The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1851-01-23
IOWA CRY CORRESPONDENCE.

IOWA CRY CORRESPONDENCE.
Iowa. Dlry, Ian. ,ssh, 1851.
NJ sxxorss: This chppscEoi ,Aa cod {ela-
a,iae 10 tho money ofacceans md iNsslt'Sls vas
d;eposed ofiso Car ssahe senstc l. ccncsfned, W
fsine ten per cent. y sic maximum rate o. M
,e,ees which /. i lawful To receive. The old
orinciplc is thus retained and the change which
~ cod;f;ers wished 10 iutroduce has been re-
ieeted. 1 ssss .e8ss
81, rf;day last, the S nate had under consid-
Grafton in committee Of the whole, that portion
Of she code which rsl.,es 70 he right II nag1lsa
women TO retain the ownersaip Of the perso' o.
property they may BE- pcssessed Of boiore "sr-
rage or that they may acquire by gitt or Other
wise after msrrisge. Tie entire chapter had
been sricken oas BY the House and the question
before the Senate was on concufrins. Messss.,
Mason end Woodward both spoke 70 the ques.
lion, earnestly, and tho more %, perhaps, % me
fcelinR of the Senate seemed TO be decidedly OPP
poeod 10 tho provisions Of the chapter, They
sass their advocacy Of tho change Of policy
proposed in this chapter, upon principles OF right
and Justice, and adduced instances Of the gross
wrong AMI hardships which have occurred under
the operation OF the common law principle which
now prevails: and 10 show thattheir views were
no, merely ,hsoreticnl or visionary, Of which
they had been accused, they referred TO The stat
u,es Of several other S,ales, where the same
change now proposed here, had been adopted
Il was not then new thing an nnirisd theory.
The arguments on the other side amounted 20
this: TIA. it would introduce discord into the
family circle, BY creating TWO separate interests;
that it opened widc door Tor the practice 81
fraud: aud that i. was departure from old aud
long established usage. i is strange how mems
opinions n,e influenced 10 suppose those things
right which they have always been used to-
they are taken Tor gran,ed-wi,hou, any process
Of thought whatever; and when il Is attempted
to break in upon the systen, they arc shocked
their prcjudices are shocked-.heir habits Of
though, are shocked-they cannot conceive how
that can be right which is opposed TO all they
have known since their infancy. Taus u was
that every speaker upon that side dwet upon the
fact Of the prcsen, system being the old and the
established usage, As though this were strong
aud legitimate argument in favor OF continuing
il. Ole gentleman declared, that no father
would give his daughter to q man whom he could
not cntra<t with her purse also. twas answer
ed, that we do not know what year may bring
forth; that the man who TO day may gave the
highes, promise OF usefulness, who may be pros
porous and rich, ma, meet with misfortnnes and
be reduced to poverty; or temptations may come
aud he may fall. Are We not all acquainted
with many instances OF ihis naturee II was said
,ha: under laws noE existing woman could sc
cure her personal properly by placing it, before
her marriage, in the hands Of trustees for her
benefit. 1. was answered, that this would be n
direc, expression OF distrus'. and any honorable
man ~olld scorn the hand OF a woman who
would thus declare her want OF confidence inhis
honesty whereas general law, giving tho wo-
man an absolute right in her own property, can
give no such cause Of offence, because there can
DO no personal application.
The discussion was kept up until The hour Of
Quite number Of ladies were
present during the whole Of the afternoon.
At7i P. ". the Senate re-assemblsd, and the
subject was resumed in committee. A number
Of speeches were made upon both sides Mr..
Wrieh. spoke in favor Of the provisions Of the.
chapter, and made most sensible, eloquent and
effective speech, putting j, TO Senators to ssk
themselves the question, 10 i, wrong TO allow
woman to keep tina, which is her ownl They
could not answer otherwise than that il was sim
pie right and justice: The speech was through
out IN able effort, and regre, that was at The
time unpreparcd to take notes.
Mr.. Wright is certainly one Of the mos. able
members Of the Senate: man Of decided talent,
and fluent and eloquent speaker.
A vote was no. taken until mex, morning
when the chapter was amended IN severa! par
ticuiars not very materially changingits chsrac-
ter, and passed-on second reading believe, blu,
u is hard tel, for no rules OF order have been
observed in their action upon the code, and i. has
been banded back and forth between the two
houses, until no man can say wha, position i,
does occupy. Yours, &c.
DETTERLiNE.
Boxes. friend fthe Muscutinc En-.
quirer complains grievously &c people in
fringing upon his private rights, such as
ron dino his nm ne RI hefnro ha l,s t,na In 10