Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1867-09-07

4 grcatcu, with!n this Military District, az
] AGAINST public policy; also to paragraph TX
Il General Orders 32, abolshing distress for rem
land substituting in lieu thereof certain liens
YsAlso to General Orders 10, staying the rene
INlias for the enforcement of certain classes o.
tfdebts. II is to be inferred FROM your state
s,s9,onts that you regard tho revocation Of hcse
I3laois as essential to the interests of those on
Legged III commerce and trade
1t is not always possible to extend to com
mcrce the facilities most desired by merchants
\ It should hc remembered that while it is the
province Of commerce to direct the material
resources and energies of the country into
channels of enterprise that nourish material
aud moral developmcnt, yet commerce itself
E.s dependent upon domestic security and con.
tdoncc, and the productivcncss Of lubour in
the departments of agriculture and manufac.
lures. 80 far from complaining of Temporal
ry lnconvenlcnces, those whose fortunate priv
'lcgc it is to control the currency and capital
OF the country, should be willing to forcgo
ether peculiar privileges for the sake of pro.
'not'ng the productions Of ubour, from which
ne profits OF commerce are mainly derived
! You object to paragraph VII of General
Orders No. 81, because certain Northern
Western and foreign disticrs had, previous
to the order, consigned liquors for sue with.
N this Military District that the customs
duties on foreign liquors, aud the excise tax
on domestic liquors, had been paid. and you
regard 1t as an act of injustice to those par
lties to suddenly withdraw all protection
ltrom said property against fire, and also to pro-
tect the owners of said property from colec
ting their Just debts at common law" You
Will find, by referring to the paragraph in
question, That 1t has not the retrospective ope-
5r,tion complained Of. 1t does not interfere
with CONTRACTS of sale, storage, or insurance
already made Whom the order went into one
ration nor does it prevent the sale of such
liquors by a properly licensed dealer, who
conforms to the prescribed reg utions 70, this
traffic.
The objection presented by you to para
graph IN, OF General Orders No. 32, abolish
ing distress for rent, has been repeatedly re-
ltcted by the courts Of the country TO mod
|. w q remedy Tor the enforcement of contracts
Shes not impair their obligation. In several
OF the States of the Union, the abolition sf
gard to existing .lcasrs, "..~ vss ,..p. 10y y.
such legisatiouhas been judicially sanctioned
While approving the measure at large, you
base your only objection to it on the errone
Gus suppostlon that parties making contracts
have right to demand that there shall be no
change in the principle or policy Of the code
OF procedure during the existence Of such
contracts. AS the duration Of contracts is or
dinnrily within the control of the contracting
parties, you will perceive that the effect Of
yo,.r proposition would be to subject the pub
lie interests, concerned in the administration
| of justice, to the interests and even caprice Of
individuals.
In proceeding to consider your objections
to General Orders No. 10, staying certain
| remedies for the collection Of debt, it will be
! proper first to notice your statement that the
Legislature Of South Carolina passed law for
same purpose. and which, ns you observe, was
declared by the Court of Appeals unconstitu-
tlonal This circumstance had great weight
| IN the promulgation of the order in question
| The action OF tho Legislature was regarded as
proof that, in the belief of the people at large
| the public safety demanded such measure
The Major General Commanding was untram
melled by provisions of the so.called State
Constitution, adopted in contemplation Of
events quite different from the actual situa
| ton; he could not fail to see that many thous
ands OF families, in deep misfortune and des
| t,tution, were mcuaced with utter ruin by the
inconsidcrate and cruel pressure Of creditors ;
nor could he, without being insensible to the
general appeal Of suffering people, refuse to
afford some measure of adequate relief
| At the time when the Orders No. 10 were
issued, the people of the Carolinas, and more
especially of South Carolina, were exposed to
overwhelming disaster from the seizure and
sale, under judicial process of all the means
they, possessed. Their scunty stores of proyis-
ions, thcir Rorn,ont household furniture, and
their fcw implements of husbandry saved from
tho wreck of tho industry of the country.
would Lnve tayailcd nothing to creditors, yet
were of, inestimable value to tho population
Time and opportunity given, industry would
recover from paralysis, despondcncy would be
overcome by fortitudc, tho creditor would be
nltimatelySpaid and the sad condition of tho
impoverished people amelioratcd 70 arouse
and stimulate the energies of the pcople---to
inspire the husbandman with confidence that
he would roap tho fruits of his labour-to as
sure him that he might rescue himself and
family from want--and to recall from ha,nts
of dissipation andidcness those who had been
,driveu' tbcrc by dcspair--would contribute
n,uohito tho public peace, security and order
the Commanding Generals expected to main
tain. In the success Of these measures no IN
torestsis more concerned than the commerce
of;tho country. b
You haveiyoursepcs de- ribed tho condi-
tion OF affairs that, existed You observe that
iat at the npening of the courts after the war