Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1895-10-23
TILLMAN AND SHEPPARD.
Their Debate of the Homestead
Exemption.


Senator Tillman, who. had an,
nounced his intentlon of irving to
make the homestead law bomb and
lawyer proof, took up the argu-
ment. He started out by saying
that this was matter of such
overpowering importance and deals
so directly with the thousands and
tens of thousands of the people OF
the State that he would ask the
indulgence of the Convention
while he wrnt over the matter at
some length. The theory of the
homestead is this, that it is states
manship and in the best interest
of the State to protect the people
against themselves and to.proride
the families of the State with
homes for all time, as we'll as to
give the head of the family suffi-
cient land on which to make his
living. 1t is for the protection of
Tie mothers l children of thr
State against eworth less an , H.
different and drunken husbands
that such provision ought to be
sustained. He then went on to
say, with all the vehemenco that
he has, that the report of the COM
mittee was nothing more than a
delusion and sham; that there
was nothing in it, and that it did
not give the protection that it pre-
tended to give to the wives and
children of the State, "he pre-
tence is made in tlis report that
you have the homestead preserved,
but you have not got it.
Senator Tillman then went on
to give brief review of the home
stead legislation. He read the
provision that was adopted in the
Constitution of 1868. In 1880, for
some reason that he did not un-
derstand and never did expect to
understand, the proviso, which
was made part of this report was
adopted and made a part of the
constitutional provlso as to the
homestead. He went on to say
that he was no lawyer, but that he
had some common sense, and it
looked to him that the decision of
tile Supreme Coni. by which the
creditor was allowed to come in
and clam the homestead under
mortgage was shame and a dis
grace.
The Constitution as originally
written and amended never provi-
ded for such a thing, and on the
other hand distinctly prohibited it,
i: he understood the language. He
Insisted that such a thing was
distinctly prohibited by the Con-
stjtution and he saw no warrant
for the recognition of a mortgage
against tue homestead. He went
on to say that the Supreme Court
found hole through which to
sneak, and now that the Supreme
Court has done this wrong, he saw
ting the wrong that had been done.
It was never intended that such
should be the case. 1t was never
intended that a man could throw
away all that he had made and
not first provide for the shelter of
his wife and children. He said
that if the Court was asked to
come in and say that the wife and
children demanded the protection
of the Court against'the nal and
his unftness to take care of the
family he saw 10 reason why there
should be any discrimination. He
said that he would battle to guar
antee home every head o
family, and it j de no difference
to him whether the head of the
family Lad 100000 or only $500
in the world, the families demand
ed and were entitled to the same
protection and he would battle for
it. If any distinction of this
kind was shown it would not be
by his vote, he asserted.
They say that you will destroy
the basis of credit. Granted. If
it is right 70 have a homes-ead let
US have one that amounts to some
thing. There is no use to have
homestead that is nothing more
than a sham. They say that if you
deprive the poore: asses of this
basis of credit that they will
starve. Before the war our people
were self-supporting and a great
many of them now are. The peo-
pie before the war did not have
the seductions and enticements Of
the credit system. They made
their own food stuff, they spun
their own clothes, and they made
everything at home and lived COM
fortably. The people of this State
will not starve if they are depriv-
ed of their credit. If it is best to
drive some people out of the credit
system to have good homestead
law then let us do it, The thrifty
man does not need credit. He
manages to get along without it.
1t is only the shittless and indif-
ferent. He thought that if there
was less borrowing that the rate
of interest for those who were bor-
rowers would be less.
lie went on to say thst he did
not know who were the Judges on
fho Ronoh wbar tho homestead