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Show a nA.M.iturm i.m m.i.iei. The time was, In the very remote ages, when an Insolvent d blur might In put lo ittalh by his creditors; coming com-ing along down Iho shore of time, Willi tbe sun of a more rfet'l Christianity rising higher and higher and an Ira-I Ira-I roved civilization itrowlng and s read-lUjg read-lUjg among men, Ihe savanery of such laws waa finally recognize! and they gavu way to measures less rigorous. As far back as tho mudhi'Vnl period, wu liellei e, or nay about Ihe tlmo that the good Uleeu Isabella dipostil t'f her Jewelry rather than go In debt to give Mr, Columbus a world-see king outfit. Ihu more merciful treatment of only Imprisoning the man who louldn'l or wouldn't my his obllga-ilouawas obllga-ilouawas In voue, end the race liaa not entirely gotten rid of this relic of modified btrlurltm jet; tllll, it Is only In ft few placca where clvllUillon pre-valla pre-valla that this Is done, and It la not n a rulu Invoked In them excel t lu Iho more aggravated cans. l'ew things In this life are more genuinely annoying than for a coulld ItsrC creditor who may bo In need of his duos lo In ut oir and avoided and himself and bis buil-nets buil-nets made to sutler through thu default de-fault of others; but, Ilka almost overfilling cite lu this life, Iheru Is another side tu lheiuesllon. l'erhaps the debtor, through lack of n business faculty or some stroke of rals'ortune, has become unable tu mitt his obligations, obliga-tions, and as there Is nothing criminal crimi-nal In this, (hotci Is nothing lu bu galued by either the creditor or society at largo 111 punishing the debtor; In carta wLere there Is n criminal or iiaudulchtdsfalcntloii or avoidance, II Is Hltngt Ibtr different and tbo law amply am-ply irovldee for dcallui: with such transactions. The relation ol debtor mid ciedllor hss always exlslu I aud always will so long as men bur and sell. Immediate layiuouls are radically Impossible; betides, even It such things could be, Ihty wuuld create more hind-ranee, hind-ranee, damago an I lots than they would avoid. This la an age of refined civilization nud compre-litniho compre-litniho enlightenment, ouo In which transactions nru not as a ruin conducted tin Ihu bsalsofau.mmndlnto exchange, but ratlurun that ot a risk or an experiment. ex-periment. Thu man who buys n stock or goods, for Instance, nud ojonn up n stole', takes upon hlmirlf n rlk at the hands ot thoeole among whom he locatts; ho must conform to their customs aud circumstances If hu sells anything nt all. II they are a farming class who receive money as a rule only afltr the kale of crow, he must glte litem credit till nfler audi sales, and lu the ni-unllnio must keep up Ills stock without, ifthape, having tho ready casta lo do It, a hu In turn mutt have credit from n.-. concerns Willi which he deals. These Utter, nud the village dealer nluo, nre thus constantly Involved lu n risk; Iho I uople trusted may not pay a sufficient rorllon ef lliolr obllgtllous tit Iho apjoluled tlmo to aettle with thu greatt r ones, or thu farmers' crops manful! man-ful! altogether and they buthusunablo to pay anything at all, lu which cite thu small concern gotvi lo tho wall hojielessly nud Its fall may seriously Jostlo If It doca riot completely overturn over-turn toruu ouu or moru of thu places from whence came thesupplloi. Thin kind of thing ur something similar sometimes hnp ens, but not very often; but If It i ecu r rod every day, wu still could cut dlspeiisu with thu credit system and Us attendant at-tendant risks. Just fancy a ttoru In which it man has dealt for years auJ ulwajapuldup, reluslng further credit IwtuiMi II has been determined to ataudon that system of dealing! Ur a hotel pruplelor demundluir lite pay for each meal nnd lodging ujiou tbo recel t thereof from a registered iittrou who presents extern.! evlde.net! ol ability to p.tj I Or a New York mer-cluiutrtlublug mer-cluiutrtlublug tu boiiir it telegraphta order from reilablu llrmlurtalt l.n'm until tbu money arrlvis, ullitougli thu Kods ihUIii bu wanted ImuitUlately and wuuld steadily dluilulili In tie-maud tie-maud correspindlug with thudeU)! Of course no one thluks of such tlilep;; and Ihty all go to fliow In what extent ex-tent thu commercial worll places confldeucu In IU coiistltitbnt particle's. par-ticle's. Vet this confidence U sometlmts mlsplacod, ofteuer tliitit otherwlstt through unforeseen athini-IllesjnnU athini-IllesjnnU this all makes It iieenwur) fortaih nation to batnbllsh aid umln-tiln umln-tiln a comprehcuslMi rule uf bankruptcy. bank-ruptcy. A bankruptcy law waa patted In thl couutry InlSODiind n minted in live butthreu brltd years, lu is'i it u ruvhrdby t'ongreit, iwhlth has Ihu solo power under Iho Constitution ul deillng Willi the sulject), but thlt lime, through pjllllial ngllntl its It did not live so long nt before, Its repeal taking p!celu I'M After the war nf the reUlllou Iho aRltnllon was again renewed, tho tnsturo at that tlmo being well nigh Irreelstlbtn through the unsullied condition of business In thu country, ami as a mcamro of relief to those who were financially finan-cially stranded a I 111 was paw.d In ISO". It was an ti jiatle, quixotic and most unsatlslactory contrivance, showing that tho legislative rta well as thu limine department of tho laud wna In bitd repair. It wni altrrwerda amended and made somewhat worsn If postlble and altera fllful existence of eight years It went tbo way of lis rodeceortt. Thu wholu country II In neetl of a Just and Impartial a) stem governing btnkruptcy, but irhaps wo iittxl It worso In fJlih than tin the eoplo of oilier toDimonweellli', for we have not, llhti rnott of them, evon an In solvency law. When an assignment Is madolierultUtupon'theprlnclpluiolthn common law and customs pre. vailing elsewhere, by means of which the debtor arrangts things pretty much ni he pleases. Tho subject has teen brought up In several Congreetee, but nothing could bn nreel upon. I.ttiish0o Ihe next one, or tbo nt xt steslon nf this our, will take Ihu matter In hand nnd keep It theru until completed. Tho'retlcctlonaou this subject heroin contained have reference tt courto to thu greater mtrcaullle ooncrrna which nru governed by the I 'if buslueis rut well ns tho law of Congress nnd the local enactments. There Is no tltslgnor In-lenllon In-lenllon to either excuin or suggtst nn excuse for prlvatu Individuals running recklessly Into Ihe mwhea of obligations obliga-tions from which, they ('Minn! honorably tscapu, Providential oulnmltltii being excluded from tho computation of the case. Thu remarks on tbe sulject of debt at tho recent Uencral Coaf'-eiice woro full of a roprlatcness nod wisdom, wis-dom, and cannot le too emphatically urged upon tho consideration of Ihu peoplu In every tommuulty of Ihe Balnta. |
