Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1852-03-10

held in the fondest recollection of the peo
pie of this State. You had seen, (as all OBJ
servant men would see,) tha. the laws which
have heretofore been enacted on the subjec
n Of Usury have had no effect TO stay the desc
0 Iation and ruin which follow in the track u
: the usurer. They are calculated indeed ,e
e have an entirely different result. Law.
. made without providing efficient means fol
their execution are worse than nulIiiies.-
Such are the usury laws which have hat
and still have place on our statute book
Let me show this briefly Before usurious
transaction can be set aside under these
. laws, the borrower Of money must suhiec
himself TO The odum of avoiding or attempt.
ing TO avoid the contract under which he
received The money, and although i, is his
legal right 10 do SO, yet there Is kind OF
immortality attached To the act which every
honorable man and indeed all who value
public opinion, will shrink from the impu-
tstIon Of The usurer, who is generally a
Ishrewd man, understands we'll the operation
Of these feelings, and while he clearly sees
that they throw around his oppressive con-
duct wall which protects him against loss,
will urge the illegally Of the transaction as
all argument to justify his exorbian, de-
mand. That this is SO none can denv-as
a proof of it may be stated, that although the
system of usurv is widespread through the
land, almost all The money loaned by indi-
vlduals is loaned upon usu'ious principles.
yet we scarcely ever hear of case in The
Courts in which The plea Of usury is eled up
on; although the note or bond on which the
defends ntis ued is in amount. more than half
the offspring Of nsury, and The payment of
of which may take his all, vet the poor Gel-
low submits 10 his fate sooner than suffer
the impulalion Of having violated his CON-
pissed as The usurer. The fact is, sir, The
laws on this subject have offered premium
to the spoiler.
The clause in the Constitution which you
introduced, and which the Convention by a
large vote, adopted, sen, thrill of joy lhro'
the hearts of all (excep. Of course the usu-
rers) who have reflected upon the subject
in It's bearings upon the prosperity Of the
people, and, sir, if the legislature shall carry
out The views Of the Convention and shall
enaCt ssrIugrns- i--s-:-----.:.>.. .>...
and shall provide for their certain execution.
they too will receive, as they will deserve,
the blessings of all good cilizens. 1t is
true the Constitution has made it their I'M
peroiiue duty to do so, yet the performance
Of duty even when thus imposed, should
no, 60 rewarded. trust. however, that
the Legislature. constituted as il is of patriot
ic refec,ing citizens, will bring TO the exc.
cu,ion of Ibis their suuorn duty, decided
minds, and willing hearts.
Tue Constitution declares. in substance.
that the legislature shall provide necessary
lpenaliies and forf rfeiiures agains, usurv.-
They must be such therefore as will do the
work. II is no. difficult to see tina, the la W
as il has been and now is, in this State, has
been totally insufficient. lis title should
have been, as have briefly shown, "an acl
for The bene6, Of The usurer.''
j To depend therefore upon the provi-
sions of these laws, or Of laws Of such a
character, would he a virtual disregard Of The
obligation imposed upon the Legislature by
The Constitution and an abandonment, oflhei'
sworn duty.
The Constitution orders that The law shal
be penal, and further orders that the penal
ties must be such as are necessary 10 PIE.
vent the crime. The disease is known anC
declared 10 be a corroding cancer-lhe
upright and skillul surgeon will unhes:-
; ,a,ingly use the knife TO save the life of The
patient
Presuming, as do, that the Legislature are
willing and anxious to perform their duty
in this respect, The questions arise, wha
l. III H., c>rC rp-
scrbed by the law to be passed, and wha
is the best mode of discovering the vioIe.
lions of its provisions These require bu
few general remarks.
; In the first place, the forfeiture or penal.
. ,y should by no means be less than The
, whole amount Of the usurious transaction
(deb. interest, usury and ally and it shoul,
be payable and recoverable by the State a:
other forfeitures are. In the next place j
should be The subject Of Grand Jury inves.
iigation, they having the power 10 SUNNI or
!. and take the testimony of any admissible
witness, and especially Of the man who has
been the victim Of the usurer-and i, shoult
be provided that the Judges should chsrg,
F, The Grand Jury on the subject at every ses
e sion Of their Courts. A law made upor
s these principles, with proper and necessary
details will, in my opinion, have the strong
est tendency to prevent the greatly CROWN!
= evil of usury.
! But, sir, this is but one view Of the sub
y jec,, although the principal one. The RENE
IS dy proposed mus, be such as is calculate,
e 10 follow The disease in all its ramificalons
- otherwise the law will no, be completed
u effec.usl. The usurer mus. be headed a
his every turn. The intention of the framer
Of the Constitution clearly was, that none
" should no. cost the borrower more than a
j. the rate Of six per cent. per annum. If b
y anu rvoress mora Than that rate ean he ev