The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1847-05-14

] right to be somewhere a? or shall Iii,
, existence be forfeited for want of q
| right to occupy some locality on the
: earth? q homestead exemption
{ law, generally adopted throughout
: the Union, with such reasonable re-
| strictions as would prevent dishon-
est men from defrauding others, by
investing large property so as to
, put it out of the reach of honest Gre
ditors, would, we think, be a great
step towards the perfection of our
) social system. No man under our
Ipresent system, who has had the
misfortune or the imprudence to in
volve himself in debt, has a right to
be anywhere, except in the public
highway ; and even there, lie must
keep travelling under the pretence
of business, or he is liable to be ar
rested and punished for vagrancy.
If lie own a house in which he can
shelter his family, and a few acres
of ground, from which the labor of
that family can procure snstenance,
his creditor can take it away from
him, and turn his family out F.; and
the first step they take out of the
public Highway makes them tres
passprs, end they are again liable
to forcible expulsion !; and so on, I'M
til they get happily beyond the
bounds Of civilization.
Every man, in every community.
especially in trailiicking and spec.
ulating community like ours, in this
country, is liable to become involved
beyond his ability TO pay. When
this is the case, our laws tell his ere
ditors to go and turn his helpless
family out Of the house they live in,
and oi'the land which they cultivate,
and take it for themselves, although
they lave houses and lands and ev-
erything else Necessary to their COM
tort. When man and his family
are thus disposseSscd and turEed out
naked, it is impossible that they
should respect the institutions Of
their country, or that they should
feel patriotic emotion. Home is
no longer home to them &; they are
stripped and banished by their coun-
try's law, and the love of country
which once glowod in their bosoma,
IS turned into hatred. And it is per-
iectly natural that it should be so ::
Tor men are not so divine in their
nature, that they will return good
for evil, love for hatred, patriotism
Tor alienation, when they feel that
their conduct as citizens has not been
such as to deserve that evil, that ha-
tired, that virtual alienation, which
the laws of their country have in
fiicted upon them.
Ihe homestead exemption law PRO !
poses to make the house and ground
where family liuc, sacred to their
nse forever. by putting it beyond !
the creditors grasp, and the sheriG's
power. Who can calculate the a.
mount of misery which the want off
such a humane provision has inhict-
ed upon innocent people since we
became an independent nation p
Who can compute the additional |
happiness that would have been en-
joycd by the people Of this country
II such an amendment had been in
troduccd into the social system
which we borrowed and adopted at
the infancy Of our existence as a ma
ton? 1t is our honest opinion, that
the single circumstance of home
steads and necessary furniture and
implements Of husbandry, being la
bic to confscation for debt has been
more than fifty per cent. drawback
upon all the advantages Of civiliza-
ton. And it is, therefore, our hon
est opinion that the adjustment of
that abominable law, which pampers |,
The avarice of the fortunate, by al
lowing him to strip the unfortunate
1i his whole means of living, will
double the happiness of this people
rs whole.
Let the little farm, with its build
ngS and stock, together with all ne
'eSSary household furniture, be ex-
'mpt from seizure for debt, and who
would be worse for it? Those who !
ire in the business Of money gaming,
would be none the worse, nor would {
hose who sell the neccssaries of {
life, for knowing that they would
AVE no resource TO that species of ,
cgal robbery, they would not give !
'redit with that reliance in view
IND we confidently believe that such t
Xemption, by making the debtors ,
Ionor the sole security, would do i
more to establish a healthy credit
ystcm, than any other measure that /
ould be devised. liza man who has Il
NY pretension to honor, happens s.
o get involved his creditors do /
ot fall upon him and sacrifice what t
&c has, by way Of court charges, n
awyerS' and sherifi"S fees, and for. n