The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1858-02-13


Homestead Exemption Law for MinneSo'"'
we notice there are two distinct oplnionS on
tertained by the public and pressed "pon 'N'
attention of the Legislature. =
One of these is, that certain amount u
property in vaiue, should be exempted 'ne
a.har +hot =. fixed landed area should be al
lowed
The latter idea seems to be the most pop
Mar and bill has already passed the Sen
ate exempting 10000 square feet OF land in
q town or civ; and l60 acres in the coun-
try.
For our own part, we decidedly favor the
area principle In this way only, can home
stead be really exempted from levy and sale
under execution. A homestead, according to
our view, is the Hiring place of the family ];
it belongs to the family; and whether man
owes nothing or a great deal, is solvent or IN
solvent, certain spot, whereupon is erecteo
his family altar, where his wife stays, where
his children are born and reared, is not SO
much his as theirs and should be set apart
bv law never to be touched by his creditors
Nor, if the head of a family should foil
through either roguery or misfortune, is any
Injustice done to his creditors by the eXemp-
ton. No matter what may be the value OF
this certain spot where the debtors family
reside. the creditor knows beforehand that SO
much property as is embraced in the home
stead must not be taken by him into the ac
count. in estimating a mans ability to pay
him: If under such circumstances, and with
this previous knowledge, the trader trusts
person. and he fails to pay up, the former
would have no more right to complain be-
cause he could not levy for his debt on the
homestead than if he had trusted poor
man because his brother was rich, and was
prevented by law from collecting his debt out
of the rich brothers property In other
words. the homestead is not taken into the
contract of debts not in the bond.
Those who propose to exempt $500, or
$4,000 in calue, contend, that under the area
system, great abuses would occur. For IN
stance, that a man might accumulate $780,
00U on single lot in city like St. Paul, and
thus get not only an undue advantage over
his creditor but be protected by the law to a
greater extent than poorer man who has
only house and lot worth not more than
81 900, or, perhaps, no house and lot at ALL
This, they argue, would be law operating
unequally. 70 this it might be replied, thai
all laws being necessarily of general char
acter, must sometimes operate unjustly in i'll
dividual instances, and are liable to be abus-
ed in a greater or less degree. Would it there
fore he contended that laws should not exist
at all But it should not be lost sight of in
giving this argument its due weight, that un-
der any exemption law, even that of a limi-
led calue, injustice of the same character
would be perpetrated. 1t, also, would work
unequally. How many thousands are there,
who have no homestead whatever How
many thousands who have homesteads, not
worth perhaps the half of the value allowed
If the argument of inequality is valid against
the exemption of area, it is equally good
against the exemption of a value. Some men
would necessarily be protected twice or three
times as much as other men and as riches is
but a relative term, the rich therefore would
have more benefit from the exemption law
than the poor. The truth is, this argument
is worth nothing as against either species of
exemption.
After all the main reason in favor of a
homestead law is the one we have already
alluded to. 1t is law to guaranty to ,conua
and children their HOME! In ancient Rome
the vesta' virgins were set apart to the duty
of keeping forever burning the sacred fire.
The sacred fire of modern times, is that
which burns upon family hearths, around
which all the domestic affections circle and
cling. 1t is holy fire which should also be
preserved, by fixed and permanent home
stead, forever burning Such an institution
tends to exalt the family relation, and to in
tensify the domestic affections. The place
where the child was born, will always be that
to which his heart will most naturally turn
with longing and emotion from whatever
place on the globe his truant footsteps may
have wandered from the parental roof Its
dear old form-its comforts-its ornaments
Its natural beauties-the embellishments
which fathers skill or mothers taste may
have gathered around it-all give it a value
and Importance in his eyes. 1t is a haveI
for the repentant prodigal to which lie know
he may always return. 1t is the vine and fl
tree under which metaphorically every maj
may sit in the noon of his days, howeve
roughly the storms of life may have tossed
him to and fro. But above all, it is the ref
uge of destitute and delicate woman-of help
less chldhood-in all the vicissitudes of ad
verse fortune, it is their castle, which the Law
protects, and no clamorous creditor for
husband or parents misfortunes or excess
es. can deprive them Of it by either the secre
mine or the open assault. 1t is heir's-it
thar home
Let us therefore have amongst US, withou
further cavil, this institution which marks 81
pre-eminently the advancing civilization G
our day, as the abolition of imprisonment f.
debt did the civilization of the generate
that preceded US.
DUBUQUE Money and Minnesota Relic
Currency.
We have seen 1t stated that the Dubuque Harbo
Company Post Notes which we're issued tins winter as
relief for Dubuque, have been very serviceab
paving off Eastern ndebtedness-the merchants col
sdering them safe investment, the interest being
hon