Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1882-04-25

from our city. Whilst to 20 by steam
boat from Delaware City and bacl
was the same price, 30 cents. Thi
after . long and hard 6ght he 10
through. First addressing circuls
letters to the candidates for the Lev,
Court, and getting them pledged In 1t
favor, and afterwards in 1850 address
ing 81 nilar circulars to the candidate
for the Legislature, and getting then
also pledged to the measure in simi
lar manner. As the previous Legis
lature, (the one that sat In 1Y49) bat
refused to pass an act to enable tn,
Levy Court to purchase the bridg,
and make it free, this Legislatur,
fulfilled their promise TO him. In 1851
they passed the act allowing the Levy
Court TO make this purchase. Immedi
ately after the passage of the bill the
money was borrowed by the County
the bridge purchased and people have
been passing over 1t ever since without
paying toll. Whilst it was toll
bridge 1t greatly injured the trade of
the city. The whole of the outside OK.
penses, such as printing circulars, etc
came out Of MIR. Vincent's private
pocket, no one aiding him to the OK.
tent of cent. In this ID Dsasure too, he
had no earthly private interest. Every
thing he did was simply for the pub
lic good. His next measure
THE TEN HOUR LAW.
In most parts of the State outside OF
Wilmington, the mechanics worked
until 10 O'Clock in winter, and until
sunset in summer. He proposed and
urged In the Legislature the passage of
a law making ten hours a dav's work
in mechanical and manufact uring
establishments. This passed both
houses OF the Legislature aud became q
law, and thus this terrible slavery of
hard and long hours of labor which
men aud boys endured in our work.
shops) ceased. His next measure,
which he with the assistance OF others
pushed through, was the
EXEMPTION OF A PoRTIoN OF A POOR
MANS GOODS
from forced seizure for debt. All
the neighboring States but Delaware
had an exemption law, but Delaware
had none. Everything man possessed
could be seized on and carried away.
He urged its passage IN the Legislature.
There was hardly number of his
paper that did not contain articles on
this subject until it passed in 1851.
Again he found whilst acting as alder
man thai a
CRUEL ATTACHMENT LAW
was enforced as he believed against all
law. IL was the custom of some of our
magistrates to issue writs of attach.
ment against poor men in this manner.
The plaintiff made oath that he be-
lieved the poor man was about to leave
the State with intent to defraud his
creditors. The poor man had no such
intention, but the magistrate 80 con.
strued the law that the creditor, this
oath being made, had right to enter
his home and seize upon his goods.
According y numerous poor men s
houses wero entered withouta moment y
warning whilst they were at work and
without any notice, without any trial,
every single article in their homes
was carried away, leaving him and
his family, sometimes in the midst of
winter, without single thing to cover
them. Again several deserted wives
whose husbands had run away and
left them, and who had started q little
business to keep themselves and desert
ed children, had their goods seized on
by this attachment law, AZ the property
OF their runaway husband.
the magistrate holding that the
wife could possess nothing as every.
thing by law belonged TO the husband
He arrested some OF the ConsLa bles
and would have bound them over to
answer AZ Court as his belief their ac-
tions were illegal and the parties were
to poor to certiorari or appeal, and that
this would test the matter. But ;he
constables gave up the goods in every
instance in preference to have the
matter come before the judges. He
sent rel ort of these proceedings to a
member of the legislature to introduce
bill to prevent such matter in the
future. He also published the pro-
ceedings in the Delaware REPUBLICAN,
The legislature did nothing with the
bill that SESSION (the session of 1869
but at the next session (that OF 1870
they passed an act prohibiting the
seizure and sale of deserted WIFI.
gooCs. Another hard law which afr,.
a long fight he got repealed was,
the IMPRISONMENT OF NON REsIDEhr
DEBTORS.
Two citizens living say in Philadel-
phla or New York, and one owing the
other. This debt could not be collect.
ed where they lived, and understood
the circumstances of the case. But if
one caught the other in Delaware he
could arrest him and imprison him
away from his family and friends.
Men going through Wilmington were
often dragged from the cars and car
ried to Jail. This law broke up nearly
every pleasure place in Delaware az
people would not come to our State
TO spend the summer months when
either themselves or their friends were
liable to be put in durance. After al
hard fight he got this law repealed. 1t
was deferred one session through the
influence Of one or two members of the
bar, to whom people arrested went at
Jnce for counsel and of course paid
good fees, and they were unwilling to
,ee so profitable branch of practice
destroyed. But he got it through the
1ext session.
In December 1S4s, whist visiting
f!ew Castle, he found nearly the whole |
If the
CREW OF THE SHIP KALMAzo
Imprisoned In New Castle Jail for a |
mere technicality. At their trials |
hey had no counsel to defend them.
He immediately made representation
If their case, aud stated its hardship.
)ne of them had cut his throat while
n Jail. 1t went all around the Union,
he account having been copied in nu-
nerous papers. The consequence was
hey were pardoned.
He endeavored to get lotteries abol.
shed, and was involved in libel suit.
The court fined him 5000, but the
money was after wards voted back to
lin out Of the State Treasury by the
legislature. Lotteries in this state are
hDls