Year: 1859

| enlightened Commonwealth but it has passed
away, and its baneful effects live only in the
recollection of our citizens, as an evidence that
the early legislation of our State was too much
governed by the principles and views that OBJ
tanned favor in English Jurisprudence, from
which we derive, in a large measure, our own
laws and it required time to break the bonds
of habit, and bring our legislation, by pro-
greSSive steps, into close conformity!;with the
genius of free Institutions. SO firmly fixed in
the minds of onr people, however, had at length
become the policy of our laws in this direction
that the Legislature, in 1916, passed still
further law upon this subject exempting q
yoke of oxen or a horse, not exceeding in
value fifty dollars, from execution in certain
cases, running the value of exempted property
up to at least three hundred and twenty-five
dollars Thus again the people spoke, through
their representatives, in confirmation of the
well-settled policy of the State, and of their
approval of the benefcent operation of the law
on the subject. In tracing the history of
| legislation upon this important question, | am
now brought down in scale Of time to the pas
sage of the law of lS49, the act to which the
bill now pending is supplement. The causes
which led to the passage of this law, known as
the three hundred dollar exemption law, it
may not be out of place to refer to,


The operation OF former laws upon this cues
ton was found to be unequal 1t will be read,
lily perceived by any one who chooses to exam
inc the act of 1928, that any person living in
a town or city was deprived of many of the
benefits of that law, from the fact that it was
impossible for him to keep many Of the articles
enumerated. For instance, he could not keep
a cow or sheep, and of course did not need the
| necessary feed to support them, while to a
man living in the country these things were of
great vOlue. Again, all mans wearing ap-
parel was exempt, and while the upstart pop
| Inlay in the city or town might have two or
three, or even five hundred dollars worth of
clothing to strut in the street with, the honest
mechanic, whose family it would have confer
red blessing upon to have been able to re-
tain an equal amount in value of the necessary
articles, was by the provisions of this law, de-
prived of them 1t therefore become the duty
of the Legislature to so alter or AIMED the law
as to make it operate as nearly equal as posi-
| ble 1t was with this view, and for the accom-
plishment of so desirable a result as this that
| the change was made, and all former acts re-
pealed, and the law of l849 enacted in their
stead. The provisions Of the bill now under
consideration, as they appear upon its face, are
designed to cure certain supposed defects in the
original law, made really SO by the decision of
our Supreme Court, of which it is said of late
| there is but one thing remarkable, and thatis,
| that, as if by chance, they sometimes decide
questions Of law twice in the same way


| However, in this case, they lost sight of the
real objects for which the law was passed
which were not only designed for the benefit
Of men, but more particularly, like all preced-
ing acts relating to the same matter, for the
| benefit of families for it would be preposter-
ous to suppose that the Legislature had no
other object in view, in the passage of the law
except to throw around that portion of our
community that are most able to take care of
| themselves, the protecting arm of the law, and
yet the decision Of the Supreme Court has, in
m easure, produced this effect and has placed
in the hands Of the eXactng creditor the power
to pauperize many a family, and cast them out
of house and home, upon the cold charities of
the world.


While Pennsylvania has been moving slow
", but surely, on this good work of reform,


many of her sister States have made far more


rapid strides in the same direction Connec-
ticut \. York and Massachusetts were among


the first States that led off in this reform -


Ohio, Indiana and Maine are also among the


numbers that have acted wisely and legislated


literally upon this question but all the States


named have been far outstrpped by some of


the more western States. Some Of these have


laws exempting property to the amount of one


thousand dollars The proprety of so large


an exemption as this, is doubtful policy, nor is


our own State ready to try it at this time ;
! huF ic no ,bv,


not make the small amount of property, resery-


ed by the law of IS49 to her citizens, secure


beyond any contingency Any other course


will continue to work hereafter as it has here
tofore, incalculabe mischief and wrong, while
its benefits would be slight and doubtful


A custom has grown up, since the passage


of the law referred to, under the decision of
the Supreme Court of eXacting from the more


unfortunate and ignorant portion of our peo-
pie, certain kind of notes, waving all exemp


tOn laws, stay of execution, right of inquis-


ton on real estate, with confession of judg-


ment, &c, thus binding a man hand and foot :;


and have sometimes thought these ShylockS"
would get them, if it were possible, by decep-


ton or otherwise, to waive their right to a
future existence for the most trifling sum, pro-
vided they could make any money out of it


Now, sir, do no pretend to say that any con-
siderable portion of our business men take these


kind of obligations, because they desire or ex-


pect to take advantage of and use the extreme
power which they are able to exercise with the


unfortunate debtor, because the nature of


the obligation they hold against him. per-


mits it yet if he has been so pressed by pre-


sent necessities as to be obliged to give this


kind of an obligation to some unpitying wretch


whose god is Mammon he may be stripped of
every article of property that he owns, and


himself and family be reduced to abject misery


and want in a single day while the honest


business man who has trusted him upon his


faith in his intenritv as mnch rs from the na=