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as a director of the company and not as its surety, but on the ground that all his real and personal property is not worth above the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars; that he is advanced in years, and that the enforcement of the judgment would leave him and his family destitute of the means of support. A reference to the bond will also show that the petitioner did not sign as a director, but as surety for the company.

The statements made by the petitioner in relation to the value of his property, and the circumstances of the other surety, are believed to be substantially accurate. Whether either justice or sound policy requires that he should be released from the obligation of his contract, so far as he has the means of discharging it, is a question upon which the Attorney-General does not suppose his opinion was desired.

Respectfully submitted.

GREENE C. BRONSON,
Attorney-General.

February 16, 1831.

IN ASSEMBLY,

February 15, 1831.

REPORT

Of the select committee on so much of the Gover nor's message as relates to imprisonment for debt, &c.

Mr. Stilwell, from the select committee to whom was referred that part of the Governor's message which relates to imprisonment for debt and the punishment of frauds, also the several petitions presented to this House on that subject,

REPORTED:

The committee have entered upon the important duties assigned them, with an anxious desire to place before the House accurate information upon the subject to which their attention has been directed. In the examination of this question more than ordinary latitude will be taken-a range in some measure commensurate with its importance. No views or opinions will be withheld, that may tend in any degree to throw light on the subject, or be in any manner instrumental in leading the mind to a correct conclusion.

The detail of facts which have come to the knowledge of the committee, and the arguments drawn from them, will enable the House, while it passes their decision in review, to trace out such errors, as from mis-conception of facts or illogical conclusions, may have been inadvertently adopted.

According to the rule usually observed (when petitions are presented for redress of grievances,) we shall first inquire whether any evil actually exists, and if we are satisfied of its existence, we shall then propose a remedy.

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Many laws which are now found in our statute books, and which are binding on our citizens, date their origin beyond the period of our independence, and are to be found on the rolls of the British Parliament and among the archives of the colonies. Many were imported as the rules adopted by the mother country, long before her partial regeneration, and were enacted by the colonial Legislatures long before the influence of a free press had extended the knowledge of the rights of man. It is not matter of astonishment that oppressive laws should have been enacted; that a people ignorant of the principles of self-government should have consented to their existence, and that men should have been found willing to enforce laws opposed to every principle of justice and humanity; but it is always a subject of regret that men can now be found willing to continue them in force. Among the acts of Parliament and the decisions of courts which have been adopted by us as authority for our judiciary, we find principles avowed that cannot harmonize with the views now entertained by the liberal and the wise of all countries.

Although, by a declaration of independence, we have distinctly proclaimed to the world the incontrovertible principles on which are founded our natural rights-although we have framed constitutions founded on those principles, and have denounced many of the doctrines and precedents by which England is governed—yet, it cannot be denied that we are still subservient to the laws and customs which we thus condemn, and are now following them, in direct opposition to many of the axioms on which our government is founded. This disposition to act in contradiction to the principles we avow, can easily be discovered in that readiness with which the mind yields to the force of habit, without the labor and investigation required to make out and demonstrate necessary plans of reform. We are more willing to endure the wrongs and evils which are known, than venture upon untried paths, exposed to imaginary dangers and difficulties which we cannot measure. The effect of early edu cation induces us to look with indifference upon sorrow and suf fering; and therefore it is that we see in parts of this happy land wise and good men witnessing oppression and slavery without a painful emotion.

We can attribute this to nothing but a constant recurrence of the same scenes to habit, which eventually makes wrong appear right, and right wrong: or to the fact, that those in whose power a remedy is placed do not feel the evils under which others labor. When

wrongs are felt by the wealthy and the intelligent, they are soon and easily removed; but when the poor and the unfortunate are the only sufferers, a long catalogue of privations and grievances must be exhibited before redress can be obtained. The cries of the slave will long be heard before the sympathies of the master will be awakened the voice of the poor is feeble and petitioning, that of the rich, powerful and commanding.

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The laws for the imprisonment of debtors, to which the attention of the committee has been directed, give ample illustration of the tendency of wealth to the oppression of the poor, and the inclination of the powerful to distress the weak. These laws place in the hands of the creditor every right and every privilege which the free principles of our institutions declare to be sacred. To examine these laws and their effects upon society has now become our duty; and although we are not anxious to overthrow ancient customs and usages, although many of us fear to alter or repeal laws which have long existed, and apprehend that we may not be benefited by the change; yet there are others who are fully persuaded that there is a point at which our fears of alteration must cease, and where the mind, resolving the rules of conduct into their original principles, should ascertain whether those established, tend to the good government and happiness of man. All will admit that laws should not be changed without the best evidence of their inutility or improper operation; and with this view, we have sought for information concerning the nature and effect of the laws for imprisonment for debt.

In examining this subject, the facts and arguments will be more easily understood by dividing it into the three following distinct propositions.

First. Whether the failure to pay a debt is evidence of wrong done, and if so, whether the punishment is properly inflicted.

Second. Whether the creditor obtains a right over the person of the debtor, in consequence of the failure to pay.

Third. Whether imprisonment is the only means which can be effectually used for the collection of debts.

It is now a settled maxim among enlightened men, that "imprisonment is only justifiable when it is intended as punishment for an offence committed, or to prevent the committing of an offence." If this maxim be correct, it will become our duty to inquire, how far

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