The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-10-29
For the Dispatch.
The Stay Lave

,.o.sre Editors 1T is with great reiuc-
ask the favor OF you to give this
49, ication an insertion in your paper.
nn, induced to do 80, however. from the
! s,"t that the debtor has represented the
.rod;tor "a a monster in human shape, and
bc has been held up before the public IN
| MOST of the journals throughout the state
| "a nerfectly heartless. Has he been truth
fnIlv represented or notH affirm ne mas
been uniustifably assailed and untruth-
fullv represented. This shall endeaVor 10
shog. When the late war broke out, or
very shortly thereafter, the Confederate
Congress enacted a stay law, under the pres
sure brought to bear upon it by the DEBTORS
throughout the country. This law stayed
al proceedings in our courts. during me ne
progress of the war our currency became SO
derreciated that at one time the DEBTOR
could have discharged his obligations con-
tracted for gold or it's equivalent by paying
one-siytieth part. Did he do SOY NO.
After the close Of the war real estate could
have been sold for prices far above their
value prior to the war. Did he then dis
charge his liabilities !? Far from 1T. In
stead of disposing of his property, the
debtor urges the passage Of another stay
law.
Under the pressure brought to bear upon
our legislators, they passed law requiring
the debtor to pay the interest due alter
ninety days notice; failing to do TINS the
creditor was permitted to force payment OF
both principal and interest: Few, very
few. if any, paid their debts under this
law. and before the creditor had time to
force payment the Legislature enacted
another law requiring one years interest
to be paid at the end of twelve months.
Before the expiration of the twelve months
another law was passed extending the time
of this payment (Which was only one
seventh part of the interest then due) SIX
or seven months. ........
When the Legislature again met they
passed still another law allo,oing the credl-
tor to collect annually one years interest,
and extended the stay law twelve months;
but fearing they might not be allowed to
meet the following winter, they extended
the time to 1869.
They now have had (many of them)
nearly eight years credit and this does
not satisfy them, for l see from one of our
leading journals that at meeting presided
over by one Ex-Governor that they have
appealed to General Stoneman to exercise
his authority and prevent the collection
of all debts contracted prior to and during
the late war.
All and each of these laws are clearly
unconstitutional, and Notwithstanding this
the creditor has acquiesced and RETAINED
from testing the validity of these enact
ments. | do not believe there is sane
man in the community doubts that these
same Legislatures would have passed law
repudiatipg both private and public debts
had they dared to do SO.
There is q point of endurance beyond
which it is hazardous to go. This point
has been reached, and the debtor may rest
assured if, after eight years of delay, he is
unwilling to meet any sacrifice to discharge
his liabilities, he has no right to expect any
clemency at the hands Of his creditors.
lido not believe that General Stoneman will
so far disregard the demands Of justice as
to interfere in the matter. The debtors up
to this hour have treated the creditors with
perfect Indifference, and in many cases with
contempt If the debtor is not now able to
pay he never will be, and his redress is to
60 into bankruptcy at once. l know an
Instance where debtor who has recently
purchased an estate at $50, 900 refused to
pay debt of thirty or forty dollars unless
the creditor would abate seven years inte-
rest due on it. This the creditor refused at
the time. His necessities, however, became
so pressing that he finally agreed to do so,
when the debtor refused to pay at all.
By unjust legislation the proVerb Of Solo
man, "The borrower is servant to the
lender ;, has bppn entirely reversed, and
the man who has loaned his money (if prior
to 1869 is placed at the mercy Of the Dor
rover. RICHMOND.