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CATSKILL |f)ablt0l)£li CTEia ®l)ursbaa itioramg, bg 3 f®lP EXCEiLSIOte €)ffife in inain-steet, a ftuj itoors abone tl)£ |)o0i-©fnt£. JB m B D TO TIIB.IIITFOSIOS OT IISEFUI HOWMOSB, PflLjETKS; itflSBriTlfef, iS » CSSEBAi MTEMICEKOE. TIKIS— Mail and Omte SuKswltcis, Oac’ Doliar aiid Pilty Cents in advance, otlictffto Two BollaB, Faperg by the Carrier, Two Bollats in adTance,nltergi8C Two B ii II m and fifty Cents. V O L U M E X L I. NO 39 G ATSK ILL, G R E E N E CO., N . f . , T H U R S D A Y JA N U A R Y 9, 1845 ■&' - . . ________________ ' ; ____________________________ _____ ■ ' Canitlor& anh ® en an t i n ' ASSEIBLY— April 16, 1844. ilEPO llT of the C o m m ittee on the Judiciary\ .on the petition of sundry residents of the Manor of Rensselaerwyck, praying for cer- T tain modiBcations of the law respecting the fights of landlord and tenant, &c. Mr^ A llen, from the Committee on the judiciary, lo w liidi was referred sundry bCtllions o f residents of the manor of R ensselaerw y ck, asking for cerlaiit mod^ jfications of tlm laws respecting the rights o f landlord and tenant, and also the re port o f the select committee, consisting o f the delegations respectively from the counties o f Albany and Kensselaer, there o n , together with the bill reported By that com m itlee. entitled An act epn- cerning tenures by lease^* RaCoRTs; That the petitioBcrs allege that thet^n^ tire h y which the lands in the manALof Rensselaerwyck are held, is hy lease from persons claiming to be lords and proprietors of the manor ; which leases contain provisions which are opposed to .the spirit of our republican institutions, and which are unjust and oppressive in \themselves and that the claim o f those who assume to be lords of the manor is unfounded ami fictitious, and that the 'leases of the same have been palmed up on the lessees fay misrepresentation and fraud 9 and that the petitioners are ad- vised that by the roles o f our judicial tri bunals they are precluded from inquiring into the right of the lessor, though the’ lessor had no right to lease the same ; which rule they feel to be unequal and unjust, and they ask such modification of the law that the landlord claiming theAe ' exactions should be bound legally to es tablish his title to the manor \or fact to enforce the condition of the leases- The petitioners alleging that they are as ready lo respect the rights of others as they are to maintain their own. The first section of the act reported by the select committee provides thab in all eases where lands are held for a lon ger time than twe-nly years by lease, conditioned for the payment of annua! rent to persons who claim to derive their title from the British Government, such persons claiming such aunual rent shall establish the validity of such grant before any of the conditions of such lease shall be enfttreed by law. The second section of the bill provides that any person holding lands by lease in* perpetuity subject to the payment of an nual rent and other covenants and condi tions, may have the cash value o f such rents, covenants and conditions, ascer- tained by the appraisal o f three disinter ested persons to be appointed by — — , and on the payment or tender o f such’ sum so appraised shall hold such-lands allodial. with fearlessness. It is pot believed Ahat there is any well grounded rea.sqn lb fear another popular outbreak and forcible r6-> sisfarice of the laws, if the petitiohers arp treated with that justice and caridor.^ which the}\ have a right th demand.— . But i f they are gravely told hy a Iegisla> tive body that the grievances o f which they complain, are burthens hard to be borne ; that their condition is,degrading and serf-like in the extreme } that the tenures by which they hold t^ieir land, are sores upon the body politic j and that the Legislature not only can, but must, with just reference to the interests of the entire State, grant the relief asked, arid yet no relief be granted ;-'it would be un reasonable to suppose that a body of men would quietly , submit to, payments of rents performance o f conditions which had just been thns denounced by the supreme legislatiue body o f the state, exactions, and w;Uhm legishitiJsLe. .control. I f we admit there is a done not to many., but evetf id'tfhe:jfthA hornblest citizen, under colqy o f T^i^-’knd that the renifedy for that wrong is^wUhin' our coustiihtional power, we are hound to find and apply that remedy. ‘ T o say that there are great and grlev. ous wrongs resting upon .a large arid re spectable class of our citizens, and tha.t we have the power . to redress these wrongs, and yet not do' it, is to inflict an injury gceateT than th'e Injury sought tp be redressed. The jelilion e r s say that they “ are as ready to respect the righis o f others as- they are to rnaintain tfieic o w n ,” arid the cofrirnittee, from the intercourse which they have had with so/Ue portion' of the petitioners and the committee on the part o f the teriaritry, arid frrim the reputation of' the inhabitants o f the' manor, have become .strongly impressed with the. be lief^ nay, are confident, t h a t if crinvinced that their grievances are in a great de-- gree imaginary, or that by the Constitu tion and laws o f the State, the grievan ces o f w'hich they complaip cannot be remeefied by legislaiive action, .and tliat the tenures by which they hold can only be modified by treaty with the iaridjord, they would quietl}’ and cheerfully bpw to the decision and yield that obedience to •the laws which is due from every good citizen A n y other but a frank and Open course on the part of the legislature only tends to add . fuel to the flame; already kindled, and may lead to results and con sequences pernicious and dangerpus in the extreme; It may w ell be doubted vvhether t ' e course adopted heretofore by legislative, bodies, and the recommendations of the Executive, have not,in a great measure tended to keep ' alive a feeling which might, by a different course,' have, been erftirely allayed, without injusitice fo any one. It is to - h e rematlced that the seiecCyariti^of the Votprse e# feg^sfe^;rt,:cafmolt •committee, aiithough they report a bill for the action of the tfouse, nowhere re commend its passage or approve o f its prnvistons. The most o f the select corn- m ittee say upon the subject is, that they believe that the. power to, remedy tlie grievances complained of by the petitioh ers must reside som ewhere, and if s o ,’.’ Inquire where else can it reside but in the representatives of tlie people of the State ?” T h e committee further state that “ not being any of them members of the legal profession, (the only lawyer in the delegation having been excused by the Bouse in consequence of his having been counsel for the Patroon) do not deem them selves qualified to suggest any specific plan of relieving the tenants of the manor of Rensselaerwyck from the oppressions of which they com p lain.— T h e y wonUl respectfully submit to the House that som e plan for effecting this object is imperatively necessar>. The nature o f this plan they leave to. the wis dom of the House. In respect to the particular bill introduced, the select com mittee s a y , “ in conclusion the commit tee ask leave, in compliance with the wish o / the petitioners, to submit Jhe annexed b ill H a v ing bestowed much time and labor in the investigation of this importaot sub ject, your committee trust that the H ouse will adopt such measures as will have a tendency to quiet Ihe present excitement among the tenants o f the manor of Rens- selaerwyck with all convenient d espatch.’ It would have been well if the select committee could have come to a more definite conclusion in relation to the grave matters committed to their charge, and recommended to the.H o u se upon their responsibility, som e distinct and proper action in the premises. One object of the reference, as it is in deed the main object o f all references to com m ittees o f legislative bodies, was, •that the subject of matter to- .which the memorials referred, might be investigated in a manner in which it could not be done by the House ; and that if the grievances complained of were relie.va- blc by legislative action, a proper bill for that purpose might be matured, reported and recommended to the House, but with the respectable aqd responsible endorse m ent o f the committee bringing'it in. It is a matter of history, that for seve- fs|l years past, the excitement among the tenants o f the manor, embracing almost the entire population of a large, territory ,QH each side of the Hudson river, upon the subject of the tenures by which- they hold their lands, has been most intense ; and so great at one time was this excite m ent, and so great the opposition to the claim s o f the landlord, that the laws were set at defiance, and the Executive of this State was called upon, and felt himself bound to furnish military aid to a civil officer in the execution o f the ordinary civil process of a court of justice ; and ^he effect committee in their report say, Jh a l “ ^hey have abundant evidence that .a deep arid eifflffring feeling o f d iscontent pervades the whojp agricultural popiila- ^foh of the manor of Rensselaerwyck.—- |Lf the pray.pr of the petitioners be not g;rA9tei^^ i t may reasppably be presumed that tbij! feeling will increase, at|d that jthe public peace will again be disturbed, ^ad the welfare of society be endangered (thereby. T h e good of the community veem s, therefore, to require immediate fegislative qclion i f any if practicable.^^ In view o f the pa^t and the fears for future, exprefsdd by the select com- mitfepj jt ffehoove? thjs Legisla ture to meet the question? presented by the memorialists fully, and to e:|:p;re$s an be improper, and will show , that while vague promises and assurarices of relief Kave been held' opt to the {enantry, no. definite action has been proposed .or had; and the tenantry told frpni y ear to year that relief could be granted, have been made to expect and petition foV <t, vvhile no committee ap'd no legislatupri has fouwl the time 'to devise the partiedlar mode in which relief could be granted. Hopes have .been excited and kppt a live, o n ly to be blasted and disappointed. T h e attention of .the legislature was called to the subject o f the tenures in question, by His E x cellency Gov Sew-- ard, in his annual message in 1840- Af ter alluding to the tenures b y which the tenants of the manor occupy the land, and the extent of the territory covered by the leases, he says,- while full force is allowed to the.circumstance that the tenants enter voluntarily into such stipu lations, the State has always recognized its obligation to promote the general wel fare and guard iodividrials - against «p- pression. T h e legislature has the same power over xhe remedie.s upon contracts between landlord and tenant as over all' othet form of legal redress. N o r is the subject altogether new in the legislation of the Stale. It.was brought under con sideration in 1812, by a bill reported by three jurists of distiriguished eroinenee and ability. I trust therefore, that som e the violation of contracts or injustice to either party, will assimilate the tenures in question to those which experience has proved to be more accordant with the* principles o f republican government, and’ more conducive to the general prosperity and the peace and harmony o f society.” Although his E x cellency, in the pas sage quoted, evidently designs that those: interested should understand him as r e commending legislative aclioi'i to modify the tenures in questiofi, y e t , npon a care- lul perusal, it will be sCeri’that he-iri no way commits him self to the principle that legislative relief can be granted. ---- He points out no remedy, and does not even recommend the passage o f the bill introduced in 1812. He m erely says that “ the State has always recogftised” certain obligations, and that the Legisla ture has power “ over the remedies upon contracts.” These remarks were true- isms to which no objection could be taken, but unfortunately for the tenants, if the Governor really believed that relief could be granted them, he. did not apply his re marks to the matters under consideration.,■ He^ did not tell the legislature how, by acting upon the remedies only, and without impairing the obligation of contracts, the legislature could eviscuate the covenants in the leases complained of, and assimilate them to the more modern leases. ‘ He did not giv e the legislature the benefit of his understanding of the distinction between acts affecting the remedy and those af fecting the contract, or where in respect to the leases in question the line should be drawn between the right and the reme dy, and the applicants for relief haVe been ed, and that legislative ioterpositiori in theif hebaif is required, riot only upon considera tions of justice arid equality, but by sound and eriligbteqfd policy. Their petitions for re-; lief Atom, inures oppressive, anti-repiiblican andMegra^irig, are already before the Legis- latttle.” ' Y et the same'ivaut of any definite and etty certain fecottinfiendafioris o f any particular ac tion is wanting here.' It would have hedu peculiarly proper for^ the Executive at this time '^and under <the circumstances yoder which this communication\ wax liiade lo the Seriate, to have cotamunicated the genera) outlihe or given some intimations of the par ticular relief which <jou1d be granfed. It is. fair to presume that his Exceljericy bad not a very well Refined view of any remedy which could be afforded, but the recommendations had the effect and still have the effect to keep alive in the rriinds o f tb<C ienantg that hope of relief has thus far proved; and must, iri A k ophilotrof She:^*1m:Mfiee;^*pntiritie tp; proyk illusory arid‘deceptive. ' ' 7 At Ibe lessioo of the Legislature, and on thy iShh of Jariuarj^, IS40, a' select commit-- fee on so much of the Governor’s message as related tofhe difijcUjties hetween the land lords and tenants oFthe manor of Rensselapr- wyck was appointed by the Assembly,' con sisting pf Messrs. Duer, St- John, R r c e ,^ Hoag, and Lawrence, who, through, their chairman, on the 23d of March submitted a report, concluding with the fondWing resolu tions; ' ' jtesolved. That in the opinion of this House, the.tenures existing in the Manor o f Rensselaerwyck are liable to' great objec tions,! particularly as tending practically to a species of perpetuity, arid as imposibg griev ous and oppressive restraints upon alienation. ReSohed, That in the opinron of, this House, the Legislature of this State has: the poWeif'so, to^^modifjr arid alter tile said tenures upon just coropensatiori to the landlord, -as to remote or remedy the aforesaid eVils/ i f is Worthy of remark that these resolu tions were never acted upon by the House, hut were^uffefedfo sleep upon the tables, and the tenantry Were left with the full Belief that the Legislature the power to do justice to the landlord and y it right; their wrongs;, hut woultl not do so— a belief well calculated to create excitement and induce opposition' to the execution of the laws. Indeed the com-. mittee did not fe^l justified to recommend any legislative action upon the subject' of relief and say that under the circumstances of the Case and the great delicacy of the power which the.T4egislatUre was called upon to ex ercise, they had *'‘determ,ned not to recom mend at this time any measure of legislation in execution of the viewsr which tliey have expressed.” It would seem that a committee who, after a thorough investigation of, and an elaborate, ingenious and able a'rgument upon the sub jects referred, had come to the deljbefate con clusion, that a great evil existed., arid thaf leg islative relief c(^ld be granted, should ip jus- p6titi0n0jr9^b3vc advised the what that relief shoriid be. That coirimittee merely recommended the ap pointment o f a commission tp negociate be-^ twpen the landlord and the tenants, and the commission was appointed and of course efftfc- ted nothing. I f negociation could effect a comprotnise, commissioners appointed aqd paid by the Stale Wuld' possess no peculiar virtue by reason of the mode of their appoint ment; over any other disinterested iriari who should assume the duties of peace maher.-^— But the matter was thus qff for that Session of the' Legislature, and the petitioners left firm in the belief that the then Executive and the Legislature, or at least the House of As , kembly were anxious and believed themselves able tn grant tberri all the relief they asked, and that if negociatiou should fail to effect the object, the power of the legislature would be brought to bear effectually upon the sub-, ject. '. How well the implied promise has been he can enforce the conditi even put the tenant upon The tenant's concede ^ lief'to' them to he permitted to disprove the ti tie of their landlord and to hh® the State, in themselves, or iri softie third person; but insist that they shouldhe perrnitted to re- inain in possession, rent |reev sor shall prove by legctlftiidenee hiS title, leaving therri to take adv^ritage of any defect in the title, whether grbwing out of the loss of documentary evidence hr any other acci dental cause. It seems to the committee that a bare staiement. .df the moposition w®uld be sufficient to show'such arifentire want of ’jus tice as would render it thd imperative duty of ihe Legislature tb reject jt, if thete no other reasons. f ' .WHOLE N U M B E R 2121 ons of the lease; or lis defence, at it will be no re-^ But would not the law if it was enacted and could have its full “ ioipair the ob ligation of the .contraCtg,7witbin the meaning e f the Constilotiph t lease U. a contract by which the iessbr^srife Wjth TQSsessipu oHits land, and thk lest^Scquires the right to occupy it either for a lintqed time or forever, upon ceTfairi teriris’ and conditions. . i f the conditions on the fiartof| the tenant shall not be performed, then by tfie very terms o f the contract,^the rights o f -tly lessee cease, and those of the lessor'are r^fored. The eondi- tions upon which the rig% of the one party- are to. cease and those pL other to tecom- mence, are provided f o r |y the contract, and any variation,of thesecoyfitionsis a variation mditioris are impos- df the contract-; if new kept, the history of subsequent legislation; can tell,*and what political effect the Execu tive recommendations and the fecommenda- doris of the committee had among the nume rous tenantry, is not known to the cornmittee. ■ The committee will in another place al-. lude briefly to, some of the reasons assigned in the report for the conclusions to which the select committee of 1840 arrived. The next; report upon the subject of the difficulties between the landlords and tenants of the manor, to which ifeis deemed necessary to allude, is the report of the select commit- mea.'ore mny be adopted which, without, tee of this House, referred to fhe judiciary committee*, and to which your committee will refer more particularly hereafter. The first section of the'bill referred to,your committee, provides for all the relief whidh is claimed or pretended by or in behalf of the tenants, can be granted by the Legislature; and it iff conceded by them, that if they can- riot be pertriitted to resist and investigate the lille of their land!or(L.i^j^ovided for by that section, they cannot have relief at the hands of the Legisiatore, but must seek a release lord. The grave queslion to be ariswerea, and upon. which the select commjttee o f Jthjs House' have not committed themselves, is whether the Legislature has power to enact if, of In other words, would the law, if finally passed, (be constitutional. The first subdivisibn of the iOth section of the first article of the Constitution of the United States, provides that no State shall pass “ a law trapairing the obligation of contraeis.^^ It is claimed that the proposed lawSnly affects the remedy which is within the con-; trol o f the Legislature, leaving contracts un-,).. touched. If this Is so, then the law-would be Constitutional; but it is important that J,he distinction between acts which affects merely the remedy, and Jhose which affect the con tract through, the remedy, which is not al ways clearly defined, should be well under stood. The constitutional provision is to have a construction which shall give it full effect, and at any attempt to impair the obli gation of contracts indirectly, by acting upon the remedy, is equally within tbespirit of the Constitution, as an act directly effecting the same object, by legislating immediately upon led on rather by vague idea thafthe Ex- contract itself. ecntive'had recommended relief, than by the expression of opinion in the message that relief could constitutionally be gran ted. In a special message to the Senate, du ring the same session of the Legislature, the Governor, speaking of the complaints of the tenants o f the manor, takes occasion to say “ although the citi;;ens of this county who were engaged in these disturbanpes, mistook ihe remedy for the evils they endured, anff adopted measures inconsistent with the peace anfl good order of sopiety; yet it cannot bp .opiniem with candor and with justjee^ hut* deniefj tfigt tfieir complaints gr® well grouti4- The section of the law now under consider ation, provides in substance, that the. landlord# of the manor shall establish the validity of the grant under which they claim, before any of the conditions of the leases shall be enforced by law. As the law now is and has been_ from time immemorial, the tenant is not per mitted even to question the title of his land lord. It is held that having accepted a lease and occupied under his title, he shall be pre cluded from denying i t ; but the; proposed law not only provides that the tenant ipay dispufe the tftle of bis landlord, but goes farther, and puts the landlord upon proof of his title before ed upon either party , the |onriraci ts impdired. The first section of t|Aproposed lawproV vides a limitation and vesttiction upon the rights of the landlord, riot! :ontemp|ated by th parties. The parties tf |h;e contract have’ said, that the lessee’s iniftest shall continue only until default is made in the payment of the rents, or, in the perfortnarice of some other condition of the lease; the proposed law says that they shall cohli me rintH such default sh^ll happen, arid also utfil the landlord shall have legally established his title to the prern- ises, not only against the tenant but hgainst the world. It appears.tp the committee that this not only ‘‘impairs,” but must absolute ly destroy many contra«|ts of lease, not from any^actual want of title, jiut from the want of the necessary evidences .of that title, which are so frequently Wanting, and froiri iriiposing conditions-upon the. laiil^ord to which ' he never Would have assedte’d in makiog the coritract. > ’ Again, it is expressly provided by th® leas es complained of, and. mxkes a part of each contract, that if the rent I'eServed shall be be hind and unpaid, by and for the space of a certain number of days ffext after the days of payrnent specified, jt shall be lawful for the lessor, his heirs arid-assigns, at any time thereafter, either to pro|,ecUte for the recov ery of all the rents thei|due, in some court of record, or in person,i(or by his baliff into the whole or any part o f .the premises to en ter, and there to distrain, dad the djsiress- so taken, to expose to sale at public veridue, and out of the moneys jherefrom arising, to deffuet the feriCthen -dS atrnaw, The distress for veiff -is one wpy of en- forcing the conditions o f the lease by lavb, and, therefore prohihit^by the first, seefion of the bill under consid^atjon If is a con dition attaching to' every lease, reserving a sum certain,, and forms a pwt of the contract, whether expressed or noi; still, in the leases in queslion, it is a part qf the express con tract of the parties. . T r U e ,itis a part of the contract* providing for a rrifnedy for a breach of the contract, but it ia pot the less^ a part of the contract, and not to he impaired by legis lative action. ' * ' i The select, coriitnitteepf 1840 hqld that a law providing to abolish jhe remydy hy dis tress, in all cases where 4tiC rgnt reseirved is not payable in money, waUld be unconstitu tional ; and if that comm|t|ee were right in that opinion, as they undotibtedly were, then every law which should iri pair or injuriously affect that righf to distrain; would be uncon stitutional. Again, by tb ; express terms pf the contract, the landlordinay sue for rent in arrear, and upon proof of tlie execution of the lease and of non-paymentfof the rent, he is by the contract entitled to yecover, but by the proposed law, that right recovery is tak away, unless he proves hy title, a condit riot contemplated by the parlies, and var very materially their rights under, the cont , By another clause in me lease, it is p; ded that if, rent should b | in arrear, -rit sufficient distress shou^ he found ^ premises to satisfy suchlrent, or if dB the covenant? and condHfehs. in tkcleasf tained on the part of the lessee to be perl ed, should notbe kept, tshould |ie lawful for the lessor, his heifrorirngns, lo re-enter up on, thedemised premised, andtbesame tohave again, repossess and ei||pyr^nd to expel the lessee therefrom, . Itis true the contracting parties have not provided the particularjmanner in which the rights of the landlord sl^ll ,be enforced upon the accruing of hif right o f re-entry,. I ’hat remedy is to be .suppfi®4 by the laws of the land, and tbe landlord Veitfif/cd of tight to the sanffffTemedy^hi^t^rafforded to every other person froiri whp*ri |mperty is wrong- ful’y withheld. The parties have said upon what conditions the landlord may have the benefit of the laws provided to recover the possession « f real estate j and every new con dition imposed upon th# lindlord, and every restriction upon his right under the contract, impair the obRgdiioit o f Xhe contract. By the lease, the lessee baS contracted with the lessor that be shall h^ve. possession of the p'remises if the rent is not paid ; but the proposed law says he ejannot have it unless, in addition to the non-p|yme.ht of the rent, be e.Ktablishes his title, an' entire new condition, making no p.art of the contract net contempla ted by the parlies. • It would be no act 'lof charity to the peti tioners to enact a law |or thejr benefit, which would be declared unfconsUtutipnal by that high tribanal to which! it Would necessarily be submitted. It would but subject them to an expensive ditigatioft, without being of the least service. And it seems to the commit tee that it is too obvious iP require argument to-substantiate it, that- tbp proposed law does not affect the remedy tfie. landlord, but acts directly upon the contract,' The-validity of a-#|a(e' law, as impairing the obligation' of contca^fis, does not depend upon the extent o f the change which the law effects in the contract.. .’'Any deviation from its terms, hy postponing or accelerating th# period of its performancjfe, imposing conditions Can it be said that the proposed law does not “ ifnpose conditions upon the landlord not expressed in the contract?” It is clear beyond a question that any law which should deny the landlord a remedy to recover his land, or which should clog the re covery by conditions -and restrictions tending to dimmish the chances of his recovery, or to lessen the value when recovered, wbuld impair his right to the property, and claiming by virtue of the contract, would impair the obligation of that contract. : Laws which affect the proceedings of courts and regulate the disposition and transmission of property, and provide rules of civil conduct for every individual who is subject to their power, are constitutional, although they may incidentally affect contracts; but such laws are very different from those laws which are designed 4o reach a particular contract orclass of contracts by acting through the remedy, Tbe^;ommittee believe^ that the Bupretp« .Court of the United States in the case Bron- sott ns. Kenzie, eL a t f have decided ev^ery principle necessary 'to bet passed upon to de^ dare the proposed law unconstitutional^ The court in that case held that a State^aw passed after the ,execution of a mortgage, which de clares that the equitable interest of the mort gagor, shall not be extinguished for twelve months after a sale urider a decree of Chan cery, and which prevents any sale unless two- thirds of the amount of the appraised value of the property js bid, impairing the o' een t. State is estopped, individuals must be. There is nothing in the antiquity of the title which should subject the claimant to unusual condi- ions or restrictions in enforcing his claims. Its very antiquity may be the cause of ati ina bility of the claimants to produce technical .proof of its validity. The policy of the law ever has been to shiejd arid protect titles fo'- lowed by possession. 3d- The l#w, for good reasons, will not per mit a tenant to question the title of hi? land lord. Those reaso'ns and the policy of the Jaw have been approved from time immemorial, and the committee would hesitate long before they would do aught to interfere with its oper- ati'in. They certainly would not in any case go farther, as the law proposed contemplates. The section provides that the landlord shall establish the validity of such grant ( i. e. from the British; government.) Tinder this section, be would to prove not only tlip.t -the grantJ|Bper which he claimed was not only good W^rm, but was made upon proper ■nducemenn^and without frauds on the part of thegrante^and this, although the- government of Opr ^^t^^p* mayf Since the revolution, have recognized the grant as valid, 'and e«tdpp«d themselves Irom disputing it. (To be continued.) From the Episcopal Recorder. A FARE WELL.TO CATSKILL. 'Tis night—-a-calm,'Clear, silvery night. Arid hill and vale, and wooded height, Beneath the moonbeams sleep, held t pleasure the mode o mrts in relations to past. 5s future. It might shorten within which claims should statute of limitations. It ecessafy working tools, &c., to be exempt from execution ; in short, that whatever belonged merely to the remedy might be alterfd, provided the alteration did not impair the obligatjoti of the contract, and the justice Kvho delivered the opinion of the court says, ‘‘ it is manifest that the obligation of the contract and the rights o f a party under it, may in effect be destroyed by denying ’ a remedy altogether, or may be seriously im paired by binding the proceedings’With new conditibns and restrictions, so as to make the remedy hardly worth pursuing.” Most clearljr the law referred to your com- iriittep would, IF enacted, impose new condi tions to bkperformed by the landlord before he woijfd be permitted to avdil himself of-tbe fights intended to be secured to him by the contract; and it matters not how slightly those ; riew conditions vary the rights o f the party or restrict him in the enforcement of the. condi tions of the Contract. The Legirlriture can not draw a line' between those conditions and restrictions, which but slightly impair (he ob ligation of a contract, and those “which make “ the remedy hardly worth pursumg The plaTn meaning of; th«.^T!gaa^ us«d iri the Constitution do not, and np court ever will, and nd Legislature ever should, ‘‘ sanc tion a distinctiPn between the right and the remedy, which Would render the provision il-. lusive and nugatory^” The commiftee have confined their remarks to two-clauses of thfe leases, one reserving the right to distrain/or rent in arrear, and the other reserving the right of re-entry into the demised premises upon default in the pay ment o f renffor in the performance of the oth\ er conditions. 'But there are other cov^ants and conditions equally important and forming essentiaLfiarts of the contracts, which would equally l/e affected by the restriction upon the remedy proposed by the laW under considera tion. y The covenants against waste and to pay taxes, the reservations of mines and minerals, kills and creeks of. water, and many other res ervations, ar® important parts of the contract, materially affected and impaired by the propo sed restriction upon the remedy for a breach of the'covenants, or to enforce the right to the reservation. In|eed, it is supposed that if. there were fess reservation of the right to distrain, ight of re-entry, contained in the ;e rights would nevertheless form contract, as incideat t o ^ e prin- t between landlord ai^^naWt.-— ts vfhich were Well known to ^quired no express sitpula- them.” jH’lie^oUtt, u i for im p - bee'nri e e R r if P l no eyesSPBrTo®ii®i^ OTb'se in rest, Anil gaze where dimly in the west, Gatskill, thy mountains, gleam.! It seems.a dream—a vision fair. That I have breaihed thy pure free air, And scaled thy lofty brow, The snowy clouds beneath my feet, Thrown as a veil, a radiant sheet, O’er all the world beloW ; Or, floating by, like thrones of light, Revealing to my raptured sight-. Scenes, such as fancy loves. While from that distaqt, lower sphere. Rose up, in notes so s^ft and clear, An angel might have paused to hear. The music of the’grovjea. More dream-like etUlj that wild, lone spot. That ne’er in life can be forgot, : Where falls thy mountain stream,— Where, varying, be/uliful and bright. All radiant with gr/ceful life, Thy foaming waters gleam. That, to the charBied.'and Wortdering eye. Seem gushing from the very sky,- To ihe'ir deep bed below. While through the silent, listening wood, That from creation’s morn hath stood. And hath ail change and time'withstood. Thy peaceful murintifs flow. What rapture did our bosoms thrilL As frembltng, breathless, pale and still, . We stood in that lone glen I ' The spirit longed to burst' its chain, To seek its native skies again,- ' Nor mingle more with men 1 FfiUm. eXrthly *tain isrid bondage Ree) To'follow its high destiny. To bathe in heaven’s pure light, To learn from seraph’s burning tongue. More of His skill, whose praise is sung, By every fountain bright. Thy peaks are fading from my view, A lingering look—a last adieu ! Ye mountain heiglir8,tarewell! May-wp, who eazed with kindling eyes. With burning thoughts, in mute surprisfi On vale, and stream and dell. In tlrat fair land by angels trod, On Zion’s hill the mount of God Once more in rapture stand ! Though never more our paths may meet, May we again hold converse sweet, And feel our hearts in oneness beat, '.•Jn that far, “ Bet ter Land J” G. Sktindoat ondlie Hudson, Aug. I, \oXi, From the New Orleans Picayune. A FAJ'HBR a n d h i s CHILD. ■A father o’er his infant child, Hung like a miser o’er his treasure { And all his senses seemed beguiled By a strange ecstatic pleasure. H IS feelings all were newly, formed, ; For he had been a reckless rover ; Pew kindred ties hiS heart had warmed Ere his youthful days were'over. “ My hoy,\ he said, “ ibou’rt all my own— Thy lips, thine eyes and brows reveal it ; Long years have fled since I have known Or felt life’s charm as now i fee! it. The cherub smiles which oft illume Thine eyes of azure, bright and beaming, H ^ e led me frequent to assume ” deswere o’er thee glearaij with the performanefe of those which are ex pressed, however rijjnute and apparently im material in their effect uppn 'the coritrapt, ime pairs its obligation. The probibitjpn of the Conslitption embrace? all contracts executed or executory.'*' b known legaT rights were annex?? time it was made, and formed a part of i and any subsequent law impairing the rights thus acquired, impaired the obligations Which the contract imposed. The legal rights of lessor and lessee are as clearly defined and as well understood as the rights of mortgagor and morfgageej and if all tjre legal incidents of the contract would at tach to the compact in the one case although not expresse'l in terms, then they must attach in the other case. N o one will contend that it could, consistent ly with the provision of the JConstitution, Be provided that the mortgap[ee should, before enforcing a mortgage given for the pur chase money, by foreclosure and sale of the premises, legafiy-establisb his title to the prem ises sold, and upon and for which the mortgage was g iven, whether the foreclosure was in pursuance of an express or implied provision of the mortgage. If this could not be done, it is difficult to seebow the proposedlaw would differ in principle. The committee arc clearly of the opinion that the first section of the proposed bill is un constitutional, and would be so held and de clared by courts of justice ; but even if they were not, they could not recommend its pas sage for the foUowirtg, among many other rea sons which might be urged. 1. The provision, if a good one, should be general in its application, and not confined to a particular class of cases. l i is always unsafe and generally qnwise to legislate for particular cases. It an. evil is’ fexperieryjed to an extent which requires legislative inter ference, that interference should, except for very special reasons, be by enactm®nts- 2d. It is confined to leases reserving an annual rent to persons who elainf\ to derivej not expressed \n the contract, or dispensing their title from tb# British gdyeldmerit Ther# 'oT’eaTmTabovfS my From sorrow’s pangs my soleTlefed? Would be my cherished infant'# Si5 MARH is nothing in the soufoe. titl^ |o distin- guisbtbe title themselves from those derived trotp any other source, T h e grants from the British government have been conferred in every possible Way, so that the State is estop ped from denying their validity, and if the * Green, vs. Biddle, 8 Wheaton's R. 1, I j J: Howard’s U. S. Rep. p. 311, THE DEPARTED. I know thou art gone to the home of thT‘r< Then why should ray soul be so sad i I know thou art goiie where the weary are blest And the mourner looks up and js fflad : Where love has put off in the land of its birth, •The stain it had gathered in this. And Hope, the sweet singer that gladdened the earth, Lies asleep on the bosom of Bliss. I know thou art gone wiiere thy forehead is starred With the beauty that dwelt in thy soul— Where the light'of t'by loveliness cannot be marred, Nor thy heart be flung back from its goal: I know thou hast drunken of Lethe that flows Through a land where tliey do not forget— That sheds oyer memory only repose, And takes from it only regret. This eye must be dark,, that as yet is not dim-, med. Ere again it may gaze upon thine ; But my heart has revealings of thee, apd thy home. In many a token and sign : 1 never look up with a vow to the sky, But a light, like thy beauty, is there ; And I hear a low murmur, like thine, in reply. When I pour out my spirit in prayer. In I by far away dwelling, wherever it be, -• 1 believe f/tou.hast visions of mine/ And thy love, that made all things as music to me, . I have not yet learned to resign : In the hush of the the waste of the ;#eHnp* j ' . ' Qr atripe with the breeze of the hill, I have ever a presence that whispers of And my spirit lies down and Arid though like a mourn^ that sits by a tomb, ' I am wrapped in a mai Yet the grief of m’ gloom-re j Is not th® black By sorrow revealed,night. Far off a bright And Hope, like Is born like the U ' Jfapolcon Jeatihg Patis for a Campalgs. In the imperial palace, it was never Icnown beforehand, the weeri. .or even the day. When Napoleon would quft his residence to take command of his troops. It was invariably ex pected that all the leriSders, both civil and mili tary, should be rea^ lo follow him at a mo. ment's notice; for he never informed those he wished to take with him, until a few hours be fore his departure and, as they knew not the place he would go to, each one waited patient ly until the Grand Marshal should communi cate the orders of the Emperor. Those orders once givjen, the preparations for the journey were soon .made ; we were then ready to fol- low Napoleon to the end of the world if he had ordered us. At the time tp which ixmJ'eferring he chose to depart from SL Ciood in the tniddle e f the night, accompanied iri his carriage h f his Grand Marsbat and grand Equerry^ 'and passed Hpverv wifh'ib* rapidlif pf- ligbL X xpaci of on6 hundred and French league# indess than thirty-six hours.' q’he order-bt the joulmey wa# as follows: v. On the left side of the carriage, ap aid-de- service rode; on the right, the e- service; the other aid-de-camp; the the orderly officers, th^ Mameluke nd the domestics of the suite, ac- the carriage; while all these were an escort o f the Cliesseucs of the the -guides, commanded by au ihey precipitated themselves like rot, night as well as by twelve leagues. We, who were ind, during, the n i g h ^ W ^ a l l ^ w e , as you might suppose, not very well at our ease. In places where the road might be narrow, we would some times run one upon another, and with an ardor and zeal that had the appearance of something savage in it. Evil to him who was not a good horseman, or perfectly sure of his horse; for, in tumbling he would be sure of being trod un der foot by the horses in his rear, before their riders would be able to arrest their speed.~ On went the torrent—on we precipitated our- selves in heat or In rain, on the ice, across the snowr, the dust or the nrist, to he always with in the reach of the voice of our master, or ta obtain one single look from him. Those who least suffered fatigue were the orderly officer* the page, the' groom, and twelve chasseurs of the guard, who all preceded the carriage about six paces. These not having the fear of re- priinand, in consequence of the postil ions reg ulating their movements by the pace of their horses. Napoleon, notwithstanding, almost constantly thought that the postilions iievar drove quite fast enough. “ They- go along like duckeff hens!” he would exclaim, whilst striking his fistsagaipst the side' ofithe carriage, “ We shall never ar rive to the postilions. “ Get on! get on L are you asleep I you make no progress ; get on, then!\ ' ■Whenever Napoleon stopped on the” road, the whole of the suite did the same,- and dj®* mounteff excepting the chasseurs of the escort who remained in their saddles. If the Ernper- or got stepped out of his carriage, four of the guides would .di^iriount, fix bayonets, present arms, and remain around him in single files ; but not an officer moved from his. place, unless Napolen gave the word by saying “ Dismount gentlemen.\ ,If any of those who were to have joined him remained in the rear, they sometimes did not arrive at head quarters until a day after a vic tory, or perhaps the campaign bad ended. **■'' ~ \ i l % C hildhoo P.—What can be a truer picture of man tn creation, than the position of a child in its own home ? How ardently, how surely, does the domestic rule control him, da ting his rising and his rest, bis,going out and coming in, apportioning his duties, big mirth* ordering secretly the very current of his thot’s, whether to aparkle with gladness or overflow with tears. Yet how rarely has he any pain ful scene of the constraining force which i# every moment upon him. Hemmed in on eve ry side by a power more vigilant than the U8 despotism, yet look at his open yvhether creature was. more Not because childish mind# If-will—that would seduce %ression—but because where rev- ice and love make melody in the heart, the mpler is charmed and s leeps. Light therefore as the weight of the circum- faient atmosphere upon the body is tbe pressure of home duty upon the child / easy- by th# constancy and completeness witfa^ s^ieh. it shuts him ip 5 inseparable from 'alT tM' vital elements of his being. Ris life is an exchange of obedience for protection ; he gives^ubrnts. ^ sion And i# sheltered. Folded in the arms of '■ * 5 an unspeakable affection, he is screpned from the anxiety of self-cure, and yst he is left alone upon the infinite plain of existence, to choose ^ path- by the lustre of his own wisdom j but it is led gently on by the unexlingushed lamp of a father’s experience, and the meek star light of a mother's love. In strangeness and danger, how close he keeps to the' hand that hads him ; in doubt, how he looks up to in terpret the eye that epeaks to him; in loss and lowliness, with what cries he sits down to lament his freedom. He asks, but claims ^nothing ; his momentary forwardqgss stilled, perhaps by a mere word ; and if not yet, hi# spontaneous’return, after an interval, to his ac customed ways, confesses that, in the order of obedience is the truest liberty, A H int .—Once on a time a ^French doctor came to Damascus to seek his fortune ; when he saw the luxurious vegetation, he said “This is the place for me—plenty of fever.\ And then, on seeing an abundance of water, he said f more fever-^no place like Damascus,.\— ■ When he entered the town he asked the peo ple, “What is this building 1” “A bath,”— “Arid what is that building'T’ “A hath.?'— .‘And th_ajt--®ttrir'^building “A bMri’<’— »-*X7urse*on the baths,-they will .take the bread out of my mouth,” said the doctor; “ J must seek fevjpp practice elsewhere.” So he turned back and went out of the gate again, and;hied him el^whepe. G olden S ands *—Wrongs may try % good mamdbnt cannot imprint on hitn a false stain. Whenever you give adviep, be certkio y«k have^Qt made one enemy.
