The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1868-02-26

| Say Ills OpJccI WIS w PioIcct ti0 Ho"iS
stead against everything possible to pro
tect it against. The member from Rich.
land (Mr Robert1on) had said it wonld
protect it against mortgages and Judg-
ments. He wished the view was correct,
and hoped the Courts, if they could con-
sistcntly, would 80 hold, but he knew they
would not. 1t was his desire to protect
the homestead against any claims except
where the rights have been already vested,
such as judgments already entered up ana
judgments. The opposition claim that
This was wronging the creditor, and the
member who had just sat down, had
worked about threc-quartcrs ot an hour
to show they were working injustice to
the creditor II was not the intention OF
the advocates of the measure or it's fr'l-
mers. it was not their desire 10 interfere
at all with the collection of debts. The
section does not prohibit men from col
lectng their debts. 1t was only asked,
and intended to protect the poor unfor-
tunatc debtor. The question is not whcth-
err lie shall pay or not. 1t was desired
they should pay. They did not propose
to repudiatc debts but to place the unfor-
tunate debtor in a position that he can
pay his debts.
Take the case of man owning thou
sand or ten thousand acres of land, with
u comparatively small Indebtedness. To
force the sale of that land for indebted.
noss, may sweep from him his last foot OF
it. If lie owcsany great amount, lie may
be left still in debt. II was for these
reasons they asked this provision. that d
man may be lett the means OF subsistence,
the means to recover and TO obtain money
to pay his debt.
The member from Darlington Mr..
Whittcmorc) had spoken, of advances Of
money made within the last two or three
years He desired that every dollar of
it should be paid What were the cir
camstanccs under which the money was
advanced? Was it done with any expec-
ta.ion, any idea or any desire to sweep
away from Il man owning land every foot
he possessed? Not ut all 1t was done
with an expectation that failed, and they
are rs unfortunate as thr mar that bor-
ruwed the money. The latter has r,lid
all he can, and VIC propose to allow him
the privilege. if he possesses the land, OF
reducing it down in payment of his debts
to one hundred acres. We do not desire
the creditor shall have the privilege of
taking the last hundred acres of land and
turnin. the debtors family npoln the cold
charities of the world. II they had any
humanity in this matter they would make
the exception by protecting the last rem
nant OF land, leaving the debtor hope for
the future, hope that he may be able to
obtain provisions to feed his little ones,
and not bo cast upon the world with
nothing on earth to help him. If they
cared anything for the prosperity of the
State, they should do this. The speaker
contcnded tliat to sell the land would
only allow parties, forci Sners to the State,
to come in aud rcndcrit poorer than it is
In reference to Il man covering up ten
thousand acres of land by dividing it in
the manner alluded to by the member, in
the first place he would have to have
pretty numerous family. In the second
place and ut the same time he would say
the gentleman had mistaken his vocat ton
by wearing the clerical coat and robbed
the legal profession Of valuable assis-
tant, if he could show whereby they could
do anything Of tho kind. He appealed
to every legal gentleman on the floor,
even to the gentleman from Fairfield,
whether or not any ything OF the kind can
be done.
The gentleman said that the picture
drawn by the member from Barnwcll, of
persons distressed by shipwreck, was not
.,,, J ,.,,,,. F,>r Ln rnnson fbat tl,,. bnd no
control over the winds that brought on
the distress, and that the cause of the dis
trcss upon the people of this State is the
result of their own action.
This was very far from beirg the case.
There arc comparatively few OF the beo-
ple of this State responsible for the pre-.
sent condition of affairs. Is it states
manship, is it wise, is it just, is it mag
nanimoIs in lis here now to allow the
State to perish, to dwindle and struggle
through years for the want of confidence,
simply because the people may have erred
at some time? The facts are that the
masses are not responsible for these acts.
w. J. Mlckiniay followed, and opDo-ed
the retrospective feature Of The section.
B. F. Randolph vas the next speaker,
and supported the passing of the section,
as one OF the most efficient means OF re-
lief which tho Convention could afford for
the people of South Carolina.
Mr.. Corlcy was the next speaker, and
supported tho section, although, he said,
it would strike at his own interest.
Mr. F. J. Moses, Jr., followed in sup
port of the measure, as an act of justice
to the poor people of the State. The State
of South Carolina heretofore, he said, had
been ruled by tAe rich for the rich, while
the rights of the poor man, personally, as
we'll as his rights of estate, had been
trampled upon by the aristocratic cle
mcnt As much reverence as he had for
the Constitution of the United States, if