Boon's Lick times. [volume] (Fayette, Mo.) 1840-1848, 1841-08-14
FAYETTE, MISSOURI, SATURDAY AUGUST IA, Is4I.

to make an impossible gulph between them
and their creditors! They would prefer
that things remain as they are, rather than
relieve one portion of the community at
the expense of another. Such is the feel
ing that exists, and you can have no stron-
ger evidence of the necessity Of the meas
ure l am advocating, than the fact, that
such feeling does exist. 1t shows that
the shines are out of joint that our sys-
tenn does not equally protect the rights of
all,--and that these clashing and Earring
| feelings are the effects of an i'll balanced,
of an unjust, and unequal operation of our
laws. insist, therefore, if one measure of
relief ought to have precedence over an
other, the Bankrupt law ought first to claim
our attention.
What, then, Mr.. President, is the duty Of
Congress on this subject. IT IS TO PASS
A GENERAL BANKRUPT LAW AT THE PRE-
SENT SESSION. consider this duty i'm
posed upon Congress by the Constitution.
The power is expressly granted; and it was
never intended that this power, which is
exercised in every commercial community,
should lie dormant here. 1t has thus lain
for the last forty years, because Congress
has neglected to do its duty to the country.
1t is high time we aroused from our lethar-
gy; and rely upon it, if we do not wake up
to the consideration of this great subject,
the People will, ere long, disturb our SUM
bers. They are wide awake to it, and arc
resolved that it shall not rest till the iniunc-
! tons of the Constitution are obeyed.
have said this power was not intended
to lie dormant. 1t was power originally
possessed by the respective States. When
they declared themselves independent of
Great Britain. they became possessed Of all
the powers of free and independent sove-
reignties. The power to pass a Bankrupt
law is an attribute of sovereignty. On
their separation from the mother country,
they became vested with that power as full
ly and as amply as it was and is possessed
by Great Britain, and had they not parted
with it, it would have remained to be exer-
csed to the same extent that it is exercised
there. The States, however, granted this
power to Congress, for the mere purpose
of having, under our confederated Govern
ment, a Uniform system of Bankruptcy
1t was given for that purpose, and for that
purpose alone. And we now have this
anomaly in our system of Government,
namely: the existence of a power to pass
a Bankrupt law, which the States would
exercise if they could, and which the
United States could exercise if they would
The result thus far is, that Congress wU
not do its duty, and the States cannot do
theirs to their own citizens. | maintain
then, that Congress is bound to exercise
this power, or that it be coded back to the
States. The first is an easy proposition,
and we thereby carry out the intention of
the Constitution viz. to make the law uni
form, whereas we can all readily foresee
the difficulty in procuring an amendment
to the Constitution, for the purpose of &C.
ding the power back to the States. There
is, then, practically but one way open to us,
and that is the action of Congress without
delay.
There is no limitation on the action of
Congress, except that the law shall be uni
form. In all other respects, it possesses the
same power and to the same extent, that
the States possessed it before the adoption
of the Constitution, or that Great Britain
now possesses it. There need be no diff
Guilty, therefore, such as some have imagin-
ed, that the law should be confined to mcr-
chants and traders. That was originally
the law in England but it has been ex-
tended from time to time, till it has come
to embrace almost every class-and the
proposition now is, in England, to adopt
the broad principle, that whenever any per-
son will. in good faith, surrender all his
property for the benefit Of his creditors. he
shall be discharged from his debts. This
is the true principle, and the one which
ought to be adopted here.
A Bankrupt law should not only be APP
plicable to all classes of the community, on
the surrender Of all property for the benefit
of creditors, but it should be the permanent
iaw of the land. A temporary enactment
will not meet the case. 1t should be with
out limitation of time. A Bankrupt law.
in a commercial community, is one of the
most important features in system of po-
litical economy. Experience has shown
and every well balanced and rejecting
mind perccives, that it contributes most cs-
sentialIy to the well being and prosperity Of
every state or community where it exists.
1t keeps in constant employment the activ-
ity, energy, and enterprise of the whole
people. The productive labor of no por-
ton is lost to the country. 1t prevents the
paralysis and moral debasement which must
follow the want of employment, and the
consequent contracting of idle and disco
lutte habits. To accomplish these ends, it
must be the permanent law Of the land
One great error, heretofore committed. in
the bills which have been introduced on
this subject has been the Limitation of the
operation of the act to a few years. If