Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1879-02-27
Homestead.

Judge Aldrich recently made on important
decision in Nowberry touching tho excmp.
ton allowed to persons owning no real estate.
In the case Judgment had been obtained
before Trial Justice, and tho defendant
claiming tho benefit orthc exemption allowed
by the constitution, the commissioners ap-
pointed for tho purpose, sc, apart personal
property Of the description enumerated in the
constitution, to the amount of two hundred
and Glty dollars, but refused to set apart corn,
bacon, -four and fodder, these articles not
falling under any class mentioned in the
constitution. The Trial Justice sustained
the return Of tho commissioners and refused
motion for Il re assignment. On appeal to
the Circuit Court Judge Aldrich sustained tho
appeal, holding that the personal property Of
debtor to tho amount OF $500 of every de-
scription is exempt. Tho Ncwbcrry Herald
says tho judgment creditor proposes to
appeal to the Supreme Court, where several
cases of smiicr character nrc now under
consideration.
The homestead, in our judgment, has
worked and will continue to work greater
harm than good to the great mass Of our
people. 1t tends to mako men dishonest and
to refuse to pay debts they could and would
otherwise pay promptly. Before the war the
poorest citizens of our county could obtain
credit for reasonable amount; and it was then
our experience that this class was tho prompts
est paying customers merchants had. They
know they must pay and they prepared for it
as they now do for taxes, for which no pro
perty is exempt. Their credit was as good
MS that of the wcalthlest citizen to certain
amount, and they could buy at fair profits.
There vas then less suffering and less poverty
than now nearly all our cilzons annually
paying their debts and realizing good living
besides
Under tho homestead law the personal
credit Of cTcry citizen, who is worth less than
the amount exempted, is destroyed, and lie is
driven to the lien Inv with NIL its expense
and all the extortionatc prices asked Cor goods
under it.. In this way the pcople hnve n
master, stronger, harder and more cxacting
than tho old law Of collections, the licncc
contracting for wight to ontcr gather, seize
and sell the crop Of the lcnor, should he pull
q basket Of corn or sell hundred pounds Of
seed cotton for actual ncccssaries This loss
of oil right or control over His crop by the
licnor is attended with the expense or drawing
and proving tho lien, recording it, obtaining
an attachment, &c., not to speak of being
compelled to pay from ono to three huulrc,,
per cont for this slayish credit, The pcople
have tried it for len years, md how few ha 70
prospored under it, Open out full and FREQ
credit and it would bo far better than lien
credit This is moro especially true now,
that frequent decisions have virtually null :
lied all the proposed benefits of tho homc-
stead, leaving untouched all the evils flowing
from it. A man may mortgage his home
stead or sell IL. lilo may mortgage crop
before it is even planted. lle may give
lion on:nll he makes, and TINS tho products
of the homestead may be sold for debt. 10
do any of these things requires considerable
expense, which would not be incurred were
it not for the homestead AS party nav
thus defeat tho homestead and its products by
mourning expense, why would it not be bcttcr
to have no homestead and free credit to every
man in proportion to his property,
It has been decided already that cotton
grown on rented land. or on land owned by
tho party but not set of rs homestead, is not
exempt from levy and sale, because not one
of the articles is enumerated in tho constitu
ton. If it should now DO held that corn.
bacon, -four and fodder are not exempt for n
like reason, we will labor under all the bur.
dcns Of tho homestead law and have none of
its pretended bonefts. These articles aro
certainly not mentioned and do not fall under
any class Of tho articles named in tho cons
stitution. 1t is rule of construction of
statutes, Co., that an enumeration excludes
all things not mentioned, so that if corn, &C.,
arc hold exempt, tho decision must rost on a
liberal construction Of tho constitution to tho
ond in Wow, to wit, Tho enjoyment of the
homestead
Thorc is another feature Of tho oxemption
law which may cnrtail tho exemption Of per-.
sonal property still farthor. If tho words of
tho constitution be hold to restrict or limit
legislation, which VIC think is tho case, then
there cnn be no exemption Of personally to
ono not owning homestead, for tho words Of
tho constitution are as follows, after setting
apart tho real estate, it proceeds thua. "'ro