions to Congress- great is their fear that
creditor will dog their heels, and arrest them in
intervening State, in this District, in the hope
that friends will appear TO them, by payment Of
the debts, from imprisonment. These truths, not
creditable TO the country, but they truths. am
sorry for their existence Sir there crime quite
too common which the laws Of man do not punish
but which cannot escape the justice Of God and that
is the arrest and confinement Of debtor, by his
ditor with no motive earth but the hope that some
friend relative, perhaps almost as poor as him
SELF his mother il may be- his sisters his daugh-
ters will give up all their own little pttance, and make
beggars of themselves, TO him from the horrors
Of a loathsomc Jail. Human rctribution may not
reach this guilt human feeling may not penetrate the
inty heart that pcrpetrates but hour is surely
coming with than human retrbution on its
wings when that flint shall be melted either by the
power Of pcnitence and grace, in the fires of re-
morse
Sir, verify believe that the power of pcrpetuaing
debts against debtors for substantial good TO the
creditor himself and the power of imprisonment for
have debt at least il existed in this country years ago.
imposed more restraint personal liberty than the law
Of debtor and creditor imposes in any other Christian
and commercial country. If any public good were at
tanned any high political object answered by such laws
there might be reason for counselng submission
and suferancc to individuals But the result is bad
eyery way II is bad to the public and to the country
which loses the efforts and the industry Of so many
useful and capable citizens. II is bad to creditors be-
cause there security against preferences no prn-
cplc Of equality and encouragement for honest,
fair and seasonablc assignments Of effects As to the
debtor however good his intentions earnest his en-
dcavors il subducs his spirits and degrades him. in
his own esteem and if he attempts any thing for the
purpose of obtaining food and clothing for his family
he is driven to unworthy shifts and DISCUSSES, to the
use Of other persons names, to the adoption Of the
character Of agent and various other contrivances to
keep the little earnings Of the day from the reach of
his creditors Fathers act in the Of their sons
sons in the name of their fathers; all constantly ex-
H.. To
and to evade the law, IL creditors should strike All
this is evil, unmixcd evil And what is il all for y
What good TO any body Who likes it, who wishes
III What class Of creditors desires III What con-