New-York tribune., 1842-02-18
The bankrupt Law sustained!

oe The T.. 5. Senate on TucSdav, wherein the bill
III Nh Benton to postpone the operation Of the
General Bankrupt Law was peremptorily reiect-
I'd. bv= the decisive vote OF % to l3. The sorci-
Die remarks OF Mr.. RIvEs, backed By the vote OF
PRESTON. are cmphatically decisive Of the great
question. The BASxRrpr Law VIII soT BE
RErEALEp. nor xii il, operation De arrested
one Wing only. Mr. Graham Of y. c. voted to
postpone, while rwESrY-THREE voted in solid
phalanz against ii. and defeated the proposition
without the ala Of a single Loco-F oco. Even Nh
Walker Of ATiss.Nylo has always before been am
bilious 10 manifest extraordinary zeal for his Bank
rpt constituents, deserted them in this cxtre niv
and voted with Ecnton. Buchanan, Calhoun
WoodJprq. NrgM, Perm .Sm;A & Co. 10 faster
The iron heel Of AYarice on the bowed head Of
Misfortune for a year longer to no possible pun
pose except to prolong the icversh nuctuation.
suspens. and aching anxiety for that term and
'h'n have another struggle for liberty or eternal
,ondagc 20 the prisoners Of debt. 1t was evidently
u question whether One Hundred Thousand Amer.
lean citizens should be restrained for .ne wear
more from doing any thing for themselves or 9th
ers, while the Business of the Couutrv and the
Interests and Prosperity Of other classes should
await N rnlnonS uncertainty The coming s;rlg-
Ole. Thanks thea, ten thousand thanks 10
INC philnnhropc Craftsmanship, the indomi1lblc
energy of CLAY, TALLMADGF, BFRRlEX, of BAR
ssAgD. FILLMORE, GnAScEn. and their noble as
-ociates, who have toiled every effort oi a power
hl and desperate Zoe defeat. repeal or slave of
this benign and bcnehccn, law,
We trust The principle is now firmly cngraftcd
% onrNa,ional Juris prudence that Msfortlnci.no,
~ be pursued asCrme-lhat the fraudulent debtor
is to be pursued AID punished as a ieloa. and tic
honest debtor held rigidly and ,A,nedia,clv liable
10 the last tarihing Of his Property, and no far
rli.r. If he has involved himself through nprr,-
dcnce, extravaganza soti, the Bankrupt Inw
gves his creditors speedy and searching remedy.
which no subrlety cvndc, and which Fraud
must be very <lly to involve itself lv rcsisting.-
The beautiful system of Stav-I.awS. Property Val
uatons, &c. &c. which The deeply indebted States
have busted themselves in cnacting will meet
with ronsh handling When they come in con,ac,
with this Laws they viii a, anlo., every point.
Let this law be fairly and fully administered for
two years, and we are confident o,r high Creditor
and even the Foreign Interest which have been So
bitter in oppostion, will learn regard it moro
kindly, and 10 recognize in il protection agains'
the fraudulent Assignments Preferences, Compro-
lnises, eternal Trllsceshirs and other ininuitieS
by which Prohisacy has robbed Thrift through the
last half century. Men will no longer own coun-
ties and ride in coaches vet refuse to pay honest
debts Of a few hundred dollars, as we have seen
them do through preceding years.
The enemies of the Bankrupt Law strive 10
base an argument agan>, it the alleged pau
city Of the number applying for It's benefit. We,
they must know. what the Journal of Commerce
itself states that very many are enabled TO com.
pound with their creditors where one is forced INFO
Court. Creditors who two months ago would not
release a destitute debtor on any terms within his
power, now do il daily. We have heard of u case
whcrc#the debtor could pay. and paid barely one
cent on the dollar. IF his creditors had stood
ont, he would have been impclleel TO spend in law
much what he is now able TO pay them; now they
GET $1,000 out OF 800 600 which, is Just 81 900
Il
Bankrupt Law. In fact, only those who are as
teened dishonest, who have absolutely nothing to
divide, or who have personal euemics among their
creditors, will be driven TO gazette themselves as
Bankrupts Yet the enemies of the law will con.
time TO represent the Applicants in Bankruptcy
as comprising the whole number of insolvcn,s,
and thence argue tina; there was little or no
call for the Law,
Another point: Mr.. Bavard in the Senate ar
Sncd that because in commercial England there
had beer but one hundred thousand bankrupts in a
srea, many wears. therefore there could not be So
MANY rs is stated here. Now it seems TO us thar
the true to be made of his fact is this: il
there haze been but one hundred thousand bank
rupts made in England under a Bankrupt Law,
whiic more than n million have been made in this
country without one, then tits evident that good
Bankrupt Law tends to limit the number and ex-
tent of Bankruptcies. Sucl, undoub,cdlyt the fact.
Let Us add few facts which have come under
our notice, bearing on the general question Of the
policy and justice ot.u Bankrupt Law:
young man employed in 4 grca, importing
house IN this Citywas taken into partnership with
out capital, reward for his business capacity
and good conduct, and allowed twentieth part OF
the profits. In the course Of few months, ,roub
lous times came ON; the house failed, and our
youth found himself bankrupt, owing half q mil
hon OF dollars he had nothing 10 offer Tor
compromise. for all the assets of the house hal
heenused up in vain attempt TO sustain itself ::
the creditors. who had never relied on or though,
of has responsibility, would no, release him. as no
thing was 10 be gained by il, and. as he w;.s capa-
bic and energetic, there was hope ha, some,hin.
might be got out Of him in time and thus he would