The Kansas herald of freedom., 1859-05-07

to pass. The settler is to-day compelled |
to pay for his land even to the minutest |
fraction of an acre, and as the district
land offices require prompt payment no
course is left whereby the settler can per-
feet his title to his homestead, except to
avail himself of the offers Of Eastern cap
italists, who, attracted by the high rates
of interest here, by the ready demand of
funds for the purchase Of the lands. and
who, confding, justly as they imagine, in
the good faith of their debtors, have fur
nished the means of payment and ena-
bled thousands of needy persons to secure
a home. eF5
is ever favorite measure with dem
agogues, to inveigh in bitter terms against
capital; and the hope of securing q re-
election, may have induced some men,
bers of the Legislature to vote as they did
for the abrogation of all contracts, except
under absurd restrictions. Granted that
capital, at our rates of interest," thrives, is
not this excessive interest an incident to
all newly settled countries ? And is it not
applied directly to the purchase Of the
rich lands of Kansas, at Governments
minimum price? And when the year,
for which the land has been pledged, ex-
pires, is not the advanced price of the
land an ample remuneration for all high
rates of interest?
But our Legislature studied no alb
stract principles of finance, political econo-
my, aud the like; they grasped for the
realities of life. Called together from OBJ
scure places, where they had duly hyber-
mated and estivatcd; becoming invested
with the insignia Of Office while they were
yet in hopeless ignorance of the require
ments of craftsmanship smarting with
jealousy, in not having had finger in the
legislative and constitutional pies which
had been made, and imbued with an in
tensifed hatred of all laws which had
heretofore been made; possessing barely
rude idea of the fundamental principles
of contracts, and viewing obliquitously
the ends of justice, what wonder is it,
then, that they passed such laws as were
at variance with the spirit of the constitu-
ton, and at war with every principle oi
honorable precedent known to mankind
They worked with commendable dill.
gence, but, am forced to admit, with the
natural results to be expected from meu
studying the main chance rather than
the public veal, and only rested from
their labors Of elimination Of all thai
others except themselves had done, wher
the elimination was reached in a tragic
burning of the statutes of '55, '56 and '57
But in their undue haste to do some.
thing just as boy sports his first pair o
boots, even tramping venturously into tn,
first pool of mud, so did the Legislature
blot out the old, but gave US nothing new
in its place, or if they did, it was infinite.
ly less preferable than the former.
Yielding to pressure, money, or the sub
tile influence of the wine cup, on February
18th, an exemption Act" was GROUND
through, absolving all debtors from tn,
rigorous exactions of creditors" uulesl
the wife was party to the conveyance
Nay, more; they went farther, and de
creed that no alienation of land of any
kind should be valid without such addi
ton of the wife's signature. The onl.
plea we can urge in behalf of the person
to whom we owe this delectable piece o
judicial mockery is, that they had beef
"a prey to Chronos' iron TOOTH" and ha,
chafed under the burden of indebtedness
and devised this opportunity of throwinI
off the incubus.
The joy manifested over the late deci
sion IN the eSAhts, Ignoring the validity @
mortgages. argues strongly in favor of
growing insensibility to the prompting
of honor, which will initiate heayil
against all implicated in taking advan
tage of the infamous enactment. Blu
how much more will it recoil upon th
wretched organization who framed it
That body was strongly Republican, a
though dispossessed of the distinguishin
features of that party as We see it in old,
States. The party is now organizing
this Territory. If by their acts we sha
know them, how easy to trace, by An
nesty Acts, Minneola Acts aud tho E,
emption Act, their footprints in the path
. The Constitutionality of this Act wi
soon be tested in the superior Courts. an
when it shall be apparent that the il
competent rabble whom we have chose
to rule over us, have, in their indecel
haste, overshot the mark and ignors
constitutionality in their councils, we ma
look for reversal of the popular curel
: which gave such glorious majorities upo
those noble issues of old, and the onus
the infamy will rest upon its abettors /
surely as the boom srang of the Indies r
turns upon the person by whom the wei
pon is projected. JUSTITIA.
:. New Firm and New Goods.
Mr.. FoRD has formed a co-partne