The Portland daily press., 1871-01-27

The papers row a days are pouring cut their |
bowels of compassion over poor debtors, and |
insisting that the operation of our poor debtor |
law is cruel and hard, while at the same time
the poor creditor seems to be entirely forgotten.
There are some features of debt ana cieu''
which have now become reduced to sys'em'
A man at work on a monthly pay apples 10 q
grocer for supplies for his family during the
month. with the most solemn promises that he
vii, nav at the end of the month when he gets
h;s nav IF fhe grocer demurs at all the poor
dabtor ecomes pathetic, sheds tears, and says
then his wife and children must starve. There
upon the grocer, of course, yields and gives
the desired credit. But when the month comes
round, and this poor debtor receives his pay he
does precisely what he intended to do all the
while; he strangely forget the poor creditor
and goes across the street to the next grocer,
there to repeat the same pathos and perfdy for
the month to come.
A confding landlord let's poor debter into
his house under the strongest pledges for the
payment of rent. When the rent becomes due,
instead of paying it, he snaps his finger IN the
face of the landlord and tells him he can't get
him out under thirty seven days and tnat u VIII
cost him at least months rent to do that, al
of which proves true, and Wnen ne nnaiiy Is
put out with all this expense and trouble, ana
without the pay ment OF farthlng OF RENT, the
moor debtor goes to the next confdlng landlord
there to repeat the same thing. And 80 the
susteraatized plumber goes on, the newspapers in
the meantime shedding their tears over the
hardships of poor debtors.
The poor creditor, to be sure, is not obliged
to trust in any case. But suppose the rule
should be laid down not to trust in any case
and unfiinchiDgly adhered to, who would suf-
fer under such rule, the creditor or debtor?
Now in demands of ten dollars and upwards
the law allows an arrest, and yet the cases are
very rare wherein creditor, when convinced
of actual inability to pay, arrests his poor debt
or; and when he does the law comes in with
very great leniency and lets him out by disclos-
ing the actual state of his affairs.
Without this power to arrest the poor credi-
refuses all credit and lets the family of the
poor debtor starve before his face.
Now most solemnly affirm after many years
of experience and observation, that the poor
debtor laws OF this State as now administered
are not hardship, but on the contrary they
are precisely what they pnrport to be, "ior the
relief of poor debtors" And the cases of
fancied or supposed hardship. in ninety-nine
cases out of a hundred will upon investigation
prove to be cases wherein the poor debtor by
some species of rascality is trying to cheat and
defraud his poor creditor. LEX.
A BowDoIN DINNER.-The annual reunion
of the alumni of Bowdoin College resident in
Boston took place on Wednesday evening at
the Parker House. About forty gentlemen
gathered in one of the parlors, and after an
hour passed in pleasant intercourse and inter-
change of "reminiscences of old times and for
mer companions, the party repaired to the
dining room. The association was organized
by .he choice of Hon. John G. Dodge 1884 as
President; Charles NJ. Cumston (1s43) Vice
President; and d. Linscott, Secretary.
| At the table at the right of the President sat
the Rev. DIR. Harris, president of the college,
and at his left the Rev. DIR. Leonard Woods,
| ex-president. Among the alumni present were
Professor G. F. Bracket of Bowdoin, Charles
| g. Everett of Harvard, the Rev. DR.. E. b.
Webb, the Rev. Benjamin G. Snow, long a
missionary to the Pacific Isles, the Revs. Elijah
Kellogg, j. O. Means and Henry M. King Of
Boston, Mr.. James r. Osgood and many other
well known gentlemen OF the various profess
sions. The Divine blessing was invoked by
the Rev. DR.. Webb After the cloth was re-.
moved, the commencement hymn,
Let children hear the mighty deeds,
was sung, being deaconed off by the president
of the evening, who then with few compli.
mentary words introduced President Harris
Speeches were also made by Professor Woods,
Rev. Benz. G. Snow, Prof. Everett, Rev. DR..
Webb (1846). Rev. Elijah Kellogg (1840), Rev.
Mr.. Means (1S43), Mr.. Cyrus Woodman 1885,
DR.. James Aver 1884, J. W. Perry, Esq.,
! (1S4e), Mr.. Joseph H. Abbott 1922, B. A. G.
Fuller, Esq, (1S39), the Rev. George Gannett
| (1842) Mr.. Geo. M. Adams (1844). and Oliver
Stevens, Esq, (1S48.) The speeches were har
monized and introduced by pertinent and wit
ty speeches and stories by Mr.. Dodge, the pres
ident, who fully justified the choice made BY
the association. The meeting broke up about
eleven o'clock. The class which was most nu.
merously represented was that of 1854, by foul
members, but the classes of 1859 and 1861 had
each three.