San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-05-17
r.,hsr of the Homestead Law.''

%. road in the Galveston Ners the
having interesting scrap Of history
,1''."ished by a Kaufman correspond
'p .rmory Rains was the father of
homestead law. He introduced
ps s iii S Of il in the Texas Congress in
@ lSsS o. | shall never forget his ac-
loot ~t Of it. The cause which led to
s0a and the story of it, as told to the
s by the old Texas pioneer, be-
VIZ, VIZ 10 the times and history of
l lSS;S.b he is a part. Two-thirds Of a
'0ntnry ago, Emory Rains had been
s g. eyewitness and q victim Of an act
y ~ oppression in his native State of
%.npessee, not uncommon at that
tme, When boy, he was one of
,La massive actors in cruel domestic
lama. His father and family were
nrned out of house and home for
Saht His mother, with an infant in
Ssr arms, was driven from her home.
Te had seen his sick mother, at the
instance of hard man, by the man
iate of the law, robbed of her only
nod and thrust out on q cold winters
Jav upon a colder world. He had
seen the family of which he was a
part stripped of all their worldly
Goods, except their wearing apparel.
The poor boy never forgot it. He
never forgot the wrong. He never
forgot the hard, cruel law. They
we're written deep in his memory and
we're seeds in his breast from which
terminated sentiments of charity and
humanity; and when, years after
ward, he became legislator in new
republic, his first public act was to
devise that benefcent law, whereby
the home of every family and every
citizen should be free and independ-
ent of the power of any writ for
debt"
We regret not having room for
more of this just tribute to an up
right man. The writer OF this COM
mentary was when boy an eye-wit-
ness to an identically the same scene
in the State of Tennessee. He saw a
constable invade poor household,
and literally take everything out Of it.
Even the bed and bedding the chill
dren slept upon, the spoons, knives,
forks, and even half bushel of meal
and ten pounds of bacon, all they
had to eat, ruthlessly and insolently
taken out, amid the jeers of the Of
fcer and q brutal crowd who had fol-
lowed him, as they said, to see the
fun" The poor man owed balance
of SIS upon horse he had bought,
with which he was making a crop.
As soon as the things were removed
to the yard they were auctioneered off
to the something less than barbarians
who had scented game in the all
and followed the constable. They
brought q mere song, as was in
tended, the whole sale footing up less
than S6. AS soon as the sale ended,
each grabbed his parcel, and carried
it home. The man who held the
note for the horse was wealthy-the
owner of fifty slaves and as many
head of horses and COWS. Unless it
has been changed in quite recent
years, the same law prevails in that
State to-day.
There is nothing on the statute
books of Texas it's people should
guard as more sacred than theil
Homestead Law. AS merchants.
money lenders, traders and all others
understand the law, know of it's ex.
lStence, know what they can and
cannot levy upon for debt, they can
extend credit accordingly. 1t forces
many to pay cash for what they buy
or do without, and that is real
blessing to more than half of man
kind, for it forces them to habits Of
economy and to live within theil
means. If a merchant sells his
goods to man not responsible ove1
and above his homestead, that is his
error and loss.
We are confident the people OF this
State will never surrender or submit
to a repeal of this law. It is toe
great a boon-too great protection
There are plenty of men among then
Who would not hesitate a moment tt
60 to the full extent related by Gen
kainS-even to the extent of the mer
CHESS Briton in Ireland, throwing
their debtors into a dungeon ant
keeping them there until the las
tafthinU yroo ,,o;d TDctaod Of this