The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-02-27
police Me.s,,Ias.

The Wing calls attentlOil4U an auiehuttie"'
10 the law in relation TO forced saleS, pro
posed by General WILLIAMS OF Fredef,es'
which that paper cordially approves. We
know that General WILLIAMS is an ~ 70
ard very earnest legislator. lie w"u'u p'V
pose nothing, we are sure, that he d'a.iie'
consider for the public good, ana 't8"e 'ahe
the so-called relief laws of The State Us wise
and judicious, then this amendment cnefe 20
by the General is equally so.
We have never favored relief-laws. Ihey
do ultimate harm to those " hom they are
intended to benefit. II stay-laWs were ever
advisable they were Immediately after the
war. and vet we are convinced that the stay
ing of executions-or, rather, the interference
between the creditor and debtor-at that time
inflicted vast amount Of injury upon the
reop!e. The debtor, who is often also q cred
itor, has had his property eaten up ny IN
terest while he has staggered along depressed
in spirit and in energy, snd at last finds Dlm-
self in hopeless bankruptcy. Far better
would it have been for him TO have sold al
what he might have thought sacr!tlce' anu
left himself free, than to continue Wclghteo
down by steadily .ccumu!ating obligations
while his real property has been diminishing
in yalue-at least, in the districts where ne
groes predomipatc.
These laws assume that the creditor IS
harpy. This is a great error. The BODY OF
creditors who are not themselves debtors Is
small. But it is not the interest OF credit
ors to sacrifice property. they know their
own interests too we'll for that. Their in
terests are the interests Of the community.
They want the creditor class to fare well !;
and when the two classes are brought front
TO front they can settle their affairs better II
left alone than if intcrfered with BY relief
laws, " hich only delude one side ana EN-
bitter the other.
Under the law that prevents forced ssles
the properly is required to bring three
fourths Of its assessed value at the first or
second offering. General iFlLLlAns's amend
meu6 provides that it shall not be sold at less
than two-thirds of its value at any Suisse
oucnt sale and that if not sold ut its third
exposure to sale it shall be rented out by the
court, and the rents applied to the extinguish-
ment of the interest upon the debt until the
Judgment Is satisfied or sale effected.
So the system goes on from the reStricslol,
to three-fourths TO that of tWo-shirds' auu
finally the renting out Of the land unaer al
order of the court. The last stage Oh th's
debtor is worse than the first. Inc owner
gives I'D his land to the rentoT, ana "ha'
griefs may eusuc for him those VINO IN
derstaud the subject can best imagine
And vet General WILLIAMS is following
ont the recognized policy of taking care OF
the debtor class. He is as Judlclous ana
Kind a Iaw.maker as those who preceded bin.
in our opinion, the State in its concern for
the debtor has generally done him harm.
In cherishing him she has Rugged him 100
hard. She too closely initiates the maternal
ape, whose partially for her petted cub only
caused his death. ...3-
There has been too much interference De-
weeu the classes of debtors and creditors.
The legislation in this way has been the very
worst and most vicious of class legislation
Dad for everybody. We would be happy to
i've to see the day when men shall be con-
,idered capable of taking care of themselves
md no longer rely upon that Incapable
Guardian the Legislature.