The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-06-27

actpersons arrested for debt. unable to
give security to appear at trial: insolyent
debtors, unable to satisfy the Judgment: con-
yicted bastardy defendants falling to COM
ply with the orders of application, and con-
demncd criminals of various lftlps-all on
their way to Jail, and the debtor at the head
OF the procession. Once within its walls thew
lose their distinctive character, mingle to-
gether In indiscriminate intercourse and are
all considered, and treated, as the act terms
| them as prisoners. And, sir, it seems they
are to leave the prison in reversed order or
rather the poor debtor is to remain behind.
such appears to be the effect of proviso at.
tached to this section. " Provided, That in
cases where the prisoner is committed for
tine and costs, or in cases of bastardy as
] aforesaid, notice shall be served ON the Clerk
of the Court, by which he was committed,
| unless the Court, in its discretion NAV allow
him to take the oath of insolvency and be
discharged without notice to the CLERK. -
In the case of the debtor, the Court has no
/ discretion as to dispensing with the required
notice, and SO he must stay in close CUSTODY
until the twenty days is expired before he is
allowed to come forward to take the oath of
insolvency. When he does present himself
at last, for that purpose, he may be then met
by the the creditor with suggestion of
fraudulent concealment, and by contintiances
and appeals, both of which are provided for
by the ct. athe case may be protracted and
the imprisonment prolonged until the de-
PENDANTS constitution gives way and he dies
OF duress. Such extreme cases are not COM
mon, but they do occur-and that they can
Il aflorf loc e
proach to our system of administration of
justice. While this clause remained in our
Constitution authorizing imprisonment for
| debt, perhaps this insolvent debtors act
was the best that an able commission to re-
wise the laws with the ablest lawyer of North
Carolina at its head could devise on the SUBJ
ject. Mere ordinary legislation cannot reach
the evil, it is too deep-rooted. The remedy
! must be applied here, not in the Legislature;
now is the time, this is the place, and there
is the amendment which will effect cure,
Doubtless creditors are often defraudcd
and certainly fraud, when it is discovered
ought to be punished-but it should be pros
ecuted just like other offenses against the
criminal code, and punished after it is
proved, and not before. And, sir, is there
| no fraud on the other side-and does NOT
this system of imprisoning debtors tend to
encourage it2 1t is common and notorious
practice, where debtor is in failing circum-
stances, to have him arrested with a bail
warrant, not for fear he will run away, but
in the hope that he will do SO, and thus SUBJ
ject his bail, or that in some other way a snap
judgment may be obtained against the
security. Whoever is familiar with legal
proceedings Knows that perjury is commit
ted as well as oppression practiced under
the Ca. Sa law Printed affidavits of fradu-
lent concealment are carried about in con-
stables hats and are sworn to as readily and
as much matter of course as statement of
the debt itself, and the defendant clapped in
Jail, as a short hand method of extracting
the money-or if he is hopelessly insolvent,
with the deliberate purpose, that the misera-
BILE condition of himself and his family may
excite the commiseration of his friends and
induce them to pay it for him.
1t may be said, if the condition of the
debtor is thus hard, let no man he debtor.
abolish the credit system. 1t is impossible
So long as human society exists, so long as
men have dealings with men, so long must
they be dependent upon each other and come
under mutual obligations As to trades,
commerce, manufactures, the most ordinary
business transactions cannot be successfully
prosecuted without trust and confidence, and
trust and confidence are credit And so long
as men are the creatures of circumstance,
liable to accident-subject to human mfr
nifty, losses will happen and human vicissi-
tudes occur. The very ownership of property
may entail responsibilities which will survive
its loss. Look at the Institution of slavery
it is gone; but how many liabilities, grow
ing out Oft, has it left behind to be settled.
Look at our Banks-they are broken; and
the stakeholder lately so envied for the pro-
ductiveness of his investment, has not only
lost his stock, but must answer for double its
value to the bank creditor Riches do in
deed take to themselves wings and fly away
There are a thousand ways in which men
may be reduced to honest poverty without
perceptible fault or agency of their own
and shall their fellow men, by cruel laws,
add still greater bitterness to its already too
bitter cup? How many of our fellow citi-
zens, who did their utmost to prevent the
late cruel war; who wrestled with God and
man to avert the impending doom, were drag
ged into the vortex, and lost their all-all
save life and honor. Shall nothing be saved
from the Destroyer Shall the character of
these men, under the sanction of our laws, be
aspersed with imputations of fraud by some
ruthless and unprincipled creditor, and their
bodies subjected to the indignity of Gu.
Sa. 2 Yet such undoubtedly will be the case,
unless this amendment is adopted.
In conclusion, Mr.. President, ask gentle
men, when voting on this measure, to renem-
Der the destitute condition of our people,
and to consider what extremites will be re-
sorted to for the purpose of enforcing the
collection of debts, when the courts are again
opened for civil business, and the machinery
of the law put in motion. Our jails will be
filled with insolvents. / also warn gentlemen
of the fact that large class of improyident
litigants will then be brought into our Courts,
who never appeared there before. refer to
the freedmen Let the Ca. Sa law be appli.
ed to these necessitous people-and allow
them to use it in turn; and our county reve-
nues will be absorbed by prison charges
Mr.. President, I have done. have en-.
deayored to show that justice, humanity
/, reason and expediency alike require that we
should abolish the barbarous law of impri
sonment for debt. ,' s7.-
& How TO MAKE Coop Bread am
e farmers wife, and have been house
keeper for more than twenty years
raised family of children, and the
greater part of that time have personally
presided over my household affairs. II
order to have good bread, an indispen
sible ingredient is good yeast. Ny
mode of making yeast is as follows: TX
three pints of water add one handful O
hops, boil well together, strain and pu
the liquor into the pot again; then tax.
three large-sized potatoes, wash ant
pair and CRATE them, and stir into. thu
liuuor while boiling then add one table