Year: 1868

not afford to engage in suits at law and pay
fees.


| This is subject which excites no small
interest among the people. Those espe-
cially who live by their labor will con
tinue to press the snbjec, upon the at
tention Of the General Assembly until
suitable laws for their protection are
enacted. A workingman myself, l feel
a deep interest in whatever con-
Germs the workiDgmen of the State. Our
present and future prosperity must be based
on labor. Labor should not only be hon
ored, but it should be protected and pro-
noted by every practicable means.


But while labor should be protected and
honored, idleness should receive no coun-
tenauce or favor. Every one should be
required to pursue some honest calling fer
living and the presumption should be,
as it fairly and Justly is, that an habituai
ldier with no known or visible means of
support, is III q condition to be tempted to
the con- mission of crime. It is idlers and
loungers who, for the most part, fill our
jails and warehouses;, as they will fill the
penitentiary. There is work Of some kind
for all to do, and all should be employed,


STAY LAWS.


The law of creditor and debtor is of the
y
two classes should be plainly and carefully
defined, and contracts should be promptly
enforced Our Stale government will not
be in complete operation until every in
pediment to the collection of debts is re-
moved. Stay laws which give indulgence
beyond the usual dilatory plea. or beyond
the ordinary stay of execution On suffi-
cient security, are, nnder any clrcumstan-
ces, Of doubtful utility. The evil day -
of payment, as it is termed, is postponed
in most cases to be felt with added force
by the debtor. A sound and iudicious
credit system should not be discouraged,
but should rather be fostered and main
tanned but such system is impaired, if
not destroyed, by general laws which may
be said to place the creditor for years in
the hands of the debtor, with the certainty
in many cases of the loss of the debt. The
debtor may plead for indulgence and lenity
as long as 1t is reasonable to do SO, or as
long as there is a we'll grounded assurance
that he will able to pay but complaint
may Justly proceed from the CREDITOR who
has certainly wronged no one by first ex-
tending credit for his property or goods,
and by subsequent indulgence and forbear-
ance. Stay laws of various kinds have
been in operation in this State for years.
[ say nothing as to their constitutionality !;
but even when the unfortunate condition
in which we have been placed during this
period is considered, it cannot be assumed
that the debtor will be harshly treated if
now required to meet his obligations. The
losses incurred by the rebellion are not
confined TO particular cases. They were
general, affecting the whole people of the
State in every walk of society. If debtor
cannot pay in the last resort, after reasona-
l>I id, lo1 fo
he is bankrupt What rendered him a
bankrupt-whether the rebellion, or his
own improvidence, or want of economy or
foresight--is not material to the argument.
We may lament his misfortunes and sym
pathize with him, but still the fact remains
that he is still in possession of property
which justly belongs TO his creditors, some
of wacm may have been reduced to his
condition by his failure to meet his obliga-
tions. The only refuge of such person
is to compromise with his creditors. or to
enter . court of bankruptcy, or to make
such an exhibit and disposition of his
property and effects as will satisfy his
creditors that he is fixed in an honest pur-
pose to do them Justice. l do not by any
means concur in the opinion that an hon
est bankrupt has incurred any serious loss
of character as business man, Or that he
sho1ld be distrusted or avoided. Such
man, on the contrary, has displayed hon
esty, moral courage and candor which en-
title him TO the respect and confidence of
his neighbors especially when we remem-
Der that We have just emerged from a coL
dition in which nothing was solid. and in
which nearly every one was involved in pc
cuniary disaster and distress. Failure in
business or loss OF property should but
stimulate to renewed exertlOn. Tie honest,
industrious ard upright citizen, howsoever
reduced or depressed by misfortune, will
always find friends to aid him in his efforts
to improve his condition.


I recommend that the stay laws be re-
pealed, aud that creditor and debtor be
placed on i. footing similar to that which
they occupied previously to the rebellion.


The homestead exemption provided in
the Constitution, even II not good against
former debts, will nevertheless operate
beneficia.y in the future. It will secure a
home for the family in any event !; and it
will have salutary effect to certain ex-
tent in checking extravaganza IL the credit
system.


THE MILITIA.


Attention is invited to the report of the
Adjutaut General herewith submitted.
The views and suggestions Of the AdJutant
denefal nave my tnLlfe apPio'al. 1no
opinion of Washington, uttered in 1870,
that 4" free people ought not only to be
armed, but disciplined" and that we'll
organized militia sis certainly all object
OF primary importance, whether viewed in
reference to the national security, to the
satisfaction of the community, or to the
preservation of order" is not less weighty
or important now than it was then.


The expenditure incurred thus far on
account of the militia is quite small. I did
not deem it expedient or necessary to avail
myself of the power conferred upon me to
purchase arms. A considerable quantity
of arms, with necessary equipments and
ammunition, has been procured without
cost, save for transportation. 1t is impor-
tant that the militia should be enrolled. but
it is not deemed essential that the entire
body should be disciplined or drilled. The
recommendation of the Adjutant General
on this subject seem to me to be such as
should meet, as I trust they will, the ap-
pro7al of the General Assembly.


It is estimated that the expenses OF the
Adjutant Generals Office for the ensuing
year, including his salary, will not exceed
five thousand dollars $4,000. recon-
mend an appropriation sufficient to cover